What does it mean to be healthy in 2021? We spent the majority of this year and last cooking and eating at home, and while we’re so sick of staring into our fridges, we did learn a thing or two along the way. For our inaugural episode, Amanda Shapiro is joined by BA senior food editor Christina Chaey, who recently wrote about redefining “healthy” for herself, and dietitian and food equity advocate Vanessa Rissetto, to talk about what those lessons were and how we’re cooking (or not cooking) now.

Stuff we talk about in this episode:

Listen to this week’s episode above, and get more episodes of Healthyish from Bon Appétit here:

For a transcript of this episode, please follow this link.

When Alexis Nikole Nelson started her TikTok account last year, she had no idea that the videos she made of herself foraging in the parks and woods of Columbus, OH—and singing along the way—would go so viral so quickly. Today Alexis joins Amanda in the Zoom studio to talk about her lifelong love affair with wild edible plants, the racial history of trespassing laws, and what you can cook with the weeds in your very own backyard.

Stuff we talk about in this episode:

Listen to this week’s episode above, and get more episodes of Healthyish from Bon Appétit here:

For a transcript of this episode, please follow this link.

Everyone is into sourdough right now—or looking desperately for store-bought yeast. But today, Sarah Jampel and Jesse Sparks are talking about the wonderful world of bread beyond yeast and how to achieve that chewy, bready texture without coveted yeast. After that, Tyler Kord reads his essay about cooking meals for frontline workers at his now-closed restaurant while also taking care of his daughter. You can support his work here, and buy the Vans he mentions in the story here.

Gabe T. and Carla are back, sharing with Adam all the things they’ve been cooking since they've been at home. Then, Adam calls up Christina Chaey for another round of Over/Under, where she decides whether things like, cleaning the house, board games, and homemade sourdough, are overrated, underrated, or, well, just rated.

Molly Baz and Adam Rapoport recently developed BA’s Best Chicken Parm, and here they go into detail about every decision that went into making their ultimate version. Then, GQ correspondent Brett Martin is on to talk about his Best New Restaurants list, which he finished reporting right as cities were locking down. Brett shares about his travels and why he felt like it was important to publish this list right now.

This week, Healthyish is taking over the podcast with their Guide to Being Alone. First up, Healthyish editor Amanda Shapiro interviews associate editor Christina Chaey about the smart strategies she's developed in shopping and cooking for herself. After that, Amanda calls contributor Hawa Hassan, who has been quarantining alone while still serving her community. She's been organizing local volunteers to make and deliver meals to Brooklyn hospital workers. Finally, author Scaachi Koul reads an essay she wrote about how much she misses eating alone at restaurants—and how that made her feel physically full and emotionally replenished.

Read the full the guide here: The Healthyish Guide to Being Alone

Yep, it's true. The Rice Wizards™ are back! For their fifth rice-centric installment, Carla and Amiel focus on what to do with leftovers. After that, we talk to chef and activist Reem Assil of Reem’s in the Bay Area. While she’s currently using her restaurants as commissary kitchens to feed the most vulnerable in her community, she’s also thinking about the future. What we need to strive for, she believes, is not the return of the restaurant industry as it once was, plagued with inequity. Instead, we have the opportunity to rewire the way it works from the ground up.

Since the social distancing and stay-at-home mandates began, our food editors have been creating, testing, and shooting recipes in their home kitchens instead of in the BA Test Kitchen. Adam checks in with Chris Morocco and Sohla El-Waylly to talk about what it's been like to source ingredients, trust your own taste tests, and...do your own dishes. After that, Alex Delany tells us about the three cocktails he's making right now.

*One note: Alex Delany mis-identified where Tattersall Bitter Orange Liquor is from. It's Minneapolis (not Chicago).

Get the recipe from this episode:

Hot-and-Sour Soup

Whether you're eating with roommates, partners, or family in your home or planning a remote dinner where everyone dials in, Seder is still happening. And as always, Alison and Adam have some thoughts on the Seder menu. They weigh in on everything, from day-of matzo ball soup to matzo brei the next day. After that, we're airing a conversation recorded several weeks ago—though it turns out to be particularly apt right now. Basically editor Sarah Jampel chats with Peter Miller about dishwashing, a topic he wrote...an entire book about.