New here? In the MBSF podcast we explore how food connects us (and sometimes disconnects us) to our minds, bodies, spirits, the earth, and our communities. This is a space dedicated to bringing more presence, intention, ease, and joy into the process of feeding ourselves. Check out past episodes with Julia Turshen, Alexis deBoschnek, Jasmine Nnenna, Dr. Hillary McBride, Zaynab Issa, Hetty McKinnon, Elise Loehnen, and more.
Hello my dears, and welcome back to the show.
If you’ve been struggling with figuring out what to cook for yourself, weeknight family dinners, or even just packing school lunches, this episode is for you. I’m joined by cookbook author and journalist , whose writing has appeared in The Wall Street Journal, Food & Wine, Afar, Martha Stewart Living, and more. Her latest book, Snacking Dinners (Hardie Grant, 2025), came out earlier this year.
In our conversation, Georgia and I cover a lot of ground—from the practical (getting dinner on the table in under 20 minutes) to the soulful (how to bring more intention into the way we feed ourselves). She shares her favorite pantry staples, her go-to tricks for cooking just for yourself (spoiler: you don’t even need pots or pans to make it feel special), and her wisdom on feeding kids, with all the little victories and struggles along the way.
We even venture into school lunch territory, trading ideas and inspiration that might just make the daily packing routine feel lighter.
✨ Don’t miss the extras: Georgia shares her delicious (and easy) Tuna Hand Roll Recipe below, and I’ve linked to the recipes I mentioned in the episode.
I have a feeling you’ll walk away from this conversation with at least one little trick or mindset shift that will make cooking feel lighter. Maybe it’s for those busy weeknights, maybe it’s for a packed lunch, or maybe it’s simply for yourself. I’d love to know—what resonated with you most, and how might you bring it into your own kitchen this week?
You can listen to (or watch) today’s episode right here, or, better yet, subscribe to the podcast in Apple Podcasts, Spotify, Pandora, or You Tube.
If you enjoy today’s episode, please support the show! This ad-free space exists because of community like you. You can help by sharing the episode, leaving a rating in your podcast app, or becoming a paid subscriber for just a few dollars a month. Subscribers get access to the full recipe archive, free cooking classes, discounts on one-on-one sessions, bonus content, and more. Most importantly, your support makes this work possible. Thank you! ❤️
With love,
Nicki
Recipe Index | Website | Instagram | More Recipes | Cookbooks
Episode Links
Georgia’s Book, Snacking Dinners
Georgia’s newsletter
Find Georgia on Instagram
Nicki’s book, Build-a-Bowl
Pre-Order Nicki’s new book, Mind, Body, Spirit, Food
MAKE-YOUR-OWN SPICY TUNA HAND ROLLS
Excerpted from Snacking Dinners, by Georgia Freedman (Hardie Grant Publishing, 2025)
On nights when I want the kind of meal where I get to play with ingredients and customize with each bite, I arrange a plate full of everything I need to make sushi hand rolls. The fillings vary depending on what I’m in the mood for, but the one combo I turn to again and again is a spicy tuna salad with a side of wilted cucumber. When spicy tuna rolls were first invented (in Seattle, in the 1980s), the mix was made of raw tuna. But the at-home-friendly version with canned tuna is also delicious—and a whole lot simpler.
½ cup (100 g) Japanese short-grain rice
½ teaspoon seasoned rice vinegar, or regular rice vinegar mixed with a pinch each of salt and sugar
1 Persian cucumber or a 4-inch (10 cm) length of English cucumber
Kosher salt
1 mini 3-ounce (85 g) can tuna, drained
1 tablespoon mayonnaise
2½ teaspoons sriracha
⅛ teaspoon toasted sesame oil
3 sheets toasted nori
Toasted sesame seeds
Rinse the rice well until the water runs clear, and drain it. Put the rice in a rice cooker or a medium pot with ½ cup (120 ml) of water. If using a pot, bring the water just to a boil over medium heat, then give the rice a stir to make sure none is sticking to the bottom. Cover the pot and turn the heat to low. Simmer the rice for 12 minutes, then turn the heat off and let the rice sit undisturbed so that it continues to steam in its own heat for another 10 minutes. When the rice is ready, drizzle the vinegar over it and mix well.
While the rice is cooking, prepare the fillings: Slice the cucumber into thin rounds or strips (or both), massage it with two big pinches of salt, and set it aside in a small bowl to wilt. Flake the tuna and mix it with the mayonnaise, sriracha, and sesame oil in another small bowl. Cut the sheets of nori into halves or quarters. Lay out all the elements—rice, cucumber, tuna, nori, and sesame seeds—separately so you can create your own hand rolls.
