Dining Details Challenges You to Start a Food Revolution in your Kitchen

Change is good. Change is necessary. Change is not easy.

Last week, several San Diego bloggers whom I call friends, gathered around Theresa‘s kitchen table and watched as Chef Mom Julie Frans of Dining Details cooked five amazing meals for us and explained how certain ingredients should be cut from our diets in order to improve our overall health. She provided us with a great deal of information that I am still trying to digest.

While I enjoyed everything she created in the kitchen and loved the tastes and smells of the foods on my plate, I still left that night feeling a bit overwhelmed.

I don’t call myself a cook and since my ‘healthy meals’ usually take place at restaurants or consist of prepared foods from Trader Joe’s that I can heat up and enjoy, there is definitely a lot more for me to learn.

From Julie’s suggestions, I added Almond Milk, lentils and Sea Salt to my shopping cart this week, along with the organic chicken and fruits & veggies that I normally pick up.

I definitely want to learn more about what Julie mentioned about creating a diet that is the perfect pH balance. Switching from table salt (that contains bleach and other chemicals) to sea salt was an easy step to make and knowing which foods to avoid is always a great reminder (corn syrup, hydrogenated oils, processed foods, MSG, artificial sweeteners, colors & flavors, margarine/butter substitutes).

Baby steps. I’ve made some small changes this week and I’m studying the recipes found on the Dining Details website to determine which menu I’ll prepare for Mr. Right next time he’s here. He’s a foodie and a great cook so perhaps I’ll have him select a recipe to cook for with me. These recipes are sounding pretty amazing right about now (and I’m not even hungry):

• Eggplant and Kalamata Risotto
• Stuffed Poblano Peppers
• Lemon Asparagus Risotto with Truffle Oil
• Fig and Goat Cheese Crostini
• Butternut Squash Leek Soup

I could always use Dining Details to prepare a Romantic Dinner for Two if I end up being too intimidated by the idea of cooking a gourmet meal on my own.

For those of you who are not in San Diego and still want to enjoy the amazing foods Julie and her staff create, I highly recommend the recipe section of the Dining Details website. The categories in the recipe section include Kid-Friendly Cooking, Something Sweet, Sauces/Dressings/Salsas, Soups/Salads, Hors D Hoerves, and Gluten Free recipes.

In addition to the wonderful resources they provide, Dining Details also provides personal chef services and caters small, intimate dinners for couples or for weddings and corporate events. They also host cooking demonstrations, in their kitchen or your own.

Chickpeas, their school lunch program, provides family dinners, baby food and educates parents and caregivers on healthy cooking.

If you have seen commercials for Jamie Oliver’s Food Revolution (premiering this Friday on ABC), you’ll understand the need to start teaching your children, from a young age, the importance of healthy eating, nutritional choices that will help extend their life and why these subtle changes need to take place. Now.

Dining Details is owned by a local couple here in San Diego. They will be welcoming their second child later this year. Become a Fan of Dining Details Facebook, or follow Julie or Robbie on Twitter.

Happy Healthy Hip Parenting
Peace Begins in the Home

Division of Property

When I was six months pregnant with my son (back in 2003), my ex-husband and I moved into this 2-bedroom condo which we purchased as first time buyers. I was both anxious and excited and in the middle of the nesting phase so everything had to be in perfect order, according to my standards, so I could feel comfortable and ready to welcome a new baby into our home.

Six years later, after a divorce, losing my full-time job (of 8 years), and seeing our son start Kindergarten, we’re in a much different place, except for the fact that my son and I still remain in the condo once shared by the three of us. Luckily, my son was much too young to remember when we all lived here together and because his dad has moved twice since then, I’m a bit apprehensive about our upcoming move, worried about how it will affect our son even though he’s the most adaptable out of all of us (most kids are).

When we first separated and were going through the process of divorce, I was working and traveling often, taking care of our son, who was 2 1/2 at the time, and rejected the idea of moving on top of dealing with everything else. I chose to stay in the condo with our son, believing that keeping the same home environment for him during the transition was in his best interest. Of course, this meant that the condo stayed in both of our names, we shared the burden of the mortgage and it seemed like a win-win for everyone.

Spending so much time inside the condo during the last year, after losing my job, has made me acutely aware of how draining this place really has been. It’s dark and filled with negative energy still looming from the toxic marriage we brought into it. Since our separation in 2006, several people have told me how I need to clear the energy with sage, get rid of the furniture and everything else that my ex-husband and I picked out together and of course, to  move out and get a place of my own. I have finally found the strength and the energy required to finally make this change happen.

I signed the condo over to him just a few days ago. I can’t even begin to explain how much relief I felt afterward. Freedom. Independence. That’s what I have waited for all along, knowing that I can make it on my own and can create a space for my son and I that is ours alone, even though it’s only temporary.

I pick up the keys to our new place tomorrow and it all seems so surreal since I really only started looking for a new place to live during winter break, less than a month ago. After a quick search for apartments in our area, I realized that I may not actually be able to afford a place of my own.

I cried and complained to a good friend who suggested that I look for granny flats and less than two days later, I saw the place that we will be slowly moving into during the next few weeks. It was the second place I looked at and for whatever reason, this one felt perfect to me, my son fell in love with it as well, and the woman who owns the property made me feel so comfortable that I wanted to hug her when we first met.

This feels like a huge step up for me, even though we’re downsizing quite a bit. Right now, we live in a 2 bedroom condo with 2 full bathrooms. I have two large closets in my master bedroom, and use every space possible to accommodate my home office and overflowing bookshelves.

Our new place is one large, open room with vaulted ceilings and a lot of natural light and windows. We have a large patio and the biggest highlight, of course, is that it’s much less expensive than what I’m paying now. Our biggest challenge will be deciding what we can bring with us and what we’ll have to donate, sell, or toss since there’s not much room for “stuff” we don’t really need.

2010 marks a new stage in my life. Besides this big move, I’m also preparing for my third interview with a company looking to hire me as their Social Media Specialist, a newly created position that I am eager to fill.

It’s an exciting time. I can’t wait to see what’s next.

Are you looking to move – into a home or apartment? Move.com can help with all your moving needs, from locating a neighborhood that best suits you, calculating the mortgage you can afford, to decorating your new place once you finally find the home of your dreams.

Happy Healthy Hip Parenting
Peace Begins in the Home

Spring Cleaning

I am always changing my image. If you saw me on a regular basis, you’d see me one day in my casual beach clothes, flip-flops and shorts, tank tops or tee. The next day you might see me in business attire, glasses and high heels. Some may even recognize me in my work out clothes, heading to the gym for a session with my trainer. And still there are those who have seen me a little more trendy, wearing a cute skirt and adorable top, an outfit typically reserved for a first date.

My point in all of this is that I like change. Too many times I have found myself stuck in a routine that makes me feel trapped, and while my blog has been quite popular (950 + unique visitors per month), I feel it’s time to move on.

So, starting this week, I’m blogging over at a new site. Everything’s been imported already, so if you head on over to the new URL, you’ll be able to read all of my posts from the last 18 months but you’ll also discover a new look, which may take some getting used to, by both myself and my readers.

Head on over and please leave a comment so that I know who’s reading and that you found me!

Here’s to a fresh start.

Happy Healthy Hip Parenting
Peace Begins in the Home