Family Menu Planning Workshop 

Linda Elbert, a professional chef and co-founder of The Basement Table, will offer advice on how to compose a month's worth of menus incorporating healthy, organic dishes that are kid- friendly. Parents will learn how to plan meals that their family will enjoy, save money by stocking the kitchen in advance, their impacts of their family origin on meal planning, save time by planning ahead.

The emphasis will be on creating a Mindful Kitchen that is comfortable and inviting and focuses on fresh ingredients, familytogetherness, and engaging conversation. Also included will be advice for selecting the right tools for your kitchen, recipes for seasonal cooking, and strategies for inspiring kids to cook (and eat what they cook). This is an adults-only class.

About Chef Linda:

Linda has cooked all her life but only professionally as a second career following years of practice as a clinical psychologist. She graduated from Laguna Culinary Arts and then Living Light Culinary Institute ( a raw food school).

“Cooking for me is a way nourishing others, an art and a gentle vehicle for social changes,” says Linda. “Preparing food is a basic human activity that touches the essence of ourselves as social beings. In teaching others to cook my goal is that others experience a connection with nature as they cook the seasonal produce from their own garden or a local farmers market. I want to share with others the experience of mindfully responding to the sensual experiences in selecting raw ingredients, chopping and choosing herbs and spices to season. I want my students to experience the sense of belonging that develops in cooking with others and then gathering around the table to share a meal. It is my goal that enjoyment of the communal sharing of delicious, well sourced food will also serve as fuel to work to a clean and fair food system.”

This free workshop is part of SEEDS' "Growing Healthy Kids" series created to address the issue of preventing childhood obesity by helping parents educate their children on the link between dietary habits and health through parent-child team learning. 

View the entire "Growing Healthy Kids" series of workshops.