106: Kids, Cooking, and Sustainability with Jenny Chandler

10/06/21 • 48 min

Many parents fight a losing battle to get more fruits and vegetables into their kids’ diets, but there are simple ways to give kids more empowerment and control. Teaching them to enjoy cooking and eat more sustainably gives them more flexibility and a chance to explore. Join us as we dive into practical ways to get your kids involved in preparing and enjoying healthier meals.

Jenny Chandler is a cooking instructor and cookbook author who lives in Bristol, England. Her latest cookbook, Green Kids Cook, encourages kids to cook and eat food that’s good for their bodies and good for the planet. The book is aimed at ages 7-14 but is suitable for people of all ages with its recipes, crafts, how-tos, tips for reducing food waste, and so much more. On today’s show, Jenny and I share some of her plant-forward recipes from the book, including Green Pea and Coconut Soup, Seeded Oat Bread, and we’ll wrap up with dessert. Of course, we’ll share tips for getting kids to cook, appreciate, love, and eat more fruits and vegetables. Jenny has been on the show before to talk about pulses like lentils, beans, and chickpeas and to talk about one of her other cookbooks, Great Food for Kids. Her goal is to help you, your children, and grandchildren get more plants on the plate.

Show Highlights:

Get to know Jenny’s life with her teenage daughter, a husband who makes wildlife films, and city life in Bristol that’s only a short walk to the countryside
Why Jenny is passionate about writing and teaching people to eat more healthily and sustainably for regard for animal welfare
What it means to eat sustainably
Jenny’s mission: to teach, inspire, and engage kids in cooking skills, so they become more adventurous eaters, especially with fruits and vegetables
How Jenny incorporated “theme nights” with her husband and daughter on Fridays during the COVID lockdown
How Green Kids Cook teaches kids to have fun in the kitchen, explore more fruits and vegetables, and learn more about where foods come from
How the book covers snacks and desserts but focuses on skills for cooking simple meals
Jenny’s recipe for Green Pea and Coconut Soup, made with sauteed green onions, garlic, ginger, cilantro, frozen peas, and vegetable stock; after pureeing the mixture, add coconut milk and lime juice. (Good served cold or hot--and it’s ready in 15 minutes!)
How to balance plant-forward meals for those who love meat
Jenny’s tips for reducing food waste at home:
- Have a “use me now” shelf in the fridge.
- Incorporate recipes that can handle odd scraps of vegetables, like minestrone soup.
- Have a “clean sweep” every 3-4 days.
- Shop locally and more often, making it a family activity for everyone.
Jenny’s recipe for Seeded Oat Bread, made with rolled oats, yogurt, baking soda, various seeds, and molasses
A family favorite dessert recipe for Galette, made with fresh seasonal fruit and a simple pastry

Resources:

Cookbook Giveaway:

We're giving away a copy of Green Kids Cook: Simple, Delicious Recipes & Top Tips to one lucky U.S. winner. Leave a comment below telling me about the recipe your kids/grandkids love to make most and/or why you'd love to win a copy. I'll pick the winner at random on October 20th at noon. (U.S. giveaway, only.)

Link to Jenny’s latest book:

https://www.amazon.com/Green-Kids-Cook-Delicious-Recipes/dp/1911663585/ref=sr_1_1?dchild=1&keywords=green+kids+cook+jenny+chandler&qid=1633018328&sr=8-1)

Jenny's website: http://www.jennychandler.co.uk/

Jenny on Instagram @jennychandlerUK

Jenny on Facebook

Jenny on Twitter @jennychandlerUK

Liz's Links:

Author, Color, Cook, Eat! coloring book series

Website: Liz's Healthy Table

Listen to my Podcast

Read my Blog

Show Highlights:

Get to know Jenny’s life with her teenage daughter, a husband who makes wildlife films, and city life in Bristol that’s only a short walk to the countryside
Why Jenny is passionate about writing and teaching people to eat more healthily and sustainably for regard for animal welfare
What it means to eat sustainably
Jenny’s mission: to teach, inspire, and engage kids in cooking skills, so they become more adventurous eaters, especially with fruits and vegetables
How Jenny incorporated “theme nights” with her husband and daughter on Fridays during the COVID lockdown
How Green Kids Cook teaches kids to have fun in the kitchen, explore more fruits and vegetables, and learn more about where foods come from
How the book covers snacks and desserts but focuses on skills for cooking simple meals
Jenny’s recipe for Green Pea and Coconut Soup, made with sauteed green onions, garlic, ginger, cilantro, frozen peas, and vegetable stock; after pureeing the mixture, add coconut milk and lime juice. (Good served cold or hot--and it’s ready in 15 minutes!)
How to balance plant-forward meals for those who love meat
Jenny’s tips for reducing food waste at home:
- Have a “use me now” shelf in the fridge.
- Incorporate recipes that can handle odd scraps of vegetables, like minestrone soup.
- Have a “clean sweep” every 3-4 days.
- Shop locally and more often, making it a family activity for everyone.
Jenny’s recipe for Seeded Oat Bread, made with rolled oats, yogurt, baking soda, various seeds, and molasses
A family favorite dessert recipe for Galette, made with fresh seasonal fruit and a simple pastry

Resources:

Cookbook Giveaway:

Link to Jenny’s latest book:

https://www.amazon.com/Green-Kids-Cook-Delicious-Recipes/dp/1911663585/ref=sr_1_1?dchild=1&keywords=green+kids+cook+jenny+chandler&qid=1633018328&sr=8-1)

Jenny's website: http://www.jennychandler.co.uk/

Jenny on Instagram @jennychandlerUK

Jenny on Facebook

Jenny on Twitter @jennychandlerUK

Liz's Links:

Author, Color, Cook, Eat! coloring book series

Website: Liz's Healthy Table

Listen to my Podcast

Read my Blog

Previous Episode

105: A Year of Fruits and Vegetables with Andrea Mathis, MA, RDN

September is National Fruit and Veggies Month, and if that wasn't enough, the UN General Assembly designated 2021 as the International Year of Fruits and Vegetables. There’s no excuse not to elevate your fruit and veggie game! Who's with me?

On today’s show, we’re talking about fresh new ways to add more fresh, frozen, canned, and dried fruits and veggies to your family’s table every season and all year long. My guest is Andrea Mathis, MS, RDN from Beautiful Eats and Things, and together, we're turning our passion for produce into real-world recipes for you and your family.

Andrea Mathis is an Alabama-based registered dietitian/nutritionist and the owner of two blogs: Beautiful Eats and Things and Little Eats and Things. She’s the mom of two little boys and the author of The Complete Book of Smoothies, which is filled with gorgeous and nutritious recipes that bring fruits and veggies to the center of the plate in easy and delicious ways. We are sharing delicious seasonal recipes and cooking techniques that will inspire you with great ideas. Most people don’t eat enough fruits and veggies, so we plan to change that with today’s show!

Show Highlights:

Andrea’s life in Birmingham, Alabama, with two little boys, two blogs, and a lifelong love of cooking
Andrea’s cookbook, The Complete Book of Smoothies: 115 Healthy Recipes to Nourish, Heal, and Energize
Andrea’s #1 tip to get picky eaters to try new fruits and veggies: pair the new food with something already familiar
Why people need to know that all forms of fruits and veggies count, such as canned, dried, and frozen
How Andrea uses “smoothie packs,” prepped fruits and veggies frozen in serving size freezer bags for smoothies
Andrea and Liz share seasonal fruit and veggie faves:
- Winter
- - Brussels sprouts, roasted or sliced thin in salads or casseroles
  - Winter squash, baked as a bowl to be filled or roasted with cinnamon and brown sugar
- Spring
- - Asparagus, roasted or blanched and sliced in salads or dredged in egg and flour to be air-fried as “fries”
  - Radishes, roasted or sauteed with onion and garlic
- Summer
- - Corn on the cob, eaten whole or added as kernels to other dishes or buttered and spiced with flavorful seasonings and wrapped in foil to be baked in the oven
  - Peaches, sliced thin on BBQ chicken pizzas or grilled and spiced
- Fall
- - Kale, in a salad or added to smoothies
  - Pumpkin, canned pumpkin to be added in muffins, breads, pancakes, smoothies, chili, enchiladas, etc. or roasted and stuffed mini-pumpkins

Resources:

Andrea's cookbook The Complete Book of Smoothies: 115 Healthy Recipes to Nourish, Heal, and Energize

Where to find Andrea:

Beautiful Eats & Things: https://www.beautifuleatsandthings.com/

FB: https://www.facebook.com/beautifuleatsandthings/

IG: https://www.instagram.com/beautifuleatsandthings/

Twitter (BeautifulEandT): https://twitter.com/BeautifulEandT

Pinterest (BEandThings): https://www.pinterest.com/BEandThings/

TikTok (@beautifuleatsandthings): https://vm.tiktok.com/Jd728bJ/ https://www.tiktok.com/@beautifuleatsandthings/

Next Episode

107: Hello Leftovers: Turn Tonight’s Dinner Into Tomorrow’s Feast with Cassy Joy Garcia

Leftover meals get a glamorous makeover in today’s show. With super practical planning tips and creativity, my guest has the scoop on elevating your leftover game from boring to spectacular. Join us to learn more about a new way to meal-prep fantastic meals with her new cookbook, Cook Once Dinner Fix.

Cassie Joy Garcia is a busy mom, meal planner, prepper extraordinaire, and healthy recipe guru. She joins me for new ways of turning tonight’s dinner into tomorrow’s feast. Whether you’re cooking chicken, beef, pork, seafood, or vegetarian fare, Cassie has you covered with creative dinner inspiration. For example, her Harvest Squash can be Monday’s dinner followed on Tuesday by Yellow Curry with Squash and Crispy Spiced Tofu. You can plan a dinner of Roasted Chicken and Potatoes with Fresh Arugula Salad on Friday, and turn these leftovers into Butter Chicken Bowls with White Rice for the next night. Cassie has pointers with every recipe in her cookbook to customize each one to your preferences and dietary needs.

Show Highlights:

Cassie’s life in San Antonio, where she started her healthy living blog and became a holistic nutritionist; she makes her home with two young daughters (and a third due in a few months), her husband, and two large dogs
How Cassie’s Fed and Fit blog was birthed out of her personal journey of yoyo dieting and discovering the science of inflammatory foods
How focusing on gut health gave Cassie a new lease on life
Why Cassie’s goal was to heal her gut, reintroduce foods, and eat as many different foods as possible
An overview of Cook Once Dinner Fix, which gives the benefits of a prep day without having to have a prep day!
An example using chicken that’s cooked and shredded is Chicken Sloppy Joes with Ginger Carrot Slaw and White Chicken Enchilada Casserole with Tomato-Avocado Salad
Cassie’s goal is to lessen the burden of getting an efficient meal on the table
How repurposing the meal’s protein allows you to focus on side dishes to differentiate the meals
How Cassie’s system allows her to “plate dinner with a more joyful heart”
An example of a beef recipe is Garlic Peppercorn Beef Roast, which is slow-roasted in the oven with carrots and served with a horseradish cream sauce; it’s then used in Shredded Beef Ragout over Pappardelle Pasta with a rich tomato sauce
How Cassie is building adventurous food kiddos in her young children by getting them involved in choosing meals and prepping
Cassie’s favorite seafood recipe from the book: Dill Aioli Salmon Bake, which is a salmon fillet with a lemon dill aioli mixture served with roasted potatoes; leftover salmon is made into Salmon Cakes, which Cassie serves with pan-seared green beans

Resources:

Cookbook Giveaway:

We’re giving away a copy of Cook Once Dinner Fix: Quick and Exciting Ways to Transform Tonight's Dinner into Tomorrow's Feast (Simon & Schuster) to one lucky U.S. winner. Leave a comment in the comments section below telling me about your biggest dinnertime challenge or dilemma and/or why you want to win this book. I’ll pick the winner at random on November 3rd at noon. (U.S. only giveaway, please.)

Link to Cassie’s cookbook on Amazon:

Fed and Fit website: https://fedandfit.com/

Instagram: @fedandfit

Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/fedandfit/

Twitter: @fedandfit