Winter time means it’s time to nest and make some comfort food. My mom used to refer to this hearty food as “sticking to your bones”. I guess she meant that it has substance and really fills you up (unlike some of the lighter meals we tend to eat more often in summer).

Homemade mac & cheese is always a winner and now that I have my new little “Slow cooker recipes” book, I’ll try a new mac & cheese recipe, using my crock pot.

If you have a crock pot somewhere in your cabinet (or stored away in the basement. maybe?), I recommend taking it out and using it. Most crocks come with their own recipe books. Mine includes a recipe for roasted chicken and veggies, pot roast and beef stew that are delicious. It’s great to throw the ingredients in the pot in the morning and smell the aromas of food cooking all day long, until it’s time for dinner. You get your food  preparation out of the way before facing the rest of the day.

My new little recipe book: Gooseberry Patch: Favorite Slow-cooker Recipes, includes a recipe for cranberry tea and overnight oatmeal with walnuts and raisins. I’ll bet the tea is yummy after brewing for so long in the crock pot and love the idea of waking up to a warm breakfast in the morning after it’s cooked all night long.

This week, I plan to make the barbequed chicken and taco soup from my new little book.

I also got out my bread maker and plan to make some homemade bread this winter. This is another kitchen appliance that I highly recommend buying and using. There’s nothing like the smell of homemade bread baking, it tastes fresh and delicious, and bread makers are super easy to use—they knead the dough and do all the hard work for you! The bread maker will pay for itself if you really use it. The cost of store-bought bread seems to have tripled lately.

The recipe book which came with my bread maker also has recipes for desserts, something I’ve never tried, but plan to.

What are some of your winter-time favorites from the kitchen?

Before I was a mommy, “cooking” meant throwing a frozen pizza into the oven or throwing together some noodles and pasta from a jar.  My husband and I both worked full time so neither one of us really had any time to cook.  Or, perhaps more accurately, we didn’t have the inclination to cook.

After our daughter was born I dabbled a little in cooking but not much since she nursed and then moved on to jarred baby food.  There didn’t seem like much of a reason to pull together a home-cooked meal when it was just my husband and me sitting down to eat it.  Besides, I was tired.

Once my daughter started nibbling on table food I realized that I couldn’t serve up highly processed foods any more.  I figured that if there was a time to start learning to cook, this was it.  I started clipping recipes and through trial and error I became a pretty decent cook.  We eat far more meals at home than we eat at restaurants.  It has saved us a lot of money and I’m pretty sure it’s a lot healthier too. If you play The Grocery Game you stand to save even hundreds more!

The key to being successful with pulling together home-cooked meals is to plan ahead and prepare.  I like to plan my entire week’s dinners all at once.  I sit down and figure out what I’m going to cook and compose my grocery list.  Sometimes – when I’m really on the ball – I plan out the meals according to what coupons I have and what’s on sale.  I also try to only plan meals that feature ingredients that are in season.  For example, you won’t find me making strawberry croissants for breakfast right now when strawberries are over four dollars for one container, but when they come back in season and the price drops to two dollars it will be a common breakfast meal for us.

Planning out meals ahead of time also have the distinct advantage of giving you a glimpse of what you’re eating and figuring out how to make things more healthy.  I usually only put one meal with beef in our weekly dinners, one or two with chicken, one with fish, and the rest are meatless meals.  I also make sure that I’m not relying on pasta meals too much, because that it one ingredient I usually gravitate to.

I can also plan out the meals according to how the week looks.  Hectic nights call for crockpot meals that can be eaten whenever all the activities are over.  Days that I have a lot of work to do and I know I’ll be really tired by dinnertime I plan easy meals, like grilled cheese sandwiches and soup.

I know if I didn’t do this I would spend a lot more time driving through fast food restaraunts because I’m not the kind of mom who can glance at random ingredients in a pantry and pull something delicious together.  If you think planning your weekly menu out is too time-consuming, think of how much time you’ll save from running to the store at the last minute to pick things up for meals.  It saves you time and money.

Eventually my little one will help mommy in the kitchen. Not only will it provide a basis of learning to cook for herself one day, but cooking with your kids also helps to develop motorskills once they reach the preschool age.

With an active toddler and another baby on the way, it can be a challenge to find snacks or dessert items that are both healthy and fast. In addition, my daughter is becoming increasingly picky when it comes to food; her breakfast meal can be especially difficult. We like to get her day started with a somewhat nutritious meal as much as possible, preferably made at home with minimal ingredients, and have this fall discovered one food she just can‘t seem to get enough of: pumpkin.

My husband and I aren‘t terribly fond of pumpkin ourselves. Sure, we‘ll eat pumpkin pie on Thanksgiving or a slice of pumpkin bread here or there, but it’s not something we‘d seek out. However, since discovering just how much our daughter loves the taste of the orange stuff, we‘ve changed our habits to accommodate her - and have begun to eat healthier ourselves in the mean time.

The best and easiest pumpkin recipe I have found is for pumpkin cupcakes. These are simply made with a box of spice cake mix and a can of pureed pumpkin mixed together and baked. Can’t get much easier than that, can we - In fact, if your child is old enough, he or she can even help out with this one, by opening the box of cake mix, stirring the bowl or helping to fill the muffin tins.

To make, combine a box of spice cake mix with a 15 ounce can of pureed pumpkin in a large bowl. Stir until moistened, then use an electric mixer to beat for about 2 minutes on medium speed. Pour into a prepared cupcake tin and bake at 350 degrees for15-20 minutes, or until a wooden toothpick inserted in the center comes out clean. Cool in the pans on a wire racks for 10 minutes, then remove to wire racks to cool completely.

Serve with cream cheese frosting, or plain. The cupcakes bake up to a somewhat dense, cake-like consistency, and are a great toddler breakfast or snack.

A gastronomist in the Swiss city of Winterthur announced earlier this week that he will serve traditional Swiss dishes in his restaurant that will be special and unique. He will substitute the usual cream or fresh milk in the recipes with breastmilk. He actually started advertising for breast milk donors.

His announcement sparked heated discussions in all sectors – the health authorities, the restaurant association, and the consumers of course. The food safety authorities were at a loss – human breast milk is not on the list of milk of animal species approved for human consumption. Yet, nobody can deny that breastmilk is fit for human consumption. Breastmilk is the best food for our babies. However, there is the question of quality control and safety. Some diseases, including HIV, can be transmitted from the mother to the child through breastmilk.

Fearing a backlash, the chef made a statement yesterday that he won’t push through with his gastronomic plans. No breast milk on the menu. But the idea was sown and it won’t be the last time that people will try it out again.

After doing a bit of research, I found out that the Swiss chef wasn’t the first one to come up with the idea.

An article from smh Australia way back in 2003 reported about a restaurant in Chnagsha, China which served dishes prepared with breastmilk from 6 peasant women who, aside from supplying milk to the restaurant, were also breastfeeding little children of their own. The report sparked outrage all over China after the owner announced his intention of expanding his business to specially prepared “breast milk banquets.”

Tell us what you think. Would you sell your breastmilk for gastronomic purposes? Would you eat in a restaurant serving breastmilk-prepared dishes?

Sometimes when it comes to kids, food is all about presentation. If something looks ‘yucky’ they probably won’t touch it. Most kids I know, including my own, usually do not like their foods mixed together, even if we as adults know they taste better that way.

When I served tacos to my kids when they were much younger, I would fill the shell with meat and cheese, knowing that anything resembling a vegetable would not be tolerated, at least not in the taco.

If your kids are willing to eat veggies or salad on their own, serve the shredded lettuce and chopped tomatoes as a little salad on the side. My boys would always eat this taco/salad combination.

I’m sure there are many kids who won’t touch chili, since it looks like a bowl of mysterious ingredients. I usually serve chili over rice. For the kids, I pick out any bits of onion, tomato and pepper and give them a serving of ground beef and beans. Sometimes, they’ll pick the beans out and sometimes we’ll get lucky and they’ll clean their plates. I serve their rice on the side instead of beneath the chili.

Presentation can also mean making the food look fun. I saw an idea somewhere for making a ’sailboat lunch’: Serve a sandwich cut into two small triangles as the sail, connect it to an apple slice boat with a carrot stick.

Many healthy snacks can be cut up with cookie cutters. Cut sliced cheese into fun shapes, such as stars, or make heart-shaped PB & J’s.

Fruit can be cut up and served on a skewer as a fruit-kebob. Make a colorful combination of banana, grapes, orange slice and melon.

There are many fun plates, cups, straws, etc. made with kids in mind. I recently picked up some brightly colored plastic plates with little compartments for different foods. My little guy won’t be using these anytime soon but at 75% off (end of summer clearance) I figured I’d buy them and put them away until he’s a bit older.

What have you done to make food more appealing for your kids?

We buy bananas at the grocery store at almost every visit ? usually because they?re too old and brown to use by the time we get around to using them. Our daughter loves bananas, though, so off to the store again we go to replenish our supply!

Instead of throwing them into the compost bin or making yet another loaf of banana bread (which is delicious, but tiresome after a while), I found a new way to incorporate some of those over-ripe bananas into a healthy snack for the whole family ? banana smoothies.

To make smoothies, combine in a blender:

• 1 ripe banana
• 1 cup frozen or fresh berries or chopped fruit (either in season fruits or berries, or frozen berries)
• 1 cup yogurt ? plain or any flavor you have in the fridge
• ? cup milk
• Optional: add 2-3 tablespoons ground flaxseed or wheat germ for extra protein and fiber

Blend on high speed until smooth. Makes two to three servings.

Giving in to cravings is one of the most fun aspects of pregnancy. Revel in the joy of fulfilling your every culinary whim and desire while you can.

But if you find high-fat, empty-calorie foods are causing your weight to creep up faster than the recommended rate, look for healthier alternatives that will still satisfy your cravings.

I notice that my cravings are usually directly related to the lack of certain vitamins and nutrients in my system?most notably calcium, vitamin C and lycopene. For the first three months of my pregnancy, I wanted nothing but pizza and milkshakes. After keeping the local pizza shop and ice cream parlor in business for several months, I came up with some easy-to-prepare, at-home alternatives.

Old-Fashioned Egg Cream

If I?m craving dairy products, first I take two Tums calcium supplements and wait a half hour. If the craving persists, it?s time to break out the pint glasses and whip myself up an egg cream.

Pour eight ounces of non-fat milk into a 16 oz. glass. Add about a tablespoon of Hershey?s chocolate syrup (or vanilla or strawberry, if you prefer). Stir well. Top with club soda or seltzer for a tasty, calcium-rich treat with less calories than a milkshake. The bubbles in the soda also help eliminate gas pains, if you have one of those annoying burps that won?t come out.

Quick & Healthy Pizza

For a low-cost, healthy alternative to pizza (especially frozen pizza), make your own with this recipe.

Take 2 one ounce whole wheat pitas or a whole wheat / whole grain English muffin (split). Do not split the pita bread?keep it whole. Read labels carefully to make sure that whole, unbleached wheat flour is the first ingredient, and that the bread is not made with high-fructose corn syrup.

Cover the top with pasta sauce. I like Ragu Fresh & Simple Vegetable Sauce in a pouch.

Add spices to taste: oregano and basil, pizza seasoning or minced garlic tastes great!

Add about 1 to 1.5 tablespoons low-fat or nonfat shredded mozzarella cheese.

You can also get creative and add diced peppers, baby spinach, olives or other veggies.

Bake on baking sheet on middle rack at 450 degrees for about five minutes.

Broil an additional minute or two, until cheese melts completely. (Watch carefully so it doesn?t burn!)

Orange Juice

Orange juice, packed with Vitamin C, is a common pregnancy craving. (Or maybe it?s just memories of that scene in Baby Talk where Kirstie Alley pours gallons of the orange stuff down her throat.) Instead of drinking calorie-laden, sugar-filled store bought juice, squeeze your own. Leave lots of pulp for extra fiber. Just be sure to drink it immediately. Fresh-squeezed juice isn?t pasteurized or loaded with preservatives that will allow it to keep for weeks in your fridge.

Oatmeal Cookies

If you?re craving something sweet, these oatmeal cookies made with whole wheat flour and brown sugar are packed with 6 grams of fiber, making them a healthy indulgence.

Or try these 5-grain cereal cookies, which include loads of cranberries and raisins for a fruit-filled treat.

It?s more than okay to indulge your cravings with the real thing every so often. But nightly milkshakes and giant slices of New York pizza can empty your wallet and expand your waistline quicker than you can say ?baby fat.? Try these tasty treats for a change once in a while.