Michelle is a power house. If you’re not sure just take a little time to read all about her passion and her travels. Don’t forget her new cookbook! I’ve met Michelle via the blog world and in person at conferences and she’s as wonderful in person as she is here in print. Enjoy!
Name : Michelle Stern
Business and or blog name: What’s Cooking with Kids
URL: http://whatscookingwithkids.com
Location: San Francisco Bay Area
Favorite quote: “It’s better to try and fail than to fail to try.” (I can’t remember who said it…)
Focus of blog or business: Cooking with kids for a healthy body, planet and community
Social Media I play in: Twitter (@whatscooking); Facebook (/whatscookingkids)
I started my blog in the month and year: a long time ago, and it was awful back then…I like to think of the past year or two as being worthwhile 🙂
Professional organizations I belong to: San Francisco Professional Food Society, International Association of Culinary Professionals
Training/education I received: I am a trained teacher (I used to teach high school biology and environmental science)
My favorite healthy food: kale chips!
My favorite snack food: chips and salsa, popcorn
My top 3 healthiest foods I love to eat or recommend: kale chips, roasted veggies, seasonal produce, in general
Childhood ambition: to be a veterinarian (but then organic chemistry happened. Yikes!)
My favorite cookbook: too many to list here…
Proudest moment: I was invited to the White House for the launch of Michelle Obama’s Chefs Move to Schools initiative; my first book was just published! The Whole Family Cookbook: Celebrate the goodness of locally grown foods
What I do to feel at peace: hiking or bird watching
Craziest thing I’ve ever done: I studied monkey mating behavior on an island in Puerto Rico after college
Books I’ve written: The Whole Family Cookbook: Celebrate the goodness of locally grown foods
(April, 2011)
I started my blog to: find a way to reach a broader audience and help them buy and prepare healthier foods for their health and the planet with their children
What I hope the people that visit my blog find: I hope that people who visit my website will become inspired to cook with their kids, help the planet, and use food and cooking as a way to help the less fortunate
Products and/or services I offer: I offer cooking classes and parties to children; speaking engagements for adults about cooking with children, family mealtimes, and avoiding power struggles; consulting for people starting their own cooking with kids business or looking for support to teach cooking to children in the schools; spokesperson services (one day!), and my book!
What I love about what I do: I am so proud that I can empower kids and their families to make healthier choices that leave a smaller footprint on the environment
How am I making a difference in my community: I work with children and their families to use food and cooking to help the less fortunate. We have a SOUP event coming up, for example, in which we are partnering with Studio 4 Art, a nearby children’s art studio, to raise funds for a local emergency family shelter. At the event, guests contribute a small donation, choose a hand-thrown bowl, and we fill it with savory soup. They leave with a full belly, a piece of art and a warm heart knowing that their donation helped to feed a child.
I love this site!! I didn't really know the "brains" behind it, but now I do!! So nice to "meet" Michelle!!! A
Blushing right now! Thanks! xo
Hi Michelle, so happy to have found your site today! Teaching my kids how to love whole, "real" food is one of my greatest passions and your site is full of inspiration, can't wait to read more!
I've only met Michelle briefly "in passing" (at BlogHer Food I think), but I love the work she does with kids. That's really where healthy eating for life starts, doesn't it? We have a similar soup event in our town, but I think it's focused on the homeless and not specifically kids. Either way, it's such a great concept. Thanks for sharing Michelle with us, Diane!'
Shirley
Michelle, I have admired you for some time! I've thought "man I wish my kids were friends with your kids" — imagine all the fun cooking ideas they'd come home with after a playdate at your house : ) Congratulations on your new book … I bought a copy here at the Cheyenne Sam's Club. Girl, you are everywhere, ha!
xoLexie
Thanks so much for introducing me to Michelle – she is indeed a powerhouse! So nice to meet you too!
I think I have been following Michelle on twitter for a while, but I never really looked at her blog. Must go there, Michelle, since I am a mom, cooking with my kid, in the bay area. I really like what you promote. I think it is so important. It's the only way to get our children to make those healthy choices as children and adults and pass it down. So sad that it doesn't happen as much as it should. Good going!
xo – Tia
Thanks for the opportunity to be featured here. xoxoxoxoxoxox Michelle
Michelle is one of my go-to people when I teach my kids cooking classes. I used a recipe from her blog and one from her book this summer. She is doing important work! Thanks, Diane for sharing her story in the gluten-free community. Did you know Lauren of Celiac Teen contributed a recipe in Michelle's book?