Kids Dish

Tomorrow is the day that I pick up my monthly meat order from Meadow Run Farm. Meadow Run, a local farm, offers humanely raised, pastured meats, the only kind of meat I feel comfortable buying to prepare at home. I’ll admit that since I’ve been pregnant I’ve been pretty lax about eating meat out and about, but on the whole I prefer to eat meats that come from animals who eat the things they’re meant to eat and are treated as respectfully as animals meant for food can be treated.

The New York Times reports that a California company issued a recall of 143 million pounds of beef, the largest recall in history. Some of the meat recalled was to be used in school lunch programs.The recall was spurred by the Humane Society of the United States who distributed an undercover video on Jan. 30 that showed workers abusing sick cows.

It was prompted by a Department of Agriculture investigation that found that Westland/Hallmark did not always alert federal veterinarians when its cows became unable to walk after passing inspection, as required.

Cows that cannot walk are banned for use in the food supply because they pose an added risk of mad cow disease, or bovine spongiform encephalopathy, a fatal disease that eats away at the brain. There have been three confirmed cases of infected cattle in this country since 2003.

I don’t know if the abuse in this particular case was an isolated incident, or if this type of animal abuse is widespread. I’m just glad I know where the meat I purchase comes from. The idea of my son eating meat that comes from the sick, abused animals in this video is horrifying.

You can find locally raised, pastured meats through Eat Wild.

Two weeks ago I wrote about a possible ban on infant cough medicines. Now it’s voluntarily gone into effect.

From the New York Times:

WASHINGTON, Oct. 11 — Major makers of over-the-counter infant cough and cold medicines announced today that they were voluntarily withdrawing their products from the market for fear that they could be misused by parents.
The voluntary withdrawal affects only products labeled for “infants,” not those for use in children 2 and older. And some small companies may continue selling the products.

Despite this recommendation, makers continued to sell cough and cold products labeled for infants.

This is no great loss as there was really no proof that these medicines were effective. Don’t panic if you’ve given your child a correct dose, as the voluntary recall is because of problems resulting from incorrect dosing, but the side effects (poor sleep, agitation) may not be worth the effort.

Here’s the full list of the withdrawn products.

Manufactured by the McNeil Consumer Healthcare unit of Johnson & Johnson:
Concentrated Infants’ Tylenol Drops Plus Cold
Concentrated Infants’ Tylenol Drops Plus Cold & Cough
Pediacare Infant Drops Decongestant (PSE)
Pediacare Infant Drops Decongestant & Cough (PSE)
Pediacare Infant Dropper Decongestant (PE)
Pediacare Infant Dropper Long-Acting Cough
Pediacare Infant Dropper Decongestant & Cough (PE)
Manufactured by Novartis:
Triaminic Infant & Toddler Thin Strips Decongestant
Triaminic Infant & Toddler Thin Strips Decongestant Plus Cough
Manufactured by the Medtech Products unit of Prestige Brands Holdings:
Little Colds Decongestant Plus Cough
Little Colds Multi-Symptom Cold Formula
Manufactured by Wyeth:
Dimetapp Decongestant Infant Drops
Dimetapp Decongestant Plus Cough Infant Drops
Robitussin Infant Cough DM Drops

infant cough medicine, recall

Yesterdays CSA share brought

2 bags Roma tomatoes (for freezing or canning)
1 bok choy
2 small bunches celery
1 bunch radishes
1 bag arugula
1 bunch leeks

Of course I used none of it for dinner since I still have a ton of veggies leftover from last week.

I was in the mood for comfort food so I made Sloppy Joes and oven fries with a side of steamed green beans. I don’t use a can for Sloppy Joes I make them myself. It just takes a few minutes more than opening a can and the flavor is incomparable. Once you make them from scratch you won’t go back.

Sloppy Joes

2 tablespoons vegetable oil
1 lb ground beef
1 small onion minced (I used a leek because it was older)
1 small hot pepper seeded and minced
1 clove garlic minced
1 tablespoon of brown sugar
1/2 teaspoon salt
1/4 teaspoon chili powder (or more to taste)
1 cup tomato puree (I used 4 seeded, chopped tomatoes)
1/4 cup ketchup
tabasco

Cook the onion and pepper in the oil until the onion is translucent and the pepper’s softened. Add the ground beef, brown sugar, salt and garlic, stirring to break up. When the beef is browned add the tomato puree, ketchup and chili powder. Cook until heated through. Add tabasco, salt and pepper to taste. Serve on hamburger buns with grated cheddar cheese.

Sam still won’t eat beef, but he loves oven fries and green beans and had them with a banana mango soy smoothie for protein.

And forgive me for the public service announcement, but please use humanely raised beef when you cook. Aside from the implications for the animals, it’s just so much safer. There’s been yet another recall for beef tainted with E. coli bacteria, and while the recall is for frozen hamburger patties it’s still pretty sketchy. I know that it’s convenient to buy frozen patties, but it doesn’t take more than a minute to make patties yourself. The farm where I get my meat sells patties as well so safe and convenient aren’t that far removed.

The recall involves Topps burger products. For more information about the tainted patties look here.

Gerber announced a recall of their Organic Rice and Organic Oatmeal Cereals due to a potential choking hazard. More information can be found in the press release.

Veggie Booty, a popular toddler snack has been recalled due to possible contamination of Salmonella Wandsworth, a bacterium that causes gastrointestinal illness.

If you or your child have eaten Veggie Booty recently please watch for possible side effects and contact your local health authorities. And if you still have it in your house, throw it out. Now.

More information can be found at Food Consumer.org or at the Robert’s American Gourmet website

Veggie booty recall, salmonella, recall, Robert’s American Gourmet,