Well, it’s back-to-school time, and parents are feeling the pressure of the school lunch routine. While it seems like it should be so easy, it causes so much stress and anxiety that it almost offsets the relief we should feel when summer vacation is over and the kids are back to their school schedule. After witnessing this issue dominating my friends’ discussions over the last few weeks, I’ve come to the conclusion that packing lunches is one of the biggest stressors parents face during the school year.

But the truth is, it’s just not that hard, and my opinion is that there are two reasons parents have problems with school lunches– the same reason they have problems with breakfast and dinner: portion size and rigid expectations about what constitutes an “appropriate choice.” Kids don’t like many of the same things we do—and they don’t like change very much either—so any attempt we make to impose our own desires on them is met with resistance, leading to more frustration and culminating in increased resentment. Eventually, to cope, parents often lean on pre-packaged and sugar-laden options just to stem the complaints. But I think that once we stop foisting our own desires about what foods and how much of them onto our kids, our lives get much easier.

Portion Size

To illustrate the first issue—portion size—we can look at one of the major complaints some moms had when I polled them previous to writing this article: their kids are picky about certain vegetables. Or they only like two fruits. Or they won’t eat the whole apple. Hey! That’s a good problem to have! All of those “problems” assume their kids are actually eating fruits and vegetables! The fact of the matter is a portion size for fruits and vegetables for children ages is generally ½ cup: that equates to a small apple, 15 grapes, 10 baby carrots, 5 broccoli florets, or a small banana. And considering that grade and middle-school-aged kids need between 5 and 7 servings per day total, the amount you need to be packing for lunch is pretty small, all things considered.

So now you can stop worrying about how little your child is eating and start contemplating how to get them to eat the biggest variety. My suggestion? As cliché as it is, pre-packaging appropriate servings into reusable containers and storing them in the refrigerator is the best ten minutes per week you’ll spend. Plan to have at least four colors of fruit and vegetables available at all times. Then tell your kids the rule is: Take Two Items, Take Two Colors. That way, if it’s the same choices every day, that’s okay: they’re still getting the critical variety they need, and they think they’re in control. Plus, they’re doing the work: they’re packing the lunch themselves.

Protein

The other issue that came up in my query of parents was protein. Our local school is trying to go nut-free this year, and with no peanut butter, lots of parents are wondering what kind of protein they’ll pack. But again, with the RDA for protein for grade- and middle-school-aged kids hovers around 0.4 grams per pound of body weight per day; so, for example, if your child weighs 60 lbs., she needs around 24 grams of protein per day (adjusted, of course, for activity level and health conditions). Divide that between three meals and two snacks, and again, the pressure to get enough protein into our kids at lunch seems to ease up.

Go Sandwich-Free

Try going sandwich free. Instead, think up some alternatives that would appeal to your child and still get them the protein they need. Some ideas are:

• Yogurt, part-skim mozzarella sticks, and the like are all great options. But there’s no reason a serving of healthy dip such as Zucchini Hummus or Blue Cheese Dressing can’t fill the protein gap.
• A cup of wide egg noodles contains up to 8 grams of protein per serving, and kids love to dip them in ranch dressing or marinara.
• How about protein fortified muffins or sweet breads like my Pumped-Up Pumpkin Bread or even waffles or pancakes made with white whole wheat flour and a vanilla-flavored protein shake mix instead of milk?
• Don’t forget about some of the store-bought items out there that can make your life easier on the protein front: high-protein wraps contain around 8 grams of protein and 12 grams of fiber: brush triangles lightly with olive oil, bake them until crisp and send them with some salsa.
• The low-carb diet craze can actually work to our advantage. Protein-fortified cereals make great finger food or a nice addition to a smaller serving of yogurt or berries. They’re typically high in fiber as well, yielding another significant health benefit.

Like the veggies and fruit, most of these items can be packaged ahead of time, allowing your child to make a choice—within the healthy limits of what you offer—by themselves; this gives kids the control they crave and your food battles disappear.

This week about ten of my friends and I had a Healthy School Lunch Summit. Between all of us, we have around 20 kids ranging from age 3-10, so the moms brought their dishes, we gave the kids a sheet to mark their likes and dislikes, and let them at it. I noted that (in addition to the fact that none of the moms brought sandwiches) the most popular protein-based items were permutations on classics like “pizza” made out of whole wheat crackers topped with provolone cheese and dipped in marinara. They also liked a basic chicken noodle soup made with alphabet pasta and served with whole wheat rolls and apples smeared with sunflower seed butter and sprinkled with cereal. And the kids were surprised and excited to see cinnamon rolls on the lunch—not snack!–menu, made with my new protein-fortified Secret Weapon Bread Dough recipe.

Whatever they’re eating, kids just don’t need that much food. But they need high-quality choices to make that food do the best work for their growing bodies. Providing them with healthy choices that appeal to their kid brains instills in them the concepts of variety and appropriate portion sizes early and easily. And in my experience, kid brains really appreciate tactile, familiar, and fun food. Give them what they need and they’ll give you what you desire: mornings free of drama.

Secret Weapon Bread Dough

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This dough is your secret weapon because the protein is hidden within the bread, giving you that insurance policy you need if you’re struggling to get enough protein into your child. I’m fairly confident that when you tell your kid that cinnamon rolls, fresh fruits, and some carrot sticks are in her lunchbox, you won’t hear much complaining.

If you have a bread maker, you can use it to mix the dough or make a loaf of bread with this recipe: use the 1# loaf setting if it’s an option. Or follow the mixing instructions below, and use this dough for whatever you desire: some ideas are listed at the bottom of the instructions.

Servings: 8

Ingredients

• 1 c. white whole wheat flour
• 1 c. unbleached all-purpose flour
• ½ c. soy flour
• ¼ c. wheat bran
• 1 t. kosher salt
• 1 c. skim milk
• 1 T. honey
• 2 t. active dry yeast
• 2 T. olive oil

Directions

In a large bowl, food processor, or stand mixer, combine the flours, wheat bran, and salt until well-mixed. Pour the milk into a small bowl and stir in the honey. Stir in the yeast until dissolved, then add the olive oil and set aside. Follow the directions below for the mixing method of your choice, remembering in all cases that your goal is a smooth ball of dough that won’t stick to your hands but will stick to your fingers if you pinch it.

If mixing by hand: stir the liquids into the dry ingredients with a spoon until combined, adding a bit of water if the dough seems dry or flour if it seems wet, then move to a lightly-floured surface and knead vigorously for 6-8 minutes or until the dough is smooth and elastic.

In a food processor: with the processor running, pour the liquids in in a slow but steady stream and allow to mix until the dough balls around the blade. If dough is dry, add a bit of water. Add flour if the dough is too wet and sticks to the bottom of the bowl. Stop the processor and allow to rest for 5 minutes. Restart processor and allow the ball to rotate approximately 30 times, then remove the dough and finish kneading by hand on a lightly-floured surface until smooth.

In a stand mixer: add liquids to dry ingredients and mix using a dough hook on low for 2 minutes or until the dough comes together in a ball. Add a bit of water if the dough won’t come together or add a bit of flour if it’s too wet. Increase speed to medium and allow to knead for 6-8 minutes or until dough is smooth and elastic.

Allow dough to rise in a covered and oiled bowl until it has doubled in size, then proceed with whatever bread-based recipe idea your heart desires. Some options include: cinnamon rolls, breadsticks, mini-pizzas, dinner rolls, and sandwich bread.

About the Expert Chef

Erin Dow balances three food worlds. As a mother of three young children, she’s fighting the battle every parent faces: how to keep her kids interested in the foods that keep them healthy.

As the chef and owner of her catering company Eatswell Farm, she utilizes original recipes and techniques–focused on enhancing the enjoyment of locally-sourced ingredients–to best interpret the client’s vision. And as Consulting Executive Chef for Falmouth-based Professional Catering Services, a business specializing in production and backstage catering for concerts, she develops and executes menus that accommodate the strict nutritional requirements of the music industry elite.

Erin and her family raise their own chicken for meat and eggs, have dabbled in pastured Narragansett turkeys, and have a very weedy but very large and productive garden.

My friend Jeannie’s kid is 2 years old, and he’s obsessed with hummus and has been since he started eating solids. He dips everything in it, from Goldfish™ to veggies to his finger. He doesn’t really like meat and isn’t really a fan of cheese, so it’s a main source of protein for him. Jeannie goes through tubs and tubs of hummus a month, and while it’s not prohibitively expensive, buying a pre-packaged processed food—granted a natural one—gets old, I’m sure. Last month my kids discovered the Goldfish™/hummus combo when visiting Jeannie’s house, and sure enough, I found myself in the refrigerated section buying up tubs of hummus as well.

Around the same time, the garden started to ripen, and distracted by the beet greens and lettuce we were happily harvesting, we neglected to notice that buried beneath a super healthy and blossoming squash plant lay two of the hugest zucchinis I’d seen in a long time. Tender young zucchinis are one thing: hard, mature, two foot-long zucchinis are something else entirely. They’re the running joke of all home gardeners, as we’ve all forgotten to harvest and been surprised by fruit so large they might attain consciousness.

Now, when I’m blessed (or cursed) with these things, generally I’ll scoop the seeds out and shred one or two up to freeze for future baking; of course, one large zucchini provides enough shreds for two years of breads and muffins. Sometimes we put diapers on them and Mr. Potato Head parts and show them to our visiting friends. Some people are known to seek out unlocked cars in parking lots and leave anonymous gifts; but generally speaking, large starchy zucchinis are not considered a delicacy to say the least.

Well, it was grocery shopping time last week, and we needed hummus, and as I was preparing my list I saw large zucchini number two sitting on my kitchen counter and I had an idea. Since zucchini has such a neutral flavor—and the older vegetable is so dry—I decided to experiment with adding the squash to a batch of homemade hummus. I don’t know what came over me, as I’m not really a fan of zucchini in any form, but I’m happy to report: after a bunch of tweaking, I found a very viable use for monster squash.

I pulled out the Cuisinart and tossed in a can of drained garbanzo beans for protein and that familiar hummus richness. Next, I added two cups of peeled, seeded and cubed flesh from the dreaded giant zucchini. Then I finished it off with the traditional ingredients of sesame tahini, fresh lemon juice, garlic, salt, and pepper. I pureed it until smooth, took a deep breath, and took a bite. It was delicious: tart, rich, garlic-y—just the way it should be. And the best part is that you would never know that the secret ingredient in this dip is the bane of this gardener’s existence.

The bonus? It passed the sniff test with my kids. They saw me put the zucchini in it (gasp!) and still devoured the stuff on tortilla chips. I prefer hummus as a sandwich spread, especially as a roll-up with ham, cheese, and baby spinach. A fun use for hummus is in a quesadilla: mix a bit of cumin into some hummus, spread onto wheat tortillas, sprinkle with chicken and a bit of cheese, fold over, and grill. The hummus is reminiscent of refried beans but much healthier, and the richness tricks you into thinking you’re eating something much more indulgent than it really is.

I can’t wait for Jeannie to try this recipe on her son. He’s really picky, so I know that if it passes his standards it’ll pass anyone’s. Kids really enjoy tactile food, and hummus is a great substitute for the ketchup and ranch and other dips that parents often turn to in their attempts to make food more interesting.

Raw food friends: you’re in luck with this one! You’ll have great success with this recipe using sprouted garbanzos and raw tahini, or, as a vegan friend of mine recommended, try substituting raw cashews for the beans. And whether you make this hummus traditionally or raw, there are so many possible variations on the main recipe that you won’t get bored soon. Some ideas that come to mind are sun-dried tomato, roasted pepper, feta and olive, and spinach.

Zucchini Hummus

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Small zucchinis are very moist, so if you’re using them, omit the water from the recipe until you see what the texture looks like as you process the ingredients: you want it to resemble a loose peanut butter. If you’re using large dry zucchinis, start out with ½ c water, then add water toward the end of processing if you need to thin the hummus out.

Hummus can be made from dried garbanzo beans that are soaked overnight and then cooked until tender and then cooled before proceeding. Canned garbanzos make a very suitable and convenient substitute.

Servings: 12

Ingredients

• 1 ½ cups garbanzo beans (15 ounce can), drained and rinsed
• 2 cups chopped peeled zucchini
• ½ cup sesame tahini
• ½ to 1 cup water
• ¼ cup fresh lemon juice
• 2t. chopped garlic
• ½t. pepper
• ½t. Kosher salt

Directions

In a food processor, combine the beans, zucchini, tahini, water, and lemon juice and puree until smooth, about 1 minute. If necessary, add more water until desired consistency is reached. Add garlic, salt, and pepper and combine. For best taste, allow to rest for at least 1 hour to allow flavors to meld.

Hummus will store covered for up to 5 days in the refrigerator.

About the Expert Chef

Erin Dow balances three food worlds. As a mother of three young children, she’s fighting the battle every parent faces: how to keep her kids interested in the foods that keep them healthy.

As the chef and owner of her catering company Eatswell Farm, she utilizes original recipes and techniques–focused on enhancing the enjoyment of locally-sourced ingredients–to best interpret the client’s vision. And as Consulting Executive Chef for Falmouth-based Professional Catering Services, a business specializing in production and backstage catering for concerts, she develops and executes menus that accommodate the strict nutritional requirements of the music industry elite.

Erin and her family raise their own chicken for meat and eggs, have dabbled in pastured Narragansett turkeys, and have a very weedy but very large and productive garden.

I left my home in northern Maine about a week after high school graduation and wound up in Portland, ME. My first job was at a country club as a waitress, and it was a seminal culinary experience for me. Having grown up in potato country, we enjoyed a healthy and varied but quite plain diet; so, when I arrived fresh-faced and innocent at the country club, with its sushi extravaganzas and raw bars and Asian nights, I was understandably blown away.

I had always had an interest in cooking and in food in general, and it felt like I had landed in Panacea. Many of the chefs were very kind and excited to teach an interested girl about food, and we had many conversations about pairing ingredients and techniques when I was picking up food or delivering orders. It was a great time. One of the chefs even ordered me my first chef knife, which I still own today.

Out of all of the exciting food discoveries I made at my first real food job, the one I remember best was my first exposure to the pairing of protein and fruit. That concept was just so foreign to me as a 17 year-old; after all, where I came from, fruit was for breakfast, and a lot of time it was called “cocktail” and was mixed with whipped topping. But the chefs at the country club were serving it with meat and fish and duck, and it was all so delicious and interesting.

The dish that stands out most in my mind from the country club was the Grilled Swordfish with Fire and Ice Salsa, and that’s where the inspiration for my new recipe comes from. I’m choosing instead to use tuna, since in about two weeks the tuna will be running here in Maine, and I enjoy this dish best with the texture of medium-rare to medium tuna rather than a fully-cooked swordfish.

The smooth texture of the tuna is so delicious when paired with a tart, sweet, and crunchy salsa made from pineapple and watermelon. The best part of this dish is that the Fire and Ice Salsa starts out cool and juicy in your mouth, owing to the fruit and lime, and then suddenly becomes warm from the jalapeno and cilantro. It’s a lot of fun.

This recipe will work well with any firm-textured and neutral-tasting steak fish such as swordfish or halibut. In terms of doneness, the old technique of cooking fish until it flakes really produces a product that’s overdone; since fish continues to cook after it’s removed from the heat, by the time the carry-over cooking is finished, your fish will be toast.

Rather, use a paring knife to make a small split into the flesh and take a peek inside. Fish is translucent when raw and opaque when fully cooked, so the moment the flesh loses that translucency, remove it from the heat. Start checking the fish after about 7 minutes of cooking per inch of thickness (yes, I know your mom said 10!).

Many people enjoy fish such as salmon and tuna medium rare, so just keep an eye on the doneness by peeking inside. Unlike a piece of meat, you don’t really run the risk of the food drying out from moisture loss with this technique. You can just cover up your “doneness window” with your garnish when serving…or flip it over and serve it on the bottom. Lastly, go the extra mile by keeping your fish on a heated plate if it’s going to be more than 5 minutes before you serve it: it just won’t hold the heat long enough to stay warm.

In terms of buying fish, fresh fish doesn’t really smell like fish at all: it smells, well, ocean-y. So ask your fish guy (or girl) to let you smell it. Yes, even at the grocery store. If he or she has a problem with it, go somewhere else. With tuna, things have become a bit trickier in the past few years. A new process by which tuna steaks are treated with carbon monoxide before freezing ensures that they retain the pink color that previously was neutralized by the cold temperature.

It’s a cosmetic procedure, but it’s one that makes the uninformed hard pressed to tell the difference between a super-fresh pink tuna steak and a previously-frozen and possibly old pink steak. So again, let your nose and your eyes guide you. CO-treated tuna is perfectly fine as long as it passes the sniff test; just don’t let the color fool you into thinking it’s the freshest cut in the case. And remember fresh tuna varies in color from a pinkish tan to deep magenta to dark red. CO-treated tuna is a shocking lipstick pink.

Grilled Tuna with Fire and Ice Salsa

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If you’re having trouble finding good quality fish in your area, I know several people who have used Catalina Offshore Products to mail order source their sushi-grade fish. They offer $20 overnight shipping anywhere in the U.S. and their prices are beyond reasonable.

Servings: 4

Ingredients

• 1c. watermelon, diced
• 1c. pineapple, diced
• 2T fresh lime juice
• 1T. minced cilantro
• 1t. jalapeno, finely minced
• 4 tuna steaks, 1” thick and approximately 8 ounces each
• Pinch salt and pepper

Directions

1. Combine the watermelon, pineapple, lime juice, and cilantro in a small bowl and toss gently to combine.
2. Pat excess moisture from the tuna steaks with a paper towel, and rub a few drops of olive or vegetable oil on each side. Season both sides with a pinch of salt and pepper. On a grill over high heat, place the tuna steaks and allow them to remain for 2-3 minutes without moving. Rotate the steaks 180˚ to create crosshatch grill marks and let cook for another minute. Flip the tuna steaks and allow to cook for 2 minutes, then repeat the rotation and allow to cook for another 2-3 minutes for medium-rare. If you desire a more well-done steak, reduce the heat to medium low, lower the grill lid, and allow to cook for another 3-4 minutes or until the tuna is opaque throughout.
3. Allow the tuna to rest for 2-3 minutes before serving. Top with the salsa and serve with a wedge of lime.

About the Expert Chef

Guiding Stars Expert Chef Erin Dow balances three food worlds. As a mother of three young children, she’s fighting the battle every parent faces: how to keep her kids interested in the foods that keep them healthy.

As the chef and owner of her catering company Eatswell Farm, she utilizes original recipes and techniques–focused on enhancing the enjoyment of locally-sourced ingredients–to best interpret the client’s vision. And as Consulting Executive Chef for Falmouth-based Professional Catering Services, a business specializing in production and backstage catering for concerts, she develops and executes menus that accommodate the strict nutritional requirements of the music industry elite.

Erin and her family raise their own chicken for meat and eggs, have dabbled in pastured Narragansett turkeys, and have a very weedy but very large and productive garden.

I couldn’t live without yogurt. It’s my go-to breakfast and snack, convenient protein source, and low-fat lunch. I add it to a cake batter to moisten it, add it to muffin batter to bump the protein and extend the shelf life, and I’ve drained it and used it in savory dips and spreads.

I often mix 3 tablespoons per cup with milk to substitute for buttermilk in pancakes, waffles, and biscuits. I love full-fat yogurt, but I generally reserved that for an occasional treat, sticking instead with a part-skim version for general use.

A couple of weeks ago I picked up a couple of containers of Greek yogurt to try. I’d heard enough about it but I had never really had any use for it, since what I had been doing had been working just fine. But with one mouthful, I was utterly hooked, and I don’t know why someone didn’t tell me about it sooner.

For those unfamiliar with it, Greek yogurt is regular cow’s milk yogurt that has been drained of excess moisture, leaving a thicker, creamier, and more flavorful product. Even the non-fat version is unbelievably rich and satisfying, to the point that I may never buy whole-fat yogurt again; there’s just no point.

I wouldn’t hesitate to substitute Greek yogurt for sour cream for a minute; it has a bright and tangy flavor, and it makes a great base for those hot and cold dips we all love but don’t love us back. And because it’s so thick, it doesn’t make your smoothies runny either. Below is a recipe for my Herbed Blue Cheese Dressing and Dip, with non-fat plain Greek yogurt standing in for both the traditional mayonnaise and sour cream.

So the next time you need a rich, flavorful, and satisfying:

• breakfast
• snack
• lunch
• salad dressing base
• buttermilk, sour cream, cream cheese, or kefir substitute
• baked goods component
• smoothie ingredient

…reach for Greek yogurt. It should be a cold pantry staple.

Herbed Blue Cheese Dressing and Dip

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The first three ingredients are the base. Try adding other ingredients to it to create your own dressing or dip. Some ideas could be tapenade and garlic, pesto and pine nuts, and cilantro and chipotle peppers. The sky is the limit.

Servings: 10 (3T servings)

Ingredients

• 2 cups non-fat Greek yogurt
• 1/3c. water
• 1t. fresh lemon juice
• 3T. crumbled blue cheese
• ¼ t. finely minced garlic
• 1t. cracked black pepper
• 3T. finely chopped fresh chives
• 2T. finely chopped parsley
• 1t. fresh thyme
• Pinch salt to taste

Directions

Stir the ingredients together, cover, and refrigerate for at least an hour to allow the flavors to meld. If desired, season with additional salt, pepper, and lemon juice before serving.

• NEXT STEPS: More Expert Chef Recipes

About the Expert Chef

Guiding Stars Expert Chef Erin Dow balances three food worlds. As a mother of three young children, she’s fighting the battle every parent faces: how to keep her kids interested in the foods that keep them healthy.

As the chef and owner of her catering company Eatswell Farm, she utilizes original recipes and techniques–focused on enhancing the enjoyment of locally-sourced ingredients–to best interpret the client’s vision. And as Consulting Executive Chef for Falmouth-based Professional Catering Services, a business specializing in production and backstage catering for concerts, she develops and executes menus that accommodate the strict nutritional requirements of the music industry elite.

Erin and her family raise their own chicken for meat and eggs, have dabbled in pastured Narragansett turkeys, and have a very weedy but very large and productive garden.

Each year my friends Nancy and Andy raise a couple of pigs on their farm: one for their family and one for ours. Nancy’s 8 year-old daughter is a master pig scrambler, selecting the first piglet at the Monmouth Agricultural Fair and then we buy another one to round out the pair. They’re fed on culled fruits and vegetables from our gardens and the produce section of our local supermarket and natural grains provide them with the protein they need. It only takes three or four months for them to balloon from puppy-sized piglets to the 125 pound finished product. By the time the snow flies, the freezer is packed with the most wholesome pork we can source. It feels great to know that our food is raised humanely, naturally, and locally, and the finished product is super lean and tasty.

But using up that much meat—in addition to the chickens we raise and the local beef we buy—can be a challenge, and it inspires me to seek out new ways to keep it interesting. Eight or ten years ago I adapted a recipe from a cooking magazine for a Moroccan Pork Loin for my catering business; it’s an exciting way to spice up the tender but bland tenderloin and sirloin cuts of pork. After marinating in an easy olive oil and spice paste, the meat is cooked on a bed of sliced onions. And while the meat benefits from a soak in the spices, you can very well skip that step and do the recipe start to finish with good results and have a tasty and healthy meal on the table in about an hour.

Guiding Stars Web Community Specialist Jaica Kinsman provided the perfect foil for the Moroccan pork loin, a light, bright, and veggie-intense Athenian Couscous Salad, very similar to the Wheat Berry Salad we featured recently on this website but even easier to put together. The combination of the smoky cinnamon-cumin spice mix on the pork, the sweet onions that form the cooking base for the meat, and the colorful, tart, and texturally-exciting salad form a healthy and impressive dish that I wouldn’t hesitate for a moment to serve to any of my clients, let alone my family and friends.

Moroccan Pork Loin

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What do you think of the pilot? Should Guiding Stars create more episodes? Would you like to see an Expert Chef series?

This spice paste is very intensely flavored, and it will seem like there’s not enough for the meat you have. But rest assured that with a little time to absorb it, the pork will take on the complex and rich flavor reminiscent of the Middle East. Try this rub on chicken as well.

Servings: 4

Ingredients

• 1 2-3lb natural pork tenderloin or sirloin roast, trimmed of fat and connective tissue
• 1T olive oil
• 1 ½ t. ground cumin
• ½ t. cinnamon
• 1t. chopped garlic
• ½ t. salt
• ¼ t. pepper
• 2 large white onions, halved and sliced
• Extra olive oil, for drizzling

Directions

1. In a small bowl, combine the olive oil, cumin, cinnamon, chopped garlic, salt, and pepper and stir until combined. Spread the mixture onto the pork tenderloin, coating all sides, and place pork in the refrigerator for 2-3 hours to marinate.
2. Preheat oven to 375 degrees. Place the sliced onions in a small shallow roasting pan, season lightly with salt and pepper, and drizzle with 2 tsp. olive oil. Toss to coat evenly. Place the pork tenderloin on top of the bed of onions and garlic and roast for 35-45 minutes or until a meat thermometer inserted into the center of the meat registers 155 degrees. Remove the pan from the oven, remove the meat to a heated plate, and cover loosely with foil to allow the meat to rest for 10 minutes before slicing.
3. Slice thinly and serve with the onions and pan juices.

Athenian Couscous Salad

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Substitute away! This recipe would work well with pasta or rice as the base. Add some grilled chicken to make a luncheon entrée. Add as many veggies as you would like. It’s a perfect neutral starting point for an endless variety of dishes.

Servings: 8

Ingredients

Ingredients for Salad

• 1 ¾ c (14 ½ ounce can) low sodium vegetable broth
• 1 c couscous
• 2 large ripe tomatoes, coarsely diced
• 1 c baby spinach
• 2 thin green onions, finely minced
• ½ cucumber peeled, coarsely diced
• ½ c finely minced parsley
• 3 ounces low-fat feta cheese, finely crumbled

Ingredients for Dressing

• 4T lemon juice
• 2T olive oil
• 2T fresh oregano, finely minced
• ¼ t. salt
• 10 grinds fresh black pepper
• Pinch cayenne pepper

Directions

1. Put the broth and couscous into a medium saucepan and bring to a boil. Remove from the heat and set aside 5 minutes, until the broth is absorbed. Transfer the couscous to a bowl and cool. When cool, break apart the lumps with your fingers.
2. Add the tomato, spinach, green onions, cucumber, parsley, and feta to the couscous.
3. Put the lemon juice, olive oil, oregano, salt, pepper, and cayenne into a small jar. Cover and shake well to blend. Pour over the salad, mixing well.
4. Refrigerate; bring the salad to room temperature before serving.

About the Expert Chef

Guiding Stars Expert Chef Erin Dow balances three food worlds. As a mother of three young children, she’s fighting the battle every parent faces: how to keep her kids interested in the foods that keep them healthy. As the chef and owner of her catering company Eatswell Farm, she utilizes original recipes and techniques–focused on enhancing the enjoyment of locally-sourced ingredients–to best interpret the client’s vision. And as Consulting Executive Chef for Falmouth-based Professional Catering Services, a business specializing in production and backstage catering for concerts, she develops and executes menus that accommodate the strict nutritional requirements of the music industry elite. Erin and her family raise their own chicken for meat and eggs, have dabbled in pastured Narragansett turkeys, and have a very weedy but very large and productive garden.

1. Dried fruit: often considered a healthy snack, most dried fruit is proportionally high in sugar for its nutritional content. Look for 2-3 Guiding Stars on items like dried cherries and dried mixed fruit.
2. Cereal: Many times your favorite cereal comes in one version that is healthier than another. Examples are cereals with dried fruit like strawberries or nuts added to the original recipe.
3. Chips: Check the Guiding Stars rating on chips. You’ll be surprised to find that some chips receive two stars, and they’re not the baked ones either!
4. Convenience Foods: Just because you’re eating healthy doesn’t mean a microwave meal, pre-made entrée, or deli side is out of your reach. Just look for the green Guiding Stars label. They’re everywhere!
5. Meat: You may notice very few Guiding Stars labels in the meat section. Check the scale label on the package. You’ll find the stars there.
6. Pasta: Don’t assume whole wheat pasta is your only superior option. Consider enriched pastas as well, which contain ingredients like egg whites and omega-3s for improved nutrient density.
7. Bread: If your kids don’t like dark breads, look for White Whole Wheat, which has a lighter flavor but the same nutritional benefits of traditional whole wheat. Try it as a substitute for hot dog buns as well, since regular buns—in addition to containing bleached flour–generally contain high fructose corn syrup.
8. Vegetables: Frozen vegetables often boast a higher nutritional content than their fresh counterparts because they’re picked at the height of freshness and flash frozen within hours. But fresh veggies have the benefit of doubling as snacks and side dishes. So choose a combination to have the most options.
9. Juice: In general, your best bet to finding the most nutritious juices for you and your family is to look first in the refrigerated juices in the produce section. There, you’ll not only find flash pasteurized and organic options, but you’ll also find smoothies and protein-enhanced options, higher in fiber and overall nutrition. If the higher price turns you off, remember that many of the smoothie-type juices can be diluted with water, stretching your dollar.
10. Snacks and Treats: Guiding Stars rates all of the treats in the grocery store, and many of your favorites may actually get a star or two. But even if they don’t, focusing just a little extra time on your overall shopping strategy leaves room in the cart for a treat or two. You’ve earned it!

Guiding Stars Expert Chef (right) provides tips to get the healthiest experience in the grocery store

Guiding Stars Expert Chef Erin Dow balances three food worlds. As a mother of three young children, she’s fighting the battle every parent faces: how to keep her kids interested in the foods that keep them healthy. As the chef and owner of her catering company Eatswell Farm, she utilizes original recipes and techniques–focused on enhancing the enjoyment of locally-sourced ingredients–to best interpret the client’s vision. And as Consulting Executive Chef for Falmouth-based Professional Catering Services, a business specializing in production and backstage catering for concerts, she develops and executes menus that accommodate the strict nutritional requirements of the music industry elite. Erin and her family raise their own chicken for meat and eggs, have dabbled in pastured Narragansett turkeys, and have a very weedy but very large and productive garden.

Two words often strike fear in the minds of moms: Snacks and Breakfast. Well, there’s Dessert too, because they’re always asking, and we’re always balancing the desire to please with the need to monitor sugar intake, both in terms of nutrition and also our wish to keep the Hyperactivity Gremlins in check. My friend Marilee recently posted her frustrations on Facebook, pleading for ideas for school snacks, and I’m not going to lie, the suggestions were not exactly stellar.

With my big garden and three kids, I’ve always relied on quick breads and cakes—baking powder and/or baking soda-leavened loaves—to use up excess produce from a bumper crop. I’ve done carrot, summer squash and zucchini, winter squash like butternut, and I even have a recipe for beet cake. The nice thing about quick breads is they’re versatile, tasty, they freeze well, and best of all, they’re multi-taskers, operating as breakfast, snacks, and even desserts. They fit the bill perfectly. Unfortunately, most traditional recipes are utterly loaded with sugar and oil.

So with the following recipe I set out to alter one of my favorites, Pumpkin Bread. By reducing the oil and adding unsweetened applesauce, we’re lowering fat and increasing nutrition. Added soy flour bumps the protein up, and flax meal and wheat bran increase the fiber content and micronutrients. Best of all, using white whole wheat flour provides all of the benefits of traditional whole wheat flour with a lighter texture and flavor, so your kids won’t know the difference.

This batter is thick, and while experimenting with it, I went ahead and scooped some into greased muffin tins. They rose beautifully into perfect round-topped muffins. Then I used an ice cream scoop and scooped some onto an ungreased cookie sheet. Guess what? The recipe yielded perfect round-topped cookies (or whoopie pies?!) as well. Needless to say, I’m really pleased with this recipe, and I think you will be too.

Tips:

• Store your flax meal and wheat bran or wheat germ in the refrigerator. Due to their fat content, they can go rancid at room temperature.
• Soy flour is generally sold in the health food section. It’s inexpensive, lasts forever on the pantry shelf in a sealed container, and it’s a must to have around as it’s a great way to increase the protein content of your favorite baked goods. I find that I can comfortably substitute up to ½ c. soy flour per 2 cups flour in a recipe (equaling ½ c soy flour and 1 ½ c regular flour) without too much problem. Experiment to see what works for you.
• Once your bread has cooled, pre-slice it, wrap it, and store it in the freezer. In the morning, you can stick a frozen piece right into the toaster to reheat. My kids like it with peanut butter.
• Add a handful of bittersweet chocolate chips to the batter and make cookies. Bittersweet chocolate is relatively low-fat, dairy-free, and very flavorful, so a little goes a long way. The cookies store well in the freezer as well.
• Feel free to substitute banana, winter squash, or sweet potato puree for the pumpkin. Two 15 oz. cans equal approximately 3 cups of puree. If you use banana, skip the spices and add 2t. vanilla extract.

Pumped-Up Pumpkin Bread

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Servings: Approximately 36 servings (Makes (3) 8x4” loaves)

Ingredients

• 1 ½ c sugar
• 3 whole eggs plus 1 egg white
• ¾ c unsweetened applesauce
• ¼ c. vegetable oil
• (2) 15 oz. cans pumpkin puree
• ½ t. salt
• 4c. white whole wheat flour
• ½ c. soy flour
• ¼ c. flax meal
• ½ c. wheat bran
• 4t. baking soda
• 2t. cinnamon
• ½ t. nutmeg
• ½ t. cloves
• ½ t. ginger

Directions

Preheat oven to 350 degrees. In a large bowl combine the wheat flour, soy flour, flax meal, wheat bran, baking soda, and spices. Mix until combined. In another bowl, beat together the sugar and eggs until the sugar is dissolved, about 2 minutes with a hand mixer, then add in the pumpkin puree, apple sauce, oil, and salt. Add the wet ingredients to the dry ingredients and stir until batter comes together: it will be thick. Divide among three greased 8x4” bread pans, smooth the tops, and bake at 350 degrees for approximately 50-60 minutes, or until a toothpick inserted in the center comes out clean.

Bread can be wrapped and frozen for up to 6 months. Thaw in the refrigerator for 24 hours, or better yet, slice before freezing, then thaw and reheat at the same time in the toaster.

Cookies made with this batter require between 10 and 20 minutes of baking, depending on size. Muffins take 20 minutes. A toothpick inserted into the middle should come out completely clean in both cases. Don’t be afraid to check the progress of the baking: this is a very sturdy batter.

Guiding Stars Expert Chef Erin Dow balances three food worlds. As a mother of three young children, she’s fighting the battle every parent faces: how to keep her kids interested in the foods that keep them healthy. As the chef and owner of her catering company Eatswell Farm, she utilizes original recipes and techniques–focused on enhancing the enjoyment of locally-sourced ingredients–to best interpret the client’s vision. And as Consulting Executive Chef for Falmouth-based Professional Catering Services, a business specializing in production and backstage catering for concerts, she develops and executes menus that accommodate the strict nutritional requirements of the music industry elite. Erin and her family raise their own chicken for meat and eggs, have dabbled in pastured Narragansett turkeys, and have a very weedy but very large and productive garden.

Looking for great taste that’s high in nutrition? Guiding Stars Expert Chef helps you bring Guiding Stars into your kitchen.

Guiding Stars Expert Chef Erin Dow

I recently sat down with Erin to find out a little more about her approach. Here is Part One of my interview with our Guiding Stars Expert Chef.

Jaica Kinsman: How did you get into cooking?

Erin Dow: I was a server at a restaurant in Portland, ME during college. The restaurant started picking up backstage catering jobs for rock concerts at several local venues and I was brought along to help. Because of the intense working environment and demanding clientele, it was trial by fire, and I learned quickly. I did that job for about 6 years before I started my own catering company on the side, focusing more on the high-end cocktail parties, weddings, etc. I currently do both.

JK: What is your earliest memory of cooking?

E: I remember improvising what turned out to be buttercream frosting when I was about 10 years old. At the time, I was into baking, and we didn’t have a can of store-bought frosting—an emergency, as far as I was concerned. So I made frosting out of butter, powdered sugar, and vanilla, and I just thought I was the most innovative person in the world.

JK: What made you want to become a chef?

E: It was just a job at first, but it didn’t take long for it to become a passion. Shortly after I started cooking professionally I realized I was spending an awful lot of time and energy cooking at home, too. In fact, when I had my first child and was staying at home with him, I cooked a full meal every night and experimented with tons of new recipes and techniques; it was my hobby. Eventually, I was able to apply those new skills to running my own business. The personal passion fuels the professional passion.

JK: Describe your best cooking moment as a chef.

E: Hands down, it was my recent opportunity to cook dinner for Anthony Bourdain. I chose the dishes, prepared them in front of him, and he chose to eat them with me in the kitchen instead of in his private room. That choice made me feel like I had made the big time-that my chef idol was hanging out with my chef self.

JK: You’re a mother, how do you get your own kids excited about eating healthy foods?

E: As cliché as it is, getting kids involved with shopping choices and meal preparation really does increase their interest in healthy foods. My kids know that if the cereal doesn’t have at least two Guiding Stars, they may as well not even ask. They also know that if they make better choices overall, the chance of a special treat coming home is much improved. They feel empowered because the choice lies in their court. My kids are obsessed with my iPod, and I use that to my full advantage when I’m shopping as well: they run the Shopper app and I drive the cart.

Similarly, my 9-year-old has taken an interest in cooking, and even though he hates onions, for example, when it’s “his” spaghetti sauce and they go in, somehow they don’t bother him. He’s learning that some things are important for an overall taste profile even if they’re singularly disliked. So now I’m working with him on learning that you can’t taste the shredded squash or other healthy things I’ve been sneaking into their food for years.

JK: What do you find most challenging about cooking nutritious meals?

E: Very few people have the goal of simply “not being hungry” at the end of a meal; rather, people want to feel like they’ve eaten something enjoyable. Experimentation is really the only way we can find ingredient combinations that achieve that goal for us, and what I’m trying to do as Guiding Stars Expert Chef is take the guesswork out of the process. I personally am not satisfied by the “nuts and sticks” version of healthy eating and I try to develop recipes that assure good and balanced nutrition with a heavy dose of satisfaction.

JK: How did you hear about Guiding Stars?

E: I’ve used the Guiding Stars program to shop for my family since its inception at the Hannaford Supermarket chain in 2006.

Get started with the Expert Chef:

• Whole Food: The New Convenience Food
• Taste experience that doesn’t result in a new pant size experience
• Cooking for Anthony Bourdain

Jaica Kinsman is a Web Community Specialist at Guiding Stars Licensing Company. She is responsible for Internet marketing, community engagement and whatever else is cool and happening on the Interwebs. She designed the website and serves as editor for the Guiding Stars Blog. Jaica is also one of the founders of Social Media FTW.

I am a sucker for dips. Nothing satisfies me more than something creamy and piquant spread on something texturally satisfying. A truly fundamental exercise in Cooking 101, dips and spreads teach us the value of combining simply prepared and minimally processed ingredients into exciting new taste experiences. Unfortunately, I’ve also learned over the years that when the go-to dip starts with cream cheese or sour cream, the new taste experience can result in a new pant size experience as well.

Hummus is a delicious and nutritious dip, but its ubiquity has made it a tad boring for me lately. So looking to my pantry and finding a few cans of black beans kicking around, I naturally started toying with a recipe for a Mexican-style dip: something creamy, crunchy, tangy, and most of all, healthy. The end result is a dip that is very guacamole-like. I guarantee if you like a good lime-y guac, you’ll love this. My goal with this recipe was to create something that I would feel proud to eat for a meal, and frankly, used as a quesadilla filling or as a stuffing for peppers in a raw vegan dish, I think it works. The more I toyed around with this spread, the more ideas I had for its use.

The key to this recipe is the balance of the flavor components within it. Carrots and bell pepper add vitamins and a sweetness that offsets the slightly bitter taste of the black beans. Avocado adds a creamy mouth-feel. The lime juice compensates for the lower sodium content, tricking your brain into thinking the dip is saltier than it is. The green onion, tomatoes, and cilantro brighten the dull (but creamy and super-nutritious) nature of the black beans. The secret ingredient in this recipe, believe it or not, is one measly teaspoon of honey, which brings everything together perfectly. You may try to convince yourself you don’t need to bother with it, but try it before and after, and you’ll be a believer, too!

Garlic-Lime Black Bean and Avocado Spread

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Great enjoyed as a dip with veggie strips and baked chips. Add as many extra veggies as you wish: good candidates include jalapenos, blanched and cooled corn, and whole cooked black beans. Try mixing a few spoonfuls of this spread with diced grilled or poached chicken on a bed of lettuce or in a wrap with some brown rice and sliced tomato.

Servings: 12 - 1/4 cup servings (approx. 3 cups)

Ingredients

• 1 (19-oz) can black beans, rinsed and drained
• ½ cup finely grated carrot
• 1 ripe avocado, peeled and diced
• 1 t. minced garlic
• 1/3 c fresh-squeezed lime juice, approx. 3 limes
• 1 c diced fresh Roma tomatoes, seeds removed
• ½ c orange or yellow bell pepper, diced
• ¼ c finely chopped green onions
• 2T finely chopped fresh cilantro
• 1t. honey
• ¼ t. sea salt
• Black pepper and Tabasco, to taste

Directions

Place beans, carrots, avocado, garlic, and lime juice in a food processor and pulse until smooth. Combine the pureed mixture and remaining ingredients in a medium bowl stirring until well blended. Let stand at least 30 minutes before serving.

Guiding Stars Expert Chef Erin Dow balances three food worlds. As a mother of three young children, she’s fighting the battle every parent faces: how to keep her kids interested in the foods that keep them healthy. As the chef and owner of her catering company Eatswell Farm, she utilizes original recipes and techniques–focused on enhancing the enjoyment of locally-sourced ingredients–to best interpret the client’s vision. And as Consulting Executive Chef for Falmouth-based Professional Catering Services, a business specializing in production and backstage catering for concerts, she develops and executes menus that accommodate the strict nutritional requirements of the music industry elite. Erin and her family raise their own chicken for meat and eggs, have dabbled in pastured Narragansett turkeys, and have a very weedy but very large and productive garden.

I’m fairly certain we can all agree that focusing our menus on the most pure, unrefined, and natural foods possible makes good sense. We all agree—at least in theory–that fresh fruits and vegetables, lean fish and meats, legumes, and grains provide our bodies with the easiest access to the nutrients we need and allow us to avoid the preservatives, trans-fats, and other undesirable elements of convenience foods. Eaten in reasonable portions, these foods help us to naturally maintain a healthy weight because they’re inherently balanced in terms of fat, fiber, sugars, and salt, and they’re filling to boot.

But in a world full of people living busy lives and balancing grocery budgets, this preferable model is very often perceived as near impossible to embrace because: 1) processed foods are often cheaper than their healthy counterparts; 2) our unfamiliarity with exciting whole food options breeds boredom with the status quo and a suspicion of new possibilities; and 3) there exists an assumption that non-convenience foods are neither convenient to make nor delicious to eat.

Photo by Erin Dow - Click to enlarge

There exists a whole world of exciting, budget-friendly, and easy possibilities that I hope to highlight in my next few articles, and the recipe below highlights just how dynamic whole foods can be. Eschewed in favor of pasta or white rice, whole grains are very often overlooked as a convenient and neutral base for all sorts of interesting taste experiences. Quinoa, amaranth, millet, wheat berries, and barley are some of my favorites because they are texturally exciting, they’re low-cost, and they’re highly nutritious. When cooked, they can be combined when warm or cold with just about anything you like to create a main meal, a salad, or a side dish.

My wheat berry salad–adapted from Heidi Swanson’s recipe to accommodate the very specific dietary requirements of a catering client—balances the chewy texture of soft wheat berries with a bit of piquant feta cheese, healthy almonds, a very light citrus vinaigrette, and a ton of veggies.

If desired, this recipe can be served hot as a side dish. You can swap out the spinach, orange, and tomatoes for black beans, lime, and peppers for a Mexican flair. The recipe is infinitely adaptable, as are all whole food recipes; because, when the starting point is the purest and most natural permutation of food, your imagination is your only limitation.

Wheat Berry Salad with Spinach, Orange and Almond

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Servings: 10 (½ c. per servings)

Ingredients

• 2 ½ c wheat berries
• 1t. Kosher salt
• ½ c. fresh orange juice
• 2T grated orange zest
• 1 ½ T fresh lemon juice
• 1T finely minced shallot
• 2T olive oil
• ½ c. slivered toasted almonds (or pine nuts)
• ¼ t. black pepper
• ¼ c. low fat feta cheese
• 3 cups organic baby spinach
• 1 ½ cups grape tomatoes, halved

Directions

In a large pan, combine the wheat berries, salt, and 8 cups of water. Bring to the boil, reduce the heat to medium, and briskly simmer for about 1 hour, or until the wheat berries are chewy but not starchy in the middle. (The only way to know they’re done is to bite one.) When done, drain berries and rinse with cold water. For the dressing, combine the orange juice and zest, lemon juice, shallot, olive oil, and pepper in a small bowl, and set aside. In a large bowl, combine the cooled wheat berries, almonds, feta, spinach, tomatoes, and the vinaigrette and toss gently to combine.

Guiding Stars Expert Chef Erin Dow balances three food worlds. As a mother of three young children, she’s fighting the battle every parent faces: how to keep her kids interested in the foods that keep them healthy. As the chef and owner of her catering company Eatswell Farm, she utilizes original recipes and techniques–focused on enhancing the enjoyment of locally-sourced ingredients–to best interpret the client’s vision. And as Consulting Executive Chef for Falmouth-based Professional Catering Services, a business specializing in production and backstage catering for concerts, she develops and executes menus that accommodate the strict nutritional requirements of the music industry elite. Erin and her family raise their own chicken for meat and eggs, have dabbled in pastured Narragansett turkeys, and have a very weedy but very large and productive garden.