After the cheesy gut bombs of the Reagan era, we’ve arrived at the “hopey changey” era of school lunch. Michelle Obama put school lunch on the front page and ushered in upgraded nutrition standards. But the battles didn’t end there. In this episode, Jane and Liz unwrap the future of school food with concrete tips on how parents can make a difference.

And, as promised, If you'd like to follow along and find out what we'll be doing in  Pressure Cooker's next act, please submit your email address at pressurecook.substack.com. Thank you, listeners, for two amazing years!

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For those unfamiliar with the inner workings of the school lunch program, it is puzzling, even maddening: Why is it so hard to offer tasty, nutritious food at school? In this episode, Jane and Liz dig into the history of the school lunch program to unveil how we got to where we are today. It’s a surprisingly twisted tale involving desperate farmers, skittish military generals, shortsighted bean counters, pizza lobbyists, and a network of underground caves…filled with cheese. 

And, as promised, If you'd like to follow along and find out what we'll be doing in  Pressure Cooker's next act, please submit your email address at pressurecook.substack.com. Thank you, listeners, for two amazing years!

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Christina Tosi is the chef and creative force behind Milk Bar: a dessert brand that she launched in 2008 in Manhattan’s East Village, and has grown to include almost a dozen shops, a brisk mail order business, and a line of cookies, ice creams, and other treats for sale at grocery stores nationwide. In addition to being a successful entrepreneur, and the host of the Netflix show Bake Squad, Christina is also a mom of two. In this episode, Jane and Liz talk with Christina about all things Milk Bar, motherhood, and what it means to strike a healthy balance when it comes to sweets. 

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We spend a lot of time thinking about the stress of feeding kids. But what keeps YOU, our listeners, up at night? This week, Jane and Liz answer questions from the Pressure Cooker mailbag: Does 10 minutes at the table “count” as family dinner? Is Costco really cheaper? (Here’s a really useful article we discuss on the show which compares Costco vs Stop & Shop.) What on earth do you feed a kid who hates sandwiches? And more…

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Dan Pashman is host of the insanely popular podcast, The Sporkful, inventor of a primo pasta shape, cascatelli, and author of a new cookbook, Anything’s Pastable, a book that makes a persuasive case for eating pasta for dinner every night of the week. And as if that isn’t enough to tune in, Dan’s also a dad of two who has successfully found ways to weave the pleasures of food into family life. 

Interested in his new cookbook, you can pre-order at the link above. The Sporkful is also running a fascinating five-part series on the making of the cookbook. Find it here. 

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Kathryn Jezer-Morton is a pHd sociologist and the brains behind The Cut’s popular parenting newsletter, Brooding: Deep Thoughts on Modern Family Life. Brooding is not an advice column; it’s a collection of smart, funny, topical essays that interrogate what it means to be a parent today, and how we got this way. In this episode of Pressure Cooker, Jane and Liz chat with Jezer-Morton about some of their favorite Brooding essays, hitting on topics like vacation food rules, snack drawers, and “pouch culture” (IYKYK) along the way.

Brooding columns discussed in this episode:

Are Helicopter Parents Actually Lazy?

Why Are We Always On Call For Our Kids?

Is Going Camel Mode Inevitable For Parents? 

Now Is the Time For Treats

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Peanut butter sandwiches were once the go-to brown bag lunch. But since the 1990s, food allergies in children have tripled. Jane and Liz plunge into the research that explains (finally) why this is happening and talk to Dr. Ruchi Gupta of Northwestern University about new recommendations for how to help prevent allergies in our kids.

Additional resources

The Center for Food Allergy and Asthma Research: Dr. Gupta’s center with links to a ton of peer-reviewed articles and advice

Food Allergy and Research Education: Education and Advocacy Resource Center

The LEAP Study: Which changed our view of how to introduce peanuts to kids

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What can any one person do to fight climate change? Paul Greenberg, author of The Climate Diet: 50 Simple Ways To Trim Your Carbon Footprint, joins Liz and Jane to home in on achievable ways that you can make a difference in your kitchen.  

Further Reading:

• Rowan Jacobsen’s great piece on the fantasy of plastic recycling
• Liz’s Wall Street Journal GREAT piece on reducing food waste 
• Jane’s Washington Post interview with Dana Gunders, author of the Waste-Free Kitchen Handbook
• Bill McKibben: The UN Announces its Hottest Year: The Climate Heated Up But Clean Energy Did Too

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Intuitive eating, the popular new anti-diet philosophy, recommends serving candy with dinner and letting kids eat whenever and whatever they want. Is this hands-off approach the best way to escape toxic diet culture? Or … is intuitive eating just another food fad? 

Guests: 

Dr. Janet Lydecker, Assistant Professor of Psychiatry at Yale School of Medicine. She’s a researcher but also works directly with adolescents suffering from eating disorders. 

Emily Hohman, an assistant research professor at the Center for Childhood Obesity Research at Penn State University.

Elyse Resch, one of the two American nutritionists who coined the phrase "intuitive eating."

Mentioned in this episode: 

Virginia Sole Smith and her book Fat Talk

Amee Seversen and Sumner Brooks, authors of a book called How to Raise an Intuitive Eater.

The report from the National Health Examination Survey that shows children ages 2 to 19 get  67% of their daily calories from ultra-processed foods. 

The infamous Clara Davis study that we've talked about several times on this podcast. 

The extraordinary science of addictive junk food, including the story behind Cherry Vanilla Dr. Pepper. 

The Dunkin Donuts Pumpkin Swirl Frozen Coffee which has 930 calories and 167 grams of added sugars. 

You can find us on instagram @pressurecook_fm. Or for a full archive of past episodes, recipes, and more, visit pressurecooker.fm 

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If you don’t know Melissa Clark, have we got a treat for you. She’s a food columnist for the New York Times and the author of 48 (!!) cookbooks, including one made for this show: “Kid in the Kitchen.” On this episode, Melissa joins Jane and Liz to talk about respecting kids’ tastes, when to give up control, and the secret to her viral lentil soup recipe.

Books featured in this episode: 

Kid In The Kitchen by Melissa Clark

Dinner in an Instant by Melissa Clark

Recipes featured in this episode:

Easy Red Lentil Soup

Fudgy Bourbon Balls

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Kids can be cruel, the old saying goes. And there is no time that is more true than when they dismiss or all out reject your carefully chosen holiday gift. And so … here’s Pressure Cooker to the rescue with a winning collection of stories and food-themed holiday gifts for kids of all ages. Links to our favorites below:

For Reading: 

• Who Ate What: A Historical Guessing Game for Food Lovers 
• What Happens When You Eat
• Madame Pamplemousse and her Incredible Edibles

For Cooking:

• American Girl: Around the World Cookbook 
• The Dynamite Shop Cookbook
• Kai Little Chef Club Children’s Knife
• Cavatelli Pasta Maker
• Hedley & Bennett Kids Apron ($$$) or Pottery Barn Kids Apron ($$)

For Stocking Stuffers:

• Play-Doh Little Chef Starter Kit
• Dandelion Hot Chocolate
• Tattly Farmer’s Market Temporary Tattoos
• Jewish Food Memory Game
• Printable Food Memory Game

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Candy, cookies, cake galore…welcome to the holidays! If you find yourself struggling with where to draw the line on sweets during the festive season, you are not alone. To help out, we’re reupping an old episode we love: an interview all about kids and sugar with Dr. David Katz, a specialist in preventive and lifestyle medicine. Listen in to find out whether you really need to worry about holiday sugar benders, and what you can do to sensibly manage your little ones’ sugar intake all year round.

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In this final installment of Pressure Cooker (at least, for now!) Jane and Liz reflect on lessons learned over the course of more than fifty episodes. From political activism to picture-perfect bento lunches, our hosts break down which habits listeners should consider leaning into – and which ones you should let go of.  

Although we’re hitting ‘pause’ on the podcast for now, we’ve got lots of ideas brewing for the future of Pressure Cooker. If you’d like to stay in the loop on news and updates, please submit your email address at pressurecook.substack.com. Thank you, listeners, for two amazing years!

Note: One of our recommendations was to get involved politically – especially about food marketing to kids. Here’s how: 

• Email the Children’s Food and Beverage Advertising Initiative at programs@bbbnp.org. 
• Or call (yes, you have to call!!) the Federal Trade Commission and make your voice heard: (202) 326-2222

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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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We're resurfacing this Pressure Cooker "classic" that attempts to answer the perennial parental question: Why isn’t my kid eating green beans or zucchini or, for that matter, any food that isn’t beige? One theory holds that, with the help of the right bribe, you can teach kids to like anything. And so Jane dragoons her 10-year-old daughter Lucy into an experiment to see if she can learn to accept her most dreaded food: tomatoes. Jane and Liz talk to Julie Mennella, a taste scientist at the Monell Chemical Senses Center to learn just what it takes to make kids eat their vegetables, and serve up the simplest tips and tricks for parents to win the vegetable wars without losing their minds.

To keep up with upcoming Pressure Cooker news, JOIN OUR NEW NEWSLETTER at pressurecook.substack.com

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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 Vitamania author 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:

https://www.usp.org/

https://www.nsf.org/

https://www.consumerlab.com/

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

•  Talia Di Napoli Frozen Pizza: Crust that tastes like a wood-burning pizza joint and sauce that tastes like sunshine. Available retail and online; $13 to $15 per pizza.
•  Trader Joe’s Cheese and Green Chili Tamale: Made for the microwave and not too spicy for the kids. $3.79 for two.
• Trader Joe’s Black Bean and Jack Cheese Burrito: The antithesis of the sad desk lunch burrito. Perfect from the toaster oven and big enough for two small kids.  $3.99
•  Jaju Pierogis: The Polish know kids. Dough + potatoes and cheese is a hit. Add some raw veg and you’re done. $10 for 12.

Pasta Sauce

•  Rao’s Marinara Sauce: Yes, it’s cheaper to make your own but this is better and fast. Look for it at Costco or Aldi for a price break, from 5.99 for 24 ounces.
•  Good and Gather Organic Marinara Sauce, Target’s affordable no-sugar option, $2.79 for 24 ounces.

Dump & Stir

•  OmSom: Think of these packets as authentically spiced flavor bombs, allowing you to make restaurant-quality Asian dishes in 15 minutes, Available online or retail; three packets (six servings) for $12.
•  Maya Kaimal: There are a zillion simmer sauces but Maya Kaimal’s are the OG. Most kids will dig the mild creamy Butter Masala. $5.
•  Haven’s Kitchen: Great flavors in resealable squeezy pouches. We love the golden turmeric tahini and the chimichurri. $6.99 per 5-ounce pouch.

Rice, Noodles, Dumplings

• Birdsye Frozen Rice: The fastest way to get a healthy grain on the table. $2.50 per 10-ounce bag.
•  Momofuku Ramen: An upgrade on the dorm-room fave with air-dried noodles and a tasty spice packet.  5-pack starting at $12.
• MìLà (formerly Xio Chi Jie) Pork Soup Dumplings: As good as a restaurant. Seriously! And so fun for kids. $40 for 50 dumplings. 
•  Trader Joe’s Pork and Ginger Soup Dumplings: Affordable and delicious is possible. $6 for $3.79.

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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If you’ve had a child in America anytime in the past, oh, 80 years, there’s one message about what to feed them that has been impossible to ignore: MILK! Kids need lots of milk to grow big and strong. 

Or do they? 

On this week’s episode of Pressure Cooker, Jane and Liz journey back through history to uncover when and why milk came to be seen as an essential part of a healthy child’s diet. Then, our hosts interview Sophie Egan, the Director of the Stanford Food Institute and the author of the 2020 book How to Be a Conscious Eater, to answer the question: how much milk, if any, do kids actually need?

To keep up with upcoming Pressure Cooker news, JOIN OUR NEW NEWSLETTER at pressurecook.substack.com

Further Resources:

• How To Be A Conscious Eater by Sophie Egan
• Spoiled: The Myth of Milk As Superfood by Anne Mendelson
• How Much Dairy Do Children and Adults Actually Need? (The Washington Post)

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We know kids love it. But is boxed mac and cheese a healthy, and safe, meal for kids? In partnership with ParentData, Brown economist Emily Oster’s newsletter, Jane and Liz untangle the pros and cons of our kids’ beloved day-glo orange pasta.

Alert: Emily Oster fans! Until March 31, Emily is offering Pressure Cooker listeners 20% off subscriptions to ParentData. For more information, visit www.parentdata.com/pressurecooker

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Kraft. Annie’s. Kids adore boxed mac and cheese. But how did this Depression Era “innovation” become America’s go-to kids food? Join Jane and Liz as they track the story from the days of Yankee Doodle and the 1893 World’s Fair to the modern Kraft juggernaut that sells more than 1 million boxes of day-glo orange cheesy pasta every day.

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About 20 percent of American children are obese and the rates are disproportionately high among Black and Latino children. But parents seeking help for their children often have a hard time getting good advice. The dietetics industry is overwhelmingly white and industry education has, heretofore, focused on foods prized in European cultures. Deanna Bellany Lewis, co-founder of Diversify Dietetics, joins Jane and Liz to lay out the problem and potential solutions. 

For interested parents, two resources Deanna recommends are: 

Raising Healthy Eaters by Henry Legere

Body Kindness, a podcast from Rebecca Scritchfield 

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Jamie Oliver is a global celebrity chef at the helm of a media empire. And yep, even he struggles to feed his five kids without complaints. On this episode, Jamie discusses how to maintain your confidence, NOT to be a short order cook and shares his no-fair kid-approved recipe. Check out his new (awesome) book, One: Simple One-Pan Wonders, which is designed specifically to minimize dishes. You won’t be sorry.

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Sugar is America’s number-one dietary villain. And kids…LOVE it. So how much sugar really is okay? Jane and Liz dive into the complicated question with Dr. David Katz, a specialist in preventive and lifestyle medicine to find out how much you need to worry about snacks, birthday party binges, and how to sensibly manage your little ones’ sugar intake.

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Admit it. That vision that you have of baking with your children doesn’t always pan out. Instead of creating powerful memories, it’s often just a mess. So this week Jane and Liz are asking and answering whether the pros of cooking with kids really outweigh the cons–and how you can make cooking with your kids a pleasure this holiday season.

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Get ready: This week, we’re talking about everybody’s favorite, totally NOT cringe-inducing or awkward topic: puberty. Because kids today--and girls, in particular--are going through it earlier than they used to. Why is it happening? And what, if anything, do the hormones in milk and meat have to do with it? On this episode, Jand and Liz talk with Dr. Louise Greenspan, who led one of the landmark studies about the timing of puberty in girls and co-authored a popular book about it called The New Puberty. The answer may surprise you.

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Color-blocked bento boxes? Bunny-shaped sandwiches? There are a lot of books that claim to have solutions to the tedium of packing school lunch. But are they realistic?  Jane and Liz tested them out–so you don’t have to. We review four new books and dig up the tips and tricks that actually make packing lunch less tedious and maybe–maybe?--even fun.

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OMG! Prices are insanely high. What foods have jumped the most and which are still affordable? Jane and Liz talk about what’s up and what’s down, when rising food prices might slow, then challenge the amazing chef Edward Lee to share creatively cheap weeknight lunches and dinners that kids will gobble up. (Hint: our favorite is a warm, honey-butter sweet potato.)

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So many recipes out there are billed as  “fast” or “easy.” But are those labels deserved?  The shopping. The chopping. The cooking. The cleaning. It leaves a parent wondering: Is it just me, or is none of this, actually, easy? On this week’s episode, Liz and Jane talk to Caroline Chambers, author of the popular newsletter What to Cook When You Don’t Feel Like Cooking, to take on the myth of easy weeknight cooking: What it gets wrong, and how to break up with 15-minute recipes that actually take you an hour.  

Caroline Chambers’ go-to peanut sauce for noodles, dumplings, or just about anything:

Whisk together 1/2 cup peanut butter, 1/3 cup soy sauce, 3 tablespoons rice vinegar, 1 tablespoon sriracha and 1 tablespoon honey. It’s going to seem very difficult to stir together but I promise it’ll come together eventually — just keep stirring! If your nut butter is really dry, it will be easier to mix it together in a blender. Adjust seasoning to taste. Seriously! Taste it! Need more salt? Soy sauce! Need more heat? Sriracha! Not creamy enough? More peanut butter!

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Headlines about the dangers of “ultra-processed” foods – a category that includes Doritos and Twinkies but also protein bars, plant-based milks, and maybe your favorite yogurt or sandwich bread – are suddenly everywhere. But what makes a food ultra-processed, and what’s driving the concern about their role in the diets of both children and adults? On this episode of Pressure Cooker, Jane and Liz break it all down with Dr. Chris Van Tulleken, a professor at University College London and the author of the 2023 bestseller Ultra-Processed People: The Science Behind Food That Isn't Food. Why are today’s foods so highly processed, and how is that impacting our health? Should the sale of ultra-processed foods be more strictly regulated? Tune in to find out!

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After the cheesy gut bombs of the Reagan era, we’ve arrived at the “hopey changey” era of school lunch. Michelle Obama put school lunch on the front page and ushered in upgraded nutrition standards. But the battles didn’t end there. In this episode, Jane and Liz unwrap the future of school food with concrete tips on how parents can make a difference.

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For those unfamiliar with the inner workings of the school lunch program, it is puzzling, even maddening: Why is it so hard to offer tasty, nutritious food at school? In this episode, Jane and Liz dig into the history of the school lunch program to unveil how we got to where we are today. It’s a surprisingly twisted tale involving desperate farmers, skittish military generals, shortsighted bean counters, pizza lobbyists, and a network of underground caves…filled with cheese. 

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On this episode, Liz and Jane talk to Jennifer Anderson, the guru behind Kids Eat in Color, an Instagram account that has become a go-to for literally millions of parents. Anderson is a nutritionist and a mom who is successfully changing the conversation about how to feed kids with tips and tricks for persuading kids to try new foods, right-sized portions, saving money, and how to talk about a balanced diet. 

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Hearts. Dinosaurs. Baby Yoda. SpongeBob. The Great American Food System makes chicken nuggets in all these shapes and more. And why not? Our kids eat loads of them. 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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