The Secret to Eating Well and Balancing Your Health and Weight Maybe you’ve heard of the French Paradox. It’s an age-old question, “How can the French routinely eat bread, cheese, butter, cream, and croissants and stay thin?” Since many people believe these foods cause weight gain, how the French can consume these foods and stay […]
Serving milk with dinner is filling and can ruin a child’s appetite for the meal. In addition, the taste of milk conflicts with and overshadows the flavor of the food, making the food less attractive. Instead of serving milk with dinner, do like the French and Italians and serve calcium-rich foods after dinner as a course.
Food companies are savvy at marketing processed foods as wholesome and healthy. Read this post to learn three questions to ask to assure you are buying the quality food you think you are.
With San Marzano Canned Tomatoes Tomato sauce is an essential ingredient for quick and easy home-cooked meals. Homemade tomato sauce has a fresh, rich taste that jarred sauce cannot match, and it's incredibly simple to make. There's no need to buy jarred sauce. Once you try homemade sauce and taste the difference, the jarred sauce […]
Who Brought the Unexpected Gift A friend of ours called this morning and asked if he could come over for dinner. He is one of our ex-pat friends from France who used to live near us in Michigan. A year ago, he moved with his wife and three children to their dream city, Chicago. Although […]
Understanding the Ingredients and Flavors That Define Healthy Eating During a recent conversation with a participant in my "Transform How You Eat" program, a woman expressed uncertainty about what constitutes good food. She explained that she didn't grow up eating many of the foods I teach about, like fresh garlic, basil, and homemade salad dressing. […]
A Delicious and Easy Dinner Idea The French are renowned for their love of cheese and their mastery of cheese-making. Besides using cheese for cooking, the French have a custom of serving an assortment of cheeses with bread after dinner, known as a cheese course. In this article, I will share with you why a […]
A Healthy, Delicious, and Fun Dessert I know the idea of serving fresh nuts at dinner may not sound very exciting because often when I mention it to someone, they give me a blank stare. But every time I serve fresh nuts to guests, they say, "Wow, what a fantastic idea!" Then they ask me, […]
It’s Easier Than You May Think: The key is to serve dinner in courses—just like when you go out to a nice restaurant and order a first course, then a main dish, and treat yourself to dessert. Or if you’ve ever been to dinner at a French or Italian home, chances are they served you […]
You can improve your health and make mealtimes more meaningful by serving dinner in courses rather than a one-plate meal. Read the post to learn about the other benefits of eating in courses.
A nutritious meal nourishes your family's bodies, and a meaningful conversation nourishes their minds and spirits. To keep your family dinners from being devoured quickly and everyone scurrying away from the table in five minutes, try this conversation starter. Tell a story. And watch the magic unfold at your table. Kids are accustomed to being […]
If you're stuck for ideas on how to start an engaging and meaningful conversation at the table, tell a story. People are used to being asked questions like "How was your day?" or "What are your plans for the weekend?" But telling a story is a real attention grabber. Read this blog for story starters to get a meaningful conversation flowing.
