I LIVE IN A ONE COFFEE SHOP TOWN NOW, as opposed to Rome where you could buy a cappuccino on practically every corner. Our place is outside of Chapel Hill, North Carolina and what our town lacks in coffee, for making coffee 10 Best Drip Coffee Makers For Your Money, it makes up for in…
flourless black bean chocolate cake. yep. We
I HAVE A LIST OF TOP 5 FOODS. In fact, on one of our first dates, I asked Paul about his. With a sort of deer-in-the-headlights look, he shrugged and explained that he didn’t have such a list (he politely left out saying anything like “because I’m not 9”). No matter. Mine, I announced, were:…
Why I replaced the kids’ plastic dishes: out with the plastic, in with the porcelain
Since I originally wrote this post, we’ve had one more addition to our family; she’s 18 months old now and flings plates (and bowls) like frisbees. She’s been on melamine but now, with courage plus a broom at the ready, we’re breaking out the good stuff. And breaking is probably just the right word. Wish us luck….
Chocolate Pumpkin Muffins (With Beans!) 2 Ways
Don’t stop reading yet. I made chocolate pumpkin muffins with beans. A full can of beans. And they’re awesome. This breakfast was originally a dessert, similar to our chocolate cake with beans, but if there’s an option to wake up to chocolate I have only one thing to say: yes, please! Our muffins are packed…
4 ways to make a boxed brownie mix healthier (and still every bit as delicious)
THERE’S SOMETHING FANCY GOING ON HERE and it’s not brownies. We’ve got a couple of new features on Foodlets and one of them is the “Your Favorite Posts Right Now” list, which now appears on the right side of every page. This measures the most clicked on posts of the last 30 days, and vying…
5 ways to make any dessert recipe a little healthier
IT’S THAT TIME OF YEAR. Once the tree goes up, the Christmas cookies come out and most of us, my pregnant self included, aren’t kidding around when it comes to enjoying the festivities! But if you want to avoid a sugar-induced meltdown (or two, or seven…) for the smaller members of the household here are…
Healthy Pumpkin Spice Mini Muffins
Here they are! The healthy pumpkin mini muffins every kid loves. Don’t get me wrong, I still love my Barefoot Contessa. But today’s makeover recipe from Paula Deen looked so good — and had so many amazing reviews (766 and counting!?) — on Food Network.com that I couldn’t really resist. They’re both big ladies with…
Fatty acids make babies smarter
THIS IS NO FISH TALE. A new study came out last week making it official. Fatty acids are beneficial for babies. Tue, Sep 20, 2011 (HealthDay News via BabyCenter) — Whether they’re fed by bottle or breast, babies seem to turn out smarter when nourished with healthy fatty acids found in breast milk and some…
Zucchini mini-muffins with dried cranberries
LET IT BE SAID THAT COOKING WITH FOUR KIDS under three is crazy ill advised. A fact, now burned clearly into my brain, was somehow unknown when I went into this project last week. A fellow ex-pat brought her toddler and baby over for some pint-sized baking at my suggestion. Along with my own toddler…
a garden birthday party with low sugar “dirt cups”: happy 2nd birthday phoebe!
THE DIRT CUPS WERE a process. For Phoebe’s second birthday I set out to create a garden party in Villa Ada, Rome’s largest park. And the star of the show, other than the birthday girl’s pretty fabulous tutu, was the “dirt cups”, aka, brownies and pudding mixed together in tiny terra cotta pots with worms,…
Let them help cook…and snack along the way
HOW TO GET YOUR TODDLER TO EAT MORE VEGGIES: pull up a chair, stool or other propping device and let her help you prepare dinner. Phoebe particularly likes “organizing” her ingredients so I give her a little bowl and a wooden spoon. Things go in the bowl, things go out of the bowl, things fall…
7 ways to get toddlers to eat more green vegetables
How about eating some veggies? Right. I’M PRETTY SURE THAT getting kids to eat more veggies has been a struggle since the advent of dinner itself. So when Marie submitted her question—I’d love to get my son Lex (2 years, 2 months) to eat more green foods — broccoli, zucchini, peas, maybe even attempt a…
Eat more fruit: National Mediterranean Diet Month
WE’RE ALREADY CELEBRATING AT OUR HOUSE. As citizens of Rome, the olive oil runs free in our kitchen and even 23-month old Phoebe will ask for it if she can’t see it oozing off her bread. So I’m glad to hear that the US is getting into the action with National Mediterranean Diet Month. Mostly…