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…
Parmesan mashed potatoes with kale, yes kale (A 101 Cookbooks recipe makeover)
THIS IS THE LAST ONE. We’ve been cooking with Heidi Swanson’s recipes for the last few weeks (among others), from the jaw-droppingly beautiful website 101 cookbooks. Honestly, if all food were that gorgeous, who wouldn’t want to focus on healthy eating all the time? And with that in mind, I set out to amp up…
kid-friendly spinach salad with carrots and cucumber (a 101 cookbooks makeover)
NO, IT’S NOT A MISTAKE. This is indeed a spinach salad that I served it to our kids, ages 3 1/2 and 2 years. Did they try it? Yes. Did they devour it, no. Did the stars and flowers help? Absolutely. And we just might be onto something.
diy dark chocolate truffles
THESE WERE A DISASTER. A delicious disaster, but nonetheless. I decided to update Heidi Swanson’s No-Bake Chocolate Cake to give it a kid-friendly spin. It turns out that a recipe basically made of pure chocolate doesn’t actually need a spin. Except for the part where the debilitating sugar crash ends the activity in tears. See: disaster…
roasted sweet potatoes and chicken with quinoa in mustard sauce
WE’RE PASTA PEOPLE, and I’ll bet any family with small kids will say the same. But when it comes to other fluffy fillers, rice is always an easy sell around here. Barley is not. Millet has a so-so track record (good in muffins, not great as a dish). And that pretty much exhausts the options that were available to…
low sugar coconut cookies (a 101 cookbooks makeover)
WE KNEW THEY WERE GOING TO BE HEALTHY, because this cookie recipe was inspired by 101 Cookbooks. But we’re all pleasantly surprised to know they’re tasty too. (And when I say “we” I mean Phoebe and Estelle who keep hanging out by the little blue storage bin, longingly.) With a quarter of the sugar you’d…
Where’s the food? My first trip to an American grocery store as a mom
BEFORE WE LEFT ROME, I got together with a friend of mine who had just returned from a summer spent in Brooklyn. “Brace yourself,” she told me as we walked up the steps of Villa Borghese. “It’s overwhelming.” She wasn’t talking about her family’s temporary transition back to the States (which can be intense, even…
when all else fails, make baby food: roasted sweet potato and apple baby food
“IT’S NOT GOING WELL”, says my tired old self. “Except that it is!” says the hopeful part of me, the one that remains rosy cheeked despite 2 sleepless nights with our little guy’s new cold. So it’s a bit of both, that’s how I’d sum up this move and here’s why: It’s a complicated process….
Firing the Food Police on Christmas and Other Strategies for a Low Stress Family Meal
THERE ARE THINGS TO WORRY ABOUT over the holidays–Santa’s gifts arriving on time, icy roads, whether you’ll lose it when your mom tells you to stop worrying because after all, you turned out okay!–but stressing out over what the munchkins eat is definitely not one of them. Not this year.
Kid-friendly turkey chili–plus 15 crowd pleasing toppings ideas
As our BFIM continues at its glacial pace, I am thrilled to present this guest post from a friend, fellow mom to kids under 4 and former colleague (one who used to run Food Network.com, ahem!), Marie Facini. Now if you need me, I’ll be desperately trying to find a big pot somewhere… GUEST POST…