A guest post by Judith Natelli McLaughlin.
Hello out there! Does your family watch Veggie Tales? I don’t and my children don’t either, but not for any other reason than they are too old now. We missed the Veggie Tales boat. (But we sure sailed the Barney boat!)
Anyway, we were in Washington, DC a few weeks ago (where I got to see the kitchen garden!). We were there on the last day of the Cherry Blossom Festival, which included a great big parade! We heard Justin Guarini sing, we saw Elmo, and then, up in the sky, we saw these two fantastic balloons—an oversized tomato and a giant cucumber! Wow! A bunch of little kids shouted “Veggie Tales!” At the time, I wasn’t familiar with Veggie Tales, yet I couldn’t help but snap a photo because as you know, I am all about these healthy foods. So for me there is no better site than two giant vegetables up in the sky and children cheering them on! Just check out my book Poems on Fruits & Odes to Veggies—Where Healthy Eating Starts With a Poem to see how much I love my fruits and veggies. —
Turns out Veggie Tales is a television show and the main characters (Bob the Tomato and Larry the Cucumber) just happen to be vegetables. They are not there to particularly promote healthy eating, or give out recipes, but rather are cartoon characters used to tell moral stories. Veggie Tales creator Phil Vischer originally made the main character a candy bar, but his wife told him parents would not be pleased if their kids fell in love with candy, so he changed his characters to veggies. I, for one, am glad he did, because I had the great fortune of seeing Bob the Tomato and Larry the Cucumber in a parade and it made me think of this delicious recipe to share with you…
Cucumber & Tomato Wrap
I use whole wheat tortillas, but you can use your favorite soft-shell tortilla.
Lay the tortilla flat on your work surface.
Spread two tablespoons of low-fat cream cheese over the tortilla.
Top with thinly sliced cucumbers.
Top the cucumbers with thinly sliced tomatoes.
Top the cucumbers and tomatoes with %uFFFD cup alfalfa sprouts.
Season with salt and pepper.
Fold two sides of the tortilla about one inch into itself. Now you will have two flat sides and two rounded sides. Start with the round side closest to you and roll up the veggie wrap just like you are rolling up a carpet! Place your wrap seam-side-down, cut in half, and serve. YUM!!
So eat up and then recite my cucumber poem. It doesn’t appear in any book yet, as it is from the unpublished MORE Poems on Fruits & Odes to Veggies. But it is a good one!
Cucumber
Cucumber, my number
You have it, it’s true
In slumber I wonder
With you what I’ll do
Slice you up thin in the
Julienne style
Make cucumber cookies
Stacked high as a mile
Salt you and dress you in
E.V.O.O.*
Add cherry tomatoes
A colorful show
Another idea
Won’t cost but a nickel
Bathe you in vinegar
Make you a pickle!
*Extra Virgin Olive Oil
Author/illustrator of the children’s picture book "Poems on Fruits & Odes to Veggies–Where Healthy Eating Starts With a Poem," public speaker, health food enthusiast and mom Judith Natelli McLaughlin is here to help introduce your family to some fruits and veggies they may not know about, while reintroducing them to some old favorites too. Her goal is to educate AND entertain and get you to remember that healthy eating starts with a poem.
