Jeanne Ponessa Fratello
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Jeanne Ponessa Fratello is the founder and editor of The Jolly Tomato, a nutrition website for parents of children ages 2 to 16. She has extensive freelance experience writing on food, restaurants, and parenting for Epicurious.com, CBS Los Angeles, Moms L.A., and other news outlets. Previously, she spent more than 12 years working as a speechwriter for higher education leaders in California. She also spent seven years in Washington D.C. as a reporter for Congressional Quarterly and Education Week.

Blog Entries by Jeanne Ponessa Fratello

Extended Breastfeeding -- Time to Come Out of the Closet?

(9) Comments | Posted May 11, 2012 | 6:01 PM

Have you seen this week's TIME magazine cover? If you have a pulse and an internet connection, then of course you have. And after the massive firestorm it stirred up, it seems that lots of people have a problem with extended breastfeeding.

Yes, TIME did its part...

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The Murky, Murky World of Booster Seat Laws

(20) Comments | Posted January 9, 2012 | 12:46 PM

2012-01-06-carseat1.jpgStarting this year, California took a big step forward with its new booster seat requirement: It became one of only a handful of states that require kids to sit in booster seats until age 8 or until they reach a height of 4 feet 9...

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Healthi(er) Gingerbread House

(3) Comments | Posted December 15, 2011 | 10:42 AM

Are gingerbread houses really meant for eating?

2011-12-10-fungbhouse.jpg

We built this candy-laden bungalow from a kit, with the intention of keeping it until Christmas as a nice holiday decoration. But ever since we put it together there's been a spirited debate going on in...

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Five Tips to Keep Kids' Holiday Eating in Check

(0) Comments | Posted December 13, 2010 | 10:33 AM

If your child can't even make it through the school day without being offered a cookie or a candy cane, then it must be December, the month of sugar-addled kids (and strung-out parents). While you may be tempted to throw in the towel and give up any semblance of nutrition...

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The Great Chocolate Milk Debate

(12) Comments | Posted September 1, 2010 | 11:10 AM

Coming soon to a school near you: The Great Chocolate Milk Debate. The question of whether kids should drink the high-calorie sweetened stuff to get the nutrition they need has long divided nutrition activists and food industry types -- now it's becoming a flashpoint at more and more schools around...

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'Urban Homesteading'? That'll Cost You

(71) Comments | Posted July 18, 2010 | 2:29 PM

When summer gives you a motherlode of fresh fruit, the obvious solution is to make jam -- right? Not so fast, you home-cooking enthusiasts. Of course homemade jam will taste delicious, be better for you than store-bought, and allow you to appreciate summer's bounty all year long. But once you...

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