Episode Details

Back-to-School Lunches, Sheet-Pan Dinners, and Finding Joy in the Kitchen with Hillary Dixler Canavan

Hillary Dixler Canavan returns to Not From Concentrate as the show’s first repeat guest! Nearly one year after her first appearance, Hillary joins Catherine for a timely conversation about feeding our families, and ourselves, during the back-to-school rush.

They talk about letting go of picture-perfect lunchboxes, choosing foods children will reliably eat at school, and adding joy without adding much work. Hillary shares her genuinely life-changing trick for assembling and freezing sandwiches in advance, plus easy ways to bring protein and variety into packed lunches.

The conversation also ventures into cooking with kids, why project-based kitchen activities may be more manageable than everyday “help,” and the value of teaching practical cooking skills when children are ready.

Then Hillary previews Sheet Pan Month in her newsletter, What Are We Having? She and Catherine even develop a Green Goddess chicken, gnocchi, and broccoli dinner in real time. Finally, they discuss finding creativity through constraints, clearing physical clutter, and using audiobooks to make cooking feel restorative.

In this episode

• Why a successful lunch is one your child can actually eat within the school’s allotted time
• Letting go of elaborate, photo-ready lunchboxes
• The difference between “school foods” and foods children will eat at home
• Easy protein ideas, including mini Chomps, cheese, hummus, and beans
• Low-effort ways to make lunch feel special with food picks, stickers, and notes
• Finding genuine points of connection based on the interests you share with your child
• Why cooking with kids can be easier as a planned project
• Teaching age-appropriate kitchen skills without rushing the process
• Establishing helpful structure around meals and snacks
• Hillary’s forthcoming Sheet Pan Month
• Developing a Green Goddess chicken, gnocchi, and broccoli sheet-pan dinner
• Why a delicious sauce can make a simple meal feel restaurant-worthy
• Making and freezing school-lunch sandwiches in advance
• Using themes, limitations, and what you already have to spark creativity
• Decluttering the kitchen before the school year begins
• How audiobooks can transform dinner preparation into something worth anticipating

Hillary’s freezer-sandwich method

Assemble sandwiches in batches, return them to their original packaging or place them in a freezer-safe reusable bag, and freeze. In the morning, put a frozen sandwich directly into an insulated lunch bag. It should thaw by lunchtime while helping keep the rest of the lunch cool.

Freezer-friendly combinations include:

• Ham and cheese
• Turkey and cheese
• Bagel with cream cheese
• Cream cheese and jelly, with optional chia seeds
• Peanut butter and jelly, where permitted

Audiobooks mentioned

• Yesteryear
• The Compound by Aisling Rawle
• Ruth Ware’s mysteries and thrillers
• The Searcher by Tana French

Find Hillary

Subscribe to What Are We Having? at whatarewehaving.substack.com.

Follow Hillary on Instagram at @hillarydixlercanavan.