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As we get older (and no, we will NOT reveal our real ages), we’ve been thinking more about the connection between what we eat and how we feel and look … inside and out. The link is quite strong. Take berries for example. Strawberries, blueberries, and blackberries are rich in antioxidants, which protect against the [more]
I recently returned from a trip to Portland, Oregon for an executive committee meeting of the Food & Culinary Professionals (FCP) subgroup of the Academy of Nutrition and Dietetics. I’m the new chair of this 2,700-member organization, and this was our annual planning meeting. FCP’s mission is to empower members to be the nation’s food, [more]
When you’re a busy mom, entertaining is often spelled, P-L-A-Y-D-A-T-E. We have four kids between us—Liz has two boys and Janice has two girls—and over the years, we’ve hosted our fair share of playdates. Entertaining kids can mean lunch, which is why we decided to take chicken nuggets with ketchup, a quintessential kid-combo favorite, and [more]
Every week, we hear from moms who are struggling with the issue of picky eating. Picky eating is normal and most kids eventually outgrow it, but when you’re in the thick of an all-white food jag or if a green vegetable hasn’t passed your child’s lips ever, finicky eating can be tough for any parent [more]
Father’s Day is just around the corner, and this year, we decided to devote an entire Cooking with the Moms podcast to the topic of healthy recipes for Dad … and Granddad. On the show, we share our newest recipe for Crunchy Oat-y Granola—it’s awesome layered into a parfait with low-fat Greek yogurt and sliced [more]
When Mother’s Day rolls around, we love all the attention from our families, so we’re paying it forward this year for Father’s Day with a hearty, dad style, breakfast-in-bed recipe. Our Crunchy Oat-y Granola is easy enough for your kids to make on their own (or with supervision depending on their ages), and it’s extra [more]
Late last week, I got a call from NECN, a local TV station here in the Boston area, asking me to come in and record a segment on what to eat and drink on hot days to keep you cool. After several days of 90-plus degree weather, the segment was timely to say the least. [more]
As registered dietitians, we certainly know a lot about the subject of food and nutrition, and now, after writing this blog since 2007 (can you believe it’s been that long?), we’re working hard to tackle the topic of food photography. One thing we’ve learned about taking pretty food photos is that the background can make [more]
You’ve been asked to bring dessert to a Memorial Day cookout this weekend. You look through your go-to recipes but you want something new, something different, and perhaps something a little lighter and healthier than what’s been in your recipe box (which, of course, is now online) for years. If you own a copy of [more]
When was the last time you attended a bridal shower or baby shower? For us, it’s been a long, long time. Janice was married in 1988 and Liz tied the knot in 1992, so graduation parties are more our speed these days! But regardless of where you’re at in your life, May is notorious for [more]
I’ve been devouring the new book, Fearless Feeding: How to Raise Healthy Eaters from High Chair to High School by dietitians Jill Castle and Maryann Jacobsen, and decided to cook up their recipe for Black Bean Sliders. My daughter, Leah, has been experimenting with being vegetarian—that’s a new decision, so the sliders looked like a [more]
Hi everyone: I am Caroline Lavery, a graduate student at Boston University. This past semester, I worked with The Meal Makeover Moms as an intern. Every week I took time out of my hectic studying schedule to help The Moms with research for their radio podcast, cook up healthy, great tasting recipes, and I even [more]
I’ve never made crepes before—at least not that I can remember—but they’re super easy to make, even if you’re a kid with a dad hovering over your shoulder. These peanut-butter filled crepes are the perfect breakfast-in-bed treat for Mother’s Day … and they’re healthy too! All YOU have to do is copy the recipe and [more]
There is no shortage of new cookbooks on the market, but most don’t address the dos and don’ts of feeding kids a healthy diet. According to Jill Castle, mother of four and a dietitian who writes the blog Just the Right Byte, “Raising children to be healthy eaters is an 18-year process.” (We couldn’t agree [more]
When I asked a few friends what they thought Cinco de Mayo was a celebration of, the universal answer was Mexico’s Independence Day, much like our Fourth of July. Well, they are all incorrect (and I actually thought my friends were relatively smart)! Mexico’s Independence Day is celebrated on September 16th. Cinco de Mayo actually commemorates [more]
As promised, as a follow up to my recent post about the lamb dinner I hosted in my kitchen last week, I’m sharing a recipe I created for Barbecue Lamb Sliders. I developed this family-friendly and super-easy recipe for the folks at LeanonLamb.com, and I’m happy to report that my daughter, Leah, is a huge fan. The [more]
Most of us would probably entertain more often if someone else did the food shopping for us and then stopped by to prepare, serve, and clean up the mess! It takes hours to plan and implement a spectacular dinner party … hours most of us don’t have in our busy lives. As much as I [more]
When you assemble things like taco seasoning mix, pancake mix, and your own mixes for chocolate syrup and creamed soups, you end up saving money, using less packaging, and getting unpronounceable ingredients out of your family’s diet. This week on our Cooking with the Moms radio show, we chat with fellow dietitian, Melanie Zook, MA, [more]
Whether you’re an avid do-it-yourselfer or simply looking for an easy way to clear excess packaging and yucky, fake-o ingredients from your diet, you’re going to love this homemade recipe for Do-It-Yourself Taco Seasoning Mix. Our virtual friend and fellow dietitian, Melanie Zook from Fresh Start Nutrition, created the recipe and shares it on her [more]
My kitchen makeover took six months to complete, but do you know how many people it took to make it happen? The answer: A lot! It took a village to make my dream kitchen a reality … from the architect, excavators, framers, roofers, and siders to the countertop/appliance/cabinet suppliers, plumbers, electricians, tilers, painters, and general [more]
Time flies. I can’t believe it’s already mid April and that another Patriot’s Day celebration has come and gone. Yesterday was the Patriot’s Day parade in Lexington, MA where I live, and today, I stopped by one of the many pancake breakfasts that take place each year at area churches. After the breakfast, Simon and [more]
As a mom of two teenage boys, I spend a lot of time getting meals and snacks on the table. Josh turns 18 next week, and he has a fuel tank (AKA stomach) that’s impossible to top off. Simon, 14, has never had as big an appetite, but lately, he seems to be catching up [more]
With all the recipes out there in cookbooks, magazines, newspapers, and on the internet, do you ever scratch your head and wonder, “What should I make for dinner tonight?” I found myself doing just that last night, so I turned to our trusty cookbook, No Whine with Dinner, and I came across this recipe for [more]
I am a big fan of (and do some consulting work for) Oldways, a nonprofit food and nutrition education organization, so when they asked me if I wanted to be a Whole Grain Ambassador to help them celebrate Whole Grain Sampling Day, I jumped at the chance. After all, part of what Liz and I [more]
The beauty of working at Janice’s house — which we do most Tuesdays — is that we get to cook as we work … and work as we cook. Today, we took advantage of Janice’s Easter leftovers by creating this better-for-you egg salad recipe. We used two classic Easter ingredients: spiral cut ham and hard-cooked [more]
My parents have hosted every major holiday since I was born … and well before that too. They’re the ultimate entertainers, and they throw a party like no one else I know. Mom sets her game plan weeks in advance, and she and Dad set their beautiful dining room table days before their doorbell rings [more]
Every March, the Academy of Nutrition and Dietetics (AND) hosts National Nutrition Month. This year, we decided to tip our hats to the event by creating a special board on Pinterest dedicated to A Month of Meal Makeovers in March. Featured on the board are some of our toughest makeovers ever for Whoopie Pies, Chicken [more]
The second Passover seder is tonight, though I must admit that I celebrated the holiday early this year. Over the weekend, we visited my family in Connecticut where we sat down to my mom’s best-in-the-world matzo ball soup and my niece’s hardest-in-the-world-to-find afikomen. I made two vegetable side dishes fro the meal: Roasted Fennel and [more]
When we heard about this month’s Recipe Redux “Green with Herb Envy” cooking challenge, we had one of those LOL moments. The image of green things popping from the earth, backyard gardens, and thumbing through seed catalogs seems light-years away! The Boston suburbs are still blanketed in snow, so instead of seeing green, everything outside [more]
Many of you know that I have undergone a major kitchen renovation over the past 6 months. My mom, whose spectacular cooking and entertaining skills have inspired me to do what I do, turned 80 as our project was winding down. My siblings and I had talked for a year about a surprise birthday party [more]
Today is Registered Dietitian Day … or RD Day for short. It’s a day when dietitians are acknowledged for the work they do to help friends, family, clients, and communities eat a healthy, wholesome, and delicious diet. We celebrate today with one of our most extreme recipe makeovers ever for Strawberry-Filled Toaster Pastries, a wholesome, [more]
Dinner from a can can be convenient, but there can clearly be some nutritional drawbacks. Take Chef Boyardee’s Beefaroni as just one example. The sodium is on the high side—730 milligrams in a 1 cup serving—it contains just 9 grams of protein, and the only “vegetable” in the meal is tomato puree from the sauce. [more]
Many of the recipe makeovers on this blog are inspired by our readers, so when Sheilah B. sent us a brunch recipe for Egg ‘n’ Bacon Breakfast Casserole and asked us to give it a “fix,” we came up with this new-and-improved Bagels & Lox Overnight Casserole. The casserole that Sheilah wanted us to health-ify [more]
Any time I can go to Napa Valley — for business or for pleasure — I jump at the opportunity. When the Food & Culinary Professionals (a sub group of the Academy of Nutrition and Dietetics) announced plans for a culinary workshop at the Culinary Institute of America, I think I was the first dietitian [more]
Most people come home from vacation with a snow globe, a piece of local art, or even a few seashells. The souvenir I nabbed on our recent family vacation to Amelia Island, Florida, however, was this gorgeous antique plate. I’m a pushover when it comes to pretty blue dishware, so I couldn’t resist nabbing this [more]
Every year when the Oscars roll around, we stay up late to hear the results, but then we wonder, “Why on Earth did we stay up so late? We haven’t seen any of the movies!” This year is no exception … with the exception of Lincoln. I prefer watching my movies from the comfort of [more]
I spent a few glorious days in Napa Valley a few weeks ago to attend the Food & Culinary Professionals‘ culinary workshop at the Culinary Institute of America. Wow, that’s a lot of culinary in one sentence! And it was a lot of culinary delight during my time in Napa. I’ll be talking about my [more]
After a weekend of shoveling and digging out from under 27 inches of snow (thank you Nemo), our kids were more than happy to dig into our latest recipe for Super Strawberry Pudding. Janice’s daughter, Leah, loved it so much and told us, “This is the best thing you’ve ever made!” Tune into this week’s [more]
Our blog readers know that I have a special affinity for Julia Child, so when I traveled to DC last month to shoot cooking videos for the Tri-Lamb Group, I decided to arrive a bit early and visit the new Julia Child exhibit at the Smithsonian Institute’s National Museum of American History. I spent over [more]
I don’t have a single ounce of “Martha” in my blood, so I actually surprised myself with these Valentine brownies. Besides the pretty hearts on top, my brownies are heart healthy too thanks to some of their star ingredients: red kidney beans, dark chocolate, walnuts, and omega-3 eggs! Pretty artsy fartsy, don’t you think (excuse [more]
When your husband decides to become a vegetarian — albeit a fish-eating one — but your teenage boys crave chicken and beef, what’s a wife and mom to do? Over the past few months, I’ve spent a lot of time adapting recipes (see my recent recipe for Loaf Pan Lasagna) and cooking up ways to [more]
Now that 2013 is well on its way, we took a moment to reflect back on the resolutions we made earlier this month. If you had a chance to listen to podcast episode 209, you may recall Liz’s resolution to take better care of her skin (the biggest organ in the human body!) and Janice [more]
A few weeks ago, I received an email from a producer at NECN, a TV station here in the Boston area. The station runs a segment called, Money Saving Mondays, and they asked me to help with a piece on saving money at the supermarket. What followed was an afternoon shoot at my house featuring [more]
This month, we’re giving away a kitchen gadget that’s sure to please every French fry lover and fried chicken fan out there! We were recently given the opportunity to try out an ActiFry appliance from T-fal, and we were super pleased with the results. And now, one lucky blog reader or Facebook fan will have a [more]
I’m obsessed with blue dishes, so when I saw the cover of this month’s Bon Appetit magazine, I was nothing short of jealous. Where did they get that bowl? I would do anything to get my hands on it. Of course, I have a few blue bowls of my own, so rather than sulk and [more]
Both of us were graduate students at Boston University, so the school is near and dear to our hearts. We also get a lot of smart and talented nutrition interns from B.U. including Bianca (standing in the photo below second from the right with a gray shirt and white apron), who spent some time with [more]
I was so excited when my friend and fellow dietitian, Janet Helm, announced the release of her new book, The Food Lover’s Healthy Habits Cookbook: Great Food & Expert Advice That Will Change Your Life Forever, written with the editors of Cooking Light magazine. When my copy arrived in the mail, I tore through it [more]
You could say I started off the New Year on the right foot. On day-one of 2013, Tim and I set off for a snowshoe adventure in the woods of Loon, NH. Our boys were happily skiing (without us) as we hiked our way up Loon Mountain and then into the snow-packed woods. It was [more]
Those of you who follow our blog, listen to our Cooking with the Moms podcast, or know me personally are no doubt aware that I’ve been knee deep in a major kitchen renovation since last August. It’s been an exciting journey, but like most home improvement projects, a big-time challenge. Indeed, washing dishes in the [more]
2012 was a whirlwind year filled with fun foodie adventures, Janice’s mega kitchen makeover, a Best Culinary Podcast nomination from IACP, and the exciting news that we won a recipe app contest from the app development company, Mobile Skillet. We’re entering 2013 with a big bang for sure! On this week’s Cooking with the Moms [more]
