Improving School Food - Cafeteria Connection

Howard County student leaders meeting 

Thomas attended a meeting recently where school officials asked a group of student leaders their opinions about the school food program.

There was no shortage of opinions about what students want to eat in the school cafeteria. Among the top suggestions were adding more healthy foods, grab-and-go options (to avoid long food lines) and vegetarian selections.

We agree with these suggestions and have a few more of our own.

Thomas speaking at the meeting 

So, when we heard about the White House Student Film Festival we thought, why not make a film about how we can improve the school lunch for every student, not just students in our county.

The White House Film Festival theme is technology - how it is currently being used in schools and how it can aid education in the future.  Our film focuses on technology in the cafeteria and how it can be used so students can practice the nutrition education they learn in class.

So, here's our White House short film, Cafeteria Connection

If you have any ideas on how to improve school lunch or breakfast, let us know.

- Charles

Meatless Monday

It's Meatless Monday in the Regnante Household
again! One of our favorite and quick weekday meals is what we call Loaded Boca Burgers Night - made with "All American Flame Grilled Veggie Burgers".










It's an easy dish to prepare. While the burgers are cooking, we saute onions, sweet red peppers and garlic in a small amount of olive oil.  

Then we slice fresh tomatoes and sprinkle them with garlic salt and pepper. If we have fresh basil we'll add that too. 

That's it for the burger. For a side, we'll add a salad or baked sweet potato tater tots.  We like the Alexia sweet potato puffs.   

The flame grilled veggie burger really does taste like a real burger. Of course, the texture is not the same. But for all the health benefits it gives me - like half the calories and same amount of protein of a real hamburger - it's totally worth it.

We have our Aunt Cindy to thank for introducing us to Boca Burgers many years ago. She's a vegan who is very knowledgable about how to cook healthy without using animal products. 

Stay tuned for more meatless dishes. We'll be showcasing more fast, easy and healthy weekday meals - both homemade and at restaurants - that even teenagers will like.  

- Charles

Our 100th post

Yep, this is our 100th post.  The big 1-0-0 ! When Charles and I started this blog in 2011, we didn't have any expectations. We were only 12 and 14 years old at the time and thought our blog would be just a summer writing project. 

Our first restaurant review at Clyde's in Columbia 

After two and half years, with the support of our family, the Howard County blogging community and our school teachers, we're still writing strong.










We've been working on a big surprise to celebrate our 100th post, but unfortunately it's not ready yet. It should be ready in the next few weeks, so keep an eye out for it.  We promise it will be big.

While the blog has given us the opportunity to meet new people and experience some amazing foods,  we're most proud of the food philanthropy events we've done on the blog.  It's a way for students like us to give back to the community - either by organizing food drives or having food sales to raise money for those in need.

This weekend we heard of a local group, Small Miracles Cat and Dog rescue, that was holding a water drive for the West Virginia animal shelters that were without water because of a chemical spill that contaminated the water supply for the entire community - not just the animals. Literally, some West Virginia counties had no water except what was shipped in.

So, we used our Christmas money and purchased a dozen gallons of water and brought it to Small Miracles. Their floor was lined with water donations. The very next day, Small Miracles volunteers filled an entire van (their 4th trip this week) with the water donations and drove it to West Virginia. Click here to see the story about the water drive on ABC news.

Small Miracles  is still accepting water donations, supplies and cash at the shelter.  Even if you don't live near the rescue, you can still help by making a donation online.  Here's their website for more information, www.smallmiraclesrescue.org and their phone numbers (410) 274-3530

 or (410) 461-0516. 

- Thomas 

Holiday Cookies for the Homeless 2013

For most people, the sight and smell of homemade cookies baking in an oven is a holiday tradition. However, there are homeless individuals and families who cannot join in this baking ritual.

I was surprised to find out that in my own county there are 472 homeless children (according to the Community Foundation of Howard County). This is a huge number considering that we are one of the wealthiest counties in the nation.

For the past three years, Charles and I have participated in an event called Holiday Cookies for the Homeless. Lisa Jablonover started the program to collect homemade cookies and donate the sweets to the Day Resource Center, where the cookies are distributed to those less fortunate.

Sorting the cookies into small packages

2011 was the first year we participated in the holiday program when Charles and I baked cream cheese cookies (click here to read our blog post).  The ColumbiaPatch.com did a story about our contributions to the program here.

Last year, we organized a cookie drive by seeking the help of clubs in our high school to make a much bigger cookie donation. (read our blog post here).

Counting the cookie donations

This year, Charles and I organized the holiday cookie food drive again. Since my brother and I run our school's Italian club, we asked our club and other clubs to bake homemade cookies for the fundraiser.


                                    By the end of the day, students in the National Honor Society, Horizon, Best Buddies, Salvation Army and Red Cross and Italian clubs made over 800 homemade cookies. Combined with Lisa Jablonover's bakers, in total almost 2,000 holiday cookies were donated to the Day Resource Center and Grassroots Homeless Shelter.

Some of the Italian Club members after counting and sorting the 2013 holiday cookies

We look forward to participating in this program every year. While baking cookies seems like an ordinary thing to do -- it is very special to those who don't own a home to cook in.

Thanks to Lisa Jablonover for starting this program.  And a shout out to our Grandma Alberta who told us about it. We're definitely doing it again next year. 

- Thomas

Shakeup milkshakes

Update - CLOSED 

Ever heard of a healthy milkshake?  We hadn't either.  That's until we were invited to try a good-for-you (AND great tasting) milkshake from Shakeup  - a dairy and non-diary lab.  













We visited their second U.S. location, a kiosk in The Mall in Columbia (Maryland), that just opened a few weeks ago.  

According to Shakeup, they invented a shake that is made with 100% natural ingredients. That means there's no preservative, artificial flavors or colors. 




Plus the shakes are enriched with dietary pre-biotic fibers, vitamins and minerals - all without compromising the creamy, richness of a traditional milkshake.  

Shakeup worked with a food engineer and a chef to develop this secret base formula. 






Here's how it works:  
(1) choose your flavor
(2) pick a size  - Small ($4.69), Medium ($5.99) or Large ($6.99), then
(2) determine a dairy or non-dairy base - regular, low fat or soy (sugar free coming soon)


There are over 150 different flavor combinations that can be added to the base to make shakes - like banana and nutella, cookies n' cream, and coffee and caramel. 

Or make your own custom shake.  For low cal, add different fresh fruit to the base (240 calories/small before adding flavors).  Or splurge by adding candies and cereals such as Fruit Loops, Snickers or Kit Kats to the base. 

Thomas and I tried four shake flavors -  the pecan pie, Irish cream, pineapple and strawberry, and pumpkin cheesecake. 

It's hard to believe these are healthy milkshakes.  The drinks were so creamy and thick that Shakeup gives you both a straw and spoon. 

The flavors in each shake were incredible - each ingredient was distinguishable but none was too strong or too sweet.  My favorite was the pecan pie that didn't disappoint in the carmel flavor department. 

Each shake comes with an optional and FREE topping of fresh (made daily) whipped cream. 



                                                                          We liked the shakes so much that we asked the Shakeup girl to take a photo with us.  

Good news for Howard County high school students - just present your school ID and get a 10% discount on any shake. 

The Shakeup team is also offering a free taste to local bloggers. Contact the Shakeup U.S. project manager Mr. T (Tsachee) Zilberfarb at  tsachee@shakeuplab.com to schedule a visit. 

UPDATE - My original post has the incorrect email for Mr. T (Tsachee) Zilberfarb. The correct email (tsachee@shakeuplab.com)  is now listed. 

- Charles 




Shakeup 
The Mall in Columbia
Lower level (Next to food court across from Five Guys)

Towson Town Center
Grand Court Level 1

al Sospiro Trattoria Romana - Olney, Maryland

al Sospiro Trattoria is a cozy little Italian restaurant in Olney that offers only dinner service.

Since it's located on a busy road (Georgia Ave) we thought it would be easy to find. But we almost passed the entrance because of the small awning sign.


Once inside, there is a small upstairs dining room where we were directed by a sign to go downstairs to the main dinning room.

Upstairs dinning room 

Downstairs main dining room 

The main dining room was minimally but tastefully decorated with Italian stones, tiles and ceramics.

Shortly after we arrived, we were served a basket of warm bread and oil.  Both were disappointing.  The oil was tasteless - had no hint of a spice or garlic. The bread spongy.



Next we ordered four appetizers to share.

 Mussels in White Wine and Garlic Sauce
The mussels were soft and cooked to
perfection and the garlicky sauce, thin 
but very flavorful. 

Eggplant Parmesan appetizer - Although this had an awesome presentation and extremely fresh mozzarella, it was too cheesy for my taste. I would have preferred more eggplant and less cheese. Plus, I missed the tomato sauce of a traditional eggplant parmesan. 

                                                                                 

Organic field greens with a balsamic vinaigrette dressing. I still prefer a tossed salad to a lettuce wedge salad but the delicious dressing was worth ordering the dish again.  

Beef tenderloin meatballs in tomato sauce appetizer.  Being Italian we've tasted our share of meatballs.  I have to say this is one of the best. Although they were small in size, the soft and smooth texture of the meat was delicate with tiny hints of spices and garlic.  

The main dishes were impressive.  My father ordered large shrimps, calamari, mussels and clams over linguini in a light spicy marinara sauce. He liked that the sauce had a bit of a kick that didn't overpower the tomato taste.  The dish was chuck full of seafood and pasta - both were cooked just right.  

I ordered the grilled beef tenderloin with sautéed onions and roasted potatoes.  It was amazing! The sweet onions coupled with the tender, flavorful meat made this dish. 

Thomas ordered the chicken breasts in white wine and red bell peppers with a side of 
roasted potatoes. The meat was carefully seared on the outside but juicy and 
tender on the inside. Complimented by the sweet peppers and 
the savory potatoes, this is a winner. 

My mom ordered the peppercorn pan seared tuna with zucchini. She normally doesn't order tuna because she said it is easy to overcook and can be dry. This dish didn't disappoint.  The meat was moist and lightly seasoned so that the flavor of the fish shined.

grilled zucchini 

Definitely try al Sospiro for authentic Italian food. We were seated right away because we got there just when dinner started but it's a small place so you may have to wait for a table if it's crowded.

al Sospiro Trattoria Romana
18035 Georgia Avenue
Olney, MD 20832
301-570-3185

- Charles
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