If you’ve ever stood in your kitchen, hungry and unmotivated, wondering what on earth to make—Caro Chambers has your back. Author of What to Cook When You Don’t Feel Like Cooking and queen of no-fuss, deliciously simple meals, Caro brings the perfect mix of ease, flavor, and fun to everything she touches. So when we had the chance to team up on a nut butter collab, we knew exactly what the world needed: something snackable, sweet-salty, and effortlessly satisfying.

Enter: Salted Maple nut butter, our latest limited-edition flavor made in collaboration with Caro and featuring Jacobsen Sea Salt. Read on to hear our chat with Caro about her favorite low-effort meals, and the inspiration behind our cozy, craveable new flavor.

Tell us a little about you!

I’m a mom of three living in Carmel Valley, CA with my three boys! Baby #4 on the way in July. I’m from Winston-Salem, NC and met my husband, George at UNC Chapel Hill. I write What To Cook When You Don’t Feel Like Cooking, a popular Substack, and my cookbook by the same title published this past August!

What was the inspiration for Salted Maple?

 I love using maple syrup as a natural sweetener – anyone who’s cooked my recipes knows that! It’s such a delicious, rich sweetness. That sweetness paired with Jacobsen flaky salt hits all the right notes for such a craveable nut butter. My boys helped every single step of the way during the development process of this nut butter and I have to say, we nailed it – it’s the perfect balance of sweet and salty. 

What do you do for work? Tell us about your professional journey.

I’m a professional recipe developer! I share recipes on Instagram and Substack, and in cookbooks! 

How do you stay motivated?

I am so motivated by the community I’ve built – which is made up of busy people who still like to eat really good food. Everytime I hear about someone feeling proud that they still cooked their family a healthy meal while solo parenting, or after a long day at the office, or had their in-laws over and impressed them so much with one of my recipes, I feel so, so proud.

Do you have any advice for someone who is interested in starting a business/blog? 

Just do it. Stop overthinking it. Your logo doesn’t need to be perfect, your first post doesn’t have to win a Pulitzer. Just launch. 

What are your favorite ways to #spreadgood in your community?

When my now 6-year-old was 2 and in his first preschool class, I was on the phone with my mom and I was telling her that I wished I had time to be a room parent (aka the liaison between the class parents and the teacher, responsible for teacher gifts, class parties, etc), but with my work schedule and how much I travel, I just couldn’t pull it off. She was like “I love you honey, but your busy isn’t any more important than anyone else’s busy.” I immediately signed up to be a room parent and haven’t missed a year since. We have three kids, and another on the way, so my husband and I actually each take a different room, and we’ve decided we’ll rotate through the kids every year. I love, love, love being involved in our public school community and finding ways to celebrate the teachers and the school system.

Who is one person who inspires you and why?

 My husband. He was a Navy SEAL and now he’s an entrepreneur and he brings the exact same hustle that he did to the SEAL community to his business. He is legitimately the hardest worker in the entire world and it’s so inspiring to be in his presence. He makes me work harder for my career and our family every single day.

How do you work to stay centered and practice self-care in your busy day-to-day reality?

Ha, good question after answering that last one! Child care! People are always like “how do you do it all?!” and i am quick to tell them – I don’t!! I have a ton of help, and I don’t want anyone out there to think that I’m building this career without having a lot of help running my household and helping with the kids. Three different drop offs, three different pickups, extra-curriculars, I absolutely would not be able to do all of this without help. 

What do you like to do for fun, when you aren't working?

 I live in Carmel Valley, CA, surrounded by the stunning California wilderness. My friends and I hike a lot. When I’m not 30 weeks pregnant, I hike 3 to 4 mornings a week, before I start my workday. 

What are some of your favorite recipes with Ground Up?

What I love about our Salted Maple flavor is that you can go savory or sweet. I love making my world (OK, newsletter) famous peanut sauce with it by stirring in soy sauce, sriracha, and lime juice. I also love a big scoop of it in a parfait with Greek yogurt, strawberry jam, and granola. But most of all – I love eating it by the spoonful, straight out of the jar. 

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