Sorry. No digest this week (check out yesterday’s post for an explanation!). But fear not—I’ve got something for you. Some political action! C’mon ChowMamas and Papas, let’s rally! Need motivation? More than 31 million children participate in the National School Lunch Program (is your child one?). Many of these children consume as many as HALF of their daily calories at school. Helping schools serve real food may be the most promising way to end child obesity, but it simply can’t happen unless Congress invests in healthier food in the upcoming Child Nutrition Act.

I first posted about the Time for Lunch campaign by Slow Food USA in December. Though lots of progress has been made, more help is needed to help ensure that our kids get the school food they deserve. Don’t think you’ve got what it takes to help? USDA Secretary Vilsack thinks otherwise. He recently said that the most important thing citizens can do to get healthier food into their local schools is to urge Congress to pass a strong Child Nutrition Act. This issue has broad public support, he said, but it isn’t appearing in the news—so we need to make sure Congress gets the message.

Help send congress the message loud and clear. The Time for Lunch campaign is aiming to get 100,000 letters to Congress. Join the effort and send a letter. If you’ve already done that, there are other ways you can help, namely by spreading the word. So please post this on Facebook, Tweet it, send it around. Let’s show our fighting spirit!

Photo: Nanaimo Bars / iVillage Made in Canada slideshow

Warning: This is not a healthy post, but I won’t take responsibility for that. Blame Canada. (Heh heh.)
No, I’m not in Canada this week. Truth be told, I haven’t even been bitten by Olympic fever. I’ve been too busy to watch and now, the last week of the games, I’m hanging in New Orleans, one of the most exciting places in this country for regional food. But, who knew—Canada has amazing regional food, too! And if there’s one thing that will finally cause me Olympic fever, it’s good eats.
I don’t much think about regional Canadian food. And I bet you don’t either. (Save for my Canadian readers, why would we?) But three fortuitously timed things happened since the start of the Olympics that have got me thinking about the foods of our friends up North.
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Check out this week’s Food News, Things I Crave, Green Your Eats, Tips, Tools & Techniques, and Weekly Roundtable. Plus, for a little while, I’ll follow the Weekly Roundtable with a quick update on my non-resolutions to, you know, keep me honest!
Just so you know, I’ll be in NEW ORLEANS (!!) all of next week visiting family, walking around, EATING! I’m hoping to post while gone, but I have no idea what’s in store for me, traveling with both kiddos for the first time. Check in with me, but forgive if I can’t keep up. No matter what, I’ll be back by the 1st. With lots of inspiration from gorgeous NOLA.
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Photo: Ticings

Check out this week’s Food News, Things I Crave, Green Your Eats, Tips, Tools & Techniques, and Weekly Roundtable. Plus, for a little while, I’ll follow the Weekly Roundtable with a quick update on my non-resolutions to, you know, keep me honest.
Have a wonderful, love-fest of a Valentine’s Day this weekend. Feel the love. Spread the love. And don’t feel shy about saying I love you. (Like this: I love YOU! Thanks for reading!) And, of course, Happy New Year. Welcome Year of the Tiger!
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I recently had the honor of interviewing renowned “green” pediatrician Dr. Alan Green for Our365.  I was over the moon when asked to do the interview—I’ve been a fan of Dr. Greene for some time now. I first discovered him while researching advisors for my baby food venture, ChowBaby. Though we never got to the point of approaching him, I continued to follow Dr. Greene closely. Not only does he offer a comparable wealth of info on parenting and child rearing as Dr. Sears and the like (with a more modern twist, if you ask me), but he is also one of the only pediatricians dealing head on with issues related to non-toxic living. As part of that, he takes an unprecedented interest in how parents feed their children. So much so that he wrote a book about it, his latest, Feeding Baby Green.

Dr. Greene is widely recognized as a champion for organic eating (as much as you’re able and can afford), but I love him most for his progressive (and non-American) approach to healthy feeding. From his unconventional idea of when to start solids, to his emphasis on feeding even first time eaters whatever the rest of the family is eating, to his ahead-of-his-time attitude about food allergies, Dr. Greene encourages feeding our children in a way that excites the palate and lays the foundation for healthy eating habits for life.

My conversation with Dr. Greene was beyond validating. I was, literally, quivering with excitement as he put into words more eloquent than mine a family food philosophy that I try to live by and share with you every week. Read the interview for more. And, if you’re interested, read his new book, Feeding Baby. I was not asked to promote the book here. I just read it and loved it. I think you might too, especially if you’re pregnant or a first time mom with a wee little one.

6 Questions for Dr. Alan Greene, by Stacie Billis (via Our365)

Follow Dr. Greene on Twitter (And, hey, while you’re at it, follow me, too, if you don’t already!)

Become a fan of Our365 on Facebook!

Photo: Monkey Lunch Bags by BeeThings

Check out this week’s Food News, Things I Crave, Green Your Eats, Tips, Tools & Techniques, and Weekly Roundtable (a roundup of the most recent ChowMama posts). Plus, for a little while, I’ll follow the Weekly Roundtable with a quick update on my non-resolutions to, you know, keep me honest.
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