March is National Nutrition Month! We’re featuring interviews with food industry experts who are parents with a focus on healthy, nutritious goodness for feeding our families.
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March is National Nutrition Month, a time to celebrate the power of wholesome food and how it fuels our families. For Sabrina Rudin, founder of Spring Café Aspen, that connection between food and well-being has been part of her life since childhood. Raised by a mom who was a pioneer in the natural foods movement, Sabrina’s earliest memories involve sprouting broccoli seeds, making almond milk from scratch, and helping in the kitchen. That foundation eventually led her to open Spring Café Aspen—an all-organic vegetarian restaurant with locations in Aspen and New York City—long before she became a mom herself.
Now a mother of three, Sabrina’s approach to food is deeply personal. She’s built her career around creating spaces where families can find nourishing, clean meals—both at her restaurants and through the recipes and advice she shares with her community. In this conversation, Sabrina opens up about how motherhood has reinforced her passion for clean eating, the simple rituals that help her family thrive, and the small swaps every parent can make to reduce toxins in their kitchen.
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Feeding Family, Feeding Community: A Conversation with Sabrina Rudin
Introduce Yourself: My name is Sabrina, and I’m an entrepreneur, writer and recipe developer in the food and wellness space. I’m the founder and owner of Spring Café Aspen, an organic and vegetarian restaurant concept with locations in Aspen and New York City. I am also a mom of 3: I have a three-year-old, a six-year-old, and a nine-year-old.
Your journey with Spring Cafe Aspen started before you became a mom. What inspired you to create the restaurant, and how has motherhood shaped your approach to food—both at home and in your business?
I grew up in a mostly vegetarian household with a mom who was way ahead of her time in the health food world. She healed herself from food allergies through holistic nutrition, and that lifestyle became part of our family. I remember soaking almonds overnight, peeling off the skins, and watching her make fresh almond milk before anyone was talking about plant-based diets.
When I moved to Aspen to teach snowboarding, I was desperate for nourishing, fresh food to fuel long days outside—but I couldn’t find anything like that in town. I kept waiting for someone to open the kind of place I wanted to eat at, and eventually, I realized—why not me? That’s how Spring Cafe Aspen was born.
Motherhood didn’t change the mission—it just reinforced how important it is. When you’re raising your own kids, you see firsthand how what they eat affects their mood, behavior, and overall well-being. It’s made me even more committed to creating a space where families can trust that every option is clean, organic, and made with care.
You grew up helping in the kitchen. Do your own kids like to get involved with cooking now?
They definitely do—each in their own way. My three-year-old loves washing produce. He stands at the sink and soaks everything in grapefruit seed extract, scrubbing away. My six-year-old is the most into cooking start to finish—he’ll follow a whole recipe with me. The nine-year-old prefers quick wins—he’s our smoothie maker. He loves to make a Peanut Butter Berry Blast smoothie at home, and it’s one that we have on our menu at Spring.
Cooking is such a natural part of our family life. It’s always been the central room in our home, and I love seeing them find their own ways to participate.
What’s your earliest memory of helping out in the kitchen, and how did your mom’s approach to food influence you?
The kitchen was always the heart of our home. My mom was constantly sprouting seeds, making nut milk, or experimenting with recipes alongside friends from the raw foods movement. I was always curious and hanging around, but I really got into it when I was old enough to make breakfast for my family.
I remember sneaking downstairs in middle school to make French toast with gluten-free bread and egg scrambles, cutting strawberries, and setting out fancy dishes to surprise my parents. Cooking became my way of showing love—something that’s carried through my whole life. Food is definitely my love language.
What are some of your go-to weeknight meals for busy families?
We rely a lot on themed nights—like Taco Tuesday or pasta night. For tacos, I’ll set out rice, beans, veggies, and a couple of protein options—sometimes tofu, sometimes turkey meatballs—so everyone can assemble their own plate. Pasta night works the same way: one kid likes pesto, another likes garlic and oil, and someone else wants tomato sauce. It’s not about cooking separate meals—it’s about giving them options within the same meal.
Another trick is making part of dinner earlier in the day—like a soup or grain salad—so it’s ready to go when things get hectic later.
Clean eating is such a big part of your mission. What are a few small, realistic swaps parents can make to reduce toxins in their family’s food?
The biggest thing is to buy organic whenever possible, especially for the Dirty Dozen produce items. If you can’t buy everything organic, prioritize the most heavily sprayed fruits and vegetables.
Also, switching cooking oils makes a huge difference. Try to avoid canola and vegetable oils and use olive oil, avocado oil, or coconut oil instead. And cutting back on refined sugar—replacing it with coconut sugar, maple syrup, or date syrup—can have a big impact on how kids feel and behave.
One little tip: produce stickers always have a number. If it starts with a 9, it’s organic!
What are some favorite dishes from Spring Cafe Aspen that have been surprise hits with kids?
The Chickpea Tuna Pita is a huge hit—two of my three kids love it. And the Superhero Burrito has been our bestseller since the day we opened. It’s what I was craving when I first thought of opening Spring—a healthy breakfast burrito with eggs or tofu, veggies, and salsa. We make so many of them every day, and my kids always request it.
What’s a cooking skill you think every home cook should practice?
Getting comfortable with seasoning by instinct instead of exact measurements. Start small—drizzle olive oil, add tamari, a little lemon, and taste as you go. Cooking doesn’t have to be an exact science—it’s more about confidence and playing with flavors.
Life as a mom and business owner can get chaotic. Do you have any daily rituals that help you reset?
Surfing is my go-to whenever I can sneak away. Even in the winter, I’ll get in the water. But when I can’t do that, I try to pause and ask myself: Is this really a problem, or just something uncomfortable? That little mental shift helps me face whatever challenge is in front of me.
What’s one small joy in your everyday life that brings you happiness?
Feeding people—whether it’s my family, friends, or customers at Spring. There’s something so powerful about nourishing someone with food—it’s my love language, and always will be.
