Hi, Friends! Welcome to Eat Simple Extraordinary

By Tedje Rose

The original idea started some years ago when I, a single mom living in the United States, struggled with feeding my children on a low budget. I believed having a healthy diet is essential for young children, especially for their brains because they soak up everything learning and studying, and for parents who need to stay healthy to have enough energy for parenting.

When one of my children was diagnosed with ADHD, I began to make drastic changes. No more occasional  visits to junk food places (inevitable if you spend time with kids and moms, amusement parks and movies) , no more processed sugar, instead, more vegetables, clean protein, foods with omega3 and everything organic. This was a big challenge because that means the grocery bill could get unaffordable.  Yet I was determined to make this work.

I bought organic produce only  and noticed we ate everything until the refrigerator was empty. Usually when people shop, they buy too much, stock up too much and halve of the food gets thrown away. Not in this case. when you buy quality products you value it much more and everything gets eaten.

In the morning for my kids, instead of an unhealthy cereal with loads of sugar, I offered oatmeal, plain yoghurt with banana. Instead of using the school lunches, I made sandwiches with mushroom omelet, turkey with sprouts and salad and trail mix for snack. No more fruit juices , just water.

I noticed a big change in my son’s behavior and kept buying small amounts of organic produce to fit my budget. I also found that the farmers market and certain smaller produce shops had better deals for quality foods. I could stay in budget by buying less, avoid cookies, crackers and unhealthy snacks and no more frozen foods as much.

I began to write down my recipes ad findings and wanted to start a blog for single moms and how to eat healthy on a low budget. With career changes and busy schedules this blog never happened, yet I kept gathering recipes and went back to my roots, indo food, trying to make it healthier by using products that do not contain MSG for example.

In the years after  I became extreme allergic for shrimps. This forced me to create my Indonesian recipes without trassi, an important shrimp paste used in almost every dish.

Ten years ago I quit eating sugar all together except for honey and the occasional molasses. My dental bills were too high and I decided to quit the ingredient that creates cavities. In the beginning I had to read the back of the boxes of food that I bought including organic. Everything contains sugar. 

This means start cooking from scratch. No byproduct, no canola oil,  no added sugars. In the United States, to make dishes low costs, canola oil is widely used in foods you buy at grocery stores, including most restaurants. If you google canola oil, you will find out how toxic it is.

For the last year I could not eat American meat anymore. The way animals brutally are kept and slaughtered, the toxins in handling and packaging, I could not do it anymore. I became vegan and started to make tasty vegan dishes.

So that’s my story. I’m a foodie for sure and I love cooking fresh, happy, simple food that taste extra ordinary. On one of my trips back home, the Netherlands, I’ve spend lots of time with my sister Marlôt, who is an excellent cook. We travelled together, tasting new foods and finding restaurants that offer gluten free dishes. I asked her if she would collaborate  creating this blog and it has been an adventure since.

Read our story below:

Two sisters from different continents of the world come together in this food blog. We love to eat and have a passion for food. Healthy and delicious food that is easy to make and most of all made from scratch. We are no professional chefs. Our experience comes from cooking everyday and enjoying it. Not only for ourselves, family and children, but for friends and neighbors, for parties big and small, for events, for birthdays, for schools and charities.

We love traveling and we cook with organic ingredients. We find our produce on markets, special grocery stores, farms, gardens, and the organic section of mainstream supermarkets.

We believe everyone should be able to eat good and healthy food. That is why our recipes are made low budget. With a conscious mind of choosing quality ingredients within the seasons, we find places that sell affordable produce.

We invite you to try and enjoy the recipes we post every week. Our roots are from Indonesia, growing up in the Netherlands. We are Indo (Indisch). Therefore part of our recipes will have a Dutch-Indonesian influence.

Why extraordinary? Because our recipes are made from scratch, not premade or frozen. Nothing ultra processed. In addition, food is beautiful when prepared with care and love. There is a joy in setting the table and serve self made wonderful, extraordinary dishes.

Marlôt lives in Nijmegen, the Netherlands and she organizes Indonesian cooking workshops. She cooks gluten-free and a variety of International foods.

Tedje lives in Los Angeles and her experience is with sugar-free, dairy-free, gluten-free and vegan dishes.

You will find a variety of vegan and vegetarian dishes but we also share fish and meat dishes, from the traditional Indonesian kitchen.

You will find some notes at the bottom of the recipes, about certain ingredients that are best to use when in Europe. For instance tofu and tempeh. It is well known that soya beans in the United States are  94% genetically engineered and contain residues of glyphosate. Therefore we recommend to only use certified organic soy. Due to environmental contamination, we do recommend to avoid eating soy based products in the US and enjoy it in countries where the soy is not contaminated.

Our biggest influence is our mother who cooked everyday for 8 children. Her meals were simple and delicious. Eating together around a big table everyday gave us wonderful  memories of a happy and “gezellig” home.

This blog is dedicated to her.

Dank je lieve mama.

*There is no english translation for the Dutch word “gezellig” other than it is a pleasant atmosphere with the feeling of togetherness.

Special Guests:

We have invited special guests to enrich the variety of our recipes. Our first guest is Sarhea, a special niece, who is well experienced in making vegan dishes.  We heard many compliments from family and friends about her extra ordinary and delicious meals she makes not only for herself but for her children.  You will find her recipes under vegan and healthy kids meals.