In the Kitchen With Cook Smarts

Jackie Sun has been one of the greatest blessings to Cook Smarts. She was the first person I hired and took me from a one-woman show to a two-woman show. Not only has she proved herself to be an integ...

We're on a little summer break, so I'm introducing you to another one of our Cook Smarts team members!   If every company had a Sarah Byun on the team, companies would have many, many more happy custo...

We're on a little summer break, so we're rerunning one of my favorite episodes!   One of the best things that's happened to Cook Smarts is bringing on a dedicated meal plan developer. Jess Smith joine...

For the full set of links from today's episode, head to the show notes at www.cooksmarts.com/podcast/33   In today's episode, I'm covering the five main flavor profiles: salty / umami, sweet, sour, bi...

In today's podcast episode, we are bringing in teacher extraordinaire Katie Kimball to give us a few cooking and parenting lessons. Katie is an advocate for healthy kids cooking, a blogger, former tea...

In today's podcast episode, we're checking in with another one of our all-star community members Lauren Davis. Lauren lives in the San Francisco Bay Area and is the mom to 4 year old Gavin. Her husban...

In today's podcast episode, we're checking in with one of our favorite community members Gabrielle Smith. Gabrielle lives in Fort Worth Texas with her husband and her 7 year old son and 4 year old dau...

* G I V E A W A Y*  Our podcast turned 1, and we are doing a little $50 Amazon gift card birthday giveaway. Leave us a review on Apple Podcast, snap a screenshot of your review and text it to 650-386-...

To celebrate our podcast's first birthday, we are doing a giveaway for a $50 Amazon gift card.   All you need to do is leave a review on Apple Podcast. Snap a screenshot of your review and text it to ...

We are rerunning episode 8 because like everyone in the world, our schedule got a little thrown off by the coronavirus. Since Earth Day was yesterday, we thought it was the perfect time to replay one ...

In our latest podcast episode, I invited Jenny Best Founder of Solid Starts to talk all about baby led weaning, the process of transitioning a baby to solid foods using a finger food first approach. J...

For our 27th episode, I have a real treat, at least it was a real treat for me because I got to talk about one of my favorite topics of all time -- kitchen organization -- with Sam Pregenzer the Found...

Our lives are so busy these days, and so often lived virtually, that we've lost this beautiful tradition of gathering friends around the dinner table. To help me revive this practice, I've invited Ann...

For those of you who have been following my personal Instagram account @jessdangcs, you'll know 2 things: 1) I am terrible at posting on Instagram and; 2) I love my air-fryer. Probably every 3rd post ...

We're rerunning episode #5 with some great updates! In this podcast episode, I'm tackling a big emotional topic for a lot of parents -- how to help your picky eaters become more curious, adventurous e...

Hi friends, this isn't an episode but a little podcast community announcement. So being a cooking instructor and running a meal plan service for the last 7 years, I've watched a lot of people try to g...

Today we are interviewing Ms. Erin Romeo, nutrition coach, expert meal planner and food prep specialist from Ontario, Canada. She's known on Instagram as the @foodprepprincess, and that's also where s...

I have such a treat for you all today and it is completely unrelated to cooking, but it might just become your favorite Cook Smarts podcast episode. I'm excited to share another part of our origin sto...

Hi friends, this isn't an episode but two short community announcements about our sale and giveaway. First, I wanted to make sure you knew were are in the middle of our big New Year's sale. 2020 is th...

Because we're more likely to break our New Year's resolutions by February than keep them for the year, this episode is dedicated to a fail-safe plan for resolutions that aren't some short-term whim, b...

I wanted to just pop into your feed today with a little Thanksgiving reflection, thank you note and request! Our biggest sale of the year is on right now. Enjoy 30% off everything with code THANKS19 h...

Can you believe that the holidays are just around the corner? I'll be hosting Thanksgiving this year and am excited to be in menu planning mode. I know cooking a big holiday meal can feel quite intimi...

NEW: If you've got questions you want us to answer in a future episode, comments about a previous episode, or just want to say hi and share some love, give us a call at 1-650-386-0290 and leave us a v...

Today we're rerunning the first episode we launched this podcast with -- enjoy!   So many new parents tell me that figuring out what to feed themselves is one of their biggest parenting challenges. Th...

NEW: If you've got questions you want us to answer in a future episode, comments about a previous episode, or just want to say hi and share some love, give us a call at 1-650-386-0290 and leave us a v...

Hi friends, this isn't an episode but a little podcast community announcement. You know how like every other episode I nag you about improving your knife skills? Well, I only do it because you can't b...

NEW: If you've got questions you want us to answer in a future episode, comments about a previous episode, or just want to say hi and share some love, give us a call at 1-650-386-0290 and leave us a v...

What's this?  A reminder for our giveaway, which ends Wednesday, 10/2   What's the prize? An 8" Global chef's knife worth $125. This is the amazingly sharp and light chef's knife that I use every day ...

In honor of my 38th birthday, I wanted to share what inspired me to leave the corporate world to then start Cook Smarts 8 years ago. Hint: it was more than just a love for food and cooking but a life-...

Hi friends, this isn't an episode but a little podcast community announcement. We're still a relatively new podcast and one of the best ways for us to grow our audience and support more home cooks is ...

We're on a mission to help you never say, "This meal was bland," ever again because there is no reason why any of us needs to cook or eat a bland meal. With some simple seasoning habits and a few tips...

Today I've invited Ruth Garrett one of our most enthusiastic community members to the podcast. Ruth is in her early 60's and instead of enjoying the luxury of an empty nest, Ruth found herself doing t...

In today's new podcast episode, we share more strategies for saving time in the kitchen. If you haven't checked last week's episode, make sure to start there so you have the full game plan to kick off...

Today's podcast episode (and next week's) is for anyone looking to save some time in the kitchen -- so basically, it's for everyone because in all the years I've taught cooking and run Cook Smarts, no...

For this kick off to Season 2 of the Cook Smarts podcast during back-to-school season, I've invited one of my entrepreneurial heroes Laura Fuentes to give us advice on planning for and packing school ...

We're doing something pretty different for today's podcast episode. Instead of covering a specific cooking topic or interviewing someone, I've created a meal prep meditation to provide you with a litt...

In this podcast episode, I wanted to share a personal story with you all -- one that's been really formative in the cook and probably even the person I am today. 14 years ago, I was on season 2 of the...

In this podcast episode, I'm sharing how I'm trying to create a greener kitchen and reduce the amount of waste, especially plastic waste, that my family produces and tosses.   Ever since having kids 4...

We feel so lucky to have a community of such special members at Cook Smarts, and today we're chatting with one of our original members! This is our first member interview on the podcast, and we're so ...

In this podcast episode, I will cover the 5 most common meal planning mistakes I see people make and easy ways to fix them.   If you asked me 10 years ago if I thought I would end up a meal planning e...

In this podcast episode, I'm tackling a big emotional topic for a lot of parents -- how to help your picky eaters become more curious, adventurous eaters. Just about every kid goes through some phase ...

I've been to kitchens without a sharp knife or a can opener or prep bowls, but I've never been to one without at least a few pots and pans. No matter how minimal your kitchen is, you have definitely h...

One of the best things that's happened to Cook Smarts is bringing on a dedicated meal plan developer. Jess Smith joined the team in the spring of 2015, all the way from Thailand and has taken our reci...

Wasting herbs is something that has happened to all of us, but in today's episode I'll walk you through 5 different strategies for getting more out of them, so you don't end up in a situation where yo...

So many new parents tell me that figuring out what to feed themselves is one of their biggest parenting challenges. They wished they had figured out a meal planning routine earlier and not while deali...

Hi Friends, this is Jess your loyal and always enthusiastic kitchen cheerleader here. So I've got some really exciting news -- Cook Smarts is launching a podcast, and it'll be hosted by yours truly. W...