Okay, please tell me we weren’t the only family basically surviving on snacks all summer. 😂

Summer is so fun, but between traveling, activities, being outside all day, and having absolutely no concept of what day it is, our normal routine pretty much disappears.

Breakfast turns into snacks. Lunch turns into snacks. And somehow it’s 5 PM and everyone is hungry and I have no idea what we’re eating for dinner.

But now that we’re officially getting back into our back-to-school routine, I have to admit... it feels GOOD.

Do I love waking up early again? Absolutely not. 😂

Am I sad summer is over? YES.

But having an actual schedule again, getting back into our workouts and routines, and opening the fridge to see real foodinstead of a random assortment of summer snacks? I’m here for it.

Getting Back Into the Kitchen

One thing that makes getting back into cooking so much easier is having kitchen gadgets that actually save me time.

I don't need anything complicated. I want things that make chopping faster, cooking easier, and cleanup less annoying, especially on busy school nights.

And there are a few things in our kitchen that I reach for ALL the time.

The veggie chopper might be the MVP. Seriously, game changer. If chopping a million vegetables is the part that makes you want to order takeout instead, you need one of these.

I also love having good pans that I can use for basically everything. Our Always Pan, a good cast iron skillet, and simple things like silicone baking mats get used constantly.

And flexible cutting mats are one of those boring little kitchen things you don't think you need until you have them... and then suddenly you're using them every day.

Basically, anything that gets dinner on the table faster gets bonus points around here. 😂

My Favorite Kitchen Gadgets

I put all of my current kitchen favorites in one place so you can easily find them!

You'll find things like:

• My favorite veggie chopper

• Cast iron skillet

• Always Pan

• Silicone baking mat

• Flexible cutting mats

• Plus a few other things we use and love

Shop all of my favorite kitchen gadgets here →

Back to Routine... Kind Of

I'm not going to pretend we're suddenly going to have a perfectly planned homemade dinner on the table every single night.

There will still be snack dinners.

There will still be nights when I realize I forgot to thaw anything.

And there will definitely still be days when convenience wins. 😂

But it feels really good to be getting back into our rhythm.

Earlier mornings, school days, workouts, meals at actual meal times... and real food in the fridge again. 😋

Summer, we love you.

But routine? I missed you a little too.