I keep hearing the phrase “back to routine” repeated, as back-to-school season also means a different schedule for many of the grown-ups this fall. Whether you’re going back into an office or shifting your routine with kids back in school, I always find the first few weeks of September to be a re-setting period — it’s my New Years of the fall! With that comes a chance to start fresh and set myself up for success with good habits – like preparing healthy, smart lunches (the bar is low, since most days I’m grabbing a half-eaten PB&J slice of a toddler’s lunch plate!). A big hearty salad with crunchy Little Leaf Farms greens is one of my go-to options, and I thought I’d share a few ways that I keep lunch salads feeling new – a refresh to your salad routine!
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Back to School is one of my favorite times of year. Besides being a school supply nerd (give me those freshly sharpened pencils!), I also love being back in a routine. Getting back into that routine can take a little bit of practice though, and I like to set myself up for success by getting prepared for the season ahead. My friends at Christmas Tree Shops and That! recently invited me into their store to check out some of the fall trends, and while I was there I did a major stock up on supplies for back to school lunches. I thought I’d share a few of the things I keep on hand to make lunchbox packing fast, fun, and affordable!
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I’ve been documenting the process for my mini kitchen makeover on instagram stories, and am finally sharing the final reveal today! This kitchen nook is small but mighty, and for the past 5+ years I’ve tested 100s of recipes, made more meals than I can count for my family, and wrote a cookbook in it! The space was terribly outdated with old, beat up wood cabinets and a yellowing laminate backsplash. The look of it drove me crazy, but it’s very functional and everything still worked, so I put off making any updates to it until we could do a major kitchen renovation in the future. 
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If there could be an official meal of summer 2021, this would be it: Eggplant Caprese! My garden has been producing eggplant like crazy this year, and with tomatoes also at their peak we have been eating this simple dish on repeat. I make crispy breaded eggplant and layer it with sliced juicy tomatoes, loads of fresh basil leaves, and tuck it all around a decadent burrata or fresh mozzarella. Season everything well with salt and pepper, the salt brings out even more flavor in the tomatoes – and give it a light drizzle of olive oil and good balsamic before serving. Summer perfection!
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A few weeks ago I shared a festive idea for serving a summery watermelon salad in paper cones with my friends at Little Leaf Farms. The entertaining idea was meant to be served to grown-ups, but 4-year old immediately saw that I was making something fun and asked to try a bite. I’m not one to turn down a toddler asking for a bite of a salad, so I handed her a cone and let her give it a whirl. It was a good reminder that switching up how we present food, and even make it fun, can spark some interest in our kids to try new things. It inspired me to come up with fresh ideas for how to add FUN (and crisp Little Leaf Farms greens!) into our meals.
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My garden is peaking right now with so many crunchy veggies and fresh, fragrant herbs. That late summer bounty inspired this tasty green-goddess inspired white bean and herb dip — it’s the perfect way to use up all of the fresh herbs that are spilling over my raised beds, and an ideal way to taste the fresh peppers, carrots, cucumbers and tomatoes with a dip into the savory, flavor-packed dip. The assembly is as simple as throwing it all in a food processor! Chill it before you serve it to let the garlic and herb notes deepen and the texture to thicken; serve it alongside crisp veggies and some fluffy pita bread! Get the full recipe below: 
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We are in that in-between spot where I want to hang onto the sunny New England summer days as long as possible, but I also feel excited for my favorite parts of fall: cooler days, back to school supplies, and all of the cozy fun that comes with the changing seasons. My friends at Christmas Tree Shops and That! recently invited me into their store to check out some of the fall trends that are rolling out now, and I found so many affordable, stylish pieces that sparked some ideas for bridging the gap between the seasons. Warm rusty oranges, deep jewel-toned purples, and all of the bold textures and rustic elements that I found at Christmas Tree Shops and That! gave me the inspiration for this colorful, fall-inspired end of summer picnic!
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Baking up this sweet, fluffy summer cake full of seasonal fruit like strawberries and peaches, and tangy Hood Sour Cream (the secret ingredient for giving it tons of flavor and a rich texture!). It’s what I like to call a “snack cake” – you can grab a bite of it anytime between breakfast and dessert! Get the full recipe below: 
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This post was sponsored by Artkive as part of an Influencer Activation and all opinions expressed in my post are my own.
A few weeks ago I shared on my Instagram stories that I was filling up a box with Jane’s entire year’s worth of preschool artwork and sending it off to Artkive to test out their Artkive Book process. I got so many messages in response asking for my review once the book arrived because it sounds like a lot of us are in the same boat! Just like at our house, many of you also have endless piles of precious preschooler artwork that pull at your heart strings (but also take up so much space!).
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One of my favorite summertime traditions is blueberry picking at the berry farm down the road. I’m instantly transported to the pages of Blueberries for Sal with each kerplunk, kerplunk! as the berries hit the bottom of our tin buckets. We picked loads of blueberries on a hot day last week and came home to hide in the shade and bake up some tasty treats with our bounty! I was craving a blueberry muffin and decided to experiment with a cake-style breakfast treat. The base of the cake is an adaption of our family’s favorite chocolate chip cake from my cookbook, New England Invite. The chocolate chips got swapped for fresh blueberries, and with a few other tweaks we had a delicious blueberry breakfast cake. Get the recipe below!
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