Hi, I’m Shaina Olmanson, the voice behind Food for My Family along with my husband, Ole, who waxes poetic about his love for the grill and his smoker. I work from home as a freelance writer, recipe developer and photographer in Minnesota, and I’m “Mom” to four young kids, ages 10, (almost) 6, 4 and 2.

I used to spend countless hours watching my Yugoslavian-born grandmother roast meats, simmer sauces and bake elegant treats. Growing up in a home where everything was made from scratch and so close to several local farms, I learned the importance of eating real food, and I strive to teach my children how to prepare and eat real food in a day and age where there are so many convenience options available. I love feeding people, and I’m constantly sharing treats. I wholeheartedly believe that the best kind of gift is one that fills you up, and I have been sharing my home cooking skills with family members and friends for as long as I can remember.

While I initially went to school to be a psychologist, I abandoned dreams of graduate school and my career in the nonprofit world to let my husband finish his graduate degree. Instead, I started my own business working from home as a transcriptionist and editor, and after six years I decided to pursue a few of my own passions that had never fully been recognized. I now work from home as a freelance writer, recipe developer and photographer on my own blog Food for My Family and through my photography business, Olmanson Photography. I am a daily contributor to Babble.com's Family Kitchen Blog and the editor of the food channel for Lifetime Moms.

I’m thrilled to be exploring my own passions again and have found life to be quite full – and fulfilling – as I juggle cooking, the computer and a camera all while my kids hang on my apron strings, lick spatulas when they think I’m not watching and inevitably dump flour all over freshly cleaned floors. Life couldn’t be better.