About

Hi, I’m Ribana. I was born and raised in Romania. A beautiful country with a lot of problems. After I’ve met my husband, I went to live in Italy, a wonderful country that went deep into my heart.

I am a nutritionist, pastry chef, recipe developer, food writer, and ultimately a passionate home cook. I curate and develop recipes that are high on nutrition. I develop and test cost effective, nutritious meals using quality ingredients to help people improve their everyday eating experiences.

I love Mediterranean cuisine and I am an advocate of using fresh, hyper local, and seasonal produce. I am dedicated to helping people better understand nutrition and have a healthier relationship with their food. I am on a mission to help spread the real food message to as many people as possible through my blog Popsicle Society. My food philosophy is:

“Eat a little bit of everything.”

Some years back, we left our home, our family, our full-time jobs, we left everything behind and traveled more than 10,000 km away in a city where we did not know anyone, without a job, without a home, only us.

After over a decade of calling Singapore home, we’ve recently made the bold decision to embark on a new chapter in Thailand. This significant move marks not just a change in scenery but a wholehearted leap into a new adventure. Alongside this, we’ve stepped away from our conventional careers, choosing instead to fully commit to our passion for marketing. Our journey ahead is filled with both excitement and the promise of fresh opportunities as we dive into this venture with all our energy and dedication.

I love traveling, cooking, and enjoying this beautiful nature. We have a wonderful world.

Life is not always easy, but it gives us the opportunity. It is a continuous experience, a journey with no map and no rules.

We’ve engaged in this never-ending adventure! Let’s enjoy the trip and see where it will take us.

Ribana
Popsicle Society

85 thoughts

  2. What a brave thing to do ! Thinking on it, it is exactly what my parents did – 3 young children. Moved to a country on the other side of the world, Everything was new and different. And here we are still over 60 years later!
    Many blessing and joy in what you are doing. Thank you so much for the follow of my blog 🙂

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  3. Nice to meet you and thank you for following me. I live in your birthplace now and we came from Florida… So… we share a similar road… one of adventure and dream following.

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    1. Thanks for stopping by! You have a wonderful blog! I hope you enjoy living in Romania! It is a beautiful country with some problems like all the rest. It’s awesome to have the opportunity to follow our dreams and experience all these adventures right?…😊

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  8. Well, I think you are braver than I am, don’t know if I could travel that far away! Thanks for following my blog, hope you will enjoy my odd adventures!😁

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  9. Hey Ribana, just wanted to let you know my blog is now private. Had some ‘problems’ I wanted to get rid of. Anyway, you’ll need to ask for permission so I can grant you access. It’s easy, you’ll see, just click on my blog.
    So, if you still want to follow me, you’re more than welcome to join my new playground.

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  11. Happy to have found your blog. I’ve been in Singapore once and thought it was a nice place where to live. So I will read your blog to discover if I was right :-).

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  15. Hi Rabina,
    Nice to meet you here & thank you for visiting my blog.
    I have never been to Romania but I know a few friends from there Anna, who sells homeless magazine ‘Big Issue’ in my home town and Rebecca who sells the magazine in a town nearby.
    Glad to hear you are making a new life although away from your homeland.
    I have only been to Italy three times, to Venice, Naples and Rome. I find the Italian people are quite unique, warm & friendly.
    I have never been to Singapore.
    Take care

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    1. Hi Margaret, thank you for stopping by 😊 What a small world having friends from Romania 😉🌸
      Yes, for now we are travellers around the world….now we are in Singapore, later we don’t know 😉🌸
      Italy is beautiful 💕 you have visited 3 important cities 🌸 and all 3 so different 😉😊
      Is never too late for a Singapore trip 😉🌸 if you like hot weather 😉

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  16. wow you’ve been traveling around the globe 🙂 🙂 I love Singapore, I’ve been there once for a vacation. I only know one Romanian (born and raise I mean) in my life – and that’s my husband. Now I know 2, you and him. Of course aside from his family. Yes life is really hard, but it is beautiful.

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    1. Oh wow, congratulations 🎊😊😉 how small is the world 😉😊
      I would love to be able to travel around the globe, we have such a wonderful world 🌎 but I’m also glad and grateful fir what I’ve seen so far 😉😊
      Yes, Singapore is a beautiful city to live in 😊
      Life is indeed hard but as you said it is beautiful and we must enjoy the journey 😊😉
      Thank you very much for stopping by and for your kind words! 🌸🌸🌸

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      1. Traveling around the globe is a dream come true 🙂 🙂 Thank you for sharing your experiences here. Loving it. 🙂

    1. Hi Jessie, yes, traveling is awesome 😎 We have such a beautiful world! Thank you for stopping by! Oh my hair, it doesn’t like Singapore though 🤪
      I was visiting your blog and I’ve noticed that we are using the same template 😝

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      1. I’ve never been outside of the USA, sadly! 🙁 You are most certainly welcome. I noticed that too!!! great minds mean great taste! haha 🙂

    1. Wow! I’ve really enjoyed it! I have left a comment but not sure it went through 🙂
      Is so nice to read such wonderful things about my country 🙂 I’m really glad you enjoy your trip and that 14.99 euros were well worth it 🙂

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  21. Hi Ribana,

    I hope this email finds you well. You may find our book interesting. It’s called Making the Leap: An Insider’s Guide to Teaching in China.

    The book explores the transitions one needs to make when teaching Chinese students an international curriculum at an international school in China.

    Let me know if you’re interested in reviewing this book (impartially) in exchange for a free copy 🙂

    Amazon link: https://www.amazon.com.au/Making-Leap-Insiders-Guide-Teaching-ebook/dp/B07XDGY5LH

    Kind regards,

    James Kennedy
    Melbourne, Australia

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  22. Hi Ribana; this is Cactus Flower finally commenting on your site; I think for the first time, sorry! It sounds like your journey has been challenging as well as wonderful. You’re in Singapore? Are you familiar with Pastor Joseph Prince who is the Senior pastor of New Creation Church; called the Star? I listen to him a lot….anyway, I just got back to my posting after some challenging circumstances myself. I did 2 pages so you are welcome to check it out and do comment. I won’t know how you think about it unless you do; thanks so much! I will do my best to keep up with everyone else too……

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    1. Hello and thank you very much for stopping by! Yes, still in Singapore currently 😊 No, I am not familiar with Pastor Joseph…
      Thank you for letting me know!
      Wish you a great day! 😊💕

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      1. Thank you very much Ribana; what is the correct way to pronounce your name? Singapore seems like a very beautiful country with a lot of building on the water from what I hear; is that right?

      2. Exactly same as is written, Ribana 😉
        Yes, Singapore is indeed a beautiful country and since the space is small, yes, they are claiming sea around and transform it in land, and then building and building and building…😊 but even so is a very green city…a city in a garden 😉

  23. Hi Ribana,

    Thanks a lot for following my blog.
    I read your blog. Great work !! I loved it !! The pictures are awesome !!
    I am from Pune, India. I have gone through your Eggplant recipe. The name “Eggplant” is new to me, but when I clicked the link eggplant I got to knew about it. In Maharashtra we called it “Vanga” in Marathi language and “Baingan” in Hindi language. There are many recipes we make out of it.
    In near future i will try to share that recipe on Recipe_Theatre by Latika Sagar (https://recipetheatre.in/)

    Regards,

    Recipe_Theatre
    By Latika Sagar
    Pune, India.

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    1. Hi Latika,
      thank you very much for stopping by!
      I know in India eggplant is used very much but under different names 😉 Thank you for sharing!
      Looking forward to your recipes 😉
      Have a gorgeous day 🌸

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  24. My story is similar. I left Poland 34 years ago when it was still under a communist regime. I did not hope I would be able to come back, even for a visit.I did go back many times, but my home is here in the USA. Even though things are difficult here now, I know I made the right choice. Good luck to you in your adventures..

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    1. Sometimes we even don’t know how courageous we are before taking such decisions 🤪 A brave move but I’m sure no regrets! I believe our countries will always be part of our journey but life sometimes has different plans for us 😉
      Thank you very much for stopping by! Wish you the same! Let’s enjoy our adventures as we never know where life will take us 😉

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  27. it’s always a pleasure to discover new blogs and meeting new fellow bloggers 🙂 nice to meet you Ribana, cheers from Lisbon 🙂 PedroL

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  28. Thanks so much for stopping by and checking out my blog!!! I’m so intrigued by your life store and have great admiration for the choices you’ve made! I so look forward to checking out everything your blog has to offer! I’m already in love with your photos!!

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    1. Thank you very much for stopping by and for your kind words! We need to try and enjoy this journey called life 😉 Welcome to my corner of happiness ☺️ 🌸

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  29. Ribana. Hello from Australia Brisbane. I am from Sri Lanka settled in Aussie now of course it is because both my sons are here. I am following your food and pictures. How come I have not written here. I have written and posted old Kitchen things on the 1st and pictures of SriLankan food stuff. Very different to your pictures. You might be interest to have a look :

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      1. ouuu !! Very neat! Was a process of learning people and their culture. At the beginning I actually didn’t like it because I didn’t understand. Getting to know the people was eye opening and forever has changed my being.
        You already can taste this because of Asian you experience 🙂
        What’s one thing about their culture you wish to incorporate daily?

      2. I think my culture and their culture is totally different, and that’s the beauty of the world 😉 After more than 11 years in Singapore sometimes I see I’ve got a bit of their ways involuntarily which is being kiasu 😅 which is defined as “the fear of losing,” and is directed at a person who behaves competitively to either attain their goal or to get ahead of others…luckily it only happens rarely 😅

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