Food Briefs: Restaurants needed for May 5 Hope du Jour

By: JournalNow Staff | JOURNAL STAFF AND WIRE REPORT
Published: April 15, 2009

■ Crisis Control Ministry is looking for restaurants to participate in its annual Hope du Jour.

The May 5 fundraiser involves restaurants donating 10 percent of their sales from that day to help Crisis Control.

Many diners choose restaurants that day based on their participation in Hope du Jour. Crisis Control uses the donations in its mission to help people in need through its food pantry, free pharmacy and other programs.

Participating restaurants are listed at www.hopedujour.org.

For more information or to participate, go to www.crisiscontrol.org or call 724-7875.

Laurel Gray to combine wine tasting, farm goods

■ Laurel Gray Vineyards in Hamptonville will combine a wine tasting with a small farmers market starting this Friday with Farm Fresh Fridays from 5 to 7 p.m.

For $15, customers will get a glass of Laurel Gray wine and appetizers made with local, organic foods. Tours of the winery and herb garden will be offered, and fresh organic produce will be for sale.

Farm Fresh Fridays will be held the third Friday of every month through October. Reservations are required.

Also, fresh herbs and vegetables will be sold every Saturday in Laurel Gray's tasting room.

Other Laurel Gray activities include a May 2 wine dinner at Twenty-One and Main Restaurant in Elkin, and the Spring Wine Release Weekend, with other Swan Creek wineries, on May 2 and 3.

For more information, call 468-9463, send e-mail to laurelgray@yadtel.net or visit www.laurelgrayvineyards.com.

Choose child snacks that include needed nutrients

■ Children need lots of snacks or mini-meals to get them through the day. Though it's a good idea to make some of these healthy mini-meals, say a small sandwich, there's nothing wrong with occasional cookies, crackers or chips.

But choose versions that sneak in needed nutrients, such as oatmeal raisin cookies (fiber), and whole-grain pita chips or other crackers (fiber, and whole-grain nutrients). Dipping fruit into chocolate sauce (strawberries, chunks of pineapple or banana) is preferred over chocolate bars. Also, some fast-food places offer cut-up fruit to go.