Tag Archive: staff

1. Our Favourite Recipes

   August 18, 2017 6:42 am 2 Comments

   Hungry for some meal inspiration?

   Maybe you’re looking for a great snack, dessert, dinner or potluck idea?

   A cherished recipe can either come down from a long family tradition or even just a favourite cookbook. In search of some new recipe ideas, I asked my fellow foodie co-workers what their favourite foods are to share with friends and family. 

   Hopefully you’ll feel inspired to give them a try and let us know how they turn out!

   Tofu Scramble

   

   ^{Photo: Hot for Food}

   “One of my personal favourite things to make is tofu scramble.  It’s easy, delicious, affordable and it wins over everyone I know that tastes it (even if they say they don’t like tofu)! Usually I make it without a recipe and it’s different each time, but when I first started out I used a recipe.  Try this one from Hot for Food!” – Lauren, Communications (NYH Blogger)

   Get the recipe!

   Pasta Salad

   

   ^{Photo: Jaime Oliver}

   “I’m sharing my secrets with you. I make this pasta salad for literally every potluck.

   It’s super fresh and great for summer because you get to use up so many herbs and tomatoes which I always have a ton of in the garden. Plus it’s vegan.” – Sahar, Community Engagement   

   Get the Recipe!

    

   Lasagna Roll Ups 

   

   ^{Photo: Budget Bytes}

   “Lasagna, a more costly dish to make, can be much less expensive w/ tofu and egg and fancied up if rolled instead of layered.  I have tried this recipe with family, friends, and program participants over the years and all loved it.  In fact, all program participants thought the beef lasagna that we also made would taste better.  In the end, all couldn’t believe it how good the tofu was and all liked it more than the beef for its taste and price.” – Irene, Community Engagement   

   Get the recipe!

   Carrot & Lentil Soup

   

   ^{Photo: Eat, Think and Be Merry} 

   “Carrot & Lentil Soup has full flavour and texture.  Carrots give the soup its colour.  Cumin gives the soup its wonderful aroma and flavour.  Blending the soup gives it its rich creamy texture but without the fat and is a great way to sneak veggies into the meal of kids (or big kids) who don’t like veggies = )” – Irene, Community Engagement

   Get the recipe!

   Herbed Breaded Chicken

   

   ^{Photo: The Cooking Jar}

   “This cookbook (Healthy Eating by Anne Lindsay) is my favourite one because my parents gave it to me on the first day of university. It is my favourite recipe because both of the girls like to help with the preparation and they both enjoy eating it as well as their friends when they come over.  It is also quick and easy to capture the interest of the kids.” – Leslie, Fundraising

   Get the recipe!

   Peanut Sauce

   

   ^{Photo: http://www.restaurant-ledibi-paris18.fr/}

   “I love this recipe because it is a traditional popular food which provides me the tropical taste I am missing so much. Also, the ingredients are easy to get wherever you are in the world, it provides several vitamins, and it has been proved that most of the people from abroad are likely to like this recipe than other African food.” – Hawa, Fundraising

   Get the recipe!

   Raw Zucchini Salad

   

   “This is my dish of the summer because it’s quick, easy, light and DELICIOUS! No cooking involved and makes use of a food that if you have a garden you have way too much of!” Rowena, Operations

   Get the recipe!

    

   Jamaican Curry Chicken

   

   Photo: Island Inspiration Cooking

   “Growing up with my grandparents in Jamaica was amazing. My Grandmother would always be in the kitchen handling business. We’d wake up breakfast and come home to dinner. The kitchen is always smelling delicious from the aroma of flavors. I was always the pickiest eater in the house so most things I wouldn’t eat. However, while mama was in the kitchen cooking I would keep her company by reciting Louis Bennett ( A Jamaican poet) poems to her. We were never forced to learn how to cook but she is always willing to teach us. Instead of her cooking extra just for me to eat I would ask her, ‘Mama, what’s the easiest and quick food I can cook that would also be filled with flavors?’ and of course she said curried chicken. Up to this day if you ask my friends what’s the first food I’ll offer to cook them when they visit? The answer would be curried chicken.” – Kadian, Fundraising

   Get the recipe!

    

   Banana Bread

   

   “Here is my fave recipe, Banana Bread.  It is originally from my friend Lillian.   She is Italian, and the recipe is from her grandma.  She called it Nonna Banana Bread.  Unfortunately, she passed away two years ago from cancer.  Our family loved this recipe from the day I got it from her, which was 28 years ago.  My 2 sons and even my dog Peanut would wait for me to take out from the oven.  In less than 5 minutes, one loaf would disappear.  It reminds me about Lillian every time.” – May, Accounting

   Get the recipe!

   Carrot Cake

   

   “This is my favourite recipe to bring into work because it always puts a smile on the faces of my coworkers!” – Jane, Administration

   Get the recipe!

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   What are YOUR favourite recipes? Share them below in the comments or visit us or tag us on Facebook!

   For more of our recipe recommendations, visit our Pinterest Board!

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2. What to Donate?

   August 4, 2017 5:42 am Comments Off on What to Donate?

   What should we donate to the food bank?

   There are amazing things that you can donate to help your neighbours that use local food bank programs.  There are also some questionable items that make it into the bins as well.

   The staff of North York Harvest Food Bank made a fun video of what should and shouldn’t be donated to the food bank using real donations.  Enjoy!

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3. Healthy Eating for Kids

   May 19, 2017 6:39 am 3 Comments

   Healthy eating. It can be tough for most of us adults to stick to a well-rounded, nutritious diet day to day. With kids it can be a nightmare trying to get them to eat well during the best of times.  It can be especially tough now that so much advertising of sugary foods is directly advertised to children.

   So what is a parent or caregiver to do when a child doesn’t want to eat something healthy?  I went to the experts at NYHFB – Moms, Dads, Aunts, Uncles, Grandparents and Caregivers for their top tips!

   Here are some ideas from the North York Harvest team on how to get a child to enjoy nutritious foods.

   Just give it to them. Exposure is key and if they see you eating healthy they will probably eat healthy too. – Kadian, Fundraising Assistant

   Cook it, don’t offer alternate meals like a caterer. Expose them to many different healthy options. – Maria, Donor Relations

   Make a “kids pasta sauce” with pureed vegetables and strained tomatoes.  – Alberto, Corporate Food Donations Lead 

   When in doubt – hide it!  I make muffins with carrots, zucchini, butternut squash, blueberries, apple etc. and I tell the kids I made cupcakes!  I also sneak in sour cream, eggs and nut butters to add protein;-) – Shirah, Corporate Relationship Manager

   

   For parents, be good role models, give reasonable food options (don’t be short order cooks), trust their stomach, its theirs (kids’ won’t starve themselves for long), involve kids in all parts of food prep starting from gardening to shopping to food prep to cooking where possible. If you fail, try, try, try again! – Irene, Registered Dietician, Evaluation Coordinator

   Deal with picky eaters through buffet style meals (prepare ingredients for kids to make their own owl sandwich as example) – Jane, Receptionist

   

    My younger son was a picky eater when he was young. We varied his diet as much as he would allow but as parents we tried not to obsess about his diet. He is now 35 years old and a great cook! I think that not obsessing about our son’s diet helped all of us…. but at times, it wasn’t easy. – Lisa, Volunteer Manager

   I always just put the fruit and vegetables in the kids’ lunches with no choice in the matter.  Now though, they favour a lot of fruit and hard vegetables as they have found that cucumbers don’t travel well. The girls also have containers for dips for their veggies.  Another way that we got the girls to eat vegetables is with vegetable filling in canellonis, empanadas and in the sauce on gnocchi. – Leslie, Development Assistant

   Grow food and have them pick it- my daughter eats peas and tomatoes because she used to love picking them. Also, keep things simple – kids often like to see and recognize the individual food items rather than having them all mixed up in a confusing mess. And be flexible in how they get their nutrition – if they like to eat plain tofu but you don’t, set aside some tofu for them before adding it to your stir fry. – Rowena, Director of Food Distribution

   

   Smoothies are a fun, healthy and filling option to any meal. – Tammy, Assistant Forklift Instructor

   I found that they would not eat healthy if I had pushed them.  But then they started seeing how much energy I have to be able to work and go for a run afterwards, I said it was because of the way I eat and how what you eat affects your body.  They have started eating the same way and are really seeing a difference. – Harold, Manager of Food Distribution

   Involve kids in the simple decision making concerning food, ask them what they want for dinner. If they prepare it, they are more likely to eat it. et play dates involve snack or meal prep/ food activity (bake cookies, make smoothies, mix drinks) – Ella, Manager, Lawrence Heights Community Food Space
   

   Use fun shaped and colorful utensils and dishes to prepare and serve food. – May, Accounting

   What are your tried and tested methods for getting kids to eat healthy? We’d love to know! Share them in the comments or join the discussion on Facebook or Twitter!

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