Simple Doesn't Mean Easy

By Michelle Visser

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Subscribers: 16
Reviews: 0
Episodes: 196

Description

Ever wish you had a mentor to help you make healthier, real food choices, one small step at a time? Someone to whisper encouragements in your ear? Someone who has been taking small steps for over a decade, learned a lot about real food, non-toxic living, and a holistic approach to wellness along the way?

Tune in, every Monday and Thursday, as your host, Michelle Visser—former junk food addict, turned homesteader and medicinal gardener—offers you encouragement and practical insights on the Simple Doesn’t Mean Easy podcast.

We dive deep into topics like avoiding processed foods, incorporating whole foods into your diet, milling fresh flour, and understanding the powerful benefits of fermented foods, medicinal drinks, and other healthy, gut-friendly options. We explore topics, often with thought-provoking guests, from the importance of healthy fats and natural sugars to practical tips on gardening, creating simple recipes, and stocking your kitchen with the best pantry staples. Whether you're looking to improve your immune system, learn how to nourish your body with real, nutrient-dense foods, or discover nontoxic household products and companies, join in every episode and gain actionable advice for making sustainable, healthier choices.


Episode Date
194. These 12 Appliances Will Uplevel Your Kitchen (REPLAY)
Oct 27, 2025
193. 8 things you can make better yourself (REPLAY)
Oct 20, 2025
192. Ignore these garden mistakes at your own risk
Oct 13, 2025
191. Crazy things I grew in my garden this summer that I won't even eat
Oct 06, 2025
190. How to win blue ribbons at your county fair & why you should get your kids in on it too
Sep 29, 2025
189. 3 kitchen tools I'm using on repeat (& a bonus one too)
Sep 22, 2025
188. How 90% of our cheese was developed by Pfizer, a discussion with Robyn Jackson of Cheese From Scratch
Sep 15, 2025
187. The truth about cover crops that no one talks about
Sep 08, 2025
186. Add herbs to your everyday (how & why), with Rachelle Robinett
Sep 01, 2025
185. Fermenting (& adding nutrients to your foods) with Kirsten Shocke
Aug 25, 2025
184. Why we were in the ER last weekend & how it changed our lives
Aug 18, 2025
183. Cheese Making: A Beginner's Guide, Robyn Jackson, Cheese From Scratch
Aug 11, 2025
182. Stop Wasting Your Food, with Amy Cross
Aug 04, 2025
181. Is your dental floss toxic?
Jul 30, 2025
180. Hormones, Natural Plant Remedies & An Herbal Medicine Cabinet, with Sam Coffman
Jul 28, 2025
179. Plant medicine–anecdotal or scientific? with Sam Coffman
Jul 21, 2025
REPLAY: 8 Things You Should Be Making Yourself (S4 E9)
Jul 14, 2025
REPLAY: One Drink You Seriously Need to Ditch (s3 e11)
Jul 07, 2025
178. 2 inspiring stories you've never heard, in honor of Independence Day
Jun 30, 2025
177. My Current Favorite Drink to Start the Day
Jun 25, 2025
176. The Truth About Healthy Fats
Jun 23, 2025
175. Eleven ways to use my favorite cooking fat
Jun 19, 2025
174. The NEW Dirty Dozen List & how to grow 5 at home
Jun 16, 2025
173. The best popcorn seasoning EVER
Jun 11, 2025
172. Ten things you need to know BEFORE you get chickens
Jun 09, 2025
171. A healthy twist on a childhood favorite treat
Jun 06, 2025
170. Seven ways to ditch plastic (& an alarming reason you should)
Jun 02, 2025
169. The real reason soil testing is so important
May 30, 2025
168. 4 Game-Changing Tips for Grilling Meat (that you’ll wish you knew years ago)
May 26, 2025
167. The best way to make the best kombucha (One Simple Thing)
May 23, 2025
166. 5 Pantry Must-Haves you should be buying in bulk
May 19, 2025
165. The Dirt on Growing Food (a Friday Favorite)
May 16, 2025
164. When He's Team Cheetos & You're Team Kale
May 12, 2025
163. Do Small Changes Really Matter? with Mel Matthews
May 05, 2025
162. Food dyes, the FDA & what it all really means
Apr 28, 2025
161. Unpacking the truth about fresh flour
Apr 07, 2025
160. Reclaiming the art of fresh flour
Mar 31, 2025
159. Loneliness is the true epidemic & social media is not the cure
Mar 24, 2025
158. Why cheap meat should scare you
Mar 17, 2025
157. Ancient grains, modern milling & why they put duck feathers in our bread
Mar 10, 2025
156. Make Money While Growing Food
Mar 03, 2025
155. Two Free Gardening Tips You Need to Know
Feb 17, 2025
154. 3 Things to Know Before Planning Your Garden
Feb 10, 2025
153. Revolutionizing Ag, 1 box of meat at a time, with Christian Ebersol of 99 Counties
Feb 03, 2025
152. The truth about strength training I wish I had known sooner, with Cai Hepner
Jan 27, 2025
151. Red Dye No. 3 ban & what it REALLY means
Jan 20, 2025
150. The 3 Phases of Making a New Habit
Jan 13, 2025
149. Can you form a habit in just 21 days?
Jan 06, 2025
148. Why I'm NOT feeling self-sufficient this holiday season
Dec 16, 2024
147. 6 simple ways to fight seasonal depression
Dec 09, 2024
146. Shopping Small Businesses, 4 benefits & a warning
Dec 02, 2024
145. The Truth About Cofactors & Heavy Metals in Real Food
Nov 25, 2024
144. Understanding heavy metals in real food
Nov 18, 2024
143. Three questions to ask about your food
Nov 11, 2024
142. Are heavy metals in salt killing us? | Debunking 3 Myths with Darryl Bosshardt
Nov 04, 2024
141. Cover crops & all the things I never understood (part 2 of 2)
Oct 28, 2024
140. Cover crops & all the things I didn't know...
Oct 21, 2024
139. Why I will never can tomatoes again
Oct 14, 2024
138. Five botanicals you need this flu season, with Shannon Mayernik
Oct 07, 2024
137. Being content--the hardest and yet the easiest thing of all
Sep 30, 2024
136. Six ways to be a homesteader without a farm
Sep 23, 2024
135. Four things you need to know about your dog's food
Sep 16, 2024
134. Honey Bees: the gateway bugs, with Hilary Kearney
Sep 09, 2024
133. Preserving Food (the BEST way)
Sep 02, 2024
132. Is antifreeze in ice cream?
Aug 26, 2024
131. Why we can't trust ingredients that are "generally recognized as safe"
Aug 19, 2024
130. You CAN overcome your addiction to junk food & soda
Aug 12, 2024
129. 4 simple things that have upleveled my garden
Aug 05, 2024
128. Moisturizers shouldn't harm your immune system or cause birth defects
Aug 02, 2024
127. Make These 11 Small Changes to Uplevel Your Life
Jul 29, 2024
126. Something you need to know about your hair products
Jul 26, 2024
125. Turning 55 & admitting I’m still a conundrum
Jul 22, 2024
124. Finding Non-Toxic Hair Products (& money-saving tips)
Jul 19, 2024
123. How to Choose Your Teas & how to make tea blends
Jul 15, 2024
122. Think you're ready to be a homesteader?
Jul 12, 2024
121. One tiny flower gives Big Pharma a run for its money | with Brigitte Mars
Jul 08, 2024
120. The founding father you never knew about & his chestnut tree
Jul 06, 2024
119. Unmasking Big Food's deceptions & learning to conquer our cravings
Jul 01, 2024
118. 15 ways to make money on a small homestead
Jun 29, 2024
117. Facing challenges, setting goals, and making the best product | Bee Rooted Candle Co
Jun 24, 2024
116. 12 Things You Don't Know About an Iris
Jun 21, 2024
115. Navigating Real Food for Kids and Families, with Haley Scheich
Jun 17, 2024
114. The wrong flower that was perfect
Jun 14, 2024
113. Appreciating the Everyday Blessings
Jun 10, 2024
112. Making the right decision (when logical negatives haunt you)
May 27, 2024
111. Let's redefine "luxury,"... grandmom had it right
May 10, 2024
110. Six things I've learned as an accidental homesteader
May 06, 2024
109. A lavender farmer answers your questions
May 03, 2024
108. You need this medicinal herb in your life
Apr 29, 2024
107. 13 ways to use a dandelion
Apr 05, 2024
106. 5 Foods You Should Know More About
Apr 01, 2024
105. Good Friday Reading
Mar 30, 2024
104. How to Choose a Grain Mill (& why this crazy lady has 3)
Mar 25, 2024
103. A gardener looks at weeds
Mar 22, 2024
102. Fresh Milled Flour Tips with Lisa Bass
Mar 18, 2024
101. Love Language of the Family Table with Stacy Lyn Harris
Mar 11, 2024
100. Finding "good" in the middle of "hard" with Nate Pickowicz
Mar 05, 2024
Does a sugarmaker buy processed, refined, white sugar? e99
Mar 01, 2024
What no one told you about fresh flour (episode 98)
Feb 26, 2024
My favorite of Grandmom's recipes (e97)
Feb 23, 2024
This will change the way you look at organ meat ("offal") forever, ep. 96 with James Barry
Feb 19, 2024
Snow boot choices and winter in New England (e95)
Feb 16, 2024
Kombucha & how to sip your way to a healthy gut (S7 E6)
Feb 05, 2024
The best cup of black tea (episode 93)
Feb 02, 2024
Five causes of poor gut health & 1 amazing way to improve (S7, E5)
Jan 29, 2024
Family Holiday Traditions S7
Dec 18, 2023
Holiday Bonus Episode (Advent Readings) S7
Dec 11, 2023
Good Fats (comparing Lard & Tallow) with RuthAnn Zimmerman (S7, E4)
Dec 04, 2023
Just show up, with author Drew Dyck (bonus episode)
Nov 20, 2023
The Best Sugars to Use (and what sugars to avoid), with David Stelzer of Azure (S7, E3)
Nov 13, 2023
How everyone can grow veggies, anywhere, with Doug Evans (S7, E2)
Nov 06, 2023
The Ultimate Guide to Salt & 3 questions you need to ask (S7, E1)
Oct 30, 2023
3 Things I Wish I Knew About an Empty Nest
Oct 23, 2023
Menopause & What They Didn't Tell You (S6, E4)
Oct 16, 2023
What Our Grandparents Knew That We've Forgotten (S6, E3)
Oct 09, 2023
Doing it Scared (S6, E2)
Oct 02, 2023
When Life is Hard (S6, E1)
Sep 25, 2023
4 Ways to Improve your Gut Health (& why it matters) (S5, E20)
Aug 28, 2023
6 simple ways to detox your home & improve your health (S5, E19)
Aug 21, 2023
3 Ingredients You Should Rethink, with the CXO of Azure Standard (S5, E18)
Aug 14, 2023
Quality Time With our Kids Improves our Health, with Sarah Roof (S5, E17)
Aug 07, 2023
5 Things You Need in Your Natural Health Medicine Cabinet (S5, E16)
Jul 31, 2023
Tips for Better Sleep, with Dr. Aric Prather (S5, E15)
Jul 17, 2023
How joy fuels our brains & improves our health, with Chris Coursey (S5, E14)
Jul 10, 2023
Garden Soil Lessons from an unconventional Ag guy, Karson Rippstein (S5, E13)
Jul 03, 2023
Why You Should Take Elderberry Syrup (S5, E12)
Jun 26, 2023
Social Media's Impact on Your Health, with Chris Martin (S5, E11)
Jun 19, 2023
Battling chronic illness, with Amber Benge (S5, E10)
Jun 12, 2023
Lessons from an unconventional dentist, with Dr Michelle Jorgensen (S5, E9)
Jun 05, 2023
Lessons from an unconventional nutritionist, Dr. Jaime Schehr (S5, E8)
May 30, 2023
A Healthy Attitude Towards Food, with Amber Benge (S5, E7)
May 22, 2023
Are old-fashioned foods actually healthy? w/Jill Winger (S5, E6)
May 15, 2023
Surprising Ways to Relieve Stress, with Jill Winger (S5, E5)
May 08, 2023
4 Modern Health Problems & What to do About Them (S5, E4)
May 01, 2023
6 Things to do Because we Live in an Obese Society (S5, E3)
Apr 24, 2023
The #1 Thing I Did to Improve My Health (S5, E2)
Apr 17, 2023
4 Tips for Improving Your Health, at any age (S5 E1)
Apr 10, 2023
How I Lost 20 Pounds--6 tips (& 3 mistakes I made) (S4, E13)
Mar 20, 2023
The Biggest Lie They Sell Us About Our Food (S4, E12)
Mar 13, 2023
5 Healthy Things You Should be Drinking (S4, E11)
Mar 06, 2023
8 MORE Things You Can Make (Better) Yourself (S4, E10)
Oct 26, 2022
7 Things You Can Make (Better) Yourself (S4, E9)
Oct 06, 2022
Motivating the Family to Help in the Kitchen (part 2) S4, E8
Sep 29, 2022
Motivating the Family to Help in the Kitchen (part 1) S4, E7
Jun 18, 2022
2 More Questions You Should Be Asking Yourself (S4, E6)
Jun 05, 2022
Avoiding overwhelm—4 questions to ask yourself (S4, E5)
May 21, 2022
Practical Ways to Make Real-Food Meals More Convenient (S4, E4)
May 05, 2022
12 Appliances that Make Real Food Convenient (S4, E3)
Apr 24, 2022
How a freezer ups your game & why I have 4 (S4, E2)
Apr 10, 2022
The most important thing to making real food convenient (S4, E1)
Apr 03, 2022
Is Tea a Healthy Choice?... The answer's not as easy as you might think (Season 3, Episode 13)
Feb 28, 2022
3 Things You Need to Ask About the Tea You Drink (Season 3, Episode 12)
Feb 18, 2022
One Drink We Need to Ditch--why & how (Season 3, Episode 11)
Feb 02, 2022
Two things we should be eating TWICE as much of (Season 3, Episode 10)
Jan 16, 2022
If you only do one thing to improve your family’s nutrition, this is it (Season 3, Episode 9)
Jan 03, 2022
5 Reasons I Don't Buy Meat at the Grocery Store (Season 3, Episode 8)
Dec 16, 2021
Lies the Pet Food Industry is Feeding Us (Season 3, Episode 7)
Dec 04, 2021
6 Swaps You Need to Know About (Season 3, Episode 6)
Nov 29, 2021
One Small Step that Makes All the Difference (Season 3, Episode 5)
Nov 20, 2021
How the Lies About Food Impact Our Health (Season 3, Episode 4)
Nov 05, 2021
Comfort Food & the Mennonite Culture with RuthAnn Zimmerman (Season 3, Episode 3)
Oct 23, 2021
Why We've Bought Into the Lie (Season 3, Episode 2)
Oct 06, 2021
Why I'm Glad that Simple Doesn't Mean Easy (Season 3, Episode 1)
Oct 01, 2021
4 Tools You Want to Know About for Online Content Creation
Jul 17, 2021
3 Things We Learned as Small Business Owners in 2020
Jun 05, 2021
3 Tips About Growing a Brand that You Never Saw Coming
May 16, 2021
5 tips for building your brand's online presence
May 08, 2021
6 Tips for Growing Your Reach on Instagram, with Vea Carpi
Apr 17, 2021
Six Tips for New Online Content Creators
Apr 10, 2021
Entrepreneurship in 2021 with Liz Marie Galvan
Mar 27, 2021
10 Tips to Building a Brand (While You're Still Working FT)
Mar 21, 2021
Behind the Scenes of Content Creation with Lisa Bass
Mar 13, 2021
9 Tips from Kate Schat for Kickin' Content Creation
Mar 07, 2021
Myth Busting Things You Think You Know About Podcasting
Feb 26, 2021
20. Twenty Tips for Sugarmakers
Feb 20, 2021
19. Tappable trees & other ways to make syrup
Feb 14, 2021
18. Six Tips for a Simple Christmas
Dec 18, 2020
17. Raising Teens (& why I insisted on THIS...)
Nov 16, 2020
16: Canning with maple syrup (you'll never guess the best part!)
Oct 31, 2020
episode 15: 8 Things You Need to Know About Garden Pests
Aug 08, 2020
episode 14: DIY Staples in the Kitchen... is it worth the effort?
Aug 01, 2020
episode 13. The 6 Herbs I'm Growing (for us & the chickens)
Jul 11, 2020
12. An Open Letter to my FIL on Father's Day
Jun 14, 2020
11. Four Questions Parents Should Ask
Jun 07, 2020
10. How to Start an Apiary (& why we're beekeepers)
May 31, 2020
9. An Open Letter to Hard-working, Under-appreciated Moms everywhere
May 03, 2020
8. Harvard & Homeschooling
Apr 27, 2020
7. Don't Waste Your Isolation
Apr 09, 2020
6. My "be attitudes" toward Covid-19 & why they're important
Apr 05, 2020
5. Inspiration when you're stuck at home
Mar 28, 2020
4. The 8 Steps from Sap to Syrup
Mar 22, 2020
3. Why I Drink Tree Sap (Seriously.)
Mar 20, 2020
2. The Science Behind Syrup
Mar 15, 2020
6 Things About Me You Don't Know (Premier Episode!)
Mar 08, 2020
TRAILER
Mar 05, 2020
TRAILER
Mar 03, 2020