Kitchen Essentials: Clutch or Clutter

As mothers, we do everything we can to give our kids the brightest future imaginable, but when it comes to climate change, it can be daunting, if not downright impossible, to know where to start. This week I sat down with Amy Hill and Sarah Smiley from my local branch of Mother’s Out Front to discuss how to:  Make change with little knowledge or experience. Find your inner activist. Make time for advocacy. Talk to kids about climate change . If you’re curious or ready to dive deep, connect with Amy and Sarah and other Mothers Out Front via the links below. Find out where your talents can be used in the climate revolution.  Email Website Instagram Facebook Twitter

Meal Planning Reimagined with Casey Barber I am not the type to sit down and plan my meals out for the week, but that doesn’t mean I don’t meal plan. This week I sat down with food writer, founder of goodfoodstories.com, and self-proclaimed cat lady Casey Barber to talk about expanding our definition of what meal planning can look like. We discuss:  Avoiding kitchen burnout. Making cooking fun again.  How to save time, money, and energy. Feeding your family fast, without “planning” ahead. You can find Casey at https://www.caseybarber.com/ and access her Meal Planning system at makeyourownmealplan.com. 

Have you ever pulled a container out of the fridge only to find it looks like a science experiment gone wrong? Food that goes bad wastes our money, harms the planet, and frankly, doesn’t make anybody feel good about themselves. This week I sat down with Jacquelyn Ottman, the nation’s foremost expert on green marketing and eco-innovation, to discuss: Top tips for keeping food from going bad. Simple ways to repurpose leftovers. Why you’re probably reheating food wrong. The real impact of food waste on the planet. To find out more about Jacquie, visit her website. Learn more about Jacquie's award-winning book, the New Rules of Green Marketing. Learn more about Jacquie's new e-book, "How to Make Credible Green Marketing Claims". Follow Jacquie on Twitter: Twitter.com/jacquelynottman. Add Jacquie to your network at Linked In. Subscribe to Jacquie Ottman's Green Marketing Blog. Learn more about the growing global community of waste haters at WeHateToWaste.com.

Cooking can be intimidating. And approaching a new style of cooking or reducingCooking can be intimidating. And approaching a new style of cooking or reducing a staple in your diet can add to the stress. This week we sat down with intuitive cooking guru, Leanne Brown, author of the viral cookbook Good and Cheap which was downloaded 15 million times, to talk about her philosophy of embodied cooking. We discuss: Eating well on $4 a day. Cooking as meditation. Overcoming fears and anxieties in the kitchen. The importance of making bad food. Visit her Embodied Cooking website here Check out her cookbooks here

30-40% of US food is wasted, some of which is beyond our control. But we have control over more than you might think. We sat down with food stylist and recipe developer Christine Tizzard of Zero Waste Kitchen to to discuss: Top reasons for food waste. Creative solutions to food waste. Is “zero” waste the goal? The power of substitutions. Managing leftovers. The Zero Waste Kitchen Website Christine on Instagram

Whether you’re an omnivore or herbivore, bland food is boring. But it’s especially true that plant-based food is way more fun when infused with flavor. This week we talked with writer and foodie, Broderick Smylie, about how he gave his Veganuary a flavor boost. We discuss: Tricks to flavoring plant-rich foods. Infusing your culture into your cooking. How incorporating spices & sauces by small creators is a game changer. The lesser known roots of veganism. Tune in to get inspired! Follow Broderick on Instagram and subscribe to his Substack here.

Everyone’s kitchen is a little different. What’s useless to some is essential to others. We firmly believe you don’t need anything special to make great plant-based food. This week Maggy, Pam, and Laura share their favorite equipment. We discuss: Our secret to falling in love with cooking. The popular gadget we all find unnecessary. Which items we don’t agree on. What Maggy wishes she had in her kitchen. The one thing we all agree on. Click here for a free copy of our Kitchen Essentials Printable 

When temperatures drop, seasonal produce can be less than inspiring. What are the most delicious ways to eat winter’s skimpy harvest? What’s worth buying out of season? In this episode, we talk about our struggles and triumphs cooking and eating during the winter months. We discuss: What’s actually in season. How to incorporate seasonal ingredients into our favorite recipes. The tricks for simple seasonal eating. Produce we can’t live without, no matter the season. Recipes Mentioned: Blitzed Salad Sundried Tomato Pesto Basil Pesto Lemon Pesto One Pot Pasta Cauliflower Bolognese Cauliflower Alfredo Roasted Cauliflower Steaks Quick, Creamy Vegetable Soup Crispy Potato Rosti Pot of White Beans Vat of Tomato Sauce Lentil Stew Black Bean Tostadas Dinner Quesadillas Tamale pie

Months ago we tackled the difficult subject of beans with our good friend Dr. Kristen Bentson. You all loved her episode so much we knew it was time to bring her back. This week, we skip the fart jokes and dive deep into grains. We discuss: Are grains good for you? Are all grains created equal? Is gluten bad? How to incorporate new grains into your diet. How to get kids to eat them. Recipes Mentioned: Overnight Oats How to Build a Green and Grain Bowl Quick Quinoa  Quinoa Skillet Supper

Typically, we don’t believe in dramatic changes or black and white thinking, but we do believe short-term resolutions can lead to lasting results. This week, we talk about a life-changing Planetarian challenge in 2023. We discuss: Where to start. How to make it easier. How long it took Maggy’s family to join. Why it’s worth it. Why the short-term changes will lead to lasting results.