Christina Tosi is the chef and creative force behind Milk Bar: a dessert brand that she launched in 2008 in Manhattan’s East Village, and has grown to include almost a dozen shops, a brisk mail order business, and a line of cookies, ice creams, and other treats for sale at grocery stores nationwide. In addition to being a successful entrepreneur, and the host of the Netflix show Bake Squad, Christina is also a mom of two. In this episode, Jane and Liz talk with Christina about all things Milk Bar, motherhood, and what it means to strike a healthy balance when it comes to sweets. See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

We spend a lot of time thinking about the stress of feeding kids. But what keeps YOU, our listeners, up at night? This week, Jane and Liz answer questions from the Pressure Cooker mailbag: Does 10 minutes at the table “count” as family dinner? Is Costco really cheaper? (Here’s a really useful article we discuss on the show which compares Costco vs Stop & Shop.) What on earth do you feed a kid who hates sandwiches? And more…See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Dan Pashman is host of the insanely popular podcast, The Sporkful, inventor of a primo pasta shape, cascatelli, and author of a new cookbook, Anything’s Pastable, a book that makes a persuasive case for eating pasta for dinner every night of the week. And as if that isn’t enough to tune in, Dan’s also a dad of two who has successfully found ways to weave the pleasures of food into family life.  Interested in his new cookbook, you can pre-order at the link above. The Sporkful is also running a fascinating five-part series on the making of the cookbook. Find it here. See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Kathryn Jezer-Morton is a pHd sociologist and the brains behind The Cut’s popular parenting newsletter, Brooding: Deep Thoughts on Modern Family Life. Brooding is not an advice column; it’s a collection of smart, funny, topical essays that interrogate what it means to be a parent today, and how we got this way. In this episode of Pressure Cooker, Jane and Liz chat with Jezer-Morton about some of their favorite Brooding essays, hitting on topics like vacation food rules, snack drawers, and “pouch culture” (IYKYK) along the way. Brooding columns discussed in this episode: Are Helicopter Parents Actually Lazy? Why Are We Always On Call For Our Kids? Is Going Camel Mode Inevitable For Parents?  Now Is the Time For Treats  See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Peanut butter sandwiches were once the go-to brown bag lunch. But since the 1990s, food allergies in children have tripled. Jane and Liz plunge into the research that explains (finally) why this is happening and talk to Dr. Ruchi Gupta of Northwestern University about new recommendations for how to help prevent allergies in our kids. Additional resources The Center for Food Allergy and Asthma Research: Dr. Gupta’s center with links to a ton of peer-reviewed articles and advice Food Allergy and Research Education: Education and Advocacy Resource Center The LEAP Study: Which changed our view of how to introduce peanuts to kidsSee omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

What can any one person do to fight climate change? Paul Greenberg, author of The Climate Diet: 50 Simple Ways To Trim Your Carbon Footprint, joins Liz and Jane to home in on achievable ways that you can make a difference in your kitchen.   Further Reading: Rowan Jacobsen’s great piece on the fantasy of plastic recycling Liz’s Wall Street Journal GREAT piece on reducing food waste  Jane’s Washington Post interview with Dana Gunders, author of the Waste-Free Kitchen Handbook Bill McKibben: The UN Announces its Hottest Year: The Climate Heated Up But Clean Energy Did Too See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Intuitive eating, the popular new anti-diet philosophy, recommends serving candy with dinner and letting kids eat whenever and whatever they want. Is this hands-off approach the best way to escape toxic diet culture? Or … is intuitive eating just another food fad?  Guests:  Dr. Janet Lydecker, Assistant Professor of Psychiatry at Yale School of Medicine. She’s a researcher but also works directly with adolescents suffering from eating disorders.  Emily Hohman, an assistant research professor at the Center for Childhood Obesity Research at Penn State University. Elyse Resch, one of the two American nutritionists who coined the phrase "intuitive eating." Mentioned in this episode:  Virginia Sole Smith and her book Fat Talk Amee Seversen and Sumner Brooks, authors of a book called How to Raise an Intuitive Eater. The report from the National Health Examination Survey that shows children ages 2 to 19 get  67% of their daily calories from ultra-processed foods.  The infamous Clara Davis study that we've talked about several times on this podcast.  The extraordinary science of addictive junk food, including the story behind Cherry Vanilla Dr. Pepper.  The Dunkin Donuts Pumpkin Swirl Frozen Coffee which has 930 calories and 167 grams of added sugars.  You can find us on instagram @pressurecook_fm. Or for a full archive of past episodes, recipes, and more, visit pressurecooker.fm See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

If you don’t know Melissa Clark, have we got a treat for you. She’s a food columnist for the New York Times and the author of 48 (!!) cookbooks, including one made for this show: “Kid in the Kitchen.” On this episode, Melissa joins Jane and Liz to talk about respecting kids’ tastes, when to give up control, and the secret to her viral lentil soup recipe. Books featured in this episode:  Kid In The Kitchen by Melissa Clark Dinner in an Instant by Melissa Clark Recipes featured in this episode: Easy Red Lentil Soup Fudgy Bourbon BallsSee omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Kids can be cruel, the old saying goes. And there is no time that is more true than when they dismiss or all out reject your carefully chosen holiday gift. And so … here’s Pressure Cooker to the rescue with a winning collection of stories and food-themed holiday gifts for kids of all ages. Links to our favorites below: For Reading:  Who Ate What: A Historical Guessing Game for Food Lovers  What Happens When You Eat Madame Pamplemousse and her Incredible Edibles For Cooking: American Girl: Around the World Cookbook  The Dynamite Shop Cookbook Kai Little Chef Club Children’s Knife Cavatelli Pasta Maker Hedley & Bennett Kids Apron ($$$) or Pottery Barn Kids Apron ($$) For Stocking Stuffers: Play-Doh Little Chef Starter Kit Dandelion Hot Chocolate Tattly Farmer’s Market Temporary Tattoos Jewish Food Memory Game Printable Food Memory Game See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Candy, cookies, cake galore…welcome to the holidays! If you find yourself struggling with where to draw the line on sweets during the festive season, you are not alone. To help out, we’re reupping an old episode we love: an interview all about kids and sugar with Dr. David Katz, a specialist in preventive and lifestyle medicine. Listen in to find out whether you really need to worry about holiday sugar benders, and what you can do to sensibly manage your little ones’ sugar intake all year round. Sales and distribution by Lemonada MediaSee omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.