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Catching up with the Kelnhofers-75

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This week on Catching up with the Kelnhofers, I learned that I’ve missed an entire new trend, I’m wrapping up and sharing some details from our Serbian Christmas and passing along the very best new turkey sandwich recipe.

Catching Up With The Kelnhofers

As I opened a gift bag from my mother-in-law, I saw some chocolate, hot cocoa mix, silicone molds, and a few other things. I thought it was cute and for us to make some fancy hot chocolates. We’ve been making my husbands’ grandma Rita’s hot chocolate mix for years and most recently Abuelita’s surprise hot chocolate. 

I put the bag in the pantry and didn’t think anything of it. 

Then Nick asked me “do you want to make the hot chocolate bombs”? 

WHAT?!?

Apparently I missed a whole trend <– oops!

Have you ever heard of them?

OK, so in case you’ve missed this trend too, hot chocolate bombs are a thing. 

Making hot chocolate bombs

We made them with Ben. It was a very involved hot chocolate, but a fun weekend project.

New on the blo

New recipe posts on the blog
Cherry chicken |Food storage | Chickpea shawarma
  • Love List – weekly fun found from every corner of the Internet
  • Best food storage containers – I’ve tried plenty of different food storage containers and am sharing my 5 favorites in this post.

What I made

  • It was Serbian Christmas this past week and I made oil and vinegar potato salad.  This is such a good non-mayo potato salad!! 
  • Serbian Christmas Eve dinner.  On Serbian Christmas Eve (Badnje Vece), you fast during the day (no meat or animal products, but you can have fish) and then enjoy a feast in the evening.  We did a contactless pick-up/drop off where everyone made different things. 

Serbian Christmas Eve

  • Here is what we ate:
    • Strudel
    • Fish Fry (Serbian Fish not Pictured)
    • Hot Brandy (traditional for Christmas Eve)
    • Vinegar Based Potato Salad
    • Baked Beans
    • The bread is called pogača, which is a traditional bread for certain special occasions this is the Badnje Vece one. 
    • It’s passed out by the head of the house, but now I can’t find the little guide I had for it on Christmas Eve.
    •  Basically 1 piece for:
    • Those who could not attend
    • The unexpected traveler/visitor
    • The House OR the first arrival to the house on Christmas day (my mom’s George always said this one was for the house, but I’ve seen different traditions for the 3rd piece)
    • Then each person by seniority
    • You can have another piece when you finish yours
    • The coin represents good luck/ good fortune. Nick got the coin this year!!
  • Another Serbian Christmas tradition is that you grow wheat between St. Nicks and Christmas (you let it grow during Advent). There’s a lot of beautiful symbolism. Then you put the wheat out after Christmas…which Nick did…in shorts lol, only in Wisconsin. 

Serbian Christmas tradition, wheat

  • I had a turkey breast in the freezer so I made my recipe for air fryer turkey.  Nick’s response “you should make this every week, please.”  You guys, if you have an air fryer, you have to make this!!!! So easy and hands off and the best tasting turkey ever. 
  • We also had a random bag of cranberries in the freezer too, so I made cranberry sauce. 
  • With the leftover cranberry sauce, I made my cranberry walnut crumb bars and everyone (kids included) loved them. Ben had THREE bars and asked for more! 

Air fryer turkey

  • We made the best sandwiches ever!!! Sourdough bread, mayo mixed with 1 garlic clove, cranberry sauce, greens, turkey, cranberry sauce, YUM!

Leftover air fryer turkey breast sandwich

Reader comments

If you need an easy weeknight meal to enjoy on a chilly winter’s evening, try this one pot sausage and rice casserole that received this lovely comment:

Reader comment on my one post sausage rice casserole

  • “I made the one pot sausage and rice casserole and my husband couldn’t stop eating it. He took left overs for lunch the next day and had more at dinner on day 2. I skipped the mushrooms because I didn’t have them on hand, and it was still very yummy – and easy!!”

Reader Recreations

  • The reader that shared this re-creation said it best – healthy comfort food –  it’s the best way to describe my recipe for zucchini and kale lasagna.

Reader recreation

Amazon Item you didn't know you needed

  • Kitchen wrap organizer – I don’t know about you, but my plastic wrap/aluminum foil/parchment paper storage situation isn’t great. I just kind of put them in a pile in the pantry. This organizer is amazing.

Amazon item you didn't know you needed

What I'm Reading

  • Last week I told you how I thought I was buying Heart Bones, but accidentally bought Most of All You: A Love Story by Mia Sherida. I finished it, I don’t think I’d recommend it, it felt long and boring I’d give it a 2 of 5 stars. Anyways, on to Heart Bones now.
What I'm reading
Heart Bones | Most of all You
  • Cookbook – I don’t know if you know this about me, but I read cookbooks like I read novels. I love them, and I have a huge selection. I love reading them/looking at the photos/cooking from them, just everything. Being a cookbook author and photographer myself, I know the sheer amount of work involved, so it makes me appreciate them even more. 

I love Cheers to the Publican cookbook

    • What I love about this cookbook: it’s a little hipster, and it reminds me of going out to dinner, but not fancy foo foo, more farm to table, think communicable tables (which they have in their restaurant)
    • I’ve been to the Publican and the Publican Quality Meats in Chicago (mentioned them in my where to eat in Chicago guide) 
    • Nick originally got me the cookbook when it came out and I dismissed it because it seemed unrealistic, and like I didn’t have time to make any of the dishes. 
    • Nick has been wanting to make a porchetta forever, and I remembered they had a recipe in there so I opened it up. 
    • Wow, it’s beautiful and makes me want to cook everything to feel a connection with the restaurant experience. 
    • They also have a bread section that I can’t wait to bake from, now that I have a sourdough starter (they even include their starter recipe in there btw)and that I bake bread weekly (who am I) and there’s some tips they talk about I can’t wait to try with my bread.
    • The kids helped me look through the book, and we had story time reading about 

Personal Stories

  • As I mentioned above, it was Serbian Christmas last week.  I made the kids take pictures with me.  There may or may not have been M&M bribes involved because they just wanted to eat dinner, lol.

Bribing the kids with M&Ms for pictures

  • Here is what we ate for Serbian Christmas Eve Dinner (from the top going clockwise)
    • Leg of Lamb
    • Russian Salad
    • Gibanica
    • Milwaukee Pretzel Company Big/Soft Pretzel Wreath: 
    • Steamed Cauliflower
    • Mashed Potatoes

Serbian Christmas Eve dinner

  • Ben keeps removing his pillow case, and then stuffing it full of his bedding and toys from his room. After every nap or waking up in the morning. Then he drags it all around the house. It’s heavy! And it’s driving me crazy lol, but I’m hoping it’s just a small phase (because then we need to go find xzy toy at the end of the day!) It started when he was joking he was the Grinch. Now the Grinch theme has gone, along with our Christmas decorations, but he is STILL doing the pillow case thing. 

Ben packs up all of his toys in a pillow case and walks them throughout the house.

  • We put away Christmas decorations, and Ben helped get the high ornaments (he actually helped put away ½ of the tree, by himself, he even wrapped them all up carefully, I was impressed.) We got takeout from Storyhill BKC to celebrate – get the burger if you eat there.  And their cocktail kits, their curbside is amazing.

Taking down Christmas decor and Story Hill BKC dinner

  • I think I mentioned this before, but Ben and I go on “night walks” sometimes. We grab flashlights and take a little walk or play outside. He brought back snowballs and put them on the doorstep, then wanted to show Nick, so sweet. 

Taking night walks with Ben

Did you know?

Did you know there are two ways to see recipes related to the one you are currently viewing?

1. At the top of the website, you’ll see a bar with related recipes.

2. At the bottom of each blog post, there will be 3-5 related recipes you can enjoy!

Did you know?

 

The Final Note

EAT

The Final Note; EAT - winter soups

LISTEN

  • Metric has a new album and it is so beautiful, I’ve been listening to this band I forgot about all week and have been seriously loving it. 

The Final Note; LISTEN - Metric album

PURCHASE

  • I know last week we talked about presents, but a Christmas present I got myself just showed up. THESE SHOES – wow! Worth the splurge. They’re on sale for $94 if that tells you anything. Anyway, they’re the comfiest everyday shoe ever. And I always joke with Nick when I feel like a “sporty mom” and these shoes do that for me. I wore them while cleaning Christmas decorations and cleaning up highchairs after lunch. 

The Final Note; Purchase - shoe splurge

Have you ever heard of hot chocolate bombs?  I’d love to know!  Just leave a comment below and let me know.

 

We lost 130 pounds last year!

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Last year my husband and I lost a combined 130 pounds. He lost 80 lbs., and I lost 50 lbs. There are so many prefaces and things I want to say  before I start this post (like this is a moment in time/I have a long way to go/weight is different for everyone/you’re beautiful no matter what size you happen to be/you never know what’s going on in peoples’ lives) but I don’t think it really hit me how incredible the loss is until I’m here typing it. This is our couples weight loss story. This post is vulnerable and not for everyone at this moment, so please skip it if you’re not in a place to read it. Throughout the past year, I jotted down some notes and experiences as I’ve been on this journey.

Couple weight loss - we lost a combined 130 pounds last year

I had never set a weight loss-health related goal before. Maybe I’d think about losing weight around New Years like “I should lose weight” in a fleeting sense, but I never really put any thought or set goals around it.

Mens weight loss before and after 80 lbs
Oct. 2018 vs. Dec 2020 (minus 80 lbs)

Sure, I’ve tried just about every diet to lose a few pounds quickly.  But I always found a work-around on a restrictive diet – Whole30, Atkins, South Beach, etc. Another example, gluten free…guess what, I can make you the best gluten free cake full of butter and sugar and chocolate (butter, sugar, and chocolate are gluten free and so is rice, and so is cheese and omg the list goes on). Want me to eat nothing but meat? Great, send some bacon my way! If I was supposed to restrict something, I’d just think about THAT THING until I hit x day when I could have it again and then I’d have way too much of it.

Mom weight loss before after minus 50 lbs
August 2017 and Dec 2020 (minus 50 lbs)

The diets worked, for a short period of time. Then I’d eventually stop them, because, life, and I’d gain whatever weight I’d lost back, and then some.

I’ve never been a “small” person weight-wise and don’t aspire to be one. I think people are beautiful no matter their size, and truly have never understood all the fat shaming that goes on. It can be hurtful, and of course, during the bigger phases I’ve had people make comments about my weight-all the way back in grade school when I got teased when I wore this beautiful bright blue sweater my dad had gotten me for Christmas and someone called me “the world” because I was so big that I was like all the lakes? I guess?

Couples weight loss before and after

Or when a “healthy blogger” I met in person was telling me why this other blogger was so big because she didn’t make her weight a priority, just like I didn’t make mine a priority, and that’s why I/we were so big…um…never mind that it was mean girl stuff and that who cares what size a person is and why are you talking behind someone’s back? Even if there was truth to what she was saying, it was so awful the way she was saying it in a condescending way. Because you don’t know what someone is going through. Just a p.s., at the time I was on medication trying to get pregnant and it made me retain weight and feel puffy. I cried in the bathroom. As I’ve gotten older, I’ve realized it’s usually about the other person’s insecurities.

I’ve always had supportive family and friends, and always felt like I knew how to dress for my body shape and size and pose in pictures (kind of, awkward for sure, but that’s what people tell me). I’ve always loved food.

Weight loss before and after
Left Oct 2018, Right Dec 2020 (me-same style/brand/color pants just 4 sizes smaller)
I digress… the point is, for me, weight has never been a big deal. Maybe that’s something I was telling myself and hiding behind? Who knows. For me, my clothes were starting to get a little tight and I was starting not to like the way I looked in photos.
Three years ago I had my first son, then I had boy/girl twins (they all share a birthday). So 3 kids in the span of 2 years.
Before after twins pregnancy weight loss
June 2019 | June 2020
Not an excuse, but the truth. Want to know something crazy? I only gained 15 lbs with my first pregnancy and 20 lbs with the twins. Yes, I was throwing up every day, yes I was on medication, but that’s besides the point lol. Hormones are nuts, and right after I had kids I went back to what I had been before getting pregnant, but then a few months later, boom, I was bigger than I’d ever been. Hormones!
During the twins pregnancy, I think I took a total of 5 photos of myself because I just felt so giant (and I was just scared something would happen, that’s a story for another time, regardless to say, I’m extremely happy and grateful to have delivered healthy twins! You might not believe it, but there were actually more health issues during my older son’s birth than with the twins!)
So this past year, I actually set a health goal. I wanted to set something manageable and thought ok, there are 52 weeks in a year, why don’t I try to break it down in small steps and do something every week? So I set a goal to lose 52 lbs over the year and do some kind of movement/exercise 30 minutes once a week.
As I write this post, I’ve lost 50. I was originally going to wait to only write this point once I reached 52, but it’s an ongoing journey and will continue to be.
Couples weight loss before after losing 130 lbs combined
Did Nick have a health related goal? NOPE!
His weight loss journey (he didn’t like when I used the term “journey” because it can be said in a mocking way, but he’s come around lol) kind of happened as a result of mine, and unfortunately/fortunately got a jump start because of anxiety at the beginning of the pandemic.
It was crazy to me when the pandemic started and we were eating just what I was cooking, what a difference food alone made for Nick. He shared with me that in addition to the pasta I would pack for him for lunches, he would get a side of mozzarella sticks from the cafeteria, and then in the afternoon a big cookie and soda. Some days he would get a big breakfast because it was cheap.

Weight is one of those weird things. It’s so incredibly individual. What works for one person might not work for another, even if they’re doing exactly the same thing.

Couples weight loss before after

 

It’s hard when you’re trying to lose weight and your partner seemingly isn’t, but does so anyways. I’ve come to realize that’s all internal stuff and has nothing to do with the other person. I’m so incredibly proud of and happy for Nick.

Here are a few of the hard moments from the past year:

  • Even though he didn’t have a health goal, when my husband started to lose weight, it seemed so quick and easy for him. It was like he blinked and was 30 lbs less.
  • I remember when his weight dipped below mine and I cried. He had lost 60 lbs and I had lost 37. 37 lbs down is a lot, it’s a toddler lol. I tried to think about perspective.
  • When we moved in August, I was down 39 lbs and my husband was down 65. We were going through the coat closet. Last year around Christmas we realized my husband hadn’t bought coats in years. He had like 1 ratty old winter coat. So we in the fall I got him a gorgeous LL Bean coat, then he got a North Face winter coat and a some Carhart outdoor gear. All very pricey items. He tried on the coats and outerwear and it looked completely ridiculous. It looked like he was playing dress up in dads clothes. He was annoyed at all the money that had been spent. He asked if he should just keep 1 or 2, and I said absolutely not. He was annoyed and I was annoyed at him for being annoyed instead of in awe and happy. I mean yes, I understand how annoying it is that now he doesn’t have a coat, but really, I told him he should be so incredibly proud and happy that he’s lost so much weight. Plus I want this to be a forever thing.
  • UGH -between August and October, I would go up a pound, down a pound, up 2, down 1, down 2, up 1, down 1 down 1. It was awful. I thought I wasn’t losing any weight, but it was snails pace, and a few months later it was cumulative down. It definitely goes slow slow slow sometimes.
  • I feel like you can really see the change of shape of Nick as a whole, and my turning point like that hasn’t happened yet. Maybe it will, or maybe not. I’ve come to terms with it being different for everyone.
  • Nick got a pair of jeans that was super small. But they fit so nice. He put them on and just looked like a different person. I remember tearing up. I didn’t want him to think the reaction was about him, so I went into the other room and called my parents and cried. It was so stupid I was so emotional about it. My parents were so sweet and reassuring that everyone is on their own path, and that weight loss for women and men (and every single individual) is so different.
  • Ben came up to me and pushed into my stomach and said “mommy you’re SO squishy.” I jokingly laughed and said back to him “you’re so squishy” and he said “no mama, I’m rock hard and you’re squishy” and laughed.
  • Weight loss with your partner – it can drive you mad if you’re doing different things. Nick weighs himself all the time. Like 6 times a day (I’m exaggerating…but am I?) And I only want to see the scale once a week, I go crazy if I try to weigh myself every day. But that’s the thing, what works for him is completely different than what works for me.
  • I’m just sharing to show you that it’s hard sometimes, even with the most supportive partner, there’s stuff we as individuals need to work on.
I also don’t love before-after type photos, because I don’t want to look back and have negative memories associated with special moments. Yes, it shows transformation, but it doesn’t tell the whole story. I look back at some photos where I was probably at my ‘biggest’ and I don’t want to hate myself, I see someone who was happy, who had just had twins – etc,. so that’s just a random note about the pictures in this post. I hope my kids look back  at photos and remember me as a fun loving mom, and don’t care what size I was.
Couples weight loss before after
Nov. 2019 | Nov. 2020
This is the worst weight lost post ever lol. I wish I could tell you “all you need to do is xyz.” I wish there were some secret pill or powder or shake or diet I could tell you to go try. Some super specific thing I could point to.
Truth is, we ate everything I’ve been posting (including taco pizza, Cuban sliders, chocolate chip cookies, and chocolate turtle cake) … just a little bit less. And we incorporated more things like side salads and grill meal prep recipes.
I asked Nick his thoughts on what worked for him, and he said:
  • biggest success has been in portion control, not eliminating anything, just eating less of it.
  • no in-between meals eating
  • piece of dark chocolate instead of looking for a dessert after a meal
Some thoughts around what’s worked for me:
  • Before you eat, ask yourself this: I read somewhere that if you feel like you want to eat, to ask yourself if you’re actually hungry for food or something else (like if you’re frustrated at work, you want a hug, and that is triggering you to want comfort in the form of food etc.)
  • Portion control: Try to eat a little less. I’ve also read somewhere that what you eat is 80% of weight loss.
  • German saying: I was talking to my mom (who is German) and she was asking me what I was doing, and I was telling her I wasn’t doing much, just trying to eat a little less, and she said it reminded her of this German saying that goes, “Fress die haelfte,” which means loosely translated, “eat half (of it).”  However, in German there are two words for eating: essen (to eat for people) and fressen (to eat for animals), so…it’s a little more tongue in cheek than just eat half.
  • Start small and write it down: you don’t need to set crazy goals, but you do need to have some kind of goal, that you write down. My goal was lose 52 lbs (1 lb a week) and do some kind of movement/exercise 30 minutes once a week.
  • Special equipment myth: You don’t need any special equipment if you want to move a little bit . Literally you need zero equipment…I googled a free yoga workout and did that in my pjs in the bathroom one day.
  • Movement/exercise app: I heard about this free app iphone app called Workout For Women. It can be overwhelming because there are 5 million resources, this one is nicely laid out and not too intense. They have a program called ‘the daily 7’ and it’s 7 minutes a day.
  • Food/portion control tip: separate a big bag of chips/pretzels/snack mix into single servings/little containers – there’s some psychology behind the likelihood you’ll stop sooner or eat less by the act of having to open each bag vs trying to stop yourself after getting going on the whole bag.
Couples weight loss before and after
October 2019 | May 2020 (Nick down 30, Phi down 25) | August 2020 | November 2020
I feel like I’m just getting started on my health journey if I’m being honest. I didn’t know if I was going to even write this post because I don’t feel like I/we have been or are on a “diet” if that makes sense, and I hope it stays that way. I know some might look at my current photos and still see someone bigger than themselves and think that it’s just a starting point (it feels like that for me too). But I don’t want to minimize the past year and the journey.
There’s no neat way to wrap this post up. So I’ll just say that I’m sharing this with all the love and consideration for everyone out there on their own journey. You’re amazing wherever you are at this moment in time. If this post has helped you at least know there’s someone out there struggling through with you, awesome. If it’s given you a funny story to relate to, awesome. If it’s given you a little tip or something you can use, awesome. This is a moment in time and I may go up and down (most definitely) but that’s life.

Mom Essentials – Holiday Edition

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In the latest edition of my Mom essentials series (see previous mom essentials fall and winter editions), I’m sharing Mom essentials – holiday edition.  This post will show you what I’m buying, how I’m relaxing and what I can’t do without this holiday season!

Mom Essentials - Holiday Edition

What I’m buying

I could go on and on with all of the gifts I’d love to buy (definitely check out my love list series for more ideas), but I am aiming to keep it simple and give you a few ideas of what to buy for the whole holiday season; not just Christmas day.

Mom essentials - holiday edition
Silicone baking sheet | Custom apron | Gold touch sheet pan
  • Matching family PJS!
    • You guys know how much I love my Hanna Andersson pajamas and I HAD TO get the gnome print, of course.  Their pajamas are the best quality and always the most fun prints.  I can’t wait to try to get a photo of the five of us in our jammies!
  • Kids aprons
    • I bought this for Ben last year so now I’ve got to get one for Freddie and Frankie.  I ordered them a bit big just to be sure they fit for a couple of years!
  • Cookie cutters
    • A must-have for all of your holiday baking fun.  I get a new fun shape or two every year, but these are classic Christmas shapes everyone needs in their collection.  If you already have the classics, I think this will be the newest cutter I’ll add to my collection this year.
  • Gold Touch sheet pans
    • I’m treating myself to a second set of these because I use them literally everyday.  If you are planning to do any holiday baking, this is a must-have.  And yes, we use them for much more than just baking.
  • Silicone baking sheet
    • You can never have enough of these for cookie baking season!  I am buying one more for our house and a few for gifts.
  • Cookbook
    • I love cookbooks and think they make fantastic gifts – I’ve included some of my favorites here.  One of the things I love doing is paring them with a food gift, like I mention below.  Plus my five ingredient cookbook is great for any busy mom or person looking to learn a bit more in the kitchen with easy, accessible recipes.
  • Caramel Sauce
    • This caramel sauce is seriously my most favorite.  It’s made with goat’s milk, making the texture even more creamy and delicious.  Pair it with a cookbook and it makes a great little foodie gift.

What I’m wearing

It’s 2020, the year of comfort, am I right?  Here are a few things keeping me comfy, cozy and Christmas-ready.

Mom essentials - holiday edition
V-neck shirt | Slippers | Joggers
  • Slippers
    • Yes they’re a treat and yes they are worth it!  But if you’d prefer to spend a bit less, these are a great alternative.
  • Joggers
    • I’ve been living in these and have seen so many of my friends doing the same.  They make me feel more put together than a simple pair of sweatpants and they are equally as comfy.
  • Initial Necklace
    • I’ve mentioned this necklace before, but I am still as in love with it as the day I got it.  I wear the necklace daily and it always makes me smile.
  • V-neck shirt
    • This is my go-to t-shirt.  I think I own at least four of them.  The white ones aren’t see-through and they are simply my fave.
  • Lip balm
    • This is perfect for when the weather gets cold and dry.  I’ve used this for years and even love the pretty little tins it comes in.  Great for a stocking stuffer!

What I’m cooking

We are always baking up a storm around the holiday season and this year is no exception.  Freddie and Frankie are starting to show more interest in the kitchen and Ben loves to be my #1  helper, so let the cooking begin!

Mom essentials - holiday edition
Gingerbread muffins | Cranberry bliss cookies | Sugar cookies
  • Sugar cookies
    • These cookies are a classic and we make them every single year at the holidays.  They’re the best because you can use all sorts of fun cookie cutters and decorate them in a million different ways.  Plus, they are a great recipe to make with kits in the kitchen.
  • Gingerbread muffins
    • These are a great breakfast or snack AND you can make ahead.  What’s not to love?!
  • Iced Bailey’s Coffee Latte
    • A special treat I enjoy around the holidays, sometimes when they days get a bit stressful.  Haha.
  • Cranberry bliss cookies
    • I love baking with cranberries around the holidays and these cookies are some of my favorite to enjoy.
  • Cinnamon rolls
    • My favorite thing about this recipe is that these are made in a slow cooker, so I can get a few other things accomplished while these are baking.
  • Oven baked pork roast
    • This recipe is affordable and easy; a perfect dinner for a small, at-home Christmas or to enjoy any night of the week.

I’d love to know what you are enjoying this holiday season, so please feel to leave a comment and let me know!

 

Best Cooking Toys

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When I was a kid, I loved a good Easy Bake Oven, but nowadays there are so many amazing toys for kids who love to cook.  I’m sharing the best cooking toys that every kid is sure to love.
The best cooking toys for kids

Play-doh barbecue -burger set

  • This is one of Ben’s absolute favorites!  His grandma got him this and it’s a huge hit! And we love it because we grilled all summer long, so Ben thought it was fun to build his own food while we were cooking ours.  Getting Freddie and Frankie to not eat the Play-doh is a whole other challenge….

Play-doh kitchen cooking toy for kids

Kids charcuterie board

  • A friend got this for us as a gift and it’s so dang adorable.  Honestly, I think it’s nicer than any charcuterie boards I put together. Haha.  Again, a fun one for the kids to emulate what the parents are doing, so they feel like grown ups!

Velcro, sliceable food set

  • I am always thrilled with toys that are also educational and this sliceable food set is great for teaching fine motor skills.  Plus, you all know how much Ben loves to use his kid safe knives with me in the kitchen.  This set allows for Freddie and Frankie to start learning in a safe way.

Ice cream set

  • I’ve talked to a couple of Mom-friends of mine and it turns out that we all have this set for our kids.  It’s so much fun to let the kids play with all of the different flavor combinations or just chew on the wooden pieces if they’re teething, haha.

Ice cream cooking toy for kids

Kids coffee set

  • Ok, I just cannot stand how cute this kids coffee set is.  I mean, come on?  While I am a devout iced coffee drinker, this one was just too cute to pass up.

Condiment set

  • Another food toy that keeps the kids entertained for many minutes (I would say hours, but who are we kidding!?).  Ben likes to use these condiments to put on his creations using the Play-Doh barbecue set I mentioned earlier.

Toddler playing with a hamburger toy

Taco and tortilla set

  • This was another set that was gifted to us and who doesn’t love all things taco!?  This set has a menu the kids can order from, so as they get older (and can read), this will still be a favorite I’m sure.  Again, Freddie and Frankie play around and chew on the pieces, while Ben loves to make different taco creations!

Do you have any other cooking toys you love for kids? We also have a kids play kitchen, and that Ben and the twins love, which houses all sorts of other sets (like a pizza set and cookie set, but the pieces get everywhere so I didn’t include that in the main list!)

The Most Underrated Kitchen Appliance I Own

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I cannot wait to tell you guys what the most underrated kitchen appliance I own is.  Any guesses?  We use it every single day in our house….

Our toaster oven!

Toddler playing with toys in the kitchen

This is the one we have! It’s super old, but it works like a charm, and it’s a kitchen appliance that won’t break the bank. We got ours for $50!

I was talking to a friend about how much I loved our toaster oven, and she giggled and admitted that she had never cooked anything in a toaster oven and definitely didn’t own one at her own house (insert shocked face here).  I could not imagine not having one!

In case you also don’t have a toaster oven and also have never really used one, we basically use it as an alternative to our oven; it’s like a quicker oven!

Here are just a few of the ways we use our toaster oven:

  • I heat up our eggless waffles and you guys know how often we eat those in our house (right now I have a 3 year old who wakes up and requests the waffles).

Heating up waffles in a toaster oven

  • Warming up burritos is one my favorite ways to use the toaster oven- it gives them a nice crispy crunchy outside (I make these vegetarian black bean burritos)
  • I don’t like microwave re-heated meat, so I ALWAYS use my toaster oven to warm up meat. We heat up chicken tenders (my recipe for un-fried cornflake chicken) or any other type of chicken.
  • I make open-face sandwich, like these surf and turf melts, but I also love making a kid-friendly version which I just call cheese melts; simply a slice of cheese and a few slices of tomato.
  • It’s great for toasting buns that are too big to go in a toaster.

The best and easy sweet potato burgers

  • Sweet potato black bean burgers – for the kids, I just make small little bite-sized nuggets and they love them!
  • Anytime I want something with a little crispy crust, we throw it in the toaster oven!  Like, my egg cups for example.  These are the best a little crispy.
  • Nachos!  These are a fave in our house.

The best freezer chocolate chip cookies

  • Cookies are another favorite thing to make in the toaster oven.  These ones are super easy to just pop a few out of the freezer and bake them for a quick sweet treat.
  • We re-heat our pizza.  Or even make these pizzas with the kids.

The most delicious sheet pan pizza

  • Garlic bread is super simple – just smear a little butter on the bread, sprinkle with garlic salt and bake.  You can also use the toaster oven to reheat the garlic bread. Or, if you’re looking for a crazy good garlic bread – try this one!!
  • Quesadillas are another delicious thing to quickly make for the kids in the toaster oven.

I could go on and on about toaster oven recipes since we use ours all the time!  I truly believe a toaster oven is the most underrated kitchen appliance I own. It’s great for anything that’s cooked, coming out of the freezer that needs to be warmed.

And with that, I will leave you with one final toaster oven tip – don’t forget to line the tray with foil.  It makes cleanup so much easier!

What do you like making in the toaster oven? Let me know in the comments below.

Best Board Games for Kids

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Today, I’m sharing some of the best board games for kids.  This time in quarantine has given us plenty of time to play more games together as a family.  As Ben has gotten older, he has been showing more interest in playing board games. As we all know…sometimes playing board games with kids isn’t all that relaxing lol, so here are some of the best board games I’ve come across!
Best board games for kids
We always like to keep plenty of activities on hand for when Ben gets a little antsy.  We love to cook with him in the kitchen and read plenty of books, but when we’re looking for another activity, we turn to games!  Let’s just dive right in.  Here are some favorites in our household!

Monkey Around

  • I love that this game gets your kids up and moving.  Kids learn to follow the direction given on the card, so they jump, catch, play, sing and dance.  This burns plenty of energy and teaches kids motor skills for a great foundation of learning moving forward.

Sushi Go

  • When talking about board games with a friend of mine, she reminded me about how much I love Sushi Go!  We don’t always play by the rules in our household, but Ben loves to mix and match the cards and pick his favorite.  This game isn’t a big bulky box, so we love that it doesn’t take up much space and will be loved for years to come.

Best board games for kids

Let’s go Fishin’

  • If you can’t tell by the condition of the box in the above picture, Let’s go Fishin’ is probably the most popular game at our house as of late.  I remember iterations of this game when I was a kid and not much has changed.  Again, your child is learning fine motor skills by trying to hover a magnet over the correct fish to “catch” it.  I even find myself fishing and having tons of fun playing.

Hoot Owl Hoot

  • This game helps with color development and working together.  If you work in teams, you will save more owls quickly.  Ben is just getting into this one, but I can see how great it will be for his teamwork skills as the years go on.

First Orchard

  • A friend of mine recommend this game to me (and it was recommended to her by a friend too!).  Any game that multiple people recommend is one I will absolutely try.  This is another game that is great for teaching the skills of working on a team.  We have been focusing on that a lot since Ben has not been in daycare and hasn’t had as much interaction with other kids as he normally would.  These games have been very helpful!

Board games for kids

Hi Ho Cherry-O

  • Made for ages 3 and up, we just bought this game to have on  hand to help with counting skills.  Like many children’s games, the basic premise of this game is based on counting, matching up colors etc.  In Hi Ho Cherry-O, your kid will pick fruit off the tree and add it into the bucket.

Chutes and Ladders

  • This game is still around for a reason.  It’s a classic that everyone has loved at one point in their life.  Of course, over the years it has been modernized in the way of graphics, but it is still just as fun as ever!

Candy Land

  • Another classic that was one of my favorites as a kid.  Candy Land is slowly working it’s way into popularity in our house.  I’m excited to have the twins play it as they get older as well.  Plus, the extra bonus is that I just love playing this game so it’s always a treat to get to play with my kids.

Scavenger hunt indoor outdoor for kids

Scavenger Hunt Game For Kids

  • My mother-in-law gave us this game, and it is so so fun. We spend hours looking outside for leaves and feathers and whatever, it’s just great! I love that the game has indoor and outdoor.

According to Ben, these are some of the best board games for kids, but I would love to hear if you have any more suggestions.  Just leave a comment below – we’re always looking to add more to our collection!

If you want to get any of these games for the kids in your household, just click on the image to buy!

This post contains affiliate links.  If you purchase through the links, at no cost to you, I may get a small commission.  Thank you for supporting the brand and products that I love.

Things in my cart for the Nordstrom Anniversary Sale

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I’ve always missed the big Nordstrom Anniversary Sale. Every year I seem to find out about it after the fact. This year is different!! There are various preview dates and tiers for when you can purchase (based on if you have a card or not), but the dates of the sale are August 19-September 3 and this year-there’s a preview feature! So here are things in my cart for the Nordstrom Anniversary Sale.

Things in my cart for the nordstrom anniversary sale 2020

Caveat- I’m sharing these things in my cart for the Nordstrom Anniversary Sale not as a sponsored post, but because I love lists (see my love lists posts). Some of the links below are affiliate links – meaning if you purchase through the links, at no cost to you, I might earn a small commission. It’s been a weird year to say the least, so this post is, by no means, meant to make you feel like you need to purchase any of these things. I, for example, may have items sitting in my cart for a while before I actually decide to buy them. Or, I may never end end up buying them but come back to this list as inspiration or ideas for gifts down the line. Hope you enjoy!

ITEMS I BUY AHEAD AS GIFTS – I like stocking up on a few things and having them for whenever I need gifts. For example. I like to buy a few colanders because I make gift baskets and use the colander as the base  to put other things in (think a housewarming gift, or for when you need to put together a last minute thoughtful gift).

ITEMS I BUY FOR MY BUSINESS/OFFICE/KITCHEN- I have a food based business, so I need things like props and other food related items. I also want a few things for my office (like the cutest diffuser – I’ve always wanted one for my office) and a water bottle.

ITEMS I BUY FOR ME-CLOTHES & BEAUTY – Not gonna lie, I’m pretty predictable in this department. I like a good cardigan, mule shoes, and ankle pants (because I’m short and they’re the perfect length). And then there’s some beauty items, like a primer I’ve been wanting or this tote I’ve been eyeing for over a year!

ITEMS I BUY FOR MY HUSBAND – I found a few items I’m going to buy for Nick, including a suede bomber jacket that’s a big splurge but I think would be perfect for him!

I’d love to hear form you in the comments – have you ever shopped the Nordstrom Anniversary sale? Is there anything you’re eyeing?

Our Favorite Children’s Books

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We love reading in our house and have so many books!  Every night, we let Ben pick one and we read before bedtime and it’s always a big to do while he is choosing.  If you have a hard time picking your favorite books too, I’m sharing our favorite children’s books so you can add to your collection (or buy as gifts!)

Our Favorite Children's Books

If you have kids or have friends who are having kids, books make a great gift.  I always say that we read so many books that you can never have enough.  Kids books are easy to get sick of, so it’s nice to have the variety.  If you’re not sure which to pick, you might find this list useful.

I posted a picture on Insta stories of me reading with Ben and the book I was reading him was in the picture. I have never received so much engagement with an Insta story, ever! It was amazing. People I didn’t even know were engaging with me, telling me their children’s favorite books.

Our Favorite Children's Books

Some of the stories in children’s books are surprisingly bad, some are surprisingly good, some are just gorgeous to look at. Every time I spot a book or hear a recommendation, I buy it lol, so our children’s book library is really growing.

Here is a list of our favorite children’s books we’ve enjoyed so far.  It was hard to even narrow the list down to this, but some of our favorite children’s books are below!

Our Favorite Children's Books (1)

Dragons Love Tacos

  • I’m not going to lie, I do not understand this story.  I think it’s so dumb, but I just heard that there was a Dragons Love Tacos 2 and my friend told me that it’s an even more ridiculous story. Ben chooses this one every night.

Cat in the Hat

  • And, let’s be honest, really any Dr. Seuss book is a favorite for our kids.  They are fun to read and timeless classics!

Our Favorite Children's Books (2)

Sleepy Head

  • This has been a favorite book of Ben’s for quite awhile.  We still read it every single night before bed to the twins.  It’s part of his routine so I have it 100% memorized by now.

Best children's book

Where is my Butt?

  • Come on, what a funny book title, right?  This book is adorable and teaches kids about adventure and friendship….all while a penguin tries to find where his butt is, haha.

Pout Pout Fish

  • Oh this one is so fun because of the ending!  At the end the book basically gives the parent full reign to “smooch” all over the kiddo.  I read this repeatedly to Ben as a baby, and now to the twins!

Little Blue Truck

  • What little kids don’t love this book, especially little boys?   My friends with kids all have this one in their house too.  We love the classic version, but we also own quite a few of the other versions too.

Our Favorite Children's Books

Little Pea

  • We love this one in our house because it is all about meal time, food and picking eating.  Plus, the author is from Chicago, which is where I grew up as well.

The Three Little Pigs

  • A classic book that we all know and it continues on to be a favorite of my kids.

If you Give a Mouse a Cookie

The Pigeon Needs a Bath

  • Mo Willems is so great and his book series featuring pigeon’s as the main character is no exception.  The one we read most at our house is about our pigeon friend needing a bath and he sure does not want to!  Luckily my kids love bath time, but if you have trouble getting yours to bathe, give this one a try. When a fly tells the pigeon he smells, Ben always says “take a bath dude!” like the fly, it’s too cute.

Our Favorite Children's Books

Yes, we have tons of kids books and yes I am constantly buying more!  Reading time can get messy, but I’m ok with any messy play that also involves books! I also talk about books I’m reading in my Catching Up With The Kelnhofers series.

Did your favorites make the list? I’d love to hear from you in the comments section.
Shop my favorite kids books below:

Meet The Sweetphi Team

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Meet the SweetPhi Team! I am always so inspired by others and love working with talented individuals and teams. This online space would not be what it is without the help of others, so I wanted to introduce you to two remarkable women who help make this online community better and better as time goes on!

Meet the sweetphi team-behind the scenes food blog

When I started this blog in 2011, it was as a place to document recipes for myself/friends and family (it still is, I’ve just expanded my definition of friends and family to include ALL OF YOU AMAZING READERS). I had no idea it would turn in to a business. In fact, I didn’t even know it could be a business or work towards improving my blog for a good 3 years after I started it.

The thing is, when you own a food and lifestyle blogging business (just as with any small business) you’re responsible for everything: content creation/editorial direction/recipe development/recipe creation/recipe testing/photography/photo shoots/styling/branding/outreach/social media/web design/brand collaborations/project development (in my case cookbooks)/audience engagement/community building/accounting/search engine optimization/communications…the list is literally endless (I spoke more about all of this last year when I called my blog my happy place, which it still is.)

Meet the sweetphi team-behind the scenes food blog

When it got to the point I had over 300+ emails unread (not junk ones, but actually needing a response) and a bunch of projects I needed a second set of hands on, I looked for some help. If you’re not in the blogging world, maybe (or maybe not) you’d be surprised at how much goes into in behind the scenes to keep it going (I know I still am awed every day!)

Meet The Team:

Philia Kelnhofer

Philia– aka “Phi” (pronounced like ‘fee’)- I’m the creator/author/photographer/content creator behind sweetphi.com. I do all the recipe creation and content direction and photography. I’m a 2x cookbook author and cookbook photographer. I started this blog as a hobby back in 2011 and have turned it into a business. I live in Milwaukee, WI with my husband and our 3 kids (Ben, a toddler and boy/girl twins Freddie/Frankie-they all share the same birthday). I’m all about sharing fast and easy recipes and lifestyle inspiration for busy people.

  • Phi’s 5 things: I love gnomes (Nordic gnomes if we’re being exact), a good iced coffee (not cold brew), audiobooks/books (when I have time), farmers markets (I try to grow my own veggies/herbs but fail), and cookbooks (love going through them and reading them cover-to-cover and reading them/cooking from them with the kids)
  • Phi’s style: I love natural/neutral and earth tones (think natural textures wood and linen) and love beautiful (not overly styled) photography, I also love a good mood board and am inspired by well crafted functional things for everyday busy life.
  • Phi’s fave blog things: everything!! haha, for real I love everything posted so so much. An all-encompassing favorite is the Catching Up With The Kelnhofers series because it recaps everything new that’s been posted that week on the blog/family highlights/seasonal recipe ideas/links from around the web and so much more. And of course my cookbooks!

Whenever I get a cookbook, I immediately turn to the acknowledgements section and read that first. I don’t know why, I just love learning more about the author and their process and who they’re thanking. In my baby food cookbook, you’ll find me talk about how even though you pick up a cookbook and may think of it as a singular creation of the author, there’s so much that goes into it, you’ll also find me say:

I could not have done this book without your help Bridget. You carting endless neutral shirts to our photoshoot days and your perfect chopping skills, I will be forever grateful for your friendship! Thank you for being the best hand model and cheerleader helping get things done.

Meet the team Bridget Leech

Bridget –Bridget is the brand manager at Sweetphi.com, she helps with editorial content and planning, is in constant communication with Phi about the ever-changing plans and helps with community engagement (she comes up with the clever Question of the Week on Facebook). She’s been sprucing up the SweetPhi YouTube page and helps Phi put together the 100s (literally) of weekly photos and ideas to turn them into more cohesive content and many many more behind the scenes projects. Also, her’s are the pretty hands you see in many of the photos, as she is in the kitchen with Phi on photoshoot days. Bridget lives nearby with her husband and two kids.  She has a four year old boy, Elliot and a 1 year old girl, Lucy.  It’s actually pretty funny that Bridget didn’t even really like cooking at all when she starting working with Phi.  But, she promises that she has learned a ton and is getting much busier in the kitchen nowadays.

  • Bridget’s 5 things: I’m a twin (I am two minutes older than her and her name is Shannon.  We also have an older sister named Brittany), I lived in London for 4 months and it changed my life, I have run 7 half marathons (and have no intention of ever running a full marathon), I have an uncanny knack of being able to rap almost any late 90’s, early 2000’s hip hop song, and for my finest food-related factoid: I could legit go from black coffee to red wine and call it a day (but, don’t worry, I am constantly reminding myself to fit in plenty of water!).  Oh and I  absolutely love donuts and food trucks (we had 5 food trucks cater our wedding, before that was really a trend).  Ok, that was pretty much like 6 things, but now you know that I’m also terrible at making decisions!
  • Bridget’s style: Thrifting is my absolute favorite thing to do.  My friends no longer ask me where I get my clothes, they just assume they came from a thrift store.  I have bulletin boards in my office with pictures of things that inspire me – I love putting a tack in them so I can see them everyday.  There is nothing better than the perfect color palette.  I love bold patterns and bright colors, so pretty much the opposite of Phi!  I think street art is amazing and have two great graffiti-style pieces in my house (think Banksy and Martin Whatson).
  • Bridget’s fave SweetPhi posts/things: I am very proud of the work we did on the 5 day family meal plan & shopping list post.  This was a real labor of love and I think is a tool that is so helpful to busy families (much like mine).  I also absolutely love being able to help style photos – it’s always been a dream of mine to be a photo stylist.

Meet the team Alyssa Grunfelder

Alyssa- Alyssa is the newest member of the team helps with social media content creation and strategy, community engagement, creating graphics, double checking that recipes are correct and up to date, and too many other small projects to list! She lives close by in the city of Milwaukee, WI

  • Alyssa’s 5 things: I LOVE to bake (mostly cupcakes like salted caramel, chocolate peanut butter cup, strawberry and turtle!), I have been a vegetarian for almost 4 years, I love learning about health and wellness and I also work as a Wellness Assistant at Chiropractic and Wellness on Pewaukee Lake,  I love to travel (my favorite places I’ve been able to visit so far are Italy and Spain!) my favorite food is waffles/pancakes!
  • Alyssa’s Style: I am a very neutral person and love to stick with grays/white/black (you won’t see any bold and bright colors in house!) My favorite styles always seem to be farmhouse related and I’m obsessed with all things Target (for clothes and home decor!)
  • Alyssa’s fave SweetPhi posts/things: I love seeing the Instagram stories every week of what Phi is making for the week ahead. I’m a big meal prepper and it’s always a fun way to get ideas for recipes! My favorite SweetPhi recipes have to be anything breakfast or dessert related (my two favorite food categories!)

They say “teamwork makes the dream work” and I couldn’t agree more. If you ever have any questions or just want to say hi, please comment below or email in, thank YOU for being a part of this online space.