Hi and welcome to Mom on the Run. I am a thirty something wife and mom of two beautiful girls. We live in beautiful New England with our 5 cats and 2 dogs and lead very active lives. I started this blog after being inspired by my good friend Monique, who was documenting her culinary finds everyday. After reading her daily post I would think to myself how I might also do the same but include my family friendly recipes and our product finds.

My culinary passions:
I love to cook! If you would have asked me 10 years ago if I would find solace in my kitchen, I probably would have laughed hysterically. Over the last few years, I have started a hobby of finding healthy recipes of dishes that the whole family can eat. I was very inspired by Rachael Ray and her message that you don’t need to be a professional chef to make great tasting dishes. I started taking risks in the kitchen and making great tasting good for you food. Most recipes that I blog about are re-creations from the many foodie magazines that read on a weekly basis.

My health:
Since leaving college I have put on a significant amount of weight. I was able to lose 30 pounds of it using the Weight Watchers Program before hitting a significant plateau. WW taught me to rein in my portions and make better selections of the food I ate. After many attempts my body stopped responding probably to the points, because I was making the wrong food choices. After much frustration, I started to have significant health issues all revolving around my weight. I was diagnosed with bladder spasms and uterine fibroids, which led to many discussions from each doctor I saw. The message was loud and clear, I must get control of my weight and these problems would be resolved. I have decided to stop making excuses and do something about my poor health and mental well being. With the help of my Naturopathic Doctor, Dr. Lauren Gouin, I have discovered a “Clean Eating” approach to my daily life. Dr. Lauren has helped me create mini-goals for myself. Nobody is perfect and I try to eat clean about 80% of the time. I try to incorporate as many “Clean Eating” recipes as I can weekly.

How has “Clean Eating” changed my thoughts on feeding my family?
After seeing some of my blood tests, I knew that I needed to continue finding food that was “healthy”. I created a set of standards for the food that we purchase (see product review section for more details). You can see me every weekend at the grocery store analyzing each thing that goes in my cart. I am the queen of label reading and also finding great deals. I tend to stay away from the large grocery store chains as they are filled with tempting products that do not meet my standards of groceries. I have found several great grocery stores that I frequent on a weekly basis: Whole Foods Market, Stew Leonard’s, Trader Joe’s, and Aldi’s. My passion is to find great new products that will keep my family healthy and happy.

Facts About Me:

• I live in the Hartford region of Connecticut. I have lived in Connecticut since I was 9 years old. Before Connecticut, I lived in Southbrige, Mass.
  

• I am a middle-school teacher and love it. I have taught all grades K-12 but really like middle school the best.

• I went to the University of Connecticut and am a true Husky girl.

• I was in the Rachael Ray Show Audience in December 2007 and was able to have 2 minutes of fame. I was selected to ask Jeff Foxworthy a question and also got to go back stage to get “make up” done.

• My husband and I got married in August 2004. We had the party of the lifetime at our reception. We spent our honeymoon at Disney World in Orlando, Florida. We also got engaged there in the Mexico building in Epcot Center.

• My dream is to own a Bed and Breakfast. I am working on ideas daily.

Email me: smmuconn@gmail.com

Disclaimer:
I get asked by readers if I am being paid to push products. The simple answer is no. In fact, most of the products I write about are ones I have found and purchased during my trips to the grocery store or on the road. Occasionally, a company will send a sample my way and if I believe the product will serve a need for my readers and I would buy the product myself, then I will share it with you. Sometimes I will write to a company after reading about it, if I believe it will help us lead healthier lifestyles. But even then, if the product doesn’t pass my scrutiny, it won’t make the screen of Mom on the Run. You can trust that every product or recipe posted here has passed through my lips or my girls’ picky pallets.