Hello and welcome to my first Smart Cookies blog. For those of you who don’t know me my name is Jolene Rowland. I am a Home Economics teacher with a passion for cookery and nutrition.

I suppose I’ll start from the beginning. My first experience of baking happened at a very young age. My earliest memory of my grandmother was making bread in the kitchen. She lived with us and baking was part of her every day routine. The smell of freshly made bread was a constant aroma in our house and it was enough to make your belly rumble. There was nothing better  than a thick slice of homemade bread still warm from the oven with real butter and a cup of tea. What was even better was when she let me join in. The pride I had when the finished product was ready to serve to the rest of the family to do the taste test. Still to this day what I love most about cooking is the look on people’s face when I serve them a meal.
It’s true what they say that all children want is your time and attention. Out of all the presents and gifts she bought me these memories are what stick in my memory and I treasure the most.
My time in Our Lady’s developed my love for cooking and an interest in nutrition. My teachers Mrs Arthur’s and Mrs Tally had their work cut out for them at times. I wasn’t the most academic in the class but I loved all things practical and relevant and I excelled in Home Economcis and sport.
I went on to study Nutrition at Queens University and furthered my studies completing the PGCE at the University of Ulster.
Whilst doing all this I had a son whom I believe was sent to me for a purpose. It’s true what they say that God works in the most mysterious of ways. This really allows me to put my knowledge into action as I want to make sure he is eating wholesome, nutritious foods and most importantly that he has a good relationship with food. There are so many myths out there and I detest the word ‘diet’. I try to teach him its all about eating a balanced, varied meals most of the time. This is why I set up Smart Cookies Cookery School. I want to dispel these myths and teach children and their parents that healthy eating doesn’t have to be difficult or expensive. You don’t have to have hours to spare or a cupboard full of ingredients you can’t pronounce but it’s all about creativity and cooking using wholesome ingredients.
I have set up this blog to post some recipes and pictures. I hope you all enjoy it and get something from it.

Jolene