‘This Farm Girl Cooks’ offers up healthy, wholesome take on traditional farm fare

WATERMAN, Ill. — When it comes to cooking, Deanne Frieders wants to keep it real.

“I really try to be realistic and have recipes where people will really want to make them. I think that’s what people are looking for, something that is actually doable,” she said.

With a following of around 10,000 people on the “This Farm Girl Cooks” Facebook page, and a growing Instagram followership, along with the blog and recipes she posts on her website, www.thisfarmgirlcooks.com, Frieders’ recipes and style have struck a chord with her audiencea.

But before anyone dismisses her as just another mommy blogger posting the traditional meat-and-three or cookbook casserole recipes, you might want to take a second look.

Frieders is a mom of four — her oldest is a senior in high school and her youngest is in kindergarten — and she formerly worked in the corporate world.

Frieders grew up in Shabbona, but didn’t grow up on a farm or with farm cooking. She learned about farming and agriculture after meeting husband Ryan.

She brings a little bit of each of those elements when developing and perfecting a recipe.

“I try to cook healthier than the old-fashioned meat and potatoes that, say, my grandpa was used to eating. We certainly do have that. We raise beef so we eat our share of roasts, but I try to put a little bit healthier take on recipes, knowing that people want to eat a little bit healthier. I take older recipes and find a way to make them a bit better, but still an approachable, easy meal that will suit families, that’s my primary goal,” she said.

What’s Cooking

As part of that healthier take, Frieders also takes into account issues that are real within her own family.

“We’ve got food sensitivities in our family and we also have some health conditions, so I try to cook healthier. We have some heart conditions, so we try to watch sodium intake and really try to bulk up with more vegetables and whole grains,” she said.

One family member requires gluten-free and dairy-free recipes. Frieders’ recipes for ranch chicken chili and easy Mongolian beef are some favorites.

Frieders left her corporate job to stay home with her children and to take a more active role on the farm. That included preparing harvest meals, which can be a challenge, for the cook and the diner.

“I definitely don’t want something where they feel like they need a nap afterwards. I think every farmer I’ve talked to said it’s got to be something they can eat while they are driving. A lot of times we are trying to beat the weather and trying to get as much done as quickly as possible, especially when we get toward the end of harvest and we just want to be done with harvest,” Frieders said.

She likes wraps and sandwiches that can incorporate healthy yet wholesome ingredients, like chicken bacon ranch sliders and roast beef rollups with horseradish cream sauce.

Soups are also popular — one of her field meal rules is “no knives required.” Her recipes for muffin tin meatloaf and easy pork stir-fry fill the bill.

Solving problems, whether it’s food sensitivities or health conditions or convenience while combining, is one of Frieders’ big inspirations.

“I figured out a way to do lasagna that you can pick up and bite into, using wonton wrappers and putting them in muffin tins. I love thinking like that — how can we solve this problem or how can we make this work for our lifestyle?” she said.

On The Go

Frieders started her website and blog in 2016 mostly as a way to document the recipes she put together.

“It was just me wanting to document what I was making for harvest and being able to remember it for the following hear so I didn’t have to reinvent the wheel,” she said.

One big consideration for all of her recipes is time. The recipes on her website are conveniently grouped and easy to find by category, from gluten free to low carb, breakfast, sandwiches, dinner, desserts and more.

Frieders knows how valuable time is for everyone, from those who farm to those who work off the farm.

“When people come home at the end of the day, they don’t want to have to go through an elaborate meal process, but they still want to feel good about what they feed their families. I try to give solutions for things they can do that are quick and easy and that meet all of those needs,” she said.