Family Food for Moms Podcast I Inspiration for Family Cooking and Dining I How to Enjoy Special Meals Together

#46 Fun Food Days to Celebrate - January to June

 Today we're going to have a bit of fun with an episode on the fun days that involve food each month. I'm working from a website called timeanddate.com, f you want to look it up there, but I'm going to give you some of my ideas for each of the days.
So let's start with January. I'm going to do January to June today, and then I'll do July to December another time.

#45 Help Your Kids Enjoy Vegetables and Use Veg More in Your Cooking

 Today we're going to be talking about how to get your kids to eat more vegetables, and to enjoy them. Vegetables can be delicious, and I think that as adults we know when they aren't. We know when they're dry, chewy, or bitter - they're not good.
The goal is to make vegetables that we enjoy, and to help our kids to enjoy them too. We don't have to hide them away. Sometimes that works, but it's also good to know that they taste good and that we can enjoy them. It’s also different for different ages - you may need a different strategy for your young kids than for your teenagers. It's a good thing to start as early as possible with making vegetables a normal part of life, a food that your kids like just as much as any other food.

#44 Tips on How to Spend Less on Food in Your Home

We've talked before about unusual budget ideas for spending less in the kitchen. I want to revisit that with a few more ideas that I may have mentioned before, but it's always good to be reminded, right? 
When we talked about saving money in the kitchen, we said that cooking in bulk is definitely a good thing, although I do find it a little bit overwhelming to always cook in bulk. I'll choose certain things that I know freeze well, and that I'll use again to cook in bulk. Getting the meat and the vegetables in bulk often saves money. Plus, somehow, if you divide your meal into two, you get by with a little bit less for each meal, instead of having a little extra and it going to waste. Doubling up on a meal is a good thing to do, whether it's a soup, a stew, a casserole, or a lasagna - all of those freeze well for another meal. 
 
 

#43 What to Cook when a Member of Your Family needs Gluten-free, Dairy-Free or Other Special Meals

 Today, we're going to talk about some ideas for gluten free meals, meals for if someone doesn't eat dairy - maybe a breastfeeding mom - and meals for any kind of dietary restrictions. We’ll look at ideas that you can make either for the whole family, or for that particular person, and how you can make some meals in advance and freeze them. This is just to give you some ideas that you can use if this is the case in your family. 

#42 What We Can Learn From World War II about Food and Nutrition – Part 2

 Today, we're going to talk some more about what we can learn from World War Two about food and nutrition. One of the biggest takeaways for me is realizing how resourceful people became when they had to be. They grew the victory gardens. They substituted certain foods for other foods. When things were rationed or not available, they made their meals simpler. They cooked more from scratch. If ingredients weren’t available, they learned how to adapt and edit recipes. For example, they made cakes without eggs if eggs weren't available. They were really rising to the challenge, and I admire that. 
Often today, we have many challenges with our shopping and our cooking, and having time to do those things in our families. It's amazing if we can figure out how to be adaptable; how to edit recipes when needed, how to be able to cook on a cheaper budget, and how to be able to use certain ingredients when others aren't available. We can learn not to have to pop to the grocery store for the smallest thing, but learn how to do without it, and to change and be adaptable in our cooking.
It’s also good to learn how to eat more simply, in ways that cost us money and time, like having a meal of simple meat with a side vegetable, and not always needing the fancy. We should balance the fancy with the simple and wholesome food. 
I'm going to talk a bit about rationing, and about what people did if a food was rationed, or it was not available. Then I'm going to talk about the kind of things that the soldiers and the people ate during that time.

#41 What We Can Learn from Our Grandmothers about Food and Cooking - Part 2

Our Grandmothers, Grandfathers, and Great Grandparents can teach us so much about food!
The way our grandparents ate is a fascinating subject. It’s inspiring to learn from our grandmothers in the way they cooked food to bring good health to their families. Today I want to do the second part of What We Can Learn from our Grandmothers about Food and Cooking. 
Our grandparents’ diets were shaped by where and when they lived; the era, the region, and the availability of ingredients, but in general, they ate simple, wholesome food. It was home cooked food with seasonal ingredients, and it often tied to family traditions and recipes that were passed down the generations. They cooked with love from scratch, and they enjoyed their food in good company. 
Here's part II of What We Can Learn from Our Grandmothers about Food and Cooking. Part 1 was Episode 15.

#40 What We Can Learn from England about Food and Dining

 Today we're going to talk about what we can learn from Enland about food and dining.
England is quite fascinating. I always think of the famous five books by Enid Blyton and picture the children riding on their bicycles through the fields, having a picnic in the sunshine, enjoying the outdoors. Their picnic would have been packed by their cook at home and have things like meat pie, fruit cake, ginger, pop, or they would eat at an old farmhouse where they were staying. And the kitchen table would be piled with goodness from the farm, raw milk from the cows, clotted cream, a ham, again, meat pie made by the farmer's wife and many more wonderful fruit tarts and things that they so enjoyed.
When thinking about British cuisine, it's inspiring to think of hearty food from scratch that nourishes your family, and to try things that are going to help you to sit down together, enjoy a long, slow meal, and be well nourished.

#39 What We Can Learn from World War II about Food and Nutrition

It's fascinating to think about nutrition and what food was available both during the World Wars and in the time after them, and about what our grandparents and great grandparents did to be able to feed their families nutritious food during those difficult times.
Today we're going to talk about food and nutrition in World War II.

#38 Ideas for What to eat for a Fancy Meal or Date at Home with Minimal Effort

Have you ever wished you could dine out at a fancy restaurant with your hubby or with one of your children, but you can't leave home, maybe because it's just one of you at home, or you have a baby or kids that you can't leave, and no babysitter? Today we're going to talk about how to bring the fancy restaurant to you.
This works great for a date night with your hubby, or for if you want to have a date night with one of your kids. We've done this often where it's mom and dad and one of the children. It’s a special night for them, and they get to choose the menu. Today I'm going to talk about some ideas of food you can make that's fancy; how to bring the fancy restaurant to you when you can't go to it, and a couple of other ideas to make the whole evening fancy. 
Sometimes we just need a break, a refreshing time, a reprieve, and we just need some good food, and some relaxed conversation without having to jump up every five minutes, or make a complicated meal. A restaurant's so great for this. It's a change in atmosphere, a new place with delicious food that you don't have to cook. So, how can we bring some of those elements home without it being a huge effort with a huge amount of cooking and preparation before? I'm going to talk about some ideas for how to do that easily and in a way so that you can also relax and enjoy the evening.

#37 What we Can Learn From Russia about Food and Cooking

Today we're going to talk about what we can learn from Russia about food and cooking, traditions, they have..
I don't know a lot about Russia, but it's been fascinating researching this because they are such rich culinary and cultural traditions and I think there's so much we can learn from the way they do things.
It's not an easy country to live in because of the extreme cold and other factors. So they've had to learn to make the best of what they have, to adapt. And then, they have a long history of aristocratic and imperial traditions. So their cuisine is fascinating. Also, it reflects the diversity of its regions because it's such a vast country.
The Northern Coast is well known for its fish dishes. And then Siberia for the meat heavy meals. The food varies greatly depending on where you go in Russia.
Lets talk about some Russian food and traditions!