The Full Plate Blog: special centerpieces

Sunday, January 29, 2012

I've kept running with the idea of featuring something the children made as our centerpiece. I don't know why I didn't think of this sooner? Total keeper.

About Founder/Editor Eila DeBard Johnson

I am a happy, healthy mom of two young children who has a knack for being able to whip up family-friendly, healthy meals with whatever I find in our fridge, freezer and pantry. In the past 10 years of motherhood, I have come to appreciate that there is so much intertwined in "being healthy" and feeling good as a mother, wife and friend. As a super busy mom who juggled nutrition coursework, raising young children, keeping the house in order, volunteering in my community, writing this blog and the elusive goal of “me” time, I understand the need for recipes to be simple. While I’d love to claim that I cook everything from scratch, with only local ingredients, I don’t. But, I do a swell job of getting healthful meals made quickly…that everyone around here enjoys. As a certified Health Coach focused on cooking with whole foods, this blog shares my ideas for simple, healthful meals, so busy parents can be inspired to nourish their families (and themselves!) too. My love of cooking comes from an entire childhood spent in Southern California, where phenomenal produce was available (and offered up) year round... memories of homemade meals and family dinners throughout my upbringing... my incredible exchange student experience living on a farm in Austria in high school... and years of fine-tuning my cooking skills through numerous classes at The Institute for Culinary Education (then called Peter Kump's), private cooking lessons at night after my day job at an investment bank, and a Professional Certificate in Techniques of Healthy Cooking from The Culinary Institute of America. My recent Health Coach Certification from the Institute of Integrative Nutrition brought my love of cooking, my interest in sharing knowledge, and my quest to be a balanced wife, mother and friend full circle. Before writing this blog, I ran a (wildly popular) Fairfield County, CT-based personal chef service; taught private, in-home cooking lessons; consulted on private label food products; and worked in new product development and brand management for a really big food company.