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I have to be honest, there are days that I just do not feel like cooking. After we (the family) had planned the weeks menu and prepped the food, I could not muster up the strength to cook. One night my oldest daughter asked, "Mom, do you want me to cook" and it was like I had an epiphany....This is why we are doing this. This is why Kitchen Lifestyles exist. To teach the family how to enjoy the time in the kitchen making healthy meals and memories. I gladly accepted the help and her creation was simple yet satisfying. Find her recipe below KY'S PASTA AND SHRIMP My other children must have caught the cooking bug because my son cooks breakfast on the regular and my other daughter begged her dad to teach her how to make scrambled eggs (check out the video below. So cute!) They put a smile on my face and I am happy to be rewarded the fruits of our labor. Mom gets a well deserved break and eats good food too!

I could not wait to post about our Christmas cookie craze! The Christmas season brings about an opportunity of multi-memory making experiences and we took advantage of ALL of them! Here are some of the pictures we took a long the way. We attended a Christmas cookie baking event on zoom with our church youth and had a blast making sugar cookies from scratch. HERE is the recipe if you want to try some for your own home. Why not make it a full out ginger bread decorating night with matching pj's of course!!! I must have been in the kitchen for more than 72 hrs over the week leading up to Christmas, but boy did I enjoy it. They did too and I hope the same for you and yours! MERRY CHRISTMAS 2020 & HAPPY NEW YEAR!

Instead of reaching for the take-out menu this weekend try fish. If fish is not a family pleaser, remember fish comes in all textures and flavors! Fish is naturally low in fat and high in brain health boosting Omega 3. Read more fish benefits HERE. Fish is simple, tasty and quick to make. You'll be happy you chose it over pizza, trust me, I always am. The picture features whiting fillet over a bed of spinach, onions, garlic, baby, carrots and cherry tomatoes. Cook time in the oven: 20 min!

Here’s the thing about Blogging…. What’s the point of all these great ideas and educational lessons if you can’t share them with people? The people (you) who usually navigate their way to my blog are interested in the things I am sharing. In my Technology in Nutrition course, I have met some amazing Nutrition professionals walking on the same path to health as we are. For this Blog I would like to introduce to you Amy Halfmann, the author of Aha Nutrition. She is a registered Dietitian and mom of four like me! Our blogs are incredibly similar from topics on quick and healthy meals for busy moms to encouraging cooking as a family. I love that she also directs her readers to the Plan to Eat app mentioned in my previous post. This app helps organize menu planning and creates a shopping list for you. Stop by Aha Nutrition Blog HERE and come back and let me know about your experience.

I found a new app that I am super excited to share with you! Plan to Eat is an Android and iPhone app that helps the busy family stay organized on their quest to plan healthy meals and create shopping lists. I love this app because you can personalize it with both, your favorite online recipes and recipes from that cookbook your grandmother gave you. You can decide when you would like to eat your recipes by placing them on your calendar and rotating them into your weekly meal plans. You plan the meals and the app creates a shopping list for you automatically based on the recipes in your planner. The app does require an annual fee of $39 or $4.95 /month after a 30 day trial period, but this seems worth it because you have access to your weekly menu wherever you go and the app does the thinking for you. All you need to do is put in your families favorite meals! Try it out and comment below to let me know what meal planning does for you.

With a growing family of 6, I have to shop strategically. Before shopping, I must check off the steps listed in my first post Menu Planning. 1) Check for foods I already have. 2) Plan 2-week menu 3) Check grocery store sales 4) Make grocery list 5) Know your food budget Explore weekly sales and incorporate them into your meals. For example: This week’s sale on whole wheat pasta is 2 for $2.00. Two boxes last 3 meals so I plan my menu to include pasta for 2 Dinners and 1 Lunch. Save $ on Food · Buy in Bulk · Buy IN SEASON produce · Shop Farmers Markets · Plant your own home garden BUY IN BULK Locate your closest produce market to buy food in bulk for wholesale. Cut out the middleman and middleman price. Just be sure you have some way to store the extra food! BUY IN SEASON/FARMERS MARKET Farmer’s Markets are my favorite way to buy produce. The local fruits/veggies taste fresh and you’re supporting farmers. These scrumptious morsels were purchased at Mattapan Farmers Market for $5.00 a shopping bagful! Click here to find a Farmer’s Market near you. COMMUNITY/HOME GARDEN Want to teach your children appreciation for where their food comes from? Community and home gardens are a great tool; If they don’t work, they don’t eat. We are removed from this way of thinking because it’s not taught. Ever consider where your produce has to travel from to get to you? Visit my podcast and stop by my YouTube video as I interview family on cooking together!

Have you ever felt your eyes roll into the back of your head when your family ask, "What's for dinner?" Or silently panic because you forgot to take the meat out of the freezer? Planning meals is not just a way to save money by ordering out less, it is a way to create organizational flow and avoid stress around food in the house. Create a menu with your family using a sample menu form ChooseMyPlate.gov. Have fun and leave a comment on how you did. Check out my podcast and video interviewing my daughter about her healthy values and what she likes about cooking with her family located on the home screen. Stay tuned for a food demo by myself and family and maybe even follow along with yours.