Author: foodjules

Lilliana

Today is our daughter, Lilliana’s ninth birthday.

That’s right, NINE! I just can’t believe that it was nine years ago that I was in the hospital, feeling so very ill, with a 106 fever for several days, almost at death’s door. But, you know what, I can’t even remember how that felt because all I can remember is the excitement and anticipation of when the doctor announced to us that our baby would be born via emergency c-section in just a few minutes. I was in a whole new world when I heard that. I didn’t think about any of the possible complications that came along with having a pre-mature baby, six weeks early. All I thought about was holding and kissing my new little baby and starting our family together.

Lilliana coming home from the hospital

Lilliana is a miracle. She is a blessing to us, filled with so much love that it radiates from her. She is the best daughter in the entire world, she is smart, devoted, caring, honest, sweet, loving, beautiful but most of all, she is our daughter and we love her so very much.

1 yr old Lilliana with Mommy

So, today we celebrate our nine years with this beautiful, sweet daughter of ours. The daughter that changed our entire perspective on what is important in life. She has taught us so much and we are so grateful to God for giving her to us, a happy, healthy little baby girl.

Our 3 beautiful children, Lilliana, Lucas and Julian

I am sure that Julian is watching down on us today and every day, guiding Lilliana and Lucas through their lives. She is a great big sister to Lucas and she was a great big sister to Julian. We love all of you, our sweet, beautiful babies.

foodjules3 Comments

My love affair with chocolate!

Last week, I discovered a recipe for these soft, decadent, rich Chocolate Fudge Cookies! These cookies are so delicious with a soft, fudge-like brownie inside. It was love at first bite!

I even made them a little more nutritious by swapping out some of the white flour for whole wheat flour and it doesn’t make a difference at all. I recently starting using a white whole wheat flour from Trader Joes because it is very light in color and taste with the benefits of being a whole grain. Whole White Wheat is a type of wheat and has all the three parts of the seed, the bran, germ and endosperm. The only difference is it lacks the bran color. Bob’s Red Mill also produces white whole wheat flour. It’s great and I love using it. Next time, I’m going to experiment with using all white whole wheat flour.

As a matter of fact, as I was typing out this post and recipe, I decided to make a couple batches for Lucas’ pre-school teachers. It’s his preschool graduation tomorrow so I wanted to bake up something special for his wonderful, sweet teachers. I can’t believe he is graduating preschool. I remember his first day. I still remember Lilliana’s first day. Feels like it was just yesterday yet now Lilliana is almost as tall as I am! I wish Julian was here to help us celebrate this special day with Lucas. I know he would be filled with so much love and excitement around his brother and sister. He will be with us in our hearts tomorrow, as he is every single day!

Enjoy baking and eating these delicious chocolate cookies.

foodjules3 Comments

Food Revolution Day

This Saturday, May 19th is the first annual Food Revolution Day!

Food Revolution Day  is a chance for people who love food to come together to share information, talents and resources; to pass on their knowledge and highlight the world’s food issues. All around the globe, people will work together to make a difference.

Food Revolution Day is about connecting with your community through events at schools, restaurants, local businesses, dinner parties and farmers’ markets. It’s a chance to inspire change in people’s eating habits and to promote better food education for everyone. We need to do it for ourselves and for the future of our children.

Make your first step on Saturday. It’s easy! You can start by making a fresh fruit smoothie as a healthy, refreshing snack, host a family dinner night by cooking a healthy meal together and then sitting around the table, eating together as a family, go for an afternoon walk or bike ride, go to your local farm and pick up some vegetable plants to start a small garden. If each one of us takes charge of our health, then together we can fight obesity, cancer, diabetes  and teach our children how to live happy, healthy lives.

Join Jamie Oliver in his fight to make America a healthier nation.

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“I’m strong to the finish when i eats me spinach.”

Sound familiar? Seems like a lifetime ago when I used to watch Popeye the Sailor Man!

Frankly, I was never a fan of eating plain cooked spinach. It is just too bland for my “big flavor” taste buds. Besides, there are just so many more flavorful ways to eat spinach, especially when you add cheese to it!

I have many favorite Spinach and Cheese recipes, including Spinach & Cheese Tortellini, Spinach Frittata, Spinach Lasagna Rolls, Tortellini Soup with Spinach, Spinach & Cheese Phyllo Bites and now this Spinach & Tomato Quiche!

This quiche recipe was designed to be simple enough for the kids to make and delicious enough for adults and kids to want to eat everyday!

Enjoy.

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Creating MyPlate

I know it’s been a while since my last post but it has been very busy with classes and life!

Currently, we are in the middle of our spring session at Stepney Elementary as part of the Arts & Imagination program. This time we are learning how to create MyPlate using the five food groups. The children are learning all about creative ways of eating their Vegetables, Fruits, Grains, Protein and Dairy!

A couple of weeks ago, we learned about the two types of Grains (my favorite subject), the Whole Grain and the Refined Grain. As part of the lesson, the kids read some nutrition labels on the back of cereal boxes, crackers, bread crumbs and frozen waffles. They were all so surprised by the number of ingredients in these products, as well as the fact that they didn’t recognize half of them, neither do I! It is truly important to read those labels so you know what you are putting into your growing body.

We were on spring break last week so when we returned to class yesterday, I was so pleased to hear a story shared by one of my students. He had gone grocery shopping with his mom over break and she picked up some white bread and he pointed out to his mother that white bread is a refined grain and not as healthy as the whole wheat bread so they ended up buying the whole wheat bread. I was so very proud of him and I am so proud of all my students for all their attention and enthusiasm in these classes. Hopefully, these classes will be instrumental in helping them to make better eating choices.

This is exactly why I enjoy teaching these cooking classes. Kids are simply amazing!

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Bolognese

One of my favorite Italian meals is Pasta Bolognese! I love the texture and creaminess of this savory meat sauce no matter what pasta comes with it. Believe it or not, I was first introduced to Bolognese on our trip to Italy a few years back and it was love at first bite!

There has only been one other time that the Bolognese has come close to the one I had in Rome and believe me I’ve tried it all. My cousin-in-law’s parents own an Italian restaurant down in Fairfield, Connecticut called Vino & Mare. Everything on their menu is absolutely delicious but the one that stands out the most for me is their Bolognese. When I had my first bite of their Bolognese, the flavors transported me back to our fun days in Rome.

I’ve been meaning to replicate this hearty dish, but since my husband is vegetarian, I thought I’d try a Vegetable Bolognese and see how it compares to the Meat version. Well, I have to tell you that I have found it. This bolognese dish is unbelievably hearty and creamy just like the beef version but so much healthier. (This is not the best photo, but believe me, it is delish!)

Vegetable Bolognese

To all the vegetarians out there or for those who are trying to eat a little more healthy, this one is for you, Vegetable Bolognese!

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