Since my original channel update at the beginning of this year, a lot has happened on my YouTube channel and in our family’s life. Today, I published a new Mary’s Nest Channel update for 2024 to share the latest news with you.

Watch my New 2024 YouTube Channel Update video

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Changing My YouTube Video Thumbnail Design?

In my original 2024 Channel Update earlier this year, I talked about changing my thumbnail design and moving the launch day of my videos from Saturday to Thursday.

However, many of you (my dear, Sweet Friends!) sent me comments and emails encouraging me not to change. You said my video thumbnail design was easily recognizable in the sea of similar-looking YouTube thumbnails. (These common thumbnail designs have the cook’s picture and text overlaying a large picture of the recipe.)

I thought a new thumbnail design would help modernize my images, but after looking over my thumbnails again, my sweet friends were right! I decided to stick to my original thumbnail design. It’s a traditional design! 😊

Video Publishing Schedule

Earlier this year, I also thought I should change my video publishing schedule from Saturdays to Thursdays to give my viewers time to shop for the ingredients so they could make the recipe featured in the video over the weekend.

Once again, my sweet friends were right that I should stick with the regular video publishing schedule I had established for many years. You’ve come to expect my videos on Saturday mornings to enjoy with your coffee or as a companion to listen to and watch as you work in the kitchen.

Just as you recommended that I stick with my original thumbnail design, I’m happy to return to my original publishing schedule and continue being part of your Saturday mornings.

You may have noticed that I’ve missed a few Saturdays this year. (I talk about our son Ben’s recent medical treatments in today’s update video and in recent newsletters.) But I intend to return to publishing a video every Saturday morning, except for holidays and major events.

And when I get caught up with my publishing schedule, I may occasionally release additional videos during the week. However, Saturday will continue to be my main publishing day.

The Modern Pioneer Cookbook

My cookbook is already in its fourth printing! Thank you so much for making my first book a bestseller. You’ve been getting the book for yourself, your family, and your friends to help them start their traditional foods journey and create their traditional foods kitchen. The Modern Pioneer Cookbook keeps traditional recipes alive and teaches kitchen skills that will last a lifetime.

I also want to thank you for leaving me reviews where you purchased your book and on Goodreads. Thank you for all of the five-star comments you have left me, as they help booksellers recommend my book to other home cooks. I am honored that you’ve added my printed book to your cherished kitchen bookshelf.

And the big news that I talk about in today’s channel update video is that Penguin Random House contacted me to write a second book. Woo hoo! I’ve already started working on it, and I’ll share more news about it when I can.

A Beautiful Mother’s Day Gift

If you’re looking for a gift for your mom or mom-to-be, give them a copy of The Modern Pioneer Cookbook. You’ll give them more than just a collection of recipes. You’ll give them a life-changing guidebook for moving away from a processed foods kitchen to a traditional foods kitchen.

For a limited time, my cookbook is on sale for Mother’s Day at Amazon, Target, and other retailers. Amazon is also running a special sale on selected books, where you can save 50% on 1 when you buy 2 books in this curated category. My cookbook is part of this special Amazon sale, so whether you want to get two of my books (one to keep and one to gift) or a copy of my book and another book that’s part of the sale category, you’ll enjoy significant savings!

Imagine the joy of surprising your mom, family, and friends with a beautifully printed cookbook that’s brimming with traditional recipes and kitchen advice. It’s a gift that will be cherished, and you’ll be delighted to save money at the same time.

Mother’s Day Gift for Gardeners

If you or your mom are gardeners, you’ll love GreenStalk Garden’s biggest sale of the season, which lasts from May 2-13, 2024. Almost everything is on sale, including deep discounts on their 5-Tier Original (Basic and Basket Weave) Planters.

I enjoy using their planters to grow my garden vertically. My vegetables and herbs thrive in a smaller footprint that’s easier to water and move around when you add their optional wheels. (I show you how to put together their planters in my How to Create a Vertical Kitchen Garden video.)

Note that this is not a sponsored post. After much research, I bought their planters myself and have enjoyed them in my garden. I look forward to filming an update to my original GreenStalk video soon to share my latest garden activities with you.

If you can take advantage of GreenStalk’s sale or visit their site after the sale, be sure to use my link and promo code Nest10 to get $10 off orders $75 or more. The promo code stacks with your other savings!

Creating Your Traditional Foods Kitchen

As I talk about in today’s update video, I’ve spent decades teaching others how to make traditional nutrient-dense foods. I first started teaching a group of homeschool moms how to make bone broth and other traditional nutrient-dense recipes. We rotated our meetings between our different kitchens. When my son Ben went to college, he and my husband Ted encouraged me to start a YouTube channel, which I launched in July 2018.

Almost six years later, I have over 1 million subscribers and over 60 million views on over 600 videos. Thank you for inviting me into your home (or mobile phone or tablet) to be part of your kitchen and life.

If you’re just getting started with making traditional foods, I encourage you to watch my Master the Basics of Traditional Nutrient-Dense Foods Cooking playlist. This playlist contains many of my initial videos where I go over, step-by-step, how to make bone broth, cultured dairy, ferments, sourdough, and more.

Sign Up for the Mary’s Nest Newsletter

While you’re watching my Getting Started video playlist, be sure to sign up for my newsletter and download my free 36-page essential traditional foods pantry list. This detailed resource will help you fill out your Four Corners Pantry in no time.

With each newsletter I send, I like to provide you with valuable content to help you with your traditional foods journey. I may highlight a set of traditional recipes, let you know about new videos and blog posts about your pantry, or provide you with links to free downloads you can print out to include in your kitchen journal.

I also share what’s going on with our family, from the recipes I’m making in my traditional foods kitchen to gardening in the variable Central Texas weather and the successes and challenges that my family has encountered in life.

If you’re not yet a newsletter subscriber, I encourage you to sign up. I only send out one newsletter a week on Saturdays, with special editions from time to time. Once you sign up, I’ll send you a welcome email with links to three eBooks. And don’t worry; you can unsubscribe at any time.

Along with my Mary’s Nest YouTube videos, YouTube community page, and website, my newsletter is one of the essential ways that I can communicate with you, my sweet friend.

What is The Modern Pioneer Cookbook Curriculum?

If you’re new to my YouTube channel and website, you may not yet know about my free download, The Modern Pioneer Cookbook Curriculum. This 250+ page curriculum provides comprehensive lesson plans to teach traditional food recipes and kitchen techniques to students in grades K-12.

This curriculum is perfect for educators, homeschoolers, parents, and grandparents who want to teach traditional recipes to students or their children and give them lifelong kitchen skills and a love of traditional foods. The curriculum works in conjunction with my bestselling book, The Modern Pioneer Cookbook, to bring traditional recipes to life to each of three grade bands: K-4, 5-8, and 9-12.

You can download and print the curriculum and store it in a binder. Alternatively, you can download and store it on your electronic device for easy access while you work through the lessons with your children, grandchildren, or students. (Many sweet friends like a printed copy to easily flip through with their children and an electronic copy on their iPad so they can quickly search for words and sections.)

I developed this detailed curriculum with Jamie O’Hara, who is an experienced teacher and curriculum developer. Jamie is also documenting her use of the curriculum with her children and the recipes in my cookbook. She’s publishing her chapter-by-chapter Modern Pioneer Cookbook Curriculum Lesson Experience on my website with free optional downloads you can print out to supplement the use of the curriculum with your students and children.

More Free Downloads

Speaking of free downloads, visit these posts to find more files to print out and store in your kitchen journal.

See all →

My How to Make Meal Prep Fast with the Meal-in-a-Bag System video includes my most recent free download file, covering the Meal-in-a-Bag System with Seven Printable Recipes.

Grow with Video Live

I was in Las Vegas recently with my husband Ted and our son Ben to attend the 2024 Grow with Video Live Conference. I was honored to be invited to speak as a panelist at the conference by Sean Cannell. He and his Think Media team have been my YouTube mentors even before I started publishing videos in 2018.

In last week’s newsletter, I talked about the event in Las Vegas, but I also go into more detail in my new update video today. (It’s always easier to chat more on video than through the keyboard.)

I was happy to meet many video creators and sweet friends at the conference, and I learned from the event’s many talented and successful creators, including Dave Ramsey.

My thanks to Sean Cannell and his Think Media team for helping me learn the skills to attract over 1 million subscribers to my YouTube channel. If you’re interested in learning how to create your own YouTube channel, be sure to check out ThinkMedia’s offerings, including their new coaching options.

Attend The Modern Homesteading Conference

If you love learning about traditional foods and skills, I invite you to join me at this year’s Modern Homesteading Conference in Coeur d’Alene, Idaho, on June 28 and 29, 2024.

I attended last year’s conference and met and talked with a number of the speakers, including Joel Salatin. I was honored to be invited to give a few talks at this year’s conference.

Check my Shopping Guide for a discount code for 10% off general admission. And if you can make it, I look forward to meeting you and giving you a big hug in person!

More Mary’s Nest

I’ve covered a lot in this blog post and even more in today’s special update video. Thank you for subscribing to my channel, subscribing to my newsletter, and getting my cookbook. Your support means a lot to me, and I hope I always provide you with helpful content and cheerful advice.

If you’re looking for more of my content on the web, visit my Mary Bryant Shrader around the Web page. You’ll find a list of the podcasts I’ve been on and publications I’ve written for, including Backwoods Home Magazine.

Thank you again for being a sweet friend! 😊

Download Your Free 36-Page Pantry List

For an extensive list of the traditional foods you can make and purchase to stock your pantry, be sure to download my free 36-page Traditional Foods Pantry List. This comprehensive eBook is full of links to recipe videos, helpful articles, and more!

And if you’re looking for a printed book full of my traditional foods recipes that shows you how to create a traditional foods kitchen, be sure to order your copy of my new bestselling book, The Modern Pioneer Cookbook.

Order YOUR COPY Now!

The Modern Pioneer Cookbook

Seasonal ingredients, traditional techniques, and nourishing recipes. Over 85 traditional, from-scratch recipes! Discover for yourself how you can use simple ingredients and traditional techniques to cook the modern pioneer way.

Join the Traditional Foods Kitchen Academy

Are you looking for more traditional foods videos? If so, I invite you to join the Traditional Foods Kitchen Academy. Members of this optional paid YouTube community get access to exclusive videos and other members-only perks. Plus, your YouTube comments include a special members-only badge.

Kitchen Academy Videos

See all →

Stay in Touch with Mary’s Nest

  1. Subscribe to My YouTube Channel for Traditional Foods Videos (Free) - When you subscribe, be sure to click on the notification bell that will let you know each time I upload a new video.
  2. Subscribe to Mary’s Traditional Foods Newsletter (Free) - Get a free 36-page eBook for signing up: How to Stock Your Essential Traditional Foods Four-Corners Pantry.
  3. Join the Traditional Foods Kitchen Academy (Optional Paid) - For more detailed videos and exclusive members-only perks, join my YouTube membership community.
  4. Order The Modern Pioneer Cookbook (Optional Paid) - Get a printed book of Mary's nourishing recipes from a Traditional Foods Kitchen. This bestselling cookbook is published by Penguin Random House with their DK imprint.

I look forward to having you join me in my Texas Hill Country Kitchen!


Shop for items used in this blog post or video

Favorite Kitchen Supplies

Amazon Shop and Shopping Guide

  • Visit Mary’s Nest Amazon Shop
  • Visit my Shopping Guide page
    Get up to 15% off for stocking your Traditional Foods Pantry and equipping your Modern Pioneer Kitchen, including discounts from US Wellness Meats, Farmhouse Teas, Lehman's, Masontops, Cultures for Health, Survival Garden Seeds, Redmond Real Salt, Plan to Eat, and More!

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Comments

  1. LETITIA HEIL says:

    Thank you for having your blog version available.
    I am hearing impaired and do not like videos.
    Captions help, but old fashioned reading print is best.

    1. Mary Bryant Shrader says:

      Hi Letitia,

      Thanks for your kind comment. I’m happy to be able to offer my sweet friends multiple ways to get recipes and content. I publish videos with captions, online blog and recipe posts, my email newsletter, and my printed book too—The Modern Pioneer Cookbook.

      Love and God bless,
      Mary

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