Thank you!

Yesterday was a great day for this blog and I feel very grateful to all my followers.  In the morning I hit 25,000 tumblr followers (now over 54,000 as of 4/1/13!), then in the afternoon I was selected as the Blog of the Month by Jamie Oliver’s Food Revolution.  That is very thrilling and I am so honored.  I admire Jamie and all that he’s done to change the way people think about food, cooking and serving kids healthful school lunches. JFR_badge_lrg_315x215

The reason I started this blog was to help others.  I didn’t think I had any magical touch.  I certainly wouldn’t win any parenting and housekeeping awards.  I really just believed that it comes down to cooking at home more than on an occasion, eating together, serving kids foods would eat (adult food not kid food) and just putting those vegetables in front of them— often. 

Yes, I can cook, but I don’t always feel inspired to create amazing and gourmet meals.  Sometimes, I just want to take the shortcuts and throw something together.  But I do believe that even in those times, it is possible to throw together quick, healthful meals.  There are times that my kids don’t eat the most healthy foods, but I just try to keep those times to the minimum.  I want that balance for their attitudes towards food (like, so they won’t gorge on junk when it’s in front of them) and so they can see that even healthy foods taste good!

I attribute a great deal of my own growth in cooking to my husband, a chef, who has taught me much (but unfortunately is working many long hours day and night) and also because I joined a local farm’s CSA/Shared Harvest program.  I was forced to use vegetables I’d pass by in the grocery store because I just didn’t know what to do with them.  I enjoy good food and I want my kids to share in that enjoyment.  It’s a wonderful part of life. 

So, thank you.  Thank you for giving me this platform to share.  Thank you for keeping me going.  Thank you for validating what I am trying to achieve.  I hope I’ve helped you, your kids, or someone you know in eating well.

Me with my main reasons for cooking healthy foods!

Thank you!

Yesterday was a great day for this blog and I feel very grateful to all my followers.  In the morning I hit 25,000 tumblr followers, then in the afternoon I was selected as the Blog of the Month by Jamie Oliver’s Food Revolution.  That is very thrilling and I am so honored.  I admire Jamie and all that he’s done to change the way people think about food, cooking and serving kids healthful school lunches. 

The reason I started this blog was to help others.  I didn’t think I had any magical touch.  I certainly wouldn’t win any parenting and housekeeping awards.  I really just believed that it comes down to cooking at home more than on an occasion, eating together, serving kids foods would eat (adult food not kid food) and just putting those vegetables in front of them— often. 

Yes, I can cook, but I don’t always feel inspired to create amazing and gourmet meals.  Sometimes, I just want to take the shortcuts and throw something together.  But I do believe that even in those times, it is possible to throw together quick, healthful meals.  There are times that my kids don’t eat the most healthy foods, but I just try to keep those times to the minimum.  I want that balance for their attitudes towards food (like, so they won’t gorge on junk when it’s in front of them) and so they can see that even healthy foods taste good!

I attribute a great deal of my own growth in cooking to my husband, a chef, who has taught me much (but unfortunately is working many long hours day and night) and also because I joined a local farm’s CSA/Shared Harvest program.  I was forced to use vegetables I’d pass by in the grocery store because I just didn’t know what to do with them.  I enjoy good food and I want my kids to share in that enjoyment.  It’s a wonderful part of life. 

So, thank you.  Thank you for giving me this platform to share.  Thank you for keeping me going.  Thank you for validating what I am trying to achieve.  I hope I’ve helped you, your kids, or someone you know in eating well.

Me with my main reasons for cooking healthy foods!

Ugghh… it’s not always easy- even in my house.

So, many people think that my kids always eat well— without a fuss.  But you know if you read my blog that that is not always the case.  A few nights this week have been especially difficult with my middle son.  Each time I put dinner on the table he whined and cried that he didn’t want to eat what we’ve made.  And when I say he whines and cries… he whines and whines and whines then cries.  It’s not always easy to ignore (especially when I’m PMSing) but I don’t give in and eventually he comes around. 

Except several nights ago I did let him eat something besides the dinner I made.  It was a delicious chicken fried rice— brown rice, chicken, kale, beet greens, Chinese cabbage, red cabbage, mushrooms, broccoli, carrots, egg, red bell pepper, garlic, ginger, leeks, soy sauce, fish sauce, sesame oil, ground pepper.  He cried and cried.  He said he liked many of the ingredients, just not all together.  I compromised once he was calm and could talk rationally. I said if he ate another 20 forkfulls (basically more than half) then he could get something else.  I wanted to make sure he ate the most nutritionally important food before the yogurt and pasta.  By compromising I’ve potentially set myself up for more whining in our future.

The next night my husband made bucatini spaghetti with a delicious sausage tomato sauce and a salad.  We both couldn’t believe he whined about that one!  He wanted the pasta plain with butter and no salad.  But we remained firm.  He ate it.  All of it.  Even his salad. 

Plus it was fun to eat!

I feel that I chose my battles again.  I know my middle son doesn’t really like those one dish meals where everything is combined.  I felt the compromise wasn’t really giving in (fooling myself?) because he still ate the majority of the meal.  It is so much easier to always give them what they want.  Unfortunately, easy isn’t always best for them.  But it does get easier.  He will keep trying new things and getting a taste for them and I will figure ways to satisfy us both.