About Us

Our Blog

We are not professional cooks, writers, or photographers, so what you will find here at Raising Future Foodies is a collection of stories and thoughts regarding food from a family in the rural Midwest.  We will focus on activities that we are doing to try to raise our sons to have a healthy love of food, and we will also post recipes and restaurants that that we are trying out. So take a look around and enjoy!

Carrie

I grew up being an extremely picky eater.  The only vegetable I would eat was corn.  When my husband and I were dating in high school, he joked that he could take me anywhere to eat as long as they served chicken fingers and fries.  My dad and brother are picky eaters as well and my Mom cooked alternatives for all of us.  She probably made the equivalent of two and half meals every time she made one.  Looking back now, I think she was a saint for doing this!

After I got married, my husband starting doing most of our cooking.  He introduced me to a whole new set of flavors through herbs, seasonings, marinades, and sauces.  As an adult, I also had a much more open mind to trying new foods and flavors.   I've come a long way and now can truly go any restaurant and know that I will find multiple items on the menu that I will enjoy.

My pickiness as a child led to me being anxious when staying over at friends' houses.  I never knew what they would serve and whether or not I would like it.   I do not want my boys to have limited experiences out of fear for what they might eat, and I want them to grow up to strong and healthy men.  For these reasons, I am focusing on raising the boys to like trying new foods, enjoy a variety of flavors and selections, and to make healthy choices. 

My mom also taught me to bake from an early age and I still enjoy it to this day.  When we decide to make a special meal at home, I'm normally responsible for dessert and sometimes bread.  I have a few go to dishes, but I love to try new recipes.  Being the mom of two preschool boys, I'm really into the semi-homemade approach right now, but occasionally I throw in a souffle just to keep things interesting.

Andy

My mom and dad should definitely be credited for my love of cooking (and eating....)  While we didn't always have a traditional sit-down-at-the-dinner-table-and-eat-as-a-family meal every night like on "Leave It to Beaver", we always found time during the week to fit in some of those great family meal experiences. Our house growing up was always full of summer vegetables that Dad grew in the garden, fresh meats we butchered ourselves and fruits Mom helped pick at the "mini orchard" of the older couple that lived down the road.

I really got into cooking during my time living in Boston.  I moved out to the East coast shortly after college and didn't really know anyone in the area.  Even though I had a wonderful job working with a lot of nice people, when I went home I was alone.  I enjoyed getting up on a Saturday morning and watching a few hours of PBS cooking shows or the Food Network and getting inspired to find something to make.  Next thing I would know, I was searching the city for the best fish monger, getting off at random subway stops in search of a special ingredient, or wondering through the North End by the restaurants offering to buy fresh hand made pastas.

I was lucky enough to move back to Southern Indiana and marry the woman of my dreams.  Together we have two great young boys that I look forward to watching grow up right in front of me.  I hope that my love of cooking rubs off on them in some way.  So far so good.  Lucas and I dressed as chefs for Halloween a few years ago and carried our ingredient around with us (a one year old Adam dressed as a lobster.)

Lucas

Lucas has loved cooking since he could show any interest in activities.  He sat on the counter and cooked with us from about 6 months old.  Lucas likes to try new foods, but enjoys cooking almost more than eating.  Right now one of his favorite things to do is to watch Tasty Time with ZeFronk on Disney Junior online.  He will watch the video, pick out what he wants to make, tell us the ingredients to buy, and then make it.  It's like a toddler version of the Food Network for him.

Lucas is a typical preschooler so his likes and dislikes change daily and sometimes hourly.  He loves his desserts consistently, so we are able to bargain with him on a nightly basis.  We tell him what he has to eat to get dessert and he eats it.  Our rule of thumb is try everything on  your plate and eat the majority or at least several bites of the healthiest choices.  He normally gets a good combination of meat, fruits and veggies.

Adam

Adam gets his eating habits from his mommy.  He doesn't really like to try new things and would prefer to live on bread and dairy products.  He loves his milk, yogurt, and cheese.  Bread, bread, and more bread would be his ideal meal.  He believes a hamburger is a white bun, and doesn't even know a burger truly is meat.  His favorite "seasoning" is ketchup.  He dips everything in his ketchup, from his bread to his brownies.

He is a typical three year old and is stubborn.  He doesn't like to bargain and will throw tantrums at times when sat down to a meal with no bread.  He many times gets to eat an alternative to what is served, but he is served the well balanced meal that we are eating as a family.  He is asked to try everything on his plate before he gets yogurt or an apple.  He is getting a healthy alternative.  This approach is starting to work for us, because he is now trying more new foods and eating more a variety.  Yogurt is becoming his dessert instead of his entree. 

Adam does enjoy cooking and gardening with us, but doesn't initiate the activity very frequently. He loves to water the garden and lick the spoon after