About

This Food Forward Family blog is about finding a way to be food forward with family in easy ways when life infrequently slows down. So what is food forward? It’s a philosophy, a type of lifestyle that carves out space to make food more meaningful, more healing, more fun, and more interesting.

My background is in teaching English in Bay Area colleges (M.A. in English from Stanford University). I am also a self-taught home cook. (I have taken full responsibility for making almost all of my family’s main meals). I chose to work in the food industry at a number of different restaurants, as I was going through college, many years ago. Since I was a child, I have been experimenting and learning about food. It seems that all of my best travel memories, ever since I was young, have to do with something memorable that I ate. I have more recently found my food forward inspiration in our garden.

I have a daughter who is in middle school, a husband who’s an avid gardener and a commercial pilot, and we have a goldendoodle named Mipha. I too pour premade food out of packages for an easy meal, like most of us do, but I would like to be more food forward because it’s what makes me happy, and I believe it could influence my family and others in a positive way.

Life can truly be hard sometimes, and we all need something to look forward to. Cooking & gardening , while learning about new foods – inside and outside of our own kitchens- and sharing it with our families is an act of creativity that we can do that isn’t just about the outcome but about the process.

So join us in our search at home, in the garden, and abroad -despite challenges- to find meaning in what we eat. Food can be so much more than just something on the to-do list. We have to eat, and so do our families, so we might as well make it meaningful. I hope our easy recipes, our stories about food & family, and our garden activities will inspire you to make some of your own tasty memories with your family.

We are by no means the “perfect family” (because sometimes it seems like they exist) and are not always food forward, but making meals a more joyful, & overall healthier, part of our family life is what I aspire towards. I hope you, with or without kids, will join us on this imperfect journey.

Happy Cooking!

Lauran Bell