Mothership Meals and Satellite Saucers: Greening the Easter Basket

Wednesday, March 25, 2009

Greening the Easter Basket

Yippee! Spring is here! Asparagus, strawberries! No more wind burn or chapped hands or down coat the size and heft of an arctic sleeping bag! Crocuses and daffodils! Easter baskets! Plastic grass, stupid throwaway toys, cheap crappy candy and --- wait, whaaaat?

Ew, when did Easter baskets get so lame?

In "Feeding Your Family", the column I write for parenthood.com, I wrote about this pressing issue: Easter Baskets, how to spruce them up a bit. Really, how to make them less crappy. Less plasticky, less disposable, less dollar-store, less cheap slave labor-produced chocolate. I mean, come on, what would Jesus think about those atrocities we all grew up with?

Okay, I'm not really thinking about Jesus when I make up an Easter basket. It's more of a Pagan holiday for me, a little celebration of spring. Here are some ideas:

- Spring-colored dish cloth instead of plastic grass
- Egg-shaped candles instead of lots of candy
- Seeds or bulbs or pots of flowers

I'll take a picture of the ones I'm preparing, as soon as I have everything assembled. If you have any ideas, post comments. Pictures? Send them to me and I'll post them.

Happy Spring!

3 comments:

Anonymous said...: Great ideas!

I just saw these in a magazine: Soy wax "Crayon rocks" --they look like polished stones, but are crayons

http://www.crayonrocks.net/why_crayon_rocks.html

I think they kind of look like easter eggs...a little? :)

--monica; March 25, 2009 at 8:59 AM
zeke said...: LOVE the idea of a dishcloth instead of grass. Never liked the stuff, anyway. I made my lovely a basket a few years back that we use every year. Maybe a good project for the childers? Only being a nascent father myself I am not sure, but it seemed like a good idea.; March 26, 2009 at 5:43 PM
Larissa said...: I love those soy crayons, great idea!
A project is always welcome. Paint a pot? Plant grass seed in egg shells? There are so many things to do besides buy crappy plastic toys and candy.; March 29, 2009 at 5:24 AM

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The Mothership Method

(Or, how to sit down for dinner with your family without completely losing your mind)

It would be great if kids AND parents wanted boiled chicken and baby carrots every night for dinner. But, too bad, we picky parents want spicy, exotic, fun foods, and our kids want, well, sorta lame foods.
Here's the solution: break it down. Serve the dish deconstructed, and let everyone put their own dish together at the table. Sort of like tapas, or smorgasbord, or tacos. Or how in some parts of China you get a bowl of rice, and everything else is in the middle of the table and you take what you want for your own little bowl of rice. That way everyone gets to eat what they want, parents don't have to nag their kids, and kids get to feels some ownership over their meals. Plus, kids get exposed to the look and taste of the foods you hope they will one day love. But it's not just tacos. You'll be amazed at what can be served with the Mothership Method.

Ten Tips to Get Through Dinner Without Having A Nervous Breakdown

1. Accept That Kids Are Picky. No need to freak out on your cooking ability, or look at your kids like there is something wrong with them. It's called "neo-phobia", and it's just how they are, especially from ages 3-6.

2. Serve Meals Broken Down. Even grown-up meals like coconut curry or linguine with clams can be served in their elements, making them more appealing to kids. Grown ups can assemble their own jumble of deliciousness at their own plate while kids take on the pared-down elements.

3. Push if it Works, But Don't Nag If It Doesn't. Some kids are okay with being expected to taste everything on their plate. Others aren't. I think it's okay to push kids -- but not if you're turning dinner into a battlefield.

4. Suggest a Smell. Smelling a new food is easier than tasting it, and can sometimes provide a kid with the information needed to take that scary first bite. But don't confine smelling to new foods. Smell favorites, too, and help them develop their sense of smell by making a game out of it.

5. Don't Ask "Do You Like It?" Instead, try, "What does this remind you of?" or, "Would your cousins like this?" or, "Does this taste salty or sweet?". Asking if they like it or not gives kids too much power and ends the conversation. Besides, we don't care if they like it! We just want them to keep tasting it until it is familiar.

6. Don't Get Frustrated. Imagine being in Taiwan, or Nairobi, or Rome for the first time. Would you eat everything on the local menu? New foods are scary and gross. Our kids need time to learn about the foods that we eat.

7. No SubstitutionsThis is family dinner, not a diner. You, in all your wisdom, have provided foods that are healthy and delicious and appropriate for your children. There is something on the table for them to eat. Period.

8. No Snacks Before Dinner. This can be the hardest with our hectic schedules and hungry kids. But children who come to the table hungry are more likely to eat than cause trouble.

9. Put Peer Pressure To Your Advantage. School children are more likely to accept new foods if the alpha girls in their group accept them. Swap healthy food ideas on playdates.

10. Involve Your Kids In Cooking, Shopping, and Gardening. The more experience kids have handling and preparing a variety of foods, the more likely they are to eventually accept the foods. (But don't get upset if they help you make a complicated wonderful meal, and then refuse to eat it.)