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BIG ANNOUNCEMENT!!

August 2, 2017 By Jessica Braider Leave a Comment

BIG ANNOUNCEMENT!!

Six years ago, I was struggling with the path my life had taken. I had two very small children, I had left my career working with trauma survivors, and I was doing erratic consulting work that bored me to death. I knew I needed a change and so I wrote an email to my closest friends and former colleagues and asked them a question: “If you could see me doing anything, what would it be?” I encouraged them to be creative, to be crazy, to think outside of the box. Every single person responded, and everyone said the same thing: something with food! As soon as I saw the word food, I knew I had found my answer.

Within the year, I completed a training program to become a health coach and launched The Balanced Kitchen. I had found my true calling! I was able to share my belief that cooking could be a simple, easy, healthy, and delicious part of life. I got to help people who really wanted to eat a healthier diet and cook for themselves and their families, but didn’t know where to begin. In short, I had the best job ever!

Today, I am sharing the latest development in this wonderful, challenging, exciting journey. I am SO excited to announce that I have become the new CEO (and owner) of The Six O’Clock Scramble!

 

What’s The Scramble?

For those of you who aren’t familiar with it, The Six O’Clock Scramble, founded and run by the amazing Aviva Goldfarb, is an online meal planning service committed to helping busy people get quick, easy, and delicious meals on the table every night. Aviva and I share the same philosophy: making dinner should be a low stress and enjoyable experience and that family dinners are one of the most rewarding and important opportunities to connect with and nourish the people we love and ourselves!

The Scramble will give me a platform to encourage even more people to get back into the kitchen, to experiment with new tastes and cooking techniques, and to feed their friends and families healthy, delicious meals that are simple to prepare.

 

But What About The Balanced Kitchen?

Some of you may be asking, what will happen to The Balanced Kitchen, to the recipes found here, and to my weekly musings on food, feeding kids, feeding ourselves, and life balance? The answer is twofold: my recipes will stay archived here on The Balanced Kitchen, but my new recipes and posts will all be on The Scramble.

I invite you to join me at The Scramble to continue getting inspiration and ideas for feeding yourself and your family well. In an effort to make that as simple for you as possible, I will be merging my list with The Scramble’s. What this means is that you will continue to receive emails from me from time to time with recipes, cooking ideas, and lots of other opportunities to experiment with cooking and eating, just from The Scramble rather than from The Balanced Kitchen.

 

Join The Scramble Family!

Finally (and perhaps most importantly), as an enticement and in celebration of this big change, I am offering a Friends & Family discount if you’d like to join The Scramble’s meal planning service. I love and believe in this service because it helps to make cooking that much easier and more accessible. So, if getting a meal plan delivered to your inbox or phone each week sounds appealing, if a generated-for-you shopping list sounds amazing, if access to a database of over 1,000 carefully curated recipes sounds wonderful, then join us! (And if you aren’t sure we have a 2 week free trial, so there’s no risk!)

Thank you for your support of The Balanced Kitchen over these past years. I have loved carving out my space in the food and cooking conversation. I have loved working with you as clients, meeting you at workshops, and sharing ideas with you online. I look forward to our relationship growing over at The Scramble! Sign up for a free trial now (and use the code FANDF17 to get 25% off all memberships now through August 16th).

Happy Cooking, Happy Eating, and Happy Scrambling!

Filed Under: Baked Goods, Breakfast, Cooking Basics, Cooking with Kids, Culture of Food, Dessert, Dinner, Drinks, Family Dinner, Feeding Kids, Freezer Cooking, Healthy Eating, Life Balance, Lunch, Lunch Box Food, Money, Picky Eaters, Quick Dinners, Sides, Slow Cooker, Snacks, Tips and Tricks, Uncategorized Tagged With: changes, meal planning, opportunities, six o'clock scramble, transitions

Recipe Roundup: March Edition

March 30, 2017 By Jessica Braider Leave a Comment

Recipe Roundup: March Edition

I’m back with another edition of The Recipe Roundup! This month’s recipes were super successful, so I am excited to share several quick, easy, and tasty recipes to add to your rotation!

…

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Filed Under: Dinner, Family Dinner, Feeding Kids, Healthy Eating, Lunch Box Food, Quick Dinners, Slow Cooker, Uncategorized Tagged With: chicken, Easy, greek, healthy, lamb, noodles, pita, pizza, recipe roundup, slow cooker

Slow Cooker Turkey Meatballs with Sauce

January 10, 2017 By Jessica Braider 4 Comments

Slow Cooker Turkey Meatballs with Sauce

“By posting this recipe I am entering a recipe contest sponsored by Kikkoman and am eligible to win prizes associated with the contest. I was not compensated for my time.”

As I have mentioned in past posts, spaghetti and meatballs is a big deal in this house and I have my tried and true meatballs and sauce recipes that I use whenever it is on the meal plan. I have made them so many times that I can knock it out in about 45 minutes, which isn’t too bad, but when the opportunity to play around with Kikkoman Soy Sauce came up and I was brainstorming what sorts of recipes I would like to make easier for myself (and you!), the first dish that popped into my head was spaghetti and meatballs….

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Filed Under: Dinner, Freezer Cooking, Slow Cooker Tagged With: dinner, Easy, healthy, meatballs, slow cooker, tomato s, turkey

Super Simple Slow Cooker Chili

November 17, 2016 By Jessica Braider Leave a Comment

Super Simple Slow Cooker Chili

Did you know that the night before Thanksgiving is one of the biggest nights for ordering pizza in the United States? I get why. I really do. Whether you are hosting, cooking to contribute to the big meal, or preparing to travel we all feel pretty overwhelmed on that Wednesday and so, for many of us, the last thing we want to do is think about what to make for dinner. And while I am a big fan of ordering pizza from time to time, it seems to me that with all of the indulging and overeating that is going to happen the next day, having a nutrient-packed meal the night before might actually be a good thing to help to keep our bodies (and spirits) in balance. But making a big fancy meal is not going to fly. So here’s my suggestion: super simple slow cooker chili!…

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Filed Under: Dinner, Freezer Cooking, Healthy Eating, Life Balance, Slow Cooker Tagged With: bell pepper, chili, corn, kid-friendly, sweet potato, tomato, vegetarian

5 Inspiring Spring Recipes

April 14, 2016 By Jessica Braider Leave a Comment

5 Inspiring Spring Recipes

We finally made it to the real deal days of spring! The days are longer, the sun is stronger, the flowers are blooming, and the energy levels are bursting. I don’t know about anyone else, but this is the time of year when my “senioritis” kicks in and I am deeply tempted to play hooky from life for a day. In other words: it is my favorite time of year.

It is also a time of year I love for the food inspiration. And I’ve been getting a lot of it lately! This past weekend my husband and I went on our annual weekend getaway to the Shenandoah Valley for wine tasting, hiking, and eating. We always stay at an amazing Bed and Breakfast with a chef that gives me ideas to last me a year and this year was no different! Beet soup with cheddar grit croutons, roasted new carrots with carrot top pesto, ginger pound cake with pineapple ice, sweet potato pancakes with rosemary-infused hickory syrup—it was unbelievable and I feel so blessed to be able to get to do that each year!

I am feeling so inspired that I wanted to pass some it along to you and share some easy recipes that take advantage of the awesome produce that is available in the Spring. I hope these will give you some fun ideas to kick start your cooking!…

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Filed Under: Breakfast, Dinner, Sides, Slow Cooker Tagged With: inspiration, seasonal, spring, Vegetables

Slow Cooker Spring Vegetable Minestrone

April 30, 2015 By Jessica Braider Leave a Comment

Slow Cooker Spring Vegetable Minestrone

Now that the weather is getting warmer and the days longer, getting around to making dinner is getting tougher and tougher. The pull to stay outside, to be out and about is just so strong. So I have been making a lot of dinners that can either be cooked very quickly, 5-20 minutes, on the stove or in the pressure cooker (my latest toy), or I have made one-pot dishes that can be prepared in the slow cooker.

So this week I want to share a new favorite in our house, a minestrone that takes advantage of the spring vegetables that are abundant at this time of year. I love this recipe because it is so quick to throw together, can withstand extra time in the slow cooker if needed, is chock-full of vegetables, and tastes like spring. My kids love it because it is cheesy, colorful, has noodles, and they can pick and choose their favorite veggies as they make their way through their meal….

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Filed Under: Dinner, Family Dinner, Feeding Kids, Freezer Cooking, Slow Cooker Tagged With: asparagus, cannellini beans, carrot, celery, Easy, healthy, parmesan, peas, soup, Spinach, Vegetables, vegetarian

5 Recipes to Help You Stay Sane and Healthy During the Holiday Season

December 10, 2014 By Jessica Braider Leave a Comment

While this is a wonderful time of year for connecting with friends and loved ones, celebrating community, and giving gifts, it can also be a time of stress, rushing around, and sliding backwards when it comes to the foods we eat. For many of us, myself included, we can fall into the mindset of, “oh well, I haven’t been eating well anyway, so I might as well just eat that…” And while I am all for enjoying the special and comfort foods of the season, I also would like to avoid the colds, flus, and over-exhaustion that are making the rounds these days and one way to do that is to try to keep our meals simple and packed with wholesome ingredients. Here are a five my favorite recipes that help me to do just that.

butternut squash soupSlow Cooker Butternut Squash Soup

This one takes all of 10 minutes to prepare and is a family favorite. Pair it with crackers and cheese or grilled cheese sandwiches for dipping, and you’ve got a complete meal!

oatmealSlow Cooker Steel Cut Oats

This is a great one to keep breakfasts on track. Make a big batch, freeze the leftovers, and you are set for a whole bunch of mornings. Some of our favorite toppings are: chopped up apple, defrosted frozen blueberries, chopped nuts, dried fruit, and a little bit of maple syrup.

Fall Veggie StewSlow Cooker Fall Veggie Stew

This is a great, warming, comforting meal, and the leftovers freeze well, too!

IMG_1576Real Mac n Cheese

In the same amount of time that it takes to make the boxed stuff, you can make this!

waffle omelet 2Waffle Omelets

This meal can be made in 8-15 minutes (depending on how many you are making) and always makes my kids giggle.

Do you have favorite, quick, and easy dinners that you use at this time of year to keep your family eating well in the midst of all the craziness?

 

Filed Under: Cooking Basics, Dinner, Family Dinner, Freezer Cooking, Slow Cooker, Tips and Tricks Tagged With: butternut squash soup, fall vegetable stew, holidays, mac n cheese, steel cut oats, stress, waffle omelet

Vegetarian Mexican Lasagna

October 30, 2014 By Jessica Braider Leave a Comment

Vegetarian Mexican Lasagna

Now that the days are getting shorter (and colder), warming hearty meals are the types of food that we start to find comforting and nourishing. This is also a time of year when we tend to be busy with semesters and activities in full swing, which means spending lots of time in the kitchen may not be such a feasible option. That is where the slow cooker comes in!…

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Filed Under: Dinner, Family Dinner, Feeding Kids, Life Balance, Slow Cooker Tagged With: black beans, Easy, healthy, Vegetables, vegetarian

Keeping Sane with the Daily Dinner Grind

September 8, 2014 By Jessica Braider Leave a Comment

In the past week or so there have been a number of articles floating around about the difficulties of cooking dinner every night. And let’s be honest, even for someone like me who loves to cook, there are days when I just don’t want to do it. I don’t want to have to think about it, come up with ideas, make sure I have all the ingredients I need, or face the reactions of my kids if dinner isn’t what they were hoping for. In short, I get burnt out….

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Filed Under: Cooking Basics, Dinner, Family Dinner, Freezer Cooking, Life Balance, Quick Dinners, Slow Cooker, Tips and Tricks

Sweet Potato-Bok Choy Soup

March 24, 2014 By Jessica Braider Leave a Comment

Sweet Potato-Bok Choy Soup

I love bok choy. I really do. I love it in stir fry because it adds such a wonderful crunch and flavor. There is only one problem: unless I am making a stir fry to feed 10, I always have leftover bok choy and I just don’t know what to do with it. Now, as I have written about before, I hate wasting food, so I have tried it in salads and have never been crazy about it. I have tried braising it and that’s ok. But I really wanted to find a way to use my leftover bok choy that would be tasty and exciting. And I finally did! Sweet potato-bok choy soup….

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Filed Under: Dinner, Slow Cooker Tagged With: bok choy, food waste, soup, sweet potato

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Jessica Braider

Hi! I'm Jessica. I love delicious food that is simple and easy. As a busy mom, I am always on the lookout for ways to make life easier and tastier! Read More…

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