Loulou's views

We all lead busy lives—from juggling work to extra-curricular activities, sometimes it feels like there aren’t enough hours in a day to get it all done. Trying to find the perfect balance can be challenging, but one thing remains constant in my household: connecting around the dinner table. Coming from a Greek family, dinnertime was always a priority, no matter how busy our days were, and this is a tradition we’ve kept with our children. Now that our boys are older (13 and 10 years old) my husband and I often get them to help out when it comes to dinner preparation, and even cooking; I’m happy to say that my even my youngest son can make a delicious homemade tomato sauce, with some ingredients coming from our own backyard vegetable garden, like basil, tomatoes, oregano, and onions.   Growing a garden was a new venture for us this summer, and one we thoroughly enjoyed. It made meal time prep more fun, and also forced us all to eat more vegetables than we were used to.  ...

Anyone who knows me can attest I'm not a huge fan of cooking, as much as I enjoy a delicious home-cooked meal. However, I'm lucky to have a husband, parents, and in-laws who can cook amazingly well. Despite the fact that I don't love getting dirty in the kitchen, I'm great at making a few meals my children (thankfully!) love, and most of those meals are Italian. I was so excited to be invited to Toronto this week along with several other bloggers to indulge in an authentic taste of Italy, and meet and learn from Italian Chef Massimo Bruno. We took part, as well—preparing some pretty simple recipes that I know will be a huge hit at home. Best of all? The meals we learned to cook involve only a few key ingredients, so prep time is simple, and takes almost no time at all to actually cook... and serve. (Which is perfect when you're heading home late from work and the children are starving). We sampled delicious Italian cheese and appetizers, drank wine, and got ou...

Now that we've settled back into the fall routine, it's important to take note of what we're eating as we move away from the carefree days of summer. I know I'm definitely more pressed for time now that I'm working a full-time schedule again, and with my boys in school, I want to make sure each meal is as healthy as it can be—so we're getting the proper nutrition we need, and the energy to keep us going all day. I go grocery shopping several times a week, but I've never considered using the support of an in-store Registered Dietitian at Loblaw. This great (and did I mention free?) service provides shoppers a range of services, like: Grocery shopping tours to make healthier choices (You'd be surprised what you'll learn!) Health and wellness workshops and lunch and learns  Developing a customized meal plan based on your dietary needs  Interactive cooking classes  Tips for encouraging children to try new foods  Nutrition check-ups to assess dieta...