Why I decided to do a Food Blog...

I am having the best time writing this blog, I mean its about food..Something I have had a love affair with for years. But what a lot of people don't know is that most all of my food is purchased with a food stamp allotment that I receive. I work full time and  as a single Mom, I am what my government classifies as poverty level. My hours have been cut a little at work and its been even tighter for us lately, but that is all temporary and I know things will get better. For goodness sakes we have been homeless before, so we appreciate what we have right now. I have even gone to a food bank this year, something many people have had to do for the first time in their lives. I was hoping to get a garden in but it has not happened yet no extra funds, but did you know that food plants and food seeds are food stamp eligible? Learn more about the food stamp program at this link http://www.fns.usda.gov/snap/ and what you can purchase at this link  http://www.gettingfoodstamps.org/whatfood.htm

 Being on food stamps should not be something you have to be ashamed of or stigmatize you. If you need to feed your family then you do what you need to do. What I wish more food stamp recipients would do is stop buying processed foods and really learn how to cook healthy, inexpensive, meals made of fresh ingredients. Obesity is on the rise and kids today are more sedentary than in years past. I hope to add a feature that shows you just how much I spent on my meal per person and also add the nutrition value of the meals I prepare... mind you I love food its not all gonna be salad...but there are ways to cut the fat and carbs and sugar in comfort foods too. Also I love to make a variety of foods and will be adventurous, sushi or shawarma, or tandoori chicken some recipes I cannot wait to make for you! So stay tuned and enjoy and thanks for stopping by!

My Lifelong Obsession With Food......

I have been in the kitchen for as long as I can remember. Learning to flip an egg before I went to kindergarten...that always seemed to be where the action was. My mother making all of her specialties like enchiladas and chile rellenos and some that were recipes of necessity like spaghetti (with heaven forbid) tomato sauce. My tastes weren't very advanced in those days and hey it was pretty good. My mom and I spent a lot of time in the kitchen and she was my teacher, until I discovered cooking shows on PBS.  I was cooking dinner for five people and trying out new recipes, that my Dad would eyeball before deciding to eat it, when I was about 12. Then I took what I learned watching cooking shows and what my Mom had taught me and developed my own style. Now there is a whole food network and cooking has become the "in" thing, and technically I am what is known as a "foodie". I have had occassional flops some weird Bisquick recipe my family hated, but really they have little to complain about.
Being a most of the time single Mom I have had to depend on foodstamps and still do. I have learned to shop wisely and cook things that can go into more than one meal. Now I am cooking differently for health reasons, need to lose weight, but I refuse to give up taste. If it does not taste good forget how healthy it is for you....So in this blog-vlog I will show you healthy recipes and some not so healthy but damned deliciously sinful recipes, maybe I will even try to cut the fat in some of my old specialties. I hope that you enjoy this new venture of mine half as much as I love doing it!