Self-Care with Jean

This week’s episode of Self-Care with Jean is all about: Always Be in Learning Mode. When we hear the word “learning,” we usually think of school. Books, tests, degrees. But what if learning isn’t something we finish? What if it’s a way of living? In this episode, we explore: Learning about the people we love. Asking real questions, then being quiet long enough to hear the answer. People...

This week on The Kitchen with Jean, I want to make your day a little bit easier. I’m sharing four recipes that can come right into your kitchen: 🥦 Creamy Brussels Sprout & White Bean Pasta (with a fun tip for making a savory cream from beans)🥧 Lentil Sweet Potato Shepherd’s Pie (perfect for a cozy lunch with the family)🎃 Roasted Delicata Squash with sage,...

This week on The Kitchen with Jean, I want to ask a different question. What if our Halloween treats were made of ingredients that actually nourished us? This isn’t about taking anything away. Food is pleasure. Food is celebration. Food is sharing something around the table. We don’t have to give up the sweetness; we just get to rediscover where it comes from. And there is so much natura...

On this week's episode of Self-Care with Jean, I'm sharing a few simple rituals to help us stay healthy, grounded, and well through the shorter days. Nothing complicated, and certainly nothing that requires a complete life overhaul. Just small things we can come back to, like meeting the morning light, making warmth part of our routine, keeping our bodies moving in gentle ways, protecting our...

On this week's episode of The Kitchen with Jean, I'm sharing four wonderful recipes along with some of the Traditional Chinese Medicine wisdom I've learned through my macrobiotic studies. In TCM, autumn is a yin season, a time of cool, nourishing energy that asks us to slow down. When we honor that, we protect ourselves from dryness and keep our lungs healthy and strong. Here's a little of what we...

In this episode, we explore: 🌞 The summer solstice, a celebration of light, growth, and abundance, and the question "What is flourishing in my life?"🌙 The winter solstice, just two months away, and the beautiful invitation to rest, reflect, and renew🌱 Why nothing blooms all year long, and why we don't have to either🕯️ A simple personal solstice ritual you can begin planning now When I studied m...

In this week's episode of The Kitchen with Jean, we explore the foods of autumn: 🍐 Pears to soothe a dry throat and comfort the lungs🎃 Pumpkin, squash, and sweet potatoes for steady, grounding energy🍄 Mushrooms, root vegetables, whole grains, and legumes🌿 Gentle warming spices like ginger, cinnamon, and cardamom I'm also sharing two of my favorite little kitchen tricks, one for sweet pota...

This week's episode of Self-Care with Jean: coming from our heart and trusting our clear knowing, also called claircognizance. I was inspired by my niece and nephew, who welcomed a beautiful baby girl in July. As they learn to live with this new little human, my guidance to them was simple. Take a breath. Settle yourself. Connect to your heart, and then connect to your baby. Learn what that connec...

In this week's episode, we're talking about eating with the harvest, apples, sweet potatoes, winter squash, leafy greens, mushrooms, and all the cruciferous beauties that are showing up right now. These foods aren't just delicious. They're nature's way of preparing our bodies for the months ahead, offering immune support, fiber, and warmth exactly when we need it. Then we head into the kitchen tog...

In this week's episode, I'm sharing my own summer highlights, from riding Icelandic horses with friends to celebrating my mom's 90th birthday with both sides of our family. But more than that, I'm reflecting on what made this summer feel like the best one ever, and it wasn't about perfect vacations or a packed calendar. It was about presence. Putting down the phone. Choosing the people and moments...

This week on The Kitchen with Jean, we're talking about tempeh, a food I didn't discover until I started studying macrobiotics. I had no idea what it was, let alone how to cook it, but once I learned, it earned a permanent place in my kitchen. Tempeh is made from soybeans, naturally fermented until they hold together in a firm, sliceable cake. That fermentation is what gives it a nutty,...

In this episode, we start with a small grounding exercise (roots into the earth, always a favorite), then we move into something really fun, the rose visualization. I also share a second practice called symbol tracking, something you can carry with you all week long. And of course, we talk about the body. Have you ever gotten goosebumps mid-conversation? Or felt your gut tighten around someone or...

In this week's episode, we're talking about dates. Those naturally sweet, caramel-like little gems that come packaged with fiber, minerals, and antioxidants, and how they can help us gently reduce our reliance on refined sugar without ever feeling deprived. I share a little bit of my own story in this one, including how long it took Ric to shift his relationship with sugar (five years, dear friend...

In this week's episode, we're exploring the quiet, uncomplicated wisdom our pets offer us. Not through language, not through striving, but through instinct and presence. We talk about the wisdom of stretching, the healing power of rest, the nourishment of play, and how our animals return to joy again and again, even after a hard moment. We also talk about connection, the greatest gift our pets giv...

In this week's episode, we explore what traditional Chinese medicine calls the earth element, the energy of nourishment, digestion, and the center of our being. I share why August can leave us feeling scattered, foggy, or overwhelmed, and how the very foods this season offers us (rice, ginger, sweet potatoes, pears, millet) are exactly what our bodies are asking for. This isn't about restriction o...

In this week's episode of The Kitchen with Jean, we're exploring the ancient ritual of cooking over an open flame, how it evolved into the barbecue traditions we know today — from the slow smoke of Texas to the sizzle of Korean barbecue to the open pits of island cooking — and why gathering around the fire still feeds something in us that hurried, modern meals simply cannot. It's not jus...

This week's episode is all about — smiling and laughter. Two of the simplest things in the world, and yet they are profoundly healing. We talk about what actually happens inside our body when we smile and when we laugh. We talk about why laughter can coexist with grief, why some of the people who laugh most deeply are the ones who've walked through the hardest things. And we talk about why, somewh...

This week, we're gathering in the kitchen to talk about something wonderfully simple: black beans. They're humble. They're affordable. They're ancient. And they've nourished generations across cultures and kitchens for centuries. I wanted to spend this episode reminding us all that the most healing foods are often not extravagant — they're the ones that connect us to earth, to family, to comfort,...

This week on Self-Care with Jean, we are talking about the Claires — clairvoyance, clairsentience, claircognizance, and clairaudience. Now, before you think this isn't for you, I want you to stay with me. Because this conversation isn't about becoming mystical or extraordinary. It is about becoming present enough to recognize the subtle language of your own inner knowing. Have you ever thought of...

I have been so excited to share this week's episode with you, because we are talking about one of my absolute favorite ingredients in the whole kitchen — mushrooms. I know, I know — maybe you're thinking, mushrooms? But dear friends, stay with me, because these extraordinary fungi are so much more than what we grew up putting on our pizza. They are earthy, grounding, deeply healing, and honestly?...

Have you noticed how summer light is different? It lingers, it stretches, it touches everything a little more directly. It can feel beautiful and energizing — even healing — but it also asks something of us, especially when it comes to our skin. I'll be honest with you. As a teenager, I did not take care of my skin. I was sunbathing with the best of them. But I woke up, and now I am diligent — sun...

This week on The Kitchen with Jean, I'm sharing five simple summer recipes — three savory plant-based dishes and two sweet treats — all built around the vegetables and fruits that are at their absolute peak right now. We're talking sun-ripened tomatoes, sweet corn, tender zucchini, golden peaches, and luscious mango. No heavy ovens. No complicated techniques. Just beautiful ingredients, simply pre...

In this week's episode of Self-Care with Jean, we're talking about how to soften the noise, not the noise from the outside world, but that constant internal hum that can become so familiar we forget what life feels like without it. I'll share four gentle practices to help you find your way back to your essential self. Not rules. Not a long to-do list. Just four small doorways and you can start wit...

This week in the kitchen, I've been thinking about what it means to tend that fire. Not extinguish it. Not let it rage. But keep it steady, so our joy can glow without burning us out. Because here's what I've noticed, dear friends — and maybe you have too. When the heat rises, whether from the sun, from stress, or from what we're eating, our hearts start to race a little. Our sleep gets restless....

In this new episode of Self-Care with Jean, I'm taking you back to something simple — something that has always been available to us, even when we forget to notice it. The healing sounds of nature. The wind through the trees. The waves rolling in and out. The birds greeting us in the morning. These sounds don't rush us. They don't judge us. They simply exist — and when we truly allow ourselves to...