Real Food Kitchen Tour: Thank Your Body

by Ann Marie Michaels on September 11, 2012

Welcome to another edition of the Real Food Kitchen Tour. This week we’re featuring Robin Konie, author of the Thank Your Body blog.

What’s a Real Foodie?

A “real foodie” is someone who cooks “traditional” food. We cook stuff from scratch using real ingredients, like raw milk, grass-fed beef, eggs from chickens that run around outdoors, whole grains, sourdough and yogurt starters, mineral-rich sea salt, and natural sweeteners like honey and real maple syrup.

We don’t use modern foods that are either fake, super-refined, or denatured. This includes modern vegetable oils like Crisco and margarine, soy milk, meat from factory farms, pasteurized milk from cows eating corn and soybeans, refined white flour, factory-made sweeteners like HFCS or even refined white sugar, or commercial yeast.

We believe in eating wholesome, nutrient-dense foods that come from nature. So we shop at farmer’s markets or buy direct from the farmer, or we grow food in our own backyards.

This Week’s Real Food Kitchen Tour: Thank Your Body

This week we travel to Utah to tour the kitchen of Robin Konie, author of Thank Your Body.

Robin is a Registered Somatic Movement Therapist (RSMT) and a Certified Laban/Bartenieff Movement Analyst (CLMA). She is also an avid researcher. With a deep passion and respect for the human body, she has been exploring ways to help others reclaim their personal power and embodied way of knowing through movement, nutrition, and holistic approaches to health.

Robin is also one of our newest Real Food Media blogger. We’re so excited to have her join the Real Food Media blog network.

Blog Name: Thank Your Body
Blog Author: Robin Konie.
Location: Pleasant Grove, Utah.
How Long Blogging: Almost 3 years.
House or Apartment: Condo
Size of Kitchen: 13 x 10 feet (main kitchen area)
Things You Love About Your Kitchen: I love that the kitchen is such a central feature of our home. It’s so open! I love that you can be in the kitchen and still be part of everything else that is going on. It’s perfect for entertaining (although, let’s be honest, we are not huge entertainers).
Things You Would Change: I’d love a little more space (although its layout really works well). I’d love more room for a second freezer since ours it always full. I’d love a little more counter space for jars, crockpots, etc. And while I love that our kitchen is exposed to a lot of windows from the adjoining family room, I can’t wait for the day when I have an actual “kitchen window.”
It’s the little things, you know.
Favorite Tools & Gadgets: My knife. Seriously, I love my chef’s knife. In fact, when the husband and I got married we really didn’t have much of a honeymoon. Since I was teaching full time and we got married in the middle of the semester, we only took one day off as a “honeymoon.” What did we do? We called Tom’s old roommate who happened to be a really great cook (in fact, he was the one who got me excited about cooking). We asked him if he would come with us knife shopping because we had no clue what to look for. It was awesome! We got a whole lesson on knives and then spent a good chunk of gift money buying a couple of essential ones. Not many
people have such a “romantic” (ha!) memory of their honeymoon, but every time I use my knife I’m so glad we called our friend! Cooking sucks without a good knife… as I’m reminded anytime I try to cook at my mom’s house.
Biggest Challenges Cooking Real Food: Time. I did not grow up learning much about cooking, especially cooking real food. And since becoming a mom to a very energetic girl, there are plenty of days when I wish real food were a little more “convenient.” But most days I find the process of cooking so relaxing, especially if my family is nearby.
Current Family Favorite Meal: Lately, I have been craving soup! I’m so ready for Fall. I love making my own broth. Give me a bowl of homemade chicken taco soup and some sour dough bread slathered in butter and I’m a happy girl. (Especially if it’s finished off with homemade ice cream. Yum!)
Favorite Cookbooks: Nourishing Traditions, and the Flavor Bible are two favorites. The first because of the priceless information and recipes. The second because it sparks my creative
juices and helps me find my own voice in my food. I also love my real food blogs!

Here’s little C enjoying a berry and beet smoothie. She loves real food and eats a great variety.

Bone broth on the deck. It gets so hot during the summer that I love having this deck for my slow cooker.

My top shelf needs: A binder full of recipes, Nourishing Traditions, the Flavor Bible, my neti pot and some bedtime herbal tea. What else do you need in life? (My other cookbooks are on the shelf beneath.)

Freezer is always full of homemade broth, grassfed beef, veggies, sour dough bread, and I think I see some liver. Yay!

FCLO, clay water, and raw milk on top. Lots of goodies below.

Top shelf gadgets: Food processor, la cloche (for the best sour dough bread ever), juicer, blender, bowls, and a dehydrator.

My pantry can fit quite a bit. Here you can see my love for jars and organization. I also love coconut oil, gelatin, and other super food goodies.

Garden tomatoes, sour dough starter, and yes… my prized knives.

Here’s the view from the kitchen. We get so much sunshine. Love it. I also love that I can easily watch my little girl playing while I prepare food.

Here’s another view. I love the pop of orange. (My hubs did our stools. He’s so crafty like that!)

My humble little kitchen. Lots of time spent here. Lots of love comes out of it.

Check Out the Previous Real Food Kitchen Tour Posts

Let Us Tour Your Kitchen

Are you a real foodie? Do you have a kitchen that you’d like to see featured on CHEESESLAVE?

Please email me at Questions AT realfoodmedia dot com. Either send me a link to a Flickr set or email me your photos (minimum of 5, but more is better). Note: Please send me LARGE photos. Minimum 610 width. If they’re too small, I can’t use them.

Oh, and please send the answers to the above questions (at the very top of this post).

As much as I’d love to include all the photos I receive, I can’t guarantee that I will use your photos in the series. I’m looking for creative, good quality photos.

Some ideas for photos:

Show us what’s in your fridge or what’s fermenting on your counter
Take some snaps of some of your favorite kitchen gadgets, or show us how you organize your spices
Got backyard chickens? Send some pics!
How about a lovely herb garden?
Kids or pets are always cute!
Try to include at least one photo of yourself, ideally in your kitchen

And no, you don’t have to have a blog to be included in the tour.

Photo credit: A warm welcome Project365(3) Day 10 by Keith Williamson, on Flickr and photos by Memories by Michelle
Disclosure: cmp.ly/4 and cmp.ly/5

{ 24 comments… read them below or add one }

Wendy September 11, 2012 at 6:27 AM

Would love to know what some of her supplements are on that second shelf in her fridge!

Robin @ Thank Your Body September 11, 2012 at 7:24 AM

Hi Wendy!

What you see are some probiotics. Some I take, and some for my little girl.

Wendy September 11, 2012 at 7:26 AM: In liquid form? Interesting. I am about to run out of my powdered probiotics so I will have to look for that! Thanks!

Reply

Tara McMillan September 11, 2012 at 11:46 AM

what do you do with the clay water?

Robin @ Thank Your Body September 11, 2012 at 12:57 PM: Hi Tara!

I actually drink it.

Here’s why: http://thankyourbody.com/eat-clay/

Reply

g September 11, 2012 at 11:47 AM

I’d love to hear about how you use your sourdough starter. I’m completely daunted by mine. . . and daunted by the care of it (I’m pretty sure it’s dead in my refrigerator right now). I just don’t understand the process of removing it from fridge, feeding it for several days, using it, and then returning it to the fridge. Is there a more spontaneous way to use it? Since yours was on your counter, could you tell me more about how you store, feed and use it?

Robin @ Thank Your Body September 11, 2012 at 1:00 PM

I understand being daunted. I’m always still a little terrified that I’m going to kill it. It’s really not that hard. I keep my in the fridge until I want to use it (although I try to use it at least once every 1 – 2 months). I pull it out and then feed it (I do 1/2 cup water & just a little less than 1 cup flour) every 8 – 12 hours. Each feed discard some or you’ll have a whole lot really fast. It usually takes three feeds for it to be ready to make bread. You’ll know it’s ready when it’s really bubbly. I like to give it four feeds just to be sure.

So not really hard, just some timing issues. You can do it!

Paula September 11, 2012 at 1:26 PM

Instead of discarding, make pancakes instead!

Robin @ Thank Your Body September 11, 2012 at 1:41 PM: Yes! Even better. We aren’t big pancake people, but we do make the sourdough pancakes periodically. Perfect for those who love that sourdough flavor.

Reply

Christina B. September 11, 2012 at 12:07 PM

I am in such agreement with you on the knife issue — especially your comment on cooking at your mom’s house! I actually bought my mom an electric knife sharpener for Christmas because it is so unbearable to use her knives. Every time I visit, I sharpen them. Even though she is an amazing and frequent cook, she actually prefers a dull knife. It boggles my mind. Out of curiosity, which knives did you choose? I like the balance of my Wustofs, but find that they are really crappy at holding an edge.

Robin @ Thank Your Body September 11, 2012 at 1:03 PM: Seriously. I’m hoping to get my mom some new knives for Christmas or something because it’s dangerous how dull her knives are. I think she’d enjoy cooking so much more if she had knives that actually cut instead of just tear things apart.

We went with J.A. Henckles. I honestly don’t know that much about knives (I’d totally call my friend up again when I need new ones.) But it was the best we could afford with our budget. Although, even within the same brand not all the knives are created equal. I’ve been really happy with ours.

Reply

Simone September 11, 2012 at 1:09 PM

Wow, check out the view from the sink!! Love it. Wish I had a view like that while I’m doing the dishes, lol. They might get done more often!

Robin @ Thank Your Body September 11, 2012 at 1:41 PM: Ha ha! It definitely helps.

Reply

Jill September 11, 2012 at 2:21 PM

Your kitchen rocks! Simple, clean, functional, and so open and friendly! The stools are great too! I’m kind of inspired…

Robin @ Thank Your Body September 11, 2012 at 3:45 PM: Aw, thanks. You are kind.

Reply

Bonny September 11, 2012 at 3:24 PM

Hi Robin! What a wonderful kitchen! I just checked out your blog, and saw the Word of Wisdom presentation you do. I am also LDS, but unfortunately am across the country from you (darn!). You don’t have the presentation written down at all, do you? Is it something you have to present in person? I would love to even see links to what resources you reference (articles, historical references, etc)? Is that something you’ve done before? I am regularly talking to people about the real food/WoW connection, and would love to see your research.

Robin @ Thank Your Body September 11, 2012 at 3:45 PM: Thanks, Bonny! Shoot me an email. I’d love to share what resources I have: robinATthankyourbodyDOTcom.

Reply

michelle September 11, 2012 at 3:41 PM

I come here for the kitchen posts, but forget that today…your baby girl steals the show! What a little doll, that picture is priceless!

Robin @ Thank Your Body September 11, 2012 at 3:46 PM

Thanks, Michelle. I know I’m biased, but I think she’s pretty adorable.

Nicole September 12, 2012 at 11:11 AM

So what do you make with your gelatin? I have been thinking of incorporating that into my diet more.

Robin @ Thank Your Body September 12, 2012 at 12:25 PM

My favorite thing lately is homemade fruit snacks. I love this recipe from Heather at the Mommypotamus. They’re great for my little girl, but I like to snack on them, too: http://www.mommypotamus.com/homemade-gummy-stars/

Nicole September 12, 2012 at 2:34 PM: oh yummy! I will definitely try that. I have a skin condition, and have been upping my kvass and kombucha. I think gelatin would be good as well. Thanks so much!

Reply

Dina-Marie @ Dimes2Vines September 12, 2012 at 2:35 PM

I love your open kitchen – there is nothing like being in the kitchen, still being a part of all that is going on and not having to miss a thing! I am with you – the orange gives a great pop of color.
Thanks for sharing!

Robin @ Thank Your Body September 12, 2012 at 8:19 PM: Thanks, Dina-Marie. You are sweet.

Reply

Real Food Kitchen Tour: Thank Your Body

What’s a Real Foodie?

This Week’s Real Food Kitchen Tour: Thank Your Body

Check Out the Previous Real Food Kitchen Tour Posts

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