Andrea’s passion for healthy food  grew after having two children of her own. Andrea created her own organic garden with her family to teach her children the value of nutrient rich food. This small garden project turned into years of food education for her family. Her children, Paris and Janae were thrilled to grow their own vegetables as well as collect and add to a growing compost pile, which allowed them to observe the squirmy earthworms that created quality soil for their fruits and veggies to grow in.

 

Their small garden soon flourished with eggplant, bell peppers, broccoli, cantaloupe, watermelon, zucchini squash, cucumbers, corn, scallion, tomatoes, pumpkin, and more. As the fruits and vegetables grew, the excitement of running outside to see if they were ready to be picked was turned into fun and games. 

 

Her children's curiosity with the food they were growing, allowed Andrea to experiment with her meal creations and turn her picky eaters into food lovers. Andrea’s first “win-win” and AHA moment was grilling a portobello mushroom and serving it as it was a steak, Paris and Janae questioned it, but then ate it with huge grins. From that point on, there was no problem eating new or different foods, she just incorporated anything they made a face at, into a meal they liked, and it was a done deal. No more whining, crying or bargaining to eat unhealthy food!