“If there is prep, I generally do it the night before right after we eat or if I have the time, while I’m cooking a meal. To be honest, I feel so relaxed about cooking meals now.”

Candace is a mom with two kids who used to see dinner making as a stressful time, but recently cooking has turned into a much more relaxed and easy time. Read her Hero in the Kitchen story below:

Name: Candace
Age: 39
City, State: Vancouver, British Columbia
Outside of the kitchen I: work part time at a software company, manage the household entirely, and try to exercise and sew when I have a spare moment.
I cook for: 2 kids and a husband (who also cooks!).
Being able to cook allows me to: be freed from over processed, unhealthy meals.
Favorite Cook Smarts meal: The pulled pork, which we did vegetarian with portobello mushrooms. Also, all the fish dishes have been hits too.

What’s been your biggest kitchen challenge?
Trying to cook quickly while I have a 2.5 year old tugging on my leg! Dinner is the WORST time. Everyone is tired and hungry, and I’m trying to get a meal on the table fairly quickly.

How has Cook Smarts helped you with your cooking challenges?
We used to get bored with the same old things we were cooking and tired of trying to come up with new ideas. It was very challenging to find good recipes and cook something healthy that didn’t take a lot of time. Cook Smarts has really revolutionized how we approach meal time.

How has your cooking routine changed recently?
I now shop on Sunday or Monday and unlike before, I don’t generally need to get anything else through the week now. If there is prep, I generally do it the night before right after we eat or if I have the time, while I’m cooking a meal. To be honest, I feel so relaxed about cooking meals now. I even use Cook Smarts’ recipes for lunch sometimes.

“For our family . . . [Cook Smarts has] been fantastic and is truly money well spent. We have reduced our food bill substantially and throw out less.”

What recent kitchen accomplishment are you most proud of?
Before I had a family, I used to cook new and different things all the time. Now I can do that again. With Cook Smarts, we’re given a variety of meals I would have never thought of or even imagined my kids would enjoy. Both kids love fish and my daughter has really enjoyed the tofu dishes. I think my husband and I have been super proud of the fact that we have stuck to the plan, tried new foods, and had some really awesome, flavorful meals.

What advice would you give to other moms trying to juggle all the demands on their lives but also want to get family dinner on the table?
Give Cook Smarts’ meal plans a go. I think it’s the best platform as far as meal planning services go. For our family it’s been fantastic and is truly money well spent. We have reduced our food bill substantially and throw out less. The stress level around meal times has gone way down, we’re eating better, and enjoying nutritious meals that don’t take a lot of time to prepare.

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Candace, we’re sure there are times when a 2.5 year old is tugging at you while you’re cooking, but we’re so glad to hear that dinnertime overall is a lot more relaxing. Kudos to you for introducing such a wide variety of food to your kids and getting them to enjoy fish and tofu.

To join Candace and cook meals like her favorite pulled mushrooms, take a peek at our meal plan service. You can taste test for free!

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