About

Molly Thompson

Hey there! Welcome to What Molly Made.

I’m Molly Thompson, a seasoned food creator with over 8 years of experience crafting and sharing delicious recipes. As a passionate cookbook author, my culinary (and life) journey has led me to become a trusted voice in the kitchen. I fell in love with cooking and baking at the age of 13. The kitchen is where I feel most calm and creative, and I’m so glad I get to do what I love and hopefully make a positive impact on your life at the same time.

There’s nothing I love more than sharing good food that makes you feel good too. I love to share easy, approachable recipes that inspire you to get in the kitchen with real ingredients and share real moments around the table.

molly thompson in the what molly made kitchen cutting a lemon

Eight years in the kitchen has taught me so much about cooking fundamentals, but I also have countless hands-on cooking classes under my belt and have gone through every cooking Masterclass. This thorough understanding of knife skills, techniques, sauces, cooking methods, and ingredients gives me so much confidence in crafting and testing the recipes that make it on these pages.

Creating something (delicious) out of nothing never gets old. Ten ingredients separately on a table are just ingredients, but put them together and you end up with a colorful, nutritious, and vibrant dish (like ground turkey teriyaki).

My favorite tool for creating recipes is The Flavor Bible. It’s an encyclepedia of ingredients and which ones pair best together. I use it to craft every single recipe on What Molly Made to get the most flavor out of them (without extra time). It’s my secret weapon for taking ordinary recipes and making them unique to my website and audience.

Beyond the food and flavor itself, I love how food connects us with the people we share it with. When I bake pudding cookies, I get to spend uninterrupted time with my kids. A huge batch of carnitas gathers my friends around the table for taco night and laughs. And making healthy chicken noodle soup for a friend in need says shows how much I care (Enneagram 2🙋🏻‍♀️).

Food has the power to do all of those things and nourish our bodies at the same time. It’s what drives me daily to create trusted recipes that make a difference in your life beyond the recipe. I hope you feel that each time you come back!

Background

Ohio has been my home since I was born. I grew up in the Akron area and now call Columbus my home with my amazing husband, Zach, and our two kids and golden retriever.

The food I grew up on has midwestern roots like chili, casseroles, tacos, and sloppy joes. They’re weekday classics, straight forward, and approachable, all of which I still love.

Our family’s love of travel has taken us all over the US and beyond its borders, inspiring me in the kitchen to recreate recipes with Mexican influence, southern influence, and more. The first thing we do to immerse ourselves in a new place is eat and try the food.

When we aren’t traveling, we spend time as a family having dance parties in our kitchen, doing crafts at the dining room table, shuffling kids to and from school and activities, and being present in every day of our extraordinary ordinary life (our fav quote from About Time).

Fitting easy, healthy, and delicious meals into this life is always my goal. It’s not always easy, but I use the recipes on my website every single day to make that possible!

What Molly Made Story

I got my first cookbook (Teen’s Cook) from a friend and fell in love with baking banana bread and scones at 13. Five years later that friend and I created this blog to connect (I’m starting to sense a theme) across the state.

I quickly felt called to make this my career. For 3 years, I worked full time in marketing and spent the margins of my days and the weekends testing and perfecting baked goods and desserts at first, but quickly branched out to healthy meals (we can do both!).

I was diagnosed with PCOS in 2018 and have used my cooking experience to make delicious (never boring) food from real ingredients. I worked with a functional CNP to reverse my symptoms through food and lifestyle when I learned there was an inflammatory aspect of PCOS and that the condition can really benefit from diet and lifestyle strategies (Brighten, 2023).

I’m on a mission to empower and guide those navigating PCOS and hope to be a source of support for women, especially when they feel overwhelmed. It’s why I’ve shared hundreds of PCOS-friendly recipes!

After 8 years, a difficult diagnosis, 2 kids, and hundreds of recipes, I’ve found balance in my love of baking, eating healthy, and nourishing my family. It’s all led me to create easy, approachable recipes that inspire you to get in the kitchen with real ingredients and share real moments around the table.

It’s all about good food that makes you feed good too (physically and emotionally).

Here Are A Few Things I’m proud Of

  • Hundreds of women have used my recipes to reverse PCOS, boost fertility and become pregnant! The screenshots I have of women saying they’re pregnant after years of trying brings me to tears!
  • My cookbook, The Anti-Inflammatory Diet Made Simple, ranked #1 in paleo cooking on Amazon.
  • Hundreds of people use our free meal plans to save time, money and energy when making dinner for their families.
  • Moms, wives and partners rave about the recipes and say their spouse didn’t even know they were “healthy”.
  • Millions of people visit our website monthly to find a simple, healthy recipes.

Culinary Journey

  • Ohio Beef Influencer — visiting beef farms and attending cooking classes, including some with The National Cattleman’s association. With over 100 beef recipes, I’ve truly mastered the art of incorporating this savory staple into diverse and mouthwatering meals.
  • Ohio Poultry Influencer — Completed workshops to learn all the details of working with eggs and turkey. A competed in a chopped style competition to test our knowledge of working with poultry and eggs
  • Completed Thomas Keller Masterclass on basic cooking Techniques.
  • Finished over 3 hours of training from Gabriella Carmara on Mexican cooking.
  • Taught virtual cooking class in 2022 with easy sheet pan meals.
  • Completed the Alice Waters Masterclass on the Art of Home Cooking.

Education and Professional Career

  • 2009-2012: Bachelor’s Degree in Communications from Ashland University — Ashland Ohio
  • 2012-2014: Masters of Business Administration from Ashland University — Ashland Ohio
  • 2014 – 2018: Marketing and communications industry, with a focus on social media strategy.
  • 2018 – present: full time blogging at whatmollymade.com

Notable Brand Mentions

I’ve had the honor of being featured online and even cooked on TV. It’s been so fun! Here are some of the awesome places I’ve been featured in the last 5 years.

Paradel | 30 Weight Loss Smoothies
Greatist | Best Holiday Pie Recipes
Buzzfeed | Comforting Recipes for when You’re Not Sure What to Make
Healthline | Lactation-Boosting Recipes
Men’s Journal | 5 Sheet Pan Dinners
Country Living | Best Vegan Thanksgiving Recipes
Style Caster | 17 Easy Make Ahead Breakfasts

I’ve also been featured on My Fitness Pal, Women’s Health, The Kitchn, Huffpost and Healthline.

Molly’s Favorite Recipes

More Recipes

A Bit about My PCOS Journey

Cook with me on Instagram
@what_mollymade

Let’s Connect!

We’d love to hear from you! If you have any comments, questions about recipes, or PCOS related questions, please email me at molly@whatmollymade.com. You can also find us on Instagram, Tik Tok, Youtube, Pinterest, and Facebook!

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