I’ve met so many wonderful, thoughtful, food-loving parents since I’ve started blogging, many of whom I’ve come to know through Twitter. One of my lovely Twitter friends is Jenna of Food with Kid Appeal, a self-proclaimed recovering picky eater who inspires parents to grow good eaters. Her recipes are wholesome, fun and thoughtfully take into account limited time, energy and budgets.
Without further ado, I’m thrilled to introduce you to Jenna. If you don’t already, check out her blog, follow her on Twitter (and me, too, while you’re at it!) and enjoy this great post inspired by the book 101 Foods That Could Save Your Life. You know that I’m a huge proponent of spicing up food for even the youngest eaters (offering such adventurous foods was the inspiration behind ChowBaby foods!), so I LOVE this post. Enjoy!
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When I’m asked by friends to give them some pointers on getting baby started on baby food, or the transition to table food, one of the things I like to tell them are about some super foods they might not think of as being good for baby. Most parents know that fruits, veggies and whole grains should be on baby’s spoon, but are herbs and spices front and center in your menu as good eats for baby?
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Photo: Nanaimo Bars / iVillage Made in Canada slideshow

Warning: This is not a healthy post, but I won’t take responsibility for that. Blame Canada. (Heh heh.)
No, I’m not in Canada this week. Truth be told, I haven’t even been bitten by Olympic fever. I’ve been too busy to watch and now, the last week of the games, I’m hanging in New Orleans, one of the most exciting places in this country for regional food. But, who knew—Canada has amazing regional food, too! And if there’s one thing that will finally cause me Olympic fever, it’s good eats.
I don’t much think about regional Canadian food. And I bet you don’t either. (Save for my Canadian readers, why would we?) But three fortuitously timed things happened since the start of the Olympics that have got me thinking about the foods of our friends up North.
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10-Minute Lemon Thyme Scallops

This week is all about the Best Of ChowMama 2009! To help ensure that you begin 2010 with a recipe box loaded with quick and healthy recipes that your whole family will love, I’ve hand selected my favorites (recipes that I return to over and over again) and the most popular recipes as measured by traffic and comments (ones that worked out well for me and you).
Today is all about main dishes for breakfast, lunch and dinner. Tomorrow I’ll hit ya with veggie sides. Wednesday has snacks and apps covered. I’ll serve up healthy sweets and desserts on Thursday. And, on Friday, I’ll list the best parenting posts of 2009—because how we feed our families is most definitely a parenting issue.
Enjoy. Try a new recipe. Chime in with your favorite 2009 ChowMama posts or what you’d like to see more of in 2010.
And, of course, THANKS for a great year. Cheers!
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Photo:Hamachi!

I don’t usually make meat sauce. See, the ChowPapa used to make a mean meat sauce back in the day and, along with orzo risotto, it became one of those dishes that only he made. But it’s been ages (seriously—I’m talking years) since he’s made a batch, so I decided to take matters into my own hands.
Knowing how to make a delicious ragu is a gift—something handed down or perfected over time—so I prepared for several rounds of recipe development before I had anything worthy of sharing. But (not to toot my own horn or anything!) this sauce was rocking after the first try, even having used turkey instead of beef. Wanna know how I did it? Read on!
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With the onset of cooler weather and my (second!) ChowBaby’s arrival, I have kicked into bulk cooking mode. Big pots of warm comfort food that can last several meals (or stock my freezer with quickly re-heated dinners) are a welcome lifesaver. Lasagna, soups, beef stew and, of course, chili.
I’ve always wanted to have a go-to chili recipe, but have never found the right one. In fact, I got so tired of trying variations that I gave up on chili for a long time. But I had a hankering the other day after reading a review of The Pioneer Woman’s cookbook that specifically called out her Simple, Perfect Chili. The thing that struck me most was that her recipe did, indeed, look simple. I usually go for complicated “speciality” chili recipes.
Wait a minute!
As I scanned the Pioneer Woman’s short ingredients list, it dawned on me: I had been making chili too complicated!
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Photo: Pewter baby feeding set (via Cool Mom Picks)

Food News, Things I Crave, Green Your Eats, Tips, Tools & Techniques, and Weekly Roundtable (a roundup of the most recent ChowMama posts).
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