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The Best Meal Planning Apps of 2020

January 11, 2020 by Kristen 1 Comment

It’s a New Year, and it’s time to start off right. Is part of your New Years Resolution to get organized? Perhaps you want to get fit? Or maybe you want to save some money? If any of those are your goals, it’s time to start meal planning.

We are big proponents of meal planning here at The Kitchen Chalkboard. The benefits are huge. But starting out can be daunting, to say the least. There are so many ways to meal plan it’s hard to know what to do.

Technology to the rescue! We reviewed twelve different meal planning apps and the experience varied from life-changing to frustrating. Want to learn what the best meal planning apps of 2020 are?

Let’s go to The Chalkboard.

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Hosting a Roaring 20s Party? Then You Need 1920s Themed Party Food!

December 4, 2019 by Kristen Leave a Comment

What a better way than to ring in 2020 than with a roaring 20s party!

2019 is almost over! Can you believe it? Good or bad it’s always a great time to celebrate the new and usher out the old while. And with 2020 coming up, why not host a 1920s themed party?

I’m bet images of flappers and opulence immediately come to mind, but what about food? What the heck do you serve? I’ve got plenty of ideas for crowd-pleasing and easy 1920s themed party food plus shortcuts to save you time and money.

Let’s go to the Chalkboard.

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Black Friday Deals for Cooks

November 6, 2019 by Kristen Leave a Comment

Raise your hand if you love a good deal! I know I do! Especially around the holidays when you have a bunch of people to shop for. And Black Friday is a great way to save some money. But not all sales are worth it if the price isn’t right or the item is a dud. So how do you know what is worth your precious dollars? I’m here to help. Read on for the best Black Friday Deals for Cooks.

I’ve analyzed the circulars of most major retailers from the past few years to see what goes on sale. Then I did the research to see what’s the best items in each category. Below you will find the best Black Friday Deals for cooks.

Let’s go to the Chalkboard.

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Online Grocery Shopping Comparison

November 1, 2019 by Kristen Leave a Comment

Which Online Grocery Shopping Service is Right for You?

I needed to run to the store to grab a few things and I took the boys with me. As we were walking through the aisles my youngest said, “Woah they sell food here? This is unbelievable,” he marveled as we walked around. The women in the store were having a good laugh. It was at that moment that I realized just how much I grocery shop online.

I’m forever on the quest to simplify my life. I love to use technology to make things easier, and with two kids, it is a necessity. Based on my son’s reaction to the grocery store, one may even say I’ve gone too far. I’m not alone in my obsession. According to industry estimates, online grocers are said to be worth $100 billion by 2025.

That estimate was proof that I’m not alone in my thinking — online grocery shopping may just be the greatest invention ever. Being able to meal plan and shop anywhere, at any time? Amazing!

But which service should you use? After using three different services over the past few years, I have out these services to the test and learned their strengths and weaknesses. Want a comparison of three popular services, Amazon Fresh, Instacart, and Peapod?

Let’s go the Chalkboard.

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Gift Ideas for Cooks

October 31, 2019 by Kristen Leave a Comment

It’s that time of year! Oh, the holidays –the time when you wonder just what the heck to get everyone on your list! Some people are so easy to buy for like my husband who gets silly socks every year or my boys who only want Nintendo Switch games. But other people — oh boy, they are hard to shop for!

Well, if you have a cook in your life or just someone that loves to eat I’ve got the gift guide for you.

Let’s go to The Chalkboard.

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How to Avoid Metals in Baby Food

October 22, 2019 by Kristen Leave a Comment

When my firstborn was a baby, I was so concerned about everything. It’s so hard to be a parent. You want to do what’s best for your child and what’s best is not always known. One day something is the greatest idea ever, the next day it’s the worst. Like they say on Project Runway, “one day you’re in, the next you’re out.”

What I fed my kids was a big concern for me (no surprise there). What do I feed them, how much? I decided I would make their baby food with our loads of CSA veggies. I was so happy that my oldest son especially loved my sweet potatoes. So much so that his nose turned orange from all of the sweet potatoes he was eating! My pediatrician had a good laugh at that one. Now, at eight, he won’t touch a sweet potato! I can still remember googling “orange nose baby” at all hours of the night.

When I read the recent reports on high levels of metals in baby food I immediately thought, this is so concerning! What do you do? How do you avoid them? Is it even possible? I’ve done some research and yes, it is possible. I’m happy to say that it’s easy even!

Want to learn how to avoid metals in baby food?

Let’s go the Chalkboard.

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I Tried Seven Ancient Grains

October 18, 2019 by Kristen Leave a Comment

This summer the unthinkable happened. I got sick of cooking! I know, I know! The girl who loves to eat and can talk about food all day long got sick of cooking! But the spark was gone. I knew my family needed to be fed but just couldn’t think of what. Sick of the same old stuff, I needed to change things up.

So I went to trusty Pinterest for inspiration. I pinned and pinned and pinned recipes. When looking at the board, there was clearly a trend. It was full of grain salads. They were colorful and not too complicated and because of that, I was sold!

As I read the recipes, I saw ingredients I had never tried before — namely bulgur and farro. I found that they were ancient grains after a quick search. I was intrigued. What were they? Where could I find them? Most importantly how did they taste? I needed to know everything and as a result, I tried seven ancient grains.

Here’s what you need to know.

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How to Organize Your Recipes

October 16, 2019 by Kristen 4 Comments

I have been watching Tidying Up with Marie Kondo on Netflix obsessively and now have this unrelenting need to get organized and downsize. As I was purging closets and deciding what “sparks joy,” as Kondo advises one to do, I started thinking about the kitchen. (All roads to lead to the kitchen with me). How to organize recipes came to mind.

My first foray into organizing recipes was to simply create a folder on my computer and bookmark the recipe. Two clicks and it was saved. This method is great for its simplicity. It falls down a bit when you are looking for a recipe and you have no idea what it is called. You have to be online to access the website and rely on the recipe still being in the same location it was when you found it. I found, over time, websites shut down or recipes were placed behind a paywall making it difficult to access. There had to be a better way so off I went to find the best way to organize recipes.

I tried the Paprika Recipe Manager, Pepperplate, Pocket, and Pinterest. There are pros and cons to each one but to me, there is a standout method.

Which one is right for you?

Let’s go to the Chalkboard.

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How to Use Up Freezer Food

October 8, 2019 by Kristen Leave a Comment

Let’s be honest, how many times have you gone in your freezer and found something that you had no idea what it was? You couldn’t even remember the last time you bought or cooked that. If I am being honest, it’s too many to count for me.

Each time it happened I felt terribly guilty. I was just throwing away money I thought. It had to stop. So over the past few years, I have made a conscious effort to use up the food in my freezer. I’m happy to say I haven’t thrown anything away since.

Do you want to save money and stop throwing away food? Want to learn how to use up freezer food?

Let’s go to the Chalkboard.

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Join a CSA. Here’s Why

October 7, 2019 by Kristen Leave a Comment

A few years ago, my husband came home from work and told me some asking him about the CSA farm share we belong to. I was surprised, to say the least, as my carnivorous husband was discussing vegetables. This was the person that once suggested I may be “killing him with kale.” Someone went as far as to say, “he knows all about vegetables.” What the what?!?

This exchange, along with the many other benefits of a CSA, will have me forever singing its praises. If you like to eat, join a CSA. Want to learn all about it first?

Let’s go to the chalkboard.

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