World Class Food Writer & Nutritionist | Robin Miller | Talks at Google

Thank you. Thanks for coming in here. Like, right before lunch, you know, I have to talk about food. Could it be anywhere? Well, some people are eating, so that's good. I thought what I would do is I'd just tell you a little bit about myself, I guess, if you're interested about how I started some people. A lot of the questions I get. I'll use this for now. A lot of the questions I get are, how do you get. I'll use. I'll use this one. How do you get a show on the Food Network? So I'll just tell you a little bit about my background, how that happened, and then I'd love to open it up to questions, because for me, that's what I get the most out of these things. And I think people do, too, when they can actually just kind of pick my brain. And it can be anything, you know, about the show. I'm a nutritionist, you know, trying just not to keep it real personal. And I'll be happy to answer all kinds of questions. I'll just go if I think we're out of line. But. So I noticed you all have the book. I'm really excited about it because it is my life. I feel like when I do the show and, you know, now I have a studio across the street, so I taped in Chelsea Market, right across the street, which I love. I don't know if you guys saw the billboard over there. I just took a picture of it and sent it to my husband. Like, oh, boy, this is getting scary. But so it's really fun. And we do it over there. And I just. I tell people that I feel like I'm cooking in my own kitchen because they kind of designed it. When they came to my house, looked at my house, they kind of did the kitchen with what they thought would be, like, rob, you know, kitchen that I would like. And I just feel like there's just cameras there. So I'm cooking and I'm talking to my friends. Just happens to be some camera guys there. And some help, obviously, from the Food Network kitchens, doing some shopping. And I really feel like it's like that. And the way that I started in this whole career is, again, was kind of my life. I got married, not right out of college, a little bit after, but I couldn't cook. I spent my four years in college just doing what students do, which was not cooking and relying on my roommates, food and takeout. But then I got married, and I had all this great new cookware and new knives and everything that I wanted to use and didn't know how to use them. So I quit my job. I stayed home for a year, and I just started dabbling in the kitchen. I used Joy of Cooking. I used the silver palette cookbooks. I went from newspapers and magazines, and I just played, played, played in the kitchen and. And wrote the Newlywed Cookbook. After that year, my goal was, I'm just going to learn how to cook and keep notes and someday I'll write a cookbook. But I got so passionate about it that that year I wrote the Newlywed Cookbook. And I also got passionate about nutrition at that time. And I went back to school and got my master's in nutrition and started writing for magazines. And that's why when you heard it's the contributing editor of Health and Cooking Light, I kind of put the two together because a lot of nutritionists can't cook and a lot of chefs don't know a whole lot about nutrition. And so putting the two together was very important for the magazines at that time in the early 90s, when we were really starting to learn a lot about diet and health. And I've been doing that ever since, really. I wrote, I've written. This is my seventh cookbook. I still write for all the magazines, Shape and Men's Fitness and all the fitness magazines, as well as others and cookbooks that are. Some are healthy, some are, you know, I have a picnics cookbook and I have a soup cookbook with some of the, you know, the fat content in there. There's a daily soup. I don't know if you ever had daily soup. It's in New York. It's their cookbook. I made all their soups home cook friendly. So it's been really fun. And I just feel like it's kind of been. Each cookbook has been at that stage of my life. I was living in Manhattan and I was eating soup and I was making soup and that book. And then my life got crazy. I had a couple of kids. I didn't have time to cook anymore. So I came up with the quick fix strategies of meal planning. And you'll see the strategies that are in there of prepping ahead and morphing and doing what you can so you can make your meal times really easy and fun during the week. Getting three meals to the table in about 20 minutes during the week using a few different strategies that you see in the book and on the show. The way I got the show was I have been doing, I did a lot of morning television all these Years, Good Morning America, the View, and those shows did a lot of those. And Food Network, I did lots of those little commercials. I mean, I did one for Pet Food and Slim Fast, and they had these little commercials. They call them interstitials between the shows. But there was never a fit for a show until my life got to be like everybody else's, where I wanted to make dinner and I didn't have time, and I had little ones pulling on my legs or I was holding them, and I used to make dinner with a Baby Bjorn strapped right, like, I hope nothing flies out of the pan. And finally they called and said, we think we found it. We think, you know, what do you think of this idea? What are the strategies that you do for getting your meals on the table? I said, well, and we had a couple of meetings and. And that was how it evolved because there was, you know, a nutrition show wasn't right, and all kinds of different things just weren't the right fit until. I don't know if you guys saw Robin to the Rescue, which aired Saturday night. I think it airs again this Saturday night. It's a primetime show that I did. It's a special, and I go to people's homes and solve their mealtime dilemmas. And there's one couple, you know, vegetarian couple, and she really just eats peas and corn and she's vegetarian, but she eats nothing else. I was like, do you know that anyway, you can go out and show. And then there was a woman with a picky eater son, a guy who wanted to lose ten pounds, a woman who was using her oven for storage space instead of actually cooking in there. All of her wedding gifts were in the oven. God forbid I went in to preheat it, she would have lost her martini glasses. But that was really fun because I thought that keeps me in touch with. People really are trying to make it work. Whether it's one night a week or three nights a week, they trying to get dinner to the table, whether it's for weight loss or feeding their kids or having this vegetarian, you know, really control freak, you know, the guy did all the cooking and really trying to get her to eat something that he, you know, and she wouldn't even go in the kitchen if there was a steak being cooked. So trying to solve all these different problems is part of those strategies, but he's also is keeping me in touch with issues that I might not think about. So it's a fun show, and it's. It's just kind of an extension of the. And all the strategies from quick fix meals are in there. It's kind of an extension of the regular quick fix meals show. So in a nutshell, we just spanned, I think, 15 years and that's a blip on the screen. But I. So now I'm embarking and I'm really honored to be here because this is the first week of my tour. The book just came out Tuesday, it's only Thursday. And I feel honored to be here because this, I feel like this is the first few days I'm kicking it off. I'm doing the best I can to kind of get awareness out there, get people to say, oh, my God, I made your chicken catchatorian. Thank you. And that's all I want. I just want people to, you know, kind of just help them in some way and to be here and to have you guys here and with the books and some aprons back there. This is an honor for me to be able to start this way. So thank you for having me here. And I know that was really brief, but I do know that it's lunchtime and if I would love to just answer questions, you know, I'm sure I forgot some things, stuff, and I'd love to open it up to. If anybody has anything they want to know about. Fired up on that one. Do you want them to go to the mic? If you wouldn't mind. Hi, michelle. He's working up an appetite. Hello. Testing. There you go. Hi. I actually have a combination challenge for me personally. Something, something quick, obviously. And it sounds like this book can really address that. I was thumbing through already. What about, though, balancing it with low fat. Are there any recommendations for you can replace, Just for those of us who are trying to watch our weight a little bit. You know, it's interesting because I, as a nutritionist, all the recipes that I test, I test them the low fat way. So I'll use the reduced fat sour cream, the light mayonnaise. I'll use less oil so that I know. Because if a recipe's not going to work, it's not going to work. When you do it that way, it's always going to work with full fat, sour cream and heavy cream. I mean, what doesn't work, that's fine. So when I test it, I tested the low fat way. And then in the cookbook, I give you options or you can certainly know, and I say this in the show all the time, you can use a lower fat ingredient perfectly fine. You can swap it out. I do it a lot in my. When I Know that the recipe's not going to be compromised. I do it in my everyday cooking. I just don't push on everybody. So if it's a choice that you want to make, it can be done with all of my recipes. Because that's the way 99.9% of the time, that's the way I've cooked it, with a reduced fat ingredient or a lighter ingredient, less oil. And you'll notice a lot of the cookbooks that are out there have a couple of tablespoons of olive oil just to saute a half a cup of onion. In mine, it's two teaspoons to a tablespoon, so it's already cut back for you. And then you can certainly swap out. Because I don't think in terms of sour cream and cheese and yogurt, I don't think you can tell the difference. Fat free, maybe, but the lights to the full fat, I don't think you can tell the difference when you're incorporating it into a sauce or a dish. What about replacing oil? I know you said you cut back on the oil, but is there something else you can replace that with if you're going to saute something? You mean just using a very little. I mean, using a nonstick skillet, A little bit of oil really does help pull flavors from things. And that oil will also hold the spices, and then the spices get all incorporated into sauces. So a little dash of it, even if you could just do a teaspoon of it, is helpful and it's good for your heart. Great. Oil is too. But if you can't. If you absolutely can't, and I have some fat phobe friends definitely won't even add any in the pan. A little bit of spray in a nonstick pan would work, too. Thank you. Sure. Hi, Robin. Hi. My name is Cale. Thank you for coming. Oh, gosh. Oh, my pleasure. Yeah. So I see on your cover you have either a Vusthoff or Henckelsnad. I don't know which one that is. But I want to know what your top five essential tools that you, you know, your go to. Tools that you always have to have around to, like equipment tools. Absolutely no vessels, you know, like Le Creuset or, you know, or your actual knife. Top five. Okay. Top five. I always, I think if I think about what I probably use every single day. My huge nonstick skillet. Okay. Because I use it for everything. I even use that. Cause instead of pulling out the stovetop griddle, I use that to make Luke's pancakes. In the morning. Sure, sure. And I also do that to do all my stir fries. So. Okay. We got a big non stick skillet, stovetop grill pan. Love. Then you get the grill marks. And those grill marks just caramelized and just the lines. Just a great presentation, great flavor, awesome heat proof spatulas. So that I am, you know, they're almost all heat proof now, but the spatulas so that I can do like that instead of having the wooden spoon and then the spatula to get it out. So I'm using one because it's quick fix cleanup too, not just the cooking part. Oh, this is good. Blender. I always use my blender margaritas. I live in Southwest, but sauces, you know, great for taking a jar of roasted red peppers and just adding some basil and some garlic. And you got a roasted red pepper sauce right in my blender. What do you use for cutlery? Do you use ceramic? Do you use. I use the. I have. It's so funny because I have a lot of knives. I love knives. But the most important thing for me is that they're sharp. So I have Henkel and I have Wusthof in biking sent me some knives and I love those too. It's. To me, it's not about who makes them because I guess I do like the heavy handle and the stainless steel, but I just, to me, it just has to be sharp. Sure. And I think, I guess I'm more prone to stainless. Stainless, okay. But keeping them sharp is what's keeping it safe too. And I'm not a chef, so it's really important to me. And I don't call myself a chef. I'm not chef trained. It's important to me to have a really good tool that's at its peak so that it can help me do my job, you know, without cutting my finger. Thank you, Robin. Appreciate it. Thank you. Hi, Robin. I'm Jenny. Thanks for being here. Two questions. So when you're experimenting with new recipes, where do the inspirations come from? And also, how many times do you have to test it out before you think it's ready for rolling out the second question? Hopefully once. Hopefully it's not so bad. My inspirations come from all over the place. I get a lot of inspiration from when I'm out shopping. Wow, that mango looks amazing. I know. I have chicken at home. I get some. You know, it's like a lot of times I'll see what's out, what's fresh, what looks great. I'll go home and invent. I Get a lot of ideas off of chef menus. You know, I'll see. Wow, there's a honey glazed calamari. That's so cool. You know, can I do that? Or maybe I would want to do that honey glaze on something more, you know, consumer friendly. And maybe I'll try it on. I don't know, I'll try it with scallops or something. So I get a lot of ideas just off because I can't eat everything on every menu. And I travel a lot, so we get really great ideas from other chefs. And then frankly, I think some of my best recipes have come from opening the cabinets, being like, all right, what do I have? And then my husband calls me MacGyver in the kitchen. He's like, I make dinner with a Q tip and a paper clip. So we just open it up. And I think sometimes when you force yourself to be creative with what you already have, and I always try to have a lot of spices dried hand so that I can turn something, you know, that was Mexican turned into something that's Asian or, you know, Italian. Just being able to open up the cabinets and do that, that. That is pulling from inside and really helps me be more creative too. So that's what I do. And then testing it, I try. I try to get it on paper. I get it on paper first, tweak it. Measurements are just kind of a rough measurement. Then I get in, I have that sheet of paper, and I edit and write all over it and spill all over it and cook and then go right back to the computer with my sticky fingers. And I'm on my third keyboard. I think, do you have a lot of tasters? I have tast. You know what I do? I have tasting parties, which are so much fun. And the wild mushroom tart that you are going to taste today. I threw my son a birthday party at home. We had all like the normal. I had lots of kid friendly food, but I put that tart out there. The kids were eating it as much as the parents. I also had 15 different dishes out there that were cut up in little portions so people could have taste. And people are getting to know me now enough to critique. Used to be in the beginning, everything tasted good because we've all been raised, like, never criticize the host food, but I encourage people to say if it's too salty or if it needs more cheese or whatever. So big, huge tasting parties. And I put little cards of what it is, what it's made of, and I encourage feedback from people and I Take notes. Actually, just one more question. Since you were talking about all the new ingredients out there and things like that, and then the healthy slant that you tried to take from your perspective with a lot of the artificial sweeteners out there and then a lot of fat substitutes or synthetic types of things out there, how do you reconcile that with, you know, staying true to the health aspect of it? I put Splenda in my coffee, but not in my cookies. You know, I mean, it's my choice to have. It's my choice for my. You know, I like that. But I think there's a way to incorporate everything into moderation in a diet. So when I'm going to make a cake, I'm going to make a cake. You know what I mean? The rest of the meals, the main courses, are light when they can be light, if, you know, you'll see on the show. I do some pasta dishes with heavy cream. I definitely do. And there's a place for that in a diet. Oh, the synthetics. Yeah. I just feel like. I feel like I don't want to deprive myself of any one thing, because then that's the only thing that's only I'm going to want. So I try to find a healthy balance for all of it. I don't have any artificial sweeteners in the book. I don't have a lot of desserts. I have a good, fair amount of desserts, but there's much more in the chicken section because I think that's what people need more of during a crazy busy week. But all the desserts are going to be full fat, you know, because if you're going to take the time to do that, I feel like you should enjoy those flavors and just enjoy them in moderation. Does that make sense? Yeah, definitely. Here's a little. Kind of an inside scoop. Although we are taping this, but I'm allergic to egg yolks. So when I make my cakes and cookies at home, if it's just for us, I just use the whites and I can't tell the difference. Maybe it's because I've always done it this way, because I've had to. But I've served this one chocolate cake because I know if I'm gonna. At the end of the party, I know that I'm gonna want some cake, too. So I just don't put the yolks in there, and no one can ever tell. So something like that I do for an allergy standpoint, but. And I. And I can do that with my Own cooking too. So that's like a little thing that I do that cuts back the fat not significantly, but people can tell the difference if the flavors and the ingredients are all put together kind of in a, in a good way. You won't, you don't, you don't miss it. Thank you. I guess I answered that question, but I just told a secret. So we got something out of me. Thank you so much. Because if you ever see on the show, cooks have things with mayonnaise in them and they have to use a mayonnaise substitute so that I can taste it because I want to taste it as we cook along. So we, we have mayonnaise sub. Hi, Robin. I'm Marty. How are you? Hi. Good morning. The question that I had for you is I love to cook. So I think one of the exciting things about cooking is teaching your friends how to be excited about cooking because they're always sort of freaked out by it and totally scared by it. So what advice do you have for people who are like how you said you started out, you didn't have any idea how to cook, who they've never opened a cookbook before. They have no idea where to start. What types of tips do you have for them to get them excited and not fearful of cooking? I would say, well, first have them over because you're clearly so excited about it. Have them over, give them a glass of wine. Say, sit at the end of the counter, let me show you how it's done. That would be so much fun. You can cook for them, but starting small, you know, I didn't first out of the gate, I did not try to make a seven layer cake. You know, I just tried to see what it was like to search chicken in a perfect way. And I think picking a recipe. And you'll see in the shows that are coming up, I have some new strategies that I'm doing now. Five ingredients or less. And then there's a dinner express chapter where it's 15 minutes. So looking for a short ingredient list that's packed with flavor and a recipe that's ready in about 15 or 20 minutes, I think would be less daunting and encourage them to get started. And once they get started, because I feel like it's so much fun and it's so rewarding to cook for yourself and your friends once they get that and they realize it's not such a big deal. Is there a list of things like if I'm going to the grocery store and I live in California, but if I was In New York, for instance, people have very little storage space. So I know we, we were talking about the actual utensils and things like that that are helpful. But if I'm just starting to cook, what types of things should I be looking for in the grocery store? Are they low sodium chicken broths? Are they frozen vegetables? What types of things would you recommend I have in there? Right in the first section. 10 pantry staples I can't live without. And then there's 10 more that I wouldn't like to live without. I wrote my first cookbook in my New York apartment. I was rolling out pie crust on my coffee table. I had one burner, I had a little refrigerator smaller than, you know, is not. It was. I mean, it can be done. It's just, you know, all about the ways of only buying what you need when you live in a small space. But those pantry items are things like olives. Get a little jar of olives, dried herbs and spices. Even when you get a little New York apartment, you get five maybe. Or oregano, thyme, cumin, curry, and one other one, salt and pepper. Just enough that you can make different flavors during the week. There's pastas and rice. I know in New York you can get things in smaller sizes. Things that you can still come home and get dinner to the table in 20, 25 minutes would be key. Just the essentials and that they're listed in there. And you can make a sauce from all those things. Yeah. Wonderful. I know. Go friends. Hi, Robin. My name's Lisa and I do a lot of shopping at Whole Foods. So I buy a lot of organic and fresh prod. I was wondering two things. One, do you have any tips for keeping it fresh? And is refrigerating it not ideal? And then the second is, are there ways that you lose nutrients? Like I think steaming is better than boiling. Obviously, like that's a clear one. But are there ways to keep the nutrients in other than just cooking with the skins and things like that? Yeah. In terms of organic, this is my thought on again. And I love organic foods only if they're as fresh as their non organic counterparts. And I've been, I've been saying this for a while because if you, sometimes you go, now Whole Foods, this has a high turnover. They have great produce. But if you don't shop at Whole Foods and you have your organic produce section and then you have your regular produce section and the organic doesn't look as fresh, it's been sitting there longer. And the minute something, you know, broccoli Stalk and asparagus or, you know, anything lettuce is picked. The nutrients, it starts to lose nutrients from the minute it's pick and it's been sitting on the shelf longer than something that's getting a higher turnover, that's non organic, let's say it's less expensive. You're better off getting something that is non organic, that's fresher because there's more nutrients in terms of. And I have to tell you, I've been on a lot of press junkets where we've been to organic farms and I've been to huge organic tomato farms in California, love them. But then right across the street is a non organic farm. So I'm thinking when the wind blows and they're spraying, you know, so I mean, I think if you're getting a lot less, it's not, I don't think it's perfect yet. Yet. So that's my one take on organic. If it looks fresh and wonderful and that's what you want to buy, perfect. And then keeping it in the crisp or the driest part of your refrigerator where there's very low humidity is the best place to keep it fresh the longest. If you think you're losing, running out of time, blanching it, lock it in. So it's like we're talking 30 seconds in boiling water or steaming it, 30 seconds and then finishing cooking it later to preserve, to lock in the nutrients before they fade out over time. And then your question about retaining the nut, so steaming it, blanching it, because not a lot of nutrients are going to be lost or using, using that liquid that you've blanched it in as your broth for something later on. So say you're blanching your broccoli now you have a vegetable stock you can add to a sauce or a soup or a stew later on. Does that make sense? Yeah. Thanks. To maximize the nutrients. I hate when you see you steam broccoli and you see all that green water, you're like, oh, that should be in my veins, you know. Hi, Robin, I'm Julie. Hi, Julie. Hi. I just have a couple quick questions. One, I noticed in your cookbook that you mentioned a time saver was to cook pasta and or rice over the weekend and then use it throughout the week. How do you reheat that? Or what's the best way to reheat pasta when you do it? What I do is I always cook. I do it during the week. My kids get up really early, so sometimes at 6 o' clock in the morning, I'm cranking up a big pot of boiling water just so it's ready for later on. I do about 2 pounds, but I portion out a pound or even a half a pound in a plastic bag or a sealable container. Sometimes I will reheat it right in the sauce that I'm making. So the sauce and then I add it real quick and toss it together maybe with a little bit of water. And that way as it's reheating it, it's absorbing the flavors of whatever sauce I just made. You can reheat it over a pot, you know, like in a colander, over a pot of simmering water. You know, it won't. It'll only take a minute to get this much water simmering versus waiting for a whole pot. So it really does save you time during the week. And certainly you can throw it in the microwave. Okay. You know, splash it with some water and throw it in the microwave. I find though, the best way to the best flavor is to reheat it in the sauce that I've just created or with what I'm gonna serve it with or toss it with some olive oil or pull it right from the fridge into the skillet with some olive oil, garlic. We're gonna do it that way or right into the sauce. That makes sense. And then one other question. My husband has a number of allergies and food sensitivities including wheat and gluten. And I was wondering, I haven't obviously read your cookbook in full, but do you have any suggestions as far as replacements for wheat? I'm sure you've done your of experimenting with some of. Right with some of the, like quinoa. I love quinoa. You know, it's the only, only perfect protein whole grain. So quinoa is awesome. A lot of these rice based products are good. There's an artichoke pasta that I love. I've tried that. I always tell people that can't have pasta. Has he ever tried spaghetti squash? What is it? Spaghetti squash? Anybody here have spaghetti squash? It's a squash that cooks up like spaghetti as a substitute for like pasta. As a substitute for pasta. It's really, it's cool and it's fun. You just cut it in half and you either roast it or put it in the microwave or steam it and then you shred it with a fork and really it's just like an al dente spaghetti. Don't you think? It's great with some tomato sauce over it. It's really good. So that's A great alternative. And plus, this vegetarian that I was telling you about in California was no past either. So I got her turned on to the spaghetti squash. So, like, it was a slam dunk. She was such a picky eater. Great. Thank you. Hi, Robin. My name's Michelle. Hi, Michelle. Hi. I am, I guess, still a newlywed. It will be a year and two months. And my husband and I are big cooks. Love to cook. One of the most difficult choices that we had to make when putting gifts on our registry was selecting pots and pans. And I was wondering if sort of two parts, if you had any favorite brands that you tend to think are the best and. Well, if not, what factors do you look for in selecting pots and pans and nonstick versus regular. Regular. Yeah. I'm not married to one particular brand because I really like Calphalon, just came out with. Or they may have been up before, but they, they have a contemporary stainless line. I love that. For some things, it's not non stick. So I love, I love their stock pots and I love their small skillet. But I also love, I have an Anolon pan. I have a tools of the trade, believe it or not. The I, I like things that feel good in my hand. A good non stick, not too heavy. And I have a Le Creuset Dutch oven. It's like £9 million. Once I put the food in it, everybody has to stand and eat right there. So I mean, but I definitely like the way it cooks the even heat. So I think a mix and match. My very first set that I got from my wedding registry was tools of the trade, which, you know, is everywhere. And I still use some of that stuff. So I think what feels good in your hand, what has a good even distribution of heat, which you can tell because you'll see the stainless, then you'll see, like that copper band, big surface. You can make a lot, especially with the quick fix strategies. It's about making extra so you can enjoy it later on. So big and then things that you think that you're going to be comfortable carrying, you know, draining your pasta and all that kind of stuff. Things that are comfortable in your arms. So it might not be a whole set. It might be a la carte, you know. Yeah. Makes sense. Thank you. Thanks. This is fine. Okay. Thanks for joining us today. Very brave of you to put yourself in front of a bunch of smart, analytical, critical people. Oh, I love it. It's like being home. Yeah. Here's a fairly simple idea, but it's. I've been Cooking since I was a kid. But the one thing that is the hardest thing for me to master is properly boiling an egg to a hard boiled state where it does not have any gray on that yolk. I've searched the Internet for the best, absolutely the best technique and I found about five that claim to be the best. No fail. And they've all failed. So what's the best way to boil an egg? And here's mine. And I'll tell you why it's important for me to know exactly how to cook that egg because I got to get that yolk out of there because I can't eat it, because I have the yolk allergy. And I know, I've seen all those things too. You turn the water on, bring to a boil, turn it off, and you let them sit there forever. I bring the water to a boil, I put the eggs in 12 minutes, ice water bath. They're perfect every time. They are. Do you start with room temperature eggs or refrigerated eggs? Cold, cold eggs. I never would have them just sitting out, not with two preschoolers around. Yeah, the eggs are not out. Right. Okay. So yeah, but 12 minutes and you know, I've even gone, I've even been like, oh, and it's gone to 14 and we've been fine. But that whole. It never seemed right. We just let it sit in the water after you've turned it down. Like poaching salmon. It works for salmon. For me it doesn't work for eggs. So bring the water up, get them in gently. 12 minutes, ice water bath. You're good to go. Bring on the egg salad. Hi, I'm Kara. Hi, Kara. I have a question about, I guess being a budget conscious shopper. Because I would love to shop at Whole Foods, but I can't really. Full paycheck. Yeah, exactly. Do you have suggestions for. I guess if I wanted to go to Whole Foods, what the best things really are to spend my money on or the best way to shop so that. Because I find if I buy all the things I want, it's way too expensive. Yeah, I shop at Costco, love it. I buy, you know, I don't know how many you're cooking for, but I will buy like eight pounds of chicken and separate it into the individual, then freeze them all in individual thaw able portions. So if I think I'm going to be needing two or four, however many I think I'm going to be needing to cook, I'll just separate them and put them in freezer bags. That way I Like to get things, you know, things that you can get the quality, you know, pasta, rice, all this stuff. Get where you normally shop. And then, you know, if organic is very important to you, like it was for her, then something like Whole Foods might. But every store has its organic section. I would say you go to Whole Foods for something only Whole Foods offers, if you really like their tabbouleh or something, you know. But I really think that, and from what I've understand because I've talked to a lot of supermarket management where I live and a lot of the delivery people, they're going to the same stores just to stop along the way. So you're getting the same quality no matter where you shop. So I would say you go to places like Trader Joe's where you can only get the Trader Joe's roasted red pepper hummus, for example, because they. And Costco has great red pepper hummus too. So. But I wouldn't feel like you need to go there because you're going to be getting more vitamin C out of your broccoli, you know, or more lycopene from your tomatoes because I think you're going to be getting, if you're going to a store that has a really good turnover rate and really good looking produce, you're going to be getting everything you need, nutrient wise. Oh, thank you. Sure. I like Super Walmart too. Diapers, cilantro in the same cart. I don't know if they have those here. Do they have those here? I never even stepped foot in one till last year. There's bananas in Walmart. Hello. So I'm Carolina. I've never really liked meat, but my mom keeps saying you have to eat meat like I don't know how often because you're not getting enough protein. So I was wondering, how much protein does a person really need? When you say meat, do you mean, do you mean chicken, fish? Everything but fish. So you like fish and you like nuts? Yes. I think most Americans get enough protein. Most of us do in just. Do you have dairy? Yes. So most Americans, as studies have shown, that we're getting enough protein in our daily routines. But iron, you know, I say for women that aren't eating red meat or chicken or turkey, that a fortified cereal in the morning is a great way to cover it because you're getting, it's almost like a multivitamin in a bowl right there. And if you're having with skim milk or soy milk at least you're starting your day with folate and iron and B vitamins. And calcium right there. And then, you know, you're pretty much. And you're getting protein, too. So there's protein in the milk, right? There's protein in the milk. There's protein in the cereal. Yeah. And if you get it a granola and it has nuts in there, you can add some nuts. 30 to 40% of your calories are supposed to be protein. So if it's 2000 calorie day, that's. How's it calculated? Wait, you're all 60 grams, right? I mean, I think that most of us get probably the 40 to 60 grams a day that we need. Okay, thank you. I wouldn't worry about it. But don't tell your mom I said that. My mom's a big meat. Meat gal, so. Hi, I'm Karen. Hi, Karen. Thanks for coming. I was wondering, you said that you have some preschoolers. Did you make your own baby food for them? Nope, nope. Gerber gal. Gerber gal. I thought about it and I just, you know, it would just. I just. I don't think that I would have made it bland enough in those early, early months. You know, they definitely add water. And I was thinking about processing the bananas and just, you know, they didn't stay on baby food very long, though. And are your kids pretty good eaters or are they picky eaters? My nephews are. They were picky eaters. They were both. Kyle more than Luke, incredibly picky. Like, I wanted to put him on Pedia Shore picky. And then I started incorporating them into the cooking process. I would, like, pull up a chair and help me stir. And ever since they've been cooking with me, they've been tasting everything. Kyle bit into a scallion last week. He was tasting the baking soda. And I mean, sometimes they may not ever do it again, but they're trying. And Kyle's on a big tilapia kick now just because he's like, what is that? I know, like, what, five year old? I want tilapia. You know, who says that? I'm sure it was just a phase, but. I think because they have a hand in it, it makes them feel they own it and they're willing to try it. And that really has changed my life. Of course I'm here now. They're probably eating. Who knows? I think they're going to Red Robin tonight. Thank you. Hi. Hi, Janine. Good. My parents house and I don't cook at all. I've never cooked. My mom just, you know, big pasta dish on Sunday and we all take it home and Eating off that till Wednesday. So, like, last night, I tried to make one of my mom's favorite dishes and realized I don't even own a can opener yet. That's how new I just moved in. So, anyway, I was reading. You know, it looks like really yummy stuff. Can you maybe give me some examples of stuff I can start with that Maybe not in this book. Other books that you've written, or any specific in this book, since you're going to have a book anyway. The whole Dinner Express chapter, I think, is streamlined. And then we were talking earlier about the 10 pantry staples. If you get those pantry staples, you'll be able to probably do everything in that Dinner Express chapter. And then you can fiddle around on the Food Network website. All the recipes that I've done on the show are there, and you can look at them and say, you know, too complicated requires a can opener. You know, stuff like that. I'm planning on picking one up later this week. Maybe that'll be number 11 on the list of 10 things you must have. Yeah, yeah. So that's what I would do. I would say stick to the Dinner Express 10 pantry staples. Get those and 11, and then stick to the easier ones. And all of the time it takes to cook, the total time prepped through cooking is there, too. So you see, if it looks too daunting, you know, stick with something that's 15 minutes and not 45, and that'll get you up and running, and then you'll be soon making mom sauce. I'm a half Italian. My dad grew up with the sundae sauce. Yeah, it's like people from the street coming in. It's just whoever's around. Everybody sit down, have some pasta. My mom has never mastered my grandmother's. Yeah, I'll get that. Thanks so much. Any more questions? I know you're getting hungry for that mushroom tart, too. It's in there somewhere. Look in the index. Hi, I'm Scott. Thanks for coming. Hi, Scott. I have to admit, I am not the chef in the family. I am the pastry person in the family. So I know you've given us one tip already about using just egg whites and cakes. Is there any other things that I can do to make desserts more nutritious and not so high in the fats and all the bad stuff you're not supposed to eating? I. Well, what works what I. Because, you know, I write for magazine, read these magazine columns, and they're always asking for desserts and shape and cooking light and health, always asking for lighter Desserts. So I've done gazillions of them. And that's, you know, the egg whites, applesauce, prune puree, all these things that can substitute. I never, I've learned over the course of the years of recipe testing not to take all the fat out anymore because it may be good for the first 10 minutes when it comes out of the oven, but an hour later it's just rubbery, you know, so leaving a little bit of the fat. So say something calls for half a cup of fat, a half a cup of butter, leave a quarter cup in and substitute with a quarter cup of prune puree or applesauce or mashed banana, depending what it is. Puff pastry. Now, you know, it's the store bought stuff you can really use. You can roll it out, make it thinner. I use instead of the sometimes puff pastry, I use the wonton skins. I sugar them. I don't know if you guys. I think the recipe's in there for Napoleon's. With sugared wontons. It's like a, it's a crispy wafer, sugary delicacy. That's a great alternative to puff pastry. Buttermilk. Love buttermilk. Instead of whole milk or heavy cream just gives you that richness. And buttermilk by nature is low fat. And. And the egg whites, if something calls for three eggs, I would say, you know, leave one yolk in for texture wise, you know, pastry, I think that does that answer. So we got cakes, cookies, I even make. I make the toll house. Turn over the toll house. I do like a version of that with the whites and that works great. Just whites. Then I add more chips. So counter to make sure there's. Thank you. You guys getting hungry for the mushroom tart? Cool. Thank you so much. Thank you guys very much.