Cooking from Scratch for Modern Life: Kitchen Rhythms, Real Ingredients & Homestead Tips | Melissa K. Norris (Episode 293)

After a health scare in her twenties, Melissa K. Norris returned to her roots with traditional, from-scratch cooking—and never looked back. In this episode, she shares the simple swaps that make a big difference, her favorite freezer and batch-cooking tips, and why it’s easier than you think to build nourishing kitchen rhythms. We also chat about her updated cookbook Home and Handmade, a practical and inspiring guide for anyone wanting to cook with real ingredients and a whole lot of heart. Tune in for encouragement and doable ideas to make old-fashioned cooking work in your modern life!

In this episode, we cover:

• Melissa’s health journey and how it led to a total shift toward from-scratch, whole-food cooking
• Why starting with the most frequently eaten foods makes the biggest impact on health and budget
• Common harmful ingredients to avoid and easy one-for-one swaps for better oils, sugars, and salts
• The myth that homemade food is hard—many convenience foods can be replaced in minutes
• Encouragement that old-fashioned kitchen skills are doable and worthwhile, no matter your lifestyle
• Batch cooking strategies for breakfast, dinner, and baked goods that reduce stress and food waste
• Using freezers effectively: pre-shaped doughs, cookie dough logs, veggie scrap bags, and bulk meats
• The power of simple routines, momentum, and planning just a day or two ahead– it doesn’t have to be all or nothing
• Melissa’s updated book Home and Handmade—a practical guide to whole food, herbal remedies, and homemade living

About Melissa

Melissa K. Norris is a 5th generation homesteader, best-selling author turned entrepreneur, who is still mainly a homesteader. After a cancer scare in her late twenties, she returned to her roots and found healing via traditional foods and the old-fashioned way of living. This led to her and her husband with their two children raising all of their own meat and protein sources on their homestead as well as over sixty-five percent of their fruits and vegetables for the entire year, while still working their day jobs.

Melissa is the founder and CEO of MelissaKNorris.com and the Pioneering Today Academy as well as the host of the popular Pioneering Today podcast. Additionally, she is co-founder of the Modern Homesteading Conference and Homestead Living. She’s a well-known speaker across the United States on teaching homesteading, health, and regenerative agriculture. Both she and her husband also run Norris Farmstead, including a Farmstay and serving their local community grass fed and grass finished beef on their regenerative teaching farm in Rockport, WA.

Resources

Home and Hand Made by Melissa K. Norris

Join my FREE masterclass to learn my 4-step framework for making money on YouTube

Master the rhythm of sourdough with confidence in my Simple Sourdough course

Gain the sewing knowledge and skills every homemaker needs in my Simple Sewing series

Turn your content creation dreams into a profitable business with my YouTube Success Academy

Keep all my favorite sourdough recipes at your fingertips in my Daily Sourdough cookbook

Connect

Melissa K. Norris | Website | Podcast | Instagram | YouTube | Facebook | Pinterest 

Lisa Bass of Farmhouse on Boone | Blog | YouTube | Instagram | TikTok | Facebook | Pinterest

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