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Keeping the Lunchbox Fresh

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by Jodie Fitz

Saratoga Apple, photo by Pattie Garrett

All meals have their challenges whether it’s a pandemic or not; packing the lunchbox is no exception.

I have three children and I’d like to tell you I figured it all out after the first, but I did not. Each child came with their own sets of likes and dislikes. My youngest was, and is, my pickiest eater with a fickle palate that’s forever changing. She is NOT the traditional sandwich eater.

Carmella Making Apple Parfait, photo by Jodie Fitz

Whether you are homeschooling, fully virtual, or schooling in a hybrid fashion here are few lunchtime prep tips that are tried and true:
● Use the weekend to organize the plan.
● Separate shelf-stable snacks in containers or Ziploc® bags and put them in a basket so that the kids know they are for lunchbox packing only.
● Prepack refrigerated items into containers for several days at a time, label and keep those items in the fridge ready to grab.
● Include your children in the entire process.

The goal? Keeping you from spending more time than needed in the kitchen during the busy weekdays. Not only will these steps save you time, but they will also help to promote independence in the kiddos and hopefully feel-good vibes in your kitchen (wink).

Here are some easy prep ideas that include apples:

Toby making fruit dip, photo by Jodie Fitz

1. Cinnamon Apples: Simply wash, core, slice your apples. Place them in a Ziploc® style bag. Add a few shakes of cinnamon, seal the bag, and shake. This helps to avoid brown apples, enhances flavor and they keep in the fridge for several days.
2. Dip: Make yogurt dips to serve with the cinnamon apples and keep in mini containers. Try my Creamsicle Fruit Dip by folding 6 oz. low-fat vanilla yogurt with 6 oz. of Greek yogurt and the juice freshly squeezed from half of a navel orange.
3. Apple Pie Parfait: Layer vanilla yogurt, granola, and cooked apples that have been cooled. Simply wash, core, peel, and dice two apples. Cook them in a saucepan with 3 tablespoons of water, 1 tablespoon of brown sugar, and ½ teaspoon of cinnamon. These will keep for several days in the fridge.

*Apples, cinnamon, yogurt, and granola are all available at the farmers’ market.

Cheers to a successful school year.

Jodie Fitz is the creator of the Price Chopper/Market 32 Kids Cooking Club. You can learn more about her, her recipes, and her online classes by visiting JodieFitz.com. She is also the author of Fidget Grows a Pizza Garden.

This week’s recipe: Peanutty Apple Wraps

Peanutty Apple Wraps

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Lucy making an apple wrap, photo by Jodie Fitz

Recipe by Jodie Fitz

Ingredients
*Ingredients currently available at the farmers’ market
● ¼ cup peanut butter*
● 1 tablespoon honey*
● ½ teaspoon cinnamon*
● 10 thin apple* slices (approximately ½ an apple)
● 1 Flatbread

Instructions
1. Wash, core, and slice the apple into thin slices.
NOTE: You can peel or not peel, the preference is yours.
2. Stir the peanut butter, honey & cinnamon together.
3. Spread the peanut butter mixture onto the flatbread, add the apples and roll it, or fold it, like a burrito.

POP Club 2021

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POP Club will be returning to the Wednesday Market this summer on June 30. Get ready for fun, food, and adventures in farming! As COVID-19 restrictions have lifted, we will be doing in-person activities again this year.

The Power of Produce (POP) Club provides a fun opportunity for children ages 5-12 to engage in the local food system through conversations directly with farmers, educational games and demonstrations, and exposure to new fruits and vegetables.In addition to participating in educational activities, POP Club kids receive a POP Passport allowing them to collect a stamp with each visit. Kids who collect 4 stamps will win a prize! POP Club kids will also receive a $2 POP token with each visit. POP tokens are to be spent on fresh fruits and vegetables at the market to empower children to make healthy shopping decisions.

Stop by every Wednesday between 3-6pm at the High Rock Park market to participate in POP Club. This year’s season will run for 10 weeks, from June 30 until September 1.

POP Club offers children’s activities ‘to go’

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By Julia Howard

POP Coin

Summer has officially begun and throughout the state, summertime activities have been re-imagined to ensure safety and to stop the spread of COVID-19. The Saratoga Farmers’ Market’s Power of Produce Club, or POP Club, will continue to offer children nutrition education with new take-home activities and online support.

Beginning on July 8, children can participate in POP Club by visiting the Saratoga Farmers’ Market on Wednesdays with their parents or caregivers. At the market, they will receive an activity bag “to go”. The POP Club activity bag will include a take-home activity, recipe cards, and a $2 POP coin that can be used to purchase fresh fruits and vegetables at the farmers’ market. POP Passports will not be handed out and stamped this year, but families can anticipate nourishing activities with complete directions and supplies. Although the club is open to children, it is especially geared toward those aged 5-12.

In addition to weekly POP Club ‘to go’ bags, parents and caregivers can visit the farmers’ market’s website for video tutorials and photos that pair with each activity. This online platform will give children and parents the opportunity to ask questions, share experiences, and connect with the farmers’ market for additional support.

Photo by Pattie Garrett

“We are very happy to host our fifth season of POP Club with the generous support of the Christopher Dailey Foundation,” says Emily Meagher, market administrator. “It’s important that we give children the tools to be involved in agriculture and community, to help them understand that food and farming are intrinsically connected.”

POP Club continues to be a free program and will run for 8 weeks beginning on Wednesday, July 8, and running through the end of August. POP Club activity bags will be available at the green market information tent on Wednesday, 3-6 p.m. at the farmers’ market.

This season’s take-home activities include crafts, recipes, experiments, and information using seasonal fruits and vegetables as POP Club continues to give both children and their parents a chance to learn about local foods and farming in a hands-on way.

Buying produce with a POP coin gives children a chance to meet farmers, learn money skills, and make smart food choices.

This week’s recipe: Lightened Up Strawberry Shortcake

Quarantine Cooking with Kids

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By Julia Howard

With schools closed and many of us working from home, parents are desperately looking for ways to keep their children occupied. Food provides many opportunities for learning and play as well as nourishing our bodies and teaching important life skills. Here are 5 simple ways to use food and our local food system as learning tools for young children:

1. Cooking and Baking
Cooking and baking offer many learning opportunities for children; organizational skills, counting, measuring ingredients, team work, even writing out a grocery list. Cooking can be as simple as a smoothie, a salad, no-bake cookies, or assembling a picnic. Offering choices and presenting the activity as a game can be helpful in keeping the attention of your little ones.

2. Crafts and Games
The internet is peppered with DIY crafts and games to keep kids entertained, but look no farther than your fridge for real fun. Making fruit and vegetable prints with discarded stalks, cores, and stems is a creative, no-waste activity for little ones. Building constructions or creating a piece of art from cut fruit and vegetable pieces can make a tasty snack much more entertaining.

3. Planting Activities
If you want to garden with your kids but you’re not quite ready to dig out a space in your yard, here are some ideas that provide opportunities to grow on a small scale. Herbs, leafy vegetables, and celery may simply grow in water by cutting the plant at its base and placing it in water. An indoor herb garden or an outdoor container garden offers the full gardening experience. If you don’t have time to plant seeds, contact your local nursery as many are offering curbside pickup for plants.

4. STEM Activities
Whether your child is learning about taste vs. smell or the phases of the moon, food can be used for countless STEM experiments to stimulate higher thinking and problem solving. Try shaking heavy cream to make butter, experiment with the many ways to bake a potato, or make ice cream with salt, ice, and cream.

5. Driving Farm Tour or Virtual Tour
For families itching to get out of the house, a short drive through farm country can lift spirits during this difficult time. Make a map of your local producers, roll down the car windows, and take in the beauty that the area has to offer. Nettle Meadow and the Kemp Sanctuary even offer a virtual tour of their farm with opportunities to meet their famous rescue animals.

This week’s recipe: Apple & Carrot “Superhero” Muffins

Creatively Extending Thanksgiving Traditions

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By Julia Howard

Thanksgiving is often defined by gathering with family and friends over an abundance of food. During this time, many of us lean heavily on traditions by preparing a family recipe or sharing an activity year after year. Traditions, however, are ever changing — perhaps you cannot make it home for Thanksgiving or a family member wants to start traditions of their own. What can you do to heighten, deepen, and extend Thanksgiving to its most memorable end? Here are some ideas from the Saratoga Farmers’ Market.

Photo by Pattie Garrett

Make a memorable Thanksgiving with your children by getting them involved. Even the most simple prepared dish can be an engaging activity offering a sensory experience, bonding with a friend or family member, and perhaps even encouragement to try something new. We recommend baked apples, a recipe shared by Saratoga Apple and available on our website, or a vegetable tian which is a wonderful way to introduce basic cutting skills and creativity with arranging colorful vegetables.

Holiday Centerpiece

Create a holiday centerpiece as a different way to contribute to the Thanksgiving table. Find inspiration in a palette of local items such as colorful winter quash, flowering kale, beeswax candles, unique pottery, and holiday greens. Items may be arranged by tiers or in a long row down the holiday table. Rely on your own creative instincts and enjoy decorating a festive gathering place.

Photo by Pattie Garrett

Shop for holiday meal ingredients together at the farmers’ market. Eating together is at the heart of the family experience, which means shopping together is just as important. Enjoy time with family and friends by organizing a holiday menu and shopping for the items at the farmers’ market. The farmers’ market provides a community gathering place for a shopping experience that is social and fun.

Holiday Cheese Plate, photo by Pattie Garrett

Bring a little bit of everything to the holiday table… on a cheese plate or charcuterie board. Whether presented as an appetizer or part of the holiday feast, a cheese plate or charcuterie board allows for a variety of foods to be piled high and enjoyed by all. Fermented vegetables, artisan bread, fresh fruit and vegetables, meats, and cheeses are just some of the items that can be used to create a unique spread that’s as visually stunning as it is delicious.