| It
seems as if the school year begins
earlier and earlier each year.
Politicians would have you believe that
as long as kids are in the classroom,
they are learning. In truth, there is so
much more to learning than simply
showing up: eating the right foods
helps, too.
Studies
have shown that malnourished children
have a harder time staying focused in
the classroom. Many of the foods that
make up a Standard American Diet –fast
food, packaged snack foods, and refined
grains – are low in nutritional value
per calorie. They are literally designed
simply to fill us up in the least
expensive way possible, using the
cheapest or even completely synthetic
ingredients. The brain just doesn’t
function as well without the nutrients
it needs.
Let’s
send our kids to school this year with
the best chances for success by feeding
them real, whole foods that nourish
their bodies and their minds. Cooking
whole foods doesn’t have to mean hours
of time and effort in the kitchen: try
this easy infused one-pot meal for a
handy time-saver. Its mild flavors and
separated ingredients stem complaints
from picky eaters, and you can even use
all frozen ingredients without changing
the cooking time.
- Plain
Jane Chicken - Serves
4 to 5
-
- 4
to 5 pieces chicken
- Salt
and pepper to taste
- 12
to 16 new potatoes, unpeeled,
scrubbed, quartered
- 4
cups carrot medallions
- 8
to 10 mushrooms, washed, thickly
sliced
- 4
cups frozen peas
-
- 1.
Preheat oven to 450 degrees. Spray
inside and lid of 3 ½- or 4-quart
cast iron Dutch oven with canola
oil. Set chicken pieces into pot,
trying not to overlap. Lightly
season with salt and/or pepper. Add
quartered new potatoes and carrots.
Lightly season again. Scatter
mushrooms into pot. Pour in peas.
- 2.
Cover and bake for about 50 minutes,
or 3 minutes after the aroma of a
fully-cooked meal escapes the oven.
Tips:
For
a bit more flavor, drop a few peeled and
halved garlic cloves underneath and
around the chicken. Or consider
drizzling 4 Tbsp. of your favorite
Italian salad dressing over the chicken
instead of salt and pepper for a totally
different and extremely tasty meal.
by
Elizabeth Yarnell
|