I'm trying a gluten-free diet

About four days after stuffing myself silly over the holidays I felt heavy, tired, and bloated, and my digestive system was out of whack. These feelings coincided with a post on a blog I read regularly, Karina's Kitchen, about how many people have a gluten sensitivity and don't know it, and that our bodies were not designed to consume large amounts of the high-gluten products our modern food industry produces. If you want a light fluffy Wonder bread, add more gluten! Our bodies are just not designed to handle all this, and it wreaks havoc on our system in ways we may not realize.

So this got me thinking. I should try a gluten-free diet. I read the article posted on Karina's Kitchen one evening, and the next morning I determined to go gluten-free (but first I had to let the two frozen chimichangas I'd JUST eaten work their way through my system).

This was not as hard as it sounds for three reasons, number one: We have been serving Chloe a gluten-free diet for a year and a half now, and so the recipes, crackers, cereals, flours and grains were already on hand. I mean, literally, already in the house.

Number two: I'm starting to train again for a sprint triathlon in May and I need to lose weight; if I am not eating gluten then I am not eating flour tortillas, cinnamon rolls, crackers, and cookies that are loaded with sugar, fat and calories.

Number three: I wanted to take a glimpse into Chloe's world.

It's been eight days now and I can honestly say I don't miss gluten all that much. I recognize that I already feel healthier because I am choosing healthier food to put on my plate in the absence of gluten--fruits, veggies. For example yesterday the cafeteria at school was serving my favorite meal: chili soup, cinnamon rolls, and mac n' cheese. I usually eat all of that plus crackers and some broccoli and peaches. Yesterday without the mac n cheese, cinnamon rolls, and crackers, my plate looked more colorful, lighter, and fresher (as fresh as canned fruits and veggies can be).

Right at the moment, I am actually craving some of Chloe's blue corn and oat pancakes with a big dollop of applesauce on top.

Snacking has proved more of a challenge; I let the m&m supply run out because of the aforementioned weight loss goals, and what's left are triscuits, knackebrod, bread, and ginger snaps, all off-limits to me right now. So I stirred up some gluten-free chocolate teff pudding which both Chloe and I loved--it's the recipe right off the bag. My new favorite snack is brown rice cakes with sunbutter spread.

After all the reading I've done on eating consciously--whether you are vegetarian or vegan with a moral objection to eating animals, or have food allergies or care for someone with food allergies where eating consciously is a matter of life and death--the gluten-free attempt fits.

One of my friends newly blogging about vegan cooking mentioned that she is an all-or-nothing person. I am not like that--I prefer to do the best I can and leave it at that. I have many things going on in my life and my nature is to enjoy them all in their myriad imperfections, eating consciously included.

However, gluten-free eating is not like that. Gluten inhabits your gut and affects it long after you've eaten the last crumb of Cheez-Its. It takes many days for your system to recover from gluten--the little hairs in your small intestine take weeks to regain their springiness after being laden with lava-like gluten. Gluten-free eating IS an all-or-nothing prospect. I've read enough to know that if you have celiac disease or a gluten sensitivity, you can't even ingest a crumb left in the jam jar by your spouse.

One reason I'm not missing gluten all that much is that some of my favorite foods are naturally gluten-free: California rolls, tamales, taco salad, and yes, blue corn and oat pancakes and chocolate oat brownies with chocolate frosting...mmm...

I still make bread in the bread machine for my family. I've got two teenage boys in the house who love to make various sandwiches with homemade bread, but I make it for them and put it away.

My husband was very supportive of this effort. He is in support of anything I might do to make myself feel better, happier, so that I can give back to the family.

By eating this way, I do feel a kinship with Chloe in that we are both eating consciously.

What are your favorite gluten-free recipes?

Holiday Menus

Our family was very successful this Christmas at cooking healthy, delicious allergy-friendly food, which all of our family and guests enjoyed, too. Some of the things we enjoy, such as homemade bread, are not allergy friendly but we simply don't give it to Chloe.

She is starting to look at food that others are eating and ask, "is that safe for me?" But that's for another post.

Here are the holiday menus:

1. Christmas Dinner
Relish plates, one completely allergy-friendly with pickles, summer sausage, and olives, the other non-allergy friendly with cheese and crackers which we kept away from Chloe
Roast turkey--place chunks of onion and carrot inside, truss, drizzle with olive oil and herbs
Crock pot ham--place ham in crock pot, sprinkle with brown sugar, push button
Peas with pearl onions--saute onions in olive oil, add peas and sea salt
Glazed carrots --braise carrots, drizzle with maple syrup and heat on low heat until liquid is gone and carrots are coated with sweetness
Roasted fingerling potatoes with olive oil, garlic and sea salt
Non-allergy-friendly homemade bread which we didn't give to Chloe

2. Christmas cookies
Rice krispy treats made with whey-free margarine, with cinnamon candies mixed in and green sugar sprinkled on top
Allergy-friendly oatmeal jammer cookies with strawberry jam
Allergy-friendly chocolate cupcakes with candy canes on top
Non-allergy-friendly oatmeal chocolate chip cookies which we kept separate to avoid cross contamination

3. Big family breakfast once Oma and Opa arrived
Bacon
Cuties
Scrambled eggs which we didn't give to Chloe
Allergy-friendly oat-buckwheat-blue corn pancakes with syrup, applesauce and stewed blueberries for topping (I made a double recipe for eight people and there were only seven pancakes left)

4. Huge family dinner with two sets of grandparents and two extra teenage boys (twelve people in all)
Baked potatoes
Chili--meat, beans, tomatoes, and spices
Leftover diced Christmas ham
Grated cheeses which we didn't give to Chloe
Frozen sliced peppers
Homemade black beans
Roasted assorted squashes with roasted red onions
Allergy-friendly homemade chocolate caramel corn for dessert

5. Post-Christmas turkey soup dinner
Turkey soup made with turkey broth, meat and rice (my husband and our exchange student prefer soup without veggies)
Assorted veggies on the side to put in soup
Cheese toasts on homemade bread which we didn't give to Chloe
Locally made warm corn tortillas with honey

6. And finally, the Great Pizza Compromise
Before we had Chloe, Daniel and I made homemade pizza all the time. Once Chloe got old enough to eat regular food, we simply stopped making homemade pizza in favor of menus that were safe for everyone. I tried allergy-friendly pizza crust once but it was awful, and what good is pizza if it's not really pizza? Our months without homemade pizza seemed a little less colorful. Now that we have reached the compromise, I feel a sense of relief that for now, we have a solution that pleases everyone.

So the Great Pizza Compromise is, we make homemade pizza as usual (bread machine crust, a little garlic and herbs, some seasoned sausage and gourmet pepperoni, good mozzarella), but we save some tomato sauce, pepperoni and sausage and make Chloe a bowl of rice noodles with pizza toppings (minus cheese of course). We call it Pizza Noodles, which Chloe eats with gusto while we devour the pizza.

What are your favorite allergy-friendly holiday menus?

Chocolate Caramel Corn

Allergy-Friendly Chocolate Caramel Corn Recipe

Step 1: Invite mother and father to visit for Christmas, involving plane tickets and a long drive. Mother will happen to bring a caramel corn recipe along with her.

Step 2: Ask husband to pop 6-8 quarts of Chloe-safe popcorn. Husband must do it because the power cord to Stir Crazy is broken and he is the only one who can pop popcorn without getting electrocuted.

Notes: a) Chloe safe, for us, means popcorn not processed on shared equipment. Orville Redenbacher fits the bill. b) If you are using a Stir Crazy popper you will need to make a full bowl twice.

Step 3: Melt 2 sticks of whey-free margarine (Fleischman's unsalted), 2 cups of brown sugar, and 1/2 cup of corn syrup in a pan over low heat. When it comes to a boil, stir constantly for a few minutes.

Step 4: Pour popcorn into a gigantic bowl (you may need to do this twice) and coat with melted sugary stuff. Stir to coat each piece of popcorn with delectable gooey sweetness.

Step 5: Put onto (large) cookie sheets and place in a 225 oven for 45 minutes. The temperature and timing of this step does not have to be precise, but it will save you from your two-year-old and four-year-old asking until you feel like tearing your hair out, "please may I have another one?" before supper.

Step 6: Remove leftover Chloe-safe chocolate frosting from freezer. If you do not have leftover frosting, make some according to this recipe: 1/4 cup (1/2 stick) whey-free margarine, 1/4 cup cocoa powder, up to 2 cups powdered sugar, 3 tbsp rice milk, and 1 tsp vanilla extract. This recipe makes enough for leftovers for next time.

Step 7: Separate caramel corn onto four cookie sheets or put half of it back into the big bowl. You'll need to spread it out more thinly. Heat the frosting to pourable consistency and then...

Step 8: Drizzle frosting with a spoon in Pollock-like gestures over the caramel corn.

Step 9: Invite 3 boys from other countries over, intersperse them with small children around the kitchen island, and observe the chocolate caramel corn disappear.

Step 10: Repeat steps 1-8, omitting step 9 because you won't have gotten any for yourself the first time around.

I'm not going to change the world

In this order, three things happened:

First, I got the online email edition of Food Allergy Magazine, which had an article about a city councilman in St. Paul with a three year old daughter severely allergic to peanuts. The councilman was trying to pass an ordinance to require all restaurants to post ingredients lists, which, rightfully so, the restaurant industry had a problem with.

Second, a relative complimented me on this blog. I sincerely appreciate compliments on my little corner of cyberspace which I use to process my journey as Chloe's mom and protector. Thank you so much!

Third, I recently became a facebook fan of a blog I already read and enjoy, Karina's Kitchen, Recipes from a Gluten-Free Goddess. She discovered a gluten intolerance as an adult and began developing recipes for herself. This activity led to publication of two cookbooks and the development of not just gluten-free recipes, but allergen-free ones as well. Her latest post featuring gluten-free vegan pumpkin spice cake caught my eye and the photograph was worth a thousand bites.

I started thinking about Karina, and how she turned a personal situation into a meaningful line of work which has the potential to benefit many lives. Her own medical condition prompted a vocation that has changed her life.

I have been thinking about the councilman in St. Paul, who turned a small slice of power into a power trip. (I'll post my letter to him, cc'd to the newspaper reporter writing the story about him along with various individuals from the food allergy community and the business and hospitality industry of St. Paul, as an addendum to this post.)

While I really really admire people who make a personal difficulty, sometimes even a tragedy, into a vocation like Karina, that's not really me. I don't necessarily admire the councilman's tactics, but I do agree with him that food allergy awareness is really critical to our growing numbers and I speak my piece whenever I feel the need.

It feels like this post is turning into a long rant about ME, but hear me out. I don't necessarily crusade; I am not a crusader type. But when it comes to knowing how to do something well, I am all over that. And I will not forget what Chloe's allergist said on our first visit: "keep doing what you're doing, and do it well."

I'm proud that the pages of this blog reflect that I have grown over the last year to become good at keeping Chloe safe from the allergens that will cause a life-threatening reaction. I have become good at speaking candidly and patiently with her caregivers, family, and friends about her food allergies and the risks and what to do in case of a reaction.

I know I'm good at it because when I made salsa and bean dip for a little fiesta with the kids tonight, I didn't even think consciously about making it Chloe-safe, I just did because I am so used to cooking without certain ingredients. (Ok, I did look at the oriental rice snacks, see that they were processed on shared equipment with nuts and wheat and did not set them out.)

I guess I just don't feel the need for a crusade. Protecting my daughter is enough, and the rewards from that are immeasurable. I have lots to do that I like to do, so I keep a balance. As much as I want her to have a gluten-free vegan chocolate cake for her birthday and have everyone taste it and savor it, I also want to knit her sweaters and teach music and go on trips.

I just really am not that interested in getting on the news about turning my daughter's food allergies into a thriving cookbook business or launching the newest food allergy awareness organization or using authority to promote a personal view.

I just want to keep my daughter safe and healthy and teach her how to handle herself in the world.

_________


Dear Mr. Carter,
I read about your attempts to mandate that restaurants list their ingredients for those with food allergies in the online edition of Food Allergy Magazine (September issue, a link from the Twin Cities Pioneer Press). My daughter has severe allergies to milk, eggs, wheat, and peanut, and many of us who have severely allergic children can relate to your situation.

However, I think it behooves those of us in the minority—those of us with food allergies or food-allergic children—to be reasonable. A recent blog post by a blogger that I enjoy (www.crazyauntpurl.com) about her office potluck in which the dishes had to contain peanuts prompted a firestorm of criticism from the food allergy community. I personally am ashamed by that kind of behavior, because it takes the wishes of a small minority and attempts to shove them down the throats of a majority—yes, even though I am an active member of that minority. I believe your actions to try to get every restaurant in your city to comply with your personal family situation (especially since you are now in a position of some power) is an example of unreasonableness.

I certainly understand the desire to protect one’s child and to live, move, and participate in a normal world comfortably, and frustration at being unable to do so. But the reality, is, those of us with severely allergic children must make some accommodations for the world that exists. Some restaurants will be accommodating, and some, naturally, will not, but that is their choice as a business establishment about which clients they cater to. I believe David Siegel has the right approach when he talks about awareness and training in his recent article in Finance & Commerce.

Mr. Carter, I will tell you my personal strategy when dining out with my family:

Where I live, our dining out choices are somewhat limited, but those restaurants we do enjoy going to my husband and I assess thoroughly. We read the menus, we talk to the chefs, and we ask the servers to talk to the chefs for us. Often we visit a restaurant on our own, looking critically at the choices and available options for our daughter before we take her there, and we certainly do assess the restaurant’s willingness to share information about their food. When we find a restaurant that can accommodate us, we do not hesitate first, to tell our friends and family that this particular establishment has gone out of their way to ensure our daughter’s safety; and second, to make sure we give our business to that restaurant again.

I think this sort of system is a much more positive one than mandating difficult and time-consuming regulations. This system gives restaurants an incentive to speak candidly about their food when requested and to welcome food-allergic families, who will then pass the information about their warm reception along to their fellow food-allergy sufferers, and, as our family does, patronize the restaurant again. Some local food allergy web sites may even want to post reviews of restaurants who have been helpful. Yes, doing this legwork is time-consuming, but that is our job as parents.

I have had many positive experiences from restaurants by calling ahead and asking about their ability to cater to my daughter’s particular needs—one restaurant was even willing to warm up rice noodles that we brought from home and put their marinara sauce on top.

I truly believe that if we are reasonable and give people—or eating establishments—a chance, they will rise to the occasion, making dining out a positive experience for everyone. I certainly have found this to be true where I live, and also in major cities my family has traveled to.

The reality is that for those of us with food-allergic children, we have to make choices to protect our children. Our children will then grow up learning how to successfully negotiate the realities of their environment, and our friends, family, and in your case, your constituents, will see the good example we model.
Sincerely,

Kate

Happy 2nd Birthday, Chloe!

We've come a long way since Chloe's first birthday when we didn't know the extent of her food allergies.

As a tribute to Chloe, her teachers, her babysitters, her dad, her siblings, and all of you who supported me during the year of the Cooking Paradigm Shift, here are some things I learned about food, food allergies, and celebrating the positive.

Food is life-sustaining, nurturing, and comforting, except when it isn't. For Chloe, some of the very things that we take for granted are her poison. Instead of lamenting the losses of MY favorite foods, I had to teach Chloe to love new foods that were safe for her. I had to create a new cuisine for her and for all of us in her family to share with her.

After her allergy testing in November last year, we knew, in the words of her physician, we had to keep doing what we were doing and do it well. I felt a great deal of relief just to know for sure what to avoid, and I started paying attention to posts, blogs, emails, recipes, recommendations from friends, and the opportunities around me.

We found that one of Chloe's favorite foods was tamales. Pork, masa (corn), and red chile sauce are the only ingredients, and frequently the mothers of my students make and sell them at my school. I learned which cooks made the best-tasting tamales that Chloe liked, and the cooks learned to approach me when they were making tamales because they know I'm always good for one or two dozen. I learned to individually wrap and freeze them, like Hot Pockets, as Chloe's personal convenience food.

I learned to change from cooking with butter to cooking solely with olive oil as a base for sauteeing. I learned to layer fresh cuts of meat with potatoes and vegetables in the crock pot for a meal everyone in our family would like. I learned to notice that many of the recipes published in popular women's magazines were easily modified to be Chloe-safe and started editing them and putting them in a notebook.

I learned to read ingredients lists on packaged food. I learned to read them upside down and backwards and with whiny, impatient children in the background. I learned to look on every packaged food item for the allergy warning, and I learned that sometimes it was the store brand that had an ingredient we needed to avoid, and sometimes it was the generic brand, and I learned to read the ingredients again when I got home from the store and throw things away if my gut told me it was unsafe. I learned to read ingredients lists and allergy warnings on things I didn't think I needed to, like jelly beans and rice krispies, and ketchup. I learned that soy sauce has wheat in it and Worcestershire sauce has anchovies in it.

I learned that food processed on shared equipment with allergens is not ok for Chloe, but that food processed in shared facilities is.

I learned to consciously think about filling Chloe's cup with rice drink. I learned to consciously say it for her, to distinguish those words from "milk," and she eventually learned to say "rice drink" instead of "milk" too.

I learned how to administer an epi-pen. I learned to keep epi-pens in my purse, at school, and in the kitchen. I learned to keep Benadryl in her room and in my purse and at school and in the kitchen.

I learned how to cry and to let go and then go on.

I learned how to keep one cutting board for bread and cheese and one cutting board "Chloe-safe." I keep Sharpies in the kitchen for labeling food "Chloe-safe." I wipe bread crumbs off the counter and I never let her "wash dishes" if the dishes have had unsafe food on them.

I learned to keep separate utensils and plates for her food when she had just turned one. I learned how to teach Andrew what foods she can have and what she can't. I learned how to enjoy the sight of Chloe eating cereal just like her brother, and how nice it was that each child could have their own cereal box to look at while they ate and therefore not fight. I learned to distinguish by sight one of Chloe's gluten, egg, dairy and nut-free "Whole-O's" from one of Andrew's "Honey Nut O's."

I learned how to say, "ella allergica a leche, trigo, huevos, y cacahuates."

I learned how to communicate with teachers and other parents about her food allergies. I learned how to insist politely that strangers not feed her and kids not share their snacks. I learned how to make Chloe-safe snacks for other kids to eat with her.

I learned how to cook Chloe-safe holiday meals that were not immediately recognizable as being completely free of Chloe's food allergens.

I learned how to cook healthy, whole-foods meals and appreciate the purity and bounty of freshly harvested food. I learned how to search for and clean up every last m&m, Cheerio, and drop of milk spilled in the house.

I learned how to find the gluten-free section in any grocery store, and to notice that gluten-free does not necessarily mean allergy-friendly, but that sometimes it does. I learned how to ask our local food co-op, of which I am now a member, to carry sunflower seed butter.

I learned how important it is to talk and communicate and talk again and then praise Chloe's caregivers for their vigilance. I learned how to tell others who have never heard of a child being allergic to anything about Chloe's food allergies.

I learned that it is an immune-response to certain proteins, and that it is incurable, and that someday, maybe, she might possibly outgrow her food allergies although the likelihood is remote and that we are in this for life.

I learned at last that I needed to bake for Chloe. I learned which flours were gluten-free and--by intensive trial and error (gluten free pie and pizza crust just isn't worth it) --which recipes to use to make items that are actually delicious--muffins, pancakes, cookies, and most importantly, Chloe's gluten-free, vegan chocolate birthday cake with chocolate frosting, and that it's totally ok to lick the spoon 'cause there's no eggs in it.

I learned that the list of delicious and wonderful food Chloe can enjoy is miles longer than the list of things she can't have, and that at long last an incredibly difficult task can become second nature, and after that a thing to celebrate.

Happy 2nd Birthday, Chloe, I love you!

Hit and miss with local restaurants

Here's our tally so far.

Hit: Calvillo's Mexican Buffet.
Calvillo's makes extremely yummy food, The best aspect is that it's a buffet, and we can pick and choose the safe foods for Chloe without too much guesswork. Another reason I like it is that the chef will custom-make any dish for you. Not that we need to, with so many great offerings that are already safe for Chloe such as beans, salads, fruit, tamales, and corn tortillas. It's a little on the pricy side to take the whole family on a casual outing, but definitely worth it for peace of mind and great personal service from the cook.

Hit: St. Ives Pub.
I was a little worried going into this one because pub food generally means cheesy foods, or foods covered in bread crumbs and deep fried (or both). However. What we did for Chloe is order a turkey bacon guacamole wrap without the cheese, the guacamole (I don't trust sauces and dips unless I make my own, they're obviously safe like salsa, or I've talked personally with the cook), and the wrap. We ended up with a plate of turkey, bacon and tomato slices, shredded lettuce, and plain potato chips. Slightly unorthodox but definitely safe. Bonus: she loved drinking iced water out of a cute cup with a straw.

Half a Hit: True Grit Steakhouse.
Again, a little worrisome, not because of the food itself but because of how it's prepared. Steakhouses love to smother everything in butter. We were out of luck on the vegetables, because they were apparently boiled to within an inch of their life and then completely done in with a boatload of butter. But, we were able to order a plain baked potato and then cut enough of the tender meat inside a large steak for Chloe to be reasonably certain she was not ingesting more than atom-sized amounts of the butter the steak was sauteed in. What made it not quite a full hit was the fact that we couldn't get anything fresh for her, but she dug right into the potato and meat. The fact that John Wayne movie posters plastered the walls somewhat made up for the excess of butter.

Miss: Subway.
We ordered a sandwich for Chloe with the meat and veggies wrapped in one paper and the bread and cheese wrapped in another paper. At the restaurant, all Chloe was interested in was the ham and the olives, so we fed her that with no problems. I put the tomatoes and pickles into a cup and sent it with her lunch at school the next day. Big problems. She broke out in hives just from touching the veggies--on her hand, arm, and mouth. Luckily she didn't ingest any. On the Subway web site, I researched carefully the ingredients lists and their allergy information to see if a preservative might have caused the reaction. Of course, tomatoes and pickles and such are inherently safe, as the web site proclaims and no odd preservatives were listed. But, tomatoes and pickles and such which have been handled by gloves that have touched bread and cheese previously...not so good. Subway is definitely out.

More on local and chain restaurants in a later post.

recognizable food

Years ago, when I first moved to the country, a friend sent me information on how to find hormone-free meats. I wasn't as country-rural-savvy as I am now, because now I know that most ranchers you can buy from only sell hormone-free meat. Of course I didn't have an allergic child then whose every sweet breath and unselfconscious smile I wanted to preserve with all my might, and whose condition prompted me to research the whole-foods movement.

It took a while, but we've finally done it. I've already mentioned the 1/2 cow we bought in October from a local rancher. Someone I know personally, in fact. Furthermore, in fact, the cow was raised by a former student on grass I've probably seen driving to school and back.

Now, finally, on Tuesday, we are going to get our first food box from the local...I'm not sure what you'd call it. It's a gas station/convenience store/organic potato outlet and, I've just learned, a distributor of organic produce, bread, and eggs. A gal I work with was chatting about it at lunch one day. You sign up for a plan, and every other week on Tuesday, a huge cooler box full of organic produce shows up on your front porch. You set out the old cooler and they take it and replace it with the new one full of fresh food.

Food that shows up on your doorstep??? That's organic? And fresh? Hello.

A word I used in one of my last posts has stuck with me for a few days, now. Recognizable. I want my food to be recognizable. "Oh," she said, a smile playing at the corners of her mouth, "how delicious this roasted eggplant with basil and sea salt is!" "Yes, and what a lovely beef roast," he replied as the carving knife glinted in his hand. Recognizable, like that.

For a long time, long before Chloe, I've watched in amazement as people loaded up their shopping carts with food that comes in boxes of various shapes and sizes, or crinkly packages. I mean, LOADED--boxes and packages mounded over the top of the cart. The shoppers are usually leaning over the front bent at the hips, strolling along as if they'd had to allot their entire day to meander the grocery store for boxes and packages and their feet hurt; bowed as if crushed under the weight of all that mystery.

The crazy thing is that there are pictures all over the boxes telling you what is inside, food elements broken down, chopped, burnt, stirred, processed and MESSED WITH until they are long past their original form. "This box has oval-shaped brown things inside, I think," she mused--and how many possibilities can you think of that fit that description?? Even with the pictures, you still can't tell what the food is really MADE of. And reading the ingredients doesn't help, either.

I saw, when we got the lists for Chloe's restricted diet, that I was going to have to learn some new words, "code words" that really meant "milk" or "eggs" or "wheat" or "peanuts" which equal life-threatening distress for my child.

I can't imagine the amount of time it would tack on to a shopping trip if you had to read the long lists on each box and package of processed foods of what the stuff is actually made of. Was it Michael Pollan who uses the term "food-like substances" in his new book? Ok, reluctant disclaimer: I admit to eating food-like substances such as Cheez-its occasionally because I'm dumb and human and sometimes stressed, but I would never serve that to my family for supper or pretend to consider it a logical source of nutrition.

I digress, I see that my original topic was "food boxes" so I'd better get back to it. Recognizable. When you go to the produce section of the grocery store, you see oblong orange things and you immediately know they are carrots. Raw, unprocessed, un-messed-with. You see a crinkly purple spherical object and you know it's red cabbage as naked as the day it was born. And so on. No guesswork, no reading ingredients lists. A red pepper is a red pepper is a red pepper.

I love looking at a dish simmering on the stove and be able to pick out each and every ingredient I used: chicken, check. Potatoes, check. Corn, check. Tomatoes, check. In the bowl on the table: baby spinach leaves, check.

It is a Good Thing to know what one is eating, and an Even Better Thing to know that what one is feeding one's small, innocent, trusting child will not damage or kill her.

How Much Better, then, to have a box full of Recognizable Food show up at your doorstep every other Tuesday? And earn airline miles to boot???

If I could make Chloe understand that organic mangoes (and about seventeen other things) will show up on our doorstep tomorrow afternoon, without any effort on my part at all (besides calling with the payment info and directions to the house [a mile east]), I'd be thrilled because I know she'd be thrilled.