Healthy(ish) Easy Egg Foo Young Recipe

When I was 16, I worked at a Chinese-American restaurant. I definitely admire my bosses’ work ethic, because it was one of the hardest jobs that I ever had. As God is my witness, I will never accept “peeling buckets of onions daily” as a job requirement again! 🙂 Anyway, I primarily made the American foods, but I did make a few of the easy Chinese dishes.

In honor of the upcoming Chinese New Year (February 10th), I’m going to share a couple of easy Chinese recipes this week. One of the things that I noticed was that the food that my bosses prepared for their family was very different from the food that they served to the general public…it was much healthier. As such, I’m sharing a healthy(ish) version of one of my favorite Chinese dishes…egg foo young. I know that a lot of restaurants in New York add sprouts and cabbage or peas and carrots to their egg foo young, but I don’t. I prepare the meat omelet the same way that I did 20+ years ago (?!). I just don’t fry it in oil and I serve it with brown rice instead of white rice. [Read more…]

The Meaning of the Chinese New Year

I majored in History-Sociology at Columbia, so I love learning about the history of various holidays and special events. Take a look at this video from History.com (one of my favorite history sites) to learn a brief history of the … Read More

A special thanks to Special K

special k challenge

A few months ago, I read a “Thanks to my sponsors” post on another blog. In it, the blogger thanked all of her site sponsors for the month. I thought that was really cool and decided to imitate that with my larger sponsors. (I forgot the name of the blog that I was reading or I would link to it.) Sponsors are the reason that I get to do what I love…work from home while raising my kids.

Now that the kids are both settled into school and doing well, my financial “agreement” with my husband has changed. My income is no longer the extra “gravy”…it’s now a part of our family budget! As long as I can continue to make an agreed-upon amount each month working from home, I don’t need to look for an outside of the home job. That is where my “special” thanks to Special K comes into play. Due to the checks that they sent me this month along with a couple of other projects that I am working on, I “get” to continue working from home for 2013. Everything else that I make is “gravy”. 🙂 (Now, you all know that I’m from the south. I love myself some gravy, so I will still be working hard!)

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Spring Break 2013 Ideas

It was great to meet and learn from Kyle McCarthy of Family Travel Forum and Eileen Ogintz of Taking the Kids when I attended the first Family Travel Conference last year. As such, I was delighted to be included when … Read More

Friday Favorites (1/25/13): 12+ Big Game food & recipes

super bowl food and recipes
On Sunday, February 3rd, the San Francisco 49ers and the Baltimore Ravens will play in the Big Game 47. The fact that the two coaches are brothers is really the only football fact that I know. For me, the Big Game is mainly a fun time to gather with family and friends to watch the commercials and halftime show. Of course, I can’t forget the food. As such, below are my favorite FCM Super Bowl food & recipes…along with some contributions from my foodie friends. Enjoy!

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5 favorite NYC afternoon tea services: Plaza High Tea & more

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After having tea and scones twice in the past month, I was reminded anew how lovely it is to share tea with great company! That is why I am sharing my top five favorite NYC afternoon tea spots. Whether you want to enjoy tea with your daughters/favorite little girls in your life, with your significant other or with your girlfriends (my preference!), at least one of these spots is certain to be a great fit…

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Do you read parenting books?

My husband Reggie and I were having a discussion recently about parenting books. I think that most parents read them while he thinks that most parents don’t read them. The reality is probably somewhere in the middle!

I primarily read non-fiction books, so I have read various pregnancy and parenting books since before the kids were born. I take them all with a grain of salt, because every pregnancy and child is different. However, I find them to be most helpful in regards to helping me to have age-appropriate expectations of my two sons. (Our discussion had come up because some close friends who are parents had basically convinced themselves that their child was “difficult” when in reality the child really is not. The vast majority of the behavior that they were describing totally fell in the realm of “normal” age-appropriate behavior!)

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Cilantro-Lime Brown Rice (à la Chipotle)

cilantro-lime brown rice

Are you a fan of brown rice? I can’t say that I am, but there is a brown rice that I actually enjoy. It’s the brown rice that is served at Chipotle Mexican Grill, my favorite “fast-casual” restaurant. I took one of their menus home and made my own version. (It’s just rice, lime and cilantro. I simply had to play around with the combinations.) This rice is so good that it can easily be substituted for white rice…especially in Mexican meals!

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How to do the Heart Hair Braid by Cozy’s Cuts for Kids

If you live in NYC, then you have probably heard of Cozy’s Cuts for Kids that was founded by Cozy Friedman. Constantly included in various “best of” lists, their two NYC children’s hair salons provide a colorful, fun experience for kids while they are getting their hair cut. With special shaped styling chairs and videos to divert kids’ attention, the stylists can focus on what they are doing. Your child will also receive a balloon, lollipop, and a free toy (along with a free lice check!) with every haircut. If you can get over the $30+ dollars to cut your kids kids’ hair, then these are the kids hair salons for you!

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Support Rafi’s Run: An upcoming NYC charity event

The little girl in the image above is Rafaella Lily (Rafi). She was born with a severe form of Epidermolysis Bullosa (EB). According to the Dystrophic Epidermolysis Bullosa Research Association of America (Debra), EB is “the worst disease you’ve never … Read More