Happy Fourth of July weekend to everyone celebrating in the US and for those of you in other parts of the world, I hope your weather hasn't been quite as crazy as ours. I know my friends in Europe have be roasting in the heat like we have in Cincinnati, so I hope you get some respite from that soon. I'll keep this one short because if you're anything like me, you have things to do this holiday weekend. There's a cooler to pack, a grill to light and people to feed. So let's get right to it!...
11 days ago • 1 min read
A quick note before we get into the new study: the July High Protein Kitchen meal plan came out Wednesday. If you already subscribe to that list, it's in your inbox. If not, you can download the free July plan right now...it includes a look at all five weeks of the July plan at a glance, plus One full recipe you can make tonight: my Smoky Grilled Chicken Thighs with charred corn and avocado, at 47 grams of protein per serving. The whole meal planner format, with breakfast, lunch, dinner and a...
18 days ago • 2 min read
Father's Day is this Sunday and I've been thinking about my dad. He passed away almost six years ago, but I still feel his presence on days like this. I thought I'd share a bit of this 21 page little handmade book I made him when I was a kid...the writing bug started early with me! Poems and sayings, hand-drawn pictures, signed "From: Cheryl Schnellenberger (classic, writing out my full name since I thought of myself as an author event then), To: Daddy." He kept it all those years, tucked...
25 days ago • 4 min read
Quick heads up before we get to the food: the US Wellness Meats $175 grass-fed meat giveaway closes this Sunday, June 14. If you've been meaning to enter and haven't yet, this is your last reasonable window. Enter the giveaway here → It takes about a minute and there's a $175 bundle of ribeye, ground beef, lamb chops, pasture-raised chicken and more on the other side of that click. I'd love to see one of you win it! Now, on to this week. I just published the Greek chicken marinade I keep...
about 1 month ago • 1 min read
A quick reminder before we get into it: there's still time to enter the US Wellness Meats $175 grass-fed meat giveaway tied to my June Featured Chef spot. The contest closes June 14, so if you missed last week's email or haven't entered yet, here's the link. It only takes a minute and there's no catch. Now, on to this week. Something I read while we were traveling has been sitting with me since and I wanted to share it with you. It's actually a perfect follow-up to last week's conversation...
about 1 month ago • 1 min read
We're finally home, for at least a few days anyway. After two graduations, four cities and more car time than I care to admit, it is very good to be back in my own kitchen and back to my regular training schedule. Both boys are officially graduated and I'm equal parts proud and exhausted. I'm ready to get in a little recuperation time then officially kick off summer. I have some happy news to share with you this week. I'm honored to be the June 2026 Featured Chef at US Wellness Meats. US...
about 2 months ago • 2 min read
May snuck up on me and now it's nearly over! I'm not sure how we're already closer to summer than we are to January but here we are. We've been traveling quite a bit lately, with both sons graduating (one from college, one from high school) and visiting relatives along the way, with stops in Chicago, Milwaukee and Boston and (this weekend) Deerfield. When we're finally done running around, the pool is open and grill season is officially underway. I've been heads-down on some content I'm...
about 2 months ago • 1 min read
Memorial Day is a week from Monday and I have something to tell you that changed how I cook steak. You don't have to thaw it. I worked out the reverse sear method for steaks pulled straight from the freezer years ago and after a lot of requests I finally wrote it up. The short version: low oven to bring the inside up to temperature, then a quick hot sear at the end. Frozen actually gives you a better crust than thawed because the inside stays cold while the outside browns hard. No gray band,...
about 2 months ago • 1 min read
Years ago after I started reading the research on PFAS and phthalates, I made a list of every potential exposure in my kitchen and felt mildly horrified. The pans, the plastic storage containers, the candles, the cling wrap, the fragrance in the dish soap...all of these carry potential health hazards. The instinct, when you read enough of this research, is to throw everything out and start over, but that isn't necessary. I have spent the last few years swapping things out gradually and I want...
2 months ago • 3 min read