Well, it seems that Rafaelito is enjoying greens — well, vegetables, at least — more with each passing day.

One afternoon when grandma was watching him earlier this week, he asked for green bell pepper with his “special sauce.”

Then he set about enjoying red bell peppers as well. The nice thing is that he’s been asking for the peppers as a snack; we haven’t had to suggest them. That makes it a lot easier to get him to eat them.

But we have a bit of a mystery, too:

The other day, he told us he eats salad with his lunch at school.

I asked him what was in the salad, and he replied, simply, “Salad.”

I asked if there was lettuce. “Salad.”

Tomato? “Salad.”

You get the idea.

The school lunch menu we have at home doesn’t specify anything, so we’re in the dark.

I can hear you ask, “How on earth can you be unaware of what your child is eating?”

Trust me, I feel totally lame.

But in the morning when I’m dropping the smitchik off at school, things are rather hectic and the staffers who man the doors to the gymnasium where the pre-K and kindergarten students gather before being led to their classrooms are kind of tied up with getting dozens of of 3-, 4- and 5-year-olds to gather with their correct classmates.

And at day’s end, when my husband picks up Rafael, the teacher is dealing with lots of parents all trying to grab her attention to ask questions.

Besides, it was only just the other day that he mentioned the salad. These days, my brain feels so full that I can’t remember anything but the most vital information from one moment to the next. I’ll remember, at some point.

I’m just glad he’s eating vegetables. And whatever this “salad” is, I’m happy for him to eat it.

With most pediatricians recommending that parents avoid cough medication for toddlers and young children, I’ve been wondering what to do when Aristu, my youngest, gets a nasty cough. For the most part I’ve made do with rubbing children’s Vicks on his chest and making sure he’s warm.

As a kid I remember my parents giving me a teaspoon of brandy when I had a runny nose or a cough. But I guess thats not possible these days without alarming everyone. So I’ve gone back to some of the homegrown remedies my grandmother had up her sleeve.

A sure soother of sore throats is some ginger juice and a few drops of honey. I usually grate a piece of fresh ginger and squeeze out the juice in a teaspoon, and then add some honey and stir the concoction. Aristu, who just like his older brother is always willing to swallow all kinds of medication, laps it up, though the unusual taste did shock him the first time. That’s a good addition to a hot cup of tea, moms, if you ever want to give it a try. I sometimes also scrape a piece of ginger, smash it a bit, char it over the kitchen stove, pour honey over the ginger and then pop it in my mouth. Sucking on it really soothes the throat, though kids may not like it.

I’ve also introduced my husband to the wonders of mulethi, a dried root that makes tea very fragrant and soothing when boiled in it. I bring back a bag of it every time I visit my mother in India. I just Googled to see what the botanical or Western name for it was, and it turned out to be liquorice! Looks like I needn’t have gone all the way to India to get it; I could have just as easily got it from my local ShopRite.

I’ve been thinking about tea lately, mostly because I recently made a pact with myself to forego that second cup of afternoon joe for some green tea. I had given up on tea in my early 30s when I started my love affair with coffee. Thank you Starbucks frappucinos. But while there are studies that say java cuts your risk of this, that and the other, there’s also something about it that makes me think it’s not all that good for you, especially after I tried to quit—it only lasted four days—and on the first day I had a severe migraine and turned into a raging lunatic. With that said, I think anything you consume daily will eventually take its toll.

I’ve also noticed this new store in the malls called Teavana that makes tea out to be some hip elixir. Of course this is nothing new, but it’s nice to be reminded. I was reading up on the Oolong and red varietals that claim to aid with allergies and digestion. Sounds better than Nasonex and Milk of Magnesia, right?

But I digress. This is about kids, after all. So on to the reason for my post. Zyla has gotten a kick out of the tea-making process from the kettle whistling to dunking the tea bag in the mug. After watching all that preparation, she inevitably reaches her little hand out for a sip but I haven’t given in. I guess for the same reasons I wouldn’t give her coffee—caffeine. Then I think, if tea is so good for you and it has way less caffeine than coffee, why can’t I give her some?

This Brazilian woman I know told me how she gave her newborn babies tea and how common it is in her native country. Her kids, now teenagers, are healthy and strong. Hmmm…

So if anyone has any information to share on giving a 20-month-old green and/or herbal teas, pass it on.

Last week, I interviewed Sandi Jeanette of Good Samaritan Hospital about a talk she was giving on kid nutrition, health and obesity at Pearl River’s recent Parent University.

During our chat, she mentioned she was handing out recipes for healthy snacks for kids (and adults) that didn’t have that ‘low-fat’ taste. She kindly faxed me a copy of Fudgy Buttermilk Brownies, reprinted with permission from the “New American Heart Association Cookbook, Second Edition,” printed in 2004.

I’m old enough to remember when Hidden Valley Ranch Dressing was only a packet of seasonings that you added to mayonnaise and buttermilk. I used to use it as a base to cook chicken.

I occasionally still use buttermilk in cooking, so I have it around the house. Don’t have buttermilk on hand? The easy substitute is to use a tablespoon of vinegar or lemon juice added to milk to make a cup. And for those who don’t cook regularly, confectioner’s sugar is another name for powdered sugar.

For this recipe, you’ll need a vegetable oil spray to grease the pan.

Here’s the recipe:

Fudgy Buttermilk Brownies

Serves 16: 1 brownie per serving. Can be topped with fat-free frozen yogurt.

BROWNIES:

1 cup all-purpose flour

1 cup firmly packed light brown sugar

1/3 cup unsweetened cocoa powder

1/2 teaspoon baking soda

1/4 teaspoon salt

Whites of two large eggs and one large egg, or the egg white and an egg substitute equivalent of one egg

1/2 cup unsweetened applesauce

1/2 cup low-fat or fat-free buttermilk

2 teaspoons vanilla extract

DIRECTIONS

Preheat the oven to 350 degrees Fahrenheit. Lightly spray a 9-inch square baking pan with vegetable oil spray. In a medium bowl, stir together the flour, brown sugar, cocoa powder, baking soda and salt. In a small bowl, lightly whisk the egg whites. Whisk in the remaining brownie ingredients. Whisk into the flour mixture until well blended. Pour the batter into the baking pan. Bake for 30 minutes. Let cool in the pan on a cooling rack. Cut into 16 squares.

My family normally doesn’t frost brownies. We just sprinkle them lightly with confectioner’s sugar. However, if you’d like to frost these brownies, here is the recommended topping:

FROSTING

1 1/2  cups sifted confectioner’s sugar

1/4 cup unsweetened cocoa powder

1 teaspoon vanilla extract

2 to 3 tablespoons of fat-free milk

DIRECTIONS

In a small bowl, stir together the confectioner’s sugar and cocoa powder. Stir in the vanilla extract, then gradually stir in the milk until the frosting is spreading consistency. Spread over the cooled brownies. Cut into 16 squares.

Nutritional analysis (per serving)

Calories: 148                    Carbohydrates: 34 g

Total fat: 0.5 g                  Fiber: 1 g

Sodium: 98 mg                  Sugars: 25 g

Protein: 2 g                        Cholesterol: 0 mg

(saturated, polyunsaturated and monounsaturated fats, 0 g each)

Our efforts to get Rafael to eat more greens have borne more fruit (vegetables?) of late. The newest victory? Brussels sprouts.

We figured the sprouts might win our picky boy over, seeing as they’re a member of the cabbage family and Rafael really likes cabbage.

So, we figured, why not try the über-mini-cabbages?

We learned long ago with Rafael that it’s all in how we sell it.

Cabbage is cool. Tomorrow, we told him, you can try Brussels sprouts, maybe. They’re Hobbit food, we told him.

We often make Brussels sprouts when we have steak, and we were having steak that night.

He was kind of excited to try.

As usual, he was suspicious when he first looked at it. But he would only truy one leaf at first.

Then, a quarter of a sprout. Then another.

Soon enough, he’d eaten two whole sprouts. Along with a whole lot of meat, as usual.

Bonus.

Just a quickie today — I got an e-mail the other day from some folks over at Grandparents.com who enjoyed my Halloween protein pus pockets post.

So I checked out the site and found a fun tidbit — the Jif peanut butter folks are holding their Most Creative Peanut Butter Sandwich Contest.

The folks over at Jif give away $35,000 in scholarships to the creative little chefs. Four children get $2,500 apiece and the big winner gets $25,000.

Children have to be aged 6 to 12, and the deadline is Nov. 14. Go to Jif.com for all the details.

Former Playboy playmate turned activist Jenny McCarthy has been causing some waves lately. Last month she was out in force talking about how she cured her six-year-old son Evan of autism through a strict gluten- and casein-free diet. In other words, no dairy or wheat and other grains. McCarthy blames the MMR vaccine for her son’s autism.

I had heard that following this special diet does alleviate symptoms of autism, but the jury is still out whether it is truly effective. One study found that behavorial problems did improve while another found no significant changes from following the diet.

Eliminating gluten and casein is based on the theory that autistic children may be allergic to these ingredients and unable to digest them properly. Some believe that the brain treats them as false opiate-like chemicals that, in turn, makes a child react in a certain way. It’s an interesting theory and definitely worth further investigation.

It must be hard to follow such a diet, because it’s not just bread and milk that contain grains and dairy. Fortunately, nowadays, there are restaurants and supermarket aisles that offer gluten-free and casein-free products.

My kitchen isn’t particularly large, which is why when my youngsters want to cook, I go read a book.

Sunday morning, my oldest decided to make our favorite oatmeal chocolate chip cookies. I was hanging around unloading the dishwasher, and did some fetch and carry work for her.

“Hey, I usually use a stick of margarine along with a stick of butter instead of two sticks of butter,” I said, getting out one of each from the refrigerator.

“Oh, and one recipe I saw said to put in a dash of cinnamon, so you might want to do that, too,” I said.

“Mom, do YOU want to make these cookies?” asked my exasperated oldest.

At which point I smiled, bid her a fond goodbye and went upstairs to play some computer solitaire games. I figure that some day, when she moves out, I’ll have my kitchen all to myself. For now, it’s a treat to leave her alone and reap the benefits in good humor.

They were pretty good cookies, too!