Family Food for Moms Podcast I Inspiration for Family Cooking and Dining I How to Enjoy Special Meals Together

#22 Easiest Things to Start with when Learning to Cook

Learning to cook starts slowly, and then you gain momentum as you get better at the basic tasks, at multitasking, and you grow in confidence and experience. Then your knowledge and skill just increases exponentially. I think it's great for kids to learn to cook before they leave home. I couldn't cook very much at all at the beginning, and we mainly ate either frozen meals made for us by my mom, or pre-packaged meals from the supermarket with a few homemade things in the middle there. I felt very intimidated by cooking and by big chunks of meat; I wouldn't know what to do with those. I was intimidated by cooking in the oven. These days we have so many amazing tools, many more than we had then, and it's so great to know how to use those. 
I think that for somebody starting out cooking, who's going to be leaving home to start out on their own, or who are getting married, both ladies and gents, I think it's so important to learn how to cook. I'm going to talk about in a couple of different episodes how to get started with learning to cook. We're going to talk about what exactly are good things to learn first. To start with, learn some mains, sides, and sauces, or just a simple meal consisting of a main and a side and maybe a sauce to add interest. 
Once you get the basics down, then you can start to use those in different ways to mix and match. Then you start to grow exponentially in your cooking skills. Let's talk about what are good things to start with when you're learning to cook. 

#21 Thanksgiving Ideas for Table Decor, Activities and Food

Today I want to talk about Thanksgiving.
For me, one of the biggest challenges for both Christmas and Thanksgiving is to not become busy during the event, but to be present, and also to not become stressed before the event, but to be relaxed, and to enjoy the time with my children, with my family, because that's basically what it's all about. It's not about making it perfect.
This is a concept that my brain doesn't easily accept, but I really do want to be present. I want to have the mindset of being present and not the mindset of finishing, or making it just right, or making it just how I want it, but rather to enjoy that process with them. It is easier now that they're a bit older - it was more challenging when I had many young children. But either way, I really want to engage with them, connect with them, and make special family memories together. 

#20 What is Donald Trump's Favorite Meal? Joe Biden's? George Washington's? A Fun Episode on what the Presidents like to eat.

Today, I thought it might be fun to talk about some US presidents and their favorite meals, with Thanksgiving coming up next week, and in honor of the elections. Let's talk about some of our recent presidents and what they liked to eat. And then I'll mention some from quite long ago, and what they enjoyed. 
I find it really fascinating seeing what someone will eat when they have a chef at their disposal, and can eat whatever they want. I think the first ladies would have had a lot to do with planning menus, and even encouraging their husbands to eat healthier things. Some of the things I'll mention are from when the presidents are just on their own, and they eat whatever they feel like, and then other things would be more what they would eat if there's a White House dinner, or a small dinner party, or if they’re simply eating with their wives, but is still cooked by the chef.

#19 Ten (plus) Utensils That I Find Really Useful for Cooking and Serving Meals

Today, we're going to be talking about kitchen utensils that I find really helpful in cooking and serving food.
I don't like having a ton of stuff, especially gimmicky things, lying around the kitchen. Good utensils have got to be simple, fit into the drawers, and really be super helpful.
There are no affiliate links with these - these are just things that I have in our home that I wouldnt want to do without. See familyfoodformoms.com for photos.
Let's chat!

#18 What we Can Learn From Masterchef about Cooking!

It's a fun one today. We're going to talk about what we can learn from Masterchef.  I'm sure you all know the show Masterchef, Masterchef USA. There's Masterchef Australia.  We like to watch Masterchef USA and Masterchef Junior.  And it's always so inspiring to me even what the young kids can cook and how  elegantly they do it and how much variety.
They seem to know how to cook all these obscure ingredients that I have never tried to eat before, let alone cook.  But it's very exciting and inspiring. So I thought I would just mention for fun 10 things that I've learnt from watching Masterchef. 

#17 How to Foster and Grow Family Closeness and Connection at Your Dinner Table

Today we're going to be talking about ways to foster and grow family closeness and connection at your dinner table, making dinner time meaningful and special. This can really transform a simple meal into a chance to be close as a family, connect with each other, reflect together on how your days' went, and to relax after the craziness of the day.
Join me as we chat about family closeness at dinner time.

#16 What Food Items I like to Prep in Advance to Make Sure the Week Runs Smoothly

Today I want to talk about things that we prep in our kitchen for the week. Now I'm not talking about meals, not meal prep.  Other things, so snacks,  protein maybe to add to breakfast,  sauces, salad dressings,  bone broth,  sides maybe for family members who don't eat wheat or who are gluten free and then I want to replace them with something. 
And then the meat and veg that I cook through the week. So,  I'm mainly going to be talking about all the things that we prep at the beginning of the week. But I may just mention some of the others. So this really helps me because  then I've got snacks organized, I've got a good breakfast supplement organized when the kids make their own breakfast. 
We've got homemade sauces and we've got all the things that really help with the health and with the flavor and the yumminess. 

#15 What We Can Learn from our Grandmothers about Food and Dining

Today we're going to be talking about what we can learn from our grandparents and great grandparents about food and dining; our grandmothers and our mother's past generations. I asked one of my daughters what she thinks of when she thinks of granny's food, and she said that the food is very solid and simple whenever we go to visit. It's meat and vegetables, and it's not complicated and difficult. I like that. I think we can learn so much from past generations about food and about how to cook.  
There are always special things that are passed down from our moms and grandmothers. In our case, it's things like homemade ice cream, which I'll give you the recipe for. There's a wonderful British fruitcake that my mom makes, a Christmas cake with the icing and all, and there are crunchies made with syrup. Good, hearty fare comes to mind.  

#14 Five More Unusual Ways to Save Money in Your Kitchen

Previously we spoke about five ways to save money in your kitchen,  and we talked about some unusual and controversial things you can do while trying to keep your food nourishing and delicious. 
It's not easy to do that when you have to cut costs, because often the healthiest things are expensive. But it's definitely possible to eat healthy food and nourish your family while spending less.  Today we're going to talk about five more unusual ways to save money in your kitchen.

#13 Five Unusual Ways to Save Money in the Kitchen

Hi friends! I'm Karyn, and this is the Family Food for Moms podcast. We're talking about inspiration for family cooking and dining. 
Today, I want to talk about ways to save money in the kitchen. It's so easy to feel overwhelmed these days, and a bit discouraged. I want to feed my family healthy meals and delicious meals, but everything is so expensive. We're just going to talk about a few ways to save on money, save on time and keep the health and the yumminess there. I know it's not easy, but we can do hard things, right? The more we practice hard things, the better we get at doing them.  
I hope these five unusual ways to save money inspire you and help your grocery budget!