Fresh Pickings

If someone offered you a "bag of nooch," or a "sprinkle of hippie dust," would you take it? If you’re a pizza-loving vegan, you probably would! This episode of Fresh Pickings explores the world of nutritional yeast (and reveals its various street names).

Nutritional yeast is the deactivated (or dead) form of Saccharomyces Cerevisiae – the mother of all yeast strains. Dave Arnold of Cooking Issues joins Kat to teach her mor...

Flax is an amazingly versatile food and fiber crop. In fact, it’s one of the oldest fiber crops in the world, known to have been cultivated in ancient Egypt and China. If it seems like flax is good for everything, that’s because it is. Its Latin name is usitatissimum, which means “most useful.”

On this episode, Kat talks to Harry Rosenblum, host of Feast Yr Ears here on Heritage Radio Network, about all things flaxseed. Di...

Are you confused about the difference between muesli and granola? On this episode of Fresh Pickings, we’re going to help you sort out that difference by doing a deep dive into the world of muesli.

Host Kat Johnson welcomes Linda Pelaccio, host of A Taste of the Past, to talk about the inventor of muesli: Swiss physician and nutritional pioneer, Maximilian Bircher-Benner. His original recipe consisted of oat flakes, raw app...

Ever wonder how your two pound burrito could possibly fit all of those ingredients without exploding? Well, that’s all thanks to masa, the corn flour used to make tortillas, sopas, and pupusas. While solid masa dough is traditionally sold in Mexican grocery stores in the refrigerator aisle, Bob’s Red Mill makes things easier by offering a nonperishable powdered version of the same stuff. In Spanish, masa harina literally t...

What is "paleo?" The Paleolithic diet is a nutritional program based on foods available to humans living in that era. In 2012, the Academy of Nutrition and Dietetics described paleo as one of the "latest trends" in diets. And in 2013 it was Google's most searched weight-loss method.

Of the estimated 80 billion people who have ever lived out a life span on Earth, more than 90% of them have foraged for all of their food. In ...

Farro is an ancient grain with an impressive pedigree clouded by tenuous designations and contradictory classifications. But at the end of the day it’s a delicious, versatile, and relatively accommodating grain.

In this episode of Fresh Pickings, host Kat Johnson sets out to clear up some of the confusion and understand this grain a little better. Did you know ancient grains are also known as heritage grains? Here at Herit...

In the series premiere of Fresh Pickings, host Kat Johnson takes a closer look at oats – a simple ingredient that has been used to brew beer, thicken soups, soothe skin conditions, treat osteoporosis, and even reduce the risk of heart disease. The humble oat is one of the most remarkable foods in the modern world!

This episode features an interview with Kat's mom about a favorite family recipe, Oatmeal Drop Cookies. While...