Page 82 - Summer2015

Monica's Real Food for the Modern World

REAL FOOD FOR REAL KIDS IN THE REAL WORLD
By Monica Ford

Do you know a child in need of healing? If Invest in a meal planning service. I love the af-
so, you might know a parent whose perpetually fordable and realistic service at RealPlans.com.
muttered mantra is “Calgon, take me away.” It’s a You can find a plan that works for your family.
very busy world. Modern life has become packed
with extra-curriculars in the guise of obligations 2. Batch Cooking. Never make a dish for
that it can seem like cooking meals from scratch one meal when you can make it for five. This is
is a far-off fantasy. life-changing! Once you fully incorporate batch
So when we prioritize our family’s health cooking into your life, you will not need to cook
carving out time to make nourishing foods for every day. As part of your planning, designate a
our loved ones, it’s a big deal. It requires precious day, half of a day or even 2 hours to batch cook.
resources of time, energy, money, patience and Ease into it. If you do this once a week or even
love. And for many parents, it’s also a risk. Will twice a month, you will create more free time to
your family eat the food of our wise ancestors? spend with family!
Will your child open her lunchbox at school and What might a half day of batch cooking look
be dubbed the weirdo? like?
Some learned about a nutrient-rich, ancestral • Shop for the ingredients on an earlier day so
cuisine early enough to train their children’s that you won’t start cooking with less energy.
palates to love pâté and sauerkraut. Others must • Pop a pork roast in the slow cooker for din-
re-train their child’s palate. Your children may be ner tonight and pulled pork tacos later in the
prone to strong opinions about food or may want week. Got two crock pots and a place to store
to eat food that looks like their friends' food. the meat? Make two!
Kids are resilient and I’m not saying “weird” • Start a large batch of soup to be portioned
is by definition bad. But sometimes, it’s nice not out and frozen. Don’t be afraid of a twelve to
to have to explain your lunch and even to have a twenty quart stock pot. If you can store the
lunch that the other kids might want. Sometimes, frozen soup, it will be a welcome dinner later.
Modern life it’s nice to fit in…just a little. • Make a batch of jello for school lunches.
has become • Make pickles.

so packed FOOD CAN BE KID-COOL
3. Community. Do you long for adult con-
Food can be delicious, nutrient-rich and
with extra- kid-cool at the same time! And it can look like versation but don’t have the time? Schedule a day
curriculars in the food all the other kids are noshing! The prep to batch cook with like-minded friends! People
the guise of doesn’t have to be complicated or time-intensive. used to have naturally occurring community
Transforming traditional food wisdom into built around food. That can exist in our modern

obligations yummy kiddo meals is not only a huge boon for world too, if we create it. There are other parents
that it can kids but for parents too. Check out my real-world in your community who are struggling with the
seem like tips for making good food for your family: constraints of modern life and health just as you
cooking our 1. Make Your Plan. Planning is the corner- are. Find them and invite them to batch cook.
Imagine batch cooking with another who makes
meals from stone of low-stress meal preparation. I encour- something different and you share the bounty.
scratch is a age you to start by planning a few major meals What if there are three or four batch cookers
far-off fantasy. in your week—like your children’s lunches or together? You can even cook separately at home
weekday dinners. Don’t know where to start? but share the fruits of your labor.
82 Wise Traditions SUMMER 2015 Wise Traditions

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