Do you Drop? A new scale and app from Apple that makes cooking a cinch!

I have never been a perfectionist, but I love to cook. Recipes sometimes seemed too binding and having an innate desire to make foods healthier, that is the Dietitian in me, I often end up substituting ingredients. Making precise measurements always seemed a little bit too much for me and I prefer to wing it at times. If you are like me, or if you have young kids who are learning how to cook, you are going to LOVE this new creation by Apple called Drop Kitchen. 

How do you get started? 
First you purchase the scale, which costs about $100. Then you download the "Get Drop" app to your iPad. Once the app is downloaded it will sync with the scale. Then you are able to browse the recipes, which are amazing. The layout is similar to Pinterest which entices you with beautiful pictures of the food you can create. Once you have chosen the recipe, you gather the ingredients then get started. 

Who can use it?
Our five year old daughter was able to use it and loved it. I loved it because I no longer needed measuring cups or spoons, which always add to the dish washing load. 

Cooking gadgets are always pure joy to me and my husband did an awesome job when he surprised me by purchasing Drop for my Christmas present. I see cooking almost like therapy. I recommend this app and scale, especially when baking with kids. Enjoy!

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Recipes: Tour guides or the Law what do you think?

 vs. 

Do you ever follow a recipe? My clients are often asking me what I eat and what I cook for my family. I go back and forth and usually end up somewhere between following a recipe and branching off to substitute ingredients I don't have or know that my family won't eat. 

In the book Cooked: A natural history of transformation, Michael Pollan writes " the recipe is never the recipe". He continues with "a recipe is merely a sketch or notes". 

Maybe you know that, maybe you never follow a recipe and live on the edge when it comes to dinner time and you are able to throw together a meal without any qualms. But to some, recipes are the law, whatever the small font says, its followed to the utmost detail.  

Why does it matter if you follow a recipe or make up your own? 

Well...it really doesn't if you are an experienced cook. If you know how to balance meals and have your protein, vegetable, starch and dairy then you are good to go. 
But for those of us that are hindered and confused about the balance and just the anxiety of "what am I going to make every night" recipes can be key. 

Here is what I recommend...

1. Make it easy. Meal planning can be as easy as 1 + 2 + 3

Pick a flavor desired + pick a protein + side of carbohydrate and vegetables and fruits. Top off with making sure there is water or low fat milk to drink. 

2. Make it a task that is not hard and can be easily replicated. 

3. Use My Plate as a guide. 

Why is it important? 
1. Because planning meals are one of the best things that a family can do to stay healthy. 
2. Pre-planned meals help a family avoid fast food restaurants
3. Pre-planned meals help families stay within a budget. 


So you have burned a few pieces of toast or boiled plastic in with the pasta...things happen and there is always a new day and with each day a new idea and fabulous recipe. If you don't think cooking is fun, change your perspective. It doesn't have to be a chore, it can actually be a lab for experiments, a classroom for teaching and an area to grow and nourish your children. 

Good luck and if you need recipe ideas click here. Or if you want to check out a box full of recipes for only $40 with a menu planning system click here. 

**Image of child chopping vegetables by Hanna Mayo Photography. 

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Brandi@ABCDEatright.com