Five Ways To Get Your Cook On!

This post is sponsored by Blue Apron.

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I am sure many of you (although I may be preaching to the choir!) have goals to get healthier in 2018. I know I do! All the partying in December has me craving some cozy nights in with a home-cooked, vegetable-based meal and a glass of kombucha instead of wine. That squiggly line needs to squiggle back down!

I don’t recommend crash diets or juice cleanses, but I do think it’s a good idea to focus on whole, real food when you’re hoping to get back on track. Blue Apron is offering Whole30 compliant boxes this new year, for the months of January and February. Whether you’re actually doing the plan or just want to know that everything that comes in your box is as wholesome as it gets, these boxes are full of real food. After all, the best place to enjoy real food is in your own kitchen because you control every ingredient.

Starting on January 8 and going through the end of February, Blue Apron is offering two new Whole30 compliant recipes per week.  You can add those to your 3-4 recipe plans or simply subscribe to the two-person, two-recipe plan and get a fully Whole30 filled box each week.  I’m offering the first 25 readers 3 free meals on their first Blue Apron order. Click here to order!

Here are five ways to get your cook on:

If you love to meal plan, plan ahead for the whole month.

Batch planning all four weeks at once will be more efficient, and will save you time when you’re ready to head to the grocery store each week. Even better – go ahead and make your grocery lists! You can just fill in the staples or things you ran out of each week and you’ll be ready to rock and roll.

If you don’t like to meal plan and/or you are a restaurant-a-holic, consider a subscription to Blue Apron!

You can be sure that fresh, whole ingredients are coming your way each week and you don’t have to spend a minute planning. Once your fridge is stocked, you’ll feel obligated to cook those meals instead of ordering take-out. But fear not, you can skip as many weeks as you’d like, or cancel, so you can pick and choose when Blue Apron is most convenient for your busy schedule.

Shake up your recipes.

If you are bored with your same old recipe rolodex, buy yourself a few new spices, sauces, or seasonings or look to a Blue Apron delivery to shake things up. My favorite part of Blue Apron is making recipes that I have never tried before – it almost feels like someone else has been doing the cooking!

Do your prep on the weekends or in the mornings.

Whether you’re making everything from scratch, using Blue Apron, or planning all Crock-pot meals – the more you can get ready ahead of time, the easier cook time will be. My grandmother used to always say “Make your dinner after breakfast,” and she was one fabulous cook.

Hire someone to wash the dishes.

KIDDING! (Kinda, sort of…) But seriously, the more fun you can have, the better. I love to listen to podcasts while I cook and clean up and the time goes by so fast. And while a glass of wine also makes good cooking company, maybe switch over to kombucha this time of year! ; ) Even a new good smelling dish soap can make the dish washing process a bit more fun! If you have kids, see if they’d like to spin the kale or cut the mushrooms with a dull knife. Or invite your partner to cook together – romance always makes food taste better.

The Blue Apron recipe featured in this post is Spicy Chicken Khao Soi with Crispy Wonton Noodles. It was delicious, and I loved how much kale was involved!

But the crispy noodles on top were my favorite part! I couldn’t believe how well they crisped up following the instructions.

If you’re one of the first 25 readers to place your first Blue Apron order, you’ll get 3 meals for free. Just click here!

Thanks to Blue Apron for sponsoring this post.