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There are a lot of companies out there doing CSA shares or meal prep kits. I like the idea of them but I often feel boxed in with the ingredients that I would get. Family Dinner reached out to me and I was excited to try them because I liked all the options that I had seen on their website. You pick your share and have it delivered to your house on Saturdays. There is no commitment, you can pick and choose when you want them to deliver. You can choose an omnivore share, a vegetarian share, a pescatarian share or a paleo share. The ingredients are local and they even send you recipe ideas to help you with the ingredients you receive. You can get a half share (great for 1-2 people) for $59, a whole share (good for 2-4 people) for $89, or a double share (for 4-6 people) for $139. So this is what I received – as you can see, the double share is ENORMOUS! They deliver to your home in these great insulated bags and you can even track your delivery online. Not going to be home? You can have the driver leave the delivery in a cooler that you leave out.

Here’s the rundown of the goods:

Omnivore Protein –  Steak, Ground Italian Sausage from Feather Brook Farms; Salmon from Red’s Best; Chevre from Valley View Farmstead Cheese; Greek Yogurt and Eggs from Brookford Farm
Fruits and Veggies – Berries, Apples, Delicata Squash, Boston Lettuce, Juliette Tomatoes and Rainbow Carrots from Busa Farms; Potatoes from Brookford Farm; Kale from Brookford Farm
Grain -Orecchiette from Law of Pasta; Baguette from Iggy’s Bread
Special Treat – Nuts from Q’s Nuts; Granola from Iggy’s Bread

So here’s my thing. Veggies. I’m gun shy about them, I don’t think I even like them all that much, and I’m at a loss most times to know what to do with them. Growing up we didn’t eat a lot of veggies (except garden salads, which I promptly passed on), so as an adult, I wasn’t very adventurous about them either. But these ones I can handle, onions, peppers, kale, squash, leeks, eggplant and corn.

I’ve been in a cooking rut, to be honest, since the baby, we have been eating out a lot because I’m just too tired to cook. This delivery really inspired me (will I go out and get these things on my own…probably not, but it was a good run while it lasted, right). So first off I made a sausage and eggplant pasta. I took the Italian sausage and browned it on the stove. I diced the eggplant and tossed it with some olive oil and then added it to the pan. I cooked up the orecchiette and tossed them all in together with some tomato sauce (it was a shortcut – if I had more time I would have done San Marzano tomatoes, basil and maybe some chicken stock). Topped it off with some of our own Parmesan cheese and dinner is served. I had a good 6 portions of this, so it was really nice to eat these as leftovers later in the week.

For breakfasts we really enjoyed eating the Maple Greek yogurt from Brookford Farm with the granola from Iggy’s. Top off with your favorite fruit, these days we are ‘on’ blueberries, and it makes a great way to start the morning.

These could have looked prettier but they certainly tasted delicious. Delicata squash on toast – 3lbs of squash, peeled and cubed. Olive oil and chili pepper flakes to taste. Heat oven to 450 degrees, toss squash, olive oil and flakes together an place on baking sheet covered in parchment paper. Cook for 15 minutes. On medium heat on stovetop, heat olive oil in pan and add 1 sliced yellow onion. Cook for 15 minutes. Add in 1/4 cup of apple cider vinegar and 1/4 cup of maple syrup. Cook for another 15 minutes. Combine squash and onions in bowl and spread over toast.

For the real recipe, check out the NY Times Jean Georges Squash on Toast. I tried this plain and then tried it with ricotta cheese (you could use mascarpone too) – both ways were delicious. I could also see adding some bacon on top for more depth of flavor.

The steak from Feather Brook Farm was delicious, we grilled with with a little Bosari for seasoning. My daughter will eat anything in sight, she hasn’t met a food she doesn’t like yet (the faster she can get it all in her mouth the better haha), but my son is a bit more….not picky, but selective. He’s one of those kids that doesn’t like his food touching his other food, otherwise, he probably won’t eat it. He isn’t really a meat eater, but did happen to enjoy a few bites of steak with some pilaf from our pantry and some broccoli (kale was a little too scary for him…and ok, me too).

I made egg ‘muffins’ with the eggs from the share along with leeks and the pepper – so simple and easy – great way to make things ahead for the week.

And I always have to have a delicious dessert, so I made baked pears. I sliced the pears in half and cut of a little sliver on the back side so the pears would sit nicely on the baking sheet. Take out the seeds with a melon baller or a spoon. I sprinkled with a little cinnamon and drizzled with some honey. Most people use walnuts but I decided to go with honey roasted almond slivers…just because. 350 degrees for 30 minutes and dessert is done! How beautiful are these?

Top with ice cream and it looks like you’ve spent all day in the kitchen making this dessert!

Use my code: GRUB50 for 50% off your first order!

Disclaimer: This is a sponsored post. I partnered with Family Dinner to write about my experience with their service. All product was provided complimentary. All opinions are my own.

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A while back I was treated to an afternoon at Roche Bros. to check out their new delivery service and to learn more about The Dinner Daily.

Roche Bros. recently changed the company that they get their sushi from, and it was delicious – it will change the way you think about grocery store sushi. We sampled some of the sides from the prepared foods case and had some of their tasty rotisserie chicken.

The Millis store has a great little sitting area with tables and chairs, a great place to have a breakfast meeting or grab a quick bite to eat.

What I was impressed by were these new prepared meals that you MAKE IN THE MICROWAVE!! So basically a Lean Cuisine, but with much better ingredients and things that you would actually want to eat. They are prepared fresh daily and you can choose from vegetarian options, fish, meat or chicken. The prices are pretty affordable – seriously, check these meals out (generally they are located near the meat case).

I always knew that Roche Bros. delivered – but we got to see first hand how your order is collected. A REAL person picks out your groceries, and they pick it from your local store (you’re not getting food from a warehouse). My biggest peeve when ordering delivered groceries is that the produce isn’t what I would normally pick out for myself. Often times when I would order from another company that I will not name, the bananas would come bruised or the avocados were rock hard. At Roche Bros. you can write specific comments about each of the items that you order, ie. pick green bananas or avocados that are a day away from being ripe and they try their best to accommodate your requests. You can also say if you want to allow substitutions on your items that might be out of stock.

Head over to the Roche Bros. website to see if you live within delivery range!

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When Laurin started the company she wanted to have the meals be easy to prepare, they had to be healthy, the price of the meal had to be reasonable, and they had to be kid friendly. So how does the service work? You go on the website and you fill in your preferences: what size family are you trying to feed and where you like to shop. The website bases your weekly menu on your food preferences and what is on sale at your local market. Every week you get a weekly dinner plan with 5 dinner ideas delivered straight to your inbox. You can shop ahead or you can order your groceries online and have them delivered by your local grocery store (if available). Want even more savings? The website also links you to online coupons for the items you are shopping for that week.

You can print out your weekly menu and then print out your shopping list. So this way everything is easy and all in one spot, if you need lemon for 2 of the 5 recipes, it puts lemons on the list just once – can’t get any easier than that. Not cooking all of the recipes you got this week? You have the option to delete the ingredients you don’t need off your shopping list.

If you read my blog, you know I’m not much for cooking. So I headed over to Leah‘s house and we made a recipe together. We made a simple chicken dinner with orzo and a spinach salad. I was completely impressed at really how easy the recipe was to make. The chicken was flavorful and tender – even my kids would probably have eaten it, and the spinach salad and orzo were done in the blink of an eye.

Head over to The Dinner Daily website to get your 14 day free trial and see for yourself how you easy meal planning for the family can be.

Disclaimer: I received a complimentary subscription to The Dinner Daily. All opinions are my own.

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As a busy mom, I barely have time to watch tv, let alone learn about all the things that my cable has to offer. I recently visited the Burlington Xfinity store with some of my favorite blogger buddies to see what new things Xfinity had to offer.

Let’s start with their remote. You just talk to it. If only the family would listen to me as well as the Xfinity remote does Did I also mention that you can call your phone from your remote (when you are subscribed to Xfinity mobile)? Cause you know that when you’re in a rush (and just need to get everyone out the door) and can’t find your phone because the kids have wedged it in between the couch cushions while you weren’t looking, you need a little help.

A post shared by Nancy (@acapablemother) on Dec 14, 2017 at 8:38pm PST

They have this cool feature (app) where you can see who is connected to the wifi and on what device, Xfinity xFi. From there you can set up profiles for each person in the house: mom with the computer and iPhone, dad with the iPad, etc. You can see all the network activity – so how much are the kids using the iPad during the week, when the kids are using the computer when they should be doing homework, or when the kids are watching the most tv. Pretty cool. Even better, you can choose to suspend the wifi in the house – so there’s not arguments when it comes time for dinner (my kids are always saying ‘just 2 more minutes….’), devices off – end of story. With Xfinity xFi, you can even troubleshoot issues – no more of that infamous “just unplug and replug”. xFi is available to Xfinity Internet customers with one of the latest wireless gateways. If you don’t have it, the app tells you and makes it easy for you to get upgraded – either with an easy-to-install kit sent to your house or by scheduling a tech to install it at a time that works for you.

Speaking of kids, they have a really cool Kids Zone feature where all the games are free (and it’s a safe place for them to explore their favorite shows). Did I mention the santa tracker?

Most people are mainly using wifi in their house, we only have one thing that is hardwire connected. In this case, you are probably like us, and have a few dead spots – ours are in the living room and in a far bedroom. Xfinity has these cool new xFi pods (that you can buy in packs of 3 or 6) that you plug right into the wall and it boosts the wifi in that part of the house. Yup, it detects when you’re using wifi in that particular area and pushes a boost to the places that you need it, without sacrificing wifi in another area. Pretty awesome. Right now they are only available in Boston and Denver, but they’ll be coming soon to other markets.

Comcast XFINITY mobile wireless press event product shoot at the Comcast Center on Tuesday, April 4, 2017 in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania. (Jeff Fusco/AP Images for Comcast)

Did you know that Xfinity also offers mobile service? I didn’t. They combine the largest 4G LTE network with 18 million Xfinity wifi hotspots to give you a pretty awesome mobile experience. So what does that mean? The mobile device automatically detects and connects you to an Xfinity wifi hotspot if you are close to one, it takes the guess work out. You can have up to 5 lines on your plan and you can switch month to month (if you want) between unlimited data and paying by the gig. So if mom wants unlimited data, and dad only uses 1 gig to play words with friends, and you want to give your kids only a gig of data to limit usage, you can. Mix and match usage between all the lines on your plan. If you have Xfinity internet, you can sign up for a mobile plan and pay as little as $12 per month (per line) if you choose the “by the gig” option (and unlimited plans will run you $45 per month).

Start the New Year off right (and make your life easier) by upgrading to all of the new Xfinity products out there!

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Many of you probably recognize Bar Director and partner of Cafe Art Science, Tenzin Samdo. If you don’t, start taking notice (check him out on Instagram). He is known for his creative cocktails and his impressive garnishes. I first met Tenzin when he was working at Trade. He’s very personable and never forgets a face. After leaving Trade he moved on to manage the bar at Tavern Road in Fort Point and most recently joined Cafe Art Science this past summer.

Did you know that in addition to being named one of Boston’s best bartenders, he was part of an award winning mixologist team that helped create a line of bar mixes? He worked with Cocktail Artist and developed the perfect premium lemon juice, perfect for those aspiring home bar masters. Other mixes in the line include simple syrup, lime juice, mint syrup, grenadine, Manhattan mix, Old Fashioned mix, and a mule mix.

Tenzin’s bar menu is based on endangered animals. The titi monkey appeared on the endangered species list in 2012 and the menu gives you a short background if you are like me, and have no idea what a titi monkey is. The drink is made with orange peel, pisco, matcha, sandalwood, egg white and sugar cane ($15).

Not only does the drink taste delicious, but watching it being made is like getting a front row seat to a show. Tenzin definitely elevates your bar/drink experience and will definitely help you up your Instagram game

Lines can be long on the weekends to belly up to the bar, but know that the drinks and the service are definitely worth the wait. If you’re up for it, do a little day drinking – they are open for lunch Monday – Friday from 11:30-2:00pm.

The best drink at Cafe Art Science may not even be on the menu. They have this amazing little robot that holds a really cool vapor machine. You “sip” the vapor through a glass straw – it tastes exactly like Jagermeister (let’s say that’s the flavor of the evening), but it has no calories! It’s a surreal experience, you just have to try it out for yourself!

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I have a special place in my heart for Vermont – so I was excited to hear about Farmers to You, a weekly food delivery company that brings local Vermont goods either directly to your home or to a neighborhood pick up site. It couldn’t have been easier. Hop onto the website, pick out some delicious food from their vegetables, dairy, bakery, and fruit departments. I picked my order up in Wellesley in the church parking lot. It was raining cats and dogs – and I was able to pull my car up right next to the truck and barely got rained on – which is more than I can say for going to the grocery store.

We have been going to Vermont since I was a small child. Mostly in the winter, but no, I don’t ski. Like, at all. Not even cross country. In fact, I don’t even really like the snow that much. But we have some great memories from years spent crammed into our two bedroom condo at Trapp Family Lodge. It wasn’t until I was an adult that I ‘discovered’ Vermont in the summer. So many things to do. One of the best experiences I’ve had was a Vermont Farm Tour.

I was excited to see some brands that I was familiar with when I was browsing the Farmers to You website and excited to try out some new companies. What did I choose?

Cellars at Jasper Hill Landaff Cheese

von Trapp Farmstead Savage Cheese

Whizzo Bagels

Champlain Orchards Crumb Top Apple Pie

Strip Steak

Ploughgate Creamery salted cultured butter

Sweet Rowen Farmstead Cheese Curds

Strafford Organic Creamery Vanilla Ice Cream

Valicenti Organico Fresh Garlic Scape Linguini

Square Deal Farm Maple Syrup

Nutty Steph’s Peanut Butter Magic Chunks and Peanut Butter Milk Chocolate Bar

I love apple pie. As far as I am concerned, there are no other pies. I also think I am the only one alive (besides my dad) that prefers their apple pie cold. And I like my ice cream on the side, not on top, so as not to get the crumb topping soggy. The best part about this pie is that I didn’t have to drive to VT to get it, but I would have…

The crumb top was delicious and there was a hint of…nutmeg maybe…that gave it a little extra something something.

One of my favorite choices was the garlic scape linguini. I love fresh pasta, and I love garlic shapes (but to be honest, most times I get them, I’m not even really sure what to do with them). I wish that you could have smelled this pasta – it made my kitchen smell AMAZING! The flavor was both bold and subtle at the same time. I didn’t want to add sauce on to it because I didn’t want to take away from the flavor of the pasta. I did however add a mountain full of Parmesan cheese to the top of it, because hey, everything tastes better with cheese!

These bad boys almost didn’t make it home. I had to fight my husband for the third one (maybe there should be 4 in the package to avoid fights haha). In my head I convinced myself that these were even kind of healthy – 71% dark chocolate, ground peanuts and house made granola.

We loved the cheese curds, and by we, I mean my husband, because I don’t think they were in the fridge for more than an hour and when I went to go try one, they were gone…

The bagels were tasty as well – firm texture with a bite to it, we had them for breakfast plain and made breakfast sandwiches with them – any way you slice them, they were good.

Saving the meat for our traditional New Year’s Eve party with friends. The maple syrup will be in a maple roundup piece I am working on and the cheese is going to debuting on a cheese plate post later this month – so stay tuned for more!

Disclaimer: I was given a credit to Farmers to You to buy goods on their site. All opinions are my own.

To get $30 off your first order, use my special code “DG15”. This offer expires 12.31.17

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A few weekends ago we went to Belkin Family Lookout Farm in Natick.  It is one of the oldest continuously working farms in the US and has over 60,000 fruit trees. The farm is open from 10am -5pm daily. Admission is $12 per person and kids under 2 are free. So what’s included in your admission? Train rides to and from the orchards, a farm themed play area, moon bounces, plenty of fun farm animals, caterpillar rides and a farm maze. Fruit bags are 1 peck and are $20 per bag. They have Pristine apples available for picking at the moment but check their website to see what they are currently picking.

They have a snack area up near the play area, but have a cool tap room that isn’t to be missed. (You don’t have to pay the admission if you are just going to the Taproom) They are open Thursday – Sunday year round. Stop in for a tasting flight of their craft cider or take a 4 pack to go.

The menu has a lighter fare, with things like charcuterie, soft pretzels, a hummus platter, flat breads and cider donuts. The charcuterie plate was really tasty – I would definitely go back again just for that.

The flatbreads come in flavors like buffalo chicken, BBQ pulled pork and margherita. They also have a gluten free option available. I was pleasantly surprised by the quality of the food here. And bring the family with you, they have games for kids of all ages to help pass the time!

While you’re picking up your four pack or your growler, stay for a tour. They are on Saturdays and Sundays at 2pm and are complimentary!

Lookout Farm Tap Room

89 Pleasant Street SOUTH, South Natick, MA

www.lookoutfarm.com

www.lookoutfarmcider.com/lookout-taproom

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Just before the holidays, I stopped over to the Boston Public Market to check out Whipped Urban Cupcake Co. and their delicious bite sized cupcakes. The only bad part about the cupcakes was that they were gone in two (ok one) bites.

Left: Nuttin Betta (from the Bougie collection), a dark chocolate cupcake with rich peanut butter frosting, topped with French chocolate sauce

Middle: Get Hyped (from the OG collection, a coffee cupcake infused with fair trade organic coffee grounds and topped with coffee frosting and an espresso bean

Right: Bite Me (from the Bougie collection), an apple spice cupcake topped with tart apple molasses, vanilla frosting, and a fresh apple slice

Cupcakes can be ordered (and hand delivered in Boston) by the two dozen and will run you $43.

Each cupcake was fresh and frankly downright adorable. I’d say too cute to eat, but let’s get real, I’m totally eating those cupcakes! The flavors are bold and you can tell that they only use high quality ingredients. Their products never contain any preservatives, additives or artificial colors (even their sprinkles are colored with vegetable and fruit juice!)

These would be great for a birthday party or a baby shower, or maybe just a night in with you, your couch, Netflix and two dozen cupcakes all to yourself.

Check out their website here.

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We were fresh home from the hospital and the last thing I wanted to do was cook. I couldn’t stomach another Lean Cuisine meal, as I had eaten those for the last 2 months straight. That’s where The Foodery came into our dinner plans. The Foodery isn’t a meal prep kit like Blue Apron, all the food comes fully cooked – all you need to do is heat and serve. They give you two options, microwave or conventional oven – so anyone can heat these up – even my parents (who still don’t have a microwave!).

So how does The Foodery work? Each week there is a different menu, with 6 choices. You pick your meal and then pick if you want 2 or 4 servings. Place your order by 10am on Thursday and have it delivered on Sunday between 5pm and 8pm in the Greater Boston area. There’s no commitment, just a $50 minimum. When I think about it, I spent more than that on takeout weekly – and the food wasn’t nearly as healthy. The Foodery sources certain produce from organic and local sources to avoid exposure to pesticides and genetically modified foods. All proteins are raised without antibiotics or hormones and sourced locally when possible.

So what did I choose? Things that I would never cook myself – first up, apple glazed pork ribs with apple sauce and a three bean salad. Heated this up at 400 degrees for 10 or so minutes in the toasted oven and bam – this is what our dinner looked like. If my husband didn’t know me better, I would have tried to pass this off like I made it myself! So how did it taste? Delicious! First, the ribs (antibiotic and hormone free) – the meat was so tender, it literally fell off the bone. The apple glaze on the ribs was subtle – which I really liked because you could really taste the flavor of the meat. The apple sauce was SO good – very adult, not sugary sweet like I remember having as a kid, it had a warm spice to it. My husband loved the three bean salad, made with garbanzo beans, green beans and kidney beans.

For our second meal we tried the chicken tikka masala (4 portion). This wasn’t the traditional tikka masala that I was used to – it had brown rice, yogurt, garlic, ginger, pepper, paprika, fenugreek, peas, carrots, cilantro and cauliflower among other ingredients.

Pop this in the oven for 3 minutes or so and dinner is ready. Now it had brown rice in it, but I love my chicken tikka masala with white rice, so I added some of my own. I am loving the Jasmine rice from Trader Joes, just microwave for 3 minutes and it tastes like you cooked it in a rice maker! There were a lot of things going on in this dish. I loved the addition of the cauliflower, but the spice mix in this tikka masala didn’t feel like the one I am familiar with.

I encourage you to try out The Foodery – they offer quick, tasty dinners that you can feel good about eating.

Disclaimer: The Foodery provided me with complimentary meals for this review. All opinions are my own.

Use my special code to get 20% off your first order: Dgrubswell2016

For more information, check out The Foodery’s website: http://fooderyboston.com

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This post is one of those that slipped through the cracks – now I’m trying to play catch up! While we were in Aruba over the winter, my sister in law and I decided to treat ourselves to a day at the spa at the newly opened Ritz Carlton.

We booked appointments over the website, which proved to be difficult. They took a few days to get back to us and there was issue with holding the appointments with a credit card among other things. Not the level of service if you called let’s say the New York location or the Boston location.

Everything was still very new and the locker room was very clean. Just a note for the modest – people in the locker room can see through the doors into the shower even though they appear to be frosted.

There is a lovely selection of sugar scrubs for the shower, each with a distinctive smell.

There weren’t many other guests in the common space at the spa, so we had the place to ourselves.

There was a great hot tub and steam room area that we didn’t get to enjoy – but it looked super relaxing!

The spa is 15,000 square feet and has 13 treatment rooms. A 22% gratuity is added on to all services and guest must be 18 or older to enjoy spa services and ammenities.

I opted for a prenatal massage and my sister in law for the hot stone. The treatment rooms had a relaxing vibe – and the massage was decent, but I had a hard time relaxing. I spent most of the time on my side and while I am trying to relax I hear the therapist whisper in my ear, “do I have permission to touch the belly?” which threw me for a little bit of a loop.

In addition to the massage I had a pedicure. They have a great salon area – hair and makeup stations as well as manicure tables and pedicure chairs.

Even after getting a massage, I still took advantage of the massaging pedicure chair. Overall a decent experience, although not sure that it lived up to it’s price tag.

Been to Aruba? Where do you like to spa?

Ritz Carlton

L.G Smith Boulevard # 107, Palm Beach, Aruba Dutch Caribbean

View the spa website here.

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