My son has asthma. As a result his appetite is poor. As we approached home I decided to stop in the village at our local stationary store and I decided to buy any magazine or book that had articles or a picture of food on its cover. Taking the material home I sat my 8 year old son in a comfortable chair and giving him the medication to alleviate his asthma I said,” Just look through the books and tell me what appeals to you.” He was holding his head and he truly was not interested. However he skimmed through and soon came upon a picture of a baked ham. “Ok.” I said, “What else?” He turned the pages and came to a large ad about cooking and products from Italy. Up front was a pasta-making machine rolling out ravioli. He thought the ravioli looked good. Hm I thought I never made ravioli and had little knowledge of pasta. My home life as I grew up was strictly American fare. Sunday was always a roast, Beef, Lamb, or Chicken and there was the potato and salad etc.

But I was determined to increase my son’s desire for food any way I might so I asked my dad to baby sit for my children and I headed to the mall. My first stop was Macy’s. I quickly found the floor where cooking utensils were on display. Here just as in the ad was the pasta machine. It looked so intimidating, large and it was also expensive. I paid for it and struggled to carry it to the car. My next stop was to buy the ham and flour and ricotta. I can tell you it was an experience well done My son ate much that evening and it was the start of a total passion for me as I became obsessed with nutrition and good food prepared attractively, recycling recipes to low fat , learning about vitamins, magnesium good carbs, beta carotene.lycopene.,zeaxanthine and anthocyanins. I spent hours in the library bought every cook -book available and any book on nutrition. My son gained the three pounds and today he is a gourmet. He loves Indian food and that is a challenge to me. I have amassed a large library of food preparation, grains fruit and vegetables. It may be a little time consuming but I do recommend it. First is to clear your pantry of any processed foods any that contain hydrogenated oils, clear out white sugar replace it with molasses, honey and brown sugar. Do not use salt unless necessary, use sea salt or a salt alternative containing magnesium and potassium two; minerals that have been shown to help lower blood pressure. Keep your children away from fried potato chips made with olestra; prepare your own pancake mix. It is better and far less expensive. Keep the canned goods at a minimum Frozen foods are better.