Family Friday: Weelicious: 140 Fast, Fresh, and Easy Recipes
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Over the years, I’ve gotten a number of family cookbooks, and this one from Weelicious is one of my favorites (and her newsletter is also wonderful). I have one that wanted me to make pasta for 12, and another that told me to cook parsnips, which just aren’t readily available where we live. This one had the fewest problems like that and the most reliably yummy food that my whole family enjoys. At Amazon, it’s $15 for the hardcover and $8 for Kindle (includes audio/video). Weelicious: 140 Fast, Fresh, and Easy Recipes
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Sales of note for 1/16:
(See all of the latest workwear sales at Corporette!)
- Nordstrom – Cashmere on sale; AllSaints, Free People, Nike, Tory Burch, and Vince up to 60%; beauty deals up to 25% off
- AllSaints – now up to 60% off (some of the best leather jackets!)
- Ann Taylor – Up to 40% off your full-price purchase; extra 50% off sale
- Banana Republic Factory – 50% off everything + extra 20% off
- Boden – 15% off new styles with code — readers love this blazer, these dresses, and their double-layer line of tees
- DeMellier – Sale now on, free shipping and returns — includes select options like Montreal, Vancouver, and Venice
- Eloquii – $29 and up select styles; extra 50% off all clearance, plus ELOQUII X kate spade new york collab just dropped
- Everlane – Sale of the year, up to 70% off — reader favorites include their scoop tee, Dream Pant, ReNew Transit backpack, silk blouses and oversized blazers! New markdowns just added
- Hannah Andersson – Up to 30% off all pajamas;
- J.Crew – Up to 40% off select styles; up to 50% off cashmere
- J.Crew Factory – 40-70% off everything
- L.K. Bennett – Archive sale, almost everything 70% off
- M.M.LaFleur – Tag sale for a limited time — jardigans and dresses $200, pants $150, tops $95, T-shirts $50
- Spanx – Lots of workwear on sale, some up to 70% off
- Talbots – Semi-Annual Red Door Sale – 50% off + extra 20% off, sale on sale, plus free shipping on $150+
And — here are some of our latest threadjacks of interest – working mom questions asked by the commenters!
- The concept of “backup care” is so stupid…
- I need tips on managing employees in BigLaw who have to leave for daycare pickup…
- I’m thinking of leaning out to spend more time with my family – how can I find the perfect job for that?
- I’m now a SAHM and my husband needs to step up…
- How can I change my thinking to better recognize some of my husband’s contributions as important, like organizing the shed?
- What are your tips to having a good weekend with kids, especially with little kids? Do you have a set routine or plan?
Not a twin mom but I loved the solly wrap until 5-6 months. Its so pretty and we could do anything with baby wrapped up in that. Easy to throw on dad or someone else too. I never tried k’tan but with how much I was able to customize l/tighten the solly to fit a growing baby I don’t see how the ktans are so popular. The solly wrap really isnt hard! I also use the lillebaby now that mine is older.
Two thoughts –
1. We’ve done what Anon at 1:44 says and it works pretty well. Note that not all Marriott Residence Inns are created equal. But if it is really important for your child to go to bed early, this really is the best option.
2. How old is toddler? What are you doing during the day? We are a pretty active family so in all honesty we were kind of ready to lay down around 8:45pm in the dark with our kindles. In retrospect, maybe that worked because we were in a time zone 2 hours prior to ours…The older my toddler gets (he’s over 3 now) the longer he can stay up without breaking down. Not that I’m advocating a late bedtime, but its less imperative that we get him to bed before 8pm these days, which makes it a little easier to share one room.
I figured I’d post what we do at my house about meals in case it would be helpful to someone else. I wasn’t sure where to put it above, so just posting generally.
(In a perfect world/almost weekly), I make a meal plan on Sunday. Our plan is almost always this: Monday cook, Tuesday leftovers, Wednesday cook, Thursday leftovers, Friday something super easy like take and bake pizza or grilled cheese, Saturday out or something last minute involving another trip to the store, Sunday something that usually doesn’t have leftovers.
Nearly every night we have a “main” which is what we have leftover, a vegetable (super easy – raw veggies, frozen veggies), and a cut up fruit or two. Sometimes toast. We always have yogurt if kiddo doesn’t like the meal. I generally cater to her on the fruits and veggies – just serve what I know she’ll eat.
I have a spreadsheet of meals that are easy and we like. I definitely research and try new recipes for the rotation. If they’re a winner, they get added to the spreadsheet. My husband and I share the spreadsheet on Google docs, which is nice. If I need a cooking break or have conflicts, I’ll schedule him to cook. We also kind of play by ear who gets the leftovers ready to go on those nights. But sometimes if I have a busy week and a meal plan doesn’t get done, I’ll tell him it’s all him, and the spreadsheet is really handy then. Hubby is also the exclusive griller. I rely a bunch on my slow cooker so we’re not trying to get home from school/work and cook a lot at the same time.
On the spreadsheet (SC = slow cooker): pasta + sauce, burrito bowls, take and bake pizza, homemade pizza, chili, lasagna, beef stew (SC), waffles, pancakes, tuna casserole, chicken and noodles (SC), salmon, grilled meat + hot dogs (kiddo doesn’t like a ton of meats just on their own like that), grilled cheese, cheese pitas, tacos/quesadillas, hamburger gravy, stir fry, slow cooker stuffed peppers, chicken noodle soup, ham and bean soup (sometimes SC), black bean soup (SC), white chicken chili (SC), goulash, stuffed pepper soup (SC), loaded nachos, chicken and biscuits (SC), shepherd’s pie, chicken pot pie, mini bacon cheeseburger quinoa bites, beef stroganoff (SC), homemade chicken nuggets, salmon cakes, broccoli cheese egg quinoa cups, creamed salmon over biscuits, taverns/sloppy joes, BBQ chicken (SC), salmon salad (like tuna salad but with salmon, not salmon on lettuce).
Also, dishes are a separate chore unrelated to cooking in our house. We typically do every other night, but are flexible based on how the day is going.
Hope that helps someone!
Let’s talk travel with toddlers. How do people handle bedtime when sharing a hotel room? I’ve heard about putting the crib in the bathroom, booking a room with a balcony and hiding out there (weather permitting), booking a suite so it’s a non-issue, and/or bringing along the monitor and sneaking down to the lobby bar for a drink, although the latter appears to be fairly controversial. Tips or tricks? I’m trying to decide on booking a swanky hotel with a smaller room but nicer amenities, or a not as nice hotel with a bigger suite for an upcoming mini vacation. I have a ridiculous craving to sit at a fancy hotel bar with a giant martini right now (well, maybe in five hours), so could use some other opinions to talk me down.
How do you keep it together during your last few weeks of pregnancy at work?
I’m working till the end (currently 36 weeks pregnant), but my patience is fried. Add to that we hired two new teams members who get to be trained by yours truly — and no, that wasn’t discussed with me before their hire. (Shocker: I’m the team member who gets to do everything that isn’t in anyone else’s job description.) One is fresh out of college, eager, but trying to learn a specialized skillset in a short time frame. The other *should* know better when it comes to office norms and how to adapt to a new job…but doesn’t. And quite frankly, is annoying as he*l. I have no patience as it is (thanks to not getting a decent night’s sleep in weeks). If I weren’t pregnant, I’d be on my anti-anxiety and depression pills, and probably having a relaxing glass of wine every night. But I can’t. /sobstory/
My son is in 1st grade, and has some kind of speech issue – I can’t really explain it, except he pronounces his words strangely. Maybe it’s a lisp. Strangers sometimes have a hard time understanding him. I’m interested in finding a speech therapist for him, but I’m not sure where I start. His teacher says that because it doesn’t affect his learning, the school district won’t do it. (It clearly doesn’t affect his learning; I just want to intervene earlier rather than later.) His pediatrician says we should go through the school because he is over the age of 3. Anyone have any experience with this? (I’m in California, if that helps.) If the answer is that I just need to hire a therapist myself, then I will do that.
Does anyone have any great tips for getting yourself to bed at a decent hour? I am a natural night owl, and left to my natural tendencies, I would stay up until midnight or later and wake up at 8. However, this does not work well with the need to get up before my young elementary aged children. Every night, I tell myself that I will go to bed earlier, and I have no problem falling asleep when I do get to bed at 10:00, but late evening is the only time that I get to myself or to spend time with my partner. The end result is that I am not getting enough sleep, which leaves me tired and cranky and without the bandwidth that I really need to handle all the things that life is throwing my way (this is Betty). Any tips?
Does anyone have a recommendation for a cookbook of recipes to cook with (as opposed to for) a preschooler? Keeping in mind that said preschooler is an extremely picky eater and doesn’t like, for example, bread.
Book Recommendations
What career or personal development book deeply impacted your life? Which books would you recommend an early-to-mid career woman (and mom) to read?
I dropped the ball on figuring out taxes, etc for my nanny and realize now I’ve got to give her the paperwork. She started working for us at the end of last year, and I’ve just been paying her cash, with the intent of figuring out taxes at some point – and never did. Any advice? Should I just see an accountant?
I like the weeknight section of Cooking Light. Those recipes generally turn out for me and really do only take 30-45 min to make. And for me (I cook often), it only takes that long because I am constantly distracted by small children under foot.
Husband has requested that I cut down on the “weird complicated hippie food” and start serving more straightforward dishes that get on the table fast. What he really wants is for me to serve hot dogs every night because kiddo will reliably eat those, but that’s not going to happen. Has anyone tried the cookbook Dinner: A Love Story or The Mom 100 for this sort of thing?
I just found out I’m pregnant! I haven’t told anyone in real life (other than DH) but just needed to say it out in the world. I’m overwhelmed and terrified and excited. I am trying not to put too much of my anxiety on DH because he just lost a parent and is grieving.
It’s also a super busy time for me at work– I seriously don’t know how I’m going to be able to concentrate!
Twin moms – carrier recommendations? With my first we had a Moby (my husband mainly used that), a sling (seldom used), and a Tula (my favorite by far). I’m open to the Weego or the Twingo if they’re worth it, but right now I’m thinking a K’tan (so I don’t have to fiddle with the wrapping) or a Nesting Days carrier. They both seem to work for twins, even if they’re not officially approved for it. I tried the Nesting Days with my first and she hated it, but I have a friend with twins who wore one of them in there for like two months, so it seems like it might be worth another try.
Threadjack. Husband and I are looking to shake up our boring weekday night dinners as we have gotten in a rut lately. We tried Blue Apron years ago but found the recipes took too long for us. Has anyone done a compare and contrast on all the different food services out there? I tried to search the archives but only found a post from about 3-4 years ago. TIA!