About Jelisa Castrodale
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This Is the Best Place to Find Inexpensive Valentine’s Day Gifts
Two days ago, I finally finished putting my holiday decorations in a Rubbermaid bin and, just yesterday, I bought another package of 90 percent-off ornaments, so yeah, it felt jarring to see Valentine’s Day cards and candy in the aisles at Target in early January! Now we’re just 10 days out, though, so if you’re in a relationship or are actively crushing on someone (hello, Idris Elba!), it’s time to start thinking about how you might want to celebrate.
May 1, 2019
The Silly Little Thing You Can Do to Make Your Le Creuset Even Fancier
Several years ago, I saw something on the internet that was so unsettling, so unnecessary, and so start-to-finish wrong that, even as I type these words, I remain shooketh. (I just paused to steady myself, debating whether I should even expose you to this kind of thing.) Okay, here goes: There is a website that sells customized flame stickers that you can paste on your KitchenAid stand mixer, turning it from a tasteful appliance into something from a Guy Fieri-themed nightmare.
May 1, 2019
Picking the Color of a Dutch Oven Is Impossible
I’m not very good at making impulse purchases. I’m the person who clogs the aisle at CVS, reading the labels on four brands of calcium chews, before deciding that I need to think about it before dedicating a full 30 days to improving my bone density. When it comes to buying new cookware or kitchen gadgets? Forget it. (I’ll be ready to explore sous-vide cooking roughly a week before the earth crashes into the sun).
May 1, 2019
5 Things We Learned from This Exhaustive Healthy Eating Q&A
When I was in my early 20s and decided to start eating meals that didn’t require me to peel back a piece of plastic before putting them in my microwave, a friend sent me a copy of Mark Bittman’s How to Cook Everything. If you have it on your own bookshelf, you know that it isn’t just a clever name: It contains more than 1,000 pages of illustrated instructions for everything from baking homemade biscuits to buying the right fish.
May 1, 2019
The Only Buns You Should Ever Buy from the Grocery Store
For me, part of the appeal of Martin’s Potato Rolls is right there on its quaint plastic packaging. The hearts and tulips surrounding its logo look like something your grandmother might’ve embroidered and framed and, as you place them tenderly in your shopping cart, you’ll spot the words “Delicious to Serve at the Nicest Dinners,” stamped on the side in tidy red letters.
May 1, 2019
We Tried More than a Dozen Different Breads at Aldi and These Were the Five Best Ones
Oprah Winfrey and I have very little in common. She is a wildly successful multimedia mogul, with an estimated worth of $2.7 billion dollars. Meanwhile, I quietly applaud myself if I can use a washing machine without incident, and had to use a credit card for my last McFlurry purchase. The one thing we have in common, though, is bread. A couple of years ago, she did that oddly passionate Weight Watchers commercial where she stared directly into the camera and said “I LOVE BREAD.
May 1, 2019
A Serious Taste Comparison Between Cold Brew from Starbucks and Dunkin Donuts
There is nothing I love more than free stuff. If my neighbors leave last summer’s best sellers in the lobby of my apartment building, I’ll pick them up. If the Y stacks up the snacks left over from its after-school camps, I’ll take them. And if I ever see vinyl records beside the curb on trash day, they’re all coming home with me, even if they’re all in French. (Yes, this has happened.
May 1, 2019
Is Your Dinner Providing the Biggest Nutritional Value for Your Dollar?
At this point, it seems like almost every fast food restaurant has some kind of dollar menu — and we’re not mad about that. But when you’re shouting into a drive-thru speaker, how do you know when (and if) you are really getting the most nutritional bang for your buck?
May 1, 2019
Beyond Halo Top: We Taste-Tested 7 Other Low-Calorie Ice Creams (Here’s What We Loved!)
A few days ago, one of my internet friends posted an Instagram story with step-by-step pics of his first Halo Top experience, like an ice cream unboxing sequence. He’d never had Halo Top before, which is weird because I assumed that the entire world was pretty much in agreement that it was the pinnacle of human achievement.
May 1, 2019
Move Over, Halo Top — This Low-Calorie Cream Is a Million Times Better than You Are!
Two of my workout partners and I have an ongoing group chat that is pretty much about nothing but the insanely talkative guy we all try to avoid at the gym … and ice cream. We send each other photos of whichever varieties of Halo Top we’re currently eating — Pancakes & Waffles has been a recent obsession — and pics of grocery store signage when it’s on sale. Sometimes these photos don’t even come with a single typed word.
May 1, 2019
The Best Frozen Lasagnas for Every Possible Scenario
Making a lasagna from scratch is one of those hallmarks of adulthood that I always feel like I should know how to do, but I’m reluctant to even try it. (Some of the other things in that same category include consistently moisturizing my neck, realizing that I need a retirement plan other than my Princess Diana Beanie Baby, and flossing.
May 1, 2019
This Is the Only Brand of Tater Tots I’ll Ever Buy
A group of my friends and I play Geeks Who Drink pub trivia every single week, a standing Wednesday night out that none of us would miss unless we were having inpatient surgery or had been kidnapped by alien beings — and even then we’d probably ask our alien captors for, like, one teleportation session before they break out the assorted probes.
May 1, 2019
This Cult-Favorite Brand Never Lets Us Down in the Freezer Aisle
I’m not the most brand-loyal shopper. My running shoes have had an assortment of logos, I’ve owned cars manufactured in a handful of countries, and my fridge is usually filled with whatever stuff was on sale that week. But … BUT! … there are three brands that I will always be 100 percent committed to: Heinz (for ketchup), Wendy’s, and any frozen meal made by Amy’s Kitchen.
May 1, 2019
We’re Dying to Try These Vegan, Dairy-Free Oat Milk Ice Creams
In the past year, I’ve been to Sweden, Finland and Denmark, and have had at least a half-dozen layovers in the Reykjavik airport. I am obsessed with Scandinavia for a lot of reasons that aren’t limited to their unending supplies of both attractive citizens and attractive office furnishings. I also love the prevalence of Oatly-brand products, the oat-based milk alternative that was developed by an innovative, environmentally-friendly group of Swedes.
May 1, 2019
Fact: The Snacks at This Grocery Store Are Just as Good as the Snacks at Trader Joe’s
I recently read that the TSA is increasingly cracking down on travelers’ snack foods, ordering additional inspections of, like, suspicious-looking goldfish crackers or requesting that we place our KIND bars in the plastic bins beside our shoes, belts, and oversized bracelets. I snarled at that article the day before I flew to Europe, so part of my packing process included a few minutes of unpacking, as I shook all of the snacks out of my usual carry-on bag.
May 1, 2019
I Tried 15 KIND Bars and These 3 Were My Favorites
Until this week, I’m not sure that I’d ever eaten a KIND bar outside of an airplane, trying to unwrap one while being smashed by my own tray table thanks to a stranger’s fully reclined seat. They’re always available at airport gift shops and, when my snack options are either a KIND bar or, like, a $34 bag of beef jerky, those nuts and seeds will always win.
May 1, 2019
This List of the Best Sabra Hummus Flavors Shockingly Doesn’t Include the Classic Flavor
Every day I swear I’m not going to click on Facebook’s self-generated “On This Day” montage, and, every day, I find myself scrolling through a decade’s worth of posts that include “The Time I Was Deeply into Desperate Housewives” and “The Time I Was Deeply into Crossfit,” and those 10 or 15 minutes when I wouldn’t shut up about Whole30. (There was admittedly some overlap between those last two.
May 1, 2019
Bread Is Older Than Anyone Thought, So Take That, Paleo Diet
The next time your Paleo-eating friend tells the waitstaff that your table doesn’t need a bread basket, this is your opportunity to go full-on “WELL, ACTUALLY…” A team of archaeology and archaeobotany researchers just discovered a charred, pita-like flatbread at a research site in northeastern Jordan, and this is one history-changing collection of grains, tubers and gluten.
May 1, 2019
Trader Joe’s New Cold Brew Coffee Bags Are Super Cheap
I live in the South, where the local meteorologists give each day’s forecast by just showing an illustration of Earth slamming into the side of the sun. Okay, that might be a slight exaggeration, but it’s hot is what I’m saying. And this time of year, when the heat index starts flirting with triple digits, is when it’s straight-up cold brew coffee time.
May 1, 2019
Mom Blames Daughter’s Gallbladder Issues on Spicy Snacks
If you’re eating a bag of Takis or Hot Cheetos right now, you might want to lick the radioactive-looking dust off your fingers and read this. A 17-year-old in Memphis, Tennessee, recently had her gallbladder removed, and her mom is suggesting that super-spicy chips might’ve been one of the reasons why. “When my daughter had to have this surgery, I knew I had to tell everybody about it,” Rene Craighead told WREG.
May 1, 2019
Trader Joe’s and Kroger Connected to Lettuce Recall
According to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC), Cyclospora cayetanensis is a nasty microscopic parasite that can cause an intestinal infection called cyclosporiasis. We won’t go into the details about what cyclosporiasis does – although the CDC uses the words “sometimes explosive” to describe it.
May 1, 2019
This Restaurant Will Blow Your Mind with Its Watermelon Ham
There are some things in this world that are just not meant to be understood. Where is that long-rumored Lost City of Atlantis? How and why was Stonehenge built? Why do so many people watch The Big Bang Theory? And what made chef and restaurateur Will Horowitz decided to marinate a watermelon, smoke it for eight hours, and bring his unsettling fruit-ham to life?
May 1, 2019
These Are the Best Grocery Stores in America, According to Yelp
Hey, remember when Yelp was a thing? The website and app that your roommate still uses to tell people about the good 7-11 still exists, and it’s still collecting reviews on everything from restaurants and convenience stores to florists and … oceans. (“Love it,” one seemingly sincere appraisal of the Pacific Ocean reads. “It’s full of cute dolphins, otters, etc. The water smells nice and is very relaxing.
May 1, 2019
This Canadian Generic Brand Is Super Weird (but Intensely Loved)
In the cult sci-fi comedy Repo Man, young punk Otto Mattox (Emilio Estevez) gets fired from his job stocking shelves at a grocery store after he shouts at his boss and shoves one of his coworkers. Before that, he’d been stacking shelves with brand-free products, all with identical plain white labels and matter-of-fact product names like “Yellow Cling Sliced Peaches” and “Corn Flakes.
May 1, 2019
The Most Popular Cheese at Trader Joe’s Seems to Be Almost Universally Loved
A couple of months ago, I reviewed nine of the best cheeses at Trader Joe’s, because I have the best job in the history of jobs. Because pretty much everything in the cheese case is delicious — and because I am the kind of person who would spend all of her money on cheese — I asked my Facebook friends to help me narrow it down by recommending their favorites.
May 1, 2019
10 Canned Goods I Tried on My Last Trip to Trader Joe’s
Look, we love Trader Joe’s, you love Trader Joe’s, everyone loves Trader Joe’s. In the past few months, we’ve written about everything from the store’s best frozen foods, top snacks, and the must-have dips for those bags of plantain chips we can’t live without. We’ve covered their wines and cheeses. We’ve done our favorite breakfasts, a customer-favorite dessert, and even the stuff you can’t eat.
May 1, 2019
The 5 Best Canned Goods to Stock Up on at Aldi Now
Not surprisingly, Aldi (with its coin-deposit shopping carts, bring-your-own bag policy, and the unspoken understanding that the cashier isn’t going to load your cart for you) is a magical place to buy a decidedly un-magical type of food: canned goods. The discount chain is my go-to for canned goods and pantry staples. Here are some of the best values in a store that’s flat-out filled with values. Aldi’s Fit & Active chunky chicken noodle soup is $1.
May 1, 2019
This Is the Only Premade Chili We Can Get Behind
Rachel and Andy Berliner, the married co-founders of organic vegetarian food empire Amy’s Kitchen, are both in their late 60s, are longtime advocates of plant-based diets, and are worth millions and millions of dollars. Meanwhile, I’m a 30-something whose blood type is mostly bacon grease, and my own net worth depends on how many cans of La Croix are stacked in the fridge at any given time. (Right now, my personal fortune adds up to about $8).
May 1, 2019
This Is the Latest Grocery Item to Go “Cage-Free”
Tiny cardboard boxes of Barnum’s Animal Crackers first appeared on store shelves in 1902, and each one was decorated with pictures of some of the animals that audiences could see at P.T. Barnum’s own Ringling Bros. and Barnum & Bailey Circus. With the exception of some of the illustrated animals, the packaging has remained mostly unchanged for the last century — at least until the People for the Ethical Treatment of Animals (PETA) got involved.
May 1, 2019
The Best BBQ Sauce Comes from Trader Joe’s
I’m from North Carolina, where BBQ is serious business. The state is damn near split in half by an imaginary line of demarcation: one that determines whether you eat your pulled pork or chopped plates Lexington-style, or you eat them the wrong way. (FIGHT ME!
May 1, 2019
The 6 Best Condiments You Can Only Buy at Trader Joe’s
In 1964, Nico Jacobellis, the manager of a movie theater in Cleveland Heights, Ohio, was fined $2,500 and accused of violating Ohio’s obscenity statutes, all because he screened a then-controversial French film about adultery.
May 1, 2019
This Veggie Pasta Salad Is Calling Your Name
Kitchn’s Delicious Links column highlights recipes we’re excited about from the bloggers we love. Follow along every weekday as we post our favorites. Tieghan Gerard, the Colorado-based author behind the Half Baked Harvest website and cookbook, says she started preparing meals for her family when she was an annoyed-but-industrious 15-year-old who couldn’t understand why it took her dad so long to fix dinner.
May 1, 2019
I’m Sorry, Trader Joe’s, but We Can’t Get Behind This Product
In its most recent "Fearless Flyer," Trader Joe's announced the arrival of a new condiment: Carrot Cake Spread. I'm sorry to say it was disappointing.
May 1, 2019
Oat Milk Might Finally Be Easier to Find in the U.S. – And Here’s Why
According to the New York Times, Quaker Oats plans to release its own oat milk.
May 1, 2019
Reese’s Will Trade Your Lamest Halloween Candy for Peanut Buttery Goodness
Last week, the city of High Point, North Carolina, announced that it would be stepping in to prevent its citizens from handing out those gross peanut butter kiss candies. “Alright everybody, we’re giving you a one-week notice as you prepare for trick-or-treaters to remind y’all that by order of the City of High Point Emperor of Acceptable Candy (it’s a real thing), these are banned,” the City of High Point Government wrote on Facebook.
May 1, 2019
Trader Joe’s Has the Best Friendsgiving Essentials
For the past four or five years, my friend has hosted a pre-Thanksgiving dinner that he calls “Sidesgiving” because everyone brings their favorite holiday-season side dish. Even though he sets the date and sends invitations several weeks in advance, every single year I’m late because, at dinnertime, I’m still leaning down and peering into the oven, wondering whether hissing “OMGGGG COME ONNNNNN” will make those sweet potatoes cook any faster.
May 1, 2019
If You’re Obsessed with Meal Prep, You Need This Cookbook
We all know we should be meal prepping, right? Like, you don’t have to be a weightlifter who’s carrying an entire cooler full of grilled chicken breasts or an Instagrammer who just likes photographing well-curated plastic containers on Sunday afternoons in order to benefit from planning your meals ahead. The hard part, at least for me, is trying to decide what to cook, because you want something that will be as appealing on day four as it is on day one.
Apr 30, 2019
The One Thing You (Probably) Didn’t Know About Jalapeños
Sometimes it feels like Twitter only exists so you can see those same four GIFs of Steve Carell-as-Michael Scott a dozen times a day, so fast food restaurants’ social media teams can dunk on each other, and so that guy you went to high school with can type “LOL IT SNOWED TODAY COULD REALLY USE SOME OF THAT GLOBAL WARMING LOL.
Apr 30, 2019
This Creamy Polenta with Red Wine Mushrooms Is a Winner
Kitchn’s Delicious Links column highlights recipes we’re excited about from the bloggers we love. Follow along every weekday as we post our favorites. Lauren Hartmann, the pastry chef behind all-vegan website Rabbit and Wolves, describes her website as “simple yet exceptional vegan comfort food.” I can’t speak to the vegan aspect, but when it comes to comfort food, it’s hard to beat a creamy bowl of polenta.
Dec 5, 2018
These Steak and Sweet Potato Bites Are a Weeknight Favorite
Kitchn’s Delicious Links column highlights recipes we’re excited about from the bloggers we love. Follow along every weekday as we post our favorites. Look, I’m a serious meat-lover, the kind of unrepentant carnivore who has to be reminded that fruits and vegetables are also things that exist.
Dec 3, 2018
This Creamy Lemon Herbed Chicken Is a Weeknight Favorite
Kitchn’s Delicious Links column highlights recipes we’re excited about from the bloggers we love. Follow along every weekday as we post our favorites. All right, I’m just putting this out there: Chicken thighs are one thousand percent better than chicken breasts.
Nov 21, 2018
This Chicken in a Creamy Parmesan Sauce Is a One-Pan Wonder
Kitchn’s Delicious Links column highlights recipes we’re excited about from the bloggers we love. Follow along every weekday as we post our favorites. Kevin Lynch, the Toronto-based food blogger and photographer behind Closet Cooking, says that the website got its name honestly… because his kitchen is the size of a closet.
Nov 19, 2018
Ridiculous Olds Now Claiming That Millennials Are Wrecking Thanksgiving Meals Too
Earlier this week, Hasbro released “Monopoly for Millennials,” a variation of your weird aunt’s favorite board game that replaces the familiar properties, utilities, and railroads with experiences like eating at a vegan bistro and attending a meditation retreat. The tagline for this game that exactly none of us want to ever play? “Forget real estate, you can’t afford it anyway!” Get it?
Nov 16, 2018
This Creamy Chicken Stroganoff Is Perfect Comfort Food
Kitchn’s Delicious Links column highlights recipes we’re excited about from the bloggers we love. Follow along every weekday as we post our favorites. OK, as epic and darkly romantic as Guns N’ Roses made late fall precipitation sound, after a week of cold, damp days, I’ve about had it with November rain. (The actual November rain. I’m still cool with the song.) My socks were wet before 9 a.m. today. Then I dropped my to-go mug into the world’s deepest puddle.
Nov 15, 2018
This $20 Reese’s Advent Calendar Is a Holiday Miracle
Earlier this morning, the hosts of a cable news channel morning show struggled to open the tiny doors on their wine-bottle advent calendar and they fumbled with the packaging until the commercial break. That made me think that maybe I’ll skip the calendar, buy a couple bottles of wine, and pretend that I’m capable of rationing them for 24 days.
Nov 9, 2018
We Had No Idea This Everyday Kitchen Tool Was a Legit Design Icon
If you’ve been to the Museum of Modern Art (MoMA) in midtown Manhattan, you’ve probably marveled at its permanent collection, which includes some of the most iconic and immediately recognizable works, ever — there’s the melting clocks of Salvador Dalí’s The Persistence of Memory, the soft-focus pastels of Claude Monet’s massive Water Lilies triptych, and everyone’s go-to poster from their freshman year, Vincent van Gogh’s The Starry Night.
Sep 25, 2018
There’s No Way This Slow Cooker Full English Breakfast Is an Improvement
During everyone’s most-and-least favorite holiday movie, Love, Actually, Prime Minister Hugh Grant lists all of the reasons why he thinks Great Britain deserves that first part of its name: “We may be a small country, but we’re a great one, too,” he said. “The country of Shakespeare, Churchill, the Beatles, Sean Connery, Harry Potter. David Beckham’s right foot. David Beckham’s left foot, come to that.
Sep 21, 2018
Of Course Pumpkin Spice Latte Deodorant Is a Thing
It’s still another week until fall officially begins, but most of us are already sweating through a blanket scarf, staring at the trees trying to wish their leaves orange, and wondering how to add an Instagram story when both hands are wrapped around a Pumpkin Spice Latte. Starbucks brought its #PSL back earlier than ever this year, putting it on the menu before Labor Day.
Sep 13, 2018