About

Hi! My name is Jeanenne and welcome to Foodie Mama.  I have a passion for cooking and creating yummy food using healthy recipes, which is why I started this blog. Cooking makes me happy because it helps bring my love for family and friends together through good food. The kitchen in general is my happy place:)

Okay, a little about myself…

I grew up in a large family of 7 kids~ 5 girls and 2 boys. My Dad was an only child and he always wanted brothers and sisters, so that’s why there are so many of us.  I can still hear Mom calling out Jeanenne, Kim, Kent, Pam, Noelle, Brooke…I mean Bonnie!…before she landed on the kid she actually wanted to talk to. Having all these brothers and sisters is a delightful blessing to me that I wouldn’t trade for the world.  The hardest thing is living in another country since they all live in America.  My Mama had a love for collecting and cooking recipes, which is where I got this passion from.  And my, oh, my how I love to read, collect, create, and cook those recipes!  I just can’t stop myself from being drawn to anything to do with cooking.

I have an amazing husband, Terry, who loves to eat anything created in the kitchen by me.  He is my biggest fan, a huge encouragement and the absolute love of my life! We have 1 boy and 2 girlies who are all married, giving me some extra kids~ 1 daughter-in-love and 2 son-in-loves. The icing on our little family cake are our 7 grandkids who bring delight and entertainment to our whole family.  We are spread over several continents, which can be a bit hard on the heart at times since being a Mama has always been one of my biggest callings. After doing global mission work in 7 other countries, Terry and I, along with our son Jeremy and Bridget (and their 3 boys), moved to South Africa 6 1/2 years ago and founded Hope Africa Collective. Our daughter Tiffany and her husband Bryan, along with their 3 kids, live in Australia where they founded a School of Biblical Studies on the Sunshine Coast.  Whitney and her French husband Alex just had their 1st baby girl and also live in Australia where they work alongside Bryan and Tiffany.

Some of my hobbies include: traveling, hanging out with friends, mentoring young people, watching MasterChef Australia, reading, being a foodie extrodinaire~ I enjoy discovering new places through food and going to cafes with friends or family.  My comfort drink is a cup of green tea. Yea, I know its weird, but I love green tea and pretty much always have a mug of it close by.

I have avid interest in health and nutrition that won’t escape me.  I worked as an R.N. years ago, but it morphed into the holistic, natural ways to do things or bring healing. I’ve gone through some health challenges with mercury poisoning which stimulated me finding answers in a natural way.   Seems like I’m drawn to anything about health whether it’s about a supplement, lifestyle eating plan,  healthy cooking, a new discovery, or going truly natural in any area of my life ~like making my own Vitamin C serum, for instance… I’m just a magnet for it all.

I live an active lifestyle and you will find me at the gym around 5:30 am 3-4 days a week, which goes along with my healthy eating and lifestyle.  If its creating healthy dishes from not-so-healthy ones or making something completely new it’s just one of those things that I’m just impassioned to do.  My daughters and I love to cook together when I visit them which a carry over from when they grew up.  I have loved traveling to many hard places in 3rd world countries and spending several months at a time, serving, helping, and sharing with the impoverished people in their area of need.

Another area of interest is my grandkids.  I want to make a difference in their lives as well.  They are such fun to be around and I love being a part of their lives.  I guess you can say that I want to be a difference-maker in the lives of people.  To encourage them to be their best and help them through the challenges they are walking through.

My love for making a difference in peoples’ lives comes from my love of Christ. I love Jesus and He is my greatest love. His presence and love has made my life forever changed. I give Him the glory, for all that He has done in me.  My personal relationship with God has lead me and my husband to found our ministry Hope Africa Collective, which I mentioned before. It is a non-profit that works with the impoverished Xhosa tribe to help them gain a sustainable exit from poverty.  With 8-10 million people in township slums here in South Africa, our work is cut out for us. There I working with teams and staff that help out with Hope Africa.

Anyway, my desire is to share recipes with you that I love. And that, perhaps, as you are inspired to make them in your own kitchen,  a bit of your heart will eek out into the food you cook.  I can envision you plating beautiful,  healthy and truly yummy food.

 

From my cozy, happy place to you,

Foodie Mama~

Jeanenne