Kelly: Cooking with Confidence

For Kitchen Hero Kelly, cooking usually meant eating the same meals again and again and lots of food wasted. But when she expanded her cooking knowledge and gained more confidence in the kitchen, she was able to stress less and waste less, as well as save time and money. Even when Kelly got diagnosed with an egg tolerance, her growing kitchen skills allowed her to easily adapt recipes to her dietary needs. Find out how Kelly does it in her Hero in the Kitchen story below.

Name: Kelly Kuntz
Age: 34
City, State: Bozeman, Montana
I cook for: my family (husband, 8 year old and 4 year old).
Outside of the kitchen I: am a professional newborn and family photographer who loves to play outside.
I discovered Cook Smarts through: a sponsored blog post, I believe. I have never been much of a meal planner and when I did get adventurous in the kitchen I would end up with a lot of waste from ingredients I wouldn’t use again in our daily cooking. Our family was in a rut of tacos, spaghetti, and grilled chicken. Growing up in Montana we weren’t exposed to good stir-fry, curry, or other “exotic” cuisine, but Cook Smarts has allowed us to explore a ton of different flavors. Cook Smarts has helped me in every aspect of cooking from meal planning, to shopping and food prep. We eat healthier these days and spend less on groceries with much less waste.
Favorite Cook Smarts meal so far: Cook Smarts has helped me feel more confident in the kitchen, and if I haven’t planned, I can look in the fridge and find something I can make, like the Chicken Fajita Bowls. We always keep the supplies around to make Slow Cooker Chili (even though I’ve never used the slow cooker for it) and the Southwest Green Chili Turkey Cheeseburgers are my son’s absolute favorite. He even requested them for his birthday party last year.

HOW DID YOU LEARN TO COOK?

I learned the basics of cooking from my mom, and a few classes with friends, but Cook Smarts really helped expand my knowledge. Cook Smarts taught me how to chop an onion and even bok choy. I loved the video links in recipes that would help me dice an onion or cabbage.

WHAT’S BEEN YOUR BIGGEST COOKING CHALLENGE?

My biggest cooking challenge has been cooking at a higher altitude. If the recipe calls for 3 minutes I usually have to double it and rely on my digital thermometer.

“Cook Smarts has helped me feel more confident in the kitchen, and if I haven’t planned, I can look in the fridge and find something I can make.”

HOW HAS YOUR COOKING ROUTINE CHANGED SINCE STARTING COOK SMARTS’ MEAL PLANS?

My cooking routine has really changed everything about how we plan to eat. I shop less, spend less and have less stress about “What’s for dinner?” when I have Cook Smarts guiding the way.

After I had been using Cook Smarts for about 8 months I was diagnosed with an egg intolerance and needed to avoid all cane sugar and eggs to heal my gut. I feel like my previous experience with Cook Smarts really helped me feel confident in the kitchen and that this new diagnosis wasn’t going to be difficult at all. I can skip meals with eggs as the main ingredient and omit them if they aren’t really needed. If a recipe calls for sugar I can hop over to the paleo recipe and check out the appropriate substitute.

What are your tips for health and success in the kitchen?

My ipad and cabinet ipad holder, an excellent knife and cutting board, and a garbage bowl to put all of the scraps in while I chop. I use my cast iron skillet for almost every meal.

Thanks so much, Kelly! We’re so happy to be a part of your cooking experiences, and that our meal plans can provide a good start to delicious meals that suits your dietary needs. Also, kudos to you for keeping your pantry stocked with ingredients for a simple, healthy dinner. We’re sure your kids are growing up to be really good eaters!

To join Kelly and cook meals like her favorite Chicken Fajita Bowls, Slow Cooker Chili, and Southwest Green Chili Turkey Cheeseburgers, check out our meal plan service. You can get started for free!

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