I have a guest joining me this week - Milly Fyfe, a passionate advocate for food education and sustainability. Milly shares her journey as a farmer's wife and social entrepreneur and the work she does in connecting families with locally sourced, whole foods. Through her community interest company, she runs workshops that educate children and families about the farm-to-fork journey and seasonal produce. Milly discusses the challenges we  face in meal preparation and the convenience of frozen vegetables, while also highlighting the positive impact her workshops have on participants' understanding of food. 

Chapters

00:00 Introduction to Mily Fyfe and Her Mission

02:51 The Importance of Connecting with Food

06:07 Challenges of Modern Parenting and Food Choices

08:47 The Role of Convenience in Food Preparation

14:51 Workshops at The Countryside Kitchen

17:58 Engaging Children with Food Education

20:46 Seasonality and Sustainability in Food

24:08 The Impact of Workshops on Participants

29:48 Future Aspirations and Closing Thoughts

Today's podcast features an interview with a lady who is so inspiring in her passion and drive to educate children and families of locally sourced whole foods, which can make quick, tasty, wholesome meals. She has even set up a community interest company and built a classroom in her garden to help spread the word. I hope you find this interview as interesting and inspiring as I did.

Hey, it's Sam and this is Not Pastor Again, a podcast which is all about building a community of like-minded busy people, whether parenting or not, who face the constant daily battle of what to feed their family every day. Tackling the overwhelm in the kitchen, the monotony of weekly meal rotation, and sharing ideas to make the most of what we have in our cupboards so we can rustle up a meal for those hungry mouths quickly.

It's been a while since I've had a guest on the show, but today I am super excited because I have a lady joining me who has done incredible work in promoting food, farming and hacks to feed the family fresh seasonal produce, but with minimal effort. The creator of No Fuss Meals for busy parents, Millie Fife. The perfect guest for this kind of podcast, right?

Millie is a hardworking farmer's wife with two young boys who has been doing great work for many years to educate children and busy families on the farm to fork journey, but specifically looking to bridge the gap between the grower and the consumer. As the creator and founder of No Fuss Meals for Busy Parents, which is a registered community interest project, she provides a connection between food produced in the UK and how to make tasty meals from scratch.

The Countryside Kitchen is a flagship project dedicated to providing immersive educational workshops that connect people with food, farming, and also sustainability. As well as running this enterprise, Millie is also a PR and marketing consultant. She also has a food and farming radio show on NLive in Northampton.

Plus she has been trained at the Leeds Cookery School in food styling and has an e-cookbook, is royally endorsed by her Royal Highness, the Princess Royal. Millie, welcome. Thank you so much, Sam. When you're reading that all back, I'm like, okay, I've done quite a bit. Like honestly, as I go through it, each time I've sort of looked at everything you've done, I'm like, how does this woman actually...

fit all of this stuff in because it's actually remarkable all of what you are doing. You know, I have lots of things I would like to talk to you about, questions I'd like to ask, but let's start if we can with just understanding who is Millie Fife? Okay. Millie Fife is a farmer. Millie Fife is a social entrepreneur. Millie Fife is a parent and someone who likes to do a few things to help other people.

doing good, making a difference is what I love to be able to do. I love good food, I love producing good food and I grew up growing my own. My dad was a very, well still is a very keen gardener and I got green fingers from a young age and I guess that's where it all started. So I think since having children and then seeing life through their lens and how different their childhood is

from my childhood with the way that society has become so disconnected to where the food comes from. Yet being on a working livestock and arable farm and growing our own vegetables for me, that's, it's very grassroots. know, we go out to the garden, we grow our own vegetables, we pick them, we eat them, we go and get the eggs and we have, you know, egg on toast for tea or, you know, and that is something we've always done, but.

Realizing that that's almost, well, it's not necessarily a luxury. It's just, just, doesn't happen anymore. and that's a really, however, that is a really interesting word to describe it as a luxury because I would actually say that possibly it is in some ways, then eggs aren't expensive nor are carrots. And although we can grow them ourselves, the whole,

you know, living on a farm and having access to green space and yeah, looking after the land, yes, we are very privileged to have that. But I think the ingredients that we're using is quite affordable compared to ultra processed food. So I think that's yeah.

Yeah, I think that's really true. You're right. You know, we're touching on something that we'll talk about 100 % because ultra processed foods is such a significant part of our world at the moment, unfortunately, I would add to that. But like you say, the carrots, the apples, you know, the flour to make your own bread, they're all affordable 100%. So it's interesting though, that you can, we can frame it as not something that people necessarily do. And I wonder if you've got any thoughts on what

might have led to that kind of scenario. Yeah, I mean, there are less people connected to the land in this day and age because farming has become mechanised, there's less people that work on the land. And we've now become people who live incredibly busy lives. As parents, I mean, my mum, bringing me up on my two brothers, she didn't work until we were all at school. But I mean, I'm very sort of hypothesising that, you know,

when you have children, most of my friends and I, we had to work as well as raising a family. And it's that kind of, societal juggle that we now face that, there isn't a housewife, I hate that housewife term, but there isn't that kind of, mum's at home, making the beds and cooking a meal so that when everyone comes home, there isn't that. We're having to...

earn our living as well as being all these other things. And so a lot of these food brands have created the convenience, which is great. And I will be my first to put my hand up and say, yes, I do put fish fingers and turkey dinosaurs in every now and again, because I'm not superhuman. And guess what? My kids love them. know, they will eat them. Yeah, it's absolutely fine. But if I was giving, you know,

I just don't want to give that to them every day of the week. But you pick your battles and when you're time poor, you just go, yep, fine, or beans on toast or spaghetti, whatever it is. I think there's, I'm trying to unpick this in a way that isn't kind of like opening the big can of worms, but equally, food has become so convenient now. You can order it on an app, it arrives at your door.

I mean, my kids actually love going to the supermarket every day. It's a bit of a novelty because they don't go. You know, they just don't go and it's like a fun thing for them to do. But when they were little, there was no way I was going to the supermarket with them because it was like hell on earth. My kids are only 15 months apart. you know, taking two feral farm kids around the supermarket to go and get a weekly shop is like, yeah, up there on the 10 things I actually hate doing.

you know, you can see where some of the disconnects are coming and because food generally comes in a little cardboard box with instructions on the back saying, you know, shove in the oven for 15 minutes at 200 degrees. You eat it because you're hungry, but does anyone really question what's in it? Yeah.

I think that's a really good point. And I don't think people necessarily do because of that very word that you've used, the convenience. And I think one of the things that I try to do through what I do, which we'll touch on very much towards the end of our chat, is trying to get people to redefine convenience because it doesn't have to be a kind of, you know, source that's pre-made or things like that, because the raw ingredients are actually, like you say, affordable and accessible. It's just...

Personally, when I look in, I don't know that people know how to cook anymore. I don't know what your thoughts are on that. Yeah, totally. And I mean, when I've started with the workshops at the Crunchy Side Kitchen now, the things that we're making, it's very basic stuff. Vegetable soup, a cheesy bread, which is basically like a cheesy scone mixture because we have to do it quickly. And we make an upside down toffee apple cake and we do carrot flapjacks. We just do basic things like that.

and it's kind of eggs, milk, flour, vegetables, fruit. It's nothing rocket, you know, it is so simple, but it is, it's just, it's changing the mindset and allocating a little bit of time to thinking about what ingredients you're to need and setting aside a little bit of time, whether or not that's you cook every evening or whether or not you do a bit of a batch, you freeze everything. And then when you get in or in the morning, you get it out of the freezer so that when you get home at night, you can warm it up or

you batch it and you put it in a slow cooker and you leave it boiling away all day. And then you come home and your house smells amazing and you feel very virtuous that you've got something yummy. And, and, and those, those jars of sauce, I mean, it's, it's more the, the preservatives and things like that. That the things that are the things that worry me and partly because I've gone on a bit of a, a, a well, we've had a lot of health issues after having the children.

and realizing how much that has really upset the kind of fine balance with hormones and weight gain and mental and physical health and all of those things and actually you are what you eat and if you're putting rubbish or things that you don't even know that aren't even actual food then

you're not going to get the kind of outcomes. Whereas if you're eating a carrot or an apple or the raw stuff, you know, But then the other day, I dropped, sorry, I'm going off on one, but I dropped my I've dropped my children off over the school holidays at a rugby camp. And all the coaches were there.

and they're all drinking their protein shakes that they'd obviously mixed up and what have you. And I just went to them, I said, well, what's wrong with milk? And they laughed at me. They're like, yeah, yeah, yeah, but what's wrong with milk? Because they're all these things into their body to obviously help bulk themselves up and things like that. And I was just like, it was just a bit of a flyaway comment, So

There are two things that I want to kind of ask you about and sort of focus on a little bit from what you've just said, because it kind of marries very much with my philosophy as well, in the sense that I eat by jurfing. So I just eat real food. And it's just been this simple way in which I've approached my diet for, I hate that word, but you the food that I eat for maybe 10, 15 years now, if you don't recognize something on a label,

then your body's not gonna recognize what to do with it. And I wish that more people sort of understood that kind of philosophy. Because I think that's what you're reflecting in what you're doing. Yeah, yeah, that's it. I mean, the other week I was watching the program that Joe Wicks, he made, what was it called? A killer bar. Because there's all these like protein snack bars and things that are meant to like.

you know, give you all the protein and it's going to make you look healthy and you know, it's all you need in the morning. And he kind of worked with a team of scientists and basically put as much as he could in there legally and then market it to people because of who he is and his brand and everything else. And it was a bit of a kind of edgy kind of take on, you where are we at with the food industry?

And how scary it is and is you know, and again we see it with How brands market to children and although there's even more regulation around there as soon as you putsome kind of character on the front Of course when you take them around the supermarket or it makes it more desirable It doesn't make mean that it's healthy or good for them I mean you could quite easily put a sticker of a Peppa Pig on a bag of well You don't even to wrap it in plastic, but you know on a carrot

And they'll probably eat that carrot or what have you because of the connotation and that's marketing in itself. The other thing that we sort of touched on or that you mentioned through the workshops as well is getting people to plan, to batch cook, to use a slow cooker, those sorts of things. I think one of the things I identify in some of the stuff that I do is this feeling of overwhelm.

that people have in the kitchen. What would you say about that? Yeah, well, that's it. And it's that kind of thinking ahead because there is, you know, there's so many things hitting us all the time. And of course, now we live in such a digital age where our phones pinging every notification and you know, it gets, it gets on my wick a little bit now that it's like, oh, there's an app for everything. But the trouble is with an app, it's like, it's going off all the time and it's notifying you. You're going be like, it's just,

it's just too much. Then you've got the school saying, don't forget the PE kit and you've got this and don't forget to bring this. And, you know, there's all these different things going on. And you just, you've got hungry children, you're tired or overstimulated and you just want something quick. And I can see it, you know, and I, you know, and I, remember when the kids were really small, really young and I was a bit like, God, I just need to eat something. What's available to me that's quick.

I mean, in towns and cities, probably even quicker because like, I mean, I live in quite a rural area. We don't have just eat or other, you know, we don't have any of that sort of stuff. So we are a little bit restricted in terms of what we can or I mean, there's not even any takeaways that deliver to our village. So, so I don't know, I don't live in that kind of culture, but I can see, you know, when I go down to London, you see all the people on the bikes delivering all the food and you kind of think, well, what's in that?

Most of the time when I speak to people who have had that they're a bit like, well it filled a hole, you know, and I'm like, you just spent a lot of money on that. I mean, I know you got it delivered and you got fed, but you know, even if a loaf of bread and some cheese and just did cheese on toast or baked beans on toast or, I know your podcast is called Not Pasta Again, but I mean, it is a bit of a hero because that's one of my, that's.

my kids favorite thing at the moment mommy are we having bow pasta tonight and i'm like not again because they love it see yeah they do they do but i put you know i put some peas i mean you know frozen veg is kind of you need that in your life because it's frozen at source especially peas we're not we're something like 94 self-sufficient in peas in the uk and they are harvested

and are frozen within 90 minutes of them being harvested. That's crazy. Yeah. we are, and they're probably one of, they're one of the least wasted vegetables because you just get them out of the freezer and you only use what you need. It's not like you've got a manky old collie at the bottom and the fridge thing feeling to make yourself feel guilty all the time. I must use that. I must, I must feel healthy because I've bought a cauliflower, but then the cauliflower sits there for a fortnight and anything. I better do some. Whereas if you've got the frozen veg.

And then you just boil up or fry or, know, if you do a stir fry or something like that. And, and it's great. And you can stick them in a curry, can stick them in a risotto, whatever it is. so yeah, peas are like the best. again, it's interesting, isn't it? There's almost like a stigma against having frozen veg.

in your diet and like you say that detail and that information about how quickly it's actually sourced and then frozen, that's fresher than you're gonna get it as if you bought it fresh, right? Yeah, yeah, yeah, no, I'd never go and you know, I mean, you don't see peas in pods in the supermarket because they go, they just go off so quickly, know, or munch two slightly different, but you know, you only buy them frozen and

And it just means that A, you're getting something really, really fresh and nutritious, but you're not wasting your money either. And you're not wasting food. And so you're feeding yourself and all that, all that good stuff. And it's convenient because you can bung them in the microwave for a few minutes or whatever. then you've made me, you've made me think of something else actually. Cause when I was doing a little bit of research and reading about you, you're, you're big on seasonal produce. I believe. Yeah.

So the workshops that you mentioned a little while ago, can you tell me a little bit more about what they are, how they've come about, what your aim is with that sort of work, please? Yeah, sure. So the Countryside Kitchen, we opened it. It's our flagship project. It is a classroom on our farm, which through our community interest company, we did a lot of fundraising, applying for grants. We did a crowd funder as well to get it up and running.

I'm kitting it out with the kitchen facility and lots of space to cook and do workshops and also a little honesty shop as well so that I can sell some of our own farm produce to our local community. So that helps with a little bit of trading income as well to help fund the workshops. But basically the workshops that we do, we offer to primary school.

groups predominantly, so primary school groups of up to 30 children come at one time and we give them what we call their a Grow Cook Eat Discover workshop where we kind of talk about everything that we grow on the farm, whether that be the beef cows, the sheep, the chickens, the pigs, we've now got milking goats as well and the kitchen garden, so we've got lots of veg produce and we grow wheat and barley as well. So we've got

pretty much bit of everything to show them. And we kind of take them on that journey depending on what they're learning in school. So we try and link it with the curriculum as well so that it's not just a visit. It's actually, you're doing about food and nutrition or you're doing about geography or history. And one of the workshops I did the other week, they were learning French. I did, I walked them around and every time we met an animal, I said, right, what's this in French? just to mix it up a little bit.

So yeah, so that was quite good. So that's generally sort of like a two hour workshop. And we also get them making bread. So we go and get some wheat out of the grain store and then we grind that into flour and then we make some bread and then they eat it. And we also make some butter so that they've got bread and butter. And then some of the longer workshops I do with the community groups. So I've been working quite closely with like local social prescribing groups.

groups that look after vulnerable adults, those with special educational needs and things like that. So they come for an extended session. And that's where I sort of sit everyone down, make them a hot drink. And then we just chat about food and just what they like. I'll start them and cooking a few things in front of them and just get that conversation going and sort say about what's in season at the moment or what...

what we can go out and have a look at around the farm and just get them to kind of think a little bit more about where their food comes from or what habits could be changed as a result of coming together. And it might be that think about sugar, where that comes from, because that's one of my things that I like to fly the flag for is British sugar. And it can be a bit of a demon. I mean, I know everyone is trying to reduce sugar, but actually most things do have a bit of sugar.

in them and so you can't really avoid it but actually we produce quite a bit of sugar in this country but it's not necessarily known and even if you can buy the silver spoon bran rather than sugar cane you're going to reduce your impact on the environment because it's not travelled as far so it's just just planting those seeds and having those conversations and so we do that in the classroom and then I also work with a lady who comes and does mindfulness as well so in the warmer months

We sit outside, so the classroom is in our farm orchard amongst fruit trees and lots of... Can I come? Yeah, of you can. Well, it's just a lovely... I'm so proud of what... It's only now that I'm reflecting because, obviously, the groups are coming. There's so much motivation in why I wanted to do it, but the unexpected consequences that have come. People are telling me that they've never left Northampton or...

It's been 50 years since someone cooked that person a meal and they don't want to go home. I got a lady that when I said we're going to making a vegetable soup and it had carrots and she was like, I hate carrots. And then, and then, she knew full well that, you know, she saw me chop some carrots up and we made the vegetable soup and everyone else was like, Joy, it's really lovely. And she's like, okay, as you've made it Millie. So she'd warm to me and you know, I'm quite, you know, I just.

go with the flow, I'm very open book, kind of just go, you know, and she was there eating and she wrote on the feedback forms, I can't believe you got me eating carrots. And I was there, she was like, I actually really liked them. I don't know why I didn't eat them before. And I was a bit like, brilliant, you know, and it is sometimes there is that fear of AI there because you never tried them and you're not that sort of person. But also it's that not knowing what, you I suppose you learn a lot about

your food from the people that raised you and if they didn't eat it, then why would you naturally, know, and until you're exposed to those experiences and I mean, you know, go around food fairs and things and yeah, you can try little shots of something or jams and chutneys and things like that, but no one's going out there going, try carrots, try some peas. These peas taste much better than those. I don't know. It's just so.

we're expecting people to kind of just go with we're telling them what it's brilliant. It's really good for them. until they try it. for me, so for example, when I think about my Nana, who I loved dearly made the best Yorkshire puddings with onion gravy, but she would boil her vegetables for about five hours. Yeah. So I really didn't like carrot because it just wasn't carrot by the time it made it from this pan where you know, the steam is dripping off the ceiling. So even an early experience.

is also going to determine how somebody responds to it. What I like about that story though, is that she was open-minded enough to try them. Do know what I mean? You obviously created an environment that enabled her, which says, I'd say a lot about what you're doing. Like you say, you just go with the flow. So broad brush question, because it's going to be pretty impossible to say, to quantify this, but.

What's the impact? What have you seen from people walking in, like the changes that you observe from people being able to be involved in your workshops? Well, it gives them the confidence to go, I'm going to have a go at that. I'm going to be more mindful when I go to the supermarket. I'm going to go to the market and buy directly from someone who's selling or, you know, because, you know, I'm not expecting people to come away and go, oh, I'm going to go from shopping in Aldi to a farm shop.

because that's not what I'm asking people to do at all because it's not affordable but it is getting people to just think about what they put in their basket or what their purchasing habits are and thinking about food a bit differently or not relying on the same meals or just you know if they're not cooking at all perhaps they might cook what they are saying to me that they are going to have a go and

But you know, the bread for example, it's a cheap recipe because we don't use yeast because we've only got a quick amount. We haven't got enough time to properly make a loaf. But I make it within 15 minutes and then it cooks in 15 minutes. And while I'm doing that in front of them, I'm getting them to make the butter. So we just pour double cream into a little test tube and we just shake it up and eventually it turns into butter.

And the innuendo and the laughs that come from that is an experience in itself. And the fact that then I serve the bread up, they've got their butter and they're spreading it on and they're going, and we talk about, what do you buy to spread on your toast and your sandwiches? You know, is it margarine? it, know, and you're thinking, well, have you ever thought about the ingredients that go into margarine? Whereas butter is a whole food. The impact is, I mean, we're only just scratching the surface, but it's,

just phenomenal. know, kids telling me this is the best day ever. And they're all like, they want to be farmers. I'm like, yes. But it's just, it's just, you know, especially the children that come that have special educational needs that can't conform to a normal, I say normal university, into like a classroom environment. I mean, it's quite overwhelming to have 30 kids.

in our environment anyway, but God, I don't know how teachers do it with 30 kids in a classroom. And they've all got their individual needs. And they love it because they're able to kind of be out in nature, interacting with the animals. And I did my training earlier in the year so that we were what's called a SEVAS accredited center, which basically, you know, I'm very mindful of all the additional risks that having groups of people.

on our foot, cause we're working farm, you we've got machinery, we've got livestock, you know, we do a lot of hand washing, we do a lot of boot washing, we try and mitigate against all of that because it's a working farm, it's a working business. and we work around that. We're not a petting farm. It's a very different experience. And I do, you know, I talk to the children about this is a beef cow and they're like, like, and I'm like, yeah, this is your beef burger. And then like, what?

And then I, oh, okay. I mean, I don't know, I don't know if that's going to put them off, but I mean, it's just joining at the dots a lot of the time. A few, we've got turkeys at the moment and a few kids have gone, oh, I don't think I can have my turkey Christmas. I'm a bit like, be interesting to know whether or not they do, yeah. Okay. Yeah. So, like confidence, the,

the desire to try like joining the dots. There's so many, so many benefits from what you've just said about what you can see in people and the response to the workshops. And I'm guessing seasonality of produce is incredibly important to you. Yeah, it really is. And, you know, not only with the seasonality of produce, but also the various kind of campaigns or, you know,

depending on what time of year it is, know, lamb at Easter and summer it's barbecues and then, you know, Christmas we're all sort of eating well. And it is just kind of highlighting, you know, what is in season. And I know from the farming calendar myself, but also through knowing so many other farmers around the country and following them on social media as well, like saying,

February and March, like they're harvesting the rhubarb in the Yorkshire triangle. And it's like, and then people sometimes relate to the rhubarb because, you know, their grandparents used to have a patch down the bottom of the garden or all that have you. But it's, it's, it's just reminding people because again, retailers have made food very convenient and you can get things all throughout the year because they just fly it in from somewhere else. And it's quite criminal that

Well, it's not no criminals, not the right word. But I think when there's not a level playing field with UK agriculture with because other countries don't have such stringent regulation. And often it which is why you'll see cheaper imports on supermarket shelves, because they haven't had to overcome these hurdles, whereas UK agriculture does. And then because it comes a bit of a values ethical thing, but

If you're financially struggling or you're trying to navigate the cost of living crisis, you're not going to necessarily worry about where it's come from. You just need to feed hungry tummies, don't you? And there's this whole kind of, it's all gone wrong. And I don't know, there's lots of people like me that kind of try and fly the flag for British food and farming. And even if it means that...

Some people every now and again have a treat and buy something from the butchers or perhaps just buy a bigger cup that lasts longer or something like that, then great. But it's trying to turn at the moment, it's really difficult with the way that the government portray food and farming. And it's quite concerning really, because I think food security should be a lot higher up the agenda.

because we are an island nation and we've seen that with some of the political challenges when there's been wars in other countries, that that has a huge impact on supply chains. surely that should be an issue for government, but it doesn't seem to be. No, and I mean, I've got a question about that, but before I forget another question, I'm really like, when I asked who is Millie Fife, the first thing you said was I'm a farmer. So what is a day in the life of

Yeah, my sketch should I be scared like what like what times you get up cuz you've got two children you do all this other stuff like what is a day in the life like for you? Yeah, so It's not a nine till five but it's a seven day a week outlook on life I'm not from a farming background originally. So it's taking me quite a long time to actually say that I am a farmer and And that's partly because it's a bit of a cultural shift in

agriculture as well, because it's a very male dominated environment. And I'm quite proud to be a female farmer. I'm actually not a morning person. I'm a night owl. And that frustrates my husband hugely because he is a morning, well, I he's a morning person, but this morning my alarm went off at court past seven and he was still led next to me. And that's, know, and I was thinking, what's because I wrote what's the time thinking, you know, I'd woken up early for a change, but

No, but I, I just things just happen at a rate of knots, you know, I'm multitasking all the time. The kids are now at the age where they get themselves dressed in the morning, brush their teeth. Obviously I make their pet lunches. They won't eat the school meals anymore, which is annoying because obviously it's so much, it's one less thing to have to worry about in the morning. But so I'm going to jump in. What kind of, what kind of food do you put in their pet lunch? What's, so they do get,

quite a traditional patlin. So I do, you know, sandwich, yogurt, piece of fruit, some sort of cake bar or something that I've made. They probably were, they do have a bag of crisps as well. And that is sometimes I'm like, God. So it's a bit of a mixture of a few homemadey things, bit of fruit, but also I'm not going to deprive them of some of the like things that their mates will have in. But the things I won't buy are the sort of

pepperonis and cheese strings and that sort of stuff. Anyway, going back to my timetable, I'm working basically on my business or in the workshop, running my workshops when the kids are at school. So we don't run workshops during the school holidays or the evenings, because that's when I'm mum. And then when they go to bed, again, because of the kind of way that...

we all work now, you can do so much on your phone. And I think, I think because I've been in that mindset for so long, being in agriculture, there isn't kind of a cutoff really. And I'm very driven. And I think most people in agriculture, they do it because they love it. They don't do it for the money. Put it that way. Because there's no money. But it's part of the lifestyle as well. I find it difficult to switch off.

And that whole notion of obviously food is integral to who you are, what you do, you know, not only in terms of being a farmer, doing the workshops, you've got a recipe book, which we haven't touched on yet either, but getting food onto the plate for you and your family, what's sort of important for you in that area? Yeah, so because we grow a lot of our own, well, we obviously raise a lot of livestock, we have a few pigs, chickens, all that we have for our own consumption. So

I do on a Sunday, I'll cook quite a large joint and then like tonight, we're gonna have a stir fry with some of the pork that's left over with some chopped vegetables, some egg noodles, things like that. It's a bit of a crowd pleaser. So we'll make something last a few days. And then it might be a bit of pasta with a bit of frozen vegetables, bit of cheese on the top, things like that. And yeah, we don't...

We don't tend to eat out very much. Although my son, youngest, he'd say, but mommy, why haven't we been to a restaurant? thought, oh my God, Doug, you're six. I'm a bit like, God, you know, I was bit like, with all the things that we've got to remember, you know, I just want to, you know, I don't know why he was like, I want to go to a restaurant. was a bit like, right, Dougie, we'll get there. We will get there. are they good eaters? Because one of the things that I come across a lot in what I do is fussy.

what people will describe as fussy eaters. How are yours? Yeah, so I've got one that's a really good eater that whatever you put on his plate, he just eats. And then I've got one that picks around and you to keep your It's always that way, right? Yeah. So Youngest loves to slather everything in mayonnaise. And I'm a bit like, even a roast dinner, I'm a bit like, oh God. But I'm a bit like, he has just eaten a roast dinner.

I know it's covered in a bit of mayonnaise, but he's eating a roast dinner and it's sort of meat and vegetables and he has. So I'm like, yeah, I just picked my battles, but yeah, they do. Breathe deeply, right? Yeah, yeah. Well, and this is a thing. mean, he used to go through a phase of just wanting like, like slices of wafer thin ham and just eating that. And I was like, my God, like, no, we're not doing that anymore. But now he's gone on to eat in cheese and brown sauce sandwiches. So that's his.

That's his latest one. yeah. Are you the only person doing the meal preparation? Yes. Yes, yes, yes. My husband is a traditional farmer. He's going to have a huge shock because in a couple of weeks time, I'm having quite a major operation and I have to take six weeks off. I'm not allowed to do any lifting, carrying, anything. Cooking. So, God, I mean, I don't, I honestly don't know what, what.

life is going to be like during that time but I have got a lady that's coming in, I've got a carer because I'm not allowed to wash or do anything for quite a long time. So I've got a lady coming to look after me but I said can you just chop up a few veg and stick it in a casserole pot and put it in our bottom oven. So again we're lucky one of the things when we moved into our farmhouse 10 years ago we took out the old aga which was a coal fuelled aga it was terrible.

and we put in an everhot so it doesn't drain as much electricity and we've got panels on the roof so it kind of is okay it's fine it doesn't drain our electricity but the oven's on all the time so you just put a pot in a bottom oven with vegetables, bit of meat, a bit of stock off it goes. I'm hoping Millie that you've taken some of your own advice and you've got some food in the freezer batch cooked. Well I have I have but I've also got that many like

bits of pork that I'm a bit like, what's that? Or, you know, people have given us say, people give us bits and bobs as well. And I'm like, I have no idea what that is anymore. And one thing I really need to do is get better at labeling stuff. And there's a there's a lady, I think she's called the full freezer or something like that. Yeah. And she and it's all like, really nicely color coded. And I want to be that person. But I'm, I'm like trying to like,

sell a good story here and what I'm doing and I, you know, yeah, we've all got our strengths and we've all got our weaknesses, right? God, my phrases. I gave my eldest son what I thought to be mango ice cream and it was actually a tikka curry sauce that I'd had left over because I hadn't labeled it. So I hear you on that. I am conscious of time. I've got two questions that I always ask guests on my podcast.

I don't know if you know, but one of the things I do is I'm a Thermomix advisor. And I always ask people if they know what a Thermomix is, first of all. Well, I don't have one. But a Thermomix is basically, it's an all singing all dancing kind of fan dangle thing, isn't it? That kind of makes soup and is a bit of a slow cookery thing as well. That's my take on what it is, but I've never owned one because I've...

just use my bottom oven, but a thermomix I guess is the equivalent of. Yeah, I mean, it is and it's always interesting to see how people describe it. And I'm more than happy to explain it will literally cut, chop, stir, stew, ferment, sous vide. It does everything. It is the only piece of equipment I have in my kitchen other than my oven. So it literally does everything but bake and fry. So thank you for your fandangled description of what it is. I like that.

My second question that I always ask people is if time money, you know, you had blue sky thinking and you had all the time and money and everything at your fingertips, what would be the one meal you would cook for you and your family? I've a decent curry. You know, like when you go to a curry house and you're like, why doesn't curry taste like this at home? Like the naan bread, so you get a curry house. Oh, like you can't.

compare like and and poppadoms as well poppadoms when you eat out like you just can't recreate them at home if I could do that and but I mean a firm favorite for us always is our roast and whether that's you know roast chicken roast pork roast lamb roast beef whatever

I'm guessing it's a pretty awesome roast as well. can sort of, I've got this picture in my mind, know, country kitchen, like loaded full of roasties, you know, everything, sauce, gravy. Homemade Yorkshire puddings. Yeah. Veg out the garden. Yeah. And that's the thing. It's all fresh and for certain times of the year, I will take photos on my socials and go, this all came from our farm. And I mean, again, it's like, so I'm so proud and, and I know

that's quite a luxury to be able to say that and do that. But I'm a bit like, do you know what, it is possible. it's just kind of, yeah, just thinking about it a little bit more and it just, the flavours just taste so different. Definitely. I feel like I've only touched the surface. So I'm going to definitely ask for you to come back in the future so we can have more of a chat because...

It's been amazing to just get a little bit of, I guess, greater knowledge about all of the good stuff that you are doing. I think it's really important if you could share where to find you, like where can they find stuff that you're doing? Yeah, sure. Well, hey, I'd love to come on your show again. Thank you. I've really enjoyed it. So I'm on Instagram, Facebook, TikTok, those sorts of channels. As Millie5? Okay. Yeah.

at Millie5 and also at No First Meals for Busy Parents and at the Countryside Kitchen because obviously No First Meals for Busy Parents is kind of for everybody because it's online, you we've got websites as well so I've got a website for No First Meals as well as the Countryside Kitchen. Obviously the Countryside Kitchen is very much more kind of regional, local, we're Northamptonshire based but we're right on the Leicestershire and

Warwickshire border as well. So we're quite accessible. again, and you know, there's lots of opportunity there. But yeah, I'm I'm all over social media. And yeah, online as well. So you'll you'll you'll find me I'm sure. All right. And I will put all of those details in the show notes for everyone. So Millie, I just want to say thank you once again. And I definitely look forward to coming back onto the show.

So I really hope that you found that interview interesting, inspiring, informative, and also educational. I know from my perspective, there's a lot to take in and I figure it's going to be one of those episodes that I go back and listen to. But I think if I think about what has stood out for me is Millie talks about using frozen vegetables. So using things that are at our fingertips, they're not expensive. They can be used in lots of different meals.

She talks about batch cooking as well, so that there is food ready for people to use when they might feel busy and maybe when you're feeling overwhelmed. A little bit of planning goes a long way as well. And I absolutely love the fact that she is trying and is educating children on what real food is by getting them onto the farm, showing them the livestock, taking them to where they grow their vegetables, and then using those foods in a workshop for them to enjoy some proper made food.

So don't forget, if you like the show, give it a follow so you don't miss future episodes. And if this episode has also been helpful for you, then please share it with someone else as it will probably be helpful for them too. Until next time, let's continue to flourish rather than flounder when it comes to meals.