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My Mindful Kitchen
For Eco-Conscious Families Who Want to Save Money and Leave the World a Better Place Than They Found it.
Welcome to My Mindful Kitchen
People say, "Food is life". But what does that really mean?
Food has the power to nourish not just our bodies, but our communities, our culture, and the planet. Every meal is a choice—one that can energize us or leave us depleted, support local farmers or contribute to a broken system, reduce waste or add to the problem.
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​As an instructor at the Culinary Institute of America, a food system advocate, and a former restaurant owner, I’ve dedicated my career to the food world. I truly believe that a sustainable food system begins in our kitchens—where mindful choices and the values we teach our children shape the future.
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Hi, I'm Janet
Let me tell you a story.
For over 25 years, I owned and operated restaurants, gaining firsthand insight into food distribution, waste, and the broader culinary landscape.
When I turned my attention to giving back, working with nonprofits focused on food insecurity – I hit a turning point.
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After seeing the stark reality of food insecurity and the massive amounts of perfectly good food being discarded, I ran a local food waste challenge and witnessed the powerful effect of awareness on shifting habits.
While the challenge was “successful”, there was still something missing… and I learned that people don’t need another challenge in their lives. they need a more meaningful way to connect with food.
That’s when it clicked!💡
As someone who has studied mindfulness for years, I knew its power to bring clarity and intention. When I applied mindfulness to my own food choices, something unexpected happened. I reconnected with my core values—gratitude, care for others, and kindness to the environment. These values had always been there, but they had been lost in the busyness of life. Mindfulness brought them back, along with an unexpected sense of joy.
And so the My Mindful Kitchen Method was born.
What We Do Here
At the heart of the MMK Method are its 8 pillars—a simple yet powerful framework to help you make more mindful food choices. As you learn and weave these pillars into your daily life, mindful food choices become second nature, wasteful habits fade away, and creativity in the kitchen flourishes—and meal preparation becomes more fun.
AWARENESS
Recognizing why your food choices to you, your family and planet
GRATITUDE
Being grateful for the food on your table and family moments
LOVE
Making love the secret ingredient to everything you buy and make
MINDFULNESS
Being present and making meaningful connections with what you eat
PLANNING
Making intentional choices about what you eat, what you buy and how you cook
RESPECT
Honoring the journey of your food and the resources it took to get to you
JOY
Enjoying the kitchen, savoring each bite and spending quality time with a family
REFLECTION
Pausing to reflect if your food choices align with your values and intentions
The MMK Method is all about creating simple ways to think about, plan, shop and prepare food that makes budget, healthy and climate friendly choices happen seemingly auto"magically"! I’m so proud to have created a community around the transformation that happens from the very first step of walking what we call the Mindful Foodie path.
I’ve worked hard (and drawn on) everything I know from a career of working in restaurants for 25 years, working as a consultant for non-profits, and a master’s degree in Instructional Design and Technology – this project is literally my life’s work! to make sure that the MMK Method is simple, doable, and sustainable. You can learn about the Method in detail here or see some GREAT ways to engage with us below!
3 Great Ways to Learn
The MMK Method
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🌎Positive Action in the Face🌎
of Scary Policy Changes
While the current administration’s decisions may be hindering large-scale efforts, the MMK Method puts the power right back into your hands, starting in your kitchen. The MMK Method offers a proactive, powerful pathway to the challenges created by the rollback of policies supporting food security, sustainability, and climate change mitigation.
By focusing on mindful food choices, you can reduce food waste, lower your carbon footprint, and take meaningful action against climate change—without waiting for policy change. Even as policies related to food systems, the environment, and health are threatened, we can all make a difference on an individual level.
The MMK Method doesn’t rely on government action or big institutions; it’s about shifting how we think about food, how we use it, and how we align it with our values. It’s an immediate, practical, and empowering way to take control of the situation and create lasting change—no matter what happens on the policy front.
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The current food system isn’t built for mindful, budget or eco-conscious families—but the MMK Method is!