I will be the first one to admit that I can be lazy in the kitchen. I will avoid any recipes that require lots of ingredients (which means lots of shopping - which I hate). A dish that requires multiple cooking techniques? Forget it. I will only make risotto once or twice a year because I can't bear the thought of constant stirring. Well, it just so happens that my laziness efficiency  is actually saving energy and money.

Oxfam GROW Method #4: Cook Smarter

"We rely on precious fossil fuels to cook and heat our food, and these everyday tasks add up to big emissions, as well as big energy bills. Try cooking with as little water as possible, using a flat bottomed pan, covering your pan with a lid and reducing the heat as soon as the water starts to boil - you 'll save energy, water and money!"

1. Change How You Cook
Did you know that by 1) using just enough water to cover your food while cooking on the stove (rather than filling the pan up to the top);  2) Using a flat-bottomed pan and covering with a lid; and 3) reducing the heat as soon as the water starts to boil can reduce up to 70% of the energy you use?

And the next factoid is truly amazing to me: If all urban households in Brazil, India, Philippines, Spain, the UK and the US took these three steps, we would save over 30 million megawatt hours of energy a year. You're picturing Doc from Back to the Future shouting "1.21 gigawatts?! Great Scott!" right about now, huh? Or put in another way, saving 30 million megawatt hours a year is greater than if the same households each planted a seedling and let it grow for ten years. Woah. That's heavy.



2. Change What You Cook
Another way to save energy is to make things that don't require energy, like sandwiches, salads, cold soups or no-bake treats. So those nights when you'll eat a bowl of cereal for dinner because you don't feel like cooking for yourself? Great! Or you can try some of these one-pot or no-cook recipes such as Chicken Pho Naan Sandwich, Shrimp Gazpacho, Baby Bok Choy, Carrot and Apple Slaw,  Peach Plum Salsa, Almond Butter, Cream Cheese and Strawberry Sandwich, or Chicken Sofrito. And be sure to check out Oxfam's pinterest board for more recipe ideas.

Some of my favorite no-cook and one-pot meals

So go ahead - be lazy in the kitchen. Just make sure you put don't leave a mess, because I would NEVER do that (wink, wink).

This post (and my sharing on social media) was inspired by my participation in a compensated program initiated by Women Online/The Mission List to raise awareness about Oxfam America's GROW Method. All commentary and opinions are, of course, my own.

Dining out with kids is always an experiment. So we thought it was appropriate to take our pickiest eater to Clover Food Lab.

Clover Food Lab is Food-Truck-Turned-Restaurant located in Harvard Square. Labeled "food lab" for its constantly evolving menu, Clover is known for its fresh, high-quality, vegetarian breakfast and lunch options. I had been hearing about their “amazing veggie sandwiches” for some time. I was excited to check it out and hopefully get some veggies in my two year old with the "white-carbs-only" diet. So we headed over to 7 Holyoke Street on a Wednesday just before noon.

Entrance to the "food lab"

In true Harvard/MIT fashion, you are greeted at the door by "new-school-meets-old-school" -- Clover staff equipped with an iPod Touch, takes your order, emails it to the kitchen, and makes change using a good old apron/change counter.

Order-taker taking orders via iPod Touch and credit card machines tucked behind sandwich boards

The menu changes daily, which is smartly captured with these electronic sandwich boards. Besides just looking cool, want to know what the best thing is about these sandwich boards? The wait-time for each item is listed next to the menu item and gets updated in real-time based on how busy the kitchen becomes. How long will it take to get the BBQ seitan sandwich? 2.8 minutes. When you have hungry kids pulling on your clothes asking when the food will be ready, this is huge.

Electronic sandwich board with up-to-the-minute menu items

Open kitchen kinda looks like a lab

Coffee by Melittas

No plates, just paper.

Believe it or not, packing my son's lunchbox can be stressful. Lunchtime is a big part of my son's school day. Lunch begins with a sweet, nonreligious blessing wishing everyone a "happy lunch." Teachers stress "quiet moments" so the children can focus on eating. Children are even encouraged to eat their "protein" first.

As with any parent in charge of packing lunch, I ask myself "Is this nutritious?" I want to make sure there's enough food to avoid any low blood sugar meltdowns. And most importantly, I want to make sure that lunchbox does not come back home still packed with the lunch I sent him to school with because my kid "didn't like it." I don't know about you, but I end up eating any untouched food, even after I've had my own lunch that I liked very much.

BTW, I'm very excited about finding wendolonia. Great lunchbox (or bento box) ideas for when I need to shake things up. Plus Wendy's site is eye candy.


To celebrate the start of strawberry season, I would like to share one of our favorite lunchbox sandwiches: Almond Butter, Cream Cheese and Strawberry sandwiches. Great peanut butter alternative (for those in need of peanut-free options). Super-easy to assemble. And truly tasty - might even pass as dessert! Goes well with dinosaur lunchbox or adult brown bag.

INGREDIENTS:
2 slices of whole wheat bread
1 tbs almond butter
1 tbs cream cheese
2-3 strawberries, hulled and sliced
1 tsp honey

DIRECTIONS:
1. Spread the almond butter on one slice of bread and the cream cheese on another

2. Arrange strawberries in an single layer on top of cream cheese
3. Drizzle honey on top of strawberries
4. Place the other slice of bread with almond butter on top and enjoy

Last weekend, I brought the boys to the Boston Children's Museum, my enthusiasm fueled by what was waiting for me at Flour Bakery & Cafe around the corner. Even after 45 tortuous minutes in the ball room followed by another 45 minutes in the construction zone room, I was happy - even with the escalating sounds of screaming kids all around me. Flour is one of my favorite places, possibly in the whole world. I think largely thanks to Joanne Chang's to-die-for sticky buns.

After our visit to the Museum, we headed over to Flour to pick up some sandwiches (and dessert of course) to bring back home for lunch. Given Flour's location, it makes sense to offer a kids' menu. And sure enough, you will find grilled cheese and PB&J. I'm sure these are made with top quality ingredients, but I just can't get myself to order PB&J (especially for $4.50) when I can make that at home in my sleep.

So what do I do? I do what a lot of parents do - withhold information. I don't even bother asking my son what he wanted. I order the curried tuna sandwich with raisins, apples and carrots on artisan bread. He was going to try it and and hopefully like it as much as I do. I figured if he hated it, then I can make my  version of PB&J (TJ's natural peanut butter and raspberry preserves on multi-grain) since we'd already be home.

Sure enough, he loved it. Maybe he was pretending to like it so he could have a sticky bun for dessert. I'm just glad he tried it, ate it, and didn't complain once. We both celebrated with some sticky buns.