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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

Lessons Learned from Hospital Food

July 6, 2017 By Jessica Braider 4 Comments

Lessons Learned from Hospital Food

In a week full of the deepest and most profound of fears, I didn’t know whether to be proud of my son or worried for his health when he refused to eat the food at the hospital this week. Yes, the hospital. After three days of what we thought was a stomach flu, we ended up in the ER and then eventually Children’s Hospital where it was discovered that not only did he have appendicitis, but that his appendix had ruptured. All in all, a terrifying experience. I knew we had an additional challenge on ours hands when he took his first sip of the chicken broth he was allowed on a clear liquid diet and declared that he would stick to juice. I then offered him jello and popsicles, still no interest. To him, they all tasted “disgusting.” At first I thought that perhaps he was just not feeling up to the food, so I took a little taste of the broth and found that it was, in fact, disgusting. It didn’t taste real, it tasted like chemicals.

The other challenge we came across was feeding ourselves because, sadly, the food offerings for families were not that much better. To be fair, I did see signs of the hospital working to get better at it, but for the most part the offerings were pretty grim.

There’s a whole tirade here that I could go on about how I can’t understand how we expect people to heal in the hospital if we are not offering them good, nourishing foods, but, as you know, one of my goals on this blog is to offer up reasonable, manageable solutions that can help right now. So I wanted to share with you some of the work-arounds we came up with that helped all of us to get the nourishment we needed to take on the stress of what we were facing. These lessons would come in handy if, God forbid, you were to find yourself hanging out in a hospital, but they are also applicable to traveling, hanging out in a shopping mall, or just generally when you find yourself somewhere without the healthiest options.

First of all, and important note on being kind to yourself. These are the times when we just need to be at peace with the fact that the offerings aren’t ideal and that it is outside of our control. That being said, while the donut, hamburger, and fries, may sound awesomely comforting—and maybe you need that kind of comfort for one meal— in the interest of feeling your best and clearest that you can, seeking out the best options possible is worth it. So how did I do that?

When possible, bring from home. When my son wasn’t eating any of the hospital food, I called for reinforcements in the form of friends who cook and within two hours he was sipping homemade broth with a contented smile on his face. Similarly, my husband (who was the one going back and forth from home to the hospital to care for our younger son) put together meals from what we had at home and my in-laws brought a homemade dinner in one night as well.

In the cafeteria, look for color and compromise. Whenever I went down to the cafeteria I tried to look for options that were good enough, which often meant having one thing that was less than ideal, supplemented by extra fruit or vegetables. A bagel and cream cheese and some cut up pineapple. Pretzels, hummus, and a bowl of soup. To help me in my quest for healthier options, I tried to find options that had color (and by that I mean natural color not red #5), so fruit, vegetables, or foods made with fruits and vegetables, such as soup, veggie burgers, and veggie pizza. For my son, once he was allowed solid foods we tried a couple of different meals and he either wouldn’t touch them or would take a bite and then refuse to have more, but he was always willing to have fruit. So we let him focus on fruits and vegetables: apples, watermelon (from home), and green salad, and just trusted that once we got him home the carbs and protein would follow, and we were right! Within an hour of being home from the hospital he had eaten TWO homemade scones!

What it comes down to is that, for me, this experience was a lesson in letting go. In accepting that I can’t control it all and then doing the best I can with what I’ve got. And if, God forbid, I ever find myself having to spend lots of time in the hospital again, I will be sure make due with what I’ve got, ask for help, and bring food from home whenever possible.

Filed Under: Culture of Food, Healthy Eating, Life Balance, Tips and Tricks Tagged With: balanced diet, healthy eating, life balance

F’ it! Wear the bikini!: 3 Ways to silence the self-doubt and start living

May 18, 2017 By Jessica Braider Leave a Comment

F’ it! Wear the bikini!: 3 Ways to silence the self-doubt and start living

It is a seasonal right of passage. The weather warms up and people start to feel self-conscious about how their bodies look. We start to see ads for diets and workout plans that will “get you ready for summer.” Maybe it is just me, but I have found that even as I roll my eyes at these ads, some deep-down chord is struck and I find myself looking more closely at my thighs/stomach/butt/etc. I then I start wondering if I need to change me.

Then, this week, I saw an awesome post on Facebook that helped me wake up. A friend posted:

This year’s new mantra applied in different ways (figuratively) to different circumstances: F’ it! Wear the bikini!

If you have been following my blog for a while you will know that I have spent years working to get to a place where I am (more or less) at peace with my body. This has been a long road and I absolutely see this as a life-long journey. You see, even though I have come far in terms of my own self-acceptance and have in many way comes to peace with my relationship with food and exercise, I still have those old habits and negative thoughts buried down in there and every once in a while they come back up. My friend’s statement on Facebook helped to realize that I was in a self-deprecating rut and that I needed to get out of it so that I could relax and be present for the important things like enjoying time with my family and savoring delicious food without guilt.

As I worked to reset my attitude, I realized that over time I have come up with some tricks to shift my perspective and I wanted to share those with you. An important note: while my recent struggles have been around body image, these tricks can work with any kind of negative self-talk that you may be struggling with. Here are three strategies I use when I am working to overcome negative thoughts:

  1. Three good things. When I catch myself tearing myself down or listening to that nasty voice in my head, I try to stop myself and challenge myself to come up with three good things that have happened that day (or recently) and what my role in those good things has been. This incredibly powerful act helps me to see the good things that I am capable of, it boosts my mood, and it shuts that nasty voice in my head up.
  2. What would you tell a friend? If I am ripping myself apart, I try to pause and ask myself, “if a friend was saying these things about her/himself, what would I say them her/him?” Chances are, it wouldn’t be “yeah, you’re totally right…”
  3. Find the pattern, then break it! I have noticed that my negative thoughts tend to come up when I am stressed, over-tired, and around milestones like birthdays/graduations/big transitions when I am taking stock of things. Once I recognized these patterns it became easier to notice when they were rearing their ugly, nasty heads. What this means is that now, when I am starting to feel crummy about myself, I try to pause and ask, “is this coming from an old pattern?” If the answer is yes, then I can use my logical brain to see the other side of the coin. Once I do that, I can then move forward, usually starting with some deep breaths to calm my mind. Your triggers for negative thoughts may be different from mine. I have clients who have discovered that their negative thoughts start when they see a family member who stresses them out, on Sundays before starting the next work week, when they are at different stages in their menstrual cycle, the list goes on and on. As you go through these cycles, try to notice the patterns. What led to the feelings? What else is going on in your life? And then, as you start to identify those patterns, you’ll be better able to counter-act them with logical thinking, self-care, and reminding yourself that this a pattern, not reality.

Once you are able to shift your perspective and be kinder to yourself, you will find that it is much easier to put on that literal or figurative bikini and enjoy the life you are living.

Do you have tricks to snaps yourself out of these sorts of ruts? If so, I’d love to hear about them in the comments section!

Filed Under: Healthy Eating, Life Balance, Tips and Tricks Tagged With: healthy eating, life balance, self care, stress

Potato Skin Crisps and 4 Easy Ways to Reduce Food Waste

April 21, 2017 By Jessica Braider 11 Comments

Potato Skin Crisps and 4 Easy Ways to Reduce Food Waste

This month’s The Recipe Redux challenge is one that is near and dear to my heart (and actually a topic that you may have heard me talk about before):

In honor of Earth Day on April 22, we’re challenging ReDux members to show how they reduce food waste. Whatever you would normally toss, use it up. Share tips for reducing food waste in meal planning, prep or using up scraps.

There are so many reasons, from environmental to financial, why reducing food waste is a great goal and if I am being totally honest, it is an area that is still a work in progress for me. While I almost never let cooked food go to waste, I struggle with what to do with all of my vegetable scraps since I don’t have a yard big enough for a compost bin. Some of them I store in gallon-sized freezer bags to use when I make vegetable or chicken broth, but often times those bags (yes, there is more than one) reach capacity and so then I end up tossing peels, ends, and cores—and feeling guilty about it every time. Not very productive, I know.

So, if you are like me and throwing food away makes you crazy, here are some ways to at least start reducing food waste that have worked for me. And, please, please, please share your tips and tricks in the comments so we all can benefit!…

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Filed Under: Feeding Kids, Healthy Eating, Snacks, Tips and Tricks Tagged With: Earth Day, Easy, food waste, healthy, potatoes, recipe redux, snacks, Vegetables

5 Ways To Stretch a Meal and Save Money

April 20, 2017 By Jessica Braider 2 Comments

5 Ways To Stretch a Meal and Save Money

My oldest son is turning nine (!!) this week and over the past couple of months my husband and I have started to notice a pattern: sometimes there isn’t enough food on the dinner table. We haven’t yet reached the run-to-the-fridge-to-scrounge-up-more-food levels yet, but we have definitely hit the oh-no-there-won’t-be-enough-leftovers-for-lunch-tomorrow levels. The amount that I have been making over the past few years (which, by the way, is definitely enough food for a family of four, plus leftovers) is just not cutting it, especially on soccer practice days. Just yesterday, for example, I made 13 baked chimichangas and then had to dash out before dinner to get to a meeting. When I got home, there were only three left. Not only had the three of them eaten 10 chimichangas, but they weren’t even sure how it had happened! Where did all that food go?! I knew this time would come, what with having two boys and my husband coming from a long line of big eaters, but I did not expect it to arrive when my kids were six and eight (what is it going to be like when they are 12 and 14?!).

Because of this uptick in food consumption I have definitely noticed that our grocery bills have started to creep up a bit and so I am starting to be even more diligent about using some of the techniques I saw my mom put into place when I was growing up. My mom is a serious pro at these things. Family friends always talk about how amazing it was to watch my mom feed huge groups of people with what appeared to be very little food. So whether you are just trying to cut down on your food bills, you are hoping to save up for a summer vacation, or you have some other fun plans for a little extra dough, here are some tricks to feed the hoards without breaking the bank:…

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Filed Under: Cooking Basics, Family Dinner, Feeding Kids, Money, Tips and Tricks Tagged With: budget, cooking, feeding kids, money

Waffleritos: And How to Use Up the Food You Already Have in Your House

March 21, 2017 By Jessica Braider 2 Comments

Waffleritos: And How to Use Up the Food You Already Have in Your House

I’ve got an awesome, super simple, extra flexible recipe for you guys this week! Waffleritos. Yup, you guessed it, a combination of waffles and burritos, and what could be better than that? But first, some practical tips on how to cook with what you’ve got. The inspiration for the recipe and this post comes from this month’s challenge from The Recipe Redux:

Spring Clean the Kitchen. Cook with at least 3 ingredients that are actually in your refrigerator or pantry right now. Try not to go to the store to buy anything new. Give tips on how to make a healthy dish out of whatever you have on-hand.

This topic is near and dear to my heart and is tied to one of the complaints I hear from people over and over again—that they struggle with food waste—vegetables go bad before they can use them all up, meat is forgotten and goes off, and they are reluctant to buy recipe-specific ingredients because they aren’t sure how they will use the remainders in other recipes. I have even spoken with people who have decided that they’d rather order out instead of grocery shop and cook because the food waste stresses them out so much. I am very sympathetic to this struggle as it is one that I experienced for years when I was first becoming comfortable with cooking. I vividly remember going into my produce drawer and finding slimy green things that made my stomach turn. I also remember struggling with what to do with leftover ingredients from new recipes I had tried (I used to avoid buying cabbage and bok choy at all costs for this reason). Over time, though, as I became more comfortable with cooking and improvising, I found this source of stress started to dissipate and I developed a couple of tricks that were really helpful in avoiding food waste….

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Filed Under: Baked Goods, Cooking Basics, Culture of Food, Dinner, Healthy Eating, Lunch, Money, Quick Dinners, Tips and Tricks Tagged With: avocado, black beans, burrito, chicken, cornmeal, Easy, food waste, healthy, Vegetables, waffle

3 Ways to Let Go of Stress in the Kitchen: Lessons I Learned When I Became the Cooking Student

March 16, 2017 By Jessica Braider Leave a Comment

3 Ways to Let Go of Stress in the Kitchen: Lessons I Learned When I Became the Cooking Student

Last week I had a humbling and wonderful cooking experience that taught me three important lessons that I wanted to share with you. We had the great treat of welcoming an international student, Jing, into our home for part of her Spring Break. It was wonderful to provide a comfortable (I hope!) home for someone who is so far away from her own and also to have the opportunity to share about our cultures. The best part, for me at least, was the fact that she loves to cook and was eager to teach me how to make some of her favorite comfort foods from her childhood in China. So on Monday we made a field trip to the Chinese grocery store, stocked up on ingredients, and then came home to cook!

For Jing, one of the biggest sources of culture shock when she moved here was meal times when one main dish with perhaps a vegetable side was served. You see, in China there are usually many dishes all served family style. So when we were deciding what to cook together in order to make a traditional Chinese meal, she wanted to make sure that there would be many dishes on the table. In the end we made five dishes: winter melon soup, dumplings, pork and green peppers, eggs and tomatoes, and, of course, rice….

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Filed Under: Cooking with Kids, Culture of Food, Tips and Tricks Tagged With: cooking, culture, eating, stress, taking chances

The Recipe Roundup: What I made, what worked, what didn’t

March 2, 2017 By Jessica Braider 4 Comments

The Recipe Roundup: What I made, what worked, what didn’t

As you likely know, more than anything my goal with my business and this blog is to help make cooking accessible. So today I am starting a new feature on the blog that I will offer periodically called: The Recipe Roundup.

With this series I want to give you an honest account of what worked in my kitchen and what didn’t. I’ll share ways that I simplified recipes, ways I adjusted them, how easy or hard I thought they were, and, most importantly, how they turned out. My hope is that this series will show some of the practical tricks you can use to simplify and modify recipes but that it will also exemplify how flexible, creative, and fun cooking can be, even when things don’t turn out as planned…

So without further ado, here’s my first installment of The Recipe Roundup…

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Filed Under: Cooking Basics, Dinner, Tips and Tricks, Uncategorized Tagged With: cooking, Easy, healthy, recipe review, recipe roundup

The 8 Steps to Healthy-ish

February 9, 2017 By Jessica Braider 4 Comments

The 8 Steps to Healthy-ish

One of my favorite parts of my day is going through my newsfeeds and seeing what strikes me—new articles, new recipes, new perspectives. I love being challenged to see a different perspective and being inspired by a new flavor combination or cooking technique. But every once in a while I come across an article or a trend that I think is damaging or dangerous when it comes to having a healthy relationship with food. This week that happened and so I wanted to share my thoughts on the term “healthy-ish.”…

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Filed Under: Culture of Food, Healthy Eating, Life Balance, Tips and Tricks Tagged With: dessert, exercise, fruit, healthy eating, Vegetables

The Best Nut Free Snack Mix and A Dietitian’s Tips to Help You Navigate Food Allergies

January 17, 2017 By Jessica Braider 11 Comments

The Best Nut Free Snack Mix and A Dietitian’s Tips to Help You Navigate Food Allergies

I am so excited, you guys! Today I am bringing you something new on my blog: my first ever guest post! And it is a great one! Today I am introducing you to my friend, Chelsey Amer at C it Nutritionally. She is here sharing important and super-manageable information on navigating food allergies. This is essential information for all of us, even if we don’t have food allergies ourselves, as we are guaranteed to have friends or family members who do….

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Filed Under: Healthy Eating, Snacks, Tips and Tricks Tagged With: allergies, chocolate, Easy, healthy, nut-free, popcorn, seeds, snacks, vegetarian

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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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  • BIG ANNOUNCEMENT!!
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  • Lessons Learned from Hospital Food
  • Vanilla Mini-Cupcakes with Tangy Chocolate Glaze
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