Crunchy colorful Slaw

Indonesian Chicken and Rice

I did not intend for this first meal blog post to be such a long recipe; however, I know that there are a lot of viruses going around right now and everyone has been getting sick.  So, I decided to make a healthy chicken soup with ginger and turmeric to give the immune system a boost.

Crunchy colorful slaw
*This is just a super easy way to get kids to eat raw vegetables.

• Head of purple cabbage, sliced thin
• Four carrots, julienned
• Broccoli stalks, julienned
• Six radishes, julienned
• Olive Oil
• Coconut Amino Acids (This is a vinegar made from coconuts that is full of amino acids, even more than apple cider vinegar.  It has a slightly sweet flavor.

 Mix all the veggies in a bowl, add about a tbs of olive oil and about two tbs coconut amino acids.  I have made this with other vinegars too and it is a hit every time.


Indonesian Chicken and Rice
 *Paul's family is Dutch-Indonesian.  Several years ago, his Oma taught me how to make Soto Ayam which is a favorite of everyone in the family. It is chicken rice soup flavored with tumeric, lemongrass, kaffir leaves, and ginger.  She showed me how to cook this soup without giving me any exact measurements which is how I make it now.  Soto Ayam is always served with a lot of condiments, hard boiled eggs, and potato dumplings.  I simplified the recipe for the kids and added some spinach to the broth.

• One large shallot, chopped
  
• One small onion, chopped
• A whole chicken (a half could be substituted)
• Fresh ginger (a few inches peeled and cut in large chunks)
• Fresh turmeric (half the amt of ginger, peeled and chunked or about a teaspoon of powdered)
• Kaffir lime leaves
• Lemongrass (one stalk hit a couple times with a pestle or meat hammer)
• Salt
• Spinach, about 1/2 a pound
• Brown rice (I used basmati)

To make the broth, clean the chicken, remove the skin and cut off any fat.  In a large dutch oven, heat a tbs olive oil.  When hot, add the chopped onions and shallots until they soften.  Add the chicken, ginger, turmeric, lemongrass, and lime leaves.  I usually put the ginger and turmeric in a tea basket or bag so that I don't have to find them in the broth later and remove them before serving.  The lemongrass pieces I leave large enough that I can just grab out of the broth.  Cover the chicken with water.  Heat on high until it starts to boil.  When a low boil begins, put the lid on top and turn the heat to medium low.  Cook for about 30-60 minutes until the chicken is cooked through, turning over halfway through.  When it is done the meat will be white and the thighs will just start almost falling off.  Take the chicken out of the broth and let rest for a few minutes.  When it is cooled down a little, cut/ tear the meat off the chicken and add back into the broth.  Add salt to taste.  Lastly, add the spinach to the broth.

Serve this over brown rice. For the kids, it will be less like soup and more like a rice bowl.

Getting Started

My name is Jessica van Waardenburg; otherwise known as Fallon's mom.  I love to cook and create new kid friendly recipes.  There is something so satisfying about providing a really healthy nutritious meal to my family and friends.  I am hoping to share that love of healthy food with the kids at Community Montessori.

Over the past few years, I have become obsessed with local organic whole foods.  It all started when I was studying for my Master's in Public Health.  I learned so much about individual health, food security, and childhood obesity.  With my newfound knowledge, I decided to change the way that I think about nutrition and I began purchasing food from local farms.  Then, when I found out that I have an autoimmune disease I worked with my healthcare provider to modify my diet in order to reduce inflammation and boost my immune system.  I cut down on processed foods and started trying to make more recipes from scratch always making vegetables a really important part of the meal.  I try to make sure that every meal is at least 50% vegetables which can be really hard sometimes especially for kids who like to eat all carbs!  I buy organic or from farms that I know to be pesticide and hormone free (for meat) as much as I can.  The meals that I make change frequently with what is in season.  I supplement with organic produce grown outside the local area when foods we like aren't in season.  For example, we can't live without broccoli and cauliflower so I just get that at the store instead of a local farm in the winter.  Now this kind of cooking is time consuming because I spend hours each week cutting vegetables and often the meals are experimental since I am constantly trying to make everything kid friendly.

As a mom, this love of food has helped me create healthy, colorful, and nutritious meals that Fallon loves to eat.  She is an adventurous little eater who we can almost always goad into trying just about anything.  My endeavors are not always successful as her tastes change, expand, or even shrink but I keep trying. Since she was born, this has been a learning process and will continue to be so as we grow.  I've found that kids don't always eat what I prepare, but if I give them space and continue to offer what I know is a healthy choice...they will eventually come around.  I try to offer foods that have lots of color and texture. 

I was asked if I wanted to share some of my veggie-laden dishes with the wonderful kids of Community Montessori and I jumped at the chance.  I am hopeful that families will want to take part in this lunch program and find that it makes life easier on Wednesdays since no lunch will be necessary.  I will be making lunch for all the kids at school whose parents are interested in participating on Wednesdays.  Meals will always include veggies, a grain, and a fruit.  Sometimes, meat will be involved but not always.  I will provide a little menu along with pictures and recipes when I can. I would like to get the kids involved in preparation of the food whenever possible and I am hopeful that we can use food from the garden so that the kids can watch the entire process of planting a seed, watering it, picking it, preparing it, and then eating it all while at school. 

So far, the kids tried some veggie enchilada casserole and a warm quinoa dish that had kale, dried cranberries, and almonds. I will just put those two recipes up without pictures since I didn't think about taking pictures until this week!

Thanks so much for visiting the site and please check back to see what the kids will be eating.