From the Farmhouse Edit: Cooking from Scratch for Modern Life: Kitchen Rhythms, Real Ingredients & Homestead Tips | Melissa K. Norris

6/11/202656 min

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

View full show notes on the blog + watch this episode on YouTube.

RESOURCES MENTIONED

Home and Hand Made by Melissa K. Norris

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Clips

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Can't Go Back to Sick

Four Ingredients to Ditch

Kitchen, The Great Equalizer

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First 90 seconds

Melissa K. Norris· Guest0:00
Once you know what it feels like to be in a better state health-wise- Right ... it's really hard to go back. You're just not willing. And as more and more people get to experience that, 'cause I feel like, uh, for a lot of Americans, because our food system has been so junky for so long, I don't think people even realize that it's not normal to feel that way. And so I think once they get to experience the difference, then they're like, "Oh, goodness." And so I think it's just gonna continue to grow.
Lisa Bass· Host0:23
[upbeat music] My name is Lisa, mother of eight and creator of the blog and YouTube channel Farmhouse On Boone. On this podcast, I like to talk about simplifying your life so you can live out your priorities. I help you learn how to cook from scratch and decorate on a budget through this podcast and my courses, Simple Sourdough and the Simple Sewing series. I also help people reach their goals from home through my business course, YouTube Success Academy. I will leave links to these resources in the show notes and description box below. Now let's get into the show. Welcome back to the Simple Farmhouse Life podcast. In keeping with the theme of 2025, we are having back on a guest that has been on before. If you hang around all things handmade, homemade, in the homesteading community, you probably have heard of Melissa K. Norris. She has many books out on those subjects of making things from scratch, canning, preserving. She talks about gardening over on her YouTube channel, on her website, and she just is an encouraging voice in this space. She also is

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