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The Raw and The Cooked

Simple Meals + Honest Book Reviews + Practical Living

Cutting My Phone Pickups in Half: A Millennial Mom’s Screen-Free Journey

I grew up in a world where phones sat on the kitchen wall, not in our pockets. Where we printed MapQuest directions, checked email once a day (if that), and boredom wasn’t something to be escaped with a quick scroll. Now, as a millennial mom raising four kids in the smartphone era, I’m reckoning with how radically different their childhood memories will be from mine—and how much my own attention has been stolen by the little screen I carry everywhere. This is the story of how I realized just how often I was reaching for my phone, and the system I’ve started using to reclaim my focus, my faith, and my life.

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Episode 189: Book Club | The Bright Years by Sarah Damoff

Today we’re diving into a book club episode, and you all know I only reserve these episodes for books I really, really loved—books I want to sit with, process, and share with you.

This week’s pick is The Bright Years by Sarah Damoff, a debut novel that completely broke me open… in the best possible way. 💔✨

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Episode 188: Raw Monthly Budget | What My Family of Six Actually Spends

Today’s post is a little different—it’s a peek into something I normally keep pretty private: our family budget.

We’re not going to break down every single dollar, but I’ll share how we structure our finances as a family of six—our living expenses, savings, bills, and even impulse spending. Think of this less as a “how-to” and more as a “here’s what it really looks like.”

👉 Spoiler: It’s not perfect, and that’s the point.

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Episode #187: What If September Didn’t Have to Feel So Overwhelming?

Back-to-School Shifts

This is our first week back to school 🍎. Back-to-school season always brings excitement, fresh energy, and change—but I can’t help feeling a little wistful about saying goodbye to summer (see photo above). By the end of August, our family had found such a good rhythm, and everything felt like it was flowing. And now, with school starting, everything shifts again—new routines, new schedules, new energy. It can feel like a lot, especially with Labor Day around the corner and the holidays quickly piling up. The last third of the year is always a whirlwind: birthdays, school activities, holiday prep, meal planning, home projects, and travel. This year, I wanted one place to hold it all—so I created something I call The Fall Dashboard.

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Ground Beef 5x

Ground beef is one of those quiet kitchen heroes. It’s inexpensive, easy to store, endlessly versatile, and—when you know how to use it well—can save dinner on even the most chaotic nights.

At under $6 a pound at most grocery stores, ground beef is a staple I always keep stocked in the freezer. I rely on it heavily in our meal planning because it stretches easily, doubles or triples beautifully, and can be transformed into a wide range of nourishing, family-friendly dinners.

In today’s post, I’m sharing five go-to ground beef recipes that I rotate through regularly. My hope is that after reading (or listening), you’ll feel confident pulling one of these out on nights when you’re staring into the fridge with zero inspiration—and that a few of them might even earn a permanent spot in your weekly rhythm.

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