Mike's Secret Meat Loaf recipe

Well, secret no more, perhaps, but relatively secret as far as the intended audience for this dish: finicky, younger diners. If they knew raw onion- and a pretty hefty amount- went into this, along with whole grain crackers and- gulp!- an egg- it would probably be a hard sell. But maybe I am underestimating my dear children. I'm pretty sure all of them have seen the meat loaf in the process of being made and have yet to make a comment- not one declaration of "gross!" In any event, meat loaf is a great way to bring some healthy ingredients into a kid's diet with practically no objections.

Mike's Secret Meat Loaf recipe

Ingredients

1/2 -3/4 lb ground sirloin
1/2- 3/4 lb ground turkey
(note: just as long as they are about the same)
1 small-medium onion, chopped
1 small carrot, sliced or diced, doesn't matter
whole grain crackers or crisp bread- I use Ryvita or multigrain saltines
1 egg
3 tbl worcestershire sauce
a hearty slather or squirt of dijon mustard
ketchup
salt and pepper
1/2 tsp garlic powder

Preheat the oven to 350 degrees f.

whizz enough crackers in the food processor to make about a cup of crumbs. I have to say I don't have a precise measurement here, just eyeball it.

Now, combine the onion and carrot in the processor and pulse until finely chopped. You may have to mash the stuff down several times- the objective, especially with the carrot, is as close to pulp as possible.

Mix the onions and carrots with the crumbs in a bowl. add an egg, mustard and worcestershire. Toss in a couple pinches of kosher salt and several grinds of fine black pepper, and the garlic powder. Mix with a spoon until consistent throughout.

Add the turkey and beef. Sorry, there is no avoiding it- the best way to do this is with your hands. Wash up, roll up your sleeves and get into it. it must be thoroughly combined, but not compacted too harshly. Use your fingers, not your palms. I've tried processing it all together in the cuisinart and really just don't like the texture- too fine and even and tough, rather like an overcooked hot dog. Yuck. Hand mixed is best.

Plop it into a loaf pan. Gently pat the top down until flat. paint on a layer of ketchup with a basting brush. Bake on the center rack of your oven 25-35 mins, depending on the shape of your pan. Ours is an older, smaller loaf pan, which means it's a deeper loaf. It takes about 35 mins.

This never fails to be a crowd pleaser. This time we served it with haricots verts (small, pleasantly mild green beans) and roasted whole carrots- which Louis loved along with the grownups. He's becoming a young man! All in all, a delicious, hearty meal. Hope it becomes a hit with your family too.

Kid Cuisine 1: Chicken Nuggets

As a father of three, with the eldest currently eleven, I've spent so much money on chicken nuggets in the past ten years I ought to own stock in Tyson. If there were such a thing as kid chow, I'm sure this is pretty much the form it would take. Add a side of ketchup and, between that and the chicken and the breading, and a side of carrot sticks or diced fruit, it can take the semblance of a well-rounded meal.

But only if done properly. There's not much in the way of fiber and minerals in standard chicken nuggets. Plus, they are fried, which is really not the greatest thing nutritionally. I first looked at already available alternatives to the mainstream. I found a line of baked nuggets, but they tasted a little odd to me, and the munchkin for whom they were purchased turned her nose up at them. A very attractive alternative as far as I am concerned is the Quorn nugget. I think they have great flavor, and sure are crunchy if cooked in the oven. But the texture of the mycoprotein tipped Miss O off, and Quorn also ended up in the reject pile. Dismayed by the fat and salt content of even some of the alternatives, I finally resolved to produce a healthy nugget any parent would be proud to serve, and any kid would be happy to guzzle down in lieu of the packaged ones.

I'm happy to say an excellent bit of inspiration was already out there on the internet, just waiting for me to stumble (google) upon it: a recipe for "healthy nuggets" on Cooks.com. The concept is brilliant: dredge pieces of chicken in yogurt, then roll in crushed corn stuffing mix. Couldn't be simpler. Ours needed some salt, pepper and garlic powder added to the breading though. Just stick in a 350 degree oven and wait til they are slightly browned, fifteen minutes. They have to be taken out halfway through and turned over.


We decided to experiment with the substrate. Which would be better, naked nuggets on parchment, or on a sheet lightly sprayed with cooking spray? So we tried both. In the end, the sheet with the cooking spray allowed the nuggets to be peeled up without breading loss; however, the parchment nuggets were crunchier. so some tweaking still needs to be done.

Did it pass the kid test? I think so. She ate a "giant" nugget, as she called it, without out batting an eye. I see this as a tremendous success. Although sounds like next time they seem to be smaller, not so giant-sized.

SOAPBOX: Kids and food

Let's just call this my kids and food manifesto.

I've had it. Our kids diets are appalling. They barely eat one fruit or vegetable per day. They gorge themselves on frozen processed foods, super salty ramen noodles, and snack on candy. If it weren't for ketchup, all their meals would be monochromatic.

I'm ready to lay down the law. Our mission is clear--this is our summer to get the family healthy

• Start them all on a kid's dietary supplement that isn't heavy with artificial colorings.

• Get them involved in planting and growing vegetables in our garden.

• I will start keeping food diary--I want to keep track of what they're eating and how quickly afterward someone has a meltdown, asks for a snack, or complains of being tired. Kids can have bad reactions to food colorings and nutritional deficits, which might manifest themselves as mood swings, anger issues, and an inability to express oneself clearly.

• I want them on probiotics. Kids who have had repeated ear infections and courses of antibiotics can have an excess of candida in their systems. Candida causes yeast infections and produces toxins--another factor that might contribute to mood swings. Probiotics would counteract the bad effects of antibiotics.

• Get the kids involved in food production--baking, cooking, mixing stuff in the kitchen

• Place a stronger emphasis on healthy foods in the diet

1. Order some nutrition books geared toward kids--convince them that they will be happier and healthier if they eat more fruits and veggies. Our kids will probably need more convincing than most and a definitive outside source would help tremendously. While discussing nutrition, they frequently seem to be somewhat mystified on how to define "healthy foods." A good book would go a long way to clarify some issues for them. I found a book on Amazon: My Food Pyramid
2. Talk with them at meal times and at the grocery store about healthy choices. Get them into a constant dialogue regarding what foods and activities would keep them strong and healthy.

• Stop serving junk. Throw all the junk away. No more chips. No more nuggets. Nothing fried. No more cereals with marshmallows. No more super sweet yogurt in dayglo colors.

I honestly don't mean to be a Nazi about this, but I feel enough is enough. I won't deny them the many pleasures of good food. This campaign of mine isn't about denial. It's about adding more things to the diet and judiciously expending their "pleasure" calories on foods that are higher in quality than Trix cereal or some damned box of cookies that contains garbage none of us can pronounce. Homemade pleasures are in abundance at our home and the kids can get involved in making those things. I know how to make homemade marshmallows for crying out loud! Mama ain't no slouch in the kitchen. The Chips A-frickin'-Hoy are not entering this household ever again!

--A