Graham Cracker House Food-Play Adventure Dec. 15! Νβ€Œ Νβ€Œ Νβ€Œ Νβ€Œ Νβ€Œ Νβ€Œ Νβ€Œ Νβ€Œ Νβ€Œ Νβ€Œ Νβ€Œ Νβ€Œ Νβ€Œ Νβ€Œ Νβ€Œ Νβ€Œ Νβ€Œ Νβ€Œ Νβ€Œ Νβ€Œ Νβ€Œ Νβ€Œ Νβ€Œ Νβ€Œ Νβ€Œ Νβ€Œ Νβ€Œ Νβ€Œ Νβ€Œ Νβ€Œ Νβ€Œ Νβ€Œ Νβ€Œ Νβ€Œ Νβ€Œ Νβ€Œ Νβ€Œ Νβ€Œ Νβ€Œ Νβ€Œ Νβ€Œ Νβ€Œ Νβ€Œ Νβ€Œ Νβ€Œ Νβ€Œ Νβ€Œ Νβ€Œ Νβ€Œ Νβ€Œ Νβ€Œ Νβ€Œ Νβ€Œ Νβ€Œ Νβ€Œ Νβ€Œ Νβ€Œ Νβ€Œ Νβ€Œ Νβ€Œ Νβ€Œ Νβ€Œ Νβ€Œ Νβ€Œ Νβ€Œ Νβ€Œ Νβ€Œ Νβ€Œ Νβ€Œ Νβ€Œ Νβ€Œ Νβ€Œ Νβ€Œ Νβ€Œ Νβ€Œ Νβ€Œ Νβ€Œ Νβ€Œ Νβ€Œ Νβ€Œ Νβ€Œ Νβ€Œ Νβ€Œ Νβ€Œ Νβ€Œ Νβ€Œ Νβ€Œ Νβ€Œ Νβ€Œ Νβ€Œ Νβ€Œ Νβ€Œ Νβ€Œ Νβ€Œ Νβ€Œ Νβ€Œ Νβ€Œ Νβ€Œ Νβ€Œ Νβ€Œ Νβ€Œ Νβ€Œ Νβ€Œ Νβ€Œ Νβ€Œ Νβ€Œ Νβ€Œ Νβ€Œ Νβ€Œ Νβ€Œ Νβ€Œ Νβ€Œ Νβ€Œ Νβ€Œ Νβ€Œ Νβ€Œ Νβ€Œ Νβ€Œ Νβ€Œ Νβ€Œ Νβ€Œ Νβ€Œ Νβ€Œ Νβ€Œ Νβ€Œ Νβ€Œ Νβ€Œ Νβ€Œ Νβ€Œ Νβ€Œ Νβ€Œ Νβ€Œ Νβ€Œ Νβ€Œ Νβ€Œ Νβ€Œ Νβ€Œ Νβ€Œ Νβ€Œ Νβ€Œ Νβ€Œ Νβ€Œ Νβ€Œ Νβ€Œ Νβ€Œ Νβ€Œ Νβ€Œ Νβ€Œ Νβ€Œ Νβ€Œ Νβ€Œ Νβ€Œ Νβ€Œ Νβ€Œ Νβ€Œ Νβ€Œ Νβ€Œ Νβ€Œ Νβ€Œ Νβ€Œ Νβ€Œ Νβ€Œ Νβ€Œ Νβ€Œ Νβ€Œ Νβ€Œ Νβ€Œ Νβ€Œ Νβ€Œ Νβ€Œ Νβ€Œ Νβ€Œ Νβ€Œ Νβ€Œ Νβ€Œ Νβ€Œ Νβ€Œ Νβ€Œ Νβ€Œ Νβ€Œ Νβ€Œ Νβ€Œ Νβ€Œ Νβ€Œ Νβ€Œ Νβ€Œ Νβ€Œ Νβ€Œ Νβ€Œ Νβ€Œ Νβ€Œ Νβ€Œ Νβ€Œ Νβ€Œ Νβ€Œ Νβ€Œ Νβ€Œ Νβ€Œ Νβ€Œ Νβ€Œ Νβ€Œ Νβ€Œ Νβ€Œ Νβ€Œ Νβ€Œ Νβ€Œ Νβ€Œ Νβ€Œ Νβ€Œ Νβ€Œ Νβ€Œ Νβ€Œ Νβ€Œ Νβ€Œ Νβ€Œ Νβ€Œ Νβ€Œ Νβ€Œ Νβ€Œ Νβ€Œ Νβ€Œ Νβ€Œ Νβ€Œ Νβ€Œ Νβ€Œ Νβ€Œ Νβ€Œ Νβ€Œ Νβ€Œ Νβ€Œ Νβ€Œ Νβ€Œ Νβ€Œ Νβ€Œ Νβ€Œ Νβ€Œ Νβ€Œ Νβ€Œ Νβ€Œ Νβ€Œ Νβ€Œ Νβ€Œ Νβ€Œ Νβ€Œ Νβ€Œ Νβ€Œ Νβ€Œ Νβ€Œ Νβ€Œ Νβ€Œ Νβ€Œ Νβ€Œ Νβ€Œ Νβ€Œ Νβ€Œ 

December 2024
The Queer Kitchen Connection newsletter header image in Food Focused Nutrition's brand colors. It features a whisk on the left, the text, "Queer Kitchen Connection" in the center, and horizontal rainbow stripes on the right edge.
 

Hey Taste Buds,

November and December are a tough time of year for me, so if you’re looking for a festive greeting I hope you have other email subscriptions to meet that need. I persist in existing, and will continue to do so. I have at least 3 friends coping with mental health crises since the election (there may be more I’m as yet unaware of), and I hope if you’re also struggling that you are reaching out to community and avoiding isolation.

The Professional Women’s Hockey League season started on November 30th, and watching 5 games in as many days has definitely brought me more moments of joy. Other sources of joy include a few potlucks, playing board games with close friends, and creating opportunities to nourish those I care about. It hasn’t felt like nearly enough to sustain me, but I’m still here.

I’m glad you’re still here, too.

Take care of your precious selves,

Jex

 A photo of Jex, a white nonbinary person with short brown hair and wearing glasses and a black chef coat.
 

Send Foodz

Food pictures, stories, and connection from my kitchen (and yours)!

A muffin tin filled with 10 miniature pumpkin pies, 2 are missing. The pumpkin filling has been neatly piped into the flaky pie crust in a swirl pattern.

Before 2020, I used to host weekly potluck game nights. I’ve finally found the capacity to start hosting again with rigorous COVID safety guidelines, and I’m so grateful that I haveβ€”and not just because these mini pumpkin pies were delicious! Sharing food and joy freely and easily has been a missing part of my soul for far too long.

Nachos have been harder to assemble lately, but when I’m able to they ALWAYS hit the spot. Even if I’m only able to melt some cheese on top of chips, that’s a good start…and I usually find the energy to add at least some lettuce and tomato on top because I really love the look and texture those add. I’m definitely making nachos for lunch todayβ€”how about you?

 A plate of white corn chips topped with cheese, refried beans, rice, salsa, shredded lettuce, diced tomatoes, pickled red onions, and yogurt.
A wire shelving unit in the basement, stocked with shelf-stable foods, including neatly arranged boxes, cans, jars, bottles, and pouches.

I restocked my pantry storage ahead of snow season, in preparation for the possibility of being snowed in. It always takes some trial and error to decide on pars (how much of each item to keep on hand), but I’m really proud of how it came together!

Inventory management is one of my many skills, so reach out for support if organizing food storage spaces is challenging for you.

There are many foods I’ve stopped eating as often because of hand pain. Like sweet potatoes and brussels sproutsβ€”it hurts a lot to chop them. I picked some up because my partner wanted to chop them for me, and when they got around to it these were the best roasted veggies I’d had in years! So we’ll work together to make this more accessible to us both, because it’s too yummy to never make it.

 Close range photo of a foil-lined tray with a single layer of chopped sweet potatoes and halved brussels sprouts, browned from roasting, with visible black pepper seasoning.

Want to send foodz? Fill out this form with a photo and story, and we'll try to include it in the next Queer Kitchen Connection!

 

What’s Cooking?

Upcoming special eventsβ€”Food Focused Nutrition-related or otherwise!

Graham Cracker House Food-Play Adventure

Sunday, December 15, 3:00–5:00pm EST

Food-Play Adventures are some of my favorites. It’s an opportunity to be creative without negative consequencesβ€”while it can sometimes be a little messy, can we all agree that tacos are messy AND delicious? Sometimes messy foods are the best foods. And I always learn something new about a food or my own preferences.
A grocery store endcap display with four rows of holiday themed gingerbread and cookie kits from various brands, for creating houses, villages, campers, the Star Wars Millennium Falcon, and decorating Disney, the Grinch, and ugly sweater cookies.

I noticed at the store how many gingerbread house kits there are! I prefer graham crackers because they are cheap and easy to alter into whatever shape I want, but some of those kits look tempting! A tiny part of me wants to buy one of each and see what I can make with all the pieces…like combining Legoβ„’ sets to make something new.

Whether you buy a kit or bake gingerbread or cut some graham crackers to size, come discover creative, communal joy!
 Sign Up Now! 
A screenshot from a Zoom call. There are two rows of three images. The images show smiling people holding or next to completed graham cracker houses or gingerbread creations.
 

Quantity Cooking for Solidarity

My newest offering, the Quantity Cooking for Solidarity Workshop, is now up on the website! You can join the waitlist for the next workshop, or reach out to schedule with your own private group.

I hope to have enough interest to run these monthly, or even twice monthly, and I look forward to exploring more ways to nourish our communities together.
 

The Intersection

I'm always working on making Food Focused Nutrition more accessible with baked-in, intentional inclusion. What's the latest step in my journey?

The scholarship fund is a critical accessibility feature of Food Focused Nutrition, making nutrition support available regardless of health insurance or financial stability, AND paying me to make any sliding scale work I do sustainable. A large percentage of my work would not be possible without it.

Unfortunately, there comes a point where there aren’t enough clients to meet my financial needs, whether I’m working with folx using the scholarship or not. I’ve been grappling with this for well over a year as I’ve watched my new client numbers dwindle despite many attempts to reverse that downward trend.

While I could never give up the work I do for the incredible impact I’ve seen it have on so many, I do need to scale back my time doing Food Focused Nutrition work in the interest of consistently paid labor. I will continue to see my clients–and take new clients!–as time allows around whatever new side hustle I find.

I don’t know what that looks like yet. I’ve been applying to jobs for the last month, and looking for opportunities that align with my values whenever possible.

How can you help? I’m so glad you asked…

  • I’d love some paid speaking/workshop gigs

  • Send clients my way

  • Donate to support the scholarship fund (there’s a link just below)

  • Job opportunities…? Gig work or part time preferred, could consider full time for the right fit
 
On a green background is a red starburst "bang" shape, as in a comic book, with lines and stars emitting from it. Within the shape is text that reads, "Support the Pay It Forward fund!"

All contributions to the Pay It Forward Fund support folx in accessing low- or no-cost services with Food Focused Nutrition. Learn more or share my post about the fund on Instagram or Facebook!
 

Suggest-ipe

Because the way I see it, all recipes are merely suggestions!
A top-down view of a dark earthenware mug filled with hot tea and two dried mango strips floating at the top. The mug is decorated with a plant motif and rests on a white and blue woven β€œmug rug”.

Dried Fruit in Hot Tea

A creative way to take in more energy while self-soothing.

As I’ve been coping with higher stress levels and lower appetite, I’ve been trying to incorporate a bit of a snack into self-soothing rituals that involve food.

If you don’t drink tea, this may not sound appealing to you; just because this works for me at this moment doesn’t mean that it works for everyone. I do hope you are finding ways to keep yourself nourished that work for you, and if you need support with this please reach out.

For me, hot tea helps me slow down and focus on the present moment: I have to take my time to drink it, it warms my hands in a comforting way, and if I don’t pay attention to it I may forget it's there and have a sad mug of cold tea.

So when I realized I wasn’t eating as much, I started adding dried fruit to my hot tea. That way when I’m finished sipping my tea, I also have a snack of juicy, rehydrated fruit that provides me with a little energy. It adds a bonus aroma to the tea as I’m drinking it, too.

I’ve found that a few strips of dried mango or several dried cranberries work really well in green tea, red tea, hibiscus teaβ€”and several other varieties, I’m sure. Other dried fruits, like apple rings, could be good too. If it’s a dried fruit you enjoy eating, you’ll probably like it rehydrated with tea (note that it does significantly change the texture).

If you’re also a tea drinker, I’m curious to hear what fruit and tea combinations you might try!
 

That’s all for now!

Queer Kitchen Connection is an every-other-month newsletter from Food Focused Nutrition.

I want this newsletter to be an invitation for us all to foster more connection around food.

My dream is that Queer Kitchen Connection will be the start of a conversation, and I welcome you to taste, savor, and share in the creation of community with direct replies to the newsletter.
 

Author Jex Calvert, RDN, Food Focused Nutrition
β€œEdible-in-Chef” Ashley Bovin, Ease Up Consulting
 

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