Hi! I’m Renee.

Hippie Mom. Micro-Farmer. Free Spirit. 

Welcome to the online version of my kitchen, a place where we practice L.O.V.E. on a daily basis – Local. Organic. Veggies. Everyday.

LOCAL:

I love supporting my local farmers.  It is in my DNA.  My Polish grandparents were farmers.  I grew up on a “working farm” within a Polish Catholic community.  Helen and Sophie were my mentors in the kitchen.  My Daddy and Stanley showed me how to pick mushrooms, respect the land and find joy in forging for food.

My brother Joe would often help his friend Bill get ready for the Farmers Market in Ann Arbor, Michigan.  Bill is still an amazing farmer growing loads of veggies and beautiful flowers.  There is something magical about cooking food grown by a friend.

ORGANIC:

As a micro-farmer I grow organic fruits and veggies and belong to 3 organic CSA’s (community sponsored agriculture).

Why three CSA’s?  Well, one delivers!  How awesome is that?  The other two are about 5 miles from my house–my organic farms are closer to my house than the grocery store!  This makes eating local and organic easy!

My dream is to have an organic farm (in Michigan) one day . . . until then I grow strawberries, asparagus, blueberries, raspberries, tomatoes, mint and this year I put in garlic.  My secret:  I only grow what I love to eat.

VEGGIES:

My motto is “just eat a salad.”  I’m not asking for my family and friends to start requesting green smoothies or a fresh carrot/ginger juice.  (that would be nice but . . . )  Can we just start with salad?

EVERYDAY:

I believe in having a practice or “one seat” as the Zen-folks like to say.  My suggestion is to eat local, organic, or veggies everyday.  I would totally groove on adding a little yoga or meditation to the daily practice–but everyone needs to find what makes their heart sing.  When we honor our soul through our daily practices we become a free spirit and collectively we can change the world.

Why do I do this?

Passion. Purpose.

Food is my passion. I’ve spent my life pouring my soul into the bowl as I cook for others – in my home, restaurants (too many to count!), delis, grocery stores, homeless shelters, bake sales, teacher luncheons…you get the idea.

My purpose is to nourish others with the gift I’ve been given.

I’m part Earth Mother, part hippie, part food activist. A geeky science girl who tells you what’s in your food and the sensible girl who offers you simple solutions.

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Renee has helped me look at food in a whole new way. Before I didn’t understand the reasons behind the different eating styles. Now whenever I have a question about food I think, “I need to ask Renee about that!”.

I have even started eating celery with peanut butter at lunch instead of sandwiches. Just two stalks of celery makes me feel fuller than a whole plate of noodles. Renee was right! It feels great to eat healthy.
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So what sets me apart?

One word. Simplicity.

At Renee’s Kitchen, I’m all about simple changes made with intention.

I’m also the real deal.  I’m a real mom cooking real meals for kids who aren’t all that excited about spinach and kale.  I get it.  Planning, preparing, trying new recipes can be a drag–but no worries, you have me!

I’ll do the cooking, testing, and planning.  It is really what I love to do–playing in the kitchen, trying out new things and sharing the results (good and bad) with you.  This totally streamlines your efforts to “just eat a ding dang salad.”

The simple fact is this – if you want to make a change, then I can help you make it.

What can you do right now?

Sign up for my newsletter.  I share tons of resources and stories that are NOT on my blog.

Follow me on Twitter.

But the best thing you can do right now, is follow me on Instagram.  I’m on Instagram everyday sharing photos, what works, what doesn’t work and 15 second videos.  I often post how I make my insanely simple changes to make my dinners vegan!
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Some Fun Facts about Me:

• I love figs and walnuts.
• I have 4 kids and homeschool1 of them.
• With 4 kids in soccer we had 125 practices & 64 games between mid-August and mid-November. Think of all the laundry, water bottles and meal planning!
• I belong to a CSA that delivers to my front door. Hallelujah!
• I drive a 10-year-old minivan with over 120,000 miles on it – it is my home away from home! I have a new van! I absolutely love it.
• I’m sort of loud and have a way of explaining things so you won’t forget. I laugh a lot at myself because I do a lot of really whacky things and life is just too short to get your knickers in a twist.

If you want to know even more about me, check out my professional bio and culinary resume.
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