Here’s a hint: a pizza cutter can be used for more than just pizza

When it comes to feeding a crew of hungry kids, we’ve never met a shortcut we didn’t like. This is why, it being the season of busy weeknights and early bedtimes, we want to give you as many cooking hacks (scooped from resourceful parents everywhere) as possible. From meal-prep advice to the easiest way to get an egg that peels with ease, here are 36 clever food and cooking shortcuts that’ll save you tons of time. 

Pizza Cutter for Herbs

using a pizza cutter on herbs is a clever cooking hack
iStock

Having fresh herbs in the house is nice for creating marinades, dressings, and more, but finely chopping those herbs can be difficult. The good news is, there’s a way to make the process easy. Place the herbs on a cutting board, and roll a pizza cutter through them. Don't worry about cutting in a perfect line, just roll through the bunch as many times as you want.  

Peeling a Mango

cooking hacks: how to peel a mango
Fedor via Unsplash

The skin of a mango is pretty thick, and the peeling process usually involves careful knife skills. We found another way to get that pesky skin off with ease. All you need to do is slice the mango in half and grab a tall glass. Using the rim of the glass, get between the skin and the fruit at the bottom of the slice. Push down, and the skin will slide right off. Voila! You've got a perfectly peeled mango.

Steam Eggs Instead of Boiling Them

Morgane Perraud via Unsplash

Boiled eggs can be a challenge to peel, but if you steam them over boiled water for 10-15 minutes, the shell will come off in no time.  

Add an Ice Cube to Sautéing Onions to Avoid Burning

Cooking hack: add an ice cube to sauteing onions so they don't burn
Simona Sergi via Unsplash

If your onions are on the verge of burning, throw an ice cube into the pan. It'll evaporate quickly and give the veggies a hint of moisture to avoid being overcooked. 

Store Partially Chopped Veggies in The Freezer

a good cooking hack is storing partially chopped vegetables in the freezer
Ashish Ansurkar via Unsplash

Have you ever just chopped half a stalk of celery or bulb of cauliflower, and had to put it back in the fridge where it immediately starts to wilt? If you want to keep your partially chopped veggies fresh, we recommend putting them right in the freezer. This locks in the freshness, and they’ll be ready to jump into the frying pan after a little defrosting time.

Shred Chicken in Your Food Processor

Shutterstock

From tacos to salads, casseroles, and beyond, shredded chicken is a staple for family meals. But shredding it all by hand or with a pair of forks can take forever! Amazingly, there’s a quick fix for that—just toss boiled or baked chicken breasts in your mixer, and you’ll have expertly shredded chicken in seconds.

Put Water in Your Microwave to Preserve the Moisture

iStock

Whether it’s leftovers or meal-prepped treats, your microwave is a powerful tool. But you’re always at risk of drying out your food when you use it. We’ve got a simple way to avoid that. Toss a glass of water into the microwave with your food to give it a little extra moisture.

Freeze Sauce in Ice Cube Trays

iStock

We’re all about making cooking easier. With this meal-prep hack, you’ll be able to create perfectly portioned sauces days or weeks in advance and use them whenever you want. Just mix up your favorite sauces, put the liquid in your ice trays and freeze. Keep the portions frozen until you're ready to use them.

Boil Potatoes for an Easy Peel

Jaye Haych via Unsplash

From fries to mashed potatoes and chips, everybody LOVES potatoes. But, for a lot of recipes, peeling the potatoes is a must, and using a potato peeler or knife can be time-consuming and difficult. We have an easy fix! Boil the potatoes, let them cool, and the skin will peel off in seconds.

Try Silicone Baking Sheets

using a silicone baking sheet is a good cooking hack
Amazon

Do you hate cleaning cookie sheets? We know that cleaning them can be difficult because the grease and grime are baked in deep. Using a silicone baking sheet, which makes removing all of your tasty morsels as easy as pie, will change your life. We like this one

Related: 15 Genius Kitchen Organization Hacks

Use Lemon Slices as a Base for Grilled Fish

Agto Nugroho via Unsplash

Your filet of salmon will stay intact much easier if you line it with slices of lemon. Plus, the juices will seep up, making a flavorful dinner. See one of our favorite recipes here

Put Marshmallows in Your Brown Sugar

storing marshmallows with brown sugar to keep it soft is a cool cooking hack
Shutterstock

Brown sugar is a baking necessity for cookies, cupcakes, and pies, but unlike white sugar, it can dry out very quickly, which means you’ll be stuck breaking up hard blobs of sugar when you want to use it. But, there’s an easy fix for this. All you need to do is throw a few marshmallows into the airtight container with your brown sugar to conserve the moisture and make it easy to scoop.

Separating Strawberry Tops

Call Me Fred via Unsplash

Strawberries are healthy and delicious. But chopping the green tuffs off the top of every piece of fruit takes so long! Use this fun trick to get them off without a knife: Take a straw and push it from the bottom of the fruit to the top in one swift motion—it'll pop those little green leaves right off.

Flatten Ground Meat

ground beef, which can be flattened to freeze, a genius cooking hack
iStock

No matter how hard you try, it seems like there’s never enough freezer space. We have a fun way to help you create extra room. Take your ground beef out of its package, put it in a Ziploc bag, flatten it, and put it back in the freezer; you'll be surprised by the extra open space. You can also write the expiration dates on the bags to make sure your meat is always fresh.

Cut Corn Over Your Bundt Cake Tin

Mohd Hafiz Yahya via Unsplash

Let’s face it, chopping fresh corn is a pain, mostly because the kernels get all over the counter. But there’s a way to make sure it never happens again. Grab your bundt cake tin, flip it upside down, stand the corn up in the middle, and slice the kernels off; they’ll fall perfectly into that round tin, so cleaning up is a breeze!

Stabilize Your Cutting Board

Samantha Fields via Unsplash

Slicing and dicing are a big part of cooking, which means you’re always reaching for the cutting board. But it’s important to make sure that it isn’t slipping and sliding all over the place, so make it stable by putting a damp dishtowel underneath it. It'll keep it in place and make clean-up even easier. 

Cupcake Liner Catches Popsicle Drips

Allison Sutcliffe

Popsicles are a childhood fave, but they can turn into a bit of a sticky mess. Prevent all of that dripping by slipping cupcake liners onto the bottom of your kids' popsicles. Slide the liner up so that it cups the bottom of the popsicle to make sure it catches all of those little drips.

Cut Cheesecake with Dental Floss

using floss to cut cheesecake is a smart cooking hack
Karolina Kołodziejczak via Unsplash

Cheesecake is a dessert that kids and parents love, but cutting it equally can be difficult. Well, we've got an easy way to slice it perfectly every time. Try using dental floss. Just make sure the dental floss is unscented, so you don’t get a minty surprise with your dessert.  

Grate Your Butter

using a cheese grater on butter is a cooking hack
Shutterstock

Softened butter is a staple for all bakers out there, but putting solid butter in the microwave isn’t always the best way to get that soft consistency you're looking for. Try grating it with a cheese grader instead.

Use White Bread on Your Birthday Cake

iStock

Birthday cake is yummy, but when the party’s over, you're left with half a cake that'll be stale by tomorrow. What if there was a way to preserve this delectable sugar overload? Try putting slices of white bread on the interior sections of the cake where you cut into it—the bread locks in moisture.

Use Cookie Molds for Fun Food

Maja II via Unsplash

No matter what time of year it is, you can always use cookie cutters. And they can be used for much more than just cookies. You can also use them to create pancakes or eggs with designs like flowers, cartoon characters, and more. 

Related: 30 Storage Hacks Every Parent Needs

Make Oatmeal in Your Rice Cooker

Alex Motoc via Unsplash

Oatmeal is a warm alternative to cold cereal, but it does take a little more time to make in the morning. Try using your rice cooker to make the oatmeal instead. This way, you don’t need to worry about watching, stirring or remembering to turn off the stove. Just put everything inside, and within minutes you’ve got scrumptious oatmeal.

Use an Apple Corer to Make French Fries

Lisa Carpenter

An apple corer/slicer can instantly transform a plain potato into everyone's favorite side. That's right, you can make homemade fries in a snap with a utensil you may already have in your kitchen drawer. Grandma's Brief has all the delicious details.

 

Freeze Herbs in Ice Trays

freezing herbs in an ice tray is a good cooking hack to use
Shutterstock

Want fresh basil, thyme, and rosemary all year long? No problem. This cooking hack is worthy of Martha Stewart, sans the effort. Just put fresh herbs in ice trays, add oil, and freeze. Freezing the herbs in oil also prevents them from turning brown or getting that dreaded freezer burn. 

 

A Thrifty Mom

Wedges are so 2022. No, not the ones you wear on your feet; those are still fabulous. We're talking about watermelon wedges. Instead of slicing the melon into wide wedges that inevitably get juice all over everyone's face and chin, cut the fruit in half, then slice it in a grid. You'll get evenly sized slices that each have just enough rind on the bottom for little hands to grab.

 

Cut Pancakes with a Pizza Cutter

Cook and Craft Me Crazy

The trusted pizza slicer really is a mom's best friend. From sandwiches to pancakes, you can use this snazzy slicer to save time and messes. 

 

Cook Eggs in the Oven

Nick Evans

It is a literal Egg McMuffin. Nick of Macheesmo shows us how to make a breakfast sandwich even more amazing by simply baking the eggs in a muffin tin. Best part? You can add other ingredients to the eggs (think spinach, ham, cheese) and then freeze the whole thing for busy on-the-go mornings. Find the original recipe here and the updated version here.

 

Frozen Grapes Taste Great

grapes, can be frozen for a snack, which is a great cooking hack
J Yeo via Unsplash

Pop grapes into the freezer for a sweet and crunchy treat that tastes like candy. A refreshing snack any time of the year, this is also a great way to make sure you always have fruit on hand.

 

Use Magnets to Keep Water Cups Handy

Dana Williard via Made Every Day

Talk about having a “why didn’t I think of that” moment. If your kids are anything like ours, then you probably go through a few water cups every day. Cut down on needless dishes with this awesome cup hack from Dana over at Made Everyday.

 

Related: 23 Life-Saving House Cleaning Hacks

Cut Up Noodles

Christine Sandu via Unsplash

Use your noodle: Cut up spaghetti, linguine, and ramen with scissors. Smaller bites and shorter bits will ease frustration at the dinner table and make after-dinner clean-up easier.  

 

DIY Uncrustables

Jill Nystol via One Good Thing

You like the idea of making PB&J (or some "other butter" and jelly) ahead of time but don't really know how to make a good freezer version. Good news! One Good Thing by Jillee explains the how-to and shows you how to seal that sandwich—no fancy gear needed.

 

Coffee Filters as Snack Containers

Kimberly Harris via The Nourishing Gourmet

A brilliantly simple idea from The Nourishing Gourmet, swap out plastic baggies or even bulky reusables in favor of a biodegradable coffee filter. Psst! If you’ve gone Keurig, we’re betting you’ve got a box of these collecting dust somewhere in your kitchen.

 

Ice Cube Trays as Snack Holders

Jennifer Bishop

Having a stash of snacks is a must for every parent. But, having a bunch of different canisters, bags, and boxes on hand is difficult for travel and storage. Well, we’ve got the perfect hack for you! Try using silicone ice cube trays as snack trays for at home or on car trips.

Use Binder Clips in the Fridge and Freezer

If you need an easy way to keep all of your favorite munchies fresh in the fridge, may we suggest binder clips? Yes, you read that right. Grab some binder clips, and clip all of your bags of food directly onto the rungs of each shelf. This saves space and keeps everything nice and fresh. This works for bags in the freezer as well. 

Mealtime with toddlers can sometimes feel like a game of chess, especially when vegetables are on the table. At times you may find yourself dodging carrots catapulted by knights, while other times an all-out stalemate leaves both players exhausted and unsure of the next move. And while walking away from the game might seem like the easiest way out, we assure you there are plenty of creative ways to feed your toddler greens that don’t involve a complicated strategy.

According to the American Academy of Pediatrics, toddlers should be consuming 3-5 servings of vegetables per day (roughly ¼ cup portions). But since the growth-rate slows and a need for independence starts around age 1, the AAP suggests approaching mealtime with flexibility and variety to give your child choices while they learn about different foods and avoid putting pressure on your child that could result in a negative relationship with food.

While flexibility is key, there are a few basic rules that parents should aim to enforce and model.

Stay Seated During Meals

When it comes to young children, safety during mealtime is imperative to prevent choking hazards, so the staying seated during meals rule should be followed whenever possible. It’s also a great way to help children focus on their meal, learn table manners and participate in quality family time.

Adhere to a Regular Meal and Snack Routine

Children thrive on routines that give them a sense of security while helping them learn what is expected from them each day. So just like a bedtime routine helps a child understand when it’s time to wind down for the day and prepare for a restful night’s sleep, meal and snack routines establish healthy eating habits that help children recognize hunger cues and the nutritional needs of their bodies.

photo: iStock

Eat from All Food Groups

Meals should be balanced and offer foods from all five food groups. And more importantly, toddlers should be encouraged to eat from all food groups at every meal. It might seem like you’re being flexible to let your child skip an entire food group at a meal, and sure, that may be okay here and there, but too often may risk your child not getting enough of an important set of nutrients.

Even equipped with these rules, it can be tough to put them into play when your child is refusing to eat their greens.

Having recently parented two toddlers, I know first-hand how confusing and frustrating the ups and downs of their dietary preferences can be. Some days toddlers may devour an entire head of broccoli, while on others, they look at it with total disgust. That leaves parents with two choices: Fight against it or join the game and get creative—and perhaps a little sneaky, too. I chose the latter and am sharing a few tried and tested recipes to help you incorporate greens into your toddler’s diet.

  • This 4 ingredient Spinach Mango Banana Green Smoothie may have leafy greens in it, but masked by bananas and sweet mangoes, your toddler won’t be the wiser.
  • These Fruit and Veggie Bug Snacks may not be hiding the veggies from your toddler, but your toddler will have a hard time resisting veggies that look this cute, especially when they get to help prepare them.
  • When you’re in a rush, getting as many food groups as possible into one bite can be a lifesaver, so it doesn’t get much easier than these Mini Broccoli Cheddar Bites that your toddler will love.
  • Sorry, potatoes don’t count as a “green,” but cauliflower most definitely does, and switching out the spuds in these Cauliflower Mashed Potatoes with Bacon and Cheese will trick any toddler into eating cruciferous veggies.
  • We don’t know one toddler who would turn down a popsicle, so feel good about offering these bright Fruit and Veggie Popsicles to your little one this summer
  • Kids will love dipping these familiar-shaped Carrot and Zucchini Fries into a side of ranch or hummus.
  • Pasta is almost always a hit with toddlers, so the next time you’re serving up spaghetti and meatballs, top it with this delicious Hidden Vegetable Spaghetti Sauce (use this sauce for pizza, too!).

I hope that these tips and recipes will get you on your way to successful eating habits with your toddler!

—Candace Nagy

 

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Bored with your current dinner faves? Take a trip to Thailand! Thai cuisine is very kid-friendly with lots of rice, noodles and meat dishes that make it easy to incorporate newer flavors like sweet chili and curry. Keep scrolling to find simple Thai food recipes the entire family will enjoy (and that whip up in a flash).

Pad Kee Mao

Gimme Some Oven

This drunken noodle recipe from Gimme Some Oven is definitely family friendly, despite the name. Made without alcohol, the noodle-meat-veggie dish is polished off with a delicious sauce made with Thai basil, giving it that extra kick. 

Thai Garlic Fried Shrimp

Christie at Home

Quick dinner to the rescue! Less spicy than other versions, this Thai garlic fried shrimp from Christie at Home comes together in just 30 minutes and uses amazing aromatics like sesame oil and green onions.

Thai Mango Sweet Sticky Rice

Joyous Apron

Get ready for your kids to devour this dish! Joyous Apron has a delicious recipe that combines sticky rice, coconut sauce and fresh mango into this plate-licking dessert.

Thai Sweet Chili Peanut Noodles

Rasa Malaysia

It takes just four ingredients and 15 minutes to get this recipe from Rasa Malaysia on the table. Even better? You can use American ingredients you probably already have on hand, like spaghetti noodles!

Thai Basil Pork

Leite's Culinaria

Fifteen minutes for dinner? Pass the pork, please! Leite's Culinaria has an uber easy that uses ground pork, chili, Thai basil and fish sauce that results in a takeout-worthy dish.

Vegetarian Thai Green Curry

Chelsea's Messy Apron

You can skip the meat in this chick pea-based curry dish from Chelsea's Messy Apron. Made with snow peas and butternut squash that are easily concealed under warm green curry, your kids will hardly realize they're racking up veggie points.

Pad Thai

Feasting at Home

Pad Thai has appeared on a "World's 50 Best Foods" list and with good reason: it's easy, flavorful and super kid friendly. This easy version from Feasting at Home comes together in 15 minutes of cook time and even uses ingredients you can find at American grocers.

Thai Fried Rice

A Spicy Perspective

Show us a kiddo who doesn't love fried rice! This tasty recipe from A Spicy Perspective brings together classic fried rice ingredients like egg and green onion, with a splash of curry to make it totally Thai.

Chicken Massaman Curry

Family Favorite Recipes

If you family is ready to dig into red curry, Chicken Massaman is the place to start. Favorite Family Recipes shares a mild yet savory recipe using massaman curry paste, chicken and veggies that kids won't be able to turn down.

 

Gai Yang

Rasa Malaysia

Perfect for summer, Thai BBQ Chicken is a crowd pleaser and a nice twist on traditional chicken dishes. Rasa Malaysia's recipe uses chicken wings, sweet chili sauce, sriracha and cilantro resulting in both a sweet and savory meal that can easily be adjusted for picky palates. 

Thai Iced Tea

Hungry Huy

No ice tea compares to this rich, Thai version. Hungry Huy shares a recipe that uses steeped tea, sweetened condensed milk and crushed ice that rivals any you'd find in a restaurant.

Banana Roti

Hot Thai Kitchen

Let's hear it for Thai Banana Pancakes! This street vendor fave requires a little bit of prep work, but the kids will be begging you to whip up this recipe from Hot Thai Kitchen forever after devouring their first bite.

––Karly Wood

 

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I scream, you scream, and living in sunny SoCal, we all scream, in perpetuity, for ice cream. All that volume is not for naught either, LA has responded to our cries, offering a wide variety of shops serving up some of the finest frozen treats fit for any family.

Does your kiddo crave breakfast cereal all hours of the day? Grape-Nuts, Fruity Pebbles and Cinnamon Toast Crunch are blended into creamy concoctions at two establishments on this list. Have you seen rolled ice cream that could pass for a bouquet of flowers? The chilled dessert from Thailand is available in our city. In search of the perfect scoop of vanilla ice cream? We found it and the secret might be cane sugar. Velvety smooth Italian gelato your thing? This DTLA spot will have you and the kids saying grazie. 

Van Leeuwen

Carter Jung

Vanilla is the cheese pizza of ice creams. It’s a blank canvas that with the proper additions can be turned into art. At least, that’s what our family thought until we tried the vanilla bean at Van Leeuwen. Cajoled by a scooper to try the typically beige flavor, we were impressed by their incredibly nuanced and flavorful take on vanilla. Using choice ingredients that include cane sugar, it is the best scoop of vanilla we’ve ever tasted, as are their chocolate and strawberry options. With flavor combinations becoming wilder than a three-year old’s imagination at many boutique creameries, sometimes a familiar ice cream crafted to perfection is everything you need.

Locations: Silver Lake, Platform Culver City, Franklin Village, The Arts District, The Point in El Segundo & via a food truck on Abbott Kinney most weekends
Online: vanleeuwenicecream.com

Scoops

Taking the kiddos to Scoops is a mini-adventure. With the exception of one consistent flavor, they change out their ice cream selection daily, creating a delightful sense of discovery with every visit. Tai Kim, the founder, chemist and Willy Wonka of all things frozen, pulls from a recipe library that is seemingly endless, churning out micro-batches of inventive flavors such as lychee-strawberry, horchata-burnt sugar, blueberry lavender tea, coconut peanut butter pretzel or chocolate-Guinness (made with the actual beer!). No two visits will ever see the same exact flavors, which includes vegan, dairy-free options made of oat milk.

Each “one scoop" at Scoops actually comes with two. Our rec is to go with their daily fixture, Brown Bread—vanilla swirled with caramel and Grape-Nuts cereal—for one scoop and exploring a new flavor for the other. Don’t be afraid to be bold, either. The creamy, not too heavy of a base, deftly mixed in with whatever wild flavors strikes Kim’s fancy that day never-ever disappoints, helping Scoops edge out the other incredible establishments on this list as our family’s top ice cream shop.

LA Locations: Highland Park, Chinatown & Torrance
Online: instagram.com/scoopsbic

Gelateria Uli

I once spent a week in Milan for work and ate gelato every single day. On really rough days, twice a day. When I returned to LA, I experienced withdrawals and went on a hunt to find gelato comparable to what I consumed in embarrassing amounts in Italy. After many false leads, I found Gelateria Uli. Their stracciatella scratched an itch I otherwise thought would require a 13-hour flight. Better yet, if you’re at their original Spring Street Arcade location in DTLA, if you squint a bit, the atrium court with its hanging lights could almost pass for Europe. Almost. But then again, who would want to go across the pond when you can have local-inspired flavors like horchata or vegan California pistachio.

LA Locations: Mid-City & DTLA
Online: gelateriauli.com

Bae

This Little Tokyo outpost whips up intensely flavorful soft serve ice cream in a form factor optimized for photography -- strikingly colored frozen cream artfully swirled in a cup or cone makes for the perfect prop. If you’re going for a B&W monotone mood, the charcoal pineapple and vanilla swirl on a charcoal cone is the look. If pink and baby blue are your colors, or if breakfast cereals are a thing for your small ones, the Pegasus combines their Cinnamon Toast Crunch and Fruity Pebble for a combo that pops. If you feel like flexing for our newly stacked Lakers team -- welcome home, Russell Westbrook -- the Ube and Mango combo will have you repping purple and gold in a handheld, edible form.

369 E 2nd St.
Los Angeles
Online: baebae.co

McConnell’s Fine Ice Cream

Founded in Santa Barbara in 1949, McConnell’s has been serving honest ice cream for over 70 years. Fillers, artificial flavors, colorings and other industrial food processes have given way to fresh, simple ingredients sourced from Central Coast farmers. In 1975, McConnell’s purchased their own dairy farm in Santa Barbara that now produces milk exclusively for their ice cream. Control of their supply chain and passion for quality comes through in every scoop of ice cream they serve. Vibrant seasonings tempered with a creamy, sweet base results in choices such as chocolate covered strawberries, Eureka lemon and marionberries, or peppermint stick that the whole family will enjoy.

LA Locations: DTLA, Studio City & Pacific Palisades
Online: mcconnells.com

Mateo’s Ice Cream and Fruit Bars

For Angelinos, no visit to the park would be complete without the ringing bells of vendors selling paletas from their hand-pushed carts. The refreshing fruit popsicles are an affordable counteragent for kids heated from running around the playground. Mateo’s has elevated the humble paleta, tapping a wide range of tropical ingredients such as mango, hibiscus and guava with traditional flavors such as strawberry, lemon and watermelon in a spectrum of colors so vivid, it would make Crayola blush. For parents who are fans of Mexican candy or spice in general, try their mango or cucumber peppered with chile. The firey kick is a nice juxtaposition to the chilled pop.

Locations: Mid-City, Pico-Union, Sawtelle & Culver City
Online: mateosicecreamla.com

Somi Somi

Has your little one ever asked what a fish eating its own body weight in ice cream would look like? Somisomi takes a freshly baked “ah-boong,” Korean for a fish-shaped pastry (that tastes nothing like a fish), lines the inside with an insulative filling (sweet red beans, custard, taro, Nutella), and loads it with soft serve ice cream pouring out of its doughy mouth. The warm, slightly crisped cone and creamy frosted stuffing are a delicious contrast, and the cartoonish packaging is sure to please the kids (and this adult).

LA Locations: Little Tokyo, Koreatown, Santa Monica, Sawtelle, Glendale, Long Beach, Torrance, & Santa Clara

Online: somisomi.com

Holy Roly Ice Cream

In hot and humid Thailand, for a few local baht, street vendors will pour a creamy liquid onto a chilled, thin metal pan and dice in fruits and ingredients of your choosing. As the mix starts to cool and congeal, the craftsmen spread the blend into a thin, spackle-like coating. The sheet rapidly freezes and is scraped and rolled like a rug, and neatly arranged in a cup resembling a bouquet of flowers. Holy Roly Ice Cream has brought that Thai tradition to our city, offering Western ingredients such as marshmallows, graham crackers, Oreos and Reese’s Peanut Butter Cups.

LA Locations: Koreatown, Melrose & Arcadia
Online: holyroly.com

Jeni’s Splendid Ice Creams

I first heard about Jeni’s on another work trip to Columbus, Ohio, ten years or so ago. The locals raved about a neighborhood ice cream parlor that turned out fantastic scoops. They were right. The smooth creams with fun ingredients were fantastic. Fast forward a few years and the frozen dessert from the Buckeye State has won over the we-scream-for-ice-cream LA, garnering fans for its signature and limited edition flavors. Now with five locations in LA, it’s easy to see what’s so splendid about Jeni’s.

LA Locations: Los Feliz, Venice, Larchmont, Playa Vista & Calabasas
Online: jenis.com

Salt & Straw

When Salt & Straw first landed in Los Angeles, the Portland export opened to much fanfare and for good reason. They craft scrumptious ice cream. It begins with dairy from grass-fed cows free of hormones and antibiotics. Their artisans add locally sourced ingredients, including seasonal fruits and herbs to produce flavors that rotate on a monthly basis. Wild-foraged berry slab pie and goat cheese marionberry habanero are a few mouth-watering examples that are a mouthful to say. If your young ones are daring, check them out during Halloween. Crickets, mealworms and pig’s blood have been some of the components used in past spooky seasons. If you fear forever ruining ice cream for your clan, there’s always chocolate gooey brownie or mint chocolate chip from their Classic Flavors list.

LA Locations: Larchmont, Abbot Kinney, Arts District & Studio City
Online: saltandstraw.com

–Carter Jung

featured photo: via Carter Jung

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A grownup take on the classic bomb pop? Sign us up! The ever-popular Jeni’s Splendid Ice Creams is releasing a new collection called “Ice Cream Truck Flavors,” but much like chasing the truck, you can only get them for a limited time.

Starting July 8, you can find a new flavor each week online and in scoop shops. First up is the Rocket Pop, buttermilk ice cream with a tart and creamy blueberry pineapple swirl. Mango Cheesecake Swirl drops on July 14, followed by Orange Freeze on July 22, High Five Candy Bar on July 29 and Golden Nectar on August 5. The last one is rumored to taste like a chilled summer chai!

If you don’t live near a scoop shop, you can buy the full collection and have it shipped to your house, thanks to the wonders of modern delivery services. It’s a lot less sweaty than running after the ice cream man, too.

Jeni’s Splendid Ice Creams burst onto the scene in 2002 in Columbus, Ohio. Today it’s a Certified B corporation with 58 scoop shops and distribution in top grocery stores across the country. With flavors ranging from Fluffernutter Pie to Sweet Cream Biscuits and Peach Jam, there’s a unique combo for everyone!

—Sarah Shebek

Featured image courtesy of Jen’s Splendid Ice Creams

 

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Sponsored by Creative Roots

 

Between trips to the playground, games in the backyard, fun crafting and maybe even a little gardening, summertime is filled with exciting times for kids to be creative. While kids are out exploring, it’s important for them to stay hydrated—especially in the summer heat. But, as any parent knows, kids can be a little forgetful, especially when it comes to hydration.

One way to help them remember to hydrate: Give them something that’s delicious and helps keep them hydrated! Creative Roots is a plant-powered coconut water beverage that comes in flavors that kids love. With one gram of sugar, it’s a solution that both you and your kids can get on board with! Keep reading to see how seven moms are using Creative Roots to help their families stay hydrated and power their family fun this summer:

Courtney Williams

When summer rolls around for Houston-based mom Courtney Williams, all routines go out the door! To help her kids stay active, the Williams family heads to a nearby trail and packs Creative Roots to help stay hydrated. Courtney’s daughter loves the delicious flavors (Watermelon Lemonade, Peach Mango, Mixed Berry, and Orange Pineapple!) and Courtney loves that Creative Roots has one gram of sugar. 

 

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Mom Crush Monday

Destiney and her daughter Honor are always on the go, whether it’s to dance or a quick trip for a mini spa day. Living at a higher altitude in Utah, hydration is key! Did you know that according to the American Journal of Public Health, 1 in 2 kids is under-hydrated?* Destiney keeps Creative Roots on hand, knowing that it’s a drink Honor loves to sip on.

Patricia Chang

One of Patricia Chang’s favorite ways to spend quality time with her son Chase is in the kitchen, teaching him how to cook! As they bond over fresh veggies in the kitchen, Patricia helps Chase stay hydrated with plant-powered coconut water beverage Creative Roots

 

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Porsha Carr

Porsha Carr’s daughter, Ivy, likes to share her creativity through drawing. Ivy isn’t just a fan of the Creative Roots flavors—she also loves the quirky Sploots characters who remind kids about hydration, including Coco-Nutty, Blackberry and Mango! Creative Roots is perfect for sipping while she masters her artwork this summer. 

Momma Mandy Blog

Between lacrosse, basketball, and trips at the beach, Florida-based mom Mandy Cox’s family has a jam-packed schedule. When they’re heading out of the house, Mandy’s kids grab a bottle of Creative Roots to help them stay hydrated during outdoor activities. The 8.5 oz bottles are the perfect size for bringing on adventures. 


Veena Goel Crownholm

Crafty momma Veena Goel Crownholm inspires her son to get creative with DIY projects, like a tic-tac-toe board made out of supplies found in her yard! With a taste kids love, Creative Roots makes it easy for Veena to help her son stay hydrated and fuel his creativity—so she can focus on coming up with their next project!

 

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Faust Island

As Amber Faust and her family are settling into a new home, they’re also spending a lot of time working on their garden. Amber’s two sons love to learn about growing food, and thanks to plant-powered ingredients, Creative Roots is the perfect pairing for a day in the garden!

 

*Erica L. Kenney, Michael W. Long, Angie L. Cradock, and Steven L. Gortmaker, 2015:
Prevalence of Inadequate Hydration Among US Children and Disparities by Gender and Race/Ethnicity: National Health and Nutrition Examination Survey, 2009–2012
American Journal of Public Health 105, e113_e118, https://doi.org/10.2105/AJPH.2015.302572

Pool parties, BBQ’s, reunions, oh my! There are plenty of gatherings that hopefully await us all this summer.

To celebrate, Lay’s is releasing three new limited edition flavors that will be available this week. Get ready for Chile Mango, Wavy Jerk Chicken and Summer BLT!

photo: Courtesy of Lay’s

When it comes to flavors, Lay’s has outdone itself this time. The Chile Mango contains mango and chili peppers, the Wavy Jerk Chicken is made with traditional spicy, sweet and smoky jerk flavor and Summer BLT tastes like sinking your teeth into lettuce, tomato and bacon.

To jump start the warm weather fun, you can join in on Frito-Lay’s “Let’s Summer” campaign. Head to chipsnsips.com for the chance to win summer-themed prizes that include a telescope, outdoor pop-up cinema screen, theater projector and more. 

Shop these limited edition flavors at retailers nationwide for $3.79 until supplies last.  

––Karly Wood

 

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Get ready to cook with your kiddos! In celebration of Disney’s new action-adventure fantasy flick Raya and the Last Dragon, Raddish Kids has a free downloadable cooking kit that features fun-filled family-friendly recipes.

Raya and the Last Dragon hits theaters and the small screen (via Disney+ with Premiere Access) Mar. 5. Even though your kids can’t watch the movie just yet, they can whip up a magical meal based on this soon-to-be blockbuster.

Raddish founder Samantha Barnes, said in a press release, “We’re thrilled to create these recipes in celebration of Raya and the Last Dragon, introducing families to the flavors of the Southeast Asian cuisine that inspired the setting for the film.” Barnes added, “Families are in for a treat, making and enjoying a meal together before joining Raya on her spectacular adventure.”

The free kit includes illustrated recipes for Shrimp Noodles, Pork Lettuce Cups and Mango Sticky Rice along with Table Talk conversation cards. Your kiddos can also cook alongside a Raddish instructor with the brand’s pre-recorded virtual video. The video also features a special appearance from a Disney chef!

To learn more about this culinary experience and download your free Disney/Raddish Maya and the Last Dragon kids’ cooking kit, visit Raddish’s website here.

—Erica Loop

 

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If the ice cream truck has taken a break for the winter, have no fear. The freezer aisle just got sweeter and a lot more fun. The iconic Popsicle brand just released its newest treats for 2021 and they are now available at a grocery store near you.

Popsicle has created new colorful and delicious products that will inspire imaginative play for parents and kids alike – Popsicles Mango, Strawberry and Vanilla Swirl Fruit Twisters and fan-favorite Minions and Spider-Man Popsicles.

Popsicle Fruit Twisters

The New Popsicle Fruit Twisters with Mango, Strawberry and Vanilla are made with real fruit and milk. The pops feature mango puree and nonfat milk twirled around a frozen strawberry core. Popsicle Fruit Twisters are agood source of Vitamin C, contain 10g of sugar and 70 calories per pop, and made with colors and flavors from natural sources. A pack of six retails for $4.49.

Popsicle Character pops

Minions Popsicles feature a despicably delicious combination of fruity strawberry, banana and tart blue raspberry. Spiderman Popsicles feature the irresistibly delicious fruity flavor of strawberry, blue raspberry and lime. Made with colors and flavors from natural sources they are a perfect treat for the whole family. This frozen treat is 70 –80 calories with under 10 grams of sugar per pop. A pack of six retails for $4.49.

—Jennifer Swartvagher

All photos courtesy of Popsicle

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This holiday season, kiss the canned cranberry sauce of your youth goodbye and make a homemade cranberry sauce instead. Using real cranberries lets you adjust the sweetness levels yourself, and you can spice it up with new and interesting flavors. Plus it’s not just for the turkey—use the leftovers in everything from yogurt to waffles to smoothies. Scroll down to see our favorite recipes below. 

Spiced Cranberry Sauce

Ryan Rendano

Chef Ryan Rendano offers up a wonderfully spiced version of cranberry sauce that only takes 20 minutes to make. We love that the recipe includes lemon and orange, some of the best winter produce around. Get it here. 

Maple Cranberry Sauce

Easy to make maple cranberry sauce surrounded by Zucchini Latkes

This easy cranberry sauce from The View from Great Island takes just 15 minutes to make, is made with just two ingredients, and has the perfect amount of tartness. Get the recipe here

Simple Sugar Free Cranberry Sauce

Eat within Your Means

Keep it simple with this easy recipe from Eat Within Your Means. It’s sweetened with apple cider and maple syrup instead of sugar and makes a perfect alternative to the canned stuff. To get the recipe, click here.

Cranberry Relish

Easy Cranberry Recipes
Kevin Is Cooking

This refreshing take on cranberries from Kevin Is Cooking turns the traditional sauce on its head. Instead of cooking the cranberries, they’re blitzed up with orange and mixed with cherry jello to make a yummy relish. Cross your fingers for leftovers—this will taste fantastic on those day-after-Thanksgiving turkey sandwiches. To grab the recipe, click here.

 

Paleo Ginger Spiced Cranberry Sauce

Anya's Eats

This paleo sauce from Anya’s Eats is sure to be a crowd pleaser. The cranberries are complemented by fresh orange juice and ginger. Just a touch of maple sugar ensures that the berries’ bright flavor shines through. Get the recipe by clicking here.

 

Apple Cranberry Chutney

Magnolia Days

Step outside the box by making this flavorful chutney from Magnolia Days. Not only will it taste great with the turkey, but you can also pair it with cheese and crackers for an easy appetizer. With apples, brown sugar, cinnamon and jalapenos, this sauce is bursting with bold flavors. To grab the recipe, click here.

photo: Magnolia Days

Whole Berry Cranberry Sauce with Honey and Mango

Dad with a Pan

Instead of using sugar to sweeten the sauce, this recipe from Dad with a Pan uses fresh mango chunks—yum! Tropical fruit on the Thanksgiving table is definitely something we can get behind. Click here to get the recipe.

 

Cranberry and Balsamic Sauce

2 Aussie Travellers

The secret ingredient in this recipe by 2 Aussie Travellers is balsamic vinegar—it cuts the bitterness of the cranberries while adding some depth. The thicker, chunkier texture keeps the cranberries closer to their natural state, unlike some of the more jelly-like sauces. To get the recipe, click here.

 

Maple Cinnamon Cranberry Pear Sauce

Veggie Inspired

Pears, cinnamon and ginger come together to help create this sauce from Veggie Inspired. Your whole family will love the warm fall flavors. Get the recipe by clicking here.

 

— Susie Foresman

 

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