Kids and a Cook™

Teaching kids to eat healthy & bringing families together!

Kids and a Cook™
Blog Chronicals of Being in a Step-Parent Limbo 

My First Step Parent Limbo moment

Michelle Day , , , , , , , ,

I first realized I was in ‘SPL’  the moment in which I made the conscience decision to end a very bad habit of Elisabeth’s or as I have affectionately named her the “Candy Locust”.

BAD HABIT: Morning Breakfast Routine:
1 large zip lock bag of candy and a sippy cup of coffee….UH NO!!!!

SPL Moment: This had to end, and it did, BUT not without a few weeks of crying, screaming, and throwing things…and that was just her father…I won’t even begin to mention her behavior. I, however, remained calm and reiterated my rule “You must eat breakfast, then you may have 1 piece of candy, and you must have milk before you have coffee.”

OUTCOME: Elisabeth now no longer looks for her candy bag in the morning, and although there are still arguments about eating her cereal, she eventually eats it and life continues.

LESSON FOR ANY SPL: Stay Calm, stand strong, and never waiver in you decisions. You may not feel you have the authority, but you do.

In all fairness, her father tired to break that habit  for quite awhile. This ‘litttle treat’ to get ‘her moving in the morning’  when they were a young child  only became intensified as she grew older  and became the norm –and more of a nutritional issue. Breakfast is important, so are rules and good manners.  And we did speak about it how best to handle it. He had ‘my back’ when we made the change. Sometimes a habit is easier to break when a different person initates  change.

Michelle Day

Michelle Day has been cooking and baking since she was old enough to hold a whisk. Michelle is an expert cook and her passion for cooking and entertaining has never wavered. At the age of 10 Michelle’s Family started a bakery in Simsbury CT, where Michelle got her first taste of running a food service business. In 1994 Michelle moved to New York City, where, she found her true passion in baking. In 2001 she started “The Catering Divas” Catering business. Serving the Upper East Side, she catered numerous small dinner and cocktail parties. Her passion and attention to detail won her the attention of some of New York’s Elite. Back at home in Connecticut, Michelle is a well known culinary instructor and her cake decorating skills jump-started a side business — Devine Cake Designs — where clients clamor for her inspired and beautifully artistic designs. After 15 years in the culinary industry, Michelle’s love of cooking, baking and children, has lead to her to her newest career, offering personalized family cooking classes and creating a TV show, digital broadcasts and Cook Books like no other. Kids and a Cook is all about healthy, fun, and easy meals for kids and their families. Michelle credits her parents with her success and her love of food, helping to create so many memories being in the kitchen with them as a child. Her goal is to have a show to help viewers create the same memories with their families. A show for the kids, and by the kids, with the “cook” there as guidance. Michelle’s featured co-host is an energetic, precocious 9-year-old named Elisabeth. Although a finicky eater, Elisabeth still loves to cook in the kitchen and learn about ingredients and how to mix them to make tasty dishes. Come join us — as you and Elisabeth learn easy recipes and explore culinary adventures. Michelle Day is available for lectures and cooking demonstrations. Please contact us through this website.