The beginning of January without a doubt brings up chatter of new goals, habits, and resolutions. I shared a little more on Instagram over the weekend about my own journey over the last 8 years that got me to today—and the hopelessness I felt specifically at the start of the new year. It’s hard to start something new!! And you don’t need the pressure of the new year adding to the noise!!
This is something that I had to unlearn myself over the past 8 years in order to actually build genuine and lasting kitchen confidence and cooking habits. If you’re thinking of growing your confidence in the kitchen, trying new recipes, or committing to a meal prep routine this year, I’m cheering you on!!! And I genuinely hope the eat goood newsletter and Don’t Think About Dinner are supports you can lean on.
Today I’m sharing some simple, actionable tips that actually changed it all for me—the tiny habits that helped shape my now daily lifestyle and meal planning routine.
And for a full compilation of my best tips and tools… we are exactly 1 week!!! away from Don’t Think About Dinner pub day!!! I’ve been saying it since June and I’ll say it again—your preorders mean everything. Purchasing the book before you’ve seen it takes a lot of trust that I don’t take for granted, so thank you for trusting in me to provide a truly valuable kitchen resource for you! And if you order right now, you’ll get your book next week!!
why preordering really does matter:
✨ Preorders let booksellers and stores know how to stock their shelves! The higher the number of preorders, the more booksellers will stock their shelves so you can go get it IRL on January 13th and beyond, plus find it at your local indie bookstores! If you preordered from Amazon, you can also thank your delivery driver! Just search “thank my driver” in the app to send them a notification 🫶🏻
✨ Preorders contribute to first week sales, which affect bestseller lists 🩷 Even better? Ordering from small book stores (like your signed copies from Trident Booksellers!) can help even more.
✨ More preorders = more opportunities for in person events and tour stops!! Book tour starts up next Tuesday in NYC (then DC, Chicago, Austin, Seattle, SF, & Boston!) I’d love to stop in to even more cities in 2026 to share the DTAD love! Let me know where you want me to come!
✨ You can get freebies! I created the DTAD preorder bonus bundle with two weeks of additional meal plans and bonus recipes right from the book for everyone who preorders!! You can also enter the DTAD sweepstakes here.
✨ If buying the book isn’t in budget right now, there are many other ways to support: making and sharing recipe from the eat goood newsletter and my website (bonus points for leaving a rating and review!), watching and engaging with my videos, & sharing the eat goood newsletter with friends about the newsletter (two 100% free newsletters are sent out every single week!)
I can’t thank you all enough for ordering DTAD. This week we have been in the top 100 of ALL books on Amazon. Like ALL books that exist on there!!! Thank you for sharing about the book with your friends, family, and coworkers, sending me messages saying you’ve ordered, and cheering me on. I have NO doubt you are going to absolutely love DTAD 🩷
BTW some Barnes and Noble locations have the book on shelves early right now… just FYI!
I had my absolute dream come true cooking recipes from DTAD on GMA earlier this week!! Thank you for tuning in, I had so much fun! As an extra special treat, Kelly from GMA shared the recipes I featured on the segments, like my Baked Black Bean and Poblano Tacos and Red Curry Noodles with Sautéed Green Onion and Pork on their website here. Let me know if you try em!
Watch my segment on GMA here and GMA3 here!
Since I got lots of Qs, outfit links!! Denim dress, belt, boots, green blazer, jeans, & white tank.
1. Keeping my pantry organized and making sure my repeat staples are in stock:
I know every month I’m using staples like beans, broth, rice, quinoa, pasta, oats, chia seeds, coconut milk, crushed tomatoes, etc. so they are always in my pantry. But most importantly, I have them organized in there so I can see what I have and take advantage of my stock! A clean, organized shelf means efficient cooking and less stressed trips to the store when I’m out of an ingredient. Plus, I always stock up when there’s a good sale going on or buy in bulk, then store in a big glass container for easy measuring! Your organized pantry can change your life + cut costs immensely!
2. Making my meal plan for the week with my realistic calendar in mind:
The more realistic I am about my capabilities for the week when meal planning, the higher the odds that I’m actually going to follow through. On weeks where I’m limited on time or energy, I cook simple meals with low cook times and low ingredients. Cooking feels a lot more doable when I don’t need to prepare a bunch of different components. My freezer stock also comes in handy during these weeks, which is why I love to freeze some of my meal prep every week (or my leftovers!).
3. Setting up my kitchen in a way that matches my movements & keeping my top essentials right next to my stove:
I know I’m often going to use my stainless steel and nonstick skillets, saucepans, lids, cutting board, chefs knife, and glass storage containers when I’m cooking, so those are all as close to my stove as possible and easy to access. Bigger kitchen appliances I don’t use often are stored further back. Beyond that, I keep my oil, salt, pepper, wooden spoons, spatulas, tasting spoons, etc. in arms reach of my stove to save time while cooking (and make less of a mess!). Identify what you’re always reaching for and keep those things close!
4. Ingredient prepping when I’m in a cooking rut or partially prepping:
Ingredient prep focuses on prepping the components of meals: protein, veggies, and sides, rather than full meals. It gives you the space to decide what meals you want to enjoy at different times and the ability to mix and match. If I don’t know where to start in the kitchen, I think about what’s in season right now. In winter, there’s lots of root veggies, squash, and citrus. In summer, you’ll catch me with a new chopped salad in my weekly rotation! The rest of my list is built around what proteins and grains pair well, and it’s uncomplicated. A simple batch of prepped bone broth quinoa, honey marinated chicken thighs and I’ve got at least one nourishing meal ready for the week. If this feels like your jam, browse the ingredient prep archive!
5. Cooking once, eating twice:
Make your dinner portions large enough to give you lunch the next day or vice versa. If you’re already in the kitchen cooking, you might as well throw in a second pound of meat or can of beans/chickpeas and get double the reward for hardly any additional effort! You can go the component prep route and use the extra protein or roasted veggies for a different meal, or keep it simple and make a double batch of a freezer-friendly favorite. Important tip: put your leftovers into the containers BEFORE serving yourself the meal in the moment. This ensures you properly portioned for as many meals as possible.
6. Bonus tip: Make it work!
A bonus tip this week comes from my friend rachel mansfield, food entrepreneur, creator, and (new!!!) cookbook author!
“Cook one meal for you and your family, but make it work for everyone! So many understandably fall into the habit of cooking one meal for them and their partner then something else for their kids based on everyone's preferences. With simple, easy modifications you can make a delicious meal that works for everyone, saving time in the kitchen and keeping dinner time stress-free. My next cookbook, more, please! does just this. 100+ recipes to feed you and your family so dinner time (or any meal time) can be less stressful. All of my recipes are made with pantry and fridge staples I walk you through earlier in the book to help set you up for success in the kitchen.” You can now preorder Rachel’s new cookbook more, please!!
Rachel is also gearing up for the launch of cadootz!: a kids’ snack brand on a mission to take the stress and guilt out of snack time. Developed out of personal necessity for their three young sons, Rachel and her husband Jordan created cadootz! to reimagine the classic cracker in three classic flavors: Cheddar, Sea Salt, and Ranch. (I’m personally obsessed with Ranch!!) cadootz! is turning the wellness conversation where it’s actually useful: the kids’ snack aisle, because snacks can come with real benefits (like 5g of protein per serving, no seed oils, and certified organic!). Grab a box for the ultimate kids snack time…or try for yourself!
Join our New Year’s Kick Off Challenge!
Let me know what you’re cooking this week and send your photos in our chat!
Love these tips! We moved in November and the first thing I did, even before the movers arrived with the rest of our stuff, was to take all our kitchen stuff to the new house and set it up without anyone else around so I could think through MY flow and organize accordingly. The fresh start felt so good.
Excellent work