By Laura Dille, presented by TABLE
Something I’m realizing more and more is that we continue to learn our whole lives. There is truly no limit to how much you can learn about any area, especially food, and nutrition, and how to best feed your body and your family!
TABLE staff have compiled this list of our top 10 favorite resources from social media influencers, bloggers, websites, books, & more! Each provides some insightful information and tips about food: from how to cook from scratch, to how to talk with your child about diet culture, and everything in between!
We hope you learn something new and find a favorite to share with your friends and family to help spread the joy of food!
1. Favorite website for learning the basics: Learn how to shop for and cook with whole foods (including on a budget!) and why with 100 Days of Real Food. “Lisa Leake really is the first person I ever heard talking about whole foods and has greatly informed all my buying decisions at the grocery store, and even how I teach my kids about food.” Her cookbooks are also available at the library.
2. Favorite Instagram follow: @thenutritiontea shares practical thoughts and perspectives as well as commentary on food/diet culture as a Registered Dietitian.
3. Favorite budget cooking and grocery shopping YouTubers: @CookingAtPamsPlace @SeeMindyMom, @FrugalFitMom, @JuliaPacheco are all personable, fun follows online to watch as you cook dinner. They give lots of budget shopping and cooking inspiration.
4. Favorite deep dives: Learn the science behind the food we eat! Our top pick is definitely Michael Pollan’s In Defense of Food. Other great options include The Science of Nutrition (Rhiannon Lambert) and The First 1000 Days (Roger Thurow)
5. Favorite resource for combatting diet culture: Fat Talk by Virginia Sole-Smith. “This one is more parenting-focused & is centered around combatting diet culture, but I would recommend it to anyone & everyone.
6. Favorite resources for help with picky eaters: Kid Friendly Meals with Min Kwon and Kids Eat in Color with Jennifer Anderson; both are dietitians. Jennifer’s instagram in particular is a wealth of information, and she also sends out a lot in her email list – see her website.
7. Favorite guide for starting with sourdough: Farmhouse on Boone – it’s never too late to learn something new! Sourdough is the most forgiving “pet” you can keep in your kitchen.
8. Favorite book for talking with kids about poverty & homelessness: A Place to Stay by Erin Gunti is a picture book, available at the library, and is a great tool for talking with young children (preschool-2nd grade) about different life circumstances such as living in a shelter and utilizing soup kitchens. It’s appropriate for families of any income level.
9. Favorite book for postpartum health: The First Forty Days by Heng Ou is a beautiful book and cookbook about how to nourish moms during the first 6 weeks after delivery.
10. Favorite resource for vegetable gardening with kids: KidsGardening.org – be sure to check out the “Learning tools” tab. This “seed viewer” activity looks like a fun and easy one to try inside in the winter!
Bonus!! we’d be remiss if we didn’t mention our very own resource, TABLE’s Chefs@Home program! While the kits are only available to participants in our program, you can still access all of TABLE’s recipes, cooking videos, and information here. My favorite is our sweet potato nachos!
Which one of these resources will you check out first?
Laura Dille
Comments on Chapelboro are moderated according to our Community Guidelines