‘Earth to Table in the Shortest Time’… The locavores have arrived!

Locavore … a term coined on World Environment Day, 2005, to promote the buying /eating of produce grown within the 100 mile (160Km) radius.

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The issue being addressed in 2005 was the alarming trend of produce being transported half way across the globe to feed a ‘global appetite for exotic fare'. What was satiating the palate was no different in calories, but meant hugely in terms of miles it travelled, the cost of shipping … in other words, the significant carbon footprint it left stamped on a burdened Earth.

I am a firm supporter of the 100 mile diet. My Indian lamb chops taste as good as any I have had. New Zealand lamb chops may still be the best, but I am ‘palate happy'. I cringed when I heard of a new butter chicken launched in a city in India, advertised as “Anaarkali, the classiest Butter Chicken on earth is about more than just exotic ingredients & years of research.” A dish that serves 2 is for Rs 6000/- (USD 136/-), counts as its ingredients fresh tomatoes and Hunt’s Tomato Paste, Danish Lurpak Unsalted Butter, Fillipo Berio Olive Oil and Evian Natural Spring Water. It might well be the best butter chicken on the face of this Earth, and the entrepreneurs mean well as they are donating part of the proceeds to charity, yet, wouldn’t ‘eating off the land’ have been better for Earth?

This is not about food snobbery. It’s all a matter of perspective, and it’s heartening to see foodie bloggers playing a hugely responsible role in following a locavore diet. It’s wonderful to see them following seasons, blogs glowing orange with anything from persimmons to pumpkins announcing fall. Even better to see folk roasting their own pumpkins for puree! It’s imperative to begin counting ‘Food Miles’, or the distance food travels from where it is grown. The words ring loud… the closer the food, the better the taste! Andrea Meyers leads with her Grow Your Own event, a twice-a-month blogging event that celebrates the foods we grow or raise ourselves and the dishes we make using our homegrown products.
In September this year, the Obama administration launched a 'Know Your Farmer, Know Your Food' initiative to connect consumers with local producers. The idea is not to limit choice, but to expand consciences, and encourage healthy seasonal eating. 2 recent cookbooks that sing the locavore anthem of ‘Earth to table in the shortest time’ are worth a mention. In their book, Earth to Table, renowned chefs Jeff Crump and Bettina Schormann remind us of the relationship between local eating and taste, and demonstrate how you can reduce your carbon footprint without diminishing your enjoyment of food. Bringing together stories of the passage of seasons on the farm; how-to sections; stunning photographs; and, of course, creative and delectable recipes that will leave anyone wondering why they ever considered eating a tomato in February. In Cooking for Friends, award-winning chef, world-renowned restaurateur, bestselling author, and Hell’s Kitchen star Gordon Ramsey offers us more than 100 exceptional recipes from his own family table. The way Gordon cooks here embodies his strongly held views: use in-season, fresh ingredients at their peak; support local producers and farmers' markets whenever possible; and celebrate the food culture and its many influences.

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This post was written by Deeba

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Edible Flowers

Flowers have long been used in cuisines around the world, including ancient Rome, Greece, and China, and the practice is once again growing in popularity. Growing your own edible flowers will add beautiful color to the landscape as well as delicious flavors to your table, and you can control the conditions and safety of your edible flowers by following organic cultivation practices.

Precautions

Not all common flowers are edible, and even some edible flowers can cause discomfort if consumed in large quantities. Daylilies can act as a diuretic or a laxative, and apple blossoms have cyanide precursors, so always research the type of flower you plan to use before adding it to food.

Pesticides for flowers have not been tested to determine safety on food crops, so be very careful and make sure the flowers have not been sprayed with pesticides or other chemicals. For this reason you should avoid flowers from florists, nurseries, garden centers, and any growing by the roadside. Exercise caution if you have allergies, asthma, or hay fever as some flowers may cause a reaction.

The following is a brief list of common edible flowers in North America, but this list is not exhaustive. For more detailed information, you may want to consult an authoritative book on edible flowers or contact your state’s university cooperative extension. You can find a list of poisonous flowers at Wikipedia.

Herb Flowers

basil
chives
dill
lavender
mint
rosemary
sage
thyme

Ornamental Flowers

calendula
carnations
chamomile
chrysanthemum
daylilies
impatiens
Johnny-jump-up
nasturtiums
pansies
scented geraniums
tulips
violets

Trees & Shrubs

apple
fig
hibiscus
lilacs
peach
pear
plum
roses

Vegetables

arugula
broccoli
fennel
okra
squash

References

North Carolina State University, Department of Horticulture – Edible Flowers

Iowa State University Extension – Reiman Gardens: Edible Flowers

National Gardening Association – Edible Landscaping: Growing Edible Flowers in Your Garden

Wikipedia – Edible flowers

Wikipedia – Poisonous flowers

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This post was written by Andrea

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Summer Fruits: Blueberries

Summer wouldn’t be the same without some of our favorite fruits, and blueberries are at the top of the list. Though native to northeastern parts of North America, they are now grown in many parts of North America and in other countries around the world. Blueberries typically fall into two categories: highbush, which can grow as much as 4 meters tall; and lowbush (aka “wild”), which typically grow just 35 centimeters tall or less, but can grow as tall as 60 centimeters. The various species produce fruit at different times in the season, and are thus categorized as early, mid-season, or late.

Early fruits start arriving in the United States in mid-May, so blueberries are already in the markets and grocery stores. We planted six blueberry bushes this spring with harvest times spread all across the season in hopes of having blueberries throughout the summer. It takes a few years before the bushes produce fruit and you have to protect them from birds and other animals, which enjoy the berries as much as people do. The fruits can be used in a wide variety of ways, including preserves, baked goods, frozen desserts, sauces, yogurt, beverages, or just enjoyed out of hand.

In recent years blueberries have received recognition as an important food for good nutrition. Both lowbush and highbush blueberries are rich in vitamins and cancer-fighting antioxidants, and studies conducted by the USDA Human Nutrition Research Center have shown benefits in the fight against chronic disease and reversal of short-term memory loss associated with Alzheimer's as well as the loss of motors skills with age. Recent studies even demonstrate a link between blueberry consumption and improved blood pressure, lowered cholesterol, and total lipid levels.

So go ahead, treat yourself to the the taste and health benefits of blueberries while they are in season, and if it’s hot where you are you can try this berry sorbet made with blueberries, raspberries, and marionberries.

THREE BERRY SORBET

Makes about 1 quart.

Equipment

medium saucepan
blender
fine mesh strainer
1 to 2 quart bowl with lid (or plastic wrap)
ice cream freezer

Ingredients

1 cup (175 g) granulated sugar
1/2 cup (120 ml) water
1/2 teaspoon salt
1 pound (~900 g) blueberries, rinsed and patted dry
8 ounces (~450 g) raspberries, rinsed and patted dry
8 ounces (~450 g) marionberries (or other blackberries), rinsed and patted dry
1/4 cup (60 ml) freshly squeezed lemon juice

Preparation

1. In the saucepan combine the sugar, water, and salt. Cook over medium heat until completely dissolved. Let cool for 15 minutes.

2. In the blender, purée the berries with the syrup and lemon juice until very smooth. Press the mixture through the strainer to remove the skins and seeds. Cover and refrigerate until chilled, at least 4 hours or overnight.

3. Churn in an ice cream freezer according to the manufacturer's directions.

References

Wikipedia – Blueberries

Wild Blueberry Association of North America

US Highbush Blueberry Council

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This post was written by Andrea

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GYO - May # 28 Round up

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Thanks to all the participants who have sent delicious , mouthwatering entries to this unique event . We have very interesting recipes to share with all. I have bookmarked my favorites too :) Thanks Andrea for giving us the wonderful opportunity to host this event.

Here are entries in random order . Do check the album to see the mouth watering delicacies.

Green is my Valley's Garden Bounty Shrimp Ceviches

Everything's Herbed 's Burrong Mangga ( Pickled Mangoes)

Allotment 2 Kitchen's Forced Rhubarb Cheese cake

Standing Straight's Duck Confit in white wine reduction


Recession Recipes' Quinoa salad

Less sugar Please's Spinach Ambat

Chocolate & Croisssants' Tomato Salad

Andrea's Recipes' Lemon thyme Sorbet

Masala Heaven's Baingan Masala

Kitchen Gadget Girl's French Breakfast radish Appetizers

Evening Shade Morning latte's Herb Butter roast Turkey and Zucchini Bread


Erbe in Cucina's Flower's Tea


Taste Food's Scallop Cilantro Gremolata

Kitchen Therapy's Chive on Fish

Salt and Pepper's Salad Greens

Eating Drinking and other Adventure's Quick Stir Fried Peas

Gustoso's Baba Ghanoush

Green is my Valley's Tartines

Playing House's Parmesan Chive Crackers

Evening shade Morning Latte's Garden herb Bread


Here is it folks ! and I hope you guys have a great week ahead! if I have missed out any entry, please leave a note in the comment section or email us , I will look into it .

This post was written by Dee

Are you interested in contributing to The Daily Tiffin? Drop us an email: thedailytiffin@gmail.com. We look forward to hearing your ideas.

GYO - May #28

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The daily tiffin is proud to host this month's GYO. Thanks andrea for allowing us to host this wonderful event.

Grow Your Own is a twice-a-month blogging event that celebrates the foods we grow or raise ourselves and the dishes we make using our homegrown products. Anyone with a blog can participate! Do you write a food blog? A gardening blog? A farm blog? A hunting or foraging blog? An eco blog? A frugal blog? Anything whatsoever related to home and garden or fun activities to do with children? You can write a post about some of the edibles you have raised, grown, or found and cooked with. Having a food blog is not a requirement for participation.

The rules are simple:

* Make a dish that uses at least one item from your very own garden or farm and post about it. Your garden doesn’t have to be big. Container gardens are welcome! If you hunted or foraged, those items are also eligible. You can also use something that was given to you, but the giver must have personally grown or raised the item. If you paid for it, then it doesn’t count.

* Anything edible that you have grown or raised qualifies, including fruits, vegetables, herbs, sprouts, edible flowers, nuts, grains, legumes, dairy products, eggs, livestock, and anything else I might have forgotten. Produce from both indoor and outdoor gardens are welcome! Different regions will have different things available, so feel free to feature things unique to your area. (Rambutan trees, anyone?) We are all about celebrating variety!

* Please make sure your dish is posted during the month of the event because we like to celebrate seasonal items. One post per blog, please.
* As a courtesy, please include a link to this announcement in your blog post, and then update later with a link to the round-up.

* If you want to include one of the Grow Your Own badges in your post, feel free to grab one from here. (Please upload to your own server/image repository.) Logos professionally designed by Jeff Meyers.

To include your post in the round-up, send an email to thedailytiffin(at)gmail (dot)com by the 30th of May 2009 with the following information:

* Subject line: Grow Your Own #
* Your name and location (country, state if applicable)
* Your blog URL
* Permalink to your post
* 300×300 pixel photo of your dish (As long as the photo is no larger than 300 pixels in either direction, it will work.)

For an event like this I think it’s useful and interesting to see what is fresh and available from different regions at different times of the year, so please make sure you include the location information when you submit your entry.

It’s hard to keep track of entries if we don’t receive an email, so please remember to email your information to us. We feel bad if we miss someone’s post!


We will post a round-up of all our dishes within a few days after the deadline (of course subject to any other events in life, acts of God, etc). Questions? Please ask in the comments or email us.

We are eagerly looking forward to seeing those wonderful recipes made by the ingredients from your kitchen garden !

This post was written by Dee

Are you interested in contributing to The Daily Tiffin? Drop us an email: thedailytiffin@gmail.com. We look forward to hearing your ideas.

Spring Vegetables: Rhubarb

Originally grown in Asia as a medicinal plant, rhubarb is botanically a vegetable but its tart flavor makes it a terrific ingredient in fruity desserts, compotes, and chutneys. Think rhubarb pie or galettes, rhubarb torte, rhubarb crumble, rhubarb jelly, and rhubarb drinks such as martinis and margaritas. Two popular red fruits, strawberries and cherries, work well with rhubarb and that’s perfect because they are all in season at the same time, so try them together in pies, jellies, or even sangria.

Whether you buy rhubarb from a produce stand, farmers markets, or grocery store, or perhaps grow your own, you’ll want fresh crisp stalks and deep red color, which usually indicates more flavor. The leaves are not edible as they contain the toxin oxalic acid, so cut those away completely. Stand the stalks in a glass of cold water for an hour to refresh them before cooking. Rhubarb stores well in both the refrigerator and freezer, and also cans well using the hot-pack boiling water method.

Growing rhubarb is relatively easy because it’s a perennial, it just needs lots of room to accommodate the large leaves, so pick a spot on the edge of your garden where it can take off and not cover your other plants. Rhubarb thrives in moderately acidic soil, so add some pine bark mulch if necessary. In warm climates it grows year round and produces two harvests each year, while in temperate climates the parts above ground disappear during the winter and grow back in the spring producing one harvest each year. You can force rhubarb in winter, just cover it with an overturned bucket or pot, and it will sprout more quickly and produce longer stalks and smaller leaves. To harvest rhubarb, just pull the stalks away.

Raw rhubarb is a good source of Vitamin K and a moderately good source of Vitamin C, Calcium, and Manganese, though cooking slightly reduces the amount of Vitamin C and Manganese and increases the Calcium.

For a delicious way to get started cooking with rhubarb, try this quick and easy recipe for spiced chutney, which pairs well with roasted pork, chicken, duck, or lamb. The red onion and cherries carry on the bright red theme and the rhubarb and apple cider vinegar add a delicious tartness.

Spiced Rhubarb Chutney

(adapted from Epicurious)

Equipment

6-quart Dutch oven or pot

Ingredients

3/4 cup (131 g) granulated sugar
1/3 cup (80 ml) apple cider vinegar
1 tablespoon minced peeled fresh ginger
1 tablespoon garlic powder
1 teaspoon cumin
1/2 teaspoon ground cinnamon
1/2 teaspoon ground cloves
1/4 teaspoon dried crushed red pepper
1-1/2 pounds (680 g) fresh rhubarb, cut into 1/2-inch cubes
1 medium red onion, chopped
1/3 cup (about 2 ounces/57 g) dried tart cherries

Preparation

1. Combine the sugar, cider vinegar, ginger, garlic, cumin, cinnamon, cloves, and red pepper in heavy large Dutch oven. Bring to simmer over low heat, stirring until sugar dissolves.

2. Add the rhubarb, onion and dried cherries. Increase heat to medium-high and cook until rhubarb is tender and mixture thickens slightly, about 5 minutes. Cool completely and store in a jar. (Can be made 1 day ahead. Cover and chill. Bring to room temperature before using.)

References

Wikipedia – Rhubarb

VideoJug – How to Harvest Rhubarb

Fruits and Veggies Matter (CDC) – Rhubarb

Health Alicious Ness - Rhubarb

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This post was written by Andrea

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Fresh, Frozen, or Canned?

In my dream world, I walk out to my bountiful garden several times a day and pick whatever we need for the next meal, whether it’s tomatoes, onions, greens, cabbage, herbs, squash, eggplant, beans, corn, almonds, cashews, pecans, walnuts, berries, apples, plums, oranges, lemons, limes, mango, bananas, grapefruit, or passionfruit. All of these things are available year round and crops produce perfect yields, neither too much or too little. Now that is a dream! I would love to have all of those things growing in our yard year round, but like most people in the world the climate and soil type determines what we can grow and when, and the ever-changing weather affects the harvest. Some years we struggle to get enough and some years we have a bounty and store the excess.

When faced with an excess of produce from our garden, we preserve foods by freezing or canning, and each has its own benefits.

Pickled Green Tomatoes.

Freezing

Frozen fruits and vegetables are often nutritionally equal or even sometimes superior to fresh as they are usually frozen just after harvest, locking in the vitamins and minerals that would otherwise leech from the food if stored in the refrigerator or on the counter. Harmful organisms are not destroyed in the process, but the freezing temperature inhibits growth. Some vegetables and fruits can be frozen whole, such as tomatillos and berries, but others should be cut, such as zucchini and carrots. Spread out on a baking sheet the produce you plan to freeze and leave it in the freezer for at least one hour, then put into labeled freezer bags.

Leafy vegetables such as spinach should have stems completely removed. Many vegetables should be blanched or even cooked before freezing, but fruits are often frozen after rinsing clean. Herbs can be frozen as whole leaves or chopped and put into ice cube trays, then frozen. Store the whole frozen leaves in plastic containers and frozen cubes in plastic containers or bags.

Always label everything you freeze with the contents and the date. Storage time for frozen produce varies from 1 to 3 months, but that is based on quality of the product not safety. Properly frozen foods are safe indefinitely.

Frozen basil cubes.

Canning

The canning process applies heat to the food to kill any harmful organisms such as bacteria, molds, and yeasts and destroy enzymes and remove oxygen that break down food. Heat does break down some beneficial vitamins (C, thiamine, folate), but most are stable when heat is applied, so canned foods still have health benefits. Canning at home requires some basic equipment:

• boiling water canner or pressure canner
• jars and lids
• large pot for sterilizing jars and lids

Low acid foods such as vegetables and meats require a pressure canner to ensure the temperatures get high enough to destroy harmful microorganisms such as Clostridium botulinum, so don’t try to just boil them in an open pot. Fruits have enough acid and can be processed in an open pot (the boiling water method). Once you have canned your foods and the lids have properly sealed, they will be shelf stable for up to one year and can be stored without refrigeration until opened.

Canned jams and jellies.

We can pickles, jellies, jams, and fruit butters, and then freeze the rest. Last year we put up about 40 jars of canned goods and froze 5 pounds of tomatillos, several batches of pesto and frozen basil, and then slow roasted and froze about 5 pounds of leftover ripe tomatoes. We have enjoyed the bounty of our summer garden throughout the winter and are looking forward to doing it all over again this summer.

References

National Center for Home Food Preservation

National Center for Home Food Preservation – Freezing

National Center for Home Food Preservation – Canning

WebMD – Frozen Vegetables are Hot

U.S. Food and Drug Administration Center for Food Safety and Applied Nutrition

USDA Food Safety and Inspection Service – Focus on Freezing

University of Minnesota Extension – How to Prepare Vegetables for Freezing

Beyond Vegetarianism – Effects of Cooking on Vitamins

Andrea’s Recipes – Home Canning (Boiling Water Method)

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This post was written by Andrea

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Save Money on Your Food Bill: Start a Kitchen Garden

My husband and I have been growing our own vegetables and herbs for about 10 years. I started gardening by growing peppers, tomatoes, and herbs in pots on my apartment balcony and every year we try to have some kind of garden, both indoor and outdoor, no matter where we live or how much space we have. Some years have better yields than others, but we have always had a sense that we save money on produce and get the benefits of eating healthy foods without pesticides. We had never sat down and done the math on how much money we saved on our grocery bills, but we had done some calculations in our heads and felt confident that our efforts in the garden helped our food budget as well as our health.

Last week I got to read someone else's proof that growing your own produce is good for your food budget. Roger Doiron, the founder of Kitchen Gardeners International, published a post called "Economics of Home Gardening" which shared a detailed analysis of what his family had saved on all the produce they grew, and his statistics are amazing. He calculated their cost to run the garden and they weighed everything they harvested and calculated the cost using average prices from regular grocery stores, farmers markets, and Whole Foods. They spent US$282.00 to manage their garden, which included the cost of seeds and and supplies, soil testing, compost, and water. Their total harvest for the year was 833.79 pounds/376.03 kilos of produce. If they had purchased all of that produce rather than growing it themselves, their calculations showed they would have spent US$2,196.50 at average grocery store prices in their area, US$2,431.15 at their farmers market, and US$2,548.93 at Whole Foods.

Doiron's family grows a variety of produce, including tomatoes, potatoes, onions, various greens, beans, squash, herbs, and other things, in about 1600 square feet/148.644 square meters of growing space, which is quite large. In our own yard we had one 36 square feet/3.34450 square meter bed of growing space last year and had plenty of tomatoes, peppers, and herbs to last us for a couple months. This year we'll have 153 square feet/14.21 square meters and plan to grow a larger variety of produce. We're also going to try to extend the season with the cold frames that my husband built. I'm looking forward to getting our garden started this spring and enjoying even more savings in our food budget. We don't grow as much as Doiron does, but we believe every little bit helps, and his chart is proof of the economic benefits of growing our own produce.

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This post was written by Andrea

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The Secret for Getting My Kids to Eat Green Beans

My favorite food is avocado, and I'll eat it just about any way you want to prepare it, whether it's sliced on top of a sandwich or salad, chopped into a bowl of ajiaco or tortilla soup, mashed into guacamole with cilantro and lime, frozen into ice cream, or pureed into a shake. On the other hand, I really intensely dislike liver and choose not to prepare it in any way. Just like everyone, I have preferences and enjoy certain flavors more than others.

I've paid more attention to food preferences since we started having children, and I'm learning that our likes and dislikes don't always mesh, even though the boys came from my body. Some I understand, like the liver thing, and others completely mystify me. For example, our oldest son does not like chocolate cake, cookies, or candy (but he does like chocolate ice cream). I have to give him credit for at least tasting it each time, but after a bite he's done. He's a savory kind of guy, and not so big on sweets, which is not a bad thing. Our middle son doesn't like pizza, and he requests a peanut butter and jelly sandwich when we make pizzas. He also has a big sweet tooth, which I have to watch out for. Our toddler won't touch carrots, cooked or raw, and his favorite color is green but he won't eat anything green. I'm still trying to sort that one out.

It's winter time here, and we eat lots of green beans and broccoli this time of year. I have been hooked on green beans since I was a young girl; they were a staple in my family, so preparing them is enjoyable for me. My boys are more skeptical and have never really taken to eating green beans, so I decided to try a different tactic: I only put one bean on each plate. My boys gave me a funny look.

"Mommy, you only gave me one bean!" exclaimed four-year-old said.

"I know. You may only have one bean until you eat everything else on your plate," I informed him.

He and his older brother laughed and they ate the bean right away. They asked for another, but I repeated they must eat everything else before the could have another bean. After finishing off the rest of their meal, they both asked for more. I put one more bean on each plate. Now they were giggling and said they wanted more.

"You need to eat that one first," I said. They promptly ate it and looked at me expectantly.

"Mommy, I want two beans," announced my six-year-old.

"Mommy, I want 10 beans!" countered his brother.

"Mommy, I want 100 beans!" You can see where this was going.

"No, I want (long pause) 1,000 beans!"

I gave them both a healthy scoop of beans, which they promptly devoured. Even their little brother got into the game and ate several beans that night.

I can't say I'm an expert on training kids to eat, but we try to promote healthy foods at our house. After many experiments, we've found a few things have helped get the boys more interested in foods they initially reject. We encourage them to help prepare food whenever possible because they are more interested in new foods if they help make them. And I recently started putting all of the food on the table at once rather than having some of it on a nearby counter or keeping warm in a pot on the stove. When the boys see what's available, they are more interested and try more things. And then there's always the trick of making it seem like a treat, as I did with the green beans.

Some of the selectiveness comes with age, and as my children get older they seem more receptive to new things. My six-year-old gradually went from needing to have all of his food separated on his plate and not touching each other to piling multiple fillings on a tortilla, and it gives me hope that my two younger children will grow accustomed to a variety of healthy foods.

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This post was written by Andrea

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Cooking for One, Plus Everyone Else

The image of a family all sitting around eating the same foods at a meal is the one I grew up with. My mother and grandmothers never made separate dishes for any of their children; we were all expected to eat what had been prepared for the family, and if we didn't we like what was served we were still expected to eat and not waste it. I think that philosophy was founded in my grandparents' farm ethic as well as living life during the Great Depression. Our family still strives for that ideal, but since I started the South Beach diet I've found that I don't always eat some of the things that I fix for my family. Phase 1 of the diet removes all fruits, flours, rice, and sugar to curb and reset cravings, something I definitely needed after the sweets-laden holidays. For the past week I have avoided all of those things, even if they were on the menu for everyone else.

Preparing the same meal for everyone certainly makes it easier to plan, but it's not always possible. Flexibility is required when one member of the family is dieting, has food allergies or sensitivities, cannot eat certain foods due to medication interactions, follows a vegetarian or vegan or other special lifestyle, or is pregnant. Last week I asked my Twitter friends how they manage situations like this and got some great responses which I will summarize and add my own thoughts.

Food allergies and sensitivities are serious and require careful planning and preparation. Cross-contamination can happen very easily, and depending on the type of allergy and its severity, families may choose to avoid a food completely, such as peanuts or seafood. Other allergies or sensitivities such as gluten allergy or lactose intolerance can be managed by keeping gluten free or lactose free products on hand for the person who needs it and keeping all preparation equipment separate. My sister has a gluten allergy and when she visits I prepare gluten free meals and desserts and make sure I set aside things for her such as butter and condiments that haven't been contaminated. Recently we discovered that our toddler has a citrus sensitivity and breaks out in a rash, particularly with oranges. This one poses a challenge because he's not old enough to understand why he can't have oranges, but everyone else in the family enjoys them. This is one food sensitivity that many children outgrow, so in a few years he'll probably be able to eat them again, but in the meantime we have to hide the oranges and avoid eating them in front of him.

Pregnancy is a common reason for modifying the diet, and there are some foods that pregnant women should avoid for safety and overall health reasons. During my pregnancies I remember the pain of having to give up caffeine, sweets, sushi, and my weekly glass of wine or cocktail, but I got used to it. My husband still enjoyed his beer and wine and I thought ahead to our baby's arrival when I felt little pangs of envy, but for the most part we ate the same things. If the partner adopts the pregnant woman's diet, that does make meal planning easier, especially if certain foods or smells make the woman feel sick.

Dieting to lose weight can be torture on a family member when everyone else still enjoys their favorite foods, but everyone in the family can benefit from eating a few extra servings of vegetables, adding whole grains, and cutting back on unhealthy fats and sweets. When possible, prepare something that everyone can enjoy, or at least make sure that the dieter's needs are addressed with a few simple modifications. Try roasting vegetables in olive oil and herbs rather than cooking them with heavy cheese or cream sauces, or grilling lean meats instead of frying.

Having one vegetarian or vegan in an omnivore family doesn't have to be difficult, but communication is key. As a family discuss the choice to go vegetarian or vegan, making sure to discuss the details of what foods are considered appropriate for that lifestyle. When preparing meals, look for ways to keep things simple. For example, when making a stir fry, set aside some of the vegetables and stir fry those with tofu rather than meat, or even plan to make a family vegetarian or vegan meal at least once a week. Make sure there are options available for everyone.

Finally, no matter what meal situation you find yourself in, include all family members in meal planning and preparation whenever possible. That is a positive way to keep the lines of communication open.

Thanks to my Twitter friends @GFShaolin, @realepicurean, @KarinasKitchen, @MyLifeAsItIs, @nandita, and @sugarlaws for offering their thoughts on managing multiple meals.

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This post was written by Andrea

Are you interested in contributing to The Daily Tiffin? Drop us an email: thedailytiffin@gmail.com. We look forward to hearing your ideas.