Isn't it fascinating how our perspectives change during different phases of our lives?
As parents, a lot of our time away from our children is spent earning a living. If one parent is generating enough income to support the family, the other partner gets to decide whether they want to trade more time away from their children to earn more income, or for personal satisfaction.
In my 20's and early 30's, I was convinced that nothing was as important to me as working towards satisfaction and financial independence. As a woman, the desire to be fully independent was powerful.
But when I became a mom at 35, my perspective started to shift. My time spent striving to build a career didn't feel the same anymore. The more I worked, the more I realized that I could be replaced at my job, but never with my kids. I was fortunate enough to be in a position where I could decide whether I wanted to continue working and hire a full time nanny, or take care of my children myself.
I wanted to raise my kids in a specific way. What I mean is, I can delegate tasks, but unfortunately, it won’t be the same. Being Italian and living in Miami with no family close by, it was entirely up to me if I wanted my children to be brought up the same way I was. The ball was completely in my court, and nobody else's.
What I also felt strongly about was the idea of taking the time to home-cook meals for my family, to have my kids experience smells in the kitchen, wonderful tastes and as much variety as possible of wholesome foods.
I grew up with my grandparents close by, and they cooked for us all the time - delicious, nutritious meals and that really laid the foundation of my eating habits.
My happiest memories are around a table, or at the supermarket, or helping my grandmother peel tomatoes we picked from my grandfather's garden. I can still remember the smell of fresh lettuce or basil, as if it was yesterday (yet it was around 15 years ago).
In my heart I really wanted to give this to my kids.
However, given the little amount of time I had between work and taking care of my two babies, prepping meals, was the last thing on my to do list, and I was very unorganized when it came to lunch or dinner time..oh, and I was going crazy cause my kids are real FOODIES!!!
I knew something had to change. So I made the very difficult decision to stop working full time, embrace motherhood and organize myself to accomplish my motherly dreams and objectives.
My childhood in Italy was all about food. My family was also quite strict with meal times, we had set times for eating, and we always ate together at the table. There was never a separate kids/adult menu.
It was always a joyous moment, a time for family bonding. We were encouraged to try everything, and it was okay to not like something. We almost never had processed food, always home cooked meals. It took me some time (and becoming a mother) to realize how fortunate my sisters and I were.
I’ve truly seen first-hand how home cooked meals support strong families, create lasting memories for children, and continue family traditions.
My father has inherited the same passion for cooking from my grandmother and gardening from my grandfather. He's now teaching me everything, and I feel extremely fortunate to have that, because sadly, I didn't document anything from my grandparents, not one recipe or one photo of their garden. It's clear in my memories, but I wish I could show my children.
Living in the US where, culturally, food is viewed in a different way and diets are different, merely also just products sold at supermarkets are different, it was about time for me to start understanding what to source to be a better role model for my kids and provide them with nutritious meals.
As I ventured into sourcing and better understanding our food supply chain, I noticed a significant gap in the way our society approaches food and nutrition, particularly regarding our younger generation. This realization was the genesis of what I've now come to call Gen-Foodies.
I firmly believe there is a strong and urgent need to educate our children from their earliest years about the importance and meaning of healthy eating which goes beyond solely feeding them veggies and fruit.
What we need to do is to instill in them a sense of respect and appreciation for nature and the environment that produces our food.
For them to make their best choices when it comes to choosing real food versus processed, we need to educate them about where our food comes from, how it's grown, and what goes into producing it.
We need to teach them about the sensorial aspect of food. We need to help them distinguish between what tastes, or feels, good and what doesn't so that they can be their own judges.
Unfortunately, in today's world, these important lessons are often overlooked. As parents, we may not have enough time to educate, prepare home-cooked meals, or delve into understanding how the food we consume affects our health and emotional well-being, as well as that of our children. I was part of that crowd too!
This is what sparked my idea to start Gen-Foodies, a community where learnings will be shared and conscious food knowledge will become the foundation on how to raise the future generation of Foodies.
Welcome to this wonderful community of Gen-Foodies!