my young vegetarian's dilemma

This morning we made these Strawberry Shortcake cookies (Thanks Martha!). They were yummy, great with coffee (for me!) and easy for Zeal to get through the recipe (mostly) on his own. He especially loved using an ice cream scoop as the tool to drop the cookie dough onto the cookie sheet. But before we could get to the cookie creating Zeal first had to double check whether all of our ingredients were corn-free. Corn free? Yes, corn-free. It's all the topic of discussion the last few days.

Recently, Zeal and I started reading the youth versions of adult bestsellers together. We started with the youth version of Three Cups of Tea and we were both hooked (I actually liked it better than the original). We're just loving that these easier, more accessible, more age appropriate versions of popular non-fiction books are appearing on the shelves and in our home. The most current title we've been cracking is The Omnivore's Dilemma for Kids: The Secrets Behind What You Eat by Michael Pollan. It seemed to me that the info in Omnivore's Dilemma was a bit old hat, until I started getting questions from Zeal, and I realized that just because we cook together, garden together, eat organic, etc. there is still a lot neither of us know about where food comes from. We eat very little processed food, but now I have a sneaking suspicion our diets will take on an even more gatherer-gardener approach now that he is armed with some hearty facts. For a boy who loves history AND food, this couldn't have been a better read!

Here's the synopsis from the publisher:

The New York Times bestseller that's changing America's diet is now perfect for younger readers

"What 's for dinner?" seemed like a simple question—until journalist and supermarket detective Michael Pollan delved behind the scenes. From fast food and big organic to small farms and old-fashioned hunting and gathering, this young readers' adaptation of Pollan's famous food-chain exploration encourages kids to consider the personal and global health implications of their food choices. In a smart, compelling format with updated facts, plenty of photos, graphs, and visuals, as well as a new afterword and backmatter, The Omnivore's Dilemma serves up a bold message to the generation that needs it most: It's time to take charge of our national eating habits—and it starts with you.

Funny how what started as an exploration of food for the sake of creative thinking and fun has evolved into a tween who reads labels and is thinking about not only where his food will end up once he's made it, but where it came from and the process by which it arrived in the pantry. Man, I love this kid!