Hi, I'm Nadia
Teacher, mom of two, and the person behind My Foodie Zone.
I'm a 37-year-old home cook raising two kids with my husband Sam in suburban New Jersey. I teach elementary school three days a week and cook the other four — it's my creative outlet and, honestly, the thing that keeps me sane.
My Story
I grew up in Dearborn, Michigan, surrounded by the smells of my mom's kitchen and my teta's Lebanese cooking. Grape leaves stuffed on Sunday mornings, kibbeh shaped by hand, fattoush with sumac that stained my fingers red. Food was never just food — it was how we gathered, how we celebrated, how we said “I love you” without having to say it.
I moved to New York after college, met Sam (who's Palestinian-American and an excellent taste-tester — his catchphrase is “needs more lemon”), and started a family. When my second was born, I went part-time at school. Suddenly I had Tuesdays, Wednesdays, and Fridays in my own kitchen. That's when everything clicked.
I started posting dinner photos on Facebook during the COVID lockdown, mostly out of boredom. Friends kept asking for the recipes. Then friends of friends. My Foodie Zone was born out of that — a place to put the recipes so I could stop typing them out in Messenger.
What You'll Find Here
Bridge recipes
I take traditional recipes — Lebanese, American, whatever caught my attention — and make them doable on a Tuesday night with kids pulling at your sleeve.
Sensory cues, not just timers
“Cook 5 minutes” means nothing if your stove runs hotter than mine. Every step tells you what it should look, smell, or sound like when it's done.
The one tip that matters
Every recipe has a key technique — the thing that makes or breaks it. I call it out so you don't have to guess which of the twelve tips is actually load-bearing.
Mistakes I've made for you
I've burned enough garlic and over-salted enough sauces to save you some grief. Each recipe has a “watch out for” section — learn from my losses.
The Family
Sam is my husband. He works in IT and eats like every meal might be his last. Official taste-tester of every recipe on this site. Will tell you exactly what's missing — usually lemon.
Layla (9) is my foodie-in-training. She'll eat anything if you let her help. She peels garlic, she folds dumplings, she has strong opinions about olive tapenade.
Adam (6) is currently in his “only wants rice” era. I'm riding it out. It'll pass.
Teta, my maternal grandmother, comes over on weekends and reliably tells me my hummus has “too much tahini, habibti.” She's always right.
How I Cook
Generous portions. “Better too much than not enough” is my philosophy. Leftovers are a feature.
Bold flavors. Heavy on garlic, lemon, and herbs. I have a spice cabinet that takes up an entire shelf. Za'atar, sumac, cumin, and paprika are always within arm's reach.
Comfort over complication. Food should make people feel something. If it's fussy and doesn't deliver, it's not worth the trouble.
I can't bake. Well — cookies yes, cakes no. I've made peace with it.
Let's Cook Together
Start with something you already like, or let me send you somewhere new.