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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Americans spend almost a billion dollars each year on children’s dietary supplements: a category which, today, includes not just daily multivitamins but an increasingly exotic array of gummies aimed at promoting immunity, digestion, mood, and sleep. Liz and Jane unspool the history of our national obsession with vitamins with the science journalist and Vitamaniaauthor Catherine Price – then talk to pediatrician and educator Dr. Krupa Playforth, aka The Pediatrician Mom, to get to the bottom of which gummies your kids might actually need, and which they don’t.
As promised, here’s where you can find out more about the third-party vitamin certifiers mentioned by Catherine and Krupa on the show:
To learn more about Catherine, sign up for her newsletter at CatherinePrice.com. You can also stay up-to-date on the latest parenting tips from Dr. Playforth at thepediatricianmom.com where you can also find her free download that reviews research on common immune supplements.
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“Do I look fat in this?” This is the phrase that parents fear more than most any other. And yet, how many parents raised in the diet crazed 1980s and ‘90s have never said this themselves. As a nation, we are pathologically afraid of fat. And this, argues Virginia Sole-Smith is making us, not thinner or healthier, but fatter and sicker. Jane and Liz go deep with Virginia on her new book, Fat Talk: Parenting in the Age of Diet Culture, about how fatphobia affects children and how you to rethink conversations about weight.
And if you like what you hear, check out Virginia’s excellent Substack newsletter, Burnt Toast.
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Three meals, good. Extra snacks, bad. Or so they say. With the help of Professor Marion Nestle, Jane and Liz dig into the cultural history of snacking to find out why parents believe they should limit snacking and whether that advice still stands in a 24/7 world.
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Twenty-six episodes down and still so many things to discover about why feeding kids is so absurdly complicated! Jane and Liz reflect on how a year of reporting did–and did not–change how they feed their kids, and, essentially, how they feel about their success.
We're always planning future episodes. So if you have ideas you want to share with us, stories from your own kitchens, crazy things your kids said, nodding questions -- send a voice memo or email to: email@hellopressurecooker.fm
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Some people will go to any length to cook the best version of pizza, ribs–you name it. J. Kenji Lopez-Alt is their culinary hero. The best-selling cookbook author and New York Times recipe columnist has earned a cult following putting the scientific method to work for home cooks. On this week’s episode, Kenji talks about how he really cooks at home for his kids and how he managed to get the only kid in the world who loves to eat fish heads.
For more inspiration, check out two of Kenji’s favorite, kid-proof recipes: Three Ingredient Stovetop Mac and Cheese and Foolproof Pan Pizza
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Going to restaurants with kids is…not always fun. So how do we set the table for success? Jane and Liz talk to Roberta Schomburg, a child development expert who worked for many years with Fred–that’s Mister, to you--Rogers, and Daniel Post Senning, the great-, great-grandson of Emily Post who offers up tactical wisdom on how to teach good table manners to your kids.
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One-third of Americans are trying to eat less meat. And yet…U.S. meat consumption per capita is at an all-time high. What gives? Turns out shifting your family’s diet is really (really) hard. On this episode, Jane and Liz talk to Jenny Rosenstrach, author of “The Weekday Vegetarians” for ideas on how to eat less meat overall and to accommodate kids who choose to skip meat.
Trying to eat less meat yourself. Check out these additional resources:
Dinner a Love Story Substack: Lots of ideas for meat-free meals, plus a peek into Jenny’s life in Brooklyn
Nigel Slater’s Green Feast Series: Always inspiring, very simple cooking. Mostly plants.
Hetty McKinnon: Cookbook author and mom who specializes in Asian flavors. Her new book Tenderheart (pre-order here) is about vegetable cooking and family bonds.
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Is scratch cooking really all it’s cracked up to be? In this episode, Jane and Liz challenge the idea that society’s ills can be solved by each of us spending more time in the kitchen, sing the praises of convenience food, and talk to the authors of the 2019 book Pressure Cooker: Why Home Cooking Won’t Solve Our Problems, and What We Can Do About It. The hosts close out the show by sharing the dinner shortcuts they love.
As promised, here are Pressure Cooker’s picks for time-savers you can feel good about.
Heat and Eat
Pasta Sauce
Dump & Stir
Rice, Noodles, Dumplings
What are your faves? Let us know @pressurecook_fm
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Same house. Same parents. Same food. And yet kids have vastly different tastes and interest in food. Is it something you’re doing? Or do genes control what our children will eat? Liz and Jane speak with Dr. Alison Fildes, a British geneticist, to try to untangle what’s nature, what’s nurture and how science can liberate you at the dinner table.
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Since publishing her New York Times bestseller Fair Play in 2019, Eve Rodsky has become a leader in the movement to rebalance the domestic chore burden, which has historically fallen mostly to women. In this episode, Jane and Liz chat with Eve about her Fair Play system, how it came to be, and real strategies to help parents better work together to tackle the daily grind of feeding kids.
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