NEW: If you’ve got questions you want us to answer in a future episode, comments about a previous episode, or just want to say hi and share some love, give us a call at 1-650-386-0290 and leave us a voicemail. You might just hear your voice on the podcast!   If every company had a Sarah Byun on the team, companies would have many, many more happy customers. Sarah started off as a Cook Smarts customer in 2014 and then joined our team as our Kitchen Happiness Cheerleader in the spring of...

Hi friends, this isn’t an episode but a little podcast community announcement. You know how like every other episode I nag you about improving your knife skills? Well, I only do it because you can’t be a confident and efficient cook without having some good knife skills. However, instead of just telling you that you need to do this, we’re gonna actually help you make it happen with our first ever community challenge.    Our three main goals with this Chop Like a Pro community challenge is...

NEW: If you’ve got questions you want us to answer in a future episode, comments about a previous episode, or just want to say hi and share some love, give us a call at 1-650-386-0290 and leave us a voicemail. You might just hear your voice on the podcast!   We’ve invited Kacie Barnes a pediatric Registered Dietitian Nutritionist (better known as Mama Knows Nutrition) onto the podcast to help break down toddler nutrition for us because toddlers don’t always make it easy on us.   In our...

What’s this?  A reminder for our giveaway, which ends Wednesday, 10/2   What’s the prize? An 8” Global chef’s knife worth $125. This is the amazingly sharp and light chef’s knife that I use every day in my kitchen. I honestly couldn’t live without it, and I want one of our supportive listeners to win one too!   How do I enter? Leave a review on Apple Podcast and then send us a screenshot of it at [email protected]. That way we can easily contact you if you’ve won because it’s not...

In honor of my 38th birthday, I wanted to share what inspired me to leave the corporate world to then start Cook Smarts 8 years ago. Hint: it was more than just a love for food and cooking but a life-altering medical diagnosis that ended up changing my whole perspective on life and health. At the age of 17, in 1998, I was diagnosed with Hepatitis C, and in today’s episode I talk about how it all happened and how a potentially life-threatening illness became one of the best things that’s ever...

Hi friends, this isn’t an episode but a little podcast community announcement. We’re still a relatively new podcast and one of the best ways for us to grow our audience and support more home cooks is to gather more reviews and ratings on Apple Podcast, so we’re gonna run a little giveaway starting today Thursday, September 19th, running through Wednesday, October 2nd.   The prize is an 8” Global chef’s knife worth $125. This is the chef’s knife that I use, and I love it so much that I want...

We’re on a mission to help you never say, “This meal was bland,” ever again because there is no reason why any of us needs to cook or eat a bland meal. With some simple seasoning habits and a few tips on how to make those habits stick, you’ll be on your way to cooking only the most flavorful and enjoyable meals in no time!   If you’ve got questions you want us to answer, comments about a previous episode, or just want to say hi and share some love, give us a call at 650-386-0290 and leave...

Today I’ve invited Ruth Garrett one of our most enthusiastic community members to the podcast. Ruth is in her early 60’s and instead of enjoying the luxury of an empty nest, Ruth found herself doing the whole parent thing all over again when she became the guardian to 2 of her grandkids a few years ago. Shuttling kids to and from activities after work and cooking for 2 often picky kids have been challenging but Ruth has taken it all in stride.   I have such admiration for this incredibly...

In today’s new podcast episode, we share more strategies for saving time in the kitchen. If you haven’t checked last week’s episode, make sure to start there so you have the full game plan to kick off your most efficient school year yet!   While last week we shared ways to cut down on your prepping and cooking time by being smart about your tools, skills, and ingredient choices, this week we’re all about giving you tips for getting ahead so that dinner goes smoothly every weeknight. After...

Today’s podcast episode (and next week’s) is for anyone looking to save some time in the kitchen -- so basically, it’s for everyone because in all the years I’ve taught cooking and run Cook Smarts, not one person has said, “I wish it took me longer to cook a meal.” Nope, not one.   I know many of the parents in our community have kids headed back to school this week, and with the after-school activities, homework help, PTA meetings, your schedule is about to get packed. So, this episode is...

For this kick off to Season 2 of the Cook Smarts podcast during back-to-school season, I’ve invited one of my entrepreneurial heroes Laura Fuentes to give us advice on planning for and packing school lunches. Millions of us are about to face that daily task, and Laura is an official lunch expert. Her company MOMables started out as a lunch meal planning company but has grown to also offer dinner meal plans and 3 transformative health programs tackling processed foods, picky eating, and budget...

We’re doing something pretty different for today’s podcast episode. Instead of covering a specific cooking topic or interviewing someone, I’ve created a meal prep meditation to provide you with a little bit of kitchen zen and motivation. Plus, while we’re at it, I also added in some tips for improving your prep skills.   The idea for this meditation was actually inspired by my obsession for the digital fitness app Aaptiv. There are a ton of audio classes to choose from, and I’ve loved...

In this podcast episode, I wanted to share a personal story with you all -- one that’s been really formative in the cook and probably even the person I am today. 14 years ago, I was on season 2 of the Next Food Network Star.   Not to spoil the ending (but the show did air 14 years ago) but I was the first person eliminated while Guy Fieri went onto win and become the huge food and media celebrity that he is today. While Guy was completely at ease in front of the camera, I was so...

In this podcast episode, I’m sharing how I’m trying to create a greener kitchen and reduce the amount of waste, especially plastic waste, that my family produces and tosses.   Ever since having kids 4 years ago, I’ve become so much more aware of all the waste, we as a modern family of 5 produces. Even though I’m committed to making green improvements in all areas of my life, today’s episode is going to focus solely on the food or kitchen side of things. It’s the area I spend the most time...

We feel so lucky to have a community of such special members at Cook Smarts, and today we’re chatting with one of our original members! This is our first member interview on the podcast, and we’re so excited to kick it off with Brian Powers. Brian’s been cooking with Cook Smarts meal plans since 2014 and has gone through quite the physical transformation during this time. In today’s episode, we’re getting to know this awesome husband, dad, physical therapist, and all-star cook. You’ll also...

In this podcast episode, I will cover the 5 most common meal planning mistakes I see people make and easy ways to fix them.   If you asked me 10 years ago if I thought I would end up a meal planning expert, my response would have been, “That’s a thing?” However, as someone who loves organization and efficiency, it makes total sense that I would fall in love with the puzzle solving aspect of the job. Plus when done well, it means so much time and money saved. As someone who’s been doing...

In this podcast episode, I’m tackling a big emotional topic for a lot of parents -- how to help your picky eaters become more curious, adventurous eaters. Just about every kid goes through some phase (or multiple phases) of picky eating, and it can be a super frustrating and challenging time for parents. Using my own personal experience as a mom combined with everything I’ve read on this topic, we’ll discuss a wide variety of strategies parents can use to help support the transition from...

I’ve been to kitchens without a sharp knife or a can opener or prep bowls, but I’ve never been to one without at least a few pots and pans. No matter how minimal your kitchen is, you have definitely have at least 1 pot or pan. Now maybe you don’t feel like you have the right ones but that’s what we’ll chat about in today’s episode. I’m covering the 7 most common questions I receive regarding these essential kitchen tools from how to pick them to how to care for them. In this 30 minute...

One of the best things that’s happened to Cook Smarts is bringing on a dedicated meal plan developer. Jess Smith joined the team in the spring of 2015, all the way from Thailand and has taken our recipe development process and the quality of our meals to a whole other level. In today’s episode, we’re getting to know this multi-talented lady and also giving you a behind the scenes of our small little company. Plus, you’ll get to hear: How she made a huge career switch going from working for...

Wasting herbs is something that has happened to all of us, but in today’s episode I’ll walk you through 5 different strategies for getting more out of them, so you don’t end up in a situation where you’re tossing spoiled, wilting [insert cilantro, parsley, basil, mint, sage, thyme, chives, etc.]. We’ll discuss: My simple 2 category herb classification system that’ll help you decide which strategy to use How to not have any leftover herbs to begin with Different methods for freezing herbs...

So many new parents tell me that figuring out what to feed themselves is one of their biggest parenting challenges. They wished they had figured out a meal planning routine earlier and not while dealing with all the other demands that come with being a new parent, so that’s what we’ll cover in this first episode! In today’s podcast, I’ll walk you through my 4-step game plan for getting a cooking system in place before the baby comes, so that your sleep deprived brain has one less thing to...

Hi Friends, this is Jess your loyal and always enthusiastic kitchen cheerleader here. So I’ve got some really exciting news -- Cook Smarts is launching a podcast, and it’ll be hosted by yours truly. We’ve already got a bunch of episodes taped, and I don’t want you to miss any of them, so make sure you subscribe in iTunes, Stitcher, or whatever you use to listen to your podcasts. Our first episode is definitely not to be missed. It’s a new parent’s survival guide to feeding yourself but has...