We went to the allotment today and the kids harvested a couple of beetroots.
The allotment is giving us beetroots, tomatoes, broccoli, kale, and herbs right now. The other crops have either died away with the cooler weather or have been harvested already. We have an abundance of kale which should see us right through the winter. I read an article recently that suggested allotments may become an essential source of food once Brexit is upon us. Let’s hope we don’t have any food shortages. Either way, we’ll continue to grow crops on our little plot.
Tonight we’re having chickpea and cauliflower curry. Daniel loves cauliflower. He has very grown-up tastes but it wasn’t always this way. I think it’s important to encourage children to eat different flavours otherwise they’ll turn into adults who eat like 5-year-olds. It’s not easy to do and I don’t have any special tips other than don’t give them dessert until they’ve eaten a substantial portion of the main meal.
I looked in our pantry the other day and was struck by how many different types of legumes there are. They say you have to give up so much food to become vegan but I think it’s the other way around: when you become vegan you start to explore food and eat new things. In my pantry I have chickpeas, red lentils, red kidney beans, cannellini beans, bakes beans, green lentils, black beans, fava beans, and yellow split peas. Beans have an anti-diabetic, anti-obesity effect, and lower blood pressure and cholesterol. They are a magic food and we all need to be eating beans every day. Half a cup of beans a day could drop your cholesterol by 20 points!
I made it into the local paper yesterday for the handover of the cycle design book to Councillor Martin Ford. The photo is interesting because the councillor is all decked out in helmet and biking gear while I – the representative of the cycle forum – am wearing a long skirt and regular clothes. You’d think it would be the other way around but I’m glad it’s like this. People who ride bikes are just regular people.
rachel.blog 
I love the way manuals becomes annuals in the newspaper article!
Clearly manuals are a variety of bean.
Congrats on getting featured in the newspaper for the cause you are advocating! I hope it results in some tangible benefits for your city!
> I think it’s important to encourage children to eat different flavours otherwise they’ll turn into adults who eat like 5-year-olds.
Thanks for the heads up, Rachel!
> It’s not easy to do and I don’t have any special tips other than don’t give them dessert until they’ve eaten a substantial portion of the main meal.
Yeah, dessert is not an everyday thing in our home, but I wish you could give more tips!
Being flavourless myself (and I don’t regret it though 😀 ) , I am not sure how else can I help my son.
One thing we’ve tried to do is to introduce new foods frequently, even when the kids turn their nose up at it the first time, to continue to expose them to it. I’ve heard that children need to sample a new food at least ten times before they’ll start to like it. It can be tempting as a parent when your child doesn’t like something to avoid cooking it for them again but I think it’s better to expose them to it on more than one occasion. It doesn’t have to be every night – maybe every fortnight for several months or even less frequently.
Great write up (and no sinister sunglasses!!) Karen
Thanks!