In the Kitchen With Cook Smarts

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**In the Kitchen With Cook Smarts**

Cooking lessons to help you live happier, simpler, and smarter in the kitchen. Jess Dang Founder of award-winning meal plan service Cook Smarts is here to make you a more confident and organized home cook!

Latest Episodes:

A Thanksgiving TY Note Nov 26, 2019

Show notes

I wanted to just pop into your feed today with a little Thanksgiving reflection, thank you note and request!

Our biggest sale of the year is on right now. Enjoy 30% off everything with code THANKS19

https://www.cooksmarts.com/weekly-meal-planner/sale

Want to be a super supporter of the show and home cooking? Please tell a friend about our podcast and leave us a review on Apple Podcast (https://podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/in-the-kitchen-with-cook-smarts/id1454754429?mt=2) . If we share your review in a future episode, we'll send you a Cook Smarts tote bag!

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!

#20: Strategies Planning Your Holiday Meal Oct 31, 2019

Show notes

Can you believe that the holidays are just around the corner? I'll be hosting Thanksgiving this year and am excited to be in menu planning mode. I know cooking a big holiday meal can feel quite intimidating, especially if you don't have a lot of experience entertaining. So as someone who's planned and cooked a lot of big meals for friends and family and clients during my catering days, I wanted to pass on celebratory meal planning system.

With the right kind of planning and organization, you'll be able to create an incredible feast without stress and anxiety. In this podcast episode, I'll share:

How to create a holiday menu that won't have you cooking for days
The Excel template that I use to make sure my big holiday dinner goes off without a hitch
How to prepare your kitchen for extra helpers

And even if you're not hosting Thanksgiving, these "big meal" planning tips can be used for any large gathering you might plan in the future. Have a listen and gain the confidence you need to rock a big holiday dinner!

#19: Stocking Your Pantry for Better Meal Planning Oct 24, 2019

Show notes

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!

Most of us don't have a pantry stocking system or plan. We simply stock it as we go, based on the recipes we're cooking. This means that our pantries can become a graveyard of long-forgotten, expired ingredients that were used once and then abandoned because we never knew what to do with them again. Sound familiar?

However, if we stock our pantries with the right ingredients, we create a versatile foundation of supplies that we can draw from every single week. Our pantry can then be used as input for our meal planning so that we only need to purchase a few perishable items to create delicious homemade meals.

Knowing what to stock in our pantry means that we're not only creating less clutter in our homes, but we're also saving money each week. Since we want to help you do both, we'll help you take control of your pantry in this episode by covering:

What ingredients to stock so that you're never far from a home-cooked meal
Simple meal templates to take advantage of whatever is in your pantry
How to create more opportunities to use everything in your pantry

[Rerun] #1 Creating a Meal Planning System Oct 17, 2019

Show notes

Today we're rerunning the first episode we launched this podcast with -- enjoy!

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 worry about. These tried-and-true ideas for new parents can serve as your survival guide to feeding yourself!

We'll discuss:

How to stock up on freezer meals before the baby comes
How to create easy meal plans to help you get through the early days
How to keep yourself nourished all day long (remember - food for nursing mothers is paramount!), and
The most important cooking skill you should learn now to save time in the future (so you can spend more time with your little one or, let's be honest, catching up on those much needed zzz's)

For all the links mentioned in this episode and to leave us a comment, head to our show notes: www.cooksmarts.com/podcast/1

#18: Meet Sarah Byun our Kitchen Happiness Cheerleader Oct 10, 2019

Show notes

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 2015. Since then, she has helped countless customers get their questions answered, concerns addressed, typos on their emails fixed, always with the most cheerful demeanor.

In today's episode, you'll get to know this amazing multi-tasking mama and also get a behind-the-scenes look at our small but mighty company. Plus, you'll get to hear:

How Sarah juggles being a homeschooling mom with her Cook Smarts responsibilities
All the hats she wears because she does way more than answer customer service emails
The negative customer service email she had to answer in her application to get the job!

Join our Chop Like a Pro Challenge [Community Announcement] Oct 07, 2019

Show notes

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 to help you:

Improve your kitchen confidence
Teach you a life skill that will make such a difference in your cooking experience
Save you time in the kitchen

Now here are the main details:

The challenge will take place within our Facebook Group. If you're not a part of it already, get the link in the episode description (https://www.facebook.com/groups/cs.heroes/) or search for Cook Smarts Kitchen Heroes in Facebook. You do have to be a member of our meal plan service to join the group but you can get a free 30 day trial at cooksmarts.com.
The challenge will begin the week of October 14th and last for 4 weeks. While you can join in later, it's best to start from the beginning because the skills will build on each other. Every week, I will be doing a video lesson in the Facebook group and then assign you some homework to practice the skills discussed in the lesson. You can watch the videos anytime you're free so it's not like if you missed it live, you've missed the lesson. There will also be PDF downloads and some infographics posted to support your learning too. Plus, we're tying the lessons into the meal plan menus so you'll be killing 2 birds with 1 stone -- talk about efficiency, cause that's just the Cook Smarts way!

So that's really it. Super simple, right? If all of that sounds good you, make sure you're in our Facebook Group. You'll start to see announcements for it soon, and I'm so excited to kick it off the week of October 14th and have you going into the holiday season chopping like a total pro that I know that you are. See you in the Facebook Group!

#17: Toddler Nutrition with Kacie Barnes of Mama Knows Nutrition Oct 03, 2019

Show notes

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 chat, we cover:

Big picture nutrition guidelines for toddlers and what a balanced toddler diet should look like (it turns out that they do need way more carbs than adults do!)
The feeding worries parents have and how to handle them
Everything sugar and how to make sure there's less of it in your toddler's diet

If you're a parent of a tot, then don't miss this episode full of Kacie's wise and grounded advice that will have you feeling way less stressed and worried as a parent. If you want to grab her Picky Eater Starter Guide or get any of the links mentioned in the episode, head to www.cooksmarts.com/podcast/17

Global Chef's Knife Giveaway Reminder [Community Announcement] Sep 29, 2019

Show notes

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 hello@cooksmarts.com. That way we can easily contact you if you've won because it's not always obvious from your iTunes user name who you are.
If you've already left a review in the past or are just not an Apple person, you can call 650-386-0290 and leave a review as a voicemail. Please introduce yourself, tell us why you love Cook Smarts and our podcast, and then make sure to close with your email address. Don't worry, we won't share your email address on the air, but it'll make it easy for us to contact you.

We'll then mix up all the Apple reviews and phone reviews and select a winner at random on Friday, October 4th and then announce the winner on Monday, October 7th. And because we get to make our own rules, I just may add a bonus prize for my favorite review.

What if I don't know how to leave a review on Apple Podcast?

If you have the Apple Podcast app on your phone, just head to our podcast page from there, scroll to the bottom where you'll see ratings and reviews and just click on the Write a Review link. If you're on a desktop computer that has iTunes, just click on the link in our episode description (https://podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/in-the-kitchen-with-cook-smarts/id1454754429) and then choose to listen to the podcast on Apple Podcast. It'll open it in iTunes and from there you can click on "Ratings and Reviews" and click on the "Write a Review" button.

Remember to enter by Wednesday, 10/2 and thank you for your support of our podcast, Cook Smarts, and home cooking!

#16: The Story Behind Cook Smarts + Turning 38 Sep 26, 2019

Show notes

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 happened to me.

If you want to leave me some birthday love, got a question you want us to answer, or comments about a previous episode, give us a call at 650-386-0290 and leave us a voicemail (or a text for those who have no idea how to use their phone as a phone).

Want to be a super supporter of the show and home cooking? Please share this episode with all your friends who want to be better cooks, and leave us a review on Apple Podcast. If we share your review in a future episode, we'll send you a Cook Smarts tote bag to bring you more fun and eco-friendly grocery shopping!

Win a Global Chef's Knife [Community Announcement] Sep 19, 2019

Show notes

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 a lucky listener to get one too!

You have 2 options to enter the giveaway:

Leave a review on Apple Podcast and then send us a screenshot of it at hello@cooksmarts.com. That way we can easily contact you if you've won because it's not always obvious from your iTunes user name who you are.
If you've already left a review in the past or are just not an Apple person, is to leave a review on our voicemail. The number is 650-386-0290. Introduce yourself, tell us why you love Cook Smarts and our podcast, and then make sure to close with your email address. Don't worry, we won't share your email address on the air, but it'll make it easy for us to contact you.

We'll then mix up all the Apple reviews and phone reviews and select a winner at random on Friday, October 4th and then announce the winner on Monday, October 7th. And because we get to make our own rules, maybe there will be a bonus prize for the review that gives me the biggest smile!

Now for those of you who want to participate but have never left a podcast review, let me walk you through how to do it. There are 2 easy ways to do it. If you have the Apple Podcast app on your phone, just head to our podcast page from there, scroll to the bottom where you'll see ratings and reviews and just click on the Write a Review link. If you're on a desktop computer that has iTunes, just click on this link https://podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/in-the-kitchen-with-cook-smarts/id1454754429, and then choose to listen to the podcast on Apple Podcast. It'll open it in iTunes and from there you can click on "Ratings and Reviews" and click on the "Write a Review" button.

So leave us some kind words on Apple Podcast or give us a ring at 650-386-0290. We'd love to hear your voice and remember to introduce yourself at the beginning and leave your email at the end!

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