About

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About Marla

I grew up in NY (Long Island) and now live in Southern California.
My favorite place on earth is Telluride, Colorado. Winter, Spring, Summer & Fall.
Love to ski, surf & be active at all times, all seasons.
Proud mom to two kids (a boy & a girl) that keep me really busy.
Unless otherwise noted I shoot and style all of the photographs on this blog.
I love food. Cooking it, eating it, styling it, photographing it. My life is all about the next bite.
It is very important to me to eat the highest quality, all natural, healthy foods.
I am type A with a wake-up time of 4am. This way I can get many things done and out of the way before sunrise.
Love art, design & photography. When I see something beautiful I get cold chills and very excited.
Love coffee. Piping hot dark espresso roast capped with the perfect crema.
After attending Syracuse University, I freelanced as a graphic/textile designer for Disney, Scholastic, Warner Bros. and other fun companies.
I say what I mean & mean what I say.
Live on social media including Facebook, Twitter, Pinterest, StumbleUpon and Instagram
Travel thrills me for business & pleasure. Lately I should just leave my suitcases packed as life is go, go, go!
Family Fresh Cooking is my *happy place* Love that I can take it anywhere I go.
Life + Work = Fun. I love keeping busy at all times.
Mindful living is my mantra in everything I do.

Mission

Family Fresh Cooking is meant to inspire a lifestyle. My mission is for my family to stay fit and strong both mentally and physically. Daily we have multiple opportunities to decide what food to eat. Certain foods make us feel great, while others destroy our moods and energy levels. Whole food ingredients and mindful eating behaviors allow us to live healthy, happy lives. The most important thing is to never feel deprived, as food is one of life’s greatest pleasures.

Some goals with this blog are:

To help you create ideas, heighten awareness and have fun with daily meal planning.
To have all ingredients healthy, fresh, and clean using as much organic and sustainable ingredients we can find.
To focus on mindful eating and portion control to keep us looking and feeling our best.
To encourage you to eat 6 small meals a day. This way you can keep energy levels high and avoid energy crashes and “pig-outs.”
To help enlighten and demystify the home cooking experience. My mission is to keep it real, healthy and delicious.
Share alternatives to refined sugars. Most of my recipes are sugar free.
To add recipes, healthy tips, and techniques that work for me and the family as often as possible. The recipes will be my own creations, if adaptations from others are used they will be cited.
To provide resources that can provide us with a wealth of information and keep us on track. References will include magazines, other blogs, websites, cookbooks and other inspirational material.
To make you smile with pretty pictures of food that encourage you to cook up my recipes.
For this blog to serve as an exchange of ideas, I will share ideas and then you guys can post your comments. Together we can craft tools, tricks and techniques to stay fit and well fed.

Creative Thinking

Bringing out the flavors in natural foods does not take much effort at all. Great ingredients speak for themselves. I want my foods to have dynamic flavors. I love taking traditional recipes and adding unique ingredient twists to make them more fun. Real homemade food simply tastes better then anything pre-packaged and processed. Why have a plain bowl of oatmeal when you can have healthy, loaded with flavor Pumpkin Flax Coconut Oatmeal or Saffron Pear Baked Oatmeal? Add a little something special to asparagus with a hint of flavorful spices and cheese in Roasted Asparagus with Gruyére and Smoked Paprika?

See my post 10 Secrets to Skinny for more inspiration.

We also always pack our lunches at home, see my Project Lunch Box for more on that.

The Testers

My kids and husband are my recipe testers. It is so cool to watch my kids become little foodies. I enjoy providing them with clean, healthy adventurous foods. Kids are so often given bland, fatty, salty, sugary, lazy over processed “foods.” People think that is all they will eat. In this house I prove that theory wrong time and time again. My kids are doing it….they are eating the real good stuff, whole foods, the way it should be.

Please Note
Use your own judgement or the advice of your doctor to decide which ingredients and products are appropriate for you and you family. Family Fresh Cooking does not accept any responsibility for injury sustained as a result of following the advice or suggestions contained within the content of this blog.

{ 48 comments… read them below or add one }

1 Charissa March 4, 2011 at 12:48 pm

What a beautiful site…and family! So glad I found your
site…I love meeting other food bloggers! And I have to say, I
admire the fact you get up at 4 a.m.! Haha, wow! I’m really
striving to get up earlier…but I’m afraid I’m a night owl.

2 Marla March 4, 2011 at 1:15 pm: Charissa: I am so glad you found my blog too! My hubs is the night owl around here. For me going to bed past 10pm is a big stretch. For him to go to bed earlier than 1am is unreasonable. Sounds like most folks are one or the other.

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3 Redha March 7, 2011 at 8:02 pm

Hi! I’m so glad that i ran into your site,its so
beautiful…You’ve encourage me in many ways,i have started baking
again yesterday,and though it didn’t turn out to be as good as
yours but than again i would not stop trying…. And i love the
fact that you said you would wake up at 4am just so you can have
many things done!!!

4 Cait @ A Bicycle Built for Two March 12, 2011 at 1:26 pm

Just added your blog to my favorites! Absolutely love your
mission and hope to do the same when we have a family of our own.
Where is Long Island did you grow up? I’m living here now while my
husband finishes up PT school at Stonybrook U.

5 Marla March 12, 2011 at 7:07 pm: Cait: I am so happy you stopped by. I grew up in Roslyn Heights. I have never visited Stonybrook – bet you guys are having fun out there!

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6 Brenda Sanson March 13, 2011 at 5:52 pm

I am so glad I found your site. I have recently been trying
to eat clean, whole foods. I can’t wait to try your recipes.
Incidentally, I’ve lost 19 pounds with just eating healthy. I feel
so much better and have so much more energy.

7 Marla March 13, 2011 at 9:14 pm: Brenda: I am so happy you found my blog. Sounds like you have had great weight loss success. For me I find that what keeps me the most fit is moderate exercise and spot on eating. Most things can be enjoyed in moderation and I steer clear of foods I know I cannot control myself around. Thankfully those days are very few and far between. With so many healthy mini meals each day I am never in starvation mode. I do not deprive myself of the things I love-they just need to be made my way. I look forward to hearing more about your wonderful journey & healthy lifestyle success

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8 Jess @ littlegirlbigappetite.com March 15, 2011 at 6:53 pm

Marla! Glad I found your site! I love the goals that you have set for your blog, many of them are the same as mine, not necessarily my blog itself, but my lifestyle. I have a passion for food and fitness and health. This always calls for some creativity in the kitchen!

9 Renee March 28, 2011 at 10:04 pm

Hi Marla, Loving your blog. I’m a fellow foodie too — love to cook healthy foods for my family (4 kids and a husband with a big appetite too)! I’m definitely going to start following your blog. I noticed you’re from Southern California — so are we. We live in San Diego. Thanks again for the great recipes!

10 Marla March 29, 2011 at 6:52 am: Renee: Hi! Thanks so much for stopping by. Sounds like you have a lot of people to cook for How old are your kiddos?
I am so happy you will be following my posts. Feel free to reach out any time with any questions, comments or suggestions. I love to learn from my readers too. We do live in the OC. San Diego is beautiful, I do not get down there as often as I would like to.

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11 Marisa April 15, 2011 at 2:36 pm

I was searching for a recipe for goldfish crackers and stumbled onto your site. I am so excited to try out these great healthy recipes for my family. I always try to cook healthily for my family but was getting bored lately trying to come up with something tasty and different than my same old arsenal of go to recipes. I can’t wait to get started!

12 Marla April 15, 2011 at 3:18 pm: Marisa: Hi! I am so glad you stopped by. I am always cooking & baking up fun new recipes. Hope to see you around a whole bunch!

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13 mi-an April 20, 2011 at 11:39 am

I stumbled upon your blog on averie’s blog. and i’m so glad i did! i love your approach, so real and true. and you have the cutest children!! God Bless…

14 Dana @ My Cherry Pie April 22, 2011 at 3:44 pm

I just came across your blog. It’s such a beautiful place in the virtual world Adding it to my favs.

15 Marla April 23, 2011 at 5:31 am: Dana, thank you so much! We all need a great escape and I am so happy to provide that. Looking forward to seeing you around the web.

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16 Tanya @ Vegan Faith May 9, 2011 at 9:49 am

I am not criticizing, but just had a thought as I read your disclaimer. I find it funny that we as food bloggers feel the need (and the pressure) to include a disclaimer that suggests folks consult their doctor before changing their diets. I read once that doctors receive only one nutritional class in all of their schooling. But yet, we must suggest that they are consulted when it comes to things pertaining to diet and health. Who is the real expert? You who have seen it first hand, witnessed how healthy living can impact your life as well as those you love, or a doctor who may not have any more education in the nutritional world than you or me.

17 Debbie May 28, 2011 at 7:17 pm

I grew up on Long Island too …Lindenhurst, NY

And I love Santa Monica, CA. My hubby and I have spent much time there.

I love your blog and recipes.

Blessings,
Debbie

18 Marla May 28, 2011 at 8:42 pm: Debbie, thanks so much! I am so happy you found me & my blog. I grew up in Roslyn Heights. Have not been back to NY in a few years. Need to soon

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19 Sophia Kleiber May 29, 2011 at 12:58 pm

Hi Marla
Your blog is beautiful! I believe I read about you in one of the SU alumnae publications then I heard about you somewhere else and was further interested as you include gluten free items, so I was intrigued to check you out. I graduated 1992, human development and diagnosed with celiac disease 2002.
Anyhow, I will continue to follow your blog via twitter!

20 Marla May 29, 2011 at 1:21 pm

Sophia, we graduated from SU the same year. What was your major?
I hope you enjoy my gluten free recipes. Stay tuned, I will be posting more & more as time goes on.

21 Sophia Kleiber May 29, 2011 at 2:25 pm

I studied nutrition-dietetics, knew I had some dietary issues!. Still trying to come up with a way to combine all interests though.
What school did you graduate from?

22 Marla May 29, 2011 at 5:11 pm: I graduated with an advertising degree from Newhouse. I had the wonderful opportunity to head back to campus as part of the Alumni Speaker Series this March. It was awesome to be back on campus. Here is the post if you have not seen it:
www.familyfreshcooking.com/2011/04/03/syracuse-university-alumni-visit-bridge-street-news/

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23 Ameena June 2, 2011 at 9:07 am

You have the most beautiful blog…it’s so fresh and clean. I love it. And you are gorgeous too Marla!

I have yet to go to Colorado but I can’t wait to now!

24 Nami @ Just One Cookbook June 3, 2011 at 12:12 am

Thanks for visiting my blog Marla! You have a beautiful website! So many good stuff on this website and I’m so happy to find you and your blog. Will be following you. You have a beautiful family!!!

25 Marla June 3, 2011 at 5:17 am: Thanks so much Nami! I am glad you found me too Looking forward to staying in touch through our blogs.

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26 noobcook July 8, 2011 at 2:35 am

Just found your blog and I’m loving it! Pics are so beautiful and look like they are straight out of a gourmet magazine. Everything looks so delicious =)

27 Marla July 8, 2011 at 3:57 am: Thanks so much I am so happy you found me too.

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28 The Healthy Apple July 24, 2011 at 4:36 pm

So happy I just found your blog; fabulous photography and lovely recipes….so happy to see more of your recipes! Love ‘em all…

29 tartepink July 25, 2011 at 3:52 pm

Hi Marla,

Thank you for stopping by my blog. Your site is gorgeous. Good photography & cute kids!!

30 Mafalda July 31, 2011 at 2:45 pm

Hi Marla!
Just stopped to say thank you for your kind comment and fell in love with your website. It´s charming! Such good taste! I’ll be visiting often!
See you soon…
Mafalda

31 Mary Gabel August 7, 2011 at 4:04 am

Thank you Marla for stopping by my blog and commenting. You have a lovely blog here. I am so into simplicity myself and your blog has that clean feel too!

32 Sarah Kay Hoffman October 1, 2011 at 10:34 am

You are my TWIN, Marla! I WISH I had RSS’d your blog before meeting you last week. Our sites and beliefs on food and health and overall life are so similar! Not to mention the country flare! I do a series on YouTube called, The Giddy Up Gluten Free! We should chat:) LOVE YOUR SITE!

33 Marla October 2, 2011 at 7:31 am: Sarah, I hope we can connect again soon. It was great meeting you at TECHmunch, but way to brief. Wondering if you will be attending FoodBuzz in November?? Love your blog too. Us cowgirls need to stick together

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34 JaneEYB October 12, 2011 at 1:54 pm

Lovely blog. I was hoping to contact you but the details on your contact page seem to have vanished. Could you please contact me on info@eatyourbooks.com? Thanks.