Creative Ways to Feed your Kids!

I have learned with having a 5 year old that a big part of food preparation is presentation. So I thought I would share with you folks some creative ideas on how to present food to your kids.

1) Replace a bowl with a tiny pumpkin- put your child's favorite apple sauce into a pumpkin for a sweet treat!
2) Invest in a mini muffin tray and muffin liners with your child's favorite characters on them- they will love the little snacks!
3) Create mini burgers and decorate with fancy toothpicks of your child's choice.
4) Whole wheat chip scoops are the perfect bowl for your child's favorite toppings- Cut up meat and vegetables into tiny pieces for a great snack!
5) Celery sticks are the perfect boat for filling with your child's favorite toppings.

If you have any other ideas, I would love to hear your comments. Have a great weekend!

Times are busy in the mmm test kitchen!

I can not believe it is almost August! Times are so busy in the mmm test kitchen as we prepare for the upcoming Carrot Fest on Saturday, August 21, 2010. It should be a great event and I am starting to prepare for the cooking demostrations. I have come up with some great carrot recipes that I think you all will love, so I hope I will see you there. If you want more information about Carrot Fest please visit www.carrotfest.ca. Hope all is well in your own personal test kitchens!

For the Kids...Jello Boats!

Me and Dakota make these Jello Boats regularly. She loves being apart of the preparation and loves even more to devour them!

Ingredients:
- 4 oranges, halved
- 2 x 4 1/2 oz. packets of fruit flavoured Jello
- 4 sheets of rice paper
- 16 cocktail sticks



Method:
1. With a sharp knife, remove the inside of the orange (be careful not to make a hole in the skin!)
2. Make Jello according to instructions on the side of the box.
3. Fill the oranges with Jello right to the top.
4. Refrigerate until set and then trim the orange until it is level with the Jello.
5. Cut the oranges in half again.
6. Cut triangles out of rice paper and secure with cocktail sticks to make sails.

From the Desk of Devon

Marlene's Favorite Niece Talks about working at mmm and everything behind the scenes!

Hey Everyone

My aunt let me take over her blog today to tell you about who I met last night. Let me give you a hint mud on the tires? Married to Kimberly Williams from According to Jim? One of the best country singers of all time? If you said Brad Paisley you are absolutely right!

So your probably asking, "Devon how did you get to meet Brad Paisley?" well Brad asked that people bring a non perishable food item to the concert last night in order to help the food bank. If you brought an item you were entered into a draw for 2 meet and greet tickets for Brad Paisley. As luck would have it I won the tickets! Got a picture with him as well as received an autograph, it was truly a once in a lifetime experience.

I think it is so nice when celebrities devote themselves to giving back. The Brad Paisley H20 tour helped to raise money for both the food bank and clean water in developing countries (as you will see on his shirt in picture). It was so inspirational to meet a celebrity devoted to helping others and so down to earth. So with this I end with a question, what are you doing to make a difference? At mmm we are devoted to breast Cancer and other charitable initiatives. Leave a comment as I would love to hear about it! Keep checking back for odd updates from the Desk of Devon.

Keep Giving Back,
Devon MacPherson

reconstructive surgery post mastectomy...my journey

Boxing my way to the next production!!! Well things have been crazy in the mmm test kitchen and my insane push to get in shape for the next productions since surgery, has certainly added another layer.

With the DIEP Flap surgery your stomach takes awhile to comeback. I have been almost 3 months and still struggle at the gym when required to use my ab muscles.....which is every exercise. My stomach is almost numb in some areas and my belly button (bee boop as Dakota calls it) has not gone back down or back inside. I have been given the okay by my Surgeon and was advised to continue using the belt(which your given during surgery to hold it all in place....kinda like Spanx).

So boxing is my new cardo till the fall when we train for my full marathon. My trainer Paula has got some radical "circuit training" program. Boxing seemed so symbolic of fighting a disease or fighting your way back....I can't say anymore or I will ruin our next production this fall

Stay tuned for more updates on this journey back to solid health and more activity, and keep enjoying this beautiful summer

Best Health
Marlene

Carrots are Determined as the Winner!

Hi Folks!

Carrots won by a long shot when asking you all on Facebook whether you would rather have a carrot or fennel recipe. I have now started to compile a "cook once, produce twice" recipe using carrots so continue to check the website regularly as I will be posting it soon. All I can tell you now is that the recipe begins with a juicer!

As luck would have it when I was counting the votes from Facebook I also got asked to speak and do cooking demonstrations at the Simcoe County Carrot Fest. Now if you don't think that is a coincidence I don't know what is! On August 21st and 22nd I will be at Carrot Fest preparing some of my favorite things to do with carrots. Please stop by, I can guarantee this is an event you don't want to miss! The website for the event is www.carrotfest.ca, check it out! As always I love to hear your comments.

What a Whirlwind!

The last few days have been quite a whirlwind...sorry it has taken so long for me to catch up with you folks! Last week ended with a bang as we were preparing for a Canadian Living photo shoot which will be featured in the October issue of the magazine. What a great time! First I visited my friends Alana Murray (colourist), Dylan Sit (hairdresser), and Ryan Murchison (makeup artist) at Civello Salon in Toronto. They were extremely accommodating and made me look my best for the shoot. I would like to thank them so much for all of their hard work and making me feel at home! I got the seal of approval from my daughter Dakota when I got home as she was so happy to see my new haircut.

The shoot was a lot of fun. Although been placed in positions that felt un-natural the photographer assured me that they looked completely normal. I had my niece Devon and my Sister in Law Lorna on the sidelines reminding me to continue to smile. It was crazy having to wear fall clothes in the middle of summer... unfortunately I think the next season is going to hit us before we know it. We had a great laugh and I would like to thank the team (in the photos above) for taking the time to take such great photos!

Well that's all for now folks...hope everything is well. Look forward to hearing your opinions about the pictures when they come out in October!

Cancer statistics

Did we mention that our mission at mmm is to stop families from outsourcing their food?

Outsourcing means that we have chosen for someone else to prepare, deliver or serve us the food instead of owning and managing the "food process" ourselves.

Okay not trying to be complicated here, but really, if we at all believe that disease prevention can in some way be controlled by food and that the outcome of our children and their habits with food could be improved....would you continue to outsource this?

We had a meeting yesterday at the Canadian Cancer Society and one of the statistics that we heard was that there is a belief that 50% of the cancers could be prevented from the food we eat.....should you consider to continue to outsource this?

I truly believe we own the food process, it doesn't mean we never go out for dinner or enjoy the odd treat. Shopping for seasonal produce and choosing the foods we already know are necessary for our health is the best step to take. Then to me all that is left in the process is to stay tuned with mmm for more healthy recipes and the tools to make it simple "cook once and produce twice"

A reason to no longer outsource!!

Best Health
Marlene

Cucumber Salad

Good Monday!
I had unexpected company join us on Sunday and it was one of the best evenings I have had in awhile.

Are the unexpected guests more enjoyable than the one's we over plan and over stress about entertaining?

I believe that we should all start dropping in on each other......I do believe our kitchens would be full of great food, prepared together with great friends and family.

My good friend dropped in with her new boyfriend and he brought all the food. Two english cucumbers, one spanish onion, a bottle of whipped salad dressing and steaks. The cucumbers were washed but not peeled then thinly sliced, half the onion was thinly sliced and both were added to a bowl with salt and pepper. Just before serving he hit the dish with a few tablespoons of the whipped salad dressing(which I really don't even like) and it was great.....we ate the entire bowl along with our great steaks and a lovely bottle of red wine.

Dropping in on our friends and bringing the food....try it sometime I think you will wish it happened every weekend.

Best Health
mm

mmm Cookbook

Yes another HOT day, but I promise not to just talk about the weather....so Canadian eh!

I wanted to share with you a very enjoyable meeting I had yesterday with another dynamic women and of course my favorite Niece Devon.

This lady, Julie, has just finished her treatments for Breast Cancer and our lives have crossed for like reasons.....to find a different career and lifestyle path for ourselves and our children and families. We met to discuss our partnership with a cookbook which we will be polling our Facebook fans for shortly on ideas and a vote for the cover you think would be best for our first edition.

Cookbooks for me are more than just about the recipe, I actually enjoy reading them.....I know that may be news to some. To me it is about getting to know the character, their journey and the people that surround them each day and make their lives what they have become......and of course what they love to cook along the way. This is my vision for our first book and I am certain that many of you that have already asked if there was a Marlene's Meal Makeovers book will be pleased to know that the "project" has taken flight.

Stay tuned for more updates on our endeavour and always love to hear your comments and ideas

Best Health
mm

Would you do it again

Good morning, can't believe we have been writing and cooking with pumpkin in the test kitchen this week....must get ready now for the fall release!

So I have had several questions now that I am 2 months post surgery with the DIEP Flap, the main question is "would you do it again, knowing what I know now"? My answer, absolutely yes! See for me being able to browse through my closet for a tank tops, a strapless bra or even choose a regular push-up(although I don't need to worry about pushing up the new one...LOL) is a comforting feeling. I believe for me ultimately it is about closure. Putting the past of the mastectomy, prosthesis, reminders of chemo and needles and tubes all in the past.

My mind is good, my body feels better each day and I love what I am doing.....how bad is that

Stay well, enjoy the summer
and Best Health
mm

First mmm monthly launched!

Today the first issue of the highly anticipated mmm monthly hit subscribers inbox. It features test kitchen tips, what I am up to over the next couple months, and others questions and feedback.

I obviously couldn't forget about my daughter Dakota, so she worked with me to create the kid's section of the newsletter (she was extremely excited to share her favorite snacks with other kids!).

If you have not yet heard or would like to subscribe to the newsletter please visit www.marlenesmealmakeovers.com to sign-up. Since this is only my first issue I would love to hear your comments as well as what you would like to see next month. Happy reading and happy cooking!

reconstructive surgery post mastectomy...my journey

Followed up with my surgeon on Wednesday at Toronto General and discussed next steps! As you know my decision was just to remove my "effected" breast and the choice to reconstruct that breast with the DIEP Flap surgery. Now that my surgery has been successfully completed, I am admittedly very satisfied with the results.

It is sort of like being pregnant.....I know seems like a ridiculous analogy but it is. When your belly grows it eventually drops just before birth; well with the reconstructive new breast....it needs to drop and then loose some of it's swelling from surgery to see just how it compares to the other side. Well, now 8 weeks post surgery I can say that it looks great but it still is not symmetrical. The next surgery, scheduled for November(6 months post), will be to reduce the breast on the other side and lift to match. During this surgery they can also use tissue to add a nipple on the "new" breast( one night in the hospital).

There are some hollow areas in my new breast that can be injected with any fat that I may have available on the sides of my abdominal area during this next procedure. My understanding is that I would need an additional 3 weeks for recovery again....mainly no major lifting.

So I am off to start running again getting ready for my next marathon this fall as I have been given the clearance to get moving!!!

No more excuses folks and working in the kitchen the amount I do, means I need to workout even that much more

Best Health
mm

Happy Canada Day

Proud to be a Canadian, do you have a flag?

Dakota and I will support our town's parade....with Hot Chocolate this morning however!!! I don't have any flags or decorations around our house and I was just thinking how so many others show their support and patriotism better.

What do you do, are your kids involved, do you have a Canada Day party? Or is being Canadian all about the "ease" of the day, relaxed at the cottage on the dock, sitting poolside with your favorite cocktail or snacks?

I just don't think we need to be grand to be Canadian

Note to self.....get a real flag next year

Happy Canada Day
mm