This recipe starts with a story. One day over the summer I desperately needed to go to the grocery store and I needed to do a real shop, not just pick a few things up, because our pantry was incredibly bare. Unfortunately, though, school was out and camps had not started yet, which meant I…
Over the past year or so my sons have shown little to no interest in what I choose at the farm share each week. This has been a source of disappointment for me for two reasons: 1) I love walking through the selections with them and talking about their favorites as well as about new…
Early spring is by far my favorite time of year. I love it when the colors start to creep back in—the grass becomes more vibrant, the evergreen leafs get brighter, and the buds on the trees start to come to life. And then there is always that one day when it all suddenly POPS! As…
The end of year is often a great time to take stock of what we have learned and how we have grown and changed. This year has been a big one for The Balanced Kitchen and I am so grateful to all of you for joining me on this journey to make cooking simple and delicious! In an effort…
I’ve been thinking a lot lately about the ebbs and flows of appetite that come with the seasons. For me, during the summer I tend to not be as hungry as I am in the winter. I also tend to crave more fruits, salads, and finger foods. I have also noticed that my boys tend…
Each Monday I teach a cooking class to a group of first through fourth graders at a local school. The focus of the class is on cooking healthy snacks and goodies, but it is also a way for me to start to teach them some fundamental cooking skills and concepts. This week I wanted to…
We all know the benefits of family dinners— less picky eating, lower risk of obesity and eating disorders, higher academic achievement, lower risk of teen pregnancy and substance abuse, the list goes on and on. And we all have that idyllic idea of what it should look like—perfect table manners, no tension, everyone together, beautifully…
I am currently co-teaching a cooking class to a group of 6-9 year olds. Our goals have been helping all of the kids to gain confidence in the kitchen, introducing them to new healthy foods, and exploring new foods and food preparations. Over the course of the past weeks we have been working with them…
Twice in the past month my younger son, who is a much more selective eater, has stunned us by happily trying and then falling in love with new vegetables (asparagus and artichokes). They are now two of his go-to requests when I check in with him about meals for the upcoming week. I wish I…
There have been a lot of powerful posts going around recently about feeding kids. Two that really spoke to me were one about the pitfalls of pushing the “one bite” and another about the importance of focusing on making family dinners an enjoyable time rather than a time for pushing food or other table manner agendas. Both of these…