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Eat Up

Container gourmet Grow a mini chef’s garden with your kids. By Gabrielle SunheartPublished: July, 2010

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If you have trouble getting your children to eat vegetables, here is a fun solution: Grow vegetables in a mini chef's garden! Once the veggies are ready to pick, have your kids help you prepare them.         Don't have the time or space for a traditional garden? No worries! A container garden is easy and requires no weeding. In addition, you won’t have to dig up part of your yard.   What you’ll need: > Three big planters > Several small culinary herbs – look for small, healthy, hardy plants > Four packets of heirloom vegetable seeds Planter one: herbs 1. Fill pot 2/3 to top with good soil. 2. Transplant herbs into the planter. 3. Gently water until soil is moist. Planter two: salad bowl 1. Fill planter to top with lightly packed soil. 2. Plant a few tomato seeds in the center of the pot. 3. Plant lettuce seeds in a circle around the outer edge of the planter.   Planter three: veggie bowl 1. Fill planter with soil to the top. 2. Plant two or three cucumber seeds in the middle of the planter. 3. Plant the carrot seeds around the cucumber seeds.   Once you’re done, you’ll have herbs, vine-ripened tomatoes and fresh vegetables. What better way to get your children interested in healthy eating? Gabrielle Sunheart is a Laguna Beach resident and the author of the book "Feed a Family on $25 a Week!” gabysunheart.com. • JAMIE GWEN'S RECIPE OF THE MONTH Brown sugar-broiled strawberries This season’s strawberries are super sweet, and a brown sugar crust adds a decadent topping. Spoon over vanilla bean ice cream, with a few fresh blueberries sprinkled over the top, and you’ll have the perfect red, white and blue dessert! Ingredients > 2 pints fresh strawberries – cleaned, hulled and cut into halves > 1/2 tsp. pure vanilla extract or almond extract > 1/2 cup light-brown sugar, packed > 1 pint vanilla bean ice cream – or the ice cream of your choice > 1 pint fresh blueberries Directions: Preheat the broiler to high, placing the rack 3 inches from the heat source.     In a mixing bowl, combine the strawberries and vanilla or almond extract and half of the brown sugar. Let strawberries sit for 15 minutes.     Pour the strawberry mixture into a 9-inch or 10-inch non-stick and oven-safe sauté pan. Sprinkle the remaining brown sugar on top. Broil the strawberries for about 3 to 5 minutes, or until bubbly and golden brown.     Spoon the broiled strawberries over ice cream, top with a few blueberries and celebrate! Serves 4 Chef Jamie’s tip for mom’s and dads: Sprinkle a 1/4 tsp. of cracked black pepper over the strawberries and ice cream for a flavor explosion! Jamie Gwen is a celebrity chef, certified sommelier and cookbook author. For delicious recipes and cooking tips, visit chefjamie.com. • ASK THE NUTRITIONIST Q: Besides drinking water, what are other ways to help my kids stay hydrated in hot weather? A: Fruits and vegetables can help you stay hydrated; they naturally hold water, so you benefit by getting fluids, vitamins, minerals and fiber.     Keep these water-rich items in your fridge: melons, pineapples, peaches, strawberries, cucumbers, carrots, celery and cherry tomatoes.     Fruit bars, frozen bananas and grapes, frozen yogurt tubes and low-fat fudge bars are better options than traditional, full-fat ice cream bars. If you have time, whip up a mix of fruit with low-fat yogurt and ice to make a refreshing fruit smoothie. Erin Silva, MS, RD healthierpackagedfoods.blogspot.com

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