And I’m SO excited to share that the A Cozy Kitchen Cookbook Tour is officially happening, and I’d love to see you there.

If you’re nearby, come say hi! I’d love to meet you in person. There will be warm cookies, cozy vibes and the best conversation with some of my favorite food writers.

Here’s the tour lineup:

• September 29: Reform Showroom w/ Posman Books | 📍Brooklyn, NY with Deb Perelman from Smitten Kitchen

• October 1: Omnivore Books | 📍San Francisco, CA with Violet Witchel

• October 3: Now Serving | 📍Los Angeles, CA with Alex Hill

• October 5: Book Larder | 📍Seattle, WA – Cooking Demo

There will be warm cookies, cozy vibes and an all around great time. Can’t wait to meet you all!

xoxo,

Adrianna

Let’s go back to the beginning.

It was the height of COVID. 2021. And I decided I was going to play tennis again (more on that soon), for the first time since I abruptly quit when I was fifteen years old. Returning to tennis in January 2021 changed the course of my entire life. It sounds dramatic, but every time I played, the cloud that had been following me for years slowly dissipated. I softened. I learned to forgive others. I let go. And when I did that, I started to look around and realized I was somewhere I didn't belong. I was in a place that was not home.

I knew I needed out.

How Women Leave

I’ve learned that women (generally speaking) break up with their partners LONG before they physically leave. We tend to mourn and depart emotionally before we pack a single bag. We need to imagine and plan what our life would be without them. How we’ll live, how we’ll move forward. I needed to visualize every aspect of my new life before taking one single step toward that new reality.

Run a marathon. Eat some oatmeal first.

I remember one very ordinary morning during that time, waking up and thinking to myself: What if I made oatmeal.

Now, I’ve always hated oatmeal. It always felt...how should I say this...something horses eat. I have always been a protein girl. I am a strict two eggs, some cottage cheese, berries, avocado and toast in the morning type of girl.

I want healthy fats, a balanced meal. Something I learned I needed years ago because I found myself having sugar crashes after baking and eating cakes and cookies all day.

But my trainer at the time (hello Trenton! my bro!), told me he ate oatmeal every morning. And I didn’t know anyone who was fitter, healthier, stronger. So, I reached into pantry and as a baker, I had everything you need: various nuts, chia seeds, sprouted rolled oats, maple syrup, honey, everything.

I googled some basic ratios, brought some milk and water to a boil, and poured in the oats. A glug of maple syrup and cinnamon followed and it began to simmer. I gave it a taste and was shocked at how good it was. What have I been missing?

I simmered some berries on the stove, poured it on top, added a bit of Greek yogurt, some nuts and tahini. I ate it while sitting in the sun all while thinking to myself, “fuck this is gonna hurt.”

Healing is a Habit

Morning after morning, I’d make my oatmeal, changing things here and there. Playing with ratios, toppings and additions.

Now looking back, it’s almost like my body subconsciously knew I needed sustenance. I knew I was going to have to run an emotional marathon toward my own happiness.

I couldn’t be a victim of my own trauma and sadness anymore. I had to take accountability for my lack of action and healing and work. As I sat there eating my oatmeal, I knew the only way was through. And I was ready.

My Oatmeal Recipe

1/2 cup almond milk or whole dairy milk

1/2 cup water

1/2 cup sprouted rolled oats (I like this brand)

Pinch of flakey sea salt

Pinch of ground cinnamon

2 tablespoon maple syrup, divided

Greek Yogurt, for topping

Pistachios, for topping

Peanut butter, for topping

Honey, for topping

1. In a small saucepan, set over medium-low heat, add the milk and water. Give it a gentle mix and bring to a simmer. Pour in the rolled oats, along with the sea salt, cinnamon and one tablespoon maple syrup. Cover and cook for 5-7 minutes, stirring occasionally, until the oatmeal has just a teeny bit of bite. If you like it super soft, cook it for 2-3 minutes longer.

2. Set aside. In another small saucepan, set over medium-low heat, add the raspberries. Add a tablespoon of maple syrup and a teaspoon of water. Cook until softened, about 3-4 minutes.

3. To assemble, add the oatmeal to a bowl, top with a scoop of Greek yogurt, the raspberry sauce, a handful of pistachios, a little bit of peanut butter and drizzle of honey.

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This guide is for toddlers, especially ones who refuse cold food like sandwiches, those cute wrap roll-ups I see on Pinterest and cold pancakes. My child will not eat that. He is a 3 1/2 year old who loves warm food and loves food like chicken, beef, rice and pasta. And snacks. That boy loves snacks. This is the method I use to keep me organized and sane during the school year. I came up with this routine last year and it’s helped me SO much. I need my life automated sometimes and removing a lot of decisions just help me streamline.

The Method:

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I meal prep about four meals (recipes below) and these last me about two weeks. I make one batch of each recipe, divide them into glass, freezer-safe containers, thaw them in the fridge the night before, heat it up the morning of and assemble the lunch. It eliminates any cooking the morning of AND makes it so I’m meal prepping every two weeks vs. once a week. A win-win!

The Supplies

1. The Omiebox - I have a few different lunch boxes that I’ve purchased over the last year, but the OmieBox is the one I use on a daily basis. I preheat the thermos by pouring in hot boiling water, letting it sit for 10 minutes, dump the water and then filling it with one of these meals. I add in two different snacks, some fruit and there’s his lunch. He eats it (mostly) every single day. I also pack him a snack container, an apple and his thermos of water on the side.

2. Stainless Steel Water Bottle - He’s had this for over a year and loves it. I love it too. I have replaced some of the parts to keep it fresh and clean.

3. Snack Containers - I use these stainless steel snack containers for his daily snack. I love that I can throw these in the dishwasher after.

4. Toddler Fork To-Go - I pack this for his lunch everyday. I love that it has a little case and is easy to keep clean.

The Recipes

1. Cottage Cheese Chicken Meatballs - These are from my new cookbook (which you can pre-order) A Cozy Kitchen Cookbook. The recipe is in a pre-order PDF, so if you pre-order, you can fill out your purchase info and have it emailed to you. It’s a simple high-protein, soft and supple meatball that is amazing for meal prep for the kids (and parents). I just eliminate the crushed red pepper for spice purposes. I’ll serve these to him by themselves or with some pasta (he’s been loving the high-protein pasta from the brand Brami)

2. Honey-Chicken Teriyaki - This chicken teriyaki is different from other teriyaki sauces because it has zero sugar and it not as salty AND it comes together SO quickly. I make the sauce on the stove-top and pour it over the drumsticks and bake it. I freeze it with raw pieces of broccoli so that when I heat it up, it cooks the broccoli just until cooked. And I serve it with rice for him. He LOVES.

1 1/2 pounds drumsticks

1/2 cup low-sodium soy sauce

1/4 cup water

1/2 teaspoon ground onion powder

1/2 teaspoon ground garlic powder

1/2 teaspoon freshly grated ginger

Freshly black pepper

1 tablespoon honey

1 teaspoon cornstarch (whisked with 1 teaspoon water) for a slurry

Preheat oven to 350F. Place the chicken in a baking dish.

In a small saucepan, add in the soy sauce, water, onion powder, garlic powder, grated ginger, black pepper and honey. Whisk until combined. Give it a taste and if it’s salty, I say add a splash more of water.

Pour the teriyaki sauce over the chicken. I like to make sure the chicken is fully coated in the teriyaki sauce. Cover with foil and transfer to the oven to bake for 20-30 minutes. Uncover, flip the chicken over and transfer back to the oven to bake for another 15-20 minutes. Shred the chicken, discarding the skin, and divide into containers, along with the sauce. I like to add a few small pieces of broccoli to the top.

3. Protein Cookies: These are in my new cookbook A Cozy Kitchen Cookbook (you can pre-order now plzzz!) I love them because they use oats (you grind some into a flour and mix-in the rest). They’re sweetened with apple sauce and maple syrup. He LOVES these. When I tell you I cook from my cookbook the MOST, it’s true.

3. Cuban Picadillo: This is ALSO in my new cookbook but I have it on my blog too. The recipe is nearly identical and I love it so much.

4. Goodles - I am not above heating up some Goodles in the morning if I’ve run out of my meal prep. I love Goodles and so does he! The lunchbox always comes back empty when I pack him some Goodles.

5. Homemade Cheez-Its - I love to make these with medium cheddar cheese for a more mild flavor. If I was serving these to adults, I’d do sharp cheddar for a more complex flavor profile. These are SO good. Here’s the recipe:

8 ounces medium sharp cheddar cheese, finely grated

1 cup (130g) all-purpose flour

½ teaspoon kosher salt

¼ cup (57g) unsalted butter, cold and cubed

2 tablespoons ice water

1 egg white, for egg wash

Preheat the oven to 350F. Add the cheese, flour, and salt to a food processor. Pulse until combined.

Add the butter and pulse until the mixture resembles sand. Pour in the ice water and blitz until the dough starts to come together.

Pour dough out onto a clean counter. Knead the dough to bring it together into a large ball.

Place the dough on a half sheet of parchment that fits the size of a baking sheet. Roll out the dough until at least ⅛-inch thick. Go thinner for a snappier cracker.

Transfer the dough to the baking sheet, brush the dough with the egg wash. Using a ravioli cutter or pizza cutter, slice the dough into strips lengthwise about 1-inch wide and then widthwise 1-inch wide. Use a skewer or chopstick to poke the center of each cracker.

Bake the crackers for 25 minutes, until puffed and golden. Cool for 15 minutes and enjoy.

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My Favorite Store-Bought Snacks

Every week I stock up on snacks for his lunchbox and everyday lift. He is very sensitive to huge sugar peaks and crashes so I try to limit his sugar to natural sugars and fruit. I do not buy all of these every single week but this is my rotation and collection of his favorites:

1. Annie’s Chocolate Bunnies - He has eaten these for a few years and they’re always a hit with him. I love them because they’re light on sugar content.

2. Simple Mills Soft Baked Banana Bread Bars - He loves these and they’re made with really nice ingredients.

3. Simple Mills Pop Mms - He loves my homemade cheez-its but some weeks I don’t have time to prep them so I’ll give him these.

4. Simple Mills Chocolate Brownies - He calls these his chocolate triangles. Simple and delicious. These are given to him in his lunchbox as his dessert.

5. Simple Mills Chocolate Chip Cookies - Low in sugar and I’ll give him a few for his dessert.

6. Siete Tortila Chips - A family favorite. These always disappear in his lunchbox

7. Siete Queso Puffs - These can be a little spicy so if your little one doesn’t like spicy at all, skip these. He loves the.

Fruit I Prep

For the berries, I wash, dry and place in glass containers with a dry paper towel.

1. Strawberries

2. Blueberries

3. Raspberries

4. Bananas

5. Apples

That’s it! Is it a lot of work? Initially it can seem like a lot but the more I do it, the easier and more of a routine it has become. My brain is just on auto-pilot with all of this and now it’s pretty easy and seamless.

Let me know if this is helpful/feedback. And if you want any meal prep tips!

xoxo,

Adrianna

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