I'm Terri, a passionate home cook and baker, award-winning recipe developer, hobby cake decorator, community volunteer, a Weight Watchers online member and busy working mom that is trying to eat healthy and fit everything into not enough hours in a day.
REAL FOOD. REAL LIFE. HEALTHY BALANCE.
- I believe in healthy balance, moderation and creating recipes for real life.
- I create recipes that are realistic for busy people and/or those people out there that don't necessarily want to spend hours in the kitchen.
- I focus on easy, quick, make-ahead, shortcut, healthy, family friendly and Weight Watchers friendly recipes[all points are calculated according to the Weight Watchers (WW) blue plan on my WW app]
- I’m not associated with Weight Watchers in any way, I'm just a longtime WW member who believes in the program and their message about the plan being a healthy and balanced lifestyle (normal healthy eating) and not a diet. I've personally lived it for 20 years (with gains and losses along the way, of course!) You can read about my personal Weight Watchers (WW) journey HERE.
- You can see what WW strategies have worked for me over the years by reading my My Weight Watchers Tips and Tricks HERE.
It's about Moderation!
- I LOVE to bake and believe that you can eat everything in moderation so you will find decadent recipes as well.
- I am also a hobby cake decorator and I think food is FUN so there is also some food art. Check out my Top 10 Tips for Building a Large Gingerbread House post! I built this house from scratch in 2013 (it was a bucket list thing)
- Being Ukrainian Canadian and a huge fan of Ukrainian food, I also love to modernize (and lighten) traditional Ukrainian dishes. This Loaded Pierogi Soup is one of my most popular recipes:
Some random things about me
- I can't carry a tune to save my life and still mouth the words (like I did in elementary school choir) when I'm forced to sing publicly
- I am crazy for cats and well on my way to being a crazy cat lady. I have a very cute but naughty grey and white tabby named Milo. He's also food crazy and is constantly trying to steal food. You can read about what he did to my cake HERE
- My husband (Dave) taught me to cook and I was pretty useless in the kitchen prior to that (although we were pretty young when we started dating). You can read about that HERE. We've been together for 33 years!
- I love baseball and all associated baseball food!
- I started food blogging nearly 5 years ago. I was entering a lot of recipe competitions at the time, so I was constantly thinking about recipe ideas. I wanted to share those recipes and write about food. I wasn't sure if I'd even like it and I'm still loving it!
- I hate water slides! I got stuck in one once and had someone crash into me. You can read more about that HERE!
- I will eat pretty much any food except miscellaneous meat (you can read about that HERE,) liver and Vegemite
- I love road trips, especially when I'm a passenger (this is me enjoying THE BEST apple pie on a recent summer road trip stop on the Alberta Prairies)
- I had planned to become a Social Worker when I started University, but decided it wasn't for me and left the faculty
- I have a degree in Political Science and an after-degree certificate in Gerontology and have worked in seniors services and health care for 20 years.
- By day, I have a great job in primary health care, where I work with family physicians & their staff on practice enrichment initiatives and integrating and supporting health team members in family practice clinics
- I prefer when there is harmony and everyone gets along
- My favorite food is roast beef
- Like a true prairie gal, I LOVE my Saskatoon berry picking and everything Saskatoon berry related! Check out my Saskatoon Berry Recipes!
- I hate sewing, even buttons and mending
- I am a bit obsessive and when I enjoy something (like food) it's hard to pull me away from it
- My favorite wine and food pairing is Vinho Verde and Miss Vickie's S&V potato chips
- Originally from Winnipeg, I have lived in Calgary, Alberta for the last 27 years.
- Most importantly, I am Mom to Clayton (15), Abby (13) and wife to Dave. And spending time with them is what I love more than anything in this world!
I LOVE all things food!
I love all things food and spend much of my spare time immersed in it. As you can see, my food interests are pretty eclectic and I find myself meandering down many different food roads. I also tend to ramble on about food. I started this blog to share those food meanderings and ramblings. If you want to know how my love affair with making food began, I believe that this article encapsulates it.
Featured Foodie
You can also read more about me and why I started this food blog in my Featured Foodie Interview with Food Bloggers of Canada.
Award-winning Recipes
I love to create recipes for contests because it allows me to be creative and think outside my box. My original and contest winning recipes (See award winners list here) have been published in Taste of Home magazine, Saltscape Magazine, Simple and Delicious, Better Homes and Gardens Family Circle Hometown Cooking Cookbook, The Old Farmer’s Almanac Readers’ Best Recipes 25th Anniversary Edition Cookbook, Calgary's Child Magazine, Safeway Destination Cheese Champions, Farmers' Almanac, among other publications and on several websites. I was also a Masterchef Canada (At Home) Finalist in 2018. I have also been included in The 50 Best Food and Cooking Blogs and The Top 90 Canadian Food Blogs, Websites & Influencers in 2021.
E-Cook-Book
I recently created an e-cookbook with a collection of my Award-Winning Recipes. Just sign up below, on the side bar or on the pop- up you'll see before you exit, and as a gift for becoming a subscriber, you'll receive a FREE download of my Award-Winning Recipes E-Cookbook~!
Brand Partnerships
I only work with brands and products I truly love and use myself! I have worked with brands such as California Raisins, Burnbrae Farms, USA Rice and Egg Farmers of Canada to create unique and delicious recipes like my popular Carrot Cake Overnight French Toast Casserole . If you are interested in partnering with me, please see my "Work with Me" page for more information!
Family Recipes
Both my Grandma and my Baba were amazing bakers and cooks and had a huge influence on me. I am grateful to still have my Grandma and so many of her recipes, but unfortunately, have very few of my Baba's. I want my children and future generations to have my recipes and that is another reason I started this blog. I also wanted to share wonderful recipes with the world because I believe that great food is meant to be shared!
Here are a couple more of my most popular recipes:
Award-winning Maple Sausage Brunch Bites
3 Ingredient Onion Baked Potatoes
Tried, Tested & Truly Loved!
Because I am often testing new recipes for competitions, my family and colleagues all serve as fearless guinea pigs for many of my food creations. This guarantees that my recipes are thoroughly tested!
On a weekly basis I will share my own contest winning recipes/other food inventions and my favorite recipes. I hope you will find something helpful and/or interesting at Food Meanderings.
If you're not sure where to begin on the site, START HERE
Don't forget to SIGN UP for weekly recipes delivered directly to your inbox! And a copy of my Award-Winning Recipes E-Cookbook!
Disclaimer/Please Note: In 2018 I began including Weight Watchers (WW) points in my recipes. I calculate the WW points for the blue plan, based on a my nutrition calculator plug-in and my own Weight Watchers points calculator on my WW app. I’m a longtime Weight Watchers Member who believes in the program and their message about the Weight Watchers plan being a healthy and balanced lifestyle and not a diet. However, this site is not affiliated with Weight Watchers in any way. What I write here is about my personal experience on the plan. The views expressed are my own and do not reflect the views of Weight Watchers. The WW Logo, Weight Watchers, myWW, SmartPoints, FitPoints, Points and Wellness that Works are trademarks of WW International, Inc. and are not owned by me.
Please see PRIVACY POLICY & TERMS OF USE HERE
Please see DISCLOSURE POLICY HERE
Contact me: EMAIL: [email protected]
Marilyn
love your recipes
Terri Gilson
Thank you, Marilyn - glad you are enjoying them!