It’s a challenge to feed a family. We don’t always have time to cook. Children often have more limited palates, while adults tend to be more adventurous. It’s important to be healthy, but we don’t always know the best way. I’ve thrown my hands up in exasperation more than once at a child who was refusing to eat something that she’d gobbled up the day before. Fortunately, there are a number of local women who are helping Boston families to eat better!
The cookbook author
On the first page of her new cookbook, “My Kitchen Chalkboard,” author Leigh Belanger seemed to speak directly about my recent experiences with cooking. She writes that before kids, cooking was a choice — a hobby as much as a way to feed yourself. With kids, however, cooking becomes more about “the need to feed” as opposed to a source of joy. Belanger helps the home cook with meal planning, providing 16 seasonal weekly meals along with tips to streamline your process.
I’ve been cooking from “My Kitchen Chalkboard” for the past week and am loving it. We’ve eaten the ricotta frittata with greens for dinner, as well as the grilled flank steak with asparagus-cucumber salad in lettuce cups. My 5-year-old made the chocolate-buckwheat cookies almost all on her own, and we took them to school to celebrate her birthday. Because your kids will love them too, there’s no need to shelve these must-try recipes in order to make more buttered noodles!
The nutritionist
Stephanie Meyers is mom to two daughters and the founder of Families Eating Well. A registered dietitian and licensed nutritionist, she has 20 years of experience teaching practical nutrition strategies to parents and kids. Stephanie teaches community classes on topics like picky eating, pregnancy and postpartum nutrition, and how to build a better lunch. Can’t make a class? She’ll come to you! Be a home host and invite seven of your friends to a workshop of your choice. If you do, invite me, please!
You can join Stephanie and Leigh on June 14, from 7–9 pm, at Redd’s in Rozzie in Roslindale for a glass of wine and a discussion about feeding families!
The farmer
Sarah Voiland and her husband Ryan are the owners of Red Fire Farm, with land in Granby and Montague. Their goal is for their farm to be a year-round local source of high quality, organic food that keeps our bodies and the environment safe and healthy. Red Fire Farm offers a variety of customizable CSA options all over the state, including veggies, fruit, meat, eggs, and flowers. You can also find them selling their produce at a number of farmers’ markets across the state.
The Teachers
There are a number of amazing women in the Boston area and surrounding towns teaching kids to cook, including:
Joan Horner, owner of Create a Cook in Newton.
Kelly Barry, owner of Little Chefs in Wellesley.
Lori Leinbach, owner of Culinary Underground in Southborough.
Fulani Hayes and Debbie Alsebai, who are teaching classes sponsored by Brookwood Community Farm. Classes are in Milton at East Congregational Church on June 20 and July 19.
It can often take a village to feed a family. What are your tips for feeding your own family?
