Season 2, Episode 7:
How We Cook and Eat Now

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How We Cook and Eat Now

The pandemic has changed everything in our lives, including how a lot of us view cooking at home and eating with our families. In this episode, we’re talking to Theresa McCluskey, a full-time working mom of four, about how the pandemic has affected her cooking. Then, registered dietitian nutritionist Malina Malkani is back to talk about baby-led weaning and how this approach to feeding a baby can change family mealtimes.

 

MEET OUR GUESTS

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Theresa McCluskey is a mother of four who lives in North Carolina and works full time for a large company. The pandemic sent her whole family home for work and school — and in the process, they discovered new recipes and new ways to enjoy being a family.

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Malina Malkani helps moms raise healthy, confident, adventurous eaters and tend to their own maternal nutrition needs as well. As a single mom of three girls and a registered dietitian nutritionist with a master’s degree in Clinical Nutrition, she specializes in baby-led weaning and picky eating.


Episode highlights

1:51 – Meet Theresa

3:31 – Pandemic changes

5:54 – Why cook

7:35 – Cooking with kids

9:25 – A basic kitchen

10:59 – Meet Malina

11:58 – What is baby-led weaning?

14:11 – Baby-led weaning and purees

20:48 – What to expect

25:47 – Baby-led weaning and kids in the kitchen

28:44 –  Final Thoughts

Our favorite quotes from the episode

“I definitely find comfort in cooking. I also find comfort in the kids saying that they enjoy it.” — Theresa McCluskey

“My little guy, Wes, and my daughter Kate are really involved in the cooking and baking. My 10-year-old daughter, except for the oven, is allowed to do almost everything herself. So a funny conundrum with COVID is that she's baking almost every day, and we don't always need baked goods.” — Theresa McCluskey

“I love baked goods and that was a very fond memory for me growing up. My mom didn't allow us to eat too many sweets, except if we baked it. Probably around 10, I also had a lot of freedom in the kitchen to explore recipes and baking was just more fun, because I have a sweet tooth. I don't remember being told no much when it came to trying new recipes or cooking or baking, and I love giving them to others, so I found joy in making that for my family.” — Theresa McCluskey

“I actually have a very basic kitchen, so I do not have a ton of supplies. I would not consider myself a minimalist at all, but I've realized that the more I have, the more I get overwhelmed. I just have what I need and I actually use it all every week.” — Theresa McCluskey

“Purees are an important texture that babies should learn as well. But in terms of the spoon-feeding part, when you offer a baby purees, the baby-led weaning way, it's on a preloaded spoon that baby can self-feed.” — Malina Malkani

“There's no evidence that a combined approach of both purees and finger foods is detrimental or increases choking risk or confuses the baby. No, there's no evidence of that.” — Malina Malkani

“Baby-led weaning also increases the likelihood that children and babies will eat more minimally processed, fresh, nutrient-dense, whole foods and fresh foods, which is a good thing.” — Malina Malkani