I grew up with two parents who enjoyed cooking; my dad cooked most nights, but my mom was, and is, a good cook in her own right—she just didn’t have to do it that much, which I think she enjoyed. My sister and I both cook, and we’re both decent, for sure, but growing up with Mark Bittman as a dad … he’s a bit of a purist. His frozen meals are literally his frozen meals—things that he’s cooked and frozen. My sister and I are happy to admit that there are companies out there that know how to make good packaged foods that aren’t ultraprocessed and that are actually satisfying.
When I got out of college, I was living by myself at my grandparents’ apartment in Peter Cooper Village, in the east 20s in New York. Many nights, I subsisted on a diet of popcorn with spray butter (speaking of ultraprocessed …) and wine. I was lazy, and had body dysmorphia, and just wanted to sit in front of the tv and enjoy some alone time. When I wasn’t eating popcorn, I was usually eating Amy’s macaroni and cheese. Boxed mac and cheese didn’t do it for me, and I legitimately enjoyed eating Amy’s. Just the other night, actually, Holden and I were home together, sans Nick. I made him pasta with my leftover red sauce, and I ate an Amy’s broccoli pot pie. It hit the spot. (And then I got to go watch Monsters on Netflix after Holden went to bed.)
A pioneer of the organic foods movement, Amy’s Kitchen started more than 30 years ago with a simple mission to make good food for everyone. Their food is, I suppose, convenience food by definition, but I find it to be really good—there are people who swear by the burritos, too; maybe you’re one of them. My dad and I were connected with Amy’s CEO, Paul Schiefer, who is also THE Amy’s cousin, and we heard about how Amy’s makes their food, which is, relatively speaking, pretty extraordinary. This week’s episode of the podcast is with Paul, and with Ken Cook, who is the president and co-founder of Environmental Working Group, or EWG, yes, the nonprofit organization that tells you which sunscreen is safe, among other important things; and I think Ken said it best, about his recent visit to Amy’s: “It’s not a factory,” he said, “it’s a lot of people cooking.” As you can imagine, that caught our attention.
This episode is brought to you by our friends at Amy’s.
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