Today I have the huge pleasure to publish my fourth French mum interview: Julie, the French mum behind “les 3 têtes blondes”.

Julie happens to be the wife of the brother of one of my dearest friend… yes I know… a long story… but the fact is I so wish she could live in London! We have only met a few times but we have connected straight away. She comes from the surrounding of Paris, and lives there with her husband and their three beautiful children: Juliette her “ainée” – her oldest (11 years old), Nathan her “petit gars” – her little guy (7 years old) and Pauline her “benjamine” – her youngest (5 years old). Julie nicknames their children “les 3 têtes blondes”-the 3 blond heads, a very affectionate nickname- hence her beautiful and inspiring Pinterest account: les troistetesblondes, which you can discover by clicking on the below Pinterest snapshot.  

Visit Les 3 têtes blondes’s profile on Pinterest. 

Thank you ever so much Julie for taking the time to share with us all this family foodie inspiration!

 

Croque-Maman: What is your most cherished childhood food memory?

Julie: It is really hard for me to only pick only one… but I think that one really simple dish marked my childhood: my grandmother’s pork joint roasted with little potatoes and whole garlic cloves. I love this dish because I associate it with my “mamie”- grannie (it is THE dish she would –and still does!- make each time we would visit), and it reminds me of all the family dinners we shared at hers with my cousins, uncles and aunts. 

Besides, during my childhood, I have developed a taste for great quality food products in general. My dad would really go the extra mile to look for quality!

CM: What are your top tips to manage meal time and/or to promote healthy childhood eating?

J: As I work part-time, I can spend some time cooking nice meals, which I enjoy a lot. When I am off work, I often cook stews (veal “blanquette”, tajines, “boeuf bourgignon”…), which I only need to warm up in the evenings when I have been working all day.

I am trying to get my children used to eat balanced meals, to transmit them my love of fruits and vegetables as much as carbs and meat. They have developed of course their own tastes and preferences but they know that they need to eat of everything even when if what is being served is not their favourite ingredient or meal. Anyway with three children I would not be able to only cook what they like because they don’t like the same things!

Besides, I try to make my meals appetizing even if they contain an ingredient, which they don’t like: I often use cheese (which the three of them love) in my vegetable-based dishes, or I change the vegetable shape (you can rarely identify aubergine in my dishes for example, I will cook it as a caviar and use it in my “tartines” or polenta-based “gratin” for example).

CM: What are your children’s favourite dish(es)?

J: I have « interviewed » them to know their favourite main and dessert, here are their answers :

  • Juliette: my “Tartine du soleil” and coconut flan
  • Nathan: salmon & basilic tagliatelle and tiramisu
  • Pauline: home-made burger (I use L’atelier du hamburger de Big Fernand recipe book, making my own buns and it changes everything!) and my chocolate eclairs.

CM: Could you please share with Croque-Maman one of your best family recipe and any story/comment related to it?

J: I often make “tartines” with a cheese vegetable base, which I decline according to the seasonal products I find at the market. They are simple and easy to make, and playful for the children as they kind of look like pizza… You will find my recipe in the next week or so on Croque-Maman’s blog :-)

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For the second year running, I have been selected as a finalist in the MADs awards, the UK’s biggest and most exciting awards for parent blogs. I can’t even describe how happy this makes me! This is all thanks to you who read my blog… so thank you ever so much, Helene @Croque-Maman