Hi! I’m Crystal and this isn’t your run-of-the-mill recipe blog, it’s a place where I’ll show you how to cheat the dinner system, save some serious cash, and most importantly, enjoy your family around the dinner table.

Because, if there is one thing I hear A LOT of women say its “I HATE making dinner and cooking.” Raise your hand if you can relate! You see, I want to help you, and every other woman, who’s weighed down by the daily 5:00 pm conundrum of what to make for dinner. Not so much because I believe everyone should love cooking, (I actually do not love spending all day in the kitchen or doing dishes…especially not the dishes…hence the whole outsmarting dinner thing…), but because I do believe you deserve to settle down in the evening to a tasty meal with your family by your side. But there’s more to that dream…I also want you to have all of that without detracting from the other stuff you’d rather do in your day…and without Mount Dishmore waiting for you when you’re done.  Sounds like heaven, right?

So please join me as we work together to make dinner so easy it practically makes itself!  You can come to a LIVE meet up on Instagram, join the private Facebook group of intelligent, creative women (like yourself!), check out the meal planner that started it all, or read some past blog posts…either way, you’ll leave with some life-changing tips and tricks for outsmarting dinner….I Promise!

A short non-exhaustive list of things I never thought I’d become includes: a homeschool mom, business owner, Arizona resident (it’s HOT here!) and a good cook. I’m almost embarrassed to admit this, but I honestly thought I would never need to cook or be in charge of dinner.  Go ahead and laugh, it’s pretty silly.  

The truth is, as a young mom, I soon found myself being crushed by the relentless stress and dread that dinner brought EVERY. SINGLE. DAY. Maybe you’ve been there as well. Like a lot of people, I mistakenly thought you were either born with the I-love-to-cook-gene or you weren’t, and I was obviously one of those who simply wasn’t born with it. (You’d agree if you saw a few of my first attempts at cooking or the bomb that exploded in my kitchen during the process.)

I wished someone would just give me a cheat-sheet on how to make dinner happen–from start to finish. Not just “easy” recipes that claimed to take 30 minutes (ha ha!) or a few measly tips here and there. I needed some concrete solutions for getting meals on the table without it taking all day or creating a ginormous mess. I wanted dinner to be easy, delicious and to enjoy my kids while we ate it, was that really too much to ask?! 

So, I started working at it (with some help from my home economist mom, who by the way, was so happy I’d finally figured out I needed to cook in order to eat). And do you know what I learned? It’s entirely possible for you to have your cake and eat it too.  Dinner can be easy and delicious, and you can enjoy your kids in the process! Simply put, you can be the mom you want to be (the one who spends intentional time with her kids bonding) and the bomb-mom-dot-com (the one who has dinner on the table every night and enjoys it).  The truth is, dinner doesn’t have to be as hard or expensive as everyone makes it out to be.  Whether you’re a young mom or an empty nester, single or married, work or stay at home, you absolutely can energize and streamline your dinner routine to get it back to what really matters–you and your family. When dinner is done right, it creates a much needed respite from the stress and anxiety of school, work, and just plain old life without adding more to your plate. 

Now, if you’re ready to put an end to dinner time dread and revolutionize your dinner, let’s make this thing happen! To begin…

1. Join our community!: 

The Outsmart Dinner Facebook Group brings together other like-minded, motivated & inspiring women (like yourself) – so we can share experiences, advice & support each other while we work together to outsmart dinner. 

You can also follow along on Instagram @outsmart.dinner

2. Get the Meal Planner that Actually Works!: 

The Outsmart Dinner Meal Planner is a perfectly curated collection of over 100 of the simplest, best-tasting recipes, with smart tips for prepping earlier, repurposing leftovers & saving money. Plus, you can add in all of your favorite recipes. It’s designed to make dinner so easy, it practically makes itself.

3. Subscribe to the YouTube Channel (COMING SOON!)

Here you’ll find fun, free, to-the-point videos and tutorials that will help you streamline the dinner process, save money, and eat better. Watch wherever you are, whenever you have time, and get the jump-start you need to outsmart your dinner.

The honest truth is life is too short to feel stuck in the kitchen.  Now’s your time to break free from the stress of dinner and harness the power of a great family meal. If anybody deserves it, you definitely do!

The honest truth is life is too short to feel stuck in the kitchen.  Now’s your time to break free from the stress of dinner and harness the power of a great family meal. If anybody deserves it, you definitely do!