the super easy salmon recipe I filmed for Whole Foods

I'm so excited! I recently shot a 2-minute video for Whole Foods, where I share my go-to marinade and method for making salmon for my family. It's now live on all of Whole Foods' NY/NJ/CT store Facebook pages, giving you a simple method for preparing Atlantic salmon (which happens to be one of this week's "Madness Sale" items). You can watch the video here. I'll be signing autographs tomorrow at The Family Dinner Conference. Just kidding. Oh boy, I am punchy tonight. I mean, if you want an autograph just let me know... but I'm thinking you're really at the conference for additional inspiration on "Feeding Your Family Well on the Busiest of Days"!! Anyway, as if watching me make salmon in our brand-spanking-new kitchen isn't excitement enough, there's a chance to win a basket full of "Madness Sale" items, simply for viewing the video! So go on, turn up the volume, and enjoy 2-minutes of cinematic magic courtesy of my 10-year-old cameraman, co-producer and taste tester.

Yep, I was compensated, with a Whole Foods gift card, for filming this masterpiece... but the recipe and real-life "rainbow plates" are my very own!

the red streak continues!

The red streak continues, though I'm totally losing steam... tonight I gave in to their backseat pleas on the way home from igloo building and paddle tennis, and detoured to Station Eats in town, letting the tomato and ketchup on their burgers count as the "red" part of dinner. Hey, as long as the judge is on board with that, then cool. Okay, so what else have I been serving up? A red frittata made with roasted peppers + sun-dried tomatoes, onion, bacon and cherry tomatoes ({drum roll} with enough leftover + some protein pancakes, so Mon/Tues breakfast are taken care of. Giddyup.).

Pre-sledding lunch was some of the beef ragu from the night before re-purposed as mini pizzas: toasted whole wheat English muffins topped with warm sauce + mozzarella + roasted pepper, then popped under the broiler. A comforting winter lunch made in 5 minutes...

Then, last night we were going out, so I made them {always wildly exciting for some reason} "breakfast for dinner": bacon (from the dip I was making) + red apples + half an egg and cheese on a whole wheat English muffin + some organic yogurt topped with granola.

If you have red ideas to get me through the next 12 meals, please leave me a comment. Or better yet, tell me where I can pick it up in town!

the red foods keep on coming!

Van's whole grain frozen waffle topped with homemade strawberry cream cheese + Applegate Farms chicken-apple sausages + organic raspberries and banana + Red Jacket Orchards Strawberry Apple Cider

Yep, I'm kind of smitten with myself. I'm pretty much knocking the socks off of my 6-year-old, who challenged me to make "red meals" from February 4th until Valentine's Day...

(leftover) ravioli with Rao's marinara sauce + chicken from the night before's batch of bone broth + watermelon + cherry tomatoes + Earthbound Farms frozen cherries (which thawed by lunchtime)

(leftover) red pizza + an organic strawberry + organic red pepper spears + a beef and bulgur meatball in homemade orange-basil tomato sauce

more red foods

Van's frozen whole grain waffle + organic strawberry yogurt + strawberry "syrup" (simply thawed organic berries pulsed in the blender until smooth)

I'm not going to lie... I was so busy today that I was a little bummed I'd taken on my younger son's challenge of serving something red at every meal until Valentine's Day. It would have been way easier to mindlessly pull something out of the fridge/freezer/pantry... But, I'm not giving up after 4 meals. (Or maybe I will, but I am not giving up today.) Lunch was cream cheese and raspberry jam sandwiches, red apples and red grapes... and I forgot to photograph it. But, dinner was awesome because both kids excitedly shopped for the red ingredients and helped me to make red veggie pizza:

toppings were: cherry tomatoes + garlic-roasted tomatoes (from Whole Foods' olive bar) + roasted peppers + fresh red peppers

it took about 45 minutes to make the pizza... because every. veggie. was. placed. on. the. pizza. one. by. one.

that's ok though. i enjoyed a glass of wine and heard all about school while they worked their sous chef magic, and we ended up with this. perfection.

red veggie pizza + roasted beet salad (from Whole Foods' salad bar) + green salad with red wine vinaigrette + red apples

day 2 of red meals? check!

continuing my 6-year-old's challenge to serve something red at every meal between now and Valentine's Day...

construction meeting on-the-go breakfast: strawberry yogurt cup + homemade strawberry-filled scone + "hug" cereal + half a banana

lunch: heart-shaped roasted red pepper goat cheese spread/cheddar sandwiches + red pepper spears + Kefir + cinnamon apple sauce + frozen strawberries (that will thaw by lunchtime)

dinner: cheese ravioli with Rao's marinara sauce + pears

aiming for a month of dinners outside

I think this is a family record: as of August 1, we have yet to have enjoyed a meal indoors. So fun eating breakfast outside in the light chill of mountain air, the sun beating on our backs at lunch somewhere out on a trail, and the mellow fresh air and tales of the day at dinner.

Children's dinner above: lamb, grass-fed beef & pistachio meatballs + Greek yogurt dip + roasted sweet potato + cucumber salad + organic strawberries

setting them up for success [at mealtime]

About once a week I have a conference call for one of my classes... and inevitably it falls right at my children's dinnertime. I could hire a sitter, but that seems like kind of a waste (because who are we kidding... I know they would rather play than eat with a sitter.) Plus, they have each other. And while I'm a huge proponent of family meals, I also think it's good for them to fend for themselves once in a while. So, I set them up for success by putting out two rainbow plates, telling them the time I'll be tied up, and explaining that they are each in charge of each other. So far, so good. 

This particular night: Amy's cheese pizza + cucumber cups with sun-dried tomato/walnut/pepita pesto + watermelon + snap peas from farm camp's farm stand + Cheerios + peppers and carrots (and as you can see: success!)

Another night: watermelon + blueberries + edamame + grapes + cucumber "swords" + Back to Nature Crazy Bugs Mac & Cheese (which was wildly exciting)

And just to be honest... not every night is "perfect" and homemade. In fact, Monday night we came home from our afternoon swimming and tennis lessons + running a major load of donations to Person-to-Person in just enough time to decompress and get plates together before I had to hop on my conference call. So.... leftover grilled cheese + leftover cheeseburger (from random meals we ate out when I was too wiped to cook... and they picked at their food) + watermelon + cucumbers + yellow peppers

(more) lunchbox inspiration

It's mid-week, and you've hit a lunch-packing slump. Have no fear....more colorful lunchbox ideas are here!

lots of fruit (honeydew, cantaloupe, strawberries) + cheese pizza on whole wheat crust + a carrot stick + puffed rice cereal + cucumber "coins"

dried fruit + Animal crackers as a special treat + cucumbers and carrots + cream cheese and jam on whole wheat pitas

Bell and Evans gluten-free chicken nuggets + yogurt + bell pepper "swords" + ketchup + fruit salad

carrot sticks + Chobani Greek yogurt + quesadilla (whole wheat tortilla + black beans + cheddar) + apples two ways (slices and sauce)

carrot "coins" + honeydew melon + strawberries + bell pepper "swords" + grilled chicken

squeeze applesauce + cheese ravioli (without sauce-- easy to pick up and munch) + cucumber "coins" + carrots + melon (again...we seem to eat a lot of melon, don't we?!!)

making an "adult dinner" child-friendly

Last week, I told you we had this amazing salad for dinner. That post generated a few emails from friends who asked "if my kids really ate that for dinner?". In its' original iteration, it's a loaded Chinese chicken salad. But even that original recipe had too many ingredients for me, so I simplified it a bit. And while the ingredients themselves might be child-friendly, I don't know many kids who relish arriving to the dinner table to find a big entree salad served up. So....

voila! Here's the secret to how I get my kids to eat what we might all consider "adult" meals. I don't do any extra prep for them, I simply dish the ingredients out separately for them as I am tossing our salad ingredients into a big bowl.

Valentine's lunchbox

Definitely nominating myself for mom-of-the-day with this lunchbox... Happy Valentine's Day sweet boys!

Cool-Cups jello hearts (note: this looks super cute but I made it with a regular cup of jello, not finger jello, carefully sliced horizontally and then cut with a cookie cutter...sooooo, they might fall apart, hence the inclusion of a spork!...) + a cream cheese and strawberry jam sandwich + mozzarella ball and marinated tomatoes + homemade cookie + strawberries + red pepper hearts and arrows (how Martha am I?!)

how many colors are on your plate?

I am counting 7 colors on the above dinner plate (assuming 4 shades of green count!). So, according to the results from a recent Cornell study, this type of meal is what kids want. So often a parent will tell me, "I wish my kids ate more things...he is so picky. He only likes plain pasta..." Really? How many colors do you, as parent, put out for him to choose from?

I've been trolling the web for new experts and ideas to share with you all and here's one fabulous resource. And, you can always check out my stash of rainbow plates for inspiration from our dinner table. Go rainbow plates, go!

2012 resolution #3: make more grain, bean and vegetable-based family meals

I give myself a pat on the back when it comes to exposing my children to a variety of tastes, textures and ingredients. It's something I am good at, backed by my "rainbow plate" mantra (being mindful and trying to get several different colors on my children's plates). But one of my food resolutions for 2012 is to expand my repertoire of whole grain, vegetable and/or bean-based meals. I still plan to keep the meals simple, and ideally they'll be meals my whole family will enjoy (so I don't become a short-order cook). To keep me on track, I'm linking some of my tried-and-true, favorite vegetarian meals to this post for easy reference. And, I've updated my list of "sites that inspire me" to include blogs that have the meatless gig down pat, in addition to ones that make me smile, swoon or think. (To see my list of favorite sites simply scroll down the right hand column of full plate.) Hope this list list of my own tried-and-true veg recipes proves as helpful to you as it is to me....I look forward to adding on to it in this New Year!

Soups and Stews

• Vegetable Soup
• Fall Veggie Soup
• Comforting Barley Stew
• Beans & Greens Soup (leave out the pancetta and add in fresh herbs)
• Beans & Greens Soup II (smoother)

Tacos, Quesadillas, Pizza Night...things like that

• Vegetarian Taco Night
• Black Bean Cakes
• Citrus-Infused Black Beans (put with a topping bar of bell peppers, avocado chunks, sour cream, cheese, salsa, etc...)
• Make-Your-Own Pizza (leave out the pepperoni)

Pastas, Risotto and Comforting Casseroles

• Peanut Noodles with Shredded Veggies
• Lemony Pasta with Chickpeas and Feta
• Jingle Bell Pasta
• Spicy Soy Chorizo Sauce
• Rotini with Cilantro-Walnut Pesto
• Farro and Butternut Squash Risotto
• Spinach Risotto (semi-homemade)
• Polenta and Soy Chorizo Casserole
• Greens and Cheese Pie
• Spinach Lasagna
• Baked Rigatoni with Soy Sausage
• Savory Pumpkin-Sage Cannelloni (totally decadent; for special occasions...)

Make-Ahead Salads

• Quinoa Salad with Giada's Basil Sauce 
• Quinoa Salad with Roasted Veggie & Feta
• Quinoa Salad with Fresh Mint and Lentils
• Wheatberry Salad with Cranberries and Pecans
• Lentil-Cucumber Salad
• Black Bean-Corn-Jicama Salad
• Crunch Rainbow Salad with Yogurt Dressing
• Raw "Detox" Salad

Sauces and Dressings

• Walnut Sauce
• Homemade Pesto
• Orange-Yogurt Dressing

If any of you readers have other vegetarian sites that inspire you, I'd love for you to leave them in a comment, as I am always excited to discover other like-minded bloggers and new recipe ideas!

recent rainbow plates to (hopefully) inspire you at dinnertime

TJ's "autumn mix" (parsnips, rutabagas and turnips-- see meals in a snap's facebook page for the simple recipe) + homemade turkey-pesto meatballs (the recipe my friend Cara shared with me is on the FB page too) + sauteed kale + ketchup (pick your battles...)

BLTs + cream of broccoli soup

shredded cheese (because it's way more fun than a slice) + quinoa-veggie salad + pistachios + Bell & Evans chicken tender

cherries + grapes + cucumbers + low sodium Tamari sauce + veggie dumplings

various cheeses + the last strawberries of the summer (clearly this photo was delayed in being posted) + bananas + a slice of hearty whole grain-nut-raisin bread

new favorite (energy packed) breakfast

I've taken up tennis again this summer. And, this has become my go-to breakfast. Not only is it delicious, but it tides me over til lunch and gives me the energy to zip around the court (totally avoiding my to-do list while the kids are at camp). The breakfast is simple (and makes an equally fabulous lunch or hearty snack):

Alvarado St. Bakery California Protein Bread* (toasted)
+ Hummus, White Bean Dip, Edamame Hummus or (mashed) avocado (whichever I have on hand)
+ one sliced hard-boiled egg

The key is to hard-boil a bunch of eggs once/week and keep them in the fridge so this can be made in minutes.

*I find Alvarado Street bread in the freezer aisle of our local markets.

Now for those wondering, no, my kids aren't digging that breakfast. And so, I've kept a supply of Trader Joe's French Toast on hand...

or I'll give them a muffin, fruit and yogurt...

or, one of the hard-boiled eggs, some fruit and a frozen tube of yogurt if it's hot...

and they've seen their fair share of Van's waffles.