School Food in France and Bringing up Bebe Book Review

While we in America argue whether to include "pink slime" in our beef products, the French are preparing truly farm-fresh organic produce for their children with in-school chef's and a real kitchen.

They use real utensils and real plates (highly sustainable) and are served at their round tables to facilitate discussion.  And, they get adequate time to enjoy their food and socialize compared to the typical American school kids 20 minute lunch with which to scarf down whatever processed food he or she can.

I thought we were the country with the most resources?

I finished reading Pamela Druckerman's (She's a American raising her family is Paris) book, "Bringing Up Bebe", and was impressed with the level of service French parents receive when raising a child.  Particularly of interest was the three days of menu options Pamela shared in her book at the French daycare for her three-year-old.

She writes of the meals, "An in-house cook at each creche (day care)  prepares lunch from scratch each day.  A truck arrives several times a week with seasonal, fresh, sometimes even organic ingredients.  Aside from the occasional can of tomato paste, nothing is processed or precooked.  A few vegetables are frozen, but never precooked."

So here are the menus (served in four courses of salad, main meal, cheese and dessert) she observed.  And remember, this is a daycare/preschool:

Day 1 (Page 112):
Course 1:  Bright-red tomato salad in vinaigrette
Course 2:  Flaky white fish in a light butter sauce and a side dish of peas, carrots and onions
Course 3:  Crumbled blue cheese
Course 4:  Whole apples slices at the table

Day 2 (Page 112):
Course 1:  Hearts of palm and tomato salad
Course 2:  Sliced turkey with rice in a Provencal cream sauce
Course 3:  St. Nectaire cheese with a slice of fresh baguette
Course 4:  Fresh Kiwi

Day 3 (Page 204):
Course 1:  Shredded red cabbage salad and fromage blanc
Course 2:  White fish in dill sauce and a side of organic potatoes
Course 3:  Coulommiers cheese
Course 4:  Baked organic apple

The French have a commission where parents can provide meaningful input into their children's menu.  They stress visual and textural variety along with nutrition and suggest offerings such as mousse of sardines in cream sauce, duck mousse, spinach, green beans, smoked pork, monk fish, tuna fish, salmon, yogurt cake with carrots, etc.  The parent food meeting Pamela attended lasted more than two hours.

I found this documentary from CBS (below) that highlights some of the French school cooking.  They manage to do it for $2.50 per student, about what many of our schools pay for mostly processed trash.

So I wonder, what would our school lunch program look like if each school got to create its own menus with parent-driven input and the kid actually had the time to enjoy their meal and have conversation during their day?  Our kids deserve so much better than our schools are giving them.

As an additional resource, check out the movie "Food Beware:  The French Organic Revolution" on Netflix or buy at Amazon.com.

Bare Fruit

Our family loves fruit in all its forms, including dried.

My struggle with buying dried fruit is that it often has added sugar and preservatives.

Short of drying fruit ourselves (which we do sometimes), our only option was preservative laced dried fruit -- until now.

I came across Bare Fruit the other day and it is nothing but bake-dried organic fruit.  No added sugar or preservatives.

We bought the dried mangos, but the Washington based company also sells dried cherries, pears and Fuji, Granny Smith and cinnamon apples from Washington State.

The taste is fantastic and you can feel good knowing that only organic fruits are entering your body.  Find them at a grocery store near you or on Amazon.com.

Easy Homemade Pretzels

This is a fun way to engage the kids (our yourself!) in making a homemade, relatively healthy, treat this weekend.

I found the recipe at www.kingarthurflour.com (and only recommend their flour).  Their bakers also blog about their experience making these pretzels here.

I used a bread machine to make the dough, but can just as easily use a stand mixer or your hands.  Here is the recipe from KingArthur's web site (using my photos):


dough

• 2 1/2 cups King Arthur Unbleached All-Purpose Flour
• 1 teaspoon salt
• 1 teaspoon sugar
• 2 1/4 teaspoons instant yeast
• 7/8 to 1 cup warm water*
• *Use the greater amount in the winter, the lesser amount in the summer, and somewhere in between in the spring and fall. Your goal is a soft dough.

topping

• 1 cup boiling water
• 2 tablespoons baking soda
• coarse, kosher or pretzel salt, optional
• 3 tablespoons unsalted butter, melted

Finished Pretzel Dough in Bread Machine

1) To make dough by hand, or with a mixer: Place all of the dough ingredients into a bowl, and beat until well-combined. Knead the dough, by hand or machine, for about 5 minutes, until it's soft, smooth, and quite slack. Flour the dough and place it in a bag, and allow it to rest for 30 minutes.

2) To make dough with a bread machine: Place all of the dough ingredients into the pan of your bread machine, program the machine for dough or manual, and press Start. Allow the dough to proceed through its kneading cycle (no need to let it rise), then cancel the machine, flour the dough, and give it a rest in a plastic bag, as instructed above.

Finished Pretzel Dough Resting for 20 Minutes

3) To make dough with a food processor: Place the flour, salt, sugar and yeast in the work bowl of a food processor equipped with the steel blade. Process for 5 seconds. Add the water, and process for 7 to 10 seconds, until the dough starts to clear the sides of the bowl. Process a further 45 seconds. Place a handful of flour in a bowl, scoop the slack dough into the bowl, and shape the dough into a ball, coating it with the flour. Transfer the dough to a plastic bag, close the bag loosely, leaving room for the dough to expand, and let it rest at room temperature for 30 minutes.

Dough Pieces Ready to be Made into Pretzels!

4) While the dough is resting, prepare the topping: Combine the boiling water and baking soda, stirring until the soda is totally (or almost totally) dissolved. Set the mixture aside to cool to lukewarm (or cooler).

5) Preheat your oven to 475°F. Prepare a baking sheet by spraying it with vegetable oil spray, or lining it with parchment paper.

6) Transfer the dough to a lightly greased work surface, and divide it into eight equal pieces (about 70g, or 2 1/2 ounces, each).

7) Allow the pieces to rest, uncovered, for 5 minutes. Pour the baking soda/water into a 9" square pan.

Little Hands Love Rolling Pretzel Dough

8) Roll each piece of dough into a long, thin rope (about 28" to 30" long), and twist each rope into a pretzel. Working with 4 pretzels at a time, place them in the pan with the baking soda/water, spooning the water over their tops; leave them in the water for 2 minutes before placing them on the baking sheet. This baking soda "bath" will give the pretzels a nice, golden-brown color.

9) Transfer the pretzels to the prepared baking sheet. Sprinkle them lightly with coarse, kosher, or pretzel salt, if desired. Allow them to rest, uncovered, for 10 minutes.

Salted and Ready for Baking on Parchment Paper

10) Bake the pretzels for 8 to 9 minutes, or until they're golden brown.

11) Remove the pretzels from the oven, and brush them thoroughly with the melted butter. Keep brushing the butter on until you've used it all up; it may seem like a lot, but that's what gives these pretzels their ethereal taste. Eat the pretzels warm, or reheat them in an oven or microwave.

Hot Buttered Pretzels!

Yield: 8 large pretzels.

nutrition information

Serving Size: Servings Per Batch: 8 Amount Per Serving: Calories: 171 Calories from Fat: Total Fat:4.7g Saturated Fat: Trans Fat: . Cholesterol: 12mgSodium: 888mg Total Carbohydrate: 27g Dietary Fiber:1g Sugars: 1g Protein: 4g.

* The nutrition information provided for this recipe is determined by the ESHA Genesis R&D software program. Substituting any ingredients may change the posted nutrition information.

Magic Shell

You probably remember Magic Shell syrup from your childhood.  I remember drizzling it over my ice cream and waiting those few seconds until the syrup hardened into the famous shell.  It was a real treat when we had it at our house.

I didn't know then that the grocery store version is loaded with unnatural substances to make that "magic" happen.

Here's an all-natural version that works the same, but has simple natural ingredients (adjust ingredients to taste):

• 1/3 Cup organic coconut oil (coconut oil is solid at temperatures below 77 degrees which is how the "magic" happens)
• 1 Cup of quality chocolate such as Ghiradelli dark
• Melt for a few seconds in the microwave.
• Stir until blended.

Drizzle over your favorite ice cream and enjoy!

"Pink Slime" in School Lunches

Check out a school cafeteria box of beef patties and you will see USDA (U.S. Department of Agriculture) approved and contains 85% (or some lesser percentage than 100%) beef.  I've often wondered what was the unmentioned ingredient(s) reminding me of my high school days and jokes of it being horse meat.

Jamie Oliver exposed what many call "pink slime" in last season's Food Revolution.  It's the unwanted beef trimmings exposed to the innards of the animal that are then spun in a mixture of ammonia to kill existing bacteria, then ground and added into the final ground beef product.  Does this raise concerns for you?

The slime is produced by Beef Products, Inc. (BPI) and is added into 70% of our nations beef supply.  The USDA claims it is safe.

McDonald's recently said they would stop putting the slime in their hamburgers.  But, it now appears the USDA will purchase the newly available slime for school districts across America.

Why do we feed our kids the worst of the worst?  I hope you find this disturbing and infuriating.  I do.

UPDATE (03/29/2012) -- The USDA and a handful of Governors defend the creation and use of "lean finely textured beef".  Of course, their viewpoint is a bit skewed toward tax and campaign revenues.

UPDATE (03/29/2012) -- www.stoppinkslime.org has a lot of information and a petition to keep pink slime out of our schools and grocery stores.  Check it out.

BHT Food Preservative

When I picked our son up from school, his teacher said they gave him some popcorn because the ingredient list appeared "safe" other than BHT.  And she didn't know what BHT was (most don't).

I said, "No biggy.  He won't puke on it.  It's only lighter fluid."  She was shocked, but there is some element of truth as it also serves as an antioxidant for  petroleum products.

BHT, formally known as butylated hydroxytoluene, is a preservative that protects the fat, flavor and color of foods to which it is added.  I've noticed an increasing number of cereals (General Mills is a huge offender) that use this preservative.

BHT should be avoided when possible.  Some studies indicate that BHT may contribute to carcinogenicity (a chemical substance that induces cancer) and tumorigenicity (capable of causing tumors).  Other studies indicate it is difficult for some to metabolize, causing behavioral and heath changes.

The links to adverse health affects are significant enough that BHT is banned from food use in England, Australia, Sweden and Romania.

Butylated hydroxytoleune usually appears as BHT on product ingredient labels.  Like other mystery ingredients, it may be best to avoid it when possible.

Flavorists Create Artificial and "Natural" Flavors

I first came across the term Flavorist about a month ago while reading Eric Schlosser's book, "Chew on This", a hard look into the fast food industry's food and practices.  A flavorist is a chemist who creates artificial and "natural" flavors from chemicals.

Since then, I have seen the terms "artificial flavors" and "natural flavors" on many things -- including some from brands and sources I trust more than others.

CBS's 60 Minutes did a short clip into the world's largest flavor creation company, Givaudan, last Fall.  Getting any level of access is extraordinary, so enjoy the video when you get a moment.

Most of the flavor companies occupy space along the New Jersey's turnpike, one of them being International Flavors and Fragrances, and they employ tens of thousands of people -- all with the goal of making your taste and smell experience addictive.  The companies that employ them do so to sell you more, but even the so-called "natural flavors" are less than desirable.

Flavorists are chemists.  They use man-made chemicals (or chemicals made from natural sources) to create the flavors we crave.  Complicated flavors like coffee and meat can take hundreds of different chemicals to complete.  And the US Government does not require disclosure of what is actually present in the flavorings -- thus the simple phrases of artificial and natural flavors on the ingredient list.

Natural and artificial flavors are made at the same factories and often use the same chemical, one is just derived from a natural source.  And often that natural source has nothing to do with the plant, fruit, etc, you are actually tasting.

Schlosser writes that the addictiveness of McDonald's french fries in the early decades was because they were fried in beef fat, lending the beef taste to the potato (Burger King uses chicken flavoring).  However,  citing health concerns over beef fat, the US Government banned it and in 1990 McDonalds switched to using vegetable oil "flavored" with beef fat.  If you want the real deal, beef fat is still used in McDonald's restaurants in Australia, Japan, Canada and Mexico.

As an example of the hidden ingredients inside "artificial flavoring", consider the strawberry shake at a fast food restaurant.  Just the artificial strawberry flavoring alone includes the following ingredients:

• amyl acetate
• amyl butyrate
• amyl valerate
• anethol
• anisyl formate
• benzyl acetate
• benzyl isobutyrate
• butyric acid
• cinnamyl isobutyrate
• cinnamyl valerate
• cognac essential oil
• diacetyl
• dipropyl ketone
• ethyl butyrate
• ethyl cinnamate
• ethyl heptanoate
• ethyl heptylate
• ethyl lactate
• ethyl methylphenylglycidate
• ethyl nitrate
• ethyl propionate
• ethyl valerate
• heliotropin
• hydroxyphrenyl-2-butanone (10% solution in alcohol)
• ionone
• isobutyl anthranilate
• isobutyl butyrate
• lemon essential oil
• maltol
• 4-methylacetophenone
• methyl anthranilate
• methyl benzoate
• methyl cinnamte
• methyl heptine carbonate
• methyl naphthyl ketone
• methyl salicylate
• mint essential oil
• neroli essential oil
• nerolin
• neryl isobutyrate
• orris butter
• phenethyl alcohol
• rose
• rum ether
• undecalactone
• vanillin
• solvent

Yum!  Enjoy that strawberry shake!

Like the world of colorants, it may be wise to limit or avoid processed foods that need flavoring of any kind to sell.  Limited or no research has been done on the long-term effects of consuming these chemicals.

Your thoughts?

Searching for a New School District and School Lunch

Americans move -- a lot!  Almost 15% of the entire population moves annually and families are the most likely to move a long distance.

Sometimes people have a choice where they live, sometimes they are looking in a narrower handful of miles.  But if you have kids, you probably will ask a realtor or employer where the best schools are for your children.  Best is usually defined by standardized test scores or education philosophy.  But what about food?

Most schools offer their lunch choices online.  As I have perused our area schools, I have noticed a wide variance in the quality of food within each district -- and really, none of them in our immediate area are spectacular.  I have even found a school who contracted with Arby's and Pizza Hut to weekly supply a lunch!

In just a little research, I was able to uncover two school districts that are doing well in nourishing their children and educating them.  Both happen to be from California school districts, but there are many across the country -- seemingly most existing on the East and West coasts.

1. The first example is from the Novato Unified School District in Marin County, California.  Their lunch menu looks a bit better than in our area.  They feature a vegetable and fruit every month, offer salads daily and partner with Marin Organic to supply their food needs with local organic produce.
2. The second example is Oceanside Unified School District in San Diego County, California.  The menu and healthy lifestyle promotion is prevalent throughout their web site.  The also feature daily salads, meatless Mondays, vegetarian options, and fresh fruit.  They also serve their food on biodegradable trays and use biodegradable utensils.  They have partnered with www.leanandgreenkids.org to enhance their food program.

What kids eat is as important as what they learn.  When looking for a great school district for your kids, you may want to consider visiting the cafeteria too.

Do you live in a great school district that offers nutritious meals?  Tell us about it!

Natural Vitamins for Children (and Adults)

Parents want the best for their children and many supplement their children's nutritional needs with a daily vitamin.

If asked, many doctors will say to make sure to look for certain levels of vitamin, otherwise brand doesn't matter.  Or does it?

When we went looking for vitamins for our children, we found almost all of the chewable vitamins for children contain wood pulp (disguised as microcrystalline cellulose), many artificial colors (including those with aluminum like Yellow 6 Aluminum Lake), silicon dioxide (associated with several health risks), artificial sweeteners and flavors and lactose (milk) to name just a few.

Then we discovered Gummy Vites brand.  They contain no wheat, milk, eggs, peanuts or soy.  The colors are derived naturally from annatto extract, black carrot juice and turmeric.  The flavors (cherry, strawberry, tropical punch, orange, lemon, white grape) are also from their natural source.

I think the assumption is that vitamins are automatically healthy.  In truth, many carry the same junk as in highly processed foods.

We like the Gummy Vites brand (made by Northwest Natural Products) for the kids and the MultiVites for adults.  Our kids love the taste and they come in the traditional gummy bear shape.

What do you use and why?

Marshmallow and Fluff

We had some great family time today that included building a fire in the fireplace.  After dinner we decided to make even more use of the open flames and got some marshmallows and chocolate and our graham crackers for some old-fashioned smores.

Standing in the grocery store, I was torn.  I stood reading the labels of the only two options for large marshamllows -- the store brand and Kraft.  The ingredients were in slightly different order, but otherwise exactly the same.  And I wasn't happy with either.  Now, I know that a marshmallow would never be considered a health food, but what was blue #1 dye doing in a white marshmallow?

I knew I should just pass, but I also had the weight of kids waiting for a smore back home.  Our son, with food allergies to the junk in processed foods, had never had a marshmallow before.

Ingredients being the same, I chose the cheaper store brand and headed for home to much fanfare when I opened the door.  They were ready for roasting marshmallows!

Our son was nearing the completion of his smore when he bolted as fast as he could to the kitchen sink just in time to vomit up his smore and dinner.  My better judgement told me I shouldn't have given him the marshmallow.  Mistakes happen.  The bag of marshmallows now sits in our trash.

We talked about options for future smores and decided to stick with Fluff.  If you aren't familiar with Fluff, it is a small Massachusetts company that was the original producer of marshmallow cream.  But the better news is that they have stuck to the original recipe which only includes three ingredients:  corn syrup, sugar and vanilla.  Next time, we will swipe a bit of Fluff across the graham cracker to make our smores -- and just skip the roasting part.

There may be some organic options at the health foods store.  Organic marshmallows, if there is such a thing, would at least have limited (necessary) ingredients and almost assuredly no artificial colors.

Can anybody recommend a better marshmallow option?

No Organic Candy Hearts?

I know Valentine's Day is done, but if anyone is looking for a business opportunity for next Valentines Day, it could be organic candy hearts that have natural color and flavors.

There are 363 more days to get that business idea launched.  Maybe I'll do it myself?

I couldn't find organic Valentine oriented candy anywhere.  The candy shelves at the health food store were a barren dessert of just the typical -- but typical doesn't work at Valentine's, especially with kids.

In a world of so many food allergies, wouldn't you think that somebody would have created those little candy hearts that kids like to give at school?  Or any organic Valentine candy for that matter.

Have you seen any?  Do they exist?  Chime in!

Sulphur Dioxide and Grapes

Sulphur dioxide are two words that don't give me a warm fuzzy feeling.  Whether you know exactly what it is or not, usually thoughts of something negative and chemical come to mind.

So imagine my surprise when I found it on our grapes this morning.

I frequently buy organic grapes, but none were available at the store last night.  So I purchased regular grapes and headed home.

This morning as I was washing the grapes for our son's class snack I noticed "product of Chile" on the bag.  I usually see "product of California", so I read on with curiosity to discover the phrase "treated with sulphur dioxide to preserve freshness".  I figured, this couldn't be good.

After a little research I discovered sulphur dioxide is a poisonous gas which is sprayed on fruit, and acts as a preservative, enhancing its color and preventing mold.  Airborne inhalation of this chemical has lead to a rash of breathing problems, premature birth and premature death.

Grapes from Chile need to be picked and shipped with plenty of lead time before they hit the grocery shelves.  Sulphur dioxide, allows the grapes to be picked early and arrive looking fresh and ripe.

Asthmatics seem to be most at risk from ingesting sulphur dioxide.  For them, ingestion can increase chances of an asthmatic attack, skin rashes and upset stomach.

While generally deemed safe for consumption in small quantities in healthy people, why chance it?  I also wonder what the long-term effects of small daily doses.

Turns out California grapes are not in season and organic grapes are only in dreams this time of year.  With my only option being imported grapes,  I'll choose to pass.

World Nutella Day

Everyone has a favorite binge food.  Our son's is Nutella.  And I am okay with most of the ingredients.  The primary ingredients are skim milk, hazelnuts (also known as filberts) and cocoa.  Palm oil, soy lecithin and vanillin round out the list.  If it weren't for the vanillin (why not the real vanilla?), I would give it five stars.

I first tried Nutella on a missions trip to Spain many many years ago and distinctly remember wishing we had such a treat in the United States.  Since that time, it has become a regular on grocery store shelves.  We get our at Costco at a hefty discount over grocery store prices.

If you've never tried Nutella, your truly missing out on a great food pleasure with a uniquely addictive taste.  It's a guilty pleasure with a touch of healthfulness.  And now, those who love it so much can unite thanks to "World Nutella Day" slated for February 5, 2012.

The uses for this delicious treat are countless and people in its cult-like following have posted photos of their favorite concoctions using Nutella and offered hundreds of recipes.  Could there by a bad one?  The Nutella company offers no recipes other than to spread it on toast in the morning.

There's even a book, "The Unofficial Guide to Nutella:  history, stories and recipes" you can devour.

In brief, its history began in the 1940's when Pietro Ferrero, a pastry maker, devised a way to extend the rationed cocoa supplies during World War II.  He used hazelnuts which were plentiful in the Piedmont region of Italy.  Originally named "Supercrema gianduja", it was renamed in 1964 at "Nut" (for the hazelnut) and "ella" as a soft-sounding filler to lengthen the name.

While it has been a favorite in Europe for 40+ years, the spread first arrived in the Northeastern United States in 1983 and has expanded nationwide since then.

You can easily recreate a Nutella-type spread using a Vitamix or food processor.  There are a number of recipes.  I have not tried them myself because the shelf-life is only a couple of weeks and we just don't consume enough to justify making our own.  But if you are interested, take a look at these trusted sources here and here for recipes on making your own Nutella-type spread.

This February 5, buy a jar of Nutella and spread some joy on World Nutella Day!

Update 01/31/2012:

I was told that Justin's Chocolate Hazelnut Butter is also a very good and perhaps more nutritious option.  I haven't tried this yet but will in the future.  Has anyone else tried Justin's who can offer an opinion?

The ingredients for Justin's are:  Dry Roasted Hazelnuts, Dry Roasted Almonds, Organic Evaporated Cane Sugar, Organic Cocoa, Organic Cocoa Butter, Organic Palm Fruit Oil, Natural Vanilla, Sea Salt.

Most Important Book for Parents

School lunches are often overlooked by parents.  Perhaps some parents really don't care, but for many others, school lunch is something never seen.

Our kids are not yet of an age where school lunch is an option, but it is a worry.  And it should be for anyone with OR without kids.  Kids fed well have better test scores and school attendance -- a major plus for society in the long-term.

A year ago I received an empty school hamburger patty box for moving some household stuff.  I was grateful for the box, but was mortified that the ingredients said 80-some-percent beef.  What!?  Why isn't a hamburger patty 100% beef and what was the mysterious unstated filler?  McDonald's patties are 100% beef.  Not quality beef, but 100%.

The USDA determines what is acceptable for our kids to eat for lunch and private companies help fulfill those requirements through awkward pairings like pizza sauce being classified as a vegetable or a flavored ice-pop being classified as a fruit.

In a word. the food our kids get at school is pure junk or "rubbish" as Jamie Oliver says.

I read (in one night) a book titled "Fed Up with Lunch".  It is written from a Chicago school teacher who, for one year, ate school cafeteria food and blogged about it each day.  I think for many, the food selection will shock them.  I certainly think it will spur some people to action to try and find solutions for the woefully inadequate nutrition our kids receive.

If you really dig into how school lunches and the infamous food pyramid are developed, you will find a money-trail that leads from Congress back to the manufacturers/growers of certain types of food.  I find this disturbing.  Our health -- our kids health -- traded for profits and campaign contributions.

Solutions are not easy and regulations make many options unsuitable.  But, solutions start by being aware and I encourage everyone to read this book followed by Michael Pollan's Omnivore's Dilemma and help find solutions to better feed our kids.

Additional Resources:

www.ecoliteracy.org
www.commonthreads.org
www.edibleschoolyard.org
www.farmtoschool.org
www.food-corps.org
www.growingpower.org
www.healthyschoolscampaign.org
www.thelunchbox.org
www.healthyschoolfood.org
www.organicschoolproject.org
www.healthyschoollunches.org
www.purpleasparagus.com
www.reapfoodgroup.org
www.schoolfoodfocus.org
www.schoollunchinitiative.org
www.schoolnutrition.org
www.veggiecation.com
www.betterschoolfood.blogspot.com
www.betterschoolfood.org
www.bravenewlunch.blogspot.com
www.jackiesschoolfoodblog.blogspot.com
www.thelunchtray.com
www.nhschoolfood.blogspot.com

No More Plastic Spoons and Forks

I was reading a report in the latest issue issue of Consumer Reports magazine about chemicals, including BPA (a controversial toxin that has been linked to cancer, obesity, neurological issues, thyroid issues and a host of other ailments that are particularly detrimental to fetus' infants and toddlers), being pulled from plastics when they are washed in warm or hot water, microwaved, or contain warm/hot foods.  So, just about anytime you use them.

I've known this.  But here's what really got my attention, the article featured a photo of the exact brand of dishes and plastic-ware our kids had been using.  Needless to say, we stopped using that stuff pronto!

We already had white Corelle dishes that are virtually indestructible, so our kids immediately started eating from our dishes.

We replaced their plastic-ware with OXO spoon and fork sets that feature a steel eating surface.  The fork is also somewhat spoon-shaped (we call it a spork) that works really well with young kids.

For cups, we recycled the old plastic stuff and replaced it with a set of Preserve Products brand green and red BPA-free cups made from recycled plastic.  They have a great story and take extra precautions to ensure product safety.

If you haven't already, it may be a great time to re-evaluate what plastics you use for your baby or kids (or even yourself) and replace them with something other than plastic or certainly something that is guaranteed to be BPA-free.