Welcome to Simple is Gourmet
Hi friend. I’m Hilary from Simple is Gourmet. I am on a mission to simplify meals while cooking all the traditional classics completely from scratch, with real food.
Quick Background:
My identity is in Jesus Christ alone and I strive to live my life glorifying Him who gives me strength.
I am a wife to the most handsome husband, Jacob. He was born and raised in Southern California, and I’m from Illinois. We met, started dating and fell in love in Western Michigan. We have been married 12 years and have 4 littles, 2 boys then 2 girls.
Early in our marriage Jacob and I always desired to raise our family on land. One day we drove through town down a road we’d never driven down before and found a humble little home for sale. We sought the Lord, He answered and on our 8th anniversary we got the keys to our perfect little fixer upper farmhouse. We now reside on a few acres and each year we expand the garden and plant another fruit tree. Our kids love collecting eggs each day from our backyard chickens. Jacob and I share dreams of expanding our little homestead in the near future and we plan to blog and share our journey along the way. Follow along at SimpleisGourmet Instagram or Facebook handle.
Story behind the Name:
As a kid, I loved to bake. It was an early passion. Cooking however, was a different story. I didn’t have much experience cooking before I moved out of the house. Following a recipe was easy enough, but that was all. I stuck with the basics and kept my cooking as simple as possible. However, that simple cooking involved a lot of condensed soups and quick packaged dinners. I can’t help but to cringe when I look back on these meals I used to consider “homemade”. You could say that health was not as much of a priority as convenience was in my early 20’s.
It wasn’t until I got married and had a child of my own that I began to prioritize healthy eating. I started looking into where food comes from and making a lot of meals completely from scratch. As I would place new homemade dinners on the table, my sweet husband would say to our kids, “Ooo, look at this gourmet dinner Mommy made for us tonight!” Of course I would roll my eyes and say “whatever, this was so simple”. But we were both right. The meals were both simple, and gourmet. So it was only fitting for us to name the blog, Simple is Gourmet.
Why I chose to start blogging:
I made the decision to start eating healthier when I became a mother. That decision was intimidating at first because it involved a lot of new foods and a lot less recipes. As I did more research and our family increased in numbers it became more natural to find new ways to nourish our children’s growing bodies. It was a learning process that I had to take one meal at a time. Now there are foods we don’t go without (check out my Why’s). And foods that I would have never imagined making when I first started cooking. It’s this learning process that I want to help others with throughout this blog. There is always more to learn and I think that is vital for our health, especially today.
My cooking today is simple in that the ingredients I use are pure and natural and the meals can easily be made at home. I have become passionate about redefining today’s homemade. To consider ditching those beloved yet chemical laden condensed soups we all grew up on. To research history and traditional methods on how our ancestors used to live. Because I believe God equipped us to survive on nature alone for thousands of years prior to the dawn of the food industry. He’s provided and given us real food, both plants and animals, to sustain us. However, in the past century the food industry has altered our food. And people have forgotten the traditional knowledge that was once passed down from generation to generation.
What I hope to offer every reader:
There is power in self educating and asking questions on how to best nourish our bodies, especially our children’s growing bodies. We have the control of what we eat and feed our children when we cook at home completely from scratch. On my blog menu you will see the word “Why’s” with a dropdown to many more posts. There you can read more about the “Why’s” behind my blog and why we eat the way we do. I hope you find the information resourceful.
I’m here to bring new life to old recipes, encourage your confidence in the kitchen, to get your children involved in meal prep, and establish traditional healthy habits all while sharing simple nutritious real recipes, which to me is gourmet.
I hope to empower and give you the confidence to get in your kitchen and start cooking.
This is a lifestyle I have chosen for my family. I realize everyone comes from different places and backgrounds and God calls us each differently. This blog is my family’s story, and how we have chosen to feed ourselves. I am always learning, and I encourage you to do the same.
Disclaimer:
My goal on my blog is to give you simple options for eating healthier, in a from scratch style that you may have never thought of before. I’m here to encourage you as you desire to make small changes to you or your family’s health. My intentions on this blog are not to make anyone feel unworthy or less for how they chose to eat or feed their family. Instead, I hope to be an encouragement in your kitchen and a resource for healthy alternatives.
I hope to show you that there are other options out there and it’s not outside your reach to make healthy foods in your own home. It can be simple if you make small changes over time. I hope you stick around, and maybe find some new techniques to add to your weekly cooking routine. You just may enjoy your new routine, and realize you’re making more things from scratch than you ever thought you would. Remember to keep it simple, because that is gourmet!
