Female Speaker: Right now around the kids are coming home from school and they are hungry. They want a snack. Well there are nutritious options that they don't like and they can make themselves. Here to show us is the founder of Laurie's culinary camp in the Bay area, Laurie Zerga. Hi! Laurie, how are you?
Laurie Zerga: Fine. Thank you.
Female Speaker: So you have seen a lot of kids. You have worked with a lot of kids. I am sure their favorite snacks are what. Chips?
Laurie Zerga: Well, when they are not being guided that's usually chips cookies you name it.
Female Speaker: We have some healthy alternatives that you say that they will enjoy and they can make themselves. Let's take a look at your tray here. Your kind of a grocery list of what we should have in our house. What are some of these items?
Laurie Zerga: Well, some of the things I have here, there is a variety. Some of the things are items that can be packed up and taken with them to school after they are going to play game or practice or go to another event after and want to have something handy. So there is things like dried fruit, the tangerines are easy to take portable apples, whatever the fruit is in season, that's portable. Bananas of course come with their own packaging. There is bread, there is cheese and nuts. Those are the portable items. Then we will be talking about some of the other items that they might want to do at home.
Female Speaker: Right, because you can make some delicious snack options with what you have right here. I know we like to reach for like the ranch dressing and things like that, but you have got some healthy alternatives. Let's take a look at this first example.
Laurie Zerga: Well the first example is fruit in season. I like to find whats in season; because it's tasty it's really available and probably evens a little less expensive. but today right now oranges and kiwi are in season and I put that with a little yogurt dressing that has some citrus juice, orange juice, lemon juice and a bit of honey to sweeten it which brings it flavor, but its much more nutritious alternative.
Female Speaker: That's definitely much more nutritious. Okay over here more fruit. But with something different on top. Now whip cream.
Laurie Zerga: Now this is not whip cream. This is ricotta cheese and it's an Italian soft cheese. But it has nice texture that children do enjoy and then I swing it up a little bit with just a touch of a natural sugar and mixed with lemon dust.
Female Speaker: Oh that's sweet. It's like crystallized.
Laurie Zerga: It's kind of crystallized. You just zest the lemon and mix it with sugar and it kind of candy it slightly and gives it a good little bite and it's very favorable.
Female Speaker: Okay, Ricotta has got protein in it.
Laurie Zerga: It has got protein. So you have a little protein boost after school make it to dinner.
Female Speaker: That's a good idea. Okay here we have got a vegetable tray, which most kids would not eat. But if it's all like made up for you.
Laurie Zerga: Right, well I find is that if it's all prepared and you have it handy and its easy to grab children are much more ready to do it. And it's also things that you can work with them to prep. Children love to mix and this is a carrot and Syria pretty standard, but I also work a lot with leftovers. So I plan for leftovers. So these were extra vegetables that I had.
Female Speaker: Broccoli and cauliflower and what's this? This looks like a Christmas tree.
Laurie Zerga: It's called romanesco and it's out in season right now and it's in the Brooklyn cauliflower family. So I brought it because it's a little unique. And it's a fun and interesting shape and texture. So I am all about introducing children to different things to pick and choose from. Makes it kind of an adventure to oh let have a taste of something we haven't tried before.
Female Speaker: and it's not -- in the middle.
Laurie Zerga: this is not -- in the middle. Again I use the plain yogurt that we talked about earlier on the fruit. But this time I added some different herbs to make it savory and a little bit of apple cider vinegar. And I have children make this. It's very easy for them to make and they can dip that and at parties. So it makes the vegetables little more palatable.
Female Speaker: Well, we brought you in the last minute and you came up with some great snack options there with things just out of your fridge right?
Laurie Zerga: Right. I literally walked opened my refrigerator to see what could I do and I had day old bagad and it's perfect because I toasted it.
Female Speaker: Okay.
Laurie Zerga: And I toasted it out of a little. You rub a little garlic on it and then I made some different little toppings for it and its Bruschetta which is Italian. My family is Italian and so I put together a few options.
Female Speaker: Give us an example of what you made.
Laurie Zerga: this is, this was leftover roasted egg plant and onions that I had from another dish I had roasted egg plant as a compliment. -- and put it on here.
Female Speaker: Perfect.
Laurie Zerga: And then you can add a little bit of parmesan cheese and just pick a little herb. I always have fresh erbs in the house and they are wonderful because you can have them and put them in some water just like a bouquet of flowers and then you have them for quite a while to pick them.
Female Speaker: I just got my first rosemary plant.
Laurie Zerga: Yes.
Female Speaker: And then whats this over here?
Laurie Zerga: This is Pasto which is -- and pine nuts and all of well and garlic and this one was swish chard and it happens to be the ruby red swish chard that's available right now.
Female Speaker: Okay.
Laurie Zerga: And this is really a good one too. And you can put that and it has a little bit of garlic and olive oil mixed in with it.
Female Speaker: That looks good too and then you have some cheese.
Laurie Zerga: Then you can put a little piece of ham. This happens to be pruscheto
Female Speaker: And then the last one.
Laurie Zerga: The last one was a can of cannily beans that I had.
Female Speaker: so it's like hamis.
Laurie Zerga: Gorbanso beans are turned into hamis and this is a Italian version which is cannily beans peraid and I put a little bit of the pasto into it.
Female Speaker: Great ideas, easy to whip up. Laurie Zerga, thank you so much from Laurie's Culinary camp in the bay area.
Laurie Zerga: Thank you.
Female Speaker: Thanks for coming in.
Transcription by:
Scribe4you Transcription Services