If you've been around here a while, you know my days usually look the same: testing recipes, photographing lunch bowls, and trying to make your weeknight dinners a little less stressful. So when I got a chance to trade my kitchen for a few days in Austin for the Fresh Air Retreat, I said yes.
A room full fo people who actually get this strange, wonderful job. Meals I didn't have to cook (or clean up after). Conversations that kept going long after the sessions wrapped. It was exactly what I needed.
Finding my People
This was my second Fresh Air Retreat and it is hosted by Liz from The Lemon Bowl and Lauren from The Curious Plate, and it brings together a small group of food creators to swap ideas, work through challenges and simply get to know each other.
The food is a huge draw and it's brought to us by Chef Trimell. He's an unbelievably talented chef and being on the receiving end of his meals is truly a delight!
I found myself especially drawn to creators who share more of their lives alongside their recipes. I get so focused on making every post useful that I sometimes forget you might want to know the person behind all those lunch containers, too. So this feels like a good place to start!
New Ideas for Your Weekly Meal Prep
Put a group of food bloggers in one room, and you'd better believe we're going to talk ingredients. Two of the sponsors brought products that got me thinking about easy lunches and stretching the weekly grocery haul a little further.
Church Brothers Farms: A Meal Prep Shortcut I Can Get Behind
Church Brothers Farms introduced us to their Little Gems Salad Kits, made with premium Little Gems lettuce and dressings built on avocado oil and sweetened with agave syrup or honey.
You know I'm all about doing a little work now so future you has it easier. Sometimes that means cooking a full recipe on Sunday. Other times, it means having a few components ready to pull together. These kits fit right in with that approach. Prep a batch of chicken, tuck it in a kit in the fridge and dinner or lunch is done.
A few ways I like to use them:
- For packed lunches, divide the kit up and keep the dressing and crunchy toppings separate until you are ready to eat, so nothing gets soggy. Add in a protein like Honey Chipotle Chicken, or Roasted Pork Tenderloin for a wholesome meal.
- For an ultra easy dinner throw my chicken tinga or honey lime chicken in the slow cooker. Shred the chicken, tuck it in warm tortillas and add the creamy chipotle salad kit to the top for incredibly flavorful tacos.
- Build a quick lunch bowl with the champagne salad kit and add cooked quinoa, and sliced carne asada for a hearty meal.
SUNSET: The Day I Became a Tommalier
I also came home with a new title I didn't see coming: Tommalier.
SUNSET led us through a tomato tasting (yes, there was a certificate). A Tommalier (cute, huh?) is basically a tomato sommelier and our flight included Lolli Bombs™, Honey Bombs™, Tomato Branch™, Sugar Bombs®, and Flavor Bombs®.
It was such a fun excuse to slow down and really pay attention to something I cook with constantly. Tasting them side by side made the differences in sweetness, acidity and texture so much clearer.
And of course, my brain went straight to meal planning.
My Caprese Chicken Gnocchi Skillet is a delicious way to put those tomato to work. It's just chicken, gnocchi, tomatoes, mozzarella and basil so it is the perfect dish to really let those tomatoes shine.
Here are a few other ways I love to use them:
- A one pot pasta is always a cozy, hearty dinner that everyone loves. This recipe has a lot of different flavor notes like chicken, feta, spinach, and the real kicker is a pint of fresh tomatoes added at the end.
- When you are in a pinch this quesadilla is always a winner and the tomatoes add so much fresh flavor when paired with the creamy avocado.
Time with Mediavine
A big thank you to Mediavine for supporting the retreat and making time to meet with us one on one.
Getting to sit down, ask question, and share feedback face to face meant a lot. In an industry that changes as fast as ours does having the time to really listen to each other is rare and valuable. Their support made space for those conversations, both with their team and with the other creators in the room.
Bringing More Home Than Recipe Ideas
As much as I love talking food and business, it was the people who made these few days so special. It felt really good to be surrounded by women who understand the work, and share what they've learned so generously.
Thank you to Liz and Lauren for brining us all together, and to Mediavine, Church Brothers Farms, and SUNSET for making it happen.
I came home with new friendships, a full heart, and a handful of fresh recipes to bring back to my kitchen, and to yours.
A few other shoutouts:
- Kirsten at ATX Color Studio did our color analysis. Such a fun surprise!
- The photos are by Kimberly Mufferi, she was so fun to be around.
Should you go?
If you are a content creator that enjoys meeting new people, amazing food, a fun and refreshing atmosphere that inspires creativity you can apply for a future retreat here.
Hi, I'm Annie. With a Bachelor of Science degree, a minor in nutrition and nearly 20 year of both classical training, and self-taught experience, I've spent my career proving that home cooking can be practical, delicious and inspiring. What started in 2013 as one food blog has grown into a full-time business. Today, my husband Clayton and I run five food websites that connect with millions of home cooks every month.
When I'm not in the kitchen or behind the camera, I'm using fueling my love of travel, or chasing down new ideas that keep food fun and fresh.
