Stay ConnectedFeeding a family is among the most basic of human responsibilities. So why do we so often feel like we’re failing at it? On Pressure Cooker, veteran journalists Jane Black and Liz Dunn dish out empathy and common-sense strategies for busy parents navigating manipulative marketing messages, impossible cultural expectations, and little people with big personalities as they try to set their children on a healthy path for life.
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Just in time for the holiday season, we’re resurfacing one of our favorite episodes about all the conflicts that bubble up when other people get involved in feeding our kids. Jane and Liz enlist the help of Carolyn Hax, the Washington Post’s legendary advice columnist, to help solve listeners’ issues with interfering, overbearing, and lackadaisical relatives who make feeding our kids more stressful than it should be.
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Caroline Chambers is a guru to parents trying to get dinner on the table. And now, Caroline joins Pressure Cooker to troubleshoot the ultimate (and most exhausting) meal of the year: Thanksgiving. On this episode, she offers essential “dos” like “edit the meal to no more than five dishes” and a lot of sanity-saving “don’ts” to keep you in the holiday spirit.
Plus, Caro gave us her recs for truly great recipes to try this year. Enjoy:
TURKEY: Cover in salt, smoked paprika, and brown sugar. Leave it uncovered in the fridge for 48 hours. Roast at 325 degrees F for 15 minutes per pound. It’s done when it’s 160 degrees F when you stick a thermometer in the thigh and breast.
STUFFING: Ina Garten’s mushroom and leek bread pudding
MAKE-AHEAD GRAVY:The secret here is Better Than Bouillon; use this recipe as a template, but use turkey and beef flavors. Or follow Jane’s cheat, reduced cider-stock make-head from Gourmet circa 2004.
GREEN BEANS: Charred beans and some peanuts elevate this otherwise tired side dish.
PUMPKIN MAC AND CHEESE: A seasonal version of the dish kids can’t refuse.
ROASTED CARROTS:Thank you Ottolenghi for this easy and amazing carrot dish. Note: You can skip the tahini yogurt, throw any leftover thyme inside your turkey.
CRANBERRY LIME PIE: A sweet dessert with just enough tang to stand out on your buffet.
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Turns out the secret of cooking has nothing to do with hacks and recipes. It is, according to British author Bee Wilson, about overcoming all the parts of daily life that get in the way of making it pleasurable. Bee joins Jane and Liz to discuss her new book, The Secret of Cooking, and her pioneering research on how to successfully convince children to try and like new foods.
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When it comes to feeding infants their first foods, American parents are divided into two camps: those who favor spoon feed their infants purées and those who adhere to “baby led weaning,” which encourages babies to feed themselves. If this doesn’t seem all that complicated or controversial…think again. Who’s right? Liz and Jane talk to Amy Bentley, a professor at NYU about how we have fed babies through the ages, and to Dr. Krupa Playforth about the latest science to understand why it has come to this and how parents can make the best decision for their babies.
Want to know more? Check out Amy Bentley’s book: Inventing Baby Food: Taste, Health and the Industrialization of the American Diet.
Dr. Playforth, aka The Pediatrician Mom, has more resources to help: 101 Before One offers a printed guide, recipe book and digital platform which teaches parents how to introduce solids to their baby, with info on intuitive eating, nutrition and allergens.
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Influencer dietitians are all over social media – and their advice about feeding kids isn't always as impartial as you might think. On this week’s episode, Liz and Jane talk to Ananad O’Connor, the lead reporter on a newly released investigation by the Washington Post into the surprising financial ties between Big Food and registered dietitians on Instagram and TikTok.
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Artificial intelligence can write term papers and computer code. It helped someone win the lottery. But could it succeed at the ultimate task: Meal planning for demanding children? Pressure Cooker takes on the challenge with the help of a special guest.
Want to try this at home? We have a cheat sheet for how to create customized, easy dinners with ChatGPT. Plus, a Pressure Cooker-tested ChatGPT written recipe that your kids will love: Lettuce Wraps with Sesame-Ginger Pork.
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Welcome new listeners. We’re highlighting one or our favorite episodes: The Great American Food System makes chicken nuggets that look like hearts, dinosaurs even Baby Yoda. And why not? Last year, American families spent more than $200 million on frozen nuggets in novelty shapes. In this episode, Jane and Liz talk to Scott Friedman, whose family invented the dinosaur chicken nugget, and explore why dino nuggets—and all sorts of fun-shaped foods—might deserve a little more respect.
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Listen in on a live podcasting event on the future of motherhood, coproduced by Future of Women. This week, Jane is joined by the Better Life Lab’s Brigid Schulte, journalists Helena Dyer Andrews, Julianna Goldman and Daniella Senior of the Colada Shop to discuss what’s not working for moms in America today and how we can work together to make change.
If you’re fired up after the conversation, here are a few organizations to follow or get involved with: Moms Rising, the Better Life Lab, the Center for American Progress, the National Women’s Law Center, Moms First.
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For years, cook and writer Tamar Adler’s kitchen overflowed with leftovers: stale bread, leftover buttermilk, potato chip crumbs. Her mission was to figure out what to do with all of them. Her new book, The Everlasting Cookbook: Leftovers A - Z, has the answers. In this episode, she troubleshoots how busy parents can rethink leftovers – it’s a meal with half the work already done! – plus offers advice on how not to let a picky child get under your skin.
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On Instagram, mommy influencers abound, offering recipe inspiration, parenting hacks…and advice on which non-stick pan or organic snackbar will definitely, finally make you feel like the mother you always thought you would be! On this episode, Jane and Liz talk to Sara Petersen, the author of the new book “Momfluenced: Inside the Maddening, Picture-Perfect World of Mommy Influencer Culture” about the multi-billion dollar business of momfluencing, and why we’re so drawn to watching performances of motherhood online.
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