Cooking Planit Review

The school year has come to an end and I'm beyond excited about it. I've been so pooped with teaching, mommying, and wife-ing. Busy busy busy. That's the name of the game. One thing that I've been pretty consistent with is cooking. I am happy to report that we've been eating out less and staying in a lot more. It feels good. However, meal planning, prepping, and cooking is hard work. Cue Cooking Planit.

Just when I was starting to lose momentum, I was contacted by Cooking Planit to review their app. They claimed that it would make my life a bit easier. I was more than game because I love to cook and I love things that make my hobby easier. So, I put it to the test!

What is it exactly?

Cooking Planit is a revolutionary cooking website/app that serves as "your own personal chef". It will help you make "a complete meal with everything ready at the same time." This is unlike any other recipe site that I've ever seen. When I peruse other sites, I have the added task of building my own meal whereas this website builds it for you.

My Favorite Features:
The ease of use

- Everything was pretty easy to navigate and it didn't take long to build a few meals for the week.

The recipe selection

 

 

- Recipes are easy to find on the internets, however, these recipes are tested by chefs so essentially you are getting cookbook quality recipes!

The "smart" grocery list

- After choosing my menu, the app automatically organizes a list of groceries AND it will jot down how much of an ingredient you will need for the week. For instance, if you need tomatoes in a few recipes, it'll tell you how many you need for all of them! Nice! I also liked how it organizes your groceries according to grocery aisle. If it had a delivery feature, I would marry this app. For Reals.

The built-in timers

- When the recipe says bake for 20 minutes, it will start the timer for you. If you need to boil veggies at the same time for 2 minutes, it will start another timer! It also adjusts the time if you are falling behind or if you are too overly eager and jump ahead. 

The talk feature 

-I don't know about you but I can get down and dirty in the kitchen. I get all up in there with my hands which cover cookbook pages with saucy fingerprints. No bueno. The app follows basic commands such as, "next step" or "go back". 

Putting it to the test

I decided to make Bacon Wrapped Sea Scallops with a Parsnip Hash and Roasted Asparagus as my first Cooking Planit meal. I've never made scallops before so it was nice to have this helper in the kitchen. It was delicious and the directions were so simple and easy to follow that it felt like a seamless process. 

I also tried making one of their Quick Meals, the Parmesan Baked Chicken and Roasted Brussels Sprouts. It was indeed quick and Hubby asked me to put this in my regular meal rotation. 

Overall, this app is well thought out and perfect for a busy mom, an aspiring chef, or even a person who just wants to eat a good meal. I highly recommend this app!

 

 

 

Disclaimer: This is a sponsored post but these are my honest opinions about Cooking Planit. 

Goodbye, Class!

Dear Class of Room 105,

Today was our last day of school. I want you all to know, this year was a blessing to me. I was wobbling my pregnant body around the classroom during the fall, out on maternity leave during the winter, and a new frazzled mommy in the spring. You were all so patient and kind. You will never know how appreciative I am that for the most part, you were all well behaved and hardworking. You were a pregnant teacher's dream class. 

My fondest memory was our international potluck. We had spring rolls from Vietnam, special rice from Pakistan, pancit from the Philippines, and enchiladas, chorizo beans, pozole, and salsa from Mexico. I hope you will think about that experience fondly as well. 

Thank you for all of the great memories. I hope that one day, you will think about our days together and smile. You will always have a special place in my heart. 

Goodbye class... Work hard and make me proud. The world is waiting for you to shine!

With love, 

Mrs. V

Feeding Your Baby for the First Time

Joaquin started his Baby Foodie Adventures, starting with baby cereal.

When we started: Hubby and I spent month 4 arguing about whether or not we should start Joaquin on cereal. It was a big debate because some people think 4 months is just too early. I disagree, especially when you have a chunky monkey baby on your hands who is obviously getting tired of his milk.The LA Times came out with an article, conveniently during our argument, which talks about mothers giving food too soon. They say 6 months is the earliest you should give your baby food, including cereal. We compromised and waited until 5 months. I feel confident about our decision.

Choosing the goods: After surveying all of my mommy friends and co-workers, I took the advice of a co-worker who brought up the idea of probiotics. I take probiotics myself, so I know the benefits it can have.There are so many great benefits to probiotics and I feel great knowing he can partake in the probiotic party! Before this, he was so constipated from the soy formula we had switched to. I did some research and found Happy Bellies Brown Rice Cereal. I was so happy that it was at my local Target, too! Joaquin LOVES it and he is pooping to his stomach's content.

Target.com

Feeding Fun: We started off feeding him in the Bumbo and soon learned that it was too messy. We received this First Years Portable High Chair from our Baby Shower so I was excited to finally put it to good use. You can recline the seat just a smidge which is extra supportive for baby's back. It's a nice pick for someone who doesn't want a full on high chair.

Apparently it's a good idea to have the right type of spoon. I did not know this until I went to the feeding products section and saw a crap load of spoons. I was just going to pick the cutest of the bunch but I picked these Evenflo Zoo Friends Soft Tip Spoons because they are soft for baby's little teeth. This is important when they are learning to chew. These spoons are also nice because they change color when the food is too hot.

To limit messes, I also picked up these Neat Solutions Easywipe bibs. They are large enough to shield baby from disasterous spills and easy for me to wipe down afterwards. They have ubercute patterns, too.

While I was having fun purchasing all this junk, Joaquin was clueless and probably could care less about the excitement of trying something new. I'd like to think he appreciates his fancy spoons but who knows if he even noticed. But I do know this, he loved his cereal. He loved it in the cutest way possible. I loved watching him take his first bite and making a crazy crazy mess. THAT, is priceless.

Drizzles of Sunshine: Anti-Bathing Suits

1. Only two and a half more days and ::cue the music:: SCHOOL'S OUT FOR SUMMER! I am ready to send my little middle school bunnies off into the sunset. This school year was nothing exciting. I was on maternity leave in the winter which made it impossible to come back. Since then, I've just been in survival mode with an extra fueling of cafe con leche de soy. Stick a fork in me.

2. Hubby and I took Joaquin to his first Gymboree class. I don't know who was more excited me or Baby boy. Probably me because singing in a circle is just my cup of tea. Where is Thumpkin? has been in my head for DAYS and I am ok with that. Must be the first grade teacher in me. Joaquin loved the drums and the maracas. It was so much fun to watch him eat the instruments. Hopefully one day, he will be a maraca phenom and we can all laugh at this picture.

 



3. I'm debating if I should sign up for Mommy and Me Swimming Classes. You see, I don't know how to swim. I can imagine myself asking for an extra pair of floaties and having panic attacks when it's Joaquin's turn to jump off the diving board. Ok, my fears are totally unlikely but I really don't want to pass my fear on to him. I want him to be a maraca playing merman. He's going to swim. What I'm trying to say is, who wants to take him?

4. Speaking of swimming. I tried on my first one piece bathing suit. This led to me getting stuck in my first one piece bathing suit. What had happened was, I chose a really cute black one that was way too small for my post preggos body. I pulled and tugged that shit on and whaddya know... my arms are too weak to pull it off over my head and my hips are too wide to pull them down. I was effin' STUCK! I spent a good 20 minutes... I kid you not... thinking of a plan to get myself out! I thought about asking the changing room attendant to help me, but that would entail having to show her my boobies. I also thought about just putting on my clothes over it and stealing it, but that would entail me being a criminal. I resorted to taking a few deep breaths and pulling it down over my hips. This was no easy feat. I had to rearrange my butt fat, shimmy and shout, and cry and laugh at the same time. After my ego was fully deflated and a few threads had been torn, I was free. I was mortified, defeated, and I'm never wearing a bathing suit again. Since then, I've had nightmares about bathing suits  I have been working out.

5. Summer, I'm ready for you. Bathing Suits, eat shit. (Sorry, Mom)

Mother's Day Meal Planning with Cooking Planit!

As I get older, gift giving for Mother's and Father's Day just gets harder and harder. Handprints in clay and "I'll clean the house" coupons to beautiful jewelry and flowers, I've done it all. But, I think the gift that never fails is a nice homemade meal of some of their favorite dishes or even dishes that'll be new and exciting for them.

One year, my brother, his Fiancé , Hubby, and I made a nice brunch for my mom. It was fun to be in the kitchen with my brother and our significant others while we reminisced about our favorite childhood memories. My mom liked it too because she had a chance to rest and listen to funny stories. Then, we all sat down and had a delicious spread to celebrate my beautiful mother.

This year will be no exception. Meal planning started with Google and Pinterest and sure, I found some great stuff but I wanted something easy and no fuss since, technically it is my first Mother's Day too. Cue CookingPlanit a true lifesaver. You can access it through their easy peasy website or download the app onto your iPhone or iPad!

So, what is Cooking Planit exactly?

Cooking Planit makes even a novice chef look like a rock star in the kitchen by delivering a main course and two side dishes on your family's table at the same time. The Cooking Planit app:

• Combines the chef-tested recipes of a main dish and two sides
• Perfects the cooking process with step-by-step instructions so everything is ready at the same time
• Provides a categorized shopping list to simplify your trip to the store

 

I will be writing a formal post to this soon but I have tested this myself and if you follow me
on Instagram, you'll be able to see that I've been making incredible meals using this great App!

I'm so excited about this App, I can't stop raving about it and lucky you, there is a Mother's Day Sale on the App!! Make yo Mama proud!

Mother’s Day SALE: Cooking Planit is making it easy for you to make Mom feel special this Mother’s Day. Considering surprising mom with breakfast in bed? How about a special home-cooked meal? GET the APP, half-price for a limited time: $0.99 iPhone and $1.99 iPad. Click Here!

I hope you all have a wonderful Mother's Day! Let me know if you try the App.

Drizzles of Sunshine: Calm Mama

1. I went to my first Quincenera. For those of you who don't know, a Quincenera is a big celebration of a young girl crossing over into womanhood. It is similar to a wedding because there is a huge white dress involved as well as a reception with food and booze. It's a grand ol' time for everyone.

However, my night-o-fun came to a halt when Hubby's crazy uncle decided to give little Joaquin a few bites of spanish rice. Mind you, Joaquin isn't eating solids yet. Luckily, the kind women at his table quickly alerted me and I proceeded to, grit my teeth, scoop up my baby and take him away while trying to hide my desire to throw a taquito at the Uncle's face. Composure is the key when with the in-laws.

2. It's the last month of school. Double sighs of relief for the end of testing season and for the end of a very long year. I used to think this season was the easiest but not anymore. Spring Fever has hit my school harder than a hurricane in Florida. The middle schoolers have grown their attitudes and are not afraid to tell me that they don't want to work anymore. The hormonally charged couples are all over campus, awkwardly clasping hands as a huddle of laughing hyenas friends follow behind them. I couldn't be more annoyed. 17 days left and I'm home free!

3. This Sunday will be my first Mother's Day as a mother. I'm very excited. Hubby keeps whispering to Joaquin "Don't tell Mama the secret." Then, they both laugh their heads off. This is both crazy cute and annoying as hell. I hate surprises. This ish better be good.

4. I cut my hair. When I tell people that I feel like Elle's friend on Legally Blonde that tells her "I got bangs!!" I just thought I'd inform you of this shocking development.

5. Sonic hates his life. I feel so bad. I've been trying to give him extra snuggles but it's hard to do that when I'm holding Joaquin, since he hates Joaquin's guts. Anyone know how to make a doggie feel loved? Sonic loves treats and I think that's the true way to his heart but I don't want an obese dog.

Sore Throat Remedies

Dammit! The sore throat monster has struck again. It creeped up on me Thursday afternoon and made my Friday just unbearable. So annoying, Mr. Monster. What's even more annoying is that sore throats often aggravate my Asthma causing middle of the night cough wars where hubby wakes up in a panic to find my inhaler. No bueno.

When I couldn't take my scratchy throat any longer(10 minutes is just way too long!), I did what any modern day woman would do, I Googled it. More specifically, I Googled "sore throat cures."
Then, I tried the ones that didn't seem too disgusting. I also looked for ones that were fast acting and not too fussy, read: I'm not salt water gargling every two hours. I ain't got time for that.

Here's what worked for me:

- Advil. Now, I'm not a medicine taker. I try my best to do without pills mostly because I'm a scaredy cat. In this case, I just didn't want my sore throat to turn into a full on cold. Nah uh, not with a baby in tow. So, I read that Advil or Aleve helps ease the swelling, thus helping with the scratchy feeling. Worked almost instantly for me. It definitely helped ease my throat.

- Apple Cider Cocktail.
Beware, this smells like stinky feet. Hubby won't even let me sit near him when I'm downing it. It's worth it though because this shortened the duration of my soon-to-be cold. I'm typing this on Sunday night and I feel so much better!
-1-2 Tbs. of Raw Organic Apple Cider vinegar.
- 1 tsp. of honey
-1 cup of water

Mix and microwave cocktail until warm. Some people have reported how disgusting it is but I taste mostly honey. It was easy for me to down every night before bed.

- water water water. Down as much as you can. Flush those bad cooties out.

I'm hoping by tomorrow Mr. Sore Throat Monster will be completely gone. Just in case, I will be downing just one more stinky feet cocktail.

What sore throat remedies do you swear by?