Join us for a nationwide EAT-IN following the Decatur Book Festival

The Slow Food USA "Time for Lunch" campaign & Eat-In's are a few short weeks away. If you are in the Decatur/Atlanta area and would like to post some fliers... here they are.  You can also let your monkeys learn how to advocate for themselves and ask their Legislator to "please give me real food" by printing the action flier below and bringing it to the Eat In.  Check out the EVENTS tab on the Cooking for Monkeys Facebook Page for all the details on our Eat-In.

Camp Day Butterfly Bento

contents: corn, snap peas, carrot, strawberry and blueberries, butterfly grilled cheese, graham bunnies, and "chocolate cake" ( zucchini bread with flax seed, oats, banana, applesauce, and a smidge of cocoa).

"Chocolate Cake" Zucchini Bread
Makes 2 loaves

1 cup white flour
1 cup wheat flour
1 cup rolled oats or fresh ground oats
4 TB ground flax seed
1 1/2 teaspoons baking powder
1 1/2 teaspoons baking soda
1 teaspoons cinnamon
1 teaspoon salt
4 TB cocoa
4 eggs (or Egg Beaters to cut some calories)
1/3 cups brown sugar
1/4 cup oil
1/2 cup applesauce
2 medium overripe bananas, mashed (the riper, the sweeter)
1 teaspoon vanilla
2 cups shredded zucchini

Preheat oven to 350 degrees.
Whisk together white flour, wheat flour, oats, flax seed, baking powder, baking soda, cinnamon, nutmeg, cocoa, and salt.
In a separate bowl beat the eggs.
Add the sugar, oil, applesauce, and mashed bananas to the eggs; mix well.
Add the vanilla.
Combine the wet and dry mixtures. Stir until just combined.
Fold in the zucchini
Pour into 2 lightly greased loaf pans (9x5-inch).
Bake for 45-50 minutes or until a toothpick comes out clean.

Caprese Salad Sandwich

This is my new favorite sandwich. Oh my gosh it is so oooey, gooey, yummy. And it is simple to boot. We have had an amazing crop of tomatoes this year. In looking for new ways to use up all those tomatoes I stumbled across a recipe from Bon Appetit I wanted to try. It is very easy and this is my version.


Caprese Salad Sandwich

2 slices of dense whole grain bread
2-3 thick slices of heirloom tomato
3 slices prosciutto
2- 3 thick slices of a good buffalo mozzarella (the original recipe called for Burrata if you can find it)
fresh basil
a little bit of mayo

All you need to do is crisp the prosciutto in a pan and put all the elements together for a yummy sandwich.

bento: corn, sauteed spaghetti squash, concord grapes, strawberry and makings for my Caprese Salad Sandwich sans the bread, which was in a separate container.

Hanging with Curious George

Wow! Thanks to all the folks, some 80 overall, that showed up for our Back to School Healthy Eating Fair at Hoopla this past Saturday!


I know many were initially dubious to the idea of putting frozen broccoli in smoothies, I am glad I could win you over!

Plane Travel Bento

I was able to clean out our fridge and fruit bowl and pack all four of us a fabulous lunch for the 2+ hour plane ride to Boston. It really is a nice little treat in mid flight and certainly beats a bag of peanuts!


left: concord grapes, cherry tomatoes and cucumber (from the garden!), zucchini bread, cheese, carrot & swiss sandwich squares

right: hummus, kiwi, peach, broccoli, and leftover mini turkey burgers

Healthy Eating Fair This Saturday At Hoopla!

Hoopla Kids, Chickin Feed, and Cooking for Monkeys will be hosting a Back to School Fair with an emphasis on healthy eating and exercise. Curious George will be present along with face painting and balloon animals. The festivities go from 10am-1pm on August 22nd.

The famous Leslie Grant from Chickin Feed (Rachel Ray, Atlanta Magazine) will be there to encourage children to “Make Good Choices” with her Nutrition Tracking Boards and fun activities that promote exercise.

Jacks Harvest products will be available to sample as well as coupons available.

Cooking for Monkeys will be making Happy Day Smoothies and will have tips for bento packing and perhaps a demo or two!

After the chaos the kids can relax and focus with a sample kids yoga class at 12pm. Taught by Nicole Jurovics.

Hope to see you there!

Gluten Free Camp Bento

I am back from vacation and back in the kitchen!







Contents: corn, blueberries, snow peas wrapped around cherry tomatoes, sweet potato flower with cheese center, gluten free pretzels, carrot, strawberry, hummus in the center with green and red pepper caterpillar and fruit leather accents, gluten free chocolate wafers for a sweet treat.

More bentos coming soon!