Today’s show features a new cookbook designed to empower teens, college students, and young adults how to cook. It's written by one of my favorite dietitian cookbook authors, Katie Morford, MS, RDN. Katie’s new book is called, PREP: The Essential College Cookbook, and the tips, recipes, and kitchen wisdom in the book provide the foundation for a lifetime of kitchen confidence.

I hope you’re hungry because Katie joins me to answer your questions and to talk about some of my favorite recipes from the book including Butter Lettuce with Green Goodness Dressing, Roasted Broccoli with Lemon and Parmesan, and Golden Banana Bread. We dish about how to teach kids knife skills (yup, it can be intimidating), the importance of empowering kids of all ages with the skills they need to work their way around the kitchen, lots of kitchen wisdom, the benefits of knowing how to cook when you're a young adult.

 

What you’ll hear in this episode:

• All the juicy details of Katie’s life and work as a registered dietitian, writer, cookbook author, and busy mom of three daughters
• Katie’s go-to supper meal: roasted veggies tossed with cooked grains ora dded to tacos or eggs
• Katie’s new book, a “starter” cookbook for people of any age
• How the cookbook idea came about as Katie’s oldest daughter prepared to go to college
• The double meaning of the title, PREP
• Benefits of learning to cook from scratch (and not relying on take-out!)
• How to teach your kids knife skills
• How to encourage a college kid to eat healthier and learn to prepare simple meals
• Katie’s basic tips for cooking rookies, which you'll learn about in the book:
  • Taste as you go
  • Realize that everyone makes mistakes
  • Double check your recipe
  • Know terms like chop, dice, whisk, beat, etc.
• Kitchen equipment essentials that Katie recommends
• How Katie wrote the directions for the recipes in PREP
• How anyone can pick up this book and have success, even if they’ve never cooked before
• Family favorites for Katie: Applesauce Cake, Banana Bread, and salads
• Katie’s Butter Lettuce with Green Goodness Dressing, which is made with avocado, green onion, fresh basil, lemon juice, olive oil, sour cream, and mayo
• Katie’s hacks for using a blender for the dressing and for cleaning the blender
• Katie's Lighter Green Goodness Dressing from Mom's Kitchen Handbook
• Tips for quick and easy meals after a long day at school (or work):
  • Plan ahead on the weekend
  • Use boneless, skinless chicken thighs in the slow cooker for versatile meals
  • Liz's Pulled Pork slow cooker recipe
• Katie’s Roasted Broccoli with Lemon and Parmesan (this technique can be used with cauliflower, sweet potatoes, fennel, and turnips)
• The importance of knowing how to prep vegetables
• Katie’s personal favorites from the chapter called, “How to Feed Your Friends:” Thai Coconut Curry Noodle Soup and “Mix-in-the-pan” Applesauce Cake
• Why the book doesn’t include nutrition information
• Which, if any, of Katie's daughters is destined to become a Michelin Star Chef
• What’s next for Katie

 

Resources:

www.momskitchenhandbook.com

Rise and Shine: Better Breakfasts for Busy Mornings by Katie Morford

PREP: The Essential College Cookbook by Katie Morford

Best Lunch Box Ever: Ideas and Recipes for School Lunches Kids Will Love by Katie Morford

www.superhealthykids.com

www.parentsondemand.com  

Enter for a chance to win a copy of Katie’s new book!

Katie and I are giving away a copy of PREP: The Essential College Cookbook to one lucky winner (U.S. only, please). To enter for a chance to win, tell me why you'd like to win the book and/or tell me about your first kitchen cooking experience. What was the first recipe you ever made or the first recipe you made with your teen? Winner selected at random on May 8th.