Sunday's Plate

One of the things that has been hot and heavy in the news recently is the San Francisco action of taking toys out of Happy Meals when the calorie count is higher than 600 and there are no fruits and vegetables offered.

I have mixed emotions about this. Personally, I regard fast food as a treat not unlike a candy bar, ice cream sundae or a big piece of birthday cake. It's a particular kind of treat. Not good for you because of the high fat content, but seriously people, that high fat content makes it taste good - same with birthday cake from the baker - no nutrition - just junk yummyness.

To take away the toy is silly. It's a government big head screaming in the wrong direction. If they are taking toys away from children and at the same time trying to legalize marijuana for adults, that's a truly conflicting message... and San Francisco is my birthplace, so I'm not a left coast hater! Just an observer.

At the same time, I'm a grass roots person. I believe if you want a job done, don't ask your neighbor, husband, or the government. Do it yourself.

So putting the grass roots thing together with the persistent health game, I'm always trying to come up with delicious treats that are actually the healthiest thing you ate today...and it's fun.

What's the problem with the happy meal? It's fried beef on a white bread bun served with fried potatoes. It's farmer food because people who work in physically demanding jobs need lots of calories quick. Kids who play outdoors hours a day can certainly handle a Micky D.

But many of our children don't play outside much at all and spend an enormous amount of time sitting, and for them, a Micky D simply makes them fat and clogs arteries.

Making the hamburger or cheese burger or chicken nuggets healthier would be simple. If you baked the burgers and chicken so the fat separated from the meat, and you used whole wheat buns and baked the potatoes, it would be healthier, but we're talking time and it's supposed to be fast food - it's a treat, and like ice cream or candy bars, it's supposed to be fun, and delicious.

For about two years I belonged to the Evansville Coalition on Early Childhood Development. My goal was to unify childcare places on the matter of feeding children healthy foods. My ideas were grass roots, and I was tabled so often, I finally decided it wasn't worth my effort through the coalition, but soon, I will be meeting with other people who create and cook for some of the largest childcare centers in the Evansville Area to discuss this very issue.

When we cook at the Garden School, Miss Amy and I go over recipes carefully. How much sugar can we remove from cookie dough to make it healthy, but keep the flavor of cookies. Mostly it's half. We are currently discussing milling beans into flour to cut the carbs down for one of our children who is a diabetic. By using whole grains, half the sugar, and many spices with antioxidants, we are enhancing our recipes to make even our baked goods a health part of our day.

When we make Italian food, it's strictly whole grain. I hand pick all our meat. Our fruits and vegetables are whole and mostly fresh. We do use an occasional jar of applesauce. And I hand pick all our meat. When the inspector came in, she couldn't find our pantry. "Oh," she said, "I understand. Your food is in the refrigerators. And you don't use canned products, so you really don't need a big pantry."

And what do the kids think? They eat just about everything. Even our picky eaters are eating. It's a blessing.

So what for the occasional treat? Life would be dull as gray paint if there weren't treats. Treats make me hum. Maybe Monday will be a fudge day - it's pure fun and a pure treat, but the kids will have eaten well, so what the heck?