Real food is food as close to its original state or source as possible. Its origins are harvested, fished, picked, or slaughtered and had as little as possible done before arriving on your plate.

It's the kind of food that works hand in glove with your body. It's what you were meant to eat.

Easy examples are apples, beans, lettuce, a piece of fish, whole grains, and a piece of steak.

Eating real food every day is how you can both love what you're eating and never worry about what it's doing to you. It's how you quit overconsuming and then under-consuming.

Put simply, it's how you make peace with food. 

While I try to keep my explanations as simple as possible, eating real food matters to every health and life outcome you hold dear including: 

• Consistent energy
• Clear thinking
• Mental health outcomes
• Good sleep
• Better focus
• Easier weight control

It's that fundamental.

Today, fifty percent of all food consumed is ultra-processed. The very kind making people's lives worse by every measurable standard. Supplements are useless and a waste of money. Hacks like celery juice are wellness nonsense, and you can't rely on superfoods (not really a thing) to undo the damage of a poor diet.

Eating real food every day is your way out of the quagmire while still enjoying what's in front of you. Pleasure is a big part of joyful eating, I want you not only to nourish yourself but enjoy every bite. Both are possible, and the best place to make that happen is your own kitchen.

Think of it this way, if you could cook alongside an experienced home cook, what would she teach you to make simple, delicious, and nourishing meals?

Well, this 👇

It's a course to teach how to cook in systems so you can feed yourself real food every day without scrolling recipes or ordering in.

It's also a deeper understanding of the food principles that drive not another diet. That's the 'why' we're so devoted to real food.

It's more accurate to say that these are lessons in food. There are a million youtube videos on how to fry an egg, but nearly nothing about how you walk into your kitchen and make meals day after day using real food.

That's what this masterclass is all about. Helping you feel empowered to use and love your kitchen.

Eating real food every day is crucial to every life outcome that matters to you. It's nearly impossible to fulfill that mission with takeout and packaged foods.

Your kitchen is a tool for well-being, and I want you to feel great about using it.

Not at all. It's for anyone who wants to learn a holistic and easy approach to eating real food from their kitchens.

"The course has changed the way that I think about cooking. Your systems-based approach is SO sensible, SO flexible, and SO effective. Wish I’d learned it years ago."

Even if you're a proficient cook, there's plenty in here for you. This is a systems-based approach to making real food.

If you have no difficulty making a dish but often walk into your kitchen not knowing what to eat for dinner, this is for you.

1. If you struggle to figure out dinner, this is for you.
2. If you'd like to learn how to have a more functional kitchen, this is for you.
3. If you'd like to end your dependence on take-out or pre-made food, this is definitely for you.

Beginners welcome, and every other skill level as well. I've been cooking for 30+ years, and this simplified approach to pleasurable eating is how I live and what I teach.

No, they're instructions on how to make a single dish.

The idea of cooking three meals a day from recipes is both unsustainable and exhausting. Think for a moment about how difficult it would be to make breakfast, lunch, and dinner from a recipe.

You'd need to find one that appeals to you, accumulate the missing ingredients, and then follow the step-by-step instructions for each one. I'm tired just writing that out! No wonder people end up eating out so often or get lured into buying meal kits. The alternative is hard.

Recipes are important for cooking in general. They are useful for making specific dishes, learning new flavor combinations, and trying new techniques (although the latter often is better done by following a youtube tutorial, many of which I include in this course). They are also great for quickly figuring out how long and at what temperature to cook food.

They aren't practical for the daily work of meal making, which is where the real gains in health come from.

Cooking in systems is how your kitchen will make sense to you.

Recipes make cooking a pastime. I'm going to help you feed yourself (and, others) with pleasure every day.

The knowledge you need to make real food every day from your own kitchen without a lot of fuss so you can always feel great.

And:

1. Access to the learning modules in Recipes Are For Weekends, including any and all updates. There will be chapter additions yearly as we explore new foods and concepts.
2. Three member-only cook-along workshops.
3. The ability to comment with your questions and dish suggestions inside the course.
4. The confidence to feed yourself pleasurable, nourishing meals without a huge amount of forethought.

Gadgets are aspirational clutter. Think about that pilates/weight machine/treadmill that ended up as a clothes-drying rack.

"But in this way, the Instant Pot sitting untouched on the shelf can also be a reminder of the unfulfilled promises of the single life-changing appliance. It is but a successor in a long line that includes bread machines, George Foreman grills, turbo broilers, coffee pod machines, juicers, sous vide sticks, and Sodastreams. Like the aspirational outfit that sits in the closet unworn, the Instant Pot can be motivation in a particular direction, or it can taunt as another thing that didn’t work, pushing us deeper into capitalism’s maw: If I buy this one more thing, my life can be better."

Here are a few other things that have failed to turn people into daily home cooks: fancy kitchens, more recipe books, produce (I see you with all that goodness rotting in the drawer), meal prep containers... I could go on. 

We're so used to the idea of buying things to make us into the people we want to be that no one stops to ask, is that how it's done?

I'm pretty sure it isn't.

Who am I to say? I'm an expert in well-being and devote all my time to helping people create lives that produce healthy outcomes. What brings people to change is to expose the fallacies in their thinking and show them easy ways to incorporate healthy practices. In other words, not things.

This course is based on that idea. 

Each module is designed to be taken in 5-20 minutes. You can spend more time exploring the resources provided.  

The idea behind an annual subscription is to have the time to explore each chapter at your own pace. 

Once you start taking in the material there's a period of learning and building skills. Each chapter is designed to be easily understood and you can expand your learning as needed with the additional resources provided.

In the long run, you'll save loads of time and money (both in eating out and the health costs associated with a poor diet).

If self-care is important to you, and it should be, then making nutritious meals with ease should be at the top of your to-do list in bold letters. It's that important.

I don't know your kids or what they will eat. Well, that's not exactly true. The fact that we've agreed as a society on what amounts to 'kid food' is a problem.

I raised three children and I know first-hand that food is unbelievably unhealthy.

It's causing obesity to skyrocket in children and saddling them with long-term health problems. 

Our food system is now a diabetes-producing, compulsion-inducing, sugar-laden nightmare that creates a terrible burden for the whole of a child's life. 

I could make my answer less uncomfortable but it's something parents need to hear.

Kids need real food. Every day at every meal. Yes, there will be a learning curve. Yes, they might object a bit. They'll also learn how to take care of themselves for a lifetime.

Having said that, you will have the ability to customize to your family's preferences. The whole idea is to be flexible. I like beets but maybe your family thinks they're gross (roast 'em before you give them the brush-off). No problem, the same approach applies to any vegetable you like.

Learn the systems and techniques, and make them your own.

Lastly, cook with your children. It gives them agency, they learn self-care, and it's a beautiful way to spend time together. 

I know because that's exactly what I did. The kitchen is a life-affirming place to be when you know how to use it.

My hope is this course brings families together in good health.

Jeez, tough crowd.

The idea isn't to hand you a bunch of dishes (you're thinking of recipes) but to teach you how to make your own.

My food is awesome, FYI, but I'm sure yours will be even better.

I hope you find things you love to make, and they stay in rotation, but no. The idea is to cook like one might make music, with fluidity.

Cooking by heart, which is the best description I can give this process, makes for infinite possibilities. Part of the beauty of home cooking is that it's never really the same thing twice.

To recap, yes, you'll be including staples you love to make over and over. No, it won't be the same meals day after day. 

This course purposely tackles lots of options, techniques, and approaches so you never get bored with what you're eating.

You'll be taught to focus on simple preparations. Bring your imagination to keep it lively.

The short answer is that it might. Eating real food every day helps you eat less naturally.

Losing weight often requires addressing various factors at once, which our main program specifically tackles.

This course is a standalone product and a companion to our popular weight loss program. Think of it as the practical side of nourishing yourself.

Real food improves every aspect of your health, including sleep, mood, and brain health. You'll likely see your energy, sleep, and mood improve and save money. 

Plus, you'll enjoy eating food much more knowing each delicious bite supports your total well-being.

This course is divided into three main sections. 

These are the initial chapters. Each year, there will be 2-3 additions to the library. The idea is for this product to grow and evolve into a solid, lifetime resource.

• Welcome!
  • Meet your teacher
  • Why bother with home cooking? 
  • You aren't a chef, and that's a good thing.
  • How To Use This Course
  • RECIPE < SYSTEMS
  • How to read and use recipes.
• Nourishment Principles And Best Practices
  • Real Food Will Set You Free
  • The NAD Food Principles
  • Not no sugar but definitely LOW sugar.
  • Easy Ways To Ensure Moderation
  • Embrace Simplicity
  • Avoid These Common Kitchen Mistakes
• Essentials To Make Your Own
  • START HERE, GO ANYWHERE
    • Fat
    • Acid
    • Salt
    • Emulsifier
    • Now put them together 
  • Beans Are Always A Good Idea
  • Roast ALL The Veggies (And Fruit)
  • Plain (Whole Milk!) Greek Yogurt Is A Yummy Kitchen Workhorse
  • A Good Salad Fixes Everything 🥗
  • Grain Bowls For Dayz 🍲
  • Greens Make Life Good
  • Put An Egg On It
  • Tinned Fish Is 🐟 The Power Move
  • Learn To Roast A Chicken And Other Stories
  • Tofu Would Like The Freedom To Be Itself
  • It's Probably A Soup
  • Relish Your Condiments
  • Whip It Good
  • Ground Meat, Elevated
  • Your Pantry
    • Tools I Recommend
    • Your Umami Cheat-Sheet
    • Build A Pantry - Shop In Ingredient Group
    • Genius Ideas

Please don't. 

The best thing to do is to start with what you have on hand and then buy as needed.

I'll make recommendations for tools that create more ease in meal preparation. You can decide as you learn what might be worthwhile for you.