Who Is The Pretend Chef?

I am a directions follower to a T. It could be my goodie-two-shoes personality. Deviating from a recipe or any set of specific directions leaves me feeling fretful and cold chills run through my body. Cooking anxiety. That best describes the feeling I get when preparing a meal for anyone other than my family. By family, I mean, my 2 year old son Jason Jr. and his daddy Mr. Pretend Chef, Jason.


My itty bitty who enjoys his little bites.



When trying out a new recipe to prepare for them I have no worries and find the beginning to end process of cooking a meal very therapeutic. Mashing potatoes and pork chopping is a great stress reliever. The kitchen is my domain. Albeit, a small space given it's apartment living; it's my one room in the house that I have complete say over and the only thing Ohio State Buckeyes is our pitcher and set of 4 plastic cups.

If a meal isn't up to par then there are no tears shed. We pile into the Mustang and head to our favorite Mexican restaurant, Los Cucos. There I know the fate of my satisfaction is left in hands of another. The fresh tableside guacamole and beef fajita tacos never disappoint.

My passion is food. I live to eat. I know, I know... dieticians reading this are cringing and screaming profanities at the screen at me. Hear me out. I gained 50 pounds when I got pregnant. My weight ballooned to 180 pounds. Poor diet choices and a lack of exercise got me there. When my "aha" moment hit, it hit me like a ton of avocados bricks. I set myself on the path to losing the weight and in the process learned a few tips and tricks for eating healthful without sacrificing on taste and my weight and waistline have lightened up. I refuse to cut out sugars and fats and have found that when I am on a strict "diet" it led to late night binges and horrible cravings. Here I am 40 pounds lighter and still taking it one day at a time doing it the "healthy" way with lots of sweat and food that I look forward to eating that fuels my body.

This blog is not about my weight loss journey although there may be weight loss updates on occasion. I wanted to start a blog highlighting my kitchen successes and my failures. Many egg whites may be wasted in the process in my learning to create soft or stiff peaks and many may be ate when a quiche is a success. Success or failure it's the joy of sharing my passion with others. Here goes some good eating along the way.

Happy and healthy eating!