food and recipe magazines
by on April 20, 2011   •   38 Comments Organization & Productivity

The One in Which I’ve Lost My Groove

Written by Katie of GoodLife Eats.

I’m going to tell you a little secret. When I saw that this month’s Simple Bites theme was organization and productivity in the kitchen I kind of cringed a little. Because I’m so not feeling organized in my kitchen or productive right now.

I procrastinated and procrastinated submitting my post topic until Aimee and I had a conversation that went something like this:

Aimee: Just a quick reminder…I kinda need a topic from you for your next SB post!

Katie: I’m sorry! I have been trying to think of something….I’ll let you know tomorrow. I am just not feeling very organized or productive in the kitchen at the moment.

Aimee: So write about it. No, for real. How are you coping? Pushing through?

Katie: More like feeling sorry for myself.

Aimee: Hey we’ve all been there. And I think this end-of-winter, cusp of spring really triggers it.

[lightbulb moment happens and I think “oh. duh.”]

The last couple of weeks I’ve been feeling like I’ve totally lost my groove in the kitchen. But instead of doing something about it I’ve been doing nothing.

It’s been a busy month. We had spring break and that was….fun. Or not. My kids don’t quite appreciate being off from school for a week yet. Eric was out of town for work. Then really sick two weekends in a row.

Ever since then things have been a little off here. The weather is nasty. Crazy windy. Bad allergies which make me feel like I’m half asleep all day long. A couple of failed recipes. Yes, failed recipes and that never does much for self confidence.

Instead of doing nothing, I should be following my own advice.

[Read more…]

by on February 24, 2011   •   1 Comment Organization & Productivity

5 Ways to Conserve Coin in the Kitchen

I‘m guest posting over at Life…Your Way today and talking about ways to eat great and not break the bank. 5 Ways to Conserve Coin in the Kitchen is packed with super smart shopping tips plus kitchen organization techniques that also help me save money.

From the post:

“As I write this, I realize I haven’t set foot in a grocery store or market in eight days – and there’s food prepped for tomorrow’s dinner. How have I stayed out of the aisles and kept money in my wallet? Because we benefit from a weekly menu plan, a well-stocked pantry and a wee bit of flexibility in our meals; these actions save us time and money, too, as we buy just what we need and not more.”

Head over to Life…Your Way to read 5 Ways to Conserve Coin in the Kitchen.

by on January 3, 2011   •   24 Comments Organization & Productivity

Meet the Simple Bites Contributors for 2011

How many of you know that it takes a small village to put forward a well-rounded blog that covers a range of pertinent topics? I am so fortunate to have a strong team of regular contributors who bring their wisdom and unique voices to Simple Bites every week.

On the heels of winning an award or two, I would like to turn and pass along much-deserved credit to the people who contribute to the success of Simple Bites. A few work behind the scenes, a few are brand new, and the others have written some of your favorite posts in 2010.

I’m truly blessed to work with each and every one of them and am incredibly excited for what lies ahead in 2011.

[Read more…]

by on December 31, 2010   •   14 Comments Organization & Productivity

The Hottest Posts of 2010

It’s been an exciting eleven months of blogging in 2010; remember, Simple Bites has yet to celebrate a one year anniversary, as we only launched last February! I’ve really appreciated the warm response from readers and the enthusiastic feedback on everything from canning to menu planning. That you’ve embraced this newcomer has been a huge incentive to keep on writing, cooking and blogging. So, thank you.

Just for fun, let’s look back at some of the hottest posts of the year!  Every month, there are always one or two posts that, for whatever reason, really get people’s attention.The comments pour in, the retweets rack up, and the word gets out.

In no particular order, here are the Top Twelve Hottest Posts of 2010.

[Read more…]

by on June 14, 2010   •   34 Comments Organization & Productivity

10 Tips to Help You Conserve Some Coin

We all want to know how we can trim our monthly grocery bill and yet feed our families real, wholesome food. Anyone who has shopped for organic ingredients, knows that there is a price to pay for bringing home pesticide-free, all-natural foods. So what can be done?

Fortunately, Slow Food Rhode Island leader Amy McCoy of Poor Girl Gourmet has some solutions for us. In her brand new cookbook, Poor Girl Gourmet: Eat in Style on a Bare-Bones Budget, she takes us on a low-budget, high-quality food adventure, offering proven tips for eating wholesomely on the cheap, as well as providing reliable recipes to back the tips up. Her suggestions for frugal eating are one hundred percent applicable for every household and well worth reading about.

Here are ten money-saving tips that I gleaned from her cookbook, as well as a recipe that demonstrates how a less desirable (read: cheaper) cut of meat can be absolutely amazing. [Read more…]