I’m excited to kick off the 8th season of Thrive Kitchen at Home, with a class on Soups and Salads, a great way to begin the new year. For those of you who are new to this site, this is a monthly program of flavor and technique-driven, vegetable forward cooking classes for both members of Kaiser Permanente and the general public. Health begins in the kitchen, and there’s nothing I enjoy more than helping you reach your health goals deliciously!

To register for a class, please visit the Kaiser Permanente San Francisco Healthy Cooking Website, call 415-833-3450, or email sfhealthed@kp.org .

(Free for Kaiser Permanente members, $20 for non-members. Registration required. All classes meet virtually on Wednesdays from 630-830 PM Pacific Time.)

Looking forward to cooking with you soon! I wish you a happy and healthy 2024!

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Here are the all-new menus for 2024:

2024 Thrive Kitchen @ Home Menus

Menus subject to change, please check a month before for confirmation.

Jan 10 Soups and Salads

Tonight we will prepare a plantbased version of pozole (the Mexican soup) a flavorful cucumber salad, and a green salad along with two homemade dressings. Soups and salads are perfect for the cold weather and the beginning cook, with ample knife skills practice. Learn to make your own dressings to focus on flavor!

Menu:

Pozole Verde

Tajin Cucumber Salad

Mixed Green Salad

Spicy Lime Vinaigrette

Plant-Based, Oil-Free Ranch Dressing

Feb 14 Eat Your Greens!

Dark leafy greens are one of the most nutritious foods to include in your diet, full of fiber and nutrients. We’ll prepare a variety of greens and other seasonal winter produce in different ways to give you some new ideas on how to enjoy your greens.

Menu:

Massaged Winter Kale Salad with Grapefruit and Avocado

Eat Your Greens! Fried Rice

Roasted Brussels Sprouts

Piña Kaleada

Apr 3 Spring Vegetables

Ready to say goodbye to the heavy foods of winter? Spring vegetables are sweet and delicate. In this class, we’ll feature spring recipes with asparagus, cabbage, carrots, fennel, mushrooms and more.

Menu:

Asparagus with Gremolata and Cannellini Bean Purée

Charred Cabbage with Chipotle Lime Crema

Roasted Carrot and Fennel Soup With Miso-Glazed Mushrooms and Cashew Cream

Apr 17 Cook to Reduce Food Waste

Forty percent of all the food produced in the U.S. gets thrown away. In celebration of Earth Day, this class will teach you how to use up past-prime ingredients and cooking by-products to help reduce food waste in creative and delicious ways.

Menu:

Spicy Green Herb Soup 

Roasted Tomato Panzanella with Chickpeas and Pickled Red Onions

Plantbased Aquafaba Pancakes

May 8 Healthy Asian Cooking: Asian Salads

In this class, we’ll explore different salads from East and Southeast Asia. Expand your salad palate!

Menu:

Balinese Green Apple Salad

Burmese Rainbow Salad

Taiwanese Cucumber Pickle

Jun 19 Mediterranean Picnic

The Mediterranean Diet is one of the best studied heart healthy diets. It’s also one of the most delicious, encompassing the food of cultures including Italy, Greece, France, Turkey and the Middle East. Tonight’s menu will feature recipes from France and Spain.

Menu:

Salade Niçoise

Socca

Canary Island Potatoes with Romesco

Jul 10 Fun with Fermentation Workshop

Fermented food is delicious and promotes a healthy gut. In this class, we’ll make our own kimchi and also use fermented ingredients in recipes.

Menu:

Korean Quick Pickled Daikon

Purple Rice Bibimbap with Rainbow Vegetables and Miso-Glazed Tofu

Quick Kimchi

Aug 14 Back to School, Back to Basics: Grain Bowls

Back to School means a busier schedule for families with children.  Meal planning and prep can save the day! In this workshop you’ll learn a flexible template for making flavorful grain bowls, for a flexible and family-friendly recipe with endless variations. We’ll flavor them with spices, herbs, and some ingredients which might be less familiar.

Menu:

Grain Bowls, 3 Ways

Sept 11 Plantbased Tacos and Ceviche

Celebrate National Hispanic Heritage Month with a plantbased twist on your favorite ceviche and tacos, along with 3 homemade salsas.

Menu:

Plantbased Ceviche

Vegan Chorizo Tacos

Lime Cashew Crema

Quick Red Pickle

Mango Salsa

Salsa Roja

Salsa Verde

Oct 9 Everything Pumpkin

It’s October and pumpkin time! Learn to use pumpkin and other winter squash in a variety of recipes enhanced with spices, for breakfast, snack, and lunch or dinner.

Menu:

Pumpkin Spice Overnight Oats with Orange Spiced Pepitas

Pumpkin Hummus with Fall Crudité Platter

Thai Pumpkin Curry

Nov 13 Plantbased Thanksgiving

Nobody will miss the turkey with this elegant and flavorful plantbased Thanksgiving menu.

Menu:

Thanksgiving Kale Salad with Roasted Root Vegetables

Thanksgiving Butternut Pasta Alfredo

Spiced Pears

Dec 4 Holiday Appetizer Party

All the fun, with a delicious and festive global menu you will feel great about!

Menu:

Spiced Dips: Harissa Carrot Yogurt Dip, Beet Hummus and Muhammara

Polenta Bites with Red Chard

Tofu with Arugula Mint Pesto