Island Parent Magazine Dec-Jan 2023

Eat
Setting Up a Meal Train
Emillie Parrish loves having adventures
with her two busy children. You can find
more of her recipes in her recently released
cookbook Fermenting Made Simple.
fermentingforfoodies.com
A
meal train is when a group of family
members and friends work
together to deliver meals to someone
who is going through a major life
change. While some of these occasions
are happy, like the birth of a new baby,
it is often set up to assist in sad and
stressful periods.
The general idea is to have a calendar
where everyone chooses a date to drop
off a meal. That way the person or family
in need is well fed while they cope
with their transition.
Meal trains can be organized via
group emails or texts. Setting up a
google spreadsheet that can be shared
around is a simple way to organize a
meal train. There are also apps and services
that can be used for coordination,
for example, mealtrain.com and takethemameal.com.
Even if you aren’t up for coordinating
a meal train, it’s always nice to drop off
a healthy meal to someone who could
use a bit of a hand.
Here are a few tips if you’re planning
on dropping off a meal to someone:
• Use containers that you don’t need
to get back.
• Date the food, because they might
not remember when it was dropped off.
• Provide reheating instructions.
• Ask about dietary restrictions in
advance.
Here are three healthy meals that
are perfect for sharing. They are rich,
warm, and filling. Food that will comfort
and nourish. Make a double-batch
so you can enjoy it as well!
Rich Vegetable
Noodle Soup
This noodle soup is a simple and comforting
dish. It’s the sort of soup that
tastes better the next day, making it
perfect for a meal train.
2 Tbsp olive oil
2 onions, chopped
2 large potatoes, cut into bite-sized
cubes
3 leeks, chopped, white and light green
parts
3 large carrots, diced
1 1 ⁄2 Tbsp salt
1 tsp freshly ground black pepper
3 quarts stock
1 can of tomato paste (156 mL)
1 pinch of saffron threads
1 ⁄2 lb. green beans, ends removed and
cut in half
8 ounces soup pasta or spaghetti, broken
in pieces
1 jar of pesto (200g)
1. Heat the olive oil in a large soup
pot, add the onions, and saute over low
heat for 5 minutes.
2. Add the leeks, potatoes, carrots,
salt, and pepper and saute over medium
heat for another 5 minutes.
3. Add the stock, stir in the tomato
paste, and saffron. Bring to a boil, reduce
the heat and simmer for 30 minutes.
4. Add the green beans and pasta and
simmer until the pasta is cooked, about
10 minutes.
5. Serve the soup with a dollop of
pesto in each bowl.
Slow Cooker Kale
& Sausage Stew
This is comfort food at its best! This
sausage stew features a tomato and
mashed potato base that is absolutely
delicious.
1 pound Italian sausage, cut into bitesized
pieces
1 large onion, chopped
1 large-sized can diced tomatoes (28 oz)
2 garlic cloves, finely diced
1 cup of water
3 ⁄4 tsp each salt and pepper, to taste
42 Island Parent Magazine IslandParent.ca