Easy Everyday Eats with Jessica Merchant

On the podcast, I recently had the pleasure of chatting with Jessica Merchant, the creator of the beloved food blog How Sweet Eats.

Since launching her site in 2009, Jessica has built a loyal following with her approachable, flavorful recipes and down-to-earth writing style. She’s also the author of several best-selling cookbooks, including Seriously Delish, The Pretty Dish, and Everyday Dinners. Her newest release, Easy Everyday: 100 Recipes and Meal Prep Ideas for Effortless Eats, is another must-have—I’ve already cooked from it and can confirm it’s full of weeknight gems.

In this episode, we talk about the secret to her long-running consistency, how she balances real life with recipe development, and the inspiration behind her newest cookbook.

Listen to the full episode or keep reading for some of the highlights from our conversation.

How did you get started with food blogging?

Growing up, I learned to bake from my grandmother. She never used measurements; she just relied on memory and instinct. Those early experiences sparked a lifelong love of food.

When I started my blog nearly 17 years ago, I actually intended it to be a lifestyle blog. But back then, there weren’t many full-time lifestyle blogs. I didn’t feel like I had much to say about my day-to-day life, just getting up and going to work—so I started writing about what I cooked for dinner or baked on the weekends. The food content began to resonate with readers, and the blog evolved naturally from there.

Over the years, the blogging world has changed in ways I haven’t always loved, but what’s kept my blog going strong is consistency. I’ve never stopped posting. Even when I take personal time off, I prep in advance so the blog never misses a beat. I’ve stayed true to my voice and never written just for SEO.

As I like to say: “I would do it even if it weren’t my job, so I didn’t want to change it to make it more robotic or informational. It’s rambling and wordy, but if I didn’t do it that way, I wouldn’t love it as much.”

That authenticity has helped me maintain a loyal audience who connects with the way I write and cook.

Tell us more about your book, Easy Everyday

Easy Everyday is a natural extension of how I live and cook, especially now as a mom of three. It builds on the success of my third book, Everyday Dinners, which focused on 30-minute meals and my go-to 10-minute meal prep strategy. With this new book, I wanted to expand that concept to cover every meal of the day, including breakfast, lunch, dinner, desserts, mocktails, snacks, and easy entertaining ideas. It’s a true reflection of what my blog is all about: uncomplicated recipes with a modern twist on classic dishes.

In the past, I’ve tried the full-on Sunday meal prep approach where you cook everything in advance and portion it all out—but it never worked for me. It took too much time, and I never wanted to eat what I had prepped.

What works better for me, especially with kids, is picking small prep tasks that take 10 minutes or less to complete. Things like chopping vegetables for tomorrow’s dinner or whisking up a sauce ahead of time. These quick wins make mealtime so much less hectic.

I like to say: “Your future self will thank you.”

When it comes to menu planning, I usually only choose three recipes per week. It prevents burnout, reduces waste, and allows me to stay flexible for my kids’ requests. I always keep a few back-pocket meals ready to go when we run through the week’s three recipes or want something a bit more fun. I look for recipes that are easy to prep, make great leftovers, and use versatile ingredients or sauces that I can repurpose throughout the week.

It’s all about small steps that add up to a calmer, more enjoyable way to cook.

Learn more

Listen to the full podcast episode with Jessica here. All of her books, including Everyday, can be found anywhere books are sold. You can learn more on her website, howsweeteats.com, and you can follow her on social media @HowSweetEats.

Easy Everyday, 100 recipes and meal prep ideas for effortless eats
by Jessica Merchant (Rodale Books, 2025)

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