Come Back to the Table: Healthy Cooking, Local Food & Community | Truth in Health

Watch: Come Back to the Table

The video captures the experience in under 20 minutes, but there was much more happening in that kitchen than we could fit into one episode.

Everyone brought something to the table.

Jayne Brought the Ribeyes—and the Story Behind Them

Our cooking started with Jayne from BF Farms and beautiful ribeye steaks.

Jayne shared that BF Farms raises grass-fed, grass-finished cattle and that their farm and ranch has been in the family for more than 100 years. She explained that they have been producing beef this way for approximately 15 years.

But Jayne did more than bring the protein for lunch. She taught while she cooked.

The ribeyes went into a hot cast-iron pan with butter, giving everyone a chance to watch the process while talking about cattle, forage, farming practices, flavor and the value of knowing where your food comes from.

Then came one of the hardest parts of cooking a good steak: letting it rest.

Zach Brought What Oklahoma Was Growing

Our power bowl wasn't designed around a perfectly standardized grocery-store produce list. That was intentional.

Zach with Backyard Harvest brought produce that reflected what could actually be grown or sourced locally during an Oklahoma August.

We had tomatoes, onions, Armenian cucumber and a colorful medley of peppers. Zach also sourced Oklahoma-grown leafy greens locally because the intense summer heat had made some of his own garden production more challenging.

That opened the door to a much bigger conversation about seasonal eating.

Zach talked about selecting plants for Oklahoma's climate, using locally adapted and heirloom seeds, building healthy soil, and why sometimes the garden—not the recipe—should decide what goes on the plate.

Kristin & Stephanie Brought the Healthy Home

While vegetables were being chopped and ingredients moved around the kitchen, Kristin and Stephanie of The Home & Lifestyle Team helped us look at something most people rarely stop to consider:

The tools touching our food.

Instead of giving a formal presentation, they demonstrated practical kitchen swaps while we were actually using them.

• Plastic food storage → glass
• Plastic mixing and serving bowls → glass or ceramic
• Plastic cutting boards → wood
• Plastic utensils → wood or stainless steel

Their message wasn't about replacing everything in your kitchen overnight.

Start with one swap.

Look at what you use every day. When something needs replacing, consider durable alternatives such as glass, wood, ceramic or stainless steel where they make sense for your home.

Paige Brought the Questions—and the Fun

Paige Grellner helped co-host the episode, asked questions, chopped, measured and took responsibility for our homemade cilantro-lime vinaigrette.

There was lime squeezing, measuring, laughter and just enough questionable kitchen math to make it feel like real people making lunch rather than a television cooking studio.

Paige's role was especially important because she kept pulling people into the conversation. She didn't need to be the expert. She could ask the question the person watching at home might be wondering.

Cindy Brought the Recipe—and Connected the Pieces

You may not see much of Cindy in the finished video.

That's because she was moving between cooking, co-hosting, directing, filming and making sure everyone else had room to tell their story.

Cindy created the Southwest Ribeye & Quinoa Power Bowl recipe and designed the meal to be flexible enough to showcase what each contributor brought.

When the original dressing recipe called for apple cider vinegar and there wasn't any available, Cindy summed up the spirit of the entire afternoon:

"When you don't have something, just pivot. Use what you have."

So red wine vinegar went into the dressing instead.

That's real cooking.

Cooking Together Changed the Conversation

As the ingredients came together, so did the people.

Someone chopped. Someone squeezed limes. Someone cooked steak. Someone found the missing bowl. Someone washed dishes. Someone asked a question. Someone answered it.

At one point, the conversation captured exactly what this episode had quietly become about:

"This is definitely missing at home. People don't cook together anymore. It's so fun."

The workload was shared. People taught one another. The recipe adapted. And nobody had to know everything.

That's community.

Make the Southwest Ribeye & Quinoa Power Bowl

There is no single "perfect" version of this bowl. Use what's growing, use what you enjoy, and build it around the people you're feeding.

Southwest Ribeye & Quinoa Power Bowls

Serves approximately 6

For the Bowls

• BF Farms ribeye steaks
• 2 cups uncooked quinoa
• Mixed leafy greens
• Seasonal tomatoes
• Armenian cucumber or another fresh cucumber
• Sweet peppers
• Jalapeños, optional
• Red or purple onion
• 2 avocados, sliced
• Goat cheese, optional
• Fresh lime wedges
• Fresh cilantro

Cilantro-Lime Vinaigrette

• 1/2 cup extra-virgin olive oil
• 1/4 cup fresh lime juice
• 1 tablespoon red wine vinegar
• 1 tablespoon Dijon mustard
• 1 tablespoon honey
• 1 garlic clove, minced
• Approximately 1/2 cup fresh cilantro
• Sea salt and freshly ground black pepper, to taste

1. Prepare the Quinoa

Rinse the quinoa well. Cook according to package directions until tender, then fluff with a fork. Set aside while the rest of the meal is prepared.

2. Prepare the Ribeyes

Season the ribeyes and heat a cast-iron skillet. Sear the steaks in butter until cooked to your preferred doneness.

Remove the steaks from the pan and allow them to rest before slicing.

3. Make the Dressing

Whisk or blend the olive oil, lime juice, red wine vinegar, Dijon mustard, honey, garlic, cilantro, salt and pepper.

Taste it and adjust to your preference. Need more lime? Add it. Want a little more sweetness? Add a touch of honey.

4. Prepare the Produce

Wash and chop the greens and seasonal vegetables. Slice the avocado and prepare the lime wedges.

Use what's available in your garden, farmers market or local store. Your bowl doesn't have to look exactly like ours.

5. Build Your Bowl

Start with greens and quinoa. Add seasonal vegetables, sliced ribeye and avocado. Add goat cheese if desired, drizzle with cilantro-lime vinaigrette, and finish with fresh lime.

Then sit down and eat it with somebody.

Then We Came Back to the Table

Once the cooking stopped, everyone built a bowl.

More steak for one person. Extra vegetables for another. Jalapeños for those who wanted heat. Plenty of dressing.

And then we sat down.

We tasted Jayne's ribeye. We talked about Zach's garden. We continued conversations that had started while chopping vegetables. We laughed. We talked about future gatherings and people we wanted to introduce to one another.

For a little while, we simply shared a meal.

We want more of that.