With the holiday season upon us it's difficult to avoid the cookies, pies, cakes, and decadent meals. It's entirely possible to enjoy the holidays but still be health conscious by swapping out just a few ingredients while preparing meals and snacks for children. By following a few simple tips and using our suggested recipes as a baseline, you'll be prepared for the holidays!
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Have you met Jennie Plewka, our incredible resident Food Educator? She's been having a blast this school year, visiting partners and hosing workshops all over New York. We sat down with her to learn the latest in Nutrition Education!
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In the US, 5.9 million children under the age of 18 have some sort of food allergy. That’s 1 in 13 children, or roughly two in every classroom. The Center for Disease Control & Prevention reports that the prevalence of food allergies in children increased by 50 percent between 1997 and 2011. As these numbers continue to climb, there are steps we can all take to ensure our students stay safe. Read on to see the steps and protocols that Red Rabbit follows to ensure your students are safe and how you can continue to protect your students.
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This time of year, we like to take the time to say thanks. Practicing gratitude can enhance your overall happiness and well-being while also keeping you present in the day. It's easy to start to notice and identify the things you are grateful for in your everyday life. Tune in to the small details of your life and notice the good things (a wonderful loved one, a delicious meal, etc) that you might sometimes take for granted.
Here are a few tips to sharing gratitude at any age
Start a Gratitude Journal
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This spring is all about tips, and in this week's blog, we've compiled our favorite cooking tips, secrets and cost saving ideas. Whether it's buying pre peeled garlic or freezing your own tomato sauce over the summer to use all year long, the home cook has her secrets. We asked the Red Rabbit staff to share their favorite tips. Read on to save time and money when cooking for your family.
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Whether you're a family of two, four or eight, cooking family meals on a budget is most likely something you spend time thinking about. Following our popular series, Cooking on a Budget of $25 or Less, we'll be sharing budget friendly recipes and tips all spring long.
Our tip this month: Use a pantry staple you already have on hand for your recipe's base. This can be a legume, like a bean or lentil, a grain, like a pasta or noodle, or, one of the friendliest pantry staples - rice. Brown, white, jasmine and wild are just a few of our favorites. This week, we're sharing our special recipe for Spanish Style Rice & Beans, which gets its pack of flavor from our homemade sofrito. Sofrito is a base used in many Latin dishes, made with peppers, cilantros and spices. We've shared ours below. We suggest doubling this recipe and inviting your abuelos over for dinner. !Buen Provecho!
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In case you haven’t noticed - winter is here!
We could be fans of cold temperatures, or prefer the heat of summer - but this frigid season is fully underway whether we prefer it or not! While it has its share of unique and fun, calorie-burning activities (sledding, skiing, snowboarding; and, in the case of New Yorkers, simply traversing the sidewalks after a snowstorm), winter also tends to come accompanied by a familiar foe: influenza, or, the flu.
Whether you're looking for the perfect gift for your food curious toddler or a housewarming present for the family next door, we've got you covered. Check out Red Rabbit's holiday gift guide for creative gift ideas for kids, teachers and lovers of good food.
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COREY IS IN CHARGE OF PROCURING ALL THE FRESH FRUITS AND VEGETABLES AT RED RABBIT, INCLUDING THIS 50 LB BAG OF LOCAL CARROTS.
At the Red Rabbit Harlem kitchen, we prepare over 20,000 meals every day. But before our meals are baked, grilled and packaged, we start with fresh, simple ingredients. A whole lot of them.
Meet the man in charge of procuring all the ingredients that make up each Red Rabbit meal, Red Rabbit's Inventory Specialist, Corey Forde.
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This time of year, a stroll through your local farmer’s market will be overflowing with peppers of every color. At Red Rabbit, we use peppers in one of our most popular made from scratch dishes- our Chicken Cacciatore.
Read on for some more facts about this seasonal and colorful vegetable, including how to pick one that won't burn your mouth!
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In honor of Mother's Day earlier this month, we're featuring a mother-daughter pair for this month's employee spotlight. Burna and her daughter Pamela work in our bakery and are responsible for cooking up the delectable cheddar scones, biscuits and muffins that are sent out to our schools each day. Made from scratch, with love and among family, it's no wonder this baking duo is beloved by all the Red Rabbit staff.
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During former Mayor Bloomberg's twelve year term in New York City, from 2002-2014, we saw all calorie counts posted at fast food restaurants, decreased sodium levels in processed foods and even a proposed ban on sodas larger than 16 oz. Despite these efforts to improve the health of New Yorkers, adults in New York City diagnosed with diabetes went up from 8% in 2002 to nearly 11% in 2013. This disappointing statistic reminds us we still have a lot more work to do in the fight against obesity and in creating healthy futures for our children and their families.
While recent campaigns have made us well aware of the excess calories, sugar and link to childhood obesity that stem from high consumption of soda among children, you might be surprised to find that there's another drink that contains almost as much sugar and is beloved in many homes and classrooms.
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As parents, educators and caregivers, we greatly impact what and how our children eat, from choosing to serve specific foods to overseeing portion sizes and encouraging children to explore new flavors. As role models, we can teach our kids to feed themselves in a healthy way. A surprisingly easy way to practice this skill at home or in school is by instilling an old approach to mealtime - family style dining.
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Sandra's bountiful energy in the early mornings makes her a favorite presence around the Red Rabbit kitchen. Over her three years with the company, Sandra has contributed her talent across all our hard-working teams, having spent time on our packout line, our prep crew and most recently, serving as an Assistant Cook for ourLocal, Organic team. We chatted with Sandra to learn more about her interests outside the Red Rabbit kitchen. Here's what she had to say.
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Last week's Just Food Conference left us inspired, enlightened and empowered. With over 40 workshops on food policy, food access and sustainable agriculture, we felt truly honored to be featured among such influential leaders.
FROM LEFT: MODERATOR ANNA HAMMOND FROM THE SYLVIA CENTER, NANCY EASTON, CO-FOUNDER AND EXECUTIVE DIRECTOR, WELLNESS IN THE SCHOOLS, RED RABBIT FOUNDER RHYS POWELL, BELINDA DIGIAMBATTISTA, PRESIDENT & CEO OF BUTTER BEANS, BARBARA TURK, THE MAYOR'S DIRECTOR OF FOOD POLICY
Red Rabbit Founder Rhys Powell took part in a riveting panel on school food moderated by the Executive Director of The Sylvia Center, Anna Hammond. The panelists, all working within the school food space, discussed the challenges, successes and future goals of getting better food into our schools.
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AS RED RABBIT'S IN HOUSE NUTRITION COMPLIANCE COORDINATOR, JOHN KNOWS A THING OR TWO ABOUT SPOODLES.
Describe your role(s) at Red Rabbit.
My first role was as nutrition compliance and accounts coordinator. In this dual-role, I was lucky enough to speak directly with parents and schools, while sharpening my skills in nutrition and gaining insight into the ins and outs of government reimbursement programs.
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Here at Red Rabbit, one of the most important jobs is delivering made from scratch food from our Harlem kitchen to our partners across New York City. That's where Jonathan Vargas comes in. Navigating the chaotic streets and highways of NYC late at night or at the break of dawn, Jonathan always arrives at his schools with a big smile on his face. Read on to hear why this Red Rabbit team member of over three years loves his job in this month's employee spotlight.
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‘No! Yuck! Gross!'
If you've been around children during meal time, you've probably heard them express these negative sentiments when presented with unfamiliar foods.
At Red Rabbit, we've been creating our made from scratch meals and serving them to kids for over 10 years, so we've come across our fair share of cautious eaters.
Luckily, we know a thing or two about encouraging children to try new foods – and enjoy them!
Read on for some useful tips to transform “choosy” eaters into adventurous ones. Or download our Choosy Eaters worksheet to share with your network.
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Each month, we'll highlight one of the many incredible employees at Red Rabbit that help spread our mission of bringing healthy, made from scratch meals to schools.
Meet Val, the Operations and Service Associate at Red Rabbit. If you've ever called the Red Rabbit office, you've most likely spoken to Val, who is the voice of our help line from 7 am - 3 pm each day. Born and raised in NYC, Val is a full time mom and college student majoring in Business Management. Read our interview with her to find out how she got her start at Red Rabbit and how she got her nickname.
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Using kitchen tools to transform foods into a meal can make cooking even more exciting for children. Red Rabbit relies on these high-quality, kid-friendly tools to create safe, fun-filled, educational cooking environments for our students.
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