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Special pullout section Friday, October 24, 2008 4 Pages www.independentfreepress.com Good reasons to visit your optometrist Page 3 Playing it safe on Halloween night Page 2 PARENTING Halton Hills Community Newspaper Every morning, Lina Holland is asked the same ques- tion: Mrs. Holland, what are we having for lunch today? Some days the answer is black bean soup. Other days, baked sole with whole-wheat couscous or fresh basil pesto with whole-wheat pasta is on the menu. Sometimes its a delicious Asian butter chicken. Although she doesnt work in a restaurant, Hollands cooking draws rave reviews from her most important critics: the children and staff at the Maple Avenue Regional Child Care Centre in Georgetown. I tell the kids what were having and they get really excited and tell all their friends, Holland says with a laugh. They love it! For the last seven years, Holland has been cooking healthy and, most importantly, delicious breakfasts, hot lunches and snacks for the kids at the Maple Avenue Regional Child Care Centre. All of her food is made from scratch, using fresh local ingredients and produce. I want to encourage the kids to try new things and expose them to a variety of food they may not otherwise get to try, Holland says. It teaches children that healthy food tastes good and will hopefully influence them to make good food decisions in the future. Holland, who has her chef s papers from George Brown College and studied nutrition at the University of Western Ontario, draws inspiration from Canadas Food Guide and the Dieticians of Canada, but with a few addi- tional steps to make her meals even healthier. She pur- chases all her meat from a local butcher to ensure it is hormone and nitrate free. She also buys fruits and veg- etables from local farms and serves them fresh. Halton Hills has so many beautiful farms, she says. You cant beat the freshness of shopping local. Most importantly, she says, she has completely removed processed foods from the menu. I dont serve a whole lot of products where you have to read a label, she says. I cook from scratch, so I know exactly whats in my baked goods. From her cranberry and flaxseed cookies to her chicken tenders with a wheat germ coating, the response to Hollands healthy meals has been over- whelmingly positive from both the kids and their par- ents. Parents think, Oh, my kid wont eat Asian butter chicken. Then the kids ask them for it because they like it so much, she says. I get parents and even kids asking me for recipes. Wendy Harper, the supervisor at Maple Avenue Regional Child Care Centre, says Hollands passion for healthy food is a real asset to the centre. She has a passion for high quality, she has a passion for the removal of processed foods and she has a pas- sion for cooking. The children can see it and so can their parents, she says. When the kids move on to ele- mentary school, their parents often come back and say, We miss the kids, we miss the teachers, but we really miss Mrs. Holland! For her part, Holland is glad to be passing her pas- sion on to the next generation. I love it here, she says. I have the best job in the world! 71 Mountainview Rd. N. Call 905-873-4166 Parties are booking fast ~ call to reserve yours! Nursery School and Indoor Playground Supper Clubs are Back! ~ Starting October 24th Spaces available for Pre-school & Kindergarten Enrichment Birthday Parties Drop In/Drop Off Tues/Thurs/Sat (any age) 9-12 UNDER N EW MANAGEM ENT proper measurement width selection supportive footwear quality that lasts Store Hours Mon-Wed 10-6 Thurs-Fri 10-8 Sat 10-5 We Fit KIDS! Lina Holland (left) shares a healthy snack with Brendan Sutton, Connor Hamilton and Nolan Domingos. Photo by Andrea Lefebvre Child Care Centre chef puts kids on the path to healthy eating ANDREA LEFEBVRE Advertising Features Writer