Hello, my name is Lora Reardon.

I embrace cooking intuitively and spontaneously, the SimplyCooking® pantry providing a structure of ingredients with a collection of recipes that correspond. Increasingly SimplyCooking® recipes can be made for one or two people or more. I have long rebuffed meal planning and list making. For me these have always been the tedious and rigid chores that don’t support great cooking. No aspect of cooking should be tedious or rigid, but always intuitive and mindful, without restriction or exhaustive effort. SimplyCooking® launched in 2003 as a subscription meal planning service and as a way to cook scratch and ‘near scratch’ meals by stocking one’s pantry. I found for myself, the key to joy in cooking was stocking a pantry, adding sensuous finds and using seasonal highlights to color everyday cooking. A much simplified approach to shopping made cooking an enjoyable daily adventure.

I am a National Board Certified Health and Well-Being Coach and also hold a certification in Culinary Coaching from the Harvard Culinary Health Education Fundamentals (CHEF) program.

Eating is fundamental to our existence and cooking can contribute in many ways to one’s well-being. We should enjoy both immensely. Every time we cook is an opportunity to convene with nature. It’s through cooking we care for ourselves, and in using simple techniques, anyone can find cooking relaxing, restorative and creative. We need simple techniques, the basic ingredients and a happy demeanor more than lists, exacting recipes or time to make for ourselves the best food ever.

I hope this blog inspires you and guides you to cook something for yourself everyday, to keep your kitchen outfitted simply, to enjoy stocking your pantry artfully and thoughtfully and to always cook mindfully and joyfully.