Eating my way across the internet

I've gone into great, and at times sickening, length about my battles with food lately. But what I haven't mentioned to you, friends, is that my history with food and the problems that sometimes accompany does not stop at my morning sickness.

I love food, I really do. But that was not always the case. When I met Mr. C and we began dating a whole new world of interesting tastes and textures opened up to me. (Watch the dirty minds, people. I'm talking about food here.) We visited restaurants and cooked meals that I had never tried before. But before that I was always apathetic when it came to food. It just wasn't a big part of my life. I ate because I need to, not because I wanted to, and that's not exactly what anyone would consider healthy.

My mom was not a great cook and since she and my dad had little money when I was growing up the food that was prepared for us consisted of mainly overcooked lesser choices of meat and boiled vegetables from a can. The things my mom excelled at, lasagnas and casseroles mostly, were filling but never what you would call nutritious. Green was not a color we saw on our table very often, and if the vegetable started out green after my mom got to it it ended up a sick grayish color.

But you know what? When you're skinny and you come from a family of thin people, nobody makes much of a fuss.

When I was a teenager I lived like most teenage girls do - picking at food or grabbing things on the run. McDonald's was a way of life. Potato chips and a Coke from the cafeteria at school was also common. And that was when I remembered to eat. I remember several occasions when my mom would stop me as I was running out the door to ask when my last meal was (uh, Mom? I love you but if you have to ask...), commenting on my gaunt cheeks and hollow eyes. For the love of Pete, I worked at a donut shop surrounded by tasty fattening treats and I could still go two or three days in a row ingesting little more than soft drinks.

Damn those were good years. I miss my size zeros and my 20 inch waist. No, really. 20 inches. Wrap your head around that one.

Come to think of it, I don't really miss those days at all. I would have to wear two pairs of pants just to get the shape of a pre-pubescent boy. When all the other girls were getting boobs and hips I was concave. Let me tell you, that really gets the boys beating down a girl's door.

It would take me a whole other post to explain what that did to my identity and how I felt about myself but that's not what this post is about.

I was not raised to be a great cook but given the fact that my husband, who is a really good cook, is hardly ever home to prepare a meal that doesn't come out of a bag I've had to improvise. Believe it or not as a mom you're actually expected to make healthy meals for your kids. Who knew? I always thought I could throw some dry kibble at them and they'd be fine.

This is not a New Year's Resolution but a life's resolution - I WILL become a better cook. I am already a slave to the food blogs so I think it's about time I start putting them to good use. It's time to set aside the large cookbook collection I have for a moment. I want to eat my way across the internet.

But I need your help to accomplish this.

Help me become a better provider of healthy foods for my family. Tell me, what's your favorite food blog or cooking website? Tell me your favorite family friendly meal. Point me in the direction of a specific recipe that you've particularly enjoyed.

And in return every week I will post a new recipe that I've found through your suggestions (with a link back to your blog, naturally, and a link to the website/blog it was found on) with pictures of the finished product and a report on how my family liked it. I will try at least one recipe based on your suggestions per week.

I think the pictures of the process alone will be worth their weight in gold. Remember that I said I'm not a great cook. Imagine the comedy! Imagine the number of times I'll need to use the fire extinguisher! Imagine the number of times I'll write "And then we called for pizza delivery"!

I've found so far that the best recipes I've prepared have come directly from other bloggers. I've prepared enough dinners found on sites like Epicurious - as a matter of fact, I'm making this one tonight. I'll let you know how it goes - but I like reading about real life people making real food.

My only request, besides all that information about blogs and recipes and things you'll be leaving for me, is that the food be family friendly. Chicky will try a lot of foods but recipes like Spicy Prawns in an exotic curry sauce probably will not look nice thrown against my kitchen wall.

So what do you say? Can you help a mother out? Please don't leave my family doomed to a life of boiled potatoes, waxy string beans and tough pepper steaks like my mother forced upon us. Let's break the cycle of food abuse together.

My family thanks you in advance. The pizza place down the street, the local Chinese restaurant, and Taco Bell, however, do not.