There are many beliefs and opinions on food that I share with Jessica, but there is one thing about which we disagree: bitter food. Jessica loves bitter food; I, on the other hand, struggle to stomach it. Growing up it was the one taste sensation that was very hard for me to … swallow. And even though today I understand that bitter food aids digestion by nature of its molecular structure, which is similar to the juices in our stomach, I remain skeptical. A recent article in the Wall Street Journal Review “For Healthy Eating, Bitter is Better” written by Barb Stuckey gave me enough of a nudge, however, to consider balancing my sweet nothings with a little bitterness every now and again. Come and cook with us! Continue reading “Bitter is Better”
Tag: Our approach to eating
Why We Do It!
A week and a half ago my mother, Anita, arrived in Tiburon for her annual visit. I look forward to these trips not only because she is my mother, but also because she is the best cook I know, she thinks riding a bike to your destination is always better than driving, and at 71 she can still out climb me (as she did this past weekend in Yosemite). What’s more, she is the quintessential native Italian woman, as she does not suffer fools when it comes to food. While sitting in a local diner in the Yosemite area she turned to me and said, “With the way food is made here in the US, no wonder you put so much emphasis on cooking your own meals.” Luckily she didn’t say it in English, but if I were to be completely honest I’d say she’s right. While we have multiple different convenient ways to feed ourselves, we can very rarely find well-prepared, wholesome, healthy store-bought or restaurant food. So, read on to hear our top reasons why you should make home cooking a priority (besides that you’ll make Anita happy). Come and cook with us! Continue reading “Why We Do It!”
Eat Early and Often!
In a recent article in the New York Times entitled “Calories Are Everywhere, Yet Hard to Track” Jane Brody addresses the question of calories we consume every day. Brody’s main point is that in the US we consume too many calories. In conversation about this, however, Jessica and I struggle with what to advise readers to do. Limit your calories? Portion control? Is that really the issue? The irony of it is, here in the United States, we may be consuming too many calories in cookies, cakes and sodas but we are not consuming enough food. So rather than limit your calories, we recommend you eat as many calories as you need through whole healthy food. In this week’s post, we champions the idea of eating early and often. Make it your goal to consume three to five whole healthy filling meals a day because chances are if you’re not eating well, your hungry body will take the calories from wherever it can. Continue reading “Eat Early and Often!”
A Word from One of Our Wise Readers
Two weeks ago, we received a comment from one of our readers in response to our post on feeding children healthily. In the post the reader, who has worked with children for the last 20 years, gave two specific recommendations for helping kids learn to love healthy food. We loved what she had to say, and her suggestions are easily implementable; scroll to the bottom of this post to see the comment. One point that hit home for us is “to make sure you are always offering a variety of foods prepared differently to offer a range of tastes, sounds, temperature, and oral motor work”. You’ve heard us say it again and again: prepare, serve and eat a rainbow; similarly, focusing on variety on how food tastes and feels is a key rule when feeding yourself and your family, no matter the age. Continue reading “A Word from One of Our Wise Readers”
Children’s Healthy Eating Habits
Feeding children isn’t easy; just look at the number of bunny, fishy, gummy, gooey, processed, packaged and prepared kids foods available and you’ll get a sense of just how difficult it can be. Children are opinionated from the get go, and food is one of the first places they learn to express their views – and test your limits. But a child’s intellectual capacity is far from fully developed; therefore, allowing a child to decide what to eat, when to eat, and how just isn’t feasible. So, how does a mother of two boys create meals on a daily basis that keep them excited about what’s for dinner? I asked Kathrin to let us know what she does, because her boys rarely leave anything on the plate. Here’s what she said are her top 10 ways to keep it exciting around the dinner table. Hope all, some or at least one will inspire you. Come and cook with us! Continue reading “Children’s Healthy Eating Habits”
Come and Cook with Us 