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Sometimes Foods, Not So Sometimes at Holiday Time

12/30/2015

I was on vacation this past holiday week and everything special to eat that was offered to us, of course, delighted us but was also filled with sugar and fat, sugar and more sugar! The so-called "Sometimes Foods" (that is what my granddaughter calls them via Sesame Street) were turning into all of the time foods on this holiday.Once home I thought I would start looking for some ideas to make foods and drinks for New Years a bit more anytime foods that looked like sometimes foods. Not as easy as I thought.

I did find a top ten list which very much helps my quest, check this out the Top 10 Ways To Spice Up Your Parties With Fruits & Veggies http://www.fruitsandveggiesmorematters.org/top-10-ways-to-spice-up-your-parties-with-fruits-veggies or these 5 ways to use some fruits and veggies for appetizers.

Dip. Everybody loves fruits and veggies they can dip. Serve up Cheddar & Parmesan Pear Dip, Ranched-Up Hummus, or Pineapple Tidbits.
Wraps. Create delicious finger sandwiches that will fly off the table. Use different combinations of vegetables and cheese in whole wheat tortillas. Cut them bite size and poof! They will be gone. Try Red Pepper & Spinach Wrap, or Wrap-It-Up!
Salads. Forgo pre-dinner nibbles and offer salad as the appetizer/first course. Recipes: Rubies & Greens, Apple-Beet Salad, Golden Glow Pineapple Salad
Soups. Whip up a batch of soup one or two days before your holiday dinner and reheat in a crock-pot for your appetizer. Put out mugs and let company help themselves. Try serving Apple Fennel Soup, Sweet Potato-Pear Soup, or Quick’n Easy Pumpkin Soup.
Cornucopia. Impress your guests with an appetizing, edible centerpiece. Either use a cornucopia basket or a cornucopia shaped bread loaf and fill with cherry tomatoes, snap peas, broccoli florets, mini peppers, or whatever you think your company might like to munch on before dinner.

But I couldn't find really beautiful alternatives for desserts, cannot believe how hard it was. A couple of ideas I found were really for Christmas;
Chocolate Pomegranate Bark
Healthy Coconut and Banana Christmas Fudge

I loved these midnight cookies (pictured top left) at Repeat After Me http://www.repeatcrafterme.com/2012/12/new-years-confetti-clock-cookies.html but again not exactly the type of alternative that I was looking for and I am looking for real competition here. Of course, I do have a no sugar cookie recipe that I could substitute for.

What I did find out was that we are going to be giving children and adults alot more sometimes foods in the next couple of days which means they are no longer sometimes foods. I got to see an entire NY party for kids that included everything from hot dog filled pastries (not even turkey ones) to sugar free jello.
I did see one on the Food Network that had a few ideas like: Spinach Tortellini Skewers, not a bad one. Take a peek http://www.foodnetwork.com/recipes/ree-drummond/tortellini-skewers.html

Looks like I have a great idea for a #CACFPtac Holiday Cookbook that doesn't have so many sometimes foods in it...

I guess I will keep researching this and trying some new ideas today. But meanwhile, maybe something like this table is an option. I hope you had better luck than I did and you submit what you did to #CACFPtac http://www.cacfptakeactionchallenge.org/. See you in 2016 with more #CACFPtac challenges.

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BEST of CACFP 2015 Do Tell!

12/14/2015

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Well, what do you think the best of CACFP 2015 was? Was it a person, an initiative or was it an agency, an event, a partner perhaps? We could have a contest to find out but I decided I would just tell you what I thought.

I think it was YOU! All of you who participated in the Child and Adult Care Food Program in 2015. Whether you are a multi-source or single source sponsoring agency, a parent, a child care provider in a home and/or center, a child, a monitor, a field rep, a trainer, a speaker, a claims processor, a sponsor association, an advocate, a clerk, a conference or agency sponsor, a vendor, admin staff, a fiscal agent, accounting dept, a cleaning service, a leader, a follower, a teacher, a board member, a CACFP volunteer, a Director, a nutritionist, an R.D. a family member who listens to CACFP'ers talk about CACFP, a competitor, a translator, a blogger,a grant writer, a developer, a client/customer service rep, a contractor. The state agency that administers the Child and Adult Care Food Program. The United States Department of Agriculture and its Food and Nutrition Services division, the USDA Regional staff. Yes,the people in Washington D.C. working everyday on Child Nutrition Reauthorizatioin, people like Geri Henchy. And most important, the White House, the Congress,the Senate the ones who sponsor and/or support a strong 2015 Child Nutrition Bill and the ones that don't because they make the rest of the supporters and sponsors look good. The Child Care Associations, the ones we will partner with in the future and the ones we partner with now, the aligned programs whose initiatives,support and partnership creates a great sense of community in building a healthy culture. To all of those that I missed, it was you too! The Child and Adult Care Food Program would be broken or gone if it wasn't for you, for all of you.

More...it was what you did. The inspiration, education, patience, collaboration, social media :), partnerships,understanding, empathy, motivation, research, data, dialogue, smiles, laughter, humor, communication, belief, teamwork, unselfishness, community, language, perseverance, dedication, technology, long hours,competition,hard work and faith that was the best of CACFP in 2015.

Yes, it was you, it was all of you. There is not any data to support any of these words just my thoughts and feelings about the Best of CACFP 2015. Happy New Year!

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Sometimes Foods, Not So Sometimes at Holiday Time

BEST of CACFP 2015 Do Tell!

Chris Clark

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