A Change Is In the Works

Perhaps you’ve already noticed the change? I made it 2 or 3 weeks ago without announcing it. While the changes to my blog may seem subtle, they’re indicative a bigger change.

What Changed?

The tag line at the top of the website now reads “What’s Cookin’ with Barbara!”

And on the home page, I changed out the slider images at the top of the page. They all now relate to food.

Cooking is my passion. I love to cook, always have. Over the past several years, I’ve come to a deeper understanding of the importance of the food choices that we make. In that time, the food choices I make have totally changed.

Farmers Markets, particularly the Pearl Farmers Market, were a huge part of that change for me. Before we started shopping at the Pearl, our vegetable consumption consisted of salads and primarily frozen vegetables. Not much there to inspire one to eat vegetables, right? At the market, we were presented with an incredible bounty of fresh vegetables. That’s when I began to branch out in my cooking. Learning to cook the vegetables we found at the market.

I started with recipes that I found either in one of my many cookbooks or online. Over time, I began creating my own recipes. And eventually I decided I needed to share what I’ve learned with others.

Why Change?

And that’s why this website is changing.

I want to inspire others to become more involved in the food they eat. Every step in the preparation of food is important to our health. It sounds crazy, but even thinking about our food and cooking smells impact our digestion.

As a society, we have gotten away from preparing our own meals. It started, I believe, with my generation. We grew up in the time when frozen prepared meals and fast food were just beginning to show up. My mother prided herself in home-cooked meals, for the most part. Fast food, and even dining out, were rare when I was growing up. Yet, I had friends that ate primarily fast food for most meals. Even in the 1970s, I could see that was not the route to good health.

Now? There are far too many people who have no idea how to cook. I believe that cooking at home, with fresh whole foods, could be a major step towards solving some of the health issues in our country.

What’s Changing?

What can you expect to find here going forward?

First is my cookbook, Veggies 101. I plan to publish that book this year. It starts with simple recipes that involve just a few ingredients. Exactly how I started cooking with vegetables 7 or 8 years ago. Then there are more complex recipes for the more adventurous and practiced cooks. I chose vegetables for my first cookbook because I believe that we all need to eat more of them. And, I have found that even people who don’t like vegetables learn to like them when they’re cooked to be tasty.

I’m still exploring other ideas for this website. There will definitely be cooking videos. And who knows what else?

I have friends that have tried the companies that send you the measured ingredients and the recipe for you to prepare the meal at home. Several years ago, I had thoughts of a similar type service. They can be either a permanent solution or a learning experience. I don’t have plans to jump into that market, but I may do some reviews on them.

I would love your input. What would you want to see? What would inspire you to cook more meals at home? Leave a comment below. If you want, you can also send me a message from my contact page.

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Barbara

Creator In Chief at BarbaraMcNeely.com

I love to cook. I’m also a health coach, a path I chose after going through a health crisis which taught me the importance of eating healthy meals. Now, I want to combine the two — health coaching and cooking — to help people learn to cook healthy meals. To plan healthy meals. And to eat healthy meals.

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