In the Kitchen with Monica

Eating Well on the Road—Is It Possible? Tips and Tricks

Monica Corrado opens this week’s In the Kitchen with Monica livestream from the road with a timely conversation about traveling while still making thoughtful food choices. She shares practical ideas for planning ahead, packing a few essentials, and making it easier to eat well when you’re away from your own kitchen.

Highlights include:
-Monica’s three travel essentials: water, good salt, and traditional fats
-Ideas for filtering and mineralizing water while traveling
-Packing butter, ghee, coconut oil, and other foods in...

Monica Corrado opens this week’s In the Kitchen with Monica livestream with a conversation about grass-fed meat—why sourcing matters, what she looks for when buying meat, and how grass-fed and grass-finished meat can behave differently in the kitchen. She also shares practical ways to help keep these cuts tender and flavorful.

Highlights include:
-Why Monica encourages asking farmers whether their animals are both grass-fed and grass-finished
-How grass-fed meat can differ in texture, fat content, and cooking time from conventionally raised meat
-Tenderizing techniques using olive oil, oil-based marinades, cultured dairy, and trad...

Monica Corrado opens this week’s In the Kitchen with Monica livestream with a conversation about something we use every day: water. From drinking and cooking to sourcing and filtration, she shares why she considers clean water foundational in the kitchen and encourages viewers to think more carefully about the water they use at home.

Highlights include:
-Why Monica considers water one of the most important ingredients in the kitchen
-Her concerns about PFAS and other chemicals that may be present in municipal water
-Options for filtering water at home, including whole-house, countertop, under-sink, pi...

Monica Corrado opens this week’s In the Kitchen with Monica livestream with a practical look at the cookware she considers essential for a well-equipped kitchen. From stock pots and sauté pans to Dutch ovens and sauce pots, she shares how each can be used and what she looks for when choosing cookware.

Highlights include:
-The four basic pieces of cookware Monica recommends: a stock pot, sauté pan, Dutch oven, and sauce pot
-How to choose useful sizes for everyday cooking, batch cooking, soups, stocks, breakfasts, and one-pot meals
-Why Monica especially recommends the vers...

Monica Corrado opens this week’s In the Kitchen with Monica livestream with a seasonal look at porridge—the original breakfast cereal. As the weather gets colder, she explains how a warm bowl of properly prepared grains can make a hearty autumn or winter breakfast and walks through her preferred method for preparing oatmeal.

Highlights include:
-The differences between oat groats, rolled oats, and steel-cut oats
-Why Monica recommends choosing organic oats and soaking, sprouting, or fermenting grains before cooking
-Her simple “1-2-2” formula for soaking and preparing oatmeal
-Using whey, yogurt, kefir, l...

Monica Corrado opens this week’s In the Kitchen with Monica livestream with a seasonal conversation about soup-making basics. As cooler weather settles in, she breaks down a simple framework for making nourishing soups at home, beginning with good-quality ingredients and a flavorful stock or broth.

Highlights include:
-The three basic types of soup: clear, blended, and cream
-Two different methods for building a clear soup, including sautéing vegetables in traditional fats for a richer flavor
-How to cut and cook different vegetables so they finish at the same time
-Using onions, gar...

Monica Corrado opens this week’s In the Kitchen with Monica livestream with a conversation about fats—specifically the difference she sees between traditional fats and highly processed industrial oils. Using avocado oil as a starting point, Monica encourages viewers to think about how fats are made, how much processing is involved, and which fats have traditionally been part of the human diet.

Highlights include:
-Why Monica distinguishes whole avocados from avocado oil
-The difference between traditional fats and highly processed industrial oils
-A discussion of butter, cultured butter, ghee, lard, tallow, duck...

Monica Corrado opens this week’s In the Kitchen with Monica livestream with a timely conversation about preserving the harvest as autumn approaches. She compares canning and lacto-fermentation, looking at how each method preserves food, how they differ, and why she prefers fermentation when possible.

Highlights include:
-The key differences between canning and lacto-fermentation
-Why Monica describes canned foods as “dead” and fermented foods as “alive”
-How fermentation uses salt and beneficial microbes to break down sugars and plant fibers
-The storage advantages of canning versus the cooler temperatures needed for fermented foods
-How c...

Monica Corrado opens this week’s In the Kitchen with Monica livestream by continuing her seasonal conversation about supporting the body as we move into autumn. This week, she focuses on what she calls the “one pot meal that heals”—simple, nourishing meals made with meat, vegetables, herbs, broth, and traditional cooking methods.

Highlights include:
-How to make a simple one-pot meal using a whole chicken, meaty bones, vegetables, herbs, spices, water, and good salt
-The benefits of using a Dutch oven or slow cooker for easy, nourishing meals
-Why Monica emphasizes bones, skin, cartilag...

Monica Corrado opens this week’s In the Kitchen with Monica livestream with a seasonal conversation about supporting the lungs as we move into autumn. Drawing from principles of traditional food preparation and Chinese medicine, she explores how changes in temperature, wind, and dryness can influence the body and which foods she recommends bringing into the kitchen during this time of year.

Highlights include:
-Why Monica associates autumn with supporting the lungs and large intestine
-The importance of traditional fats such as lard, tallow, butter, ghee, and duck fat
-Warming, moist foods including soups, st...

Monica Corrado opens this week’s In the Kitchen with Monica livestream with a conversation about plant foods versus animal foods and the narrative that one is inherently better than the other. She shares her perspective on the different roles these foods can play in the diet and why she believes both deserve consideration.

Highlights include:
-Monica’s distinction between plant foods as “cleansers” and animal foods as “builders”
-A discussion of nuts, seeds, beans, and grains and traditional preparation methods such as soaking, sprouting, and fermenting
-The role of anti-nutrients, fiber, starch, and sugar when c...

Monica Corrado opens this week’s In the Kitchen with Monica livestream with a look at what makes a nourishing plate. Building on previous conversations about real food and nourishment, she reviews changing dietary guidelines before sharing her own framework for thinking about the foods we eat.

Highlights include:
-A look back at food pyramids and dietary guidelines and how recommendations around grains, fats, protein, fruits, and vegetables have changed over time
-Monica’s perspective on traditional fats, animal foods, whole milk, cultured dairy, and properly prepared grains
-The distinction she draws between “dead” foods th...

Monica Corrado opens this week’s In the Kitchen with Monica livestream with a conversation about nourishment and what it means to truly nourish ourselves and our children. With back-to-school season underway, she focuses on creating intentional breakfast routines and choosing real, nutrient-dense foods to help children start their day well.

Highlights include:
-The meaning of “nourish” and why nourishment involves more than simply eating
-Creating a calm, intentional breakfast rhythm and making time to eat together
-Breakfast ideas featuring eggs, butter, pastured meats, cultured dairy, sourdough, and properly prepared grains
-Traditional preparation method...

Monica Corrado opens this week’s livestream by asking a foundational question: What is real food, and why does it matter? In the first episode of In the Kitchen with Monica, she explores how food sourcing, preparation, and the way we eat can influence our overall well-being.

Highlights include:
-The difference between fresh, locally sourced food and highly processed food products
-The importance of pasture-raised animals, seasonal produce, and traditional fats
-Traditional preparation methods such as soaking, sprouting, fermenting, and sourdough fermentation
-A discussion of cultured dairy, alternative milks, bitters, beans, lentils, fr...