4 Women, Many Ways to Keep Our Kids Cooking and Healthy - March 24 at Blue Moon

It's funny how food companies and modern conveniences have made it so much easier to put  food on the table quickly, but many people still don't have time to prepare a meal and sit down for dinner.

Fifty years ago it was probably every woman's dream to not have to spend time in the kitchen making dinner every night.  Now we don't have to. We can take out Chinese, Italian, Indian.  We can heat up a frozen lasagna in minutes.  We are so fortunate to have food at our fingertips at all times! 

But dinner time is more than just about the food and it's about more than just fast food. It's downtime in a time when kids and adults are overscheduled. It's a time to be creative.  It's a time to talk about the day, and chop a carrot, or boil water. It can be mindless, but it can be meaningful. It's also a time to teach your kids to cook!

Food provides an opportunity to teach kids to nourish themselves , build their bones, muscles and every living cell in their body. It also provides an opportunity to build self esteem, discipline, confidence and creativity as kids start making decisions for themselves about what to eat and cook.

Join us March 24th to get cooking!

I'm excited to host a dinner seminar on March 24th, with Kath Gallant, my partner in the Food and Health Forum, and owner of the Blue Moon Evolution featuring four AMAZING women These women are cooking up some really great things in magazines, television shows, at college campuses and in elementary schools to keep families healthy! 

Together with our sponsor the Farm at Eastman's Corner,  we're excited to present:  Mary Ann Esposito, Kathy Gunst, Joanne  Curran-Celentano and Sally Sampson. 

These women will draw from their vast culinary backgrounds and experience working with young and older children to help inspire parents, teachers, and our community to create an environment that supports healthy kids in a culture that sometimes makes it difficult to slow down and eat healthy.

More info on the panelists:

Mary Ann Esposito, creator and host of the nationally televised PBS series Ciao Italia with Mary Ann Esposito™, the longest running television cooking program in America. She has appeared on The Today Show, Regis and Kelly, QVC, the Food Network, Discovery Channel, Fox, Martha Stewart Radio, RAI International, The Victory Garden, and more.

Kathy Gunst is a chef, food writer, and resident chef of WBUR’s Here & Now on National Public Radio. Kathy is author of more than a dozen cookbooks, including Notes from a Maine Kitchen and The Parenting Cookbook. Kathy helps students at the Central School in South Berwick, Maine, to grow, cook, and eat food, and was one of 800 chefs invited to the White House to attend Michelle Obama’s Let’s Move! initiative.

Joanne Curran-Celentano is Professor of Nutritional Sciences at the University of New Hampshire, where she teaches and also explores why diets rich in fruits and vegetables decrease the risk of chronic disease. She is also one of the faculty at UNH who helped create the dual major program for Ecogastronomy to help students discover the deeper meaning of eating and to help them to become informed food citizens.

Sally Sampson is founder and president of ChopChop, a quarterly magazine dedicated to reversing and preventing childhood obesity. She is a cookbook author and food writer who has written 11 cookbooks and coauthored seven more.  She has been nominated for the prestigious James Beard Award.

To get more information on this event, go to www.foodandhealthforum.com.