Category — Events

You know the drill: If you bring unhealthy food into your home, you’re going to eat it. Learn to work the market and make great decisions where it matters most. This workshop includes a one-hour tour of the brand new Market Basket in Waltham and a discussion of how to identify the most nutritious foods and ingredients, along with strategies for preparing quick and delicious meals, lunches on the go, and healthy snacks.

Where: Market Basket, 110 Market Place Drive, Waltham

When: April 11, 10:30-12

Cost: Cost of workshop is $40 – a bargain considering my private tour rate is $100!

Sign up here! https://fusion.myvolo.ca/club/store/shopcart.jsp?rand=0.12434291278429843

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We’re in the final crush leading up to Christmas, and chances are, you’re doing some merrymaking this weekend. While some trainers would encourage you to lay off all treats and sweets, I take a more moderate approach . . . maybe it’s my old age, but I *do* think that holiday food and family traditions are important. The trick is to fit those into your new healthy lifestyle . . . to indulge and enjoy without going balls-out. Here are my top tricks for doing just that! [Read more →]

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This summer will mark a first for me as a blogger – my first conference. I’ll be attending the Healthy Living Summit, which will be held August 17-19 in Cambridge. Hundreds of bloggers in once place . . . many of whom I’ve been reading for years . . . 10 minutes from my home? Couldn’t pass this one up! [Read more →]

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Hey friends – just a reminder that today is THE LAST DAY to sign up for this workshop!

And what if you want to come, but can’t? Why not contact me about setting something up? I’m available to talk to your school group, at your mom’s night out – to any group you want to assemble, on a wide variety of health- or food-related topics. We can tailor something to your needs/interests – curious about some new foods and not sure how to incorporate them into your meals? How ’bout a cooking class? Want to understand how to make small changes in your life to reduce your toxic body burden? I can help you understand plastics, BPA, and all that jazz. Look me up and let’s chat.

You know you need to eat more “healthful foods,” but how the heck do you prepare them? Flummoxed? Or, are you on top of your superfood prep, but looking for some new recipes? Come and be inspired on May 3, 2012 from 7-8:30 at Healthy Habits Kitchen in Wellesley. I’ll show you easy ways to prepare kale, quinoa and sweet potatoes – three popular “superfoods.” You’ll be treated to dinner and dessert, plus samples of a few of my favorite recipes using these three nutritional powerhouses. We’ll discuss why you should incorporate as many superfoods as you can into your diet, along with quick ‘n’ easy tips from me on how to do it. You’ll leave with a recipe booklet so you can super-charge your meals at home.

Would love to meet you in person, share some grub and chat! View the flyer here, and sign up here!

Why HHK? I’ve had a long love-affair with this place, starting back in ’09. HHK’s food is tasty, easy to prep, and healthful to boot! HHK is the ONLY Semi-Sweet-endorsed meal prep service around. It’s not “prepared food,” it’s real food, prepped for you. You order up your HHK meal kits and stow them in your fridge or freezer . . . then pull one out when you need a meal on the table fast. Everything you need’s included. Heck, you can even get home-made cookie dough to bake off for dessert! When you sign up for this seminar, you’ll receive a $10 credit toward any meal kits purchased that night.

So grab a friend, or three, and come out and join me! Register by April 27th, ’cause space.is.limited!

Never miss a Morsel! Subscribe to Semi-Sweet by email.

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So it’s the third week of the new year . . . how’re you doing on those resolutions?

One of my professional biggies for ’11 is to network more.  Since launching Semi-Sweet in August of ’09, I’ve read and admired so many fellow bloggers, many of them in Boston . . . but have I met any? Like, “in real life” (as L. would say)? Not until last night. [Read more →]

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Happy Friday, everyone! Some of you saw this post from mid-day the other day, but for some reason, my feed burner didn’t pick it up to let all the feed subscribers in on the action.  Would you take two minutes today to fill out my little survey?  Let me know if you’d like to participate in a Semi-Sweet Supper Club.

We could try new restaurants, cuisines, explore a new neighborhood, etc.  I’ve drafted a very short survey to get a read on your interest and availability.  Click below to let me know what you think – even if you’re not interested, I want to hear that, too!

[polldaddy survey="408BEA53B396B205" link_text="Take my survey"]

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Happy Thursday, folks!  As most of you know, I bought into a great winter CSA this year – the Shared Harvest CSA.  I’ve also already bought a share in the Picadilly Farm CSA for this summer.  It’ll be my first year with them, but I’ve heard great things and the produce they contributed to the Shared Harvest haul was outstanding.  If you’re interested in joining a CSA for the upcoming season, now’s the time to sign up.  Shares are going fast. 

But what’s that you say?  You don’t know where to go?  I have two resources for you.  One’s for anyone, anywhere – LocalHarvestprovides a searchable database so you can locate a CSA that’s near you (most have weekly pickup, so location is essential . . . don’t wanna schlep too far for those veggies, do we?).  The second is geared toward folks in the Arlington, Belmont, Cambridge and Lexington, MA zone -  a CSA Share Fair that’s taking place next month in Arlington – organized by the intrepid Gretta Anderson, the brains and brawn behind the Shared Harvest CSA.  See details below, and here’s to dreamin’ ‘bout all those “above-ground” veggies coming our way in just a few months!

What:  A CSA Farm Share Fair in Arlington!  CSA farmers will be on hand to tell you how their CSA works, what they are growing this year and how you can get a share of their harvest.

When:  Thursday, February 25, 6:00 PM

Where:  50 Paul Revere Road, Arlington, MA at the Park Avenue Congregational Church in Arlington Heights, the Parish Hall.

Who:  Farms that distribute CSA shares in Arlington, N. Cambridge, Lexington, Belmont, and nearby towns have been invited to participate, as have several local community farms.

Why:  If you haven’t lined up your CSA share yet, the Farm Share Fair is a great place to learn about what’s available. You will be able to sign up for summer and winter CSA shares at the Fair. For those of you who have already purchased your 2010 CSA share, this is a great opportunity to say hello to your farmer. We are also inviting farmers to bring and sell their produce to the Fair, so you may want to bring your shopping bags!

Want to help? Gretta’s looking for volunteers who want to help make this Fair a success. Contact her directly if you’d like to help in any way:  GrettaAnderson@earthlink.net, or 781.507.6602.

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Happy Friday morning, all!  We had a great time at Healthy Habits Kitchen last night – thanks to Sue for hosting us (and for providing tasty treats!) and to Liz Ward for giving us all great advice on how to make nutrition a family affair.  I think we all came away with some great ideas for how to feed our families (and ourselves) a little bit better. 

Liz’s advice was balanced and practical – and comes from a place of inclusion rather than exclusion of specific foods.  This anti-deprivation message works well for us and for our kids:  Instead of thinking of all the foods you “can’t” have (i.e., chips, cookies, Goldfish, Cheetos, etc.), think of all the nutrient rich-foods you can have (whole fruits, vegetables, whole-grain breads, low-fat milk, lean sources of beef, fish, chicken, nuts, etc. etc.).  These whole foods add value to your diet.  At our house, we call them “grow foods,”  as distinguished from “treats,” which taste great and are fun to eat, but which we eat occasionally, not regularly.  We let L. pick, choose, and eat as many “grow foods” as she likes, while we seek to limit (and have her self-limit) her intake of treats.

My #1 revelatory idea from the night was that it’s not a great idea to try to introduce new foods to your child when s/he is tired, overstimulated, etc.  This was a lightbulb moment for me because I realized that we most often try to get L. to try new things at dinnertime – a time of, well, bonkers behavior most nights.  So I’m going to try more during a weekend lunch, the afternoons or mornings on weekends, etc.

Another important take-away for parents is to try to manage your own anxiety about your child’s eating habits . . . let your desire for them to eat a balanced diet come from a place of love and interest, rather than a place of fear . . . because as Liz said, when fear takes over, all you-know-what can break loose.  Or, as I say, kids can smell fear – and boy, do they capitalize on it!

I hope you all have a great, healthy weekend, and I’ll see you back here on Monday!

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