Podcasts about modernwell

We had a lovely chat with Erin Clarke, from @Wellplated on Instagram and author of “Well Plated” and her new book, “Well Plated Every Day.” Scroll down for Erin's pumpkin gingerbread squares with spiced cream cheese frosting recipe.Cookbook Signing Event DetailsJoin Erin at ModernWell in Minneapolis on 10/30, 7:00pm-8:30pm, for her book signing event!  The Well Plated Cookbook, Erin Clarke, and Lee Funke of Fit Foodie Finds!Erin discusses her journey, from the influential blog Well Plated by Erin, to the creation of her popular cookbooks. You will sample one of Erin's delicious recipes – and leave with a signed copy of Well Plated Everyday (Books provided by Valley Bookseller)Thanks for reading Stephanie's Dish Newsletter! This post is public so feel free to share itErin shared her Pumpkin gingerbread squares recipe from her new book, “Well Plated Everyday,” to give you a taste of the deliciousness in its pages.Pumpkin gingerbread squares with spiced cream cheese frostingIngredients for the Cake1/2 cup packed dark brown sugar2 large eggs, at room temperature3/4 cup pure pumpkin puree (not pumpkin pie filling)1/2 cup canola oil, or melted and cooled coconut oil1/4 cup unsulfured molasses (not blackstrap)2 teaspoons ground cinnamon11/4 teaspoons ground ginger1/2 teaspoon unsweetened cocoa powder1/4 teaspoon ground nutmeg1/4 teaspoon ground cloves1/2 teaspoon kosher salt 1 small orange1 cup all-purpose flour1/2 cup white whole wheat flour or regular whole wheat flour1 teaspoon baking powder1/2 teaspoon baking sodaInstructions For the CakePlace a rack in the center of your oven and preheat to 350°F. Coat an 8 by 8-inch baking pan with nonstick spray. Line the pan with parchment paper so that two strips overhang opposite sides like handles.In a large bowl, whisk together the brown sugar and eggs until pale and foamy, about 1 minute. Add the pumpkin puree, oil, molasses, cinnamon, ginger, cocoa powder, nutmeg, cloves, and salt. Zest half of the orange directly into the bowl (about 1 teaspoon). Reserve the remaining orange to zest for the frosting. Whisk until smoothly combined.Sprinkle the all-purpose flour, white whole wheat flour, baking powder, and baking soda over the top. Whisk until combined and smooth, stirring only as long as needed to incorporate all the ingredients.Scrape the batter into the prepared pan and smooth the top. Gently tap the pan on the counter to remove any air bubbles. Bake the cake for 20 to 24 minutes, until it is puffed, the edges are starting to pull away from the pan, and a tester inserted into the center of the cake comes out clean. Use the parchment overhang to lift the cake onto a wire rack and let it cool completely.While the cake cools, make the frosting: In the bowl of a stand mixer fitted recipe and ingredients continueIngredients For the Spiced Cream Cheese Frosting6 ounces reduced-fat cream cheese, or Neufchâtel cheese, at room temperature2 tablespoons unsalted butter, at room temperature1 1/2 cups powdered sugar plus a few additional tablespoons as needed1/2 teaspoon orange zest (use the same orange from the cake)1/2 teaspoon pure vanilla extract1/8 teaspoon ground cinnamon or pumpkin pieInstructions for the frostingWith the paddle attachment or in a large mixing bowl with a hand mixer, beat together the cream cheese and butter at medium speed for 2 minutes or until very smooth and well combined. Add the powdered sugar, orange zest (zest from the reserved orange directly into the bowl), vanilla, cinnamon, and salt. Beat on low speed for 30 seconds, until the powdered sugar is pretty incorporated. Increase the speed to high and pro tips beat until smooth, creamy, and fluffy, 1 to 2 minutes more. If you'd like a stiffer, sweeter frosting, add two tablespoons of powdered sugar until your desired consistency is reached. Spread the frosting on the cooled cake. For easier cutting, transfer to the refrigerator for 20 minutes to allow the frosting to set up (or go for it). Slice into squares of desired size and enjoy. EPISODE TRANSCRIPTStephanie [00:00:16]:Welcome to Dishing with Stephanie's dish, the podcast where we talk to cookbook authors and people obsessed with food generally. I am here today with Erin Clark. Erin is well plated on Instagram. She's also a best selling author of the well plated cookbook and the soon to be well plated everyday cookbook. You are gonna be having an event in the Twin Cities in Stillwater. I'm so excited for you.Erin Clarke [00:00:42]:I am thrilled as well. Can't wait. I worked to live, Yeah. Yes. So I lived in the Twin Cities at the very beginning of my career. I worked for Target, their corporate headquarters, so I just have a really big soft spot for the area, and I'm really looking forward to being back there again.Stephanie [00:01:00]:And do you live in Milwaukee now?Erin Clarke [00:01:02]:I live in Milwaukee now. Yes.Stephanie [00:01:04]:Okay. Because my family is all from Milwaukee, and I was looking on your Instagram. You make Milwaukee look more fun than I recall because we've been all over, like, the third ward, and you found some hidden gems that I was like, oh, she knows her way around here.Erin Clarke [00:01:20]:Yeah. I moved there about 10 years ago kicking and screaming because I married a Wisconsin boy and he's from Milwaukee, so we ended up back there. And I, like, I loved the city so much. I was like, I don't understand why I'm moving to still be cold and still be in the Midwest to this, like, random city. Minneapolis is great. And then I just fell in love with it. Like, it just has there it there's so much to do. The city has grown so much even just since I have been there.Erin Clarke [00:01:46]:We've got a great food scene. People are friendly. You're right on, like, Michigan. Like, it really has a lot going for it.Stephanie's Dish Newsletter is a reader-supported publication. To receive new posts and support my work, consider becoming a free or paid subscriber.Stephanie [00:01:52]:Yeah. I really my family is in Delafield, but we go into Milwaukee and spend a couple days during the holidays and during the summer. I really like it. So, okay. Well, you're on the verge. Is has your new cookbook come out yet? I imagine it's already out.Erin Clarke [00:02:08]:No. It is t minus 11 days. Not that I'm counting. I am absolutely counting every single day. Okay. I just cannot I'm just so giddy. I, like, cannot wait for people to have it in their hands. You are gonna have a 100 recipes in the book, but will you,Stephanie [00:02:20]:like, get people that maybe aren't familiar with your profile kinda what your point of view is?Erin Clarke [00:02:29]:Absolutely. So I grew up cooking and baking with my grandmothers in Kansas, like pure Midwest comfort food. And then after I graduated college and started living on my own, I realized that I wasn't going to be able to live on grandma's cinnamon rolls and cakes that she taught me to make. So I needed to learn how to cook, and that was where I really started going to farmers markets, like, really just kinda discovering the beauty of eating seasonally, which I feel like we talk about very, you know, it's just so, like, a part of the conversation now. But for me back then, it really wasn't. Like, in my family, like, corn and potatoes are the primary vegetables. So, you know, so I was trying to explore markets, learn how to cook, but I found myself to do this, like, really missing my grandmother's cooking. So I would call my grammy and be like, hey.Erin Clarke [00:03:18]:Like, can you tell me about, like, your recipe for enchiladas? And she would, like, in detail, tell me on the phone while I was taking notes. And then I started to think like, okay. Well, you know, I'm learning to cook. I'm trying to feed myself well. Maybe I can make grammy's enchiladas, but let's just do a couple of little swaps, like, that could make it healthier. Let's try it with Greek yogurt instead of sour cream. Let's try a whole wheat tortilla. And then around that time, a friend had encouraged me to start a food blog, and I was like, what is a food blog? Like, I this is very, like, OG days, and I ended up posting the recipe, and I had a few friends from high school make it and love it.Erin Clarke [00:03:57]:And they're like, hey. Do you have any other recipes? And I was like, yeah. Like, I do. And so that it that just, you know, kinda sharing the lightened up versions of my grandmother's dishes just sort of started me off, and I still, like, very much keep the midwestern sensibility and unfussiness with my recipes. So if I could describe them briefly, it would be their easy, healthy with, heavy emphasis on lightened up everyday comfort food.Stephanie [00:04:27]:Which is perfect. I mean, honestly, that's what I love. I'm kinda more on the comfort food side, but I feel equally as comfortable cooking with kale, you know, as I would, I don't know, corn and potatoes. Right? And justErin Clarke [00:04:42]:Yeah. And I think it's wonderful that people have gotten you know, those ingredients have gotten more main stream. And I really like the idea of finding ways to make healthy eating more accessible. So for example, in my cookbook, on my blog, I will not put an ingredient in there if it's gonna require you to go to a food store. I try to keep the spices, like, very streamlined. I get it. Like, we're all busy and sometimes you're not in the mood to cook. So how can we get to a result that's good for you faster, but it's still delicious? Because life is also just way too short for boring chicken breasts and rice, like, every single night of our lives.Erin Clarke [00:05:23]:So how can we have a little fun with it without, you know, making it a ton of work for ourselves either?Stephanie [00:05:30]:So how long have you had your blog then?Erin Clarke [00:05:34]:Going on 13 years.Stephanie [00:05:35]:I was gonna say it has to be about we've had a radio show about food for 15 years, and we kinda started right at the very beginning of, you know, food culture. And that was one of the lot of the bloggers were getting started. And do you still blog a lot, or are you kinda to the stage where you're repurposing recipes and relooking at some of your old content?Erin Clarke [00:05:57]:We are doing both. So I still publish about 3 new recipes a week to my blog, and then we're constantly going back especially to some of those older recipes and seeing, you know, if there are tweaks that we can do to make them better. At the beginning, I was the photographer with my, like, flip phone under the our, you know, awful, like, orange light in our kitchen. So some of those recipes, it's been fun to go back and spruce them up. And then as, you know, video has taken over social media and with me being the face of the brand, a lot of the we've been shooting videos with me in them, and that has actually been a ton of fun in the sense of just, like, rediscovering, you know, favorite recipes that I haven't made in years.Stephanie [00:06:37]:Yeah. And looking back on, what would you say are, like are there some that are you're known for or that are, like, your specialties?Erin Clarke [00:06:47]:I would say I definitely am known overall for 1 pot meals. Like, if I can one pot or one pan something, I will absolutely do it. Recent one that we did, and this is just top of mind because we did the video a couple of weeks ago, is a homemade version of Hamburger Helper. So I grew up, like, Hamburger Helper House all the way, and there's still something, like, very nostalgic and comforting about it. Except, I mean, this will sound hysterical to describe it this way, but it is a gourmet Hamburger Helper. There's just I always like to find, like, just a couple of little things that you can tweak. You know, first of all, it's from scratch. It's easy.Erin Clarke [00:07:24]:You don't need the box. And I add a little bit of hot sauce and a little bit of Dijon mustard. You cook everything together in the same pot so that as the pasta cooking liquid reduces and the pasta releases those starches, it makes this really, like, luscious silky sauce without the need for any cream, and everyone loves this recipe. My husband loves it. My nieces love it from Yeah. My nieces that are the age from, like, 4 to 6. They all love this hamburger helper. Like, it's something that the whole family can really sit down and enjoy.Stephanie [00:07:55]:I love it. And you really do have a very distinct point of view in how you're thinking about your individual recipes. So I'm guessing you don't have za'atar in any of your ingredients.Erin Clarke [00:08:07]:I don't. Even though I personally love za'atar I do too. You know, I love it. I cook with it at home, but I recognize that, like, every single person doesn't have the spice cabinet that I have. So while I'll do, you know, Middle Eastern inspired dishes, and I love to travel so a lot of my dishes are inspired by my travels, I try to do it in a way that brings it home to the Midwest and makes it just as attainable for people as possible.Stephanie [00:08:34]:Right. Where is the last place that you traveled to, just out of curiosity?Erin Clarke [00:08:39]:We spent a month in France this spring, which was just wonderful. I never I speak pretty good French, and I you know, you just have to go back to practice. Yeah. Really purely academic.Stephanie [00:08:53]:Where did you go? What region?Erin Clarke [00:08:55]:So each time we go, we try to visit a different region. This time we did Alsace, which is right on the German border, and it is just right out of a fairy tale. It's the some of the little villages around there are what inspired Walt Disney to design Belle's hometown in Beauty and the Beast. And it really was it was like stepping into a storybook. It was just so charming.Stephanie [00:09:19]:Are you able to as a content creator, are you able to take, like, a month off and fully unplug, or are you just working remotely? How does that work for you? Because I imagine you've got a team at this point.Erin Clarke [00:09:32]:I do. I have a wonderful team. They're just fantastic. Like, well plated would not be able to offer the content that we do without them. And I think that they would probably be more okay with me unplugging than I am okay with myself being totally off. You know, and this is just the reality of being a small business owner. Like, for us, even getting a full day off on the weekend is really, really challenging. And you kind of it kind of bites you the next day, you know, or Monday wouldn't get back.Erin Clarke [00:10:02]:I'm trying to be a little better about finding at least one day where we don't do any work. So even when we travel, we are always checking in. We put in a few hours here and there. We're often creating content while we're out there. But I also just view it as, like, wow. How cool is it that I get to yes. You could view it as, like, I'm in France and I'm working.Stephanie [00:10:22]:Yeah.Erin Clarke [00:10:22]:I view it as, like, how cool I can go to France while I work.Stephanie [00:10:26]:Yeah. And it is really like a change in lifestyle. Like, the creative culture has created so much flexibility for so many people. Do you get caught up and worried about, like, the algorithms and when things change and traffic goes down, and are you always kinda chasing that?Erin Clarke [00:10:43]:I mean, we are chasing it in the sense that, you know, it is our livelihood. Like, my site depends on traffic, and that traffic primarily for us comes from Google search. So I'm constantly, like, reading articles, trying to stay up to date. At the same time, ranking a friend of mine described it as, like, checking your rankings is, like, standing on the scale every single day. Don't do it. Just overall, you know, we're always looking for healthy growth, and the truth is, like, you are constantly you win some, you lose some. This is a particularly challenging time for online content creators just with AI. You know, no one is really certain of what what that's gonna lead to.Erin Clarke [00:11:29]:You're seeing AI appear in search results where independent content creators like myself and my peers used to have our recipes appear. Now it's AI. And just over really, especially the last 5 years, I feel like it's gotten supersaturated. And so Google is sorting through what's quality content and what's not. And so there's less there's just overall there's just less space to go around, and there's less content than ever. Or excuse me, less space to go around and more content than ever.Stephanie [00:12:01]:And this idea of low quality is sort of a you know, to get to these advertising tiers, people need to have high quality content. Google's just like, oh, we spotted some low quality content. And you're just like, what? Like, help me figure this out. I so many people have been caught in that kind of trap of trying to grow and not really getting direction very much from Google. And it is just changing the game, I think. And then I wonder, like, okay. As creatives, we're gonna find the next thing. Right? So is it like, I'm seeing a lot of people you mentioned video.Stephanie [00:12:39]:I'm seeing a lot of people on YouTube creating their own TV shows. I'm seeing substacks. Is that something that you're exploring? Any of those other alternative avenues?Erin Clarke [00:12:50]:It's one of those things where, like, if I could clone myself, I would try to do them all. Substack, I think, is really fun and intriguing to me because it gives people a way to directly support at a very affordable rate their favorite authors, creators. For us, I've but I feel like a key to making that work is to offer content that you can't get anywhere else without paying. Currently, Well Plated is free for readers to access, and we don't really have the capacity to create additional free content on top of that. So kind of the way that we have structured our strategy is to give away as much as possible. Not only are the recipes free, we do free meal plans. And my hope is that we'll make Well Plate as a resource for you and make it the place that you wanna go. And then, you know, for now, if by cultivating that loyal reader base, that can kind of be a foundation of our business that's not subject to algorithms.Stephanie [00:13:51]:Yeah. Like maybe creating modules or workbooks or, PDF content that can be about, you know, the top 30 things you need to have in your pantry and blah blah blah.Erin Clarke [00:14:03]:Mhmm. Yeah. We're always looking to offer resources right now. We're working on putting together updated super comprehensive Thanksgiving guide that gives you the realistic week of Thanksgiving prep list, not the like I mean, yes. It would be great. I know I can pre freeze pie crust 3 months in advance. I am not freezing my Thanksgiving pie crust 3 months in advance. I'm just not that person.Erin Clarke [00:14:26]:I admire that person. I'm not that person. So what say we start on Sunday. Like, how can we really get this done? Yeah. How are we gonna streamline our shopping list? Like, I'm always looking for ways to provide value. So we're really excited about that PDF that'll be coming out here at the end of the month.Stephanie [00:14:41]:How many people do you cook for at Thanksgiving?Erin Clarke [00:14:45]:I'm very spoiled on Thanksgiving day, and then I get to go to my mom's house. And she and my stepdad are fabulous cooks and take off, like, 2 days of work. And the turkey is like a masterpiece. But for about the last now going on almost oh my gosh. How many years has it been? Now going on almost 15 years, I've been hosting Friendsgiving. Oh, yeah. At its smallest, it was probably about 7 people. At 1 year, we got up to 35 people.Erin Clarke [00:15:12]:Now we're kind of somewhere in the sweet spot with around 20. So that every year is just really just it's like chaos, but in the most fun way. Now that, you know, when it started out, it was all adults. We set nice tables. Now my friends have families, so you have kids, like, running around all over the place.Stephanie [00:15:29]:Right. Do you do it at a certain time a year, or do you do it in the month of November? Some people I know do, like, it in February and call it febsgiving.Erin Clarke [00:15:38]:That's well, with how crazy busy holidays are, I completely understand. And, like, let's be honest, there's not that much to look forward to for most of February March holiday wise. We do we do November. So I guess I'm just lucky because I get I love Thanksgiving food. I'm like, this is great that I get to eat this more than once. I'm gonna eat it for Thanksgiving, and then I'm gonna go home and I'm gonna eat it on the actual holiday.Stephanie [00:16:01]:Yes. Super delicious. Okay. So let's talk a little bit more about your book. Like, do you have it organized in any certain way?Erin Clarke [00:16:09]:Yes. So I like to and I know cookbooks all take different approaches, and it's kind of fun to see how different cookbook authors differentiate things. For me, I think it's just like, I'm a very traditional cookbook girl in the sense of the organization. So, you know, we start out with breakfast, have appetizers and drinks, salads, and then the main dishes are really the meat and potatoes of the book, pun intended. Just because that is where I know that people need the most help. Like, everyone has to cook dinner. So having a robust assortment of recipes and then organizing those well is really important to me. So we actually ended up breaking the main dishes down into 3 different categories.Erin Clarke [00:16:55]:So there's an entire chapter that's just pure one pot meals. One pot, one pan. Boom. We have a chapter, that's mostly focused on lightened up comfort food. And then we have this 3rd chapter that I did not intentionally set out to make it a vegetarian chapter just because I never want vegetarian food to feel lesser than or like it needs to get singled out. But we just ended up with this really wonderful collection of vegetarian dishes. They're also pretty heavily globally inspired that ended up being their own chapter as well. So we call those the veggie mains with all the flavor.Erin Clarke [00:17:31]:And then you've got your, you know, your soups, your sides, and, of course, your sweets.Stephanie [00:17:36]:How do you find, like so you have a team of people. How do you find them? Do you just advertise for them and interview just like a normal company would?Erin Clarke [00:17:46]:It's really hard. It's really hard to find good people. Like, I feel incredibly lucky. I've worked with most of my team for 5 years or longer. Some of it has been word-of-mouth. You know, like, other bloggers will work with someone and say, hey. You know, my social media person you know, I might reach out to a friend and say, hey. I'm really looking for someone to help me with my Facebook.Erin Clarke [00:18:08]:And, you know, friends will generously say, like, hey. My social media manager is great. Why don't you reach out to her? You know, some of it has been we went through our when we hired our first full time employee, we did the whole post on Indeed, like, a really rigorous application interview process. And I actually ended up finding Brenna, our first employee, because I posted on my Instagram. And so she reached out, applied through Indeed, you know, and we'd really went through that formal process. But it is truly time consuming and exhausting. Yeah. It's hard.Erin Clarke [00:18:38]:And I think every business I don't exhausting. Yeah. It's hard. And I think every business, I don't find myself unique in that way. And I think the first hire or the first couple are also reallyStephanie [00:18:46]:hard because you're probably getting to the point where you can monetize some things, but it, like, takes money to make money, and it takes more hands to make money. SoErin Clarke [00:19:01]:Mhmm.Stephanie [00:19:02]:How did you feel like you knew when that time was right?Erin Clarke [00:19:07]:When I just could not it just got to a point where I either had to be we either needed to hire someone or we needed to be okay with doing a lot less.Stephanie [00:19:18]:Yeah.Erin Clarke [00:19:18]:And I just could not you know, at that point, I had managed to outsource, you know, the recipe photography, the social media, But I really was so burned out, and I was like, I can't you know, I love what I do, but I can't do it at the right capacity. And I'm not enjoying my life. So how do I find someone that I really want to invest in? And invest is the word to use because as you said, it is not cheap to hire someone. Not only to pay, you know, if you wanna hire someone good, they deserve a great wage.Stephanie [00:19:51]:Yep.Erin Clarke [00:19:51]:And then also even expenses like setting up a 401 k, kind of thinking through some of those pieces. Like, that is administratively very time consuming, and it is costly. But it's worth it. Like, I that was, you know, one of the best decisions I've ever made for my business.Stephanie [00:20:08]:And things like health care. I mean, if you are employing people full time, they want benefits.Erin Clarke [00:20:14]:Yeah. Exactly. And you can choose not to offer benefits, but then you're not gonna get the quality of candidates that you're looking for. And also just personally, for me, like, building a company where I can provide benefits for people, like, that's something that I'm proud of and that we wanna be able to offer.Stephanie [00:20:31]:Yeah. It's funny that you mentioned that because I had a business before getting I'm mostly a broadcaster who happens to write some cookbooks that are regionally based. But before being a broadcaster, I did have a small business, and I was really proud of the fact that we always offered health care. Like, it just felt like, businesses. I didn't it's not the business's job, but it is the way our society is set up. So if that's the way it's gonna be, then let's participate. Let's do it. Let's take care of our employees.Stephanie [00:21:00]:At some point, I wish that everyone could have a single payer health care system and just pay into it, but that's my utopian fantasy as a freelancer out here still, you know, paying for health care on the open market. It's not cheap.Erin Clarke [00:21:13]:No. It's not. It's really challenging.Stephanie [00:21:15]:I know. And that someday we're all gonna get together. Like, there's a 150,000 creatives just in the state of Minnesota all buying independent health care. It'd be cool if we could find some way to all band together and bring everyone else's cost down too. Right?Erin Clarke [00:21:29]:Yeah. I love it. Yeah.Stephanie [00:21:32]:Can you tell me some of your favorite cookbooks? Like, do you, like, even look at cookbooks anymore, or are you just so focused on your own?Erin Clarke [00:21:41]:No. I just love cookbooks. I read cookbooks like people read novels, which is why, you know, if you read my first cookbook and my second one when it comes out, like, the writing is incredibly personal to me. I pour, like, so much of myself into that because food you know, the recipes need to work. They need to be rock solid. That's the number one thing with a cookbook. And we work incredibly, incredibly diligently on that. My whole team does.Erin Clarke [00:22:06]:But from there, like, I just want a cookbook with some personality.Stephanie [00:22:10]:Yeah.Erin Clarke [00:22:10]:And so, like, I just find it so inspiring to hear both the food, hear the stories. And then I can say, like, anyone can post a recipe online, and I absolutely stand behind the quality of the well plated recipes that we do online. But there is something special and a higher standard about a cookbook that, there it's just, like, sacred to me. Like, I feel like you're, like, getting a a piece of someone. And I have a lot a lot of cookbooks. I joke, but it's not it's actually quite true that Ina Garten taught me how to cook when I started. When I started my blog, my husband was in law school. We were on a budget.Erin Clarke [00:22:49]:Like, we were not going out to eat, And he had a voracious appetite. So I was like, okay. I gotta figure out how to cook food that tastes good because we enjoy you know, that we'll enjoy eating that, you know, makes a decent enough quantity to feed him, like, start hosting friends. And so I just checked out Ina's cookbooks from the library and would read them and, you know, work my way through them. So from there so the foundation of my grandmother's and then, like, moving on to Ina Garten.Stephanie [00:23:19]:Yeah.Erin Clarke [00:23:19]:Some of the and then I also, you know, now that I am a professional recipe developer, I also have taken lessons from the way that some of the best of the best write their recipes. So one person that always comes in mind to me is Dori Greenspan. I just think she has this beautiful way of writing recipes, and she's kind of who I learned. Like, don't you can't just don't just tell me the time on the stove. I need you to tell me what it smells like. I need you to tell me, you know, if the color's golden. Like, how do we appeal to all of these different senses to make people feel really confident? And that confidence aspect is really important to me too. So I want you to feel good the entire time you're making my recipe, not just be, like, pleased at the end that it turned out.Erin Clarke [00:24:04]:So, you know, if you're making a cake batter and it looks curdled, I'm gonna tell you it will it looks curdled. It'll be fine. And I feel like I picked some of that up from Dory Greenspan as well.Stephanie [00:24:17]:Oh, wow. Those are some of my heroes too. So it's fun to hear you say that. Have you I just started reading the Ina Garten memoir.Erin Clarke [00:24:24]:Oh, I'm listening to it. I'm about a third of the way through. It's just delightful.Stephanie [00:24:28]:I know. She's so great. I does she read it? I probably should have listened because I just find her so she's so funny.Erin Clarke [00:24:36]:She really is. Yeah. She it's just it's delightful.Stephanie [00:24:39]:Yeah. Okay. So people can come to your you can do a reading. You're gonna be at Valley Booksellers in Stillwater on October 13th.Erin Clarke [00:24:48]:We are doing the event at Modern Well. So it's in partnership with Valley. So it's in Minneapolis, and I will have a partner in conversation, Leigh Funke, from Fit Foodie Finds, who is a friend and just, like, a rock star food blogger who is also based in the Twin Cities. So she graciously agreed to do a q and a with me. We'll be having some snacks passed out from the book. It's just gonna be a really funny thing of conversation. Of course, everyone will leave with a signed copy of the book, and I'm just so looking forward to having that in person connection.Stephanie [00:25:23]:Yes. I'll go ahead and put a link for tickets in the show notes. I'm gonna bump up when I, release this podcast so that people have time to get tickets. It was super nice to talk with you and to meet you. I'm excited about your book. I have followed you on Instagram, so it's fun to get a chance to talk with you. And I loved hearing how thoughtful you are about your point of view on the recipes. It really shows in the work that you do.Stephanie [00:25:49]:You're doing a really goodErin Clarke [00:25:51]:job. Thank you so so much. That really just means a lot. I can't overstate how much that means because sometimes you just feel I mean it's hard.Stephanie [00:25:59]:You're in the void.Erin Clarke [00:25:59]:It's hard. It's a lot of work. Yeah. Mhmm.Stephanie [00:26:01]:Absolutely. Alright, Erin. It's great. Good luck with the book and I maybe we'll see you at Modern Well. Who knows?Erin Clarke [00:26:08]:Yeah. I hope so. It was great meeting you.Stephanie [00:26:10]:Okay. Thanks, Sarah.Erin Clarke [00:26:11]:Thanks again. This is a public episode. If you'd like to discuss this with other subscribers or get access to bonus episodes, visit stephaniehansen.substack.com/subscribe

We had a lovely chat with Erin Clarke, from @Wellplated on Instagram and author of “Well Plated” and her new book, “Well Plated Every Day.” Scroll down for Erin's pumpkin gingerbread squares with spiced cream cheese frosting recipe.Cookbook Signing Event DetailsJoin Erin at ModernWell in Minneapolis on 10/30, 7:00pm-8:30pm, for her book signing event!  The Well Plated Cookbook, Erin Clarke, and Lee Funke of Fit Foodie Finds!Erin discusses her journey, from the influential blog Well Plated by Erin, to the creation of her popular cookbooks. You will sample one of Erin's delicious recipes – and leave with a signed copy of Well Plated Everyday (Books provided by Valley Bookseller)Thanks for reading Stephanie's Dish Newsletter! This post is public so feel free to share itErin shared her Pumpkin gingerbread squares recipe from her new book, “Well Plated Everyday,” to give you a taste of the deliciousness in its pages.Pumpkin gingerbread squares with spiced cream cheese frostingIngredients for the Cake1/2 cup packed dark brown sugar2 large eggs, at room temperature3/4 cup pure pumpkin puree (not pumpkin pie filling)1/2 cup canola oil, or melted and cooled coconut oil1/4 cup unsulfured molasses (not blackstrap)2 teaspoons ground cinnamon11/4 teaspoons ground ginger1/2 teaspoon unsweetened cocoa powder1/4 teaspoon ground nutmeg1/4 teaspoon ground cloves1/2 teaspoon kosher salt 1 small orange1 cup all-purpose flour1/2 cup white whole wheat flour or regular whole wheat flour1 teaspoon baking powder1/2 teaspoon baking sodaInstructions For the CakePlace a rack in the center of your oven and preheat to 350°F. Coat an 8 by 8-inch baking pan with nonstick spray. Line the pan with parchment paper so that two strips overhang opposite sides like handles.In a large bowl, whisk together the brown sugar and eggs until pale and foamy, about 1 minute. Add the pumpkin puree, oil, molasses, cinnamon, ginger, cocoa powder, nutmeg, cloves, and salt. Zest half of the orange directly into the bowl (about 1 teaspoon). Reserve the remaining orange to zest for the frosting. Whisk until smoothly combined.Sprinkle the all-purpose flour, white whole wheat flour, baking powder, and baking soda over the top. Whisk until combined and smooth, stirring only as long as needed to incorporate all the ingredients.Scrape the batter into the prepared pan and smooth the top. Gently tap the pan on the counter to remove any air bubbles. Bake the cake for 20 to 24 minutes, until it is puffed, the edges are starting to pull away from the pan, and a tester inserted into the center of the cake comes out clean. Use the parchment overhang to lift the cake onto a wire rack and let it cool completely.While the cake cools, make the frosting: In the bowl of a stand mixer fitted recipe and ingredients continueIngredients For the Spiced Cream Cheese Frosting6 ounces reduced-fat cream cheese, or Neufchâtel cheese, at room temperature2 tablespoons unsalted butter, at room temperature1 1/2 cups powdered sugar plus a few additional tablespoons as needed1/2 teaspoon orange zest (use the same orange from the cake)1/2 teaspoon pure vanilla extract1/8 teaspoon ground cinnamon or pumpkin pieInstructions for the frostingWith the paddle attachment or in a large mixing bowl with a hand mixer, beat together the cream cheese and butter at medium speed for 2 minutes or until very smooth and well combined. Add the powdered sugar, orange zest (zest from the reserved orange directly into the bowl), vanilla, cinnamon, and salt. Beat on low speed for 30 seconds, until the powdered sugar is pretty incorporated. Increase the speed to high and pro tips beat until smooth, creamy, and fluffy, 1 to 2 minutes more. If you'd like a stiffer, sweeter frosting, add two tablespoons of powdered sugar until your desired consistency is reached. Spread the frosting on the cooled cake. For easier cutting, transfer to the refrigerator for 20 minutes to allow the frosting to set up (or go for it). Slice into squares of desired size and enjoy. EPISODE TRANSCRIPTStephanie [00:00:16]:Welcome to Dishing with Stephanie's dish, the podcast where we talk to cookbook authors and people obsessed with food generally. I am here today with Erin Clark. Erin is well plated on Instagram. She's also a best selling author of the well plated cookbook and the soon to be well plated everyday cookbook. You are gonna be having an event in the Twin Cities in Stillwater. I'm so excited for you.Erin Clarke [00:00:42]:I am thrilled as well. Can't wait. I worked to live, Yeah. Yes. So I lived in the Twin Cities at the very beginning of my career. I worked for Target, their corporate headquarters, so I just have a really big soft spot for the area, and I'm really looking forward to being back there again.Stephanie [00:01:00]:And do you live in Milwaukee now?Erin Clarke [00:01:02]:I live in Milwaukee now. Yes.Stephanie [00:01:04]:Okay. Because my family is all from Milwaukee, and I was looking on your Instagram. You make Milwaukee look more fun than I recall because we've been all over, like, the third ward, and you found some hidden gems that I was like, oh, she knows her way around here.Erin Clarke [00:01:20]:Yeah. I moved there about 10 years ago kicking and screaming because I married a Wisconsin boy and he's from Milwaukee, so we ended up back there. And I, like, I loved the city so much. I was like, I don't understand why I'm moving to still be cold and still be in the Midwest to this, like, random city. Minneapolis is great. And then I just fell in love with it. Like, it just has there it there's so much to do. The city has grown so much even just since I have been there.Erin Clarke [00:01:46]:We've got a great food scene. People are friendly. You're right on, like, Michigan. Like, it really has a lot going for it.Stephanie's Dish Newsletter is a reader-supported publication. To receive new posts and support my work, consider becoming a free or paid subscriber.Stephanie [00:01:52]:Yeah. I really my family is in Delafield, but we go into Milwaukee and spend a couple days during the holidays and during the summer. I really like it. So, okay. Well, you're on the verge. Is has your new cookbook come out yet? I imagine it's already out.Erin Clarke [00:02:08]:No. It is t minus 11 days. Not that I'm counting. I am absolutely counting every single day. Okay. I just cannot I'm just so giddy. I, like, cannot wait for people to have it in their hands. You are gonna have a 100 recipes in the book, but will you,Stephanie [00:02:20]:like, get people that maybe aren't familiar with your profile kinda what your point of view is?Erin Clarke [00:02:29]:Absolutely. So I grew up cooking and baking with my grandmothers in Kansas, like pure Midwest comfort food. And then after I graduated college and started living on my own, I realized that I wasn't going to be able to live on grandma's cinnamon rolls and cakes that she taught me to make. So I needed to learn how to cook, and that was where I really started going to farmers markets, like, really just kinda discovering the beauty of eating seasonally, which I feel like we talk about very, you know, it's just so, like, a part of the conversation now. But for me back then, it really wasn't. Like, in my family, like, corn and potatoes are the primary vegetables. So, you know, so I was trying to explore markets, learn how to cook, but I found myself to do this, like, really missing my grandmother's cooking. So I would call my grammy and be like, hey.Erin Clarke [00:03:18]:Like, can you tell me about, like, your recipe for enchiladas? And she would, like, in detail, tell me on the phone while I was taking notes. And then I started to think like, okay. Well, you know, I'm learning to cook. I'm trying to feed myself well. Maybe I can make grammy's enchiladas, but let's just do a couple of little swaps, like, that could make it healthier. Let's try it with Greek yogurt instead of sour cream. Let's try a whole wheat tortilla. And then around that time, a friend had encouraged me to start a food blog, and I was like, what is a food blog? Like, I this is very, like, OG days, and I ended up posting the recipe, and I had a few friends from high school make it and love it.Erin Clarke [00:03:57]:And they're like, hey. Do you have any other recipes? And I was like, yeah. Like, I do. And so that it that just, you know, kinda sharing the lightened up versions of my grandmother's dishes just sort of started me off, and I still, like, very much keep the midwestern sensibility and unfussiness with my recipes. So if I could describe them briefly, it would be their easy, healthy with, heavy emphasis on lightened up everyday comfort food.Stephanie [00:04:27]:Which is perfect. I mean, honestly, that's what I love. I'm kinda more on the comfort food side, but I feel equally as comfortable cooking with kale, you know, as I would, I don't know, corn and potatoes. Right? And justErin Clarke [00:04:42]:Yeah. And I think it's wonderful that people have gotten you know, those ingredients have gotten more main stream. And I really like the idea of finding ways to make healthy eating more accessible. So for example, in my cookbook, on my blog, I will not put an ingredient in there if it's gonna require you to go to a food store. I try to keep the spices, like, very streamlined. I get it. Like, we're all busy and sometimes you're not in the mood to cook. So how can we get to a result that's good for you faster, but it's still delicious? Because life is also just way too short for boring chicken breasts and rice, like, every single night of our lives.Erin Clarke [00:05:23]:So how can we have a little fun with it without, you know, making it a ton of work for ourselves either?Stephanie [00:05:30]:So how long have you had your blog then?Erin Clarke [00:05:34]:Going on 13 years.Stephanie [00:05:35]:I was gonna say it has to be about we've had a radio show about food for 15 years, and we kinda started right at the very beginning of, you know, food culture. And that was one of the lot of the bloggers were getting started. And do you still blog a lot, or are you kinda to the stage where you're repurposing recipes and relooking at some of your old content?Erin Clarke [00:05:57]:We are doing both. So I still publish about 3 new recipes a week to my blog, and then we're constantly going back especially to some of those older recipes and seeing, you know, if there are tweaks that we can do to make them better. At the beginning, I was the photographer with my, like, flip phone under the our, you know, awful, like, orange light in our kitchen. So some of those recipes, it's been fun to go back and spruce them up. And then as, you know, video has taken over social media and with me being the face of the brand, a lot of the we've been shooting videos with me in them, and that has actually been a ton of fun in the sense of just, like, rediscovering, you know, favorite recipes that I haven't made in years.Stephanie [00:06:37]:Yeah. And looking back on, what would you say are, like are there some that are you're known for or that are, like, your specialties?Erin Clarke [00:06:47]:I would say I definitely am known overall for 1 pot meals. Like, if I can one pot or one pan something, I will absolutely do it. Recent one that we did, and this is just top of mind because we did the video a couple of weeks ago, is a homemade version of Hamburger Helper. So I grew up, like, Hamburger Helper House all the way, and there's still something, like, very nostalgic and comforting about it. Except, I mean, this will sound hysterical to describe it this way, but it is a gourmet Hamburger Helper. There's just I always like to find, like, just a couple of little things that you can tweak. You know, first of all, it's from scratch. It's easy.Erin Clarke [00:07:24]:You don't need the box. And I add a little bit of hot sauce and a little bit of Dijon mustard. You cook everything together in the same pot so that as the pasta cooking liquid reduces and the pasta releases those starches, it makes this really, like, luscious silky sauce without the need for any cream, and everyone loves this recipe. My husband loves it. My nieces love it from Yeah. My nieces that are the age from, like, 4 to 6. They all love this hamburger helper. Like, it's something that the whole family can really sit down and enjoy.Stephanie [00:07:55]:I love it. And you really do have a very distinct point of view in how you're thinking about your individual recipes. So I'm guessing you don't have za'atar in any of your ingredients.Erin Clarke [00:08:07]:I don't. Even though I personally love za'atar I do too. You know, I love it. I cook with it at home, but I recognize that, like, every single person doesn't have the spice cabinet that I have. So while I'll do, you know, Middle Eastern inspired dishes, and I love to travel so a lot of my dishes are inspired by my travels, I try to do it in a way that brings it home to the Midwest and makes it just as attainable for people as possible.Stephanie [00:08:34]:Right. Where is the last place that you traveled to, just out of curiosity?Erin Clarke [00:08:39]:We spent a month in France this spring, which was just wonderful. I never I speak pretty good French, and I you know, you just have to go back to practice. Yeah. Really purely academic.Stephanie [00:08:53]:Where did you go? What region?Erin Clarke [00:08:55]:So each time we go, we try to visit a different region. This time we did Alsace, which is right on the German border, and it is just right out of a fairy tale. It's the some of the little villages around there are what inspired Walt Disney to design Belle's hometown in Beauty and the Beast. And it really was it was like stepping into a storybook. It was just so charming.Stephanie [00:09:19]:Are you able to as a content creator, are you able to take, like, a month off and fully unplug, or are you just working remotely? How does that work for you? Because I imagine you've got a team at this point.Erin Clarke [00:09:32]:I do. I have a wonderful team. They're just fantastic. Like, well plated would not be able to offer the content that we do without them. And I think that they would probably be more okay with me unplugging than I am okay with myself being totally off. You know, and this is just the reality of being a small business owner. Like, for us, even getting a full day off on the weekend is really, really challenging. And you kind of it kind of bites you the next day, you know, or Monday wouldn't get back.Erin Clarke [00:10:02]:I'm trying to be a little better about finding at least one day where we don't do any work. So even when we travel, we are always checking in. We put in a few hours here and there. We're often creating content while we're out there. But I also just view it as, like, wow. How cool is it that I get to yes. You could view it as, like, I'm in France and I'm working.Stephanie [00:10:22]:Yeah.Erin Clarke [00:10:22]:I view it as, like, how cool I can go to France while I work.Stephanie [00:10:26]:Yeah. And it is really like a change in lifestyle. Like, the creative culture has created so much flexibility for so many people. Do you get caught up and worried about, like, the algorithms and when things change and traffic goes down, and are you always kinda chasing that?Erin Clarke [00:10:43]:I mean, we are chasing it in the sense that, you know, it is our livelihood. Like, my site depends on traffic, and that traffic primarily for us comes from Google search. So I'm constantly, like, reading articles, trying to stay up to date. At the same time, ranking a friend of mine described it as, like, checking your rankings is, like, standing on the scale every single day. Don't do it. Just overall, you know, we're always looking for healthy growth, and the truth is, like, you are constantly you win some, you lose some. This is a particularly challenging time for online content creators just with AI. You know, no one is really certain of what what that's gonna lead to.Erin Clarke [00:11:29]:You're seeing AI appear in search results where independent content creators like myself and my peers used to have our recipes appear. Now it's AI. And just over really, especially the last 5 years, I feel like it's gotten supersaturated. And so Google is sorting through what's quality content and what's not. And so there's less there's just overall there's just less space to go around, and there's less content than ever. Or excuse me, less space to go around and more content than ever.Stephanie [00:12:01]:And this idea of low quality is sort of a you know, to get to these advertising tiers, people need to have high quality content. Google's just like, oh, we spotted some low quality content. And you're just like, what? Like, help me figure this out. I so many people have been caught in that kind of trap of trying to grow and not really getting direction very much from Google. And it is just changing the game, I think. And then I wonder, like, okay. As creatives, we're gonna find the next thing. Right? So is it like, I'm seeing a lot of people you mentioned video.Stephanie [00:12:39]:I'm seeing a lot of people on YouTube creating their own TV shows. I'm seeing substacks. Is that something that you're exploring? Any of those other alternative avenues?Erin Clarke [00:12:50]:It's one of those things where, like, if I could clone myself, I would try to do them all. Substack, I think, is really fun and intriguing to me because it gives people a way to directly support at a very affordable rate their favorite authors, creators. For us, I've but I feel like a key to making that work is to offer content that you can't get anywhere else without paying. Currently, Well Plated is free for readers to access, and we don't really have the capacity to create additional free content on top of that. So kind of the way that we have structured our strategy is to give away as much as possible. Not only are the recipes free, we do free meal plans. And my hope is that we'll make Well Plate as a resource for you and make it the place that you wanna go. And then, you know, for now, if by cultivating that loyal reader base, that can kind of be a foundation of our business that's not subject to algorithms.Stephanie [00:13:51]:Yeah. Like maybe creating modules or workbooks or, PDF content that can be about, you know, the top 30 things you need to have in your pantry and blah blah blah.Erin Clarke [00:14:03]:Mhmm. Yeah. We're always looking to offer resources right now. We're working on putting together updated super comprehensive Thanksgiving guide that gives you the realistic week of Thanksgiving prep list, not the like I mean, yes. It would be great. I know I can pre freeze pie crust 3 months in advance. I am not freezing my Thanksgiving pie crust 3 months in advance. I'm just not that person.Erin Clarke [00:14:26]:I admire that person. I'm not that person. So what say we start on Sunday. Like, how can we really get this done? Yeah. How are we gonna streamline our shopping list? Like, I'm always looking for ways to provide value. So we're really excited about that PDF that'll be coming out here at the end of the month.Stephanie [00:14:41]:How many people do you cook for at Thanksgiving?Erin Clarke [00:14:45]:I'm very spoiled on Thanksgiving day, and then I get to go to my mom's house. And she and my stepdad are fabulous cooks and take off, like, 2 days of work. And the turkey is like a masterpiece. But for about the last now going on almost oh my gosh. How many years has it been? Now going on almost 15 years, I've been hosting Friendsgiving. Oh, yeah. At its smallest, it was probably about 7 people. At 1 year, we got up to 35 people.Erin Clarke [00:15:12]:Now we're kind of somewhere in the sweet spot with around 20. So that every year is just really just it's like chaos, but in the most fun way. Now that, you know, when it started out, it was all adults. We set nice tables. Now my friends have families, so you have kids, like, running around all over the place.Stephanie [00:15:29]:Right. Do you do it at a certain time a year, or do you do it in the month of November? Some people I know do, like, it in February and call it febsgiving.Erin Clarke [00:15:38]:That's well, with how crazy busy holidays are, I completely understand. And, like, let's be honest, there's not that much to look forward to for most of February March holiday wise. We do we do November. So I guess I'm just lucky because I get I love Thanksgiving food. I'm like, this is great that I get to eat this more than once. I'm gonna eat it for Thanksgiving, and then I'm gonna go home and I'm gonna eat it on the actual holiday.Stephanie [00:16:01]:Yes. Super delicious. Okay. So let's talk a little bit more about your book. Like, do you have it organized in any certain way?Erin Clarke [00:16:09]:Yes. So I like to and I know cookbooks all take different approaches, and it's kind of fun to see how different cookbook authors differentiate things. For me, I think it's just like, I'm a very traditional cookbook girl in the sense of the organization. So, you know, we start out with breakfast, have appetizers and drinks, salads, and then the main dishes are really the meat and potatoes of the book, pun intended. Just because that is where I know that people need the most help. Like, everyone has to cook dinner. So having a robust assortment of recipes and then organizing those well is really important to me. So we actually ended up breaking the main dishes down into 3 different categories.Erin Clarke [00:16:55]:So there's an entire chapter that's just pure one pot meals. One pot, one pan. Boom. We have a chapter, that's mostly focused on lightened up comfort food. And then we have this 3rd chapter that I did not intentionally set out to make it a vegetarian chapter just because I never want vegetarian food to feel lesser than or like it needs to get singled out. But we just ended up with this really wonderful collection of vegetarian dishes. They're also pretty heavily globally inspired that ended up being their own chapter as well. So we call those the veggie mains with all the flavor.Erin Clarke [00:17:31]:And then you've got your, you know, your soups, your sides, and, of course, your sweets.Stephanie [00:17:36]:How do you find, like so you have a team of people. How do you find them? Do you just advertise for them and interview just like a normal company would?Erin Clarke [00:17:46]:It's really hard. It's really hard to find good people. Like, I feel incredibly lucky. I've worked with most of my team for 5 years or longer. Some of it has been word-of-mouth. You know, like, other bloggers will work with someone and say, hey. You know, my social media person you know, I might reach out to a friend and say, hey. I'm really looking for someone to help me with my Facebook.Erin Clarke [00:18:08]:And, you know, friends will generously say, like, hey. My social media manager is great. Why don't you reach out to her? You know, some of it has been we went through our when we hired our first full time employee, we did the whole post on Indeed, like, a really rigorous application interview process. And I actually ended up finding Brenna, our first employee, because I posted on my Instagram. And so she reached out, applied through Indeed, you know, and we'd really went through that formal process. But it is truly time consuming and exhausting. Yeah. It's hard.Erin Clarke [00:18:38]:And I think every business I don't exhausting. Yeah. It's hard. And I think every business, I don't find myself unique in that way. And I think the first hire or the first couple are also reallyStephanie [00:18:46]:hard because you're probably getting to the point where you can monetize some things, but it, like, takes money to make money, and it takes more hands to make money. SoErin Clarke [00:19:01]:Mhmm.Stephanie [00:19:02]:How did you feel like you knew when that time was right?Erin Clarke [00:19:07]:When I just could not it just got to a point where I either had to be we either needed to hire someone or we needed to be okay with doing a lot less.Stephanie [00:19:18]:Yeah.Erin Clarke [00:19:18]:And I just could not you know, at that point, I had managed to outsource, you know, the recipe photography, the social media, But I really was so burned out, and I was like, I can't you know, I love what I do, but I can't do it at the right capacity. And I'm not enjoying my life. So how do I find someone that I really want to invest in? And invest is the word to use because as you said, it is not cheap to hire someone. Not only to pay, you know, if you wanna hire someone good, they deserve a great wage.Stephanie [00:19:51]:Yep.Erin Clarke [00:19:51]:And then also even expenses like setting up a 401 k, kind of thinking through some of those pieces. Like, that is administratively very time consuming, and it is costly. But it's worth it. Like, I that was, you know, one of the best decisions I've ever made for my business.Stephanie [00:20:08]:And things like health care. I mean, if you are employing people full time, they want benefits.Erin Clarke [00:20:14]:Yeah. Exactly. And you can choose not to offer benefits, but then you're not gonna get the quality of candidates that you're looking for. And also just personally, for me, like, building a company where I can provide benefits for people, like, that's something that I'm proud of and that we wanna be able to offer.Stephanie [00:20:31]:Yeah. It's funny that you mentioned that because I had a business before getting I'm mostly a broadcaster who happens to write some cookbooks that are regionally based. But before being a broadcaster, I did have a small business, and I was really proud of the fact that we always offered health care. Like, it just felt like, businesses. I didn't it's not the business's job, but it is the way our society is set up. So if that's the way it's gonna be, then let's participate. Let's do it. Let's take care of our employees.Stephanie [00:21:00]:At some point, I wish that everyone could have a single payer health care system and just pay into it, but that's my utopian fantasy as a freelancer out here still, you know, paying for health care on the open market. It's not cheap.Erin Clarke [00:21:13]:No. It's not. It's really challenging.Stephanie [00:21:15]:I know. And that someday we're all gonna get together. Like, there's a 150,000 creatives just in the state of Minnesota all buying independent health care. It'd be cool if we could find some way to all band together and bring everyone else's cost down too. Right?Erin Clarke [00:21:29]:Yeah. I love it. Yeah.Stephanie [00:21:32]:Can you tell me some of your favorite cookbooks? Like, do you, like, even look at cookbooks anymore, or are you just so focused on your own?Erin Clarke [00:21:41]:No. I just love cookbooks. I read cookbooks like people read novels, which is why, you know, if you read my first cookbook and my second one when it comes out, like, the writing is incredibly personal to me. I pour, like, so much of myself into that because food you know, the recipes need to work. They need to be rock solid. That's the number one thing with a cookbook. And we work incredibly, incredibly diligently on that. My whole team does.Erin Clarke [00:22:06]:But from there, like, I just want a cookbook with some personality.Stephanie [00:22:10]:Yeah.Erin Clarke [00:22:10]:And so, like, I just find it so inspiring to hear both the food, hear the stories. And then I can say, like, anyone can post a recipe online, and I absolutely stand behind the quality of the well plated recipes that we do online. But there is something special and a higher standard about a cookbook that, there it's just, like, sacred to me. Like, I feel like you're, like, getting a a piece of someone. And I have a lot a lot of cookbooks. I joke, but it's not it's actually quite true that Ina Garten taught me how to cook when I started. When I started my blog, my husband was in law school. We were on a budget.Erin Clarke [00:22:49]:Like, we were not going out to eat, And he had a voracious appetite. So I was like, okay. I gotta figure out how to cook food that tastes good because we enjoy you know, that we'll enjoy eating that, you know, makes a decent enough quantity to feed him, like, start hosting friends. And so I just checked out Ina's cookbooks from the library and would read them and, you know, work my way through them. So from there so the foundation of my grandmother's and then, like, moving on to Ina Garten.Stephanie [00:23:19]:Yeah.Erin Clarke [00:23:19]:Some of the and then I also, you know, now that I am a professional recipe developer, I also have taken lessons from the way that some of the best of the best write their recipes. So one person that always comes in mind to me is Dori Greenspan. I just think she has this beautiful way of writing recipes, and she's kind of who I learned. Like, don't you can't just don't just tell me the time on the stove. I need you to tell me what it smells like. I need you to tell me, you know, if the color's golden. Like, how do we appeal to all of these different senses to make people feel really confident? And that confidence aspect is really important to me too. So I want you to feel good the entire time you're making my recipe, not just be, like, pleased at the end that it turned out.Erin Clarke [00:24:04]:So, you know, if you're making a cake batter and it looks curdled, I'm gonna tell you it will it looks curdled. It'll be fine. And I feel like I picked some of that up from Dory Greenspan as well.Stephanie [00:24:17]:Oh, wow. Those are some of my heroes too. So it's fun to hear you say that. Have you I just started reading the Ina Garten memoir.Erin Clarke [00:24:24]:Oh, I'm listening to it. I'm about a third of the way through. It's just delightful.Stephanie [00:24:28]:I know. She's so great. I does she read it? I probably should have listened because I just find her so she's so funny.Erin Clarke [00:24:36]:She really is. Yeah. She it's just it's delightful.Stephanie [00:24:39]:Yeah. Okay. So people can come to your you can do a reading. You're gonna be at Valley Booksellers in Stillwater on October 13th.Erin Clarke [00:24:48]:We are doing the event at Modern Well. So it's in partnership with Valley. So it's in Minneapolis, and I will have a partner in conversation, Leigh Funke, from Fit Foodie Finds, who is a friend and just, like, a rock star food blogger who is also based in the Twin Cities. So she graciously agreed to do a q and a with me. We'll be having some snacks passed out from the book. It's just gonna be a really funny thing of conversation. Of course, everyone will leave with a signed copy of the book, and I'm just so looking forward to having that in person connection.Stephanie [00:25:23]:Yes. I'll go ahead and put a link for tickets in the show notes. I'm gonna bump up when I, release this podcast so that people have time to get tickets. It was super nice to talk with you and to meet you. I'm excited about your book. I have followed you on Instagram, so it's fun to get a chance to talk with you. And I loved hearing how thoughtful you are about your point of view on the recipes. It really shows in the work that you do.Stephanie [00:25:49]:You're doing a really goodErin Clarke [00:25:51]:job. Thank you so so much. That really just means a lot. I can't overstate how much that means because sometimes you just feel I mean it's hard.Stephanie [00:25:59]:You're in the void.Erin Clarke [00:25:59]:It's hard. It's a lot of work. Yeah. Mhmm.Stephanie [00:26:01]:Absolutely. Alright, Erin. It's great. Good luck with the book and I maybe we'll see you at Modern Well. Who knows?Erin Clarke [00:26:08]:Yeah. I hope so. It was great meeting you.Stephanie [00:26:10]:Okay. Thanks, Sarah.Erin Clarke [00:26:11]:Thanks again. This is a public episode. If you'd like to discuss this with other subscribers or get access to bonus episodes, visit stephaniehansen.substack.com/subscribe

A special edition of the Who The Folk?! Podcast! St. Louis Park native Peter Himmelman was back in Minnesota for one night only to talk with TC Jewfolk Editor Lonny Goldsmith about his new book Suspended by no String: A Songwriter's Reflections on Faith, Aliveness, and Wonder. We have a wide-ranging conversation about the book, the writing process, and hear Peter read some selections from the book.(Watch the interview here: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=wGHYw1GF9p8)Buy Peter's book! Sponsored by TC Jewfolk's SukkotGiving on November 3. Learn more here: https://tcjewfolk.com/event/tc-jewfolks-sukkotgiving/

Nina Badzin has been writing about friendship since 2014. She's the host of Dear Nina: Conversations About Friendship podcast and the co-founder of the writing studio at ModernWell in Minneapolis. In today's episode we discuss:  Making new friends. How to nurture an acquaintance and take the friendship to the next level. Balancing the desire for new friendships versus nurturing old ones. How circles change when you become an empty nester. Ways to handle disappointment or the feeling of rejection in the process of making new friends. Personal friendship stories. Head on over to YouTube  to watch this fun episode. We are so grateful to share it with you today. Helpful links and resources:https://ninabadzin.com/ FB: https://www.facebook.com/dearninab/ IG: https://www.instagram.com/dearninafriendship TikTok: https://www.tiktok.com/@dearninafriendship Newsletter: https://dearnina.substack.com/ --------------------------------------------------------- Thanks to our amazing Sponsor, BiOptimizers BiOptimizers has been helping clients optimize their health since 2004 and continues to research, test and formulate new products.  BiOptimizers Magnesium Breakthrough is a unique formula that will help support over 600 biochemical reactions in the body, including helping you get a better night's sleep.  Plus, they have dozens of other products to support your individual needs. Head over to bioptimizers.com/theartoflivingwell to check out their high quality products and use promo code THEART10 during checkout to save 10%. ----------------------------------------------------------- Missed Marnie's Book launch? Come to her author talk on May 6th from 7-8 PM at the Sabes Center in Minneapolis. She will be talking about her memoir, My Song, Unleashed, and cultivating a blanced life, with previous podcast guest WCCO radio host Jordana Green. This is a free event but registration is required.  ----------------------------------------------------------- Ask us a question/make a recommentation We'd love to hear from you! Click here to share your feedback and suggestions. ----------------------------------------------------------- Sign-up for your 15 minute Health Transformation Audit - Click here. ----------------------------------------------------------- Need more protein in your day? Check out these amazing, high quality products from Kion, especially their essential amino acids, which we both use daily.   Use code 'ARTOFLIVING' for a discount off your purchase. ----------------------------------------------------------- Missed our last group 7 Day Functional Liver Detox? We now have a program where you can do it on your own schedule but still receive all the wonderful support and recipes of the full program.  Register here! ----------------------------------------------------------- Let us help you get to the root cause of your unwanted symptoms. Schedule a 15 minute consultation to discuss at-home functional medicine lab testing here. ----------------------------------------------------------- How can you support our podcast? Apple users, please subscribe and review our show on Apple Podcasts,we make sure to read them all. Android users, please be sure to subscribe to our show on Google Podcasts so that you don't miss any of the action. Tell a friend about The Art of Living Well Podcast® and our community programs. Share your favorite episode on social media and don't forget to tag us @theartofliving_well. Subscribe to our Youtube channel Shop our Favorite Products: https://www.theartoflivingwell.us/products Connect with us on social media: IG: @theartofliving_well FB: theartoflivingwell Get on our list so you don't miss out on announcements, programs and events. You can download our guests' favorite reads here. Learn more about your hosts: Marnie Dachis Marmet Stephanie May Potter  

Jen Gilhoi joined us for a show in the comedy basement and while we had a beer, she did not. And you know what? It was fun all around! Jen has built a life around showing people that sobriety doesn't mean the end of fun- in case that is what you think might happen. By talking about alcohol and sobriety in different ways, Jen is helping to normalize these conversations and allowing us to see things in a new light.She's also into sauna- which has become a real theme lately! Check out Sauna Times and listen to our interview with Glenn!From her site-Jen Gilhoi, event experience strategist and founder of Sparktrack, is fascinated with the art of gathering. She especially loves lingering behind and reliving moments others have long since moved on from. In 2014, she moved on from active addiction and began a sober lifestyle. And in recent years, supported by the community of women writers at ModernWell in Minneapolis (We interviewed Julie Burton, the founder), MN, she courageously began exploring memoir to work through past traumas.As an introvert and moderate empath (discovered upon completion of the quiz in Sensitive is the New Strong), she's discovered that the written word is her avenue to invite others into inquiry and shatter stigmas around addiction. To further that passion, she's a Dissonance board member, an organization that promotes mental health and recovery in and through the arts. And because the wellness and sobriety journey is not just about not drinking – it's about living live to the fullest – she also writes about wellness-related products, services and experiences. https://www.jengilhoi.com/

We are very excited to finally share with you Marnie's debut memoir, My Song, Unleashed. About the Book: As a child, Marnie's unique voice earned her the nickname “The Rasp” from her dad. When other adults told her she'd never be a singer or that she talked too much, not only did Marnie start silencing herself, but she also began questioning her internal voice. She knew when she shared her truth—the way she'd done during a schoolwide presentation as a teen—it was life- changing. But more often, like many young women trying to make their way in the world, she muted and molded herself to accommodate others. It wasn't until she traveled abroad and created a life far from home that she started finding her way back to her inner voice. And as she continued to explore the globe and connect with nature and with others, she discovered her inner voice was amplified. In her memoir, “My Song, Unleashed,” Marnie Dachis Marmet takes readers through her journey of personal transformation. From the painful experiences that make her question everything to the beautiful revelations that bare the truth, Marnie ultimately shares what every woman needs to know: When you pay attention to and trust your voice, it leads you to what you truly want and value and, ultimately, what makes your heart sing. In today's episode we discuss: Marnie's journey on writing and completing her memoir We also dive into different parts of the memoir and how they pertain to Marnie's life today No spoilers here :) In "My Song, Unleashed," Marnie Dachis Marmet opens her heart and shares her deeply personal experiences, inviting readers into her world of triumphs, challenges, and self-reflection. The honesty and vulnerability with which she writes create an immediate connection, making this book a truly transformative read. Pre-order a copy of Marnie's memoir today. If you are local in Minneapolis, please come to her book launch event on 8/8/23 at ModernWell. Special Offer: First two people to leave a rating and review of our podcast will each get a free copy of the book sent to them. Please screenshot your review and email us. Helpful links and resources: Pre-order the book here After August 8th order the book at: www.mysongunleashed.com Sign-up for the launch party on August 8th, 2023 --------------------------------------------------------- Thanks to our amazing Sponsor, Good Health Saunas.  Good Health Saunas is proud to provide top-of-the-line infrared saunas that deliver the most impactful results for overall health and wellness. For more information and for your special discount please visit, Www.goodhealthsaunas.com and mention The Art of Living Well Podcast. ----------------------------------------------------------- Thanks to our amazing sponsor, Organifi.  Organifi is a line of organic superfood blends that offer plant-based nutrition with high quality ingredients and less than 3g of sugar. As a listener of The Art of Living Well Podcast you get 20% off ALL Organifi products. To take advantage of your Organifi discount, use the link below and the code LIVINGWELL at checkout for 20% off your order.  Order Organifi products now! ----------------------------------------------------------- The Art of Thriving: An Evening of Connection & Community in Minneapolis July 25th, 5:30 PM  Join us for a night of elevated nutritional cuisine, yoga, community, connection and growth with Michelle Olson of Layers Yoga, Sarah Haugen of Vitalist foods, and Marnie and Stephanie.  We can't wait to see you there! Sign-up here. ----------------------------------------------------------- Ask us a question/make a recommendation We'd love to hear from you! Click here to share your feedback and suggestions. ----------------------------------------------------------- Sign-up for your 15 minute Health Transformation Audit - Click here. ----------------------------------------------------------- Need more protein in your day? Check out these amazing, high quality products from Kion, especially their essential amino acids, which we both use daily.   Use code 'ARTOFLIVING' for a discount off your purchase. ----------------------------------------------------------- Missed our last group 7 Day Functional Liver Detox? We now have a program where you can do it on your own schedule but still receive all the wonderful support and recipes of the full program.  Register here! ----------------------------------------------------------- Let us help you get to the root cause of your unwanted symptoms. Schedule a 15 minute consultation to discuss at-home functional medicine lab testing here. ----------------------------------------------------------- How can you support our podcast? Apple users, please subscribe and review our show on Apple Podcasts,we make sure to read them all. Android users, please be sure to subscribe to our show on Google Podcasts so that you don't miss any of the action. Tell a friend about The Art of Living Well Podcast® and our community programs. Share your favorite episode on social media and don't forget to tag us @theartofliving_well. Shop our Favorite Products: https://www.theartoflivingwell.us/products Connect with us on social media: IG: @theartofliving_well FB: theartoflivingwell Get on our list so you don't miss out on announcements, programs and events. You can download our guests' favorite reads here. Learn more about your hosts: Marnie Dachis Marmet Stephanie May Potter

Nina Badzin hosts the podcast, Dear Nina: Conversations About Friendship. A freelance writer and a writing group leader at ModernWell in Minneapolis, Nina has been writing about friendship since 2014, which she does currently on Substack at Dear Nina. 

Welcome to another episode of Dear Nina: Conversations About Friendship. I'm your host, Nina Badzin. I'm a writer and a friendship enthusiast.Today we're talking about being friends with people who are different from you. There have been a ton of articles on the topic lately because of a new study about cross-class friendships— just one kind of difference possible in a friendshipI of course could not tackle this topic alone, so I invited the fabulous friendship pair and podcast duo from HerNext Chapter, Stephanie Pierce and Julie Burton.I've seen tons of research over the years on the benefits for society as a whole when everyone isn't exactly like their friends. This is also common sense! We talked about Stephanie and Julie meeting through a friend who brought them together because of their shared business goals. Their deeper friendship developed over time. And I loved their points throughout the episode that the purpose of their friendship was not to learn about each other or become a "project" or "education" for each other. Yes, they eventually spoke about differences in their experiences and found their lives richer for it, but it was the commonalities that brought them together. Stephanie is a mom, wife, connector, and coach. After a 24-year career in engineering and HR, Stephanie re-invented her work life to bring her passion for building communities with her HR expertise. This led to the creation of 2 businesses: Stephpierce.com and KJP Consulting. Julie is a mom, wife, writer, and founder of ModernWell, the first women-centered co-working and wellness space in Minneapolis. She's the author of The Self-Care Solution: A Modern Mother's Guide to Health and Well-Being. Find Stephanie and Julie's podcast, Her Next Chapter, anywhere you listen to podcasts!You can find the show notes HERE.Here's my Substack newsletter all about friendship, book/TV reviews, and more!Instagram @dear.nina.bTwitter @NinaBadzinAsk an anonymous question any time at ninabadzin.com/dearnina.JOIN THE Dear Nina Facebook group.Leave a voicemail at speakpipe.com/dearnina.

Chris Olsen and Julie Burton knew when they met that they wanted to find a way to work together. Their combined passions of writing and helping women tell their stories was key. Chris Olsen is dedicated to amplifying women's voices through her social enterprise My Founder Story. Julie Burton is an author, co host of Her Next Chapter podcast and founder of ModernWell, the first female-centered co working collaborative space in Minneapolis. The two share their individual ventures and their new joint collaboration, Publish Her Press, a female founded hybrid publishing company that recently published "Her Path Forward: 21 Stores of Transformation and Inspiration".Buy the Book: Her Path Forward: 21 Stories of Transformation and Inspiration Modernwell | My Founder Story | Her Next ChapterChris and Julie recommend: Still Writing | On Writing | Bird by BirdChampion YOU Group Coaching

Happy Holidays, Her Next Chapter listeners! This week we get to hear Mary Welsh's amazing story. Mary's story of reinvention includes her journey from government work to ModernWell founding and advisory board member (woohoo!) to Chief Security Officer at UnitedHealth Group and most recently, the founder of a new jewelry brand, Aniko. You have to hear this story!

We are thrilled to bring you today's guest, Julie Burton. Julie Burton has spent the past two decades working as a freelance writer, author, self-care advocate, fitness instructor, and teacher while mothering her four children alongside her husband of 27 years. Co-founding the Twin Cities Writing Studio in 2015 and publishing The Self-Care Solution: A Modern Mother's Guide to Health and Well-Being in 2016, she combined her passion for writing, self-care, and empowering people to be their best selves, she founded ModernWell—the first women-centered co-working and wellness space in Minneapolis. Julie writes and speaks about motherhood and self-care and her work has been featured in many local, national, and international media stories on topics relating to motherhood, self-care, entrepreneurship, and women-focused co-working spaces. She lives in Minnetonka, Minnesota, with her family. Stephanie and I actually met at ModernWell and started collaborating with each other shortly there after. We both love the space and working out of there and we want to give a special shout-out to Julie for creating such an amazing space. In today's episode we dive into the important topic of self-care and why it is ever so important in this time of crisis for many people who are trying to balance home and work life in the midst of all this fear and uncertainty. We really dive into the meaning of self-care - and we are not talking about weekly manicures - but we really dive deep to unpack what a person needs to take care of their mental health and physical well-being. You will not want to miss this important episode. You can find Julie on: https://modernwell.co/ Insta: https://www.instagram.com/modernwellco/ FB: https://www.facebook.com/ModernWellCo You can buy her book, which we highly recommend reading and gifting to all of the moms in your life. The Self-Care Solution: A Modern Mother's Guide to Health and Well-Being Special Offer:  1) Free workday at ModernWell for those in the Twin Cities. 2) First two chapters of her book is available for a free download: http://juliebburton.com/new-products   Special Events: 1) We are starting our own "Art of Living Well" Book Club. Please join us in reading the book The Last Law of Attraction Book you will ever need to read  by Andre Kap who was on Episode 45 of our podcast. We will be hosting a one hour discussion on the book on Nov. 12 at 11:30 central time. Sign-up here. This is a free event. 2) Save the date for our upcoming 30-Day 'Thrive During the Holiday Season' program  How to Stay Festive, Fun and Feeling Fabulous This Holiday Season.  Join our private community where you will receive mindset tips, recipes, weekly lives and much, much more with a group of other like minded people. Program starts Nov.16th and ends Dec. 13th. Sign-up here; message us with any questions. Rate and Review Us!  Please head over to Apple Podcasts and give the Art of Living Well Podcast a rating and review. We would so appreciate it and it helps our podcast get found in searches. Thank you! Don't forget to subscribe to our podcast so that you can uncover strategies, tips and resources from a variety of experts and our own banks of knowledge as you progress on your journey to living well.  Please share this podcast with a friend or anyone who you think could benefit from this information. Join our private Art of Living Well Podcast Facebook Community: This is a community where you can directly interact with us and ask us questions and suggest topics for future episodes. Shop our Favorite Products:   https://www.theartoflivingwell.us/products Shop Clean-crafted wines! Instagram: @theartofliving_well FB: theartoflivingwell Sign-up for our Art of Living Well Podcast email list. (We promise not to bombard you with email). Marnie Dachis Marmet's Website (Zenful Life Coaching) Stephanie May Potter's Website  

Julie Burton, founder of the co-working space ModernWell, has had a front-row seat to see what COVID has done to her business and many others occupying her space. Julie joined Jordana Green to share some stories and also talk about hope. See omnystudio.com/policies/listener for privacy information.

Julie Burton, founder of ModernWell in Minneapolis, stopped by to talk with Jim and Sam shortly before the Covid19 pandemic came into full swing. As usual, the guys are full of nonsense. Listen as Julie tries to enlighten them with her enthusiasm and kindness. Julie is passionate about people and about doing good in this world.

Julie Burton has spent the past two decades working as a freelance writer, author, self-care advocate, fitness instructor, and teacher while mothering her four children alongside her husband of 25 years. Co-founding the Twin Cities Writing Studio in 2015 and publishing The Self-Care Solution: A Modern Mother's Guide to Health and Well-Being in 2016, she combined her passion for writing, self-care, and empowering people to be their best selves by founding ModernWell, the first women-centered co-working and wellness space in Minneapolis. Julie writes and speaks about motherhood and self-care and her work has been featured in Motherly, Mamalode, Brain, Child Magazine, Dr. Laura, and The Huffington Post. She has been quoted in dozens of local, national, and international media stories on topics relating to motherhood, self-care, entrepreneurship, and women-focused co-working spaces. Such media outlets include The New York Times, The Washington Post, The Associated Press, The Boston Globe, Mind Body Green, The Star Tribune, Minneapolis St. Paul Magazine, Twin Cities Business Journal, Twin Cities Live, CBS Minnesota and Dallas, NBC Minnesota, Fox News Minnesota, Chicago, Dallas, and New York. She lives in Minnetonka, Minnesota, with her family. What you'll learn about in this episode: How Julie learned the importance of self-care during her own stressful life struggles How a huge reaction to a “mom survey” inspired her book, The Self-Care Solution Why women need to make time for radical acts of self-care Why fear and stress at this time in history is a normal and healthy response Why hope and gratitude are experiences during in the chaos that help you stay resilient Learn how the pandemic has impacted ModernWell – the first women-centered collaborative workspace and community Why Julie is keeping ModernWell's physical space to inspire community Resources: Website: https://modernwell.co/ The Self-Care Solution by Julie Burton: https://amzn.to/2BfXxxN Instagram: @modernwellco  LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/juliesilvermanburton/ https://www.linkedin.com/company/modernwell/ Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/ModernWellCo/ Twitter: @juliebburton @modernwellco Crisis and the Importance of Self-Care Julie Burton has spent the past two decades working as a freelance writer, author, self-care advocate, fitness instructor, and teacher while mothering her four children alongside her husband of 25 years. Co-founding the Twin Cities Writing Studio in 2015 and publishing The Self-Care Solution: A Modern Mother's Guide to Health and Well-Being in 2016, she combined her passion for writing, self-care, and empowering people to be their best selves by founding ModernWell, the first women-centered co-working and wellness space in Minneapolis. In this episode of the Intentional Greatness podcast, Julie discusses the critical importance of self-care, especially during times of crisis and omnipresent stress. We All Feel the Strain Julie Burton's neverending stress as a business leader and mother were causing her constant strain and pushing her toward a breaking point, and under this tremendous pressure she realized that she hadn't been taking time for herself. Realizing that this wasn't a problem exclusive to her, she polled mothers all over the country about their stresses and worries. The remarkable feedback she got from other mothers became the foundation of Julie's book, The Self-Care Solution. During the global pandemic, we need Julie's wisdom more than ever. As Julie mentioned in the discussion, every one of us feels the strain and pressure, and we must allow ourselves space to experience these sometimes overwhelming feelings. Too often, we believe that “being strong” requires being immune to the emotional weight of our challenges, but Julie believes that it's okay to admit we're worried and that we don't have all the answers. Taking Care of Ourselves and Connecting With Others Julie created ModernWell, a women-centric collaborative workspace in Minnesota, with the goal of helping busy women leaders and mothers connect in powerful, supportive ways, harkening back to ancient times when women would gather at the well to collect water and would talk, socialize, and counsel each other. However, the global pandemic has forced ModernWell to adapt to the new reality of social distancing while keeping members safe and healthy, through virtual events and other innovations. Julie refuses to let the core idea behind ModernWell die, because she believes that, especially in times of crisis, we need our connections to others to help us support ourselves and each other.

Julie breaks down how her desire for more manifested into creating ModernWell, a beautiful co-working space for women, building community and collaboration.  After raising four kids and managing the household,  having a career in wellness and being an author, Julie knew there was something else she needed to be doing, but it took awhile to figure out what that was.  Julie walks us through what that looks like, and talks about how the hustle is real, and is what makes you feel alive when you get out of bed in the morning.  It's that little spark of fire you have that gets you moving towards what is important to you.  Hustle doesn't have to mean run yourself in to the ground.  We talk about goals, habits, the power of connection and relationships, and mindset.  And as we all battle our own version of self-doubt, Julie reminds us that our limiting beliefs can ultimately be the dream crushers. Tune in for this fun, unscripted interview with Julie.  I hope you enjoy it as much as I did!     

In the 3rd episode of Wreck Your Perfection, I interview Kate Hopper, who is an editor, teacher, and writing coach. She's the author of Use Your Words: A Writing Guide for Mothers, Ready for Air: A Journey Through Premature Motherhood, winner of a Midwest Independent Publishing Award, and she’s co-author of Silent Running, a memoir of one family’s journey with autism and running. Her writing has appeared in numerous journals. Her latest essay, "Stumbling Into Joy," was published in Creative Nonfiction's True Story and is a braided essay about learning to play bass in her mid-40s and the power of music in girls' and women's lives. We talk about the creative process, parenting two daughters, being a woman in music, balancing work and family, finding joy in the little things, and pursuing (and prioritizing) creative passions later in life. And of course, how to embrace failure in all of these areas. Check out Kate's website: http://www.katehopper.com/ and her essay "Stumbling Into Joy": https://www.creativenonfiction.org/products/true-story-issue-29 This episode was recorded at ModernWell (https://modernwell.co/), a women-centered collaborative workspace. If you would take a moment to share this podcast with a friend whom you think may benefit, it would be greatly appreciated! If you want more from Wreck Your Perfection, follow @wreckyourperfection on instagram! Peace and love. --- Support this podcast: https://anchor.fm/wreckyourperfection/support

"Part of taking care of ourselves is to trust and be trusted that we have each other’s best interests in mind." - Julie Burton   Julie Burton has spent the past two decades working as a fitness instructor, freelance writer, author, self-care expert, and teacher while mothering her four children alongside her husband of 25 years. Co-founding the Twin Cities Writing Studio in 2015 and publishing The Self-Care Solution: A Modern Mother’s Must-Have Guide to Health and Well-Being in 2016, Julie’s life transformed. Experiencing firsthand the true power of women supporting women, Julie combined her passion and creative energy and founded ModernWell, the first co-working space for women in Minneapolis, where women are empowered to connect with themselves and each other through work, wellness, and creativity. Connect with Julie on Twitter @juliebburton, Instagram @juliebburton, or her personal website juliebburton.com.  Check out ModernWell on Twitter @modernwellco, Instagram @modernwellco, and modernwell.co.   ENTER TO WIN A COPY OF THE SELF-CARE SOLUTION HERE.   Julie's book recommendations: Daring Greatly: How the Courage to Be Vulnerable Transforms the Way We Live, Love, Parent, and Lead by Brene Brown and Braving the Wilderness: The Quest for True Belonging and the Courage to Stand Alone by Brene Brown    Mentioned in today's episode: The Loft's Wordplay event May 11-12 How to Start a Podcast with Renee Powers at ModernWell May 13   More on the anti-choice legislation in Ohio: A Bill Banning Most Abortions Becomes Law in Ohio - NPR Ohio's Governor Just Signed One of the Harshest Abortion Bills in America - Bust Magazine The "heartbeat bills" that could ban almost all abortions, explained - Vox Ohio's Fetal Heartbeat Abortion Ban is the Latest Front in Fight Over Roe v. Wade - New York Times -- Website: http://www.feministbookclub.com Instagram: @feministbookclubbox Twitter: @fmnstbookclub Facebook: /feministbookclubbox Email newsletter: http://eepurl.com/dvRgvD   -- Logo and web design by Shatterboxx  Original music by @onyxrose.music Transcript for this episode: bit.ly/FBCtranscript19   Get $5 off your Feminist Book Club Box with the code PODCAST at feministbookclub.com/shop.  

For the month of March, we are talking all things financial literacy, one of the core values of Emerge Mothers Academy. This episode is an overview to understanding the basics of money management. We hope to see all women become financially literate so they can be independent and have a seat at the table. Emerge Mothers Academy is a Twin Cities based nonprofit providing support services to single mothers. Visit our website, www.emergetwincities.org for more information about our programs. To join us for the Emerge Wellness Expo hosted by ModernWell, find more information and tickets on Eventbrite or visiting our Wellness Expo page on our website. Follow us on Instagram https://www.instagram.com/emergemothersacademy/ Facebook https://www.facebook.com/EmergeMothersAcademy/?ref=settings --- Send in a voice message: https://anchor.fm/to-emerge/message

ModernWell was created by Julie Burton as a women-centered collaborative work space that balances your personal needs of creating community with your work life-balance.(ep. 123)Support the showFollow the Makers of Minnesota on Facebook, Twitter, and Instagram @MakersofMN. Send story ideas to Stephanie@stephaniesdish.com If you appreciate the work we do here, please subscribe on Patreon Please subscribe to My newsletter at https://stephaniehansen.substack.com/ so you don't miss an epiosde of the Makers of Minnesota This is a public episode. If you'd like to discuss this with other subscribers or get access to bonus episodes, visit stephaniehansen.substack.com/subscribe

ModernWell was created by Julie Burton as a women-centered collaborative work space that balances your personal needs of creating community with your work life-balance. (ep. 123)Support the show (https://www.patreon.com/StephanieHansen)

ModernWell was created by Julie Burton as a women-centered collaborative work space that balances your personal needs of creating community with your work life-balance. (ep. 123)Support the show (https://www.patreon.com/StephanieHansen)

Welcome to Episode 60 of the Edina-SW Minneapolis Advice Givers Podcast. Today Tim is in the Yoga studio of Modernwell, the first shared workspace in MINNEAPOLIS for female entrepreneurs and creatives. Today, you'll learn what Modernwell is, who it serves, the benefits of a shared workspace and how the 2016 election pushed it from an idea, to a dream come true for Julie Burton.  .

We're not gonna lie, after some 17,000 miles, 29 US states and more than 35 incredible, heart-warming events, the Slow book tour is all wrapped up, and we're a little tired. But before we put a bow on what's been an incredible experience we want to share one final live recording with you, because it's a special one. The tour finished up in Minneapolis, where Brooke sat down for a conversation with her friend Joel Zaslofsky at ModernWell. Joel asks Brooke the big questions (he always has, it's one of his superpowers) and they dive deep in to topics we haven't covered before.  Enjoy! And another heartfelt thanks to everyone who came out to the book tour events over the past few months - words can't describe how grateful we are.  ==== If you're enjoying the show and want to know how to best support it, leave a rating or a review in iTunes or head over to the Patreon page to help support the show financially and join in on our live monthly video calls. And thanks so much for listening! === Support the show: https://www.patreon.com/slow See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

This episode is for you if you've ever asked yourself questions like: Am I good enough? Who am I to try to tackle this big goal? Do I really think I can pull this off? In this week's episode, you'll meet the amazing Julie Burton, the founder of ModernWell: a woman-centered collaborative space connecting work, life, creativity, and wellness that opened January 2nd, 2018, in Minneapolis. She is a freelance writer, blogger, teacher co-founder of the Twin Cities Writing Studio, a yoga instructor, wife and mom of four. She is the author of The Self-Care Solution—A Modern Mother’s Essential Guide to Health and Well-Being (She Writes Press 2016). Julie's episode is one of the most vulnerable, authentic interviews I've ever recorded. She truly opened up about her personal journey toward entrepreneurship and the roles that fear and self-doubt have played along the way.  Beyond that, she talked about the way her relationship with other women has evolved over her lifetime. I know this is something that we can all relate to.  I am absolutely thrilled for you to meet Julie Burton! Sign up at www.aprilseifert.com to get instant access to April's Life Blueprinting tool! Gain clarity on the areas of your life that are most in need of improvement and start to make changes to design your best, most joyous life! Leave me a rating or a review on iTunes by clicking here!

Tech Report, Guest Julie Burton creator of ModernWell work space for women, and your local Steals & Deals!