Why are kids such picky eaters, indeed. If you’ve ever sat at the dinner table asking yourself what in the sweet name of Ina Garten is going on with this child, you are not alone. Eating is one of my favorite things! You’d think I’d asked these mutinous littles to clean the bathroom with their…
Cookbooks for Kids!
Kids who cook are kids who appreciate good food. Baking is the most delicious — and often simplest — place to begin. As a mom of four, I’m thrilled to share my cookbooks for kids. Each one is full of simple, crowd-pleasing recipes with easy cleanup: Kid Chef Junior Bakes Super Simple Baking for Kids…
Potlucks May Be the Death of Me
“What’s the matter with potlucks?” My friend laughed. Um, where do I start? How about the part where there is never anything to eat? Nothing. Instead of enjoying a nice, warm dinner on a plate, you get to embark on an epic journey. Like a hobbit. If Frodo had four kids. And one of his…
The Perfect Gift for Tiny Cooks Has Just Arrived: Kid Chef Junior Bakes!
I am just tickled to share some exciting news with you…my second kids’ cookbook is almost here. Kid Chef Junior Bakes is full of the simple, can’t-mess-it-up recipes you find on Foodlets except it’s got step-by-step photos for tiny bakers, ages four and up! We’ve packed this kids’ cookbook with jokes, fun facts and places…
I love cooking so much I’ve made it my second career. The only problem is, my husband hates it.
“Oh, your husband must think he hit the jackpot!” That’s what a guy said to me this weekend as he bit into a lasagna cup I made for a friend’s party. If he only knew. My husband hates my cooking. It’s “too healthy”, not like his mom made it or would be better if it came straight…
Welcome to Plain Pasta, Can I Take Your Order?
I saw comedian Tom Papa read this excerpt on Conan and laughed so hard I nearly cried. Because who hasn’t nearly cried when trying to feed their kids? It ain’t easy, all this trying to instill values and habits of good nutrition, but at least today it’s hilarious. From his book, “Your Dad Stole My…
Do feminists cook?
I’m one of those girls who grew up thinking I could do anything. That I could be anything. Why? Because my mom told me so. All the time. She believed it. A stay-at-home mom who took odd jobs on the side to help make ends meet, mine spent her twenties raising two small kids and…
Gift Ideas for Cooks & Foodies at Every age
If you’ve got a budding chef on your list, check out all my favorite ideas for boosting creativity in and out of the kitchen all year round! Everything is available on Amazon Prime, complete with fabulous reviews (some of them from me!) Tiny Cooks & Mini Foodies 3-Piece Plate & Utensil Set (about $19.99)This dishwasher-safe…
Do What You Think You Can’t: What it’s like to raise a child with type 1 diabetes
As part of a new series on the challenges of parenting, I’m thrilled to bring a guest post to Foodlets today, written by Leigh Fickling. AKA, the human pancreas. Here is her story. Almost five years ago, I joined a club that I never signed up for. A club I had no interest in and…
Age-Appropriate Jobs for Kids in the Kitchen
Cooking with kids is equal parts messy, fun and important life skill learned. We started early with these guys, and you can too! Here are my favorite jobs for small helpers: Toddlers stirring helping dump ingredients into bowls greasing pans separating (cupcake liners, tomatoes from a vine, etc.) tasting 🙂 Preschoolers breaking eggs (really!) retrieving…
the real reason why family dinners are so hard
Sometimes people say to me, “you must be such a good mom”. They think I’m rocking this parenting thing, probably running circles around them, because I make such a big deal out of cooking for our kids. Guess those people have never seen my laundry room. After so many appreciate on food from people…
We know kids eat too much junk, so why aren’t more of us “Fed Up”?
How much sugar do your kids eat? And does that question make you want to hit the back button immediately? It’s such a prickly subject. I’m a family food blogger and I still feel defensive just thinking about it, like my crazy button has been punched with a big, judgy finger. But this question, accusatory as it…
how to pack amazing school lunches kids love, Katie Morford’s best tips
UGH. THAT’S THE SOUND OF MOST PARENTS MAKING SCHOOL LUNCHES. But not Katie Morford. Katie heads up the popular blog, Mom’s Kitchen Handbook: Raising Fresh-Food Kids in a French-Fried World and just wrote a new book with a promising title, “Best Lunch Box Ever“. Brimming with fresh, creative ideas that look just as tasty as they…
more parenting dispatches from me: check out my new column on BabyZone.com
JUST WHEN YOU THOUGHT WE’D GIVEN UP and become Lunchables converts, I’m back to Foodlets at last. It’s been very busy in our little corner of North Carolina. We moved to our new, and permanent, house (more on this later)! We took trips (more later) and we even hosted two family visits already (ditto). And…
the downside of cooking from scratch
IT ALL STARTED IN ITALY. When my husband and I moved to Rome four and a half years ago, I didn’t speak a word of Italian (yet) and found the grocery stores mystifying. A bit more produce, infinitely more cheese and much less in the way of processed foods, almost none that I recognized anyway….
how to get kids to try new foods: 5 questions with Melissa Lanz, author of “The Fresh 20”
I’LL ADMIT IT. I’m not great at planning a menu in advance. Buying a bunch of sweet potatoes then getting home to realize that we already have a pile in the pantry? I’m pretty good at that. Figuring out how to use that third leek, the one that always seems to come in the bunch?…
just for fun, some great quotes about cooking
I BELIEVE IN COOKING. Usually from scratch, most often with whole ingredients. And I’ll tell you this right now. It doesn’t always work out. You’ve got to have a sense of humor, and even more courage, in the kitchen, especially when you’re cooking for knee-high critics. That’s why I love these pearls of wisdom…
5 questions for Marina Delio, author of The Yummy Mummy Kitchen
I NEED ALL THE HELP I CAN GET. Which is why I love grilling other parents who are in the trenches as well. Marina Delio’s new cookbook, “The Yummy Mummy Kitchen”, is so beautiful and full of fresh ideas, I knew she’d have a few tricks up her sleeves for feeding kids. From Brussels sprouts…
Getting kids to eat green food: 5 questions with Sarah Matheny, author of “More Peas, Thank You”
WHEN IT COMES TO FEEDING KIDS, Sarah Matheny wrote the book. Literally. And she did it twice! Her new book, “More Peas, Thank You” has just come out and it’s so full of fun ideas for vegetarian meals we had to ask her a bit more about how she does it. 1. Are there any…
2 lessons Japanese kids are learning at lunch
First it was the French, and now there are foodie rumblings from the Far East. Japanese school kids are eating a better lunch than Americans, so says a recent article in The Washington Post. That’s because kids in Japan are eating something American kids aren’t: fresh, local food. Before the collective eye roll begins, a few more…