Looking for a plant-based, dairy-free spread and dip with all the creaminess of the traditional spreads? GO VEGGIE Spread & Dip Minis are the only vegan, plant-based substitute for traditional spread and dips. Made with coconut oil with no cholesterol and more calcium than cheese, GO VEGGIE Spread & Dip Minis are a great cream cheese dip alternative for the whole family! Portion controlled at only 100 calories each, these minis offer a quick and easy, portable solutions for snacking on the go. This versatile spread is great on bagels, sandwiches and wraps, and the perfect dip with veggies and chips.

Join us at The Creative Kitchen Kids Cooking Summer Series this summer at Whole Foods Markets throughout NYC to sample GO VEGGIE’s delicious vegan Spread & Dip Minis in our goody bags!

From the Mouth of a Kid:

Yum! This tastes super creamy. I love it on my bagel!

From the Eyes of a Parent:

I love these GO VEGGIE Minis. They are a great alternative to cream cheese spreads that deliver all the cheesy goodness I love, without the lactose and dairy that upset my stomach. I also love that these are perfectly portioned for me to throw in my kids’ lunch boxes for a quick snack after school. They get protein and calcium just like from cheese with less fat and no cholesterol compared to other dips on the market.

Flavorful Features:

GO VEGGGIE Spread & Dip Minis come in two delicious flavors:
• Classic Plain
• Chive & Garlic

The Icing on the Cake:

GO VEGGIE Spread & Dip Minis are completely plant-based vegan and are only 100 calories per mini. Plus, they’re kosher, contain no cholesterol, are gluten-free, dairy-free, and lactose-free, and are made with only non-GMO ingredients.

Time to Eat?!

GO VEGGIE Spread & Dip Minis make a great addition as a spread on a sandwich or wrap at lunch or are great for a quick snack with vegetables.

Good to Go?

Yes! These Minis are individually packaged and perfect for taking on the go.

Mix it Up!

Try the Classic Plain with some jelly on a bagel for a sweet, quick & yummy breakfast!

The Creative Kitchen™, LLC, teaches children about food and how to cook in a fun, safe, and educational manner. Targeting families with children ages two to teen, the company focuses on teaching, writing creative content and curriculum, special events, recipe development, spokesperson work, webisode production and consulting to present educational and entertaining content through food-related activities. The founder, Cricket Azima, is an expert in cooking for and with children. She inspires kids to express themselves creatively through food and cooking, while complementing lessons with traditional educational material such as social studies, math, arts, science, and more. Visit www.thecreativekitchen.com for more information.

As the company promises, you will truly go nuts over this product! A jar of Nocciolata contains all natural quality ingredients to produce the most delicious organic hazelnut spread. Launched in 2006, Nocciolata is Rigoni’s newest product born from another old family recipe. The Rigoni de Asiago family company is devoted to making sure that all of their products ensure exceptional quality and flavor. Nocciolata uses the following carefully selected ingredients in every jar: dark chocolate from the Antillean Islands, Italian hazelnuts, brown sugar, skim milk and bourbon vanilla extract.

Your family is sure to love this chocolaty and nutty spread and your kids will love making Nocciolata Fruit Crepes at The Creative Kitchen’s Kids Cooking Camps this summer at Whole Foods Markets throughout NYC! For more information and to register, email info@TheCreativeKitchen.com!

From the Mouth of a Kid:

Yum, I love this chocolaty treat on my toast or crepe in the morning!

From the Eyes of a Parent:

Nocciolata is perfect for when I get a chocolate craving because it’s an indulgent treat that I can feel good about. It’s a natural alternative to other chocolate spreads, since it’s made with simple organic ingredients and no artificial colors or flavors. Whether I use it for baking or simply smear it on my family’s favorite dishes – I can’t lose!

Flavorful Features:

Rigoni de Asiago makes many other delicious products, including:

• Fiordifrutta Organic Fruit Spreads in: Apricot, Peach, Wild Berries, Wild Blueberry, Raspberry, Cranberry, Lingonberry, Strawberry, Lemon, Seville Orange, Cherry, Blackberry, Black Currant, Fig, Pomegranate, Pink Grapefruit, and Pear.
• Mielbio Organic Italian Honey in: Acacia Raw Honey, Chestnut Raw Honey, Forest Raw Honey, Orange Blossom Raw & Creamy Honey, Wildflower Raw & Creamy Honey, and Lime Honey
• Dolcedi’ Natural Low-Glycemic Sweetener from Organic Apples

The Icing on the Cake:

Every jar of Nocciolata is certified organic and made with all natural raw ingredients. Each jar also contains no chemicals, no artificial flavors, no gluten, no GMOs and no hydrogenated fat or palm oil.

Mix it Up!

Make magic wands! Spread a little Nocciolata on pretzels rods and decorate with dried raisins or cranberries and chopped nuts for a fun kid-friendly snack!

The Creative Kitchen™, LLC, teaches children about food and how to cook in a fun, safe, and educational manner. Targeting families with children ages two to teen, the company focuses on teaching, writing creative content and curriculum, special events, recipe development, spokesperson work, webisode production and consulting to present educational and entertaining content through food-related activities. The founder, Cricket Azima, is an expert in cooking for and with children. She inspires kids to express themselves creatively through food and cooking, while complementing lessons with traditional educational material such as social studies, math, arts, science, and more. Visit www.thecreativekitchen.com for more information.

Why should I get involved?

“Food Day is a chance to celebrate what our food system does right and take action to address the pressing food issues we face:

• Poor diets cause widespread obesity, diabetes, and other diet related diseases.

• Millions of Americans struggle with food insecurity and hunger.

• Vital food safety and anti-hunger programs are constantly under attack in Washington.

• Many food and farm workers still labor in unfair, unsafe conditions, and animal welfare is often ignored.”

Celebrate with us! 

We’ll be celebrating Food Day at our Whole Foods Markets classes on Wednesday, October 21, in Tribeca. If you’re in the New York City area, join us in making a nutritious and delicious Food Day recipe!

Spread the word! 

Spread the word about Food Day using #FoodDay2015!

You can also find an event in your hometown or get in touch with Food Day organizers in your area. For more information, visit www.foodday.org.

The Creative Kitchen™, LLC, teaches children about food and how to cook in a fun, safe, and educational manner. Targeting families with children ages two to teen, the company focuses on teaching, writing creative content and curriculum, special events, recipe development, spokesperson work, webisode production and consulting to present educational and entertaining content through food-related activities. The founder, Cricket Azima, is an expert in cooking for and with children. She inspires kids to express themselves creatively through food and cooking, while complementing lessons with traditional educational material such as social studies, math, arts, science, and more. Visit www.thecreativekitchen.com for more information.

Are you taking part in Food Revolution Day this Friday, May 15th? Over 830,000 people have joined Jamie Oliver in his fight for food education, and we want YOU to get involved too!

Jamie’s Vision 

“My wish is to create a strong, sustainable movement to educate every child about food, inspire families to cook again and empower people everywhere to fight obesity.”

Food Revolution Day is a global day of action to put food education back on the school curriculum. By educating children about food in a fun and engaging way, we can equip them with the basic skills they need to lead healthier, happier lives, for themselves, and their future families. In short, by fighting for every child’s right to food education, we can help to reverse the rise in obesity levels and diet-related disease.

The Global Obesity Problem

* By 2030, it’s predicted that 41% of the world population will be overweight or obese.

* Worldwide, there are more than 42 million children under the age of five who are either overweight or obese.

* Diet-related diseases, which include heart failure and stroke, are among the world’s biggest killers.

* For the first time in human history, the world has more people that are overweight than underweight.

Take Action!

* Sign and Share the petition. change.org/jamieoliver Jamie’s launched a global petition to get practical compulsory food education in schools across 20 countries. Jamie believes that the only way to reverse the alarming rise in obesity-related disease is to teach every child about food, how to cook it and how it affects their bodies.

* Get involved. There are plenty of ways you can get involved, from whipping up delicious recipes with your kids, hosting a foodie event in your community or challenging your workmates to a cook-off to sharing your photos and the #FoodRevolutionDay via social media.

* Tell your local school. Get your local school involved in Jamie’s online classroom lesson! Teachers can download brilliant free teaching materials, watch a lesson plan video, and make a recipe on Friday, May 15 in the classroom watching Jamie online. Go to foodrevolutionday.com/schools

Cant Take Part on Friday? No Worries!

Jamie’s lesson will remain available on the Food Revolution Day website after the day, so if you aren’t able to participate this week you can still sign your school up and do the lesson after the event!

Go to foodrevolutionday.com for petition information, ideas on how you can get involved, resources, exclusive Jamie videos and lots of new recipes.

Sign it. Share it. Support @JamieOliver on #FoodRevolutionDay change.org/jamieoliver

The Creative Kitchen™, LLC, teaches children about food and how to cook in a fun, safe, and educational manner. Targeting families with children ages two to teen, the company focuses on teaching, writing creative content and curriculum, special events, recipe development, spokesperson work, webisode production and consulting to present educational and entertaining content through food-related activities. The founder, Cricket Azima, is an expert in cooking for and with children. She inspires kids to express themselves creatively through food and cooking, while complementing lessons with traditional educational material such as social studies, math, arts, science, and more. Visit www.thecreativekitchen.com for more information.

We are so excited to be a part of this year’s TEDxManhattan Adventures this Sunday, March 8th! Edible Schoolyard NYC will be joining The Creative Kitchen team for a kid-friendly culinary adventure for all ages!

Edible Schoolyard NYC will teach one of their most popular edible education classes, “herbs at home.” Kids will learn techniques for transplanting​ and caring for​ herbs and have the opportunity to decorate their very own small herb planter. Then, we’ll make Playtime Pasta Salad, featuring colorful vegetables, whole grain pasta, and the herbs we’ve just learned about! Kids will leave with their bellies full, having had the opportunity to eat and enjoy what they’ve made!

The 5th annual TEDxManhattan, “Changing the Way We Eat,” will take place on Saturday, March 7^th 2015 at the Times Center in New York City. The event includes over a dozen dynamic speakers spanning the entire food spectrum from farming to food arts. Join in on the events and register to host your own viewing party!

This year, TEDxManhattan is also launching TEDxManhattan Adventures! These are experiences around food and farming and will include tours, meals, cooking demonstrations, panel discussions and more. To find out more about The Creative Kitchen’s Adventure, click here!

The Creative Kitchen™, LLC, teaches children about food and how to cook in a fun, safe, and educational manner. Targeting families with children ages two to teen, the company focuses on teaching, writing creative content and curriculum, special events, recipe development, spokesperson work, webisode production and consulting to present educational and entertaining content through food-related activities. The founder, Cricket Azima, is an expert in cooking for and with children. She inspires kids to express themselves creatively through food and cooking, while complementing lessons with traditional educational material such as social studies, math, arts, science, and more. Visitwww.thecreativekitchen.com for more information.

Ingredients:

4 tomatoes

1 cup strawberries

1 mango

2 kiwifruit

1 seedless cucumber

2 different colored bell peppers

1 15.5-ounce can cannellini  beans

1 8-ounce can corn

1 cup fresh cilantro leaves

2 limes

olive oil, to taste

salt and pepper, to taste

chips (baked chips for a healthier option)

Instructions:

1. Dice tomatoes, strawberries, mango, kiwifruit, cucumber, and peppers and place in a medium mixing bowl.
2. Add beans and corn to the bowl and stir together.
3. Tear or chop cilantro leaves and add to the bowl.
4. Dress salsa with lime juice, olive oil, salt, and pepper, to taste. Mix well and eat with chips!

Tips & Tricks: 

• Dice the ingredients small, so you can challenge your children to fit as many colors as they can into one bite!
• Kids can help cut fruits and vegetables with a kid-friendly safety knife.
• Even the youngest helpers can wash the produce and tear the fresh herbs.
• Give them options! Ask kids to pick three favorite fruits instead of the fruits listed above; have the family choose between cilantro and mint.

The Creative Kitchen™, LLC, teaches children about food and how to cook in a fun, safe, and educational manner. Targeting families with children ages two to teen, the company focuses on teaching, writing creative content and curriculum, special events, recipe development, spokesperson work, webisode production and consulting to present educational and entertaining content through food-related activities. The founder, Cricket Azima, is an expert in cooking for and with children. She inspires kids to express themselves creatively through food and cooking, while complementing lessons with traditional educational material such as social studies, math, arts, science, and more. Visit www.thecreativekitchen.com for more information.

Food is all around us – we’re either buying it, cooking it, or trying to stuff it in our mouths in the middle of a hectic day. In the craziness of our day-to-day lives we forget that though many things are edible, they’re not necessarily food. That is where Food Day comes into play! Food Day is an annual, worldwide event on October 24th in which we celebrate healthy eating and shopping habits and learn about affordable and sustainable food choices.

This year’s primary focus is on food access and justice for food and farm workers. With America’s resources, there’s no excuse for low wages for food and farm workers or inhumane conditions for farm animals. With a little more information and education and a lot more support, we can change the way our food is raised (and the way the very handy people who raise our food are paid)!

Join an Event

Food Day motivates Americans of all ages and nationalities to engage in changing their diet and even on a more national level, changing our food policies. Regardless of your physical location, you can be apart of the revolution! On www.FoodDay.org you can enter your city or zip code and find the closest event near you that is helping to make your family and the world a healthier, happier place.

Celebrate with Us! 

We’ll be celebrating Food Day at our Whole Foods Markets classes on Wednesday, October 22, in Tribeca and Thursday, October 23, in Midtown East. If you’re in the New York City area, join us in making Food Day’s recipe for Quick Citrusy Salad. The recipe follows!

• Toss 8 cups (5 oz.) of loosely packed mixed greens with a dressing made by combining 2 Tbs. minced red onion, 1 Tbs. red wine vinegar, 2 Tbs. extra-virgin olive oil, and ¼ tsp. kosher salt.
• Top with 3 sliced clementines, ½ cup chopped avocado, and 2 Tbs. sunflower seeds.
• Serves 4.

Celebrate with Your Students, Coworkers, or Family:

• Use Food Day as an inspiration to ask your office or employer to participate in a wellness policy or to participate in a community agriculture program.
• Introduce cooking lessons in your school or plant a vegetable garden.
• Start shopping at local farmers markets to support the farmers who work hard to provide you and your family with good, natural food!
• Spread the word, whether on Facebook or Twitter, using the hashtags #FoodDay2014 and #RealFoodJustFood

Mark your calendars and find a way to celebrate Food Day your way, whether you attend an event in your area or host one of your own. Before you know it, you’ll be celebrating it everyday with your better choices!

The Creative Kitchen™, LLC, teaches children about food and how to cook in a fun, safe, and educational manner. Targeting families with children ages two to teen, the company focuses on teaching, writing creative content and curriculum, special events, recipe development, spokesperson work, webisode production and consulting to present educational and entertaining content through food-related activities. The founder, Cricket Azima, is an expert in cooking for and with children. She inspires kids to express themselves creatively through food and cooking, while complementing lessons with traditional educational material such as social studies, math, arts, science, and more. Visit www.thecreativekitchen.com for more information.

Here at The Creative Kitchen, everyday is Food Day! On a daily basis, we educate children about and through cooking. However, some children do not get the opportunity to learn about food or to learn which foods are the good foods for our bodies. That is where Jamie Oliver’s Food Revolution Day comes in! Food Revolution Day is focused on getting kids excited about food and cooking up delicious, nutritious meals from scratch.

With the ever-growing market of highly processed unhealthy foods increasing everyday and the decline in families eating whole or homemade foods, it can be difficult for a child (or an adult!) to determine which foods provide proper nutrients and which “foods” just provide empty calories, sugar, salt, and fat. This is reflected in the large amount of diet-related issues faced by millions worldwide – and especially in the epidemic levels of childhood obesity in the United States. Diet-related disease, including heart disease, diabetes, and obesity, are among the leading causes of death and are generally avoidable with healthful diets of fresh foods and minimally processed products.

Since 1999, The Creative Kitchen’s founder, Cricket Azima, has been supporting food education throughout New York City, teaching children ages two years old and up – and their families too. Cricket works to produce a positive relationship between children and food, while having fun in the kitchen and creating healthy eating habits for life.  Recipes are fruit and vegetable based – and naturally kid-friendly and delicious! Kids learn and practice basic cooking skills as they enhance other traditional disciplines such as reading, mathematics, science, social sciences, nutrition, music, art, history and geography, in age-appropriate And FUN ways. In addition, children strengthen their motor skills, self-esteem, socialization, cultural understanding, teamwork, independence and personal responsibility.

In addition to classes and events, The Creative Kitchen also produces the Kids Food Festival, a series of food events, programmed with the assistance of the James Beard Foundation, that educates families on how to make balanced food choices. Cricket also developed Everybody Can Cook, a curricula featuring adaptations for special needs children with various physical and developmental abilities. She works with a variety of food companies, offering services including spokesperson, recipe development and testing, freelance writing, teaching, family outreach, blogging, creating webisodes, special events, and consulting.

Since 2002, renowned chef Jaime Oliver has been encouraging families and schools to get back to the basics and cook meals full of fresh local produce instead of relying on heavily processed fast foods. This year, his global day of action Food Revolution Day is on Friday, May 16. It is being celebrated all around the globe, with 100 countries and over 105,000 participants taking part in the movement! You can get involved too by visiting the official website and adding you name to the growing list of Food Revolution Day participants!

Join the Food Revolution celebratory events!  If you’re in New York City, come cook with Cricket Azima and The Creative Kitchen’s team at Whole Foods Market, Tribeca location (second floor café space) from 3:30pm to 4:30pm.  Bring your family and have fun learning to make (and eat!) Jamie Oliver’s Rainbow Salad Wrap.  Register in advance by calling (718) 406-7506 or email Events@TheCreativeKitchen.com.

Can’t make it to the class?  Watch Jamie’s LIVE cooking lesson and cook along with his Rainbow Salad Wrap recipe. Food Revolution Day is all about having fun with food, eating delicious creations cooked by you, and spreading the word about real food!

Tag #FRD2014 in your pictures and social media posts to be featured on the Food Day Revolution Website!

The Creative Kitchen™, LLC, teaches children about food and how to cook in a fun, safe, and educational manner. Targeting families with children ages two to teen, the company focuses on teaching, writing creative content and curriculum, special events, recipe development, spokesperson work, webisode production and consulting to present educational and entertaining content through food-related activities. The founder, Cricket Azima, is an expert in cooking for and with children. She inspires kids to express themselves creatively through food and cooking, while complementing lessons with traditional educational material such as social studies, math, arts, science, and more. Visit www.thecreativekitchen.com for more information.

Grab your kids and grow your own popcorn! A snack that’s healthful, flavorful, and educational? Now that’s something that The Creative Kitchen can get behind! This month, one of our favorite better-for-you snack options, Angie’s Boomchickapop popcorn, is gearing up their Grow Some Boom campaign, encouraging families to test out their green thumbs, grow, and ultimately pop and enjoy their very own popcorn at home.

Husband-and-wife duo Dan and Angie Bastian of Angie’s Boomchickapop already sell deliciously snackable natural popcorn without any GMOs, high-fructose corn syrup, trans fat, and artificial sweeteners, flavors, or preservatives. And now through the end of April, Angie’s is giving away their secret: their seeds!

Simply visit www.growsomeboom.com to order their untreated, non-GMO, organic popcorn seeds online, or pick them up in-store wherever you purchase Boomchickapop ((try Costco, Target, Whole Foods, regional grocery stores, co-ops, and health food stores.) Then head to their Facebook page for tips, tricks, and support on growing popcorn.

The goal is to get consumers off the couch and into the garden. Make growing your own popcorn a family activity! All it takes are some seeds and a little TLC to teach kids where their family’s food comes from, and how easy it is to grow better-for-you snacks at home that are popped, not processed.

The Creative Kitchen™, LLC, teaches children about food and how to cook in a fun, safe, and educational manner. Targeting families with children ages two to teen, the company focuses on teaching, writing creative content and curriculum, special events, recipe development, spokesperson work, webisode production and consulting to present educational and entertaining content through food-related activities. The founder, Cricket Azima, is an expert in cooking for and with children. She inspires kids to express themselves creatively through food and cooking, while complementing lessons with traditional educational material such as social studies, math, arts, science, and more. Visit www.thecreativekitchen.com for more information.

Teach your kids to cook and eat healthy, and you just might be rewarded with a VIP trip to Washington, DC!

Do you have a budding chef in your family between the ages of 8 and 12? Help your master-chef-in-the-making create an original, tasty, and affordable lunchtime recipe to submit to the 3rd Healthy Lunchtime Challenge for a chance to win the trip of a lifetime to the White House for a Kids’ “State Dinner” this summer.

Hosted by the First Lady Michelle Obama and Epicurious, the challenge aims to find 50 fresh, simple, and yummy recipes—one from each state! Your junior chef’s entry should be made up of at least half vegetables and fruits, and include a great story of how the dish was developed.  Submit your recipe by this Saturday, April 5th here, where you’ll also find all the rules and regulations, as well. Now get set, get creative, and get cooking!

The Creative Kitchen™, LLC, teaches children about food and how to cook in a fun, safe, and educational manner. Targeting families with children ages two to teen, the company focuses on teaching, writing creative content and curriculum, special events, recipe development, spokesperson work, webisode production and consulting to present educational and entertaining content through food-related activities. The founder, Cricket Azima, is an expert in cooking for and with children.  She inspires kids to express themselves creatively through food and cooking, while complementing lessons with traditional educational material such as social studies, math, arts, science, and more. Visit www.thecreativekitchen.com for more information.