🥔 Food People, Parent Picks: Ian's Favorite Things
The Ripi founder shares the freezer staples, weeknight systems, and snack habits that make feeding a young family easier.
Food People, Parent Picks: we ask our favorite chefs, food writers, and industry insiders who we interview in our Order Up! Series to share the products, books, and bites they can’t live without.
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Earlier this week in our Order Up! conversation, Ian Tecklin shared how he’s rethinking the frozen aisle with Ripi—bringing restaurant-quality pasta into real-life weeknights. He also talked about growing up in New York around great food, learning from parents who balanced full-time work with thoughtful family meals, and now navigating that same balance with two young kids of his own. If you missed that interview, it’s worth going back for the full story behind how Ripi came to life, and why convenience and quality don’t have to be at odds. Revisit that interview here.
For Parent Picks, we get into what that philosophy actually looks like at home. From five-minute pasta dinners and 15-minute sides to freezer staples like waffles and dumplings, Ian’s approach is all about efficiency without overthinking it. He shares the pantry item he uses almost nightly, the grocery strategy that keeps weeknights on track, and the mindset shift that made feeding his daughter a lot less stressful.
Do you have a favorite cookbook?
I have to give a shout-out to my business partner, the Chief Culinary Officer behind Ripi: Chef Joe Sasto and his cookbook, Breaking the Rules. His cookbook is full of creative takes on Italian classics and I truly love it.
I love cookbooks in general. I probably cook only a tiny percentage of the recipes in the ones I own—but I still love having them around and flipping through them.
A quick side dish you serve with Ripi?
On our website we share easy sides so you can build a full meal around Ripi. One I make all the time is roasted broccoli with parmesan and almond crunch. It takes about 15 minutes and pairs really well with chicken parmesan.
Our goal was always to create an at-home experience that’s fast but still feels complete. Ripi cooks in under five minutes, and if your side takes 15 or 20 minutes, you’ve got a well-rounded dinner without a lot of work.
Do you have a system that makes weeknight dinners easier?
Efficiency is the name of the game. If I’m cooking from a recipe, I try to find something that can be made in under 30 minutes and doesn’t require a ton of ingredients or a big cleanup.
The other big thing we do is menu plan. Every Monday we grocery shop based on the meals we already decided on for the week. That way we’re not standing in the grocery store trying to improvise dinner ideas for four nights. That’s when things get overwhelming.
Right now, we’re mostly cooking for sustenance—not Michelin stars. We just want meals that are easy, good, and affordable. And honestly, that system works really well.
What’s always in your freezer next to Ripi?
Evergreen Waffles for my daughter. And lately we’ve been loving Laoban Dumplings. Those are always in rotation.
One pantry staple you refuse to run out of?
Popcorn kernels.
We bought this simple microwave popcorn bowl and we use it constantly. We’re oddly particular about our popcorn kernels, and we make it almost every night. It’s the easiest snack ritual in our house.
One kitchen tool you’d replace immediately if it broke?
A cutting board, obviously. But if we’re talking about an appliance, probably my Ninja blender. We use that all the time.
What’s something you’ve stopped stressing about when feeding your kids?
If they don’t want to eat, they’re not going to starve.
Early on, my wife and I put a lot of pressure on dinner—especially making sure our daughter ate enough protein or finished the meal. But kids are unpredictable. Sometimes she’ll take one bite and say she’s done.
Now we focus on simply having food regularly available for her. If she decides she doesn’t want dinner that night, that’s okay. She’ll be fine. Letting go of that stress made dinner a lot easier.
Is there an ingredient you splurge on—and one you don’t?
I don’t splurge on olive oil. Honestly, the private-label extra virgin olive oils are good enough for most cooking. They work perfectly well for sautéing or finishing dishes.
But I will absolutely splurge on really good berries when they’re in season. Great berries are worth it.
A snack your daughter is obsessed with right now?
Cauliflower puffs—barbecue or white cheddar.
It’s funny because my parents were very health-focused growing up, but I still ate plenty of classic snack foods or sugary cereal, like Apple Jacks, Lucky Charms, Gushers, Fruit Roll-Ups.
Now when I’m buying snacks for my daughter, it’s fruit leather, real fruit, or cauliflower puffs. Snacks have definitely evolved.
Final thought: what’s been the most rewarding part of building Ripi?
Seeing people actually feed it to their families.
Friends will text me photos of their kids eating Ripi. Sometimes it’s people I barely know—two or three degrees removed—sending a picture saying their kid loved it.
There’s nothing better than seeing something that started as an idea turn into a real product people enjoy at their dinner table.