Food Trucks

As of late I've been a bit obsessed about food trucks. Not the good old "roach coaches" but the gourmet type that you may have seen on "THE GREAT FOOD TRUCK RACE" on the Food Network. Every week they assemble at our neighborhood farmers market with all of their deliciousness and their sweet and savory aromas are difficult to resist. I've been telling all my friends about them and some have even ventured out to try their tempting tasty morsels for themselves and are now big fans.

These mobile eateries are very diverse in both appearance and cuisine. Some are decorated in cute and quirky designs and colors whereas other just scream "I'm here come and taste what I got for ya!". Whatever your in the mood for: Thai, Japanese, Mexican, American, French, Greek, and sweets to satisfy any Sweet-Aholic these trucks offer it all. What I love the most about these buffets on wheels is that it's a great way to try out different gourmet cuisine for not a lot of money. The fact that they are practically in my back yard is just the icing.

Each day of the week you can find several of these trucks huddled around various locations throughout L.A. and O.C. Due to the growing popularity with them most of the venues have become somewhat permanent locals with different trucks rotating each week, although some of them do maintain a weekly set schedule. Here's a link to help you on your hunt that shows who's where and when in both O.C. and L.A. The site also offers a live GPS map. http://thefoodtrucker.com/

If you haven't yet tried the modern day food truck yet I strongly urge you to. I assure you, you won't be disappointed. Bon appetit!

Food, food, and more food

Food is all I can think about these days. What to eat, what not to eat, how to eat it, when to eat it, and how I can make the good stuff taste like the bad stuff.

It's not entirely a bad thing that I'm thinking about food. I have made a decision to get serious about my overall health and food is a big part of that. I love food,  ALL food and that's the problem. I wouldn't say that I'm a foodie just yet but I aspire to be.  Lately, I have reassessed the food that I have allowed into my life, and I've noticed that my relationship with food can sometimes be compared to my past relationships. "Great but kinda bland", "delectable but soooo very bad for you", and finally "it looks great, makes you feel great, and it's healthy for you too".

For me food is more than just a means to fuel our bodies it's a passion. I love to read about it, talk about it, look at it, shop for it, research it, experiment with it, grow it, and of course consume it.

I didn't always have  a love for food but once I discovered all the things that it could do I was hooked. I have to say that the Food Network Execs didn't help me either. Their clever way of putting on shows with cute and quirky chefs and cooks slicing and dicing, mincing and frying, sauteing and carmelizing, slow roasting, pan searing, braising, and incorporating lots of colorful, exotic, sweet, savory, sour, and spicy dishes just sucked me in. Not only did I want to taste their wonderful creations I wanted to do it like them with all the flair and ease in the same HiDef glory that leaped across my screen and into my kitchen.

Since being hooked on shows hosted by such celebs as Rachel Ray, Paula Deen, Emeril Lagasse, Bobby Flay, and Tyler Florence I had to experiment and perfect what little skills I had at the time. While I still have plenty to learn, my one time clumsy obsession with everything food is now becoming more of a refined passion. A passion that I hope to one day soon turn into something lucrative.

But for now, I will continue on my food journey of finding new and interesting ways that food can continue to move my soul.

Back from the brink....I think

Well it's been a long while since I posted something new on here. A lot has happened since my last post and although not all of it has been pleasant I do think that it's been a big growing period for me. I won't go into all the details of my life's changes now but I will say that when you think that the bottom seems endless there's still always a bright light waiting for you at the end.

I hope that everyone had a nice and peaceful Holiday. I'm thankful that I did and look forward to the adventures that 2011 will bring me.

Pancakes for dinner?

Ever notice how kids love breakfast foods but usually make a fuss at dinner time? Instead of taking on that battle every night why not let them have something they love for dinner. Tonight I experimented with a variation of the basic store bought pancake mix and it turned out to be a win win for all so I thought I'd share it with you.
As some of my friends and family know I'm really into adding puréed fruits and veggies into our everyday meals to try and pack as many nutritional benefits into the meager food items my son will eat. Tonight I added sweet potato purée into the store bought pancake mix. My favorite is Bisquick Heart Healthy. I modified the directions on the box by only using 1 cup of mix, 1 egg white, and 1/4 cup of milk. To make it a bit more dinner like I then added 4 tbsp of the purée, 1 tsp of crushed garlic, 1 tsp of grated Ginger, and then I grated about a 1/4 of a yellow onion into the mix. After whisking it all up I cooked them just like regular pancakes. When spreading the batter onto your griddle it's best to make them a bit thin and as they will take a bit longer to firm up due to the purée. If your or your kids have a sensitive pallet you might want to add less of the stronger ingredients: garlic, Ginger, and onion or just omit what you think you or your kids won't eat. Top the pancakes with a good maple syrup, honey, chopped mango, or any of your favorite preserves for a sweet and savory taste. To keep with the dinner feel you could just top them with sour cream and chives.

Hot, hot, hot

Well after putting off the inevitable last week I finally got around to cleaning up the garage. However, one thing got in the way of my progress, the HEAT! Usually I can suck it up and sometimes even convince myself that the heat is aiding with my weight loss but this time I couldn't even talk myself into believing that one. Each day I've tried to complete the task and each day the heat kicked my butt. Yesterday I decided that I would just keep my projects for the next two days indoors, so after the regular cleaning duties I started working on the infamous swag bags for my son's upcoming birthday party. Everything was going smoothly until I began to feel the air get warmer and warmer and then.....oh no! Please don't tell me?! That's right, the heat beat me again. The AC went out. By this time it was late afternoon. It was too late to call the repairman but at least the hottest time of the day had passed and I could only pray that there would be a cool breeze to blow through the windows while we slept. Alas there was no breeze at all and the hot air just stood stagnant like a line at Disneyland. After turning on all of the fans and a restless night (the temp was a steady 83 degrees all night) I quickly tracked down the number to our local AC repairman and thankfully was told that he could be out to fix our problem by the afternoon. Today was going to be the hottest day of the week at a sweltering 103 degrees. All I could at this point was put "Operation: Stay Cool" into effect. That meant no usage of anything that would add to the already climbing temperature in our home. No TV and no cooking. After catching up on our reading and eating a cold breakfast the repairman arrived earlier than anticipated and quickly got "Operation: Cool Down" underway. It was at that moment that I swore I would never take refrigerated air for granted again. The heat may have won the garage cleaning battle, but as I sit with the wonderful cold air blowing around me I know that ultimately I won the war.

What I've been up to this week.

Monday, thought about cleaning out the garage to prep for a garage sale, instead just hung out with lil man most of the day.....we were tired. Tuesday, thought about cleaning out the garage, instead did the same thing as Monday. Wednesday, woke up and found out that my mom went to the ER the night before due to shortness of breathe. Made an appointment to take her to her regular Dr. for a follow up and took her in that morning. Thank God she is fine. We went to lunch and I picked up a Bento box for lil man. Picked up my friend's daughters on the way home and we all had ice cream. Didn't really think about cleaning out the garage. Thursday, lil man woke up and remembered that I had bought the Bento box for him, now that's what he wants ALL of his meals served to him in. Made his breakfast and lunch "Bento" style and went to Costco, Post Office, and bank....fun. Oh and I did think about cleaning out the garage. Friday, woke and got into "clean out the garage" mode but then realized I had run out of allergy meds. Went to the grocery store bought some meds came home and by that time I was more into making a fantastic sandwich than cleaning out the garage. It was a really good sandwich. Had a really good discussion in Small Group Friday night (I love, love, love my small group such a great group of friends) and came home and crashed out. Saturday, woke up and thought about cleaning out the garage, instead took my son to Santa Monica beach and enjoyed playing in the sand and walking the pier. It was a much better idea than cleaning out the garage.

What to do about Finicky Eaters

More and more I've seen sights that advertise Japanese style Bento lunches for kids. I've been intrigued about these types of lunches ever since I heard about them on one of the podcasts I frequently listen to. Being a mother of picky eater I often will resort to many different tactics to get him to eat more healthily. I think most moms out there struggle with the frustration of trying to get our kids to eat something that's nutritious. Toddlers tend to be grazers, a phase that will pass once they get a bit older....or so I'm told. My son is no exception to that rule and so I try little creative "tricks" in the hope that I will get more food into his tiny tummy. He loves protein and dairy so getting him to eat meat, eggs, and his all time favorite, milk is no problem. He likes some fruit but veggies, not so much. I'm a big believer in the ever controversial hiding of purees into his meals but sometimes that's not always a practical option. It was after listening to a podcast where Bento style lunches for kids were talked about that I decided that I might give that a try. Although I haven't yet invested in the actual authentic Bento lunch kits, food separators, or condiment holders I try to do something similar when serving my finicky little munchkin.

Using cookie cutters I'll make cute little shapes out of his sandwiches or burgers. I don't have to resort to doing this with his meats since he likes proteins but if you happen to have a kid who doesn't like them as much you could do the same for their chicken or steak. I recommend cutting around the cookie cutter shape with a sharp paring knife after the meat has been cooked. I try to cube his meats and fruits whenever possible and have started putting them on kabob skewers to make them look a bit more fun. Obviously you need to be cautious when giving your kid a pointy object that could be used as a lethal weapon, so you could cut the sharp tips off once you've skewered the food. There are several plastic skewers that you can find on-line for purchase. You might also want to direct your child to eat the food sideways so that both hands are holding the ends of the skewer. The skewers make eating the normal everyday foods a bit more fun and you could also add a few newer foods in between the ones they already like. I try to use smaller plastic dishes to put his sides or fruit in to help keep everything separate and to make it look a bit different than just stuff sitting on it's own little space on his plate. For lunches and snacks I try to give him the "big" boy school experience and put his foods in a lunch box. It's a nice little surprise for him to open it up and see what goodies are in there. I also find that he eats more food overall and I can control how much of each item I want him to eat based on the size of the bag that I put his foods in. For example, my son loves the "Pirates Booty" popcorn so I will put that in one of the smaller snack size baggies so it looks like there's more of it than there really is. All he cares about is finishing the bag so in his mind he's eaten a lot of popcorn. I'll put the "good" stuff that I really want him to eat in a larger bag so in his mind there's not that much of it. I want my son to eat fruits but I don't like him to fill up on them so that he won't try the other new foods I've given him. One way to avoid this is that I will try to slice his grapes in half or cube his watermelon much smaller than normal. I think you get the picture. Although I'm resorting to a bit of eye trickery it allows me to have better control over his intake of foods I prefer him to have vs. those that I want to limit. Since veggies are the troubled spot in his diet I have found that he will drink his veggies without any issues. They sell many fruit/veggie blended juices at the stores but I find it just as easy to make your own. You can buy the juice in bigger sizes and also control the juice-water ratio this way. I always put veggies on his plate and try to load them up in as many things that I can. As I previously mentioned I'm a big fan of hiding pureed veggies in his foods. My son loves spaghetti so I will add a puree of whatever veggie I have on hand but I always add peas and carrots to the sauce. Even if he doesn't always eat the veggies he sees on his plate at least I know he's eaten a decent portion from what's been hidden in the food. Overall I try to provide at least one food item I know he will eat and one new item I hope he will at least try. I also try to take advantage of the moments when he's most hungry to give him something new. He's most likely to try it at that time and since he's hungry he'll take more bites of it before deciding if he likes it or not. Lastly, my son doesn't have much of a sweet tooth but when he does I don't try to make a big deal out of it. If it's close to a mealtime and he wants something sweet, I will give him one "adult sized" bite of whatever it is he wants at the same time that I serve him his meal. I have found that he will usually only take a bite or two out of the "sweet" stuff and then eat mostly all of his regular meal.

These are just some examples of what I have personally tried. Here are some links to some of the Bento style lunch ideas that I came across: http://www.anotherlunch.com/ and http://wendolonia.com/blog/ and lastly my favorite goto moms when it comes to making nutritious meals/choices for our families: http://mealmakeovermoms.com/kitchen/ .