Over the next few months, we’re thrilled to introduce you to several collaborators that will take part in our first ever wellness event the NEAT Retreat – a wellness event in San Francisco. With our expert guest speakers, NEAT will show you how being organized can be the catalyst for endless positive change in many aspects of your life. When you live organized, there is much more space for living well in other areas of your life and we are going to show you exactly how to make simple changes that have huge impact.
We are honored to now introduce you to our friend Katie Morford who will be sharing her expertise as a dietician during the retreat.
Please introduce yourself to the NEAT Community:
I’m a food writer and registered dietitian with a passion for bringing good food and good nutrition to the plate. Over the past several years, I’ve published two cookbooks: Rise & Shine: Better Breakfasts for Busy Mornings and Best Lunch Box Ever, with a third book, PREP, coming out next year. My writing also includes work for magazines and newspapers including Real Simple, Bon Appetit, Family Circle, Parents, Self, and the San Francisco Chronicle. I occasionally teach cooking and nutrition classes and am the founder of the blog Mom’s Kitchen Handbook, which features recipes, nutrition advice, and weekly meal plans. I live and work in San Francisco with my husband and three daughters, who are collectively my best cheerleaders and most discerning critics in equal measure. Beyond my working life, I’m an enthusiastic traveler, reader, yogini, and consumer of screw top wine, ideally rosé.
What space of your home is the most organized? Why?
The kitchen. I do so much cooking, both for my family and for my work that I try to keep it as organized as possible. I have designated places for every category of kitchen tool, so that I know exactly where to turn when I’m looking for something. And I have places for all of my pantry and fridge staples, which helps me stay on top of what I need when I go to the market. I also find that when I can easily access good ingredients, I feel inspired to cook healthy food.
Photo: Erin Scott
What does organization mean to you in your profession?
In my profession, being organized makes everything fall more effortlessly into place, whether it’s having my food photos organized on my computer or my mixing bowls stacked neatly all in one place. So much of what I do is computer based, yet I still rely on some old-school organizing tools. When I write a cookbook, for example, I create a binder with tabs for each of the chapters. I add recipes and notes to the appropriate chapters as I developed them. Over time that binder takes the rough shape of a book that allows me to get a sense of the look and feel of the finished product far more than if I worked exclusively on my laptop.
Photo: Erin Scott
What’s one space you are excited about learning about how to organize at the NEAT Retreat and why?
The bathroom. My make up and skin care products are a bit of a jumbled mess and that interferes with an efficient morning routine. I feel like getting some systems in place will bring ease and also make my bathroom feel fresher.
Photo: Erin Scott
Can you tell our readers a little bit about a current project you’re working on?
I just finished the manuscript for my third book, which is called PREP: The Essential College Cookbook. Empowering teenagers and young people to cook is a true passion project for me. It’s something I’ve done with my own kids since they were tiny. It’s such an essential life skill and PREP is about giving young people the tools and recipes they need to cook real food rather than relying on convenience items and takeout. I also recently started a series on Instagram called Nutrition PSA where I tackle a different nutrition topic each week and try to demystify it a bit for my followers.
Photo: Erin Scott
Thanks for sharing with us!
We are so excited that you will be joining us at the NEAT Retreat, we’ll see you in September!
xx
the NEAT girls
