Summer time, Kids, and the BIG CITY...

If you have a kid you know that FUN doesn't come cheap these days...especially during the summer when there are so many places to go and things to do. Here are some of my suggestions for having a FUN summer for cheap or FREE.

1. Visit your local library's event calendar as there are tons of free programs such as reading for babies and toddlers, yoga, knitting, family movie, and summer meals.

2. Take a Music Together free demonstration class, which is normally an hour long. Be forewarn that there will be some talking from the instructor as this is an introduction to what the program is about as well as singing and playing musical instruments for the kids.

3. Check out Museum Free Days for times when attractions in NYC accept suggested donations or has partial/full free days.

4. Form a play group on Facebook and ask local moms and babies to meet at the park or other locations with some toys and games.

6. Ebay and facebook group might have coupons for big attactions like Sesame Street, Land of Make Believe, etc. for free or at a low cost. It might be strange to buy a coupon for $4-5, but the coupons can be $25-$30 off the admission price.

5. Check out NYC Parks for free movie nights around the city, which normally starts at dusk so you might have to wait until 8:00 for a movie. Grab a picnic basket and head to your nearest park.

6. Time Out NY Kids has tons of activities for kids of all ages around the city  to do for free.

7. For the mommies and daddies who need to see a grown-up movie once in a while but can't find a babysitter, certain movie theaters offer "mom and me" screenings for the first showing of all their movies on certain day of the week. Check out Nitehawk Cinema in Williamsburg, Brooklyn that offers Hawks with Babies every Tuesday afternoon. You can order brunch at your seat and there's a bar in the lobby! Also features adult theme brunch and a movie for when you can get away without the baby :)

8. Dance under the stars or take in a concert at Lincoln Center. Visit Lincoln Center Out of Doors for their schedule of free concerts.

ENJOY YOUR SUMMER!

I've been Plated.

I've never been much of a cook (Worst at baking). For those of you who don't know me, I basically saute everything! Once in a blue moon I'll make pasta and soup. And on very very rare occasions I might fry a salmon. That's the gist of my cooking.

When mommy lok referred me to Plated I was a little bit apprehensive and excited. Apprehensive because I can't really cook. Excited because if mommy lok wants me to try it out, it must be cool!

Before I go into what I made, let me tell you a little bit about Plated:

What is Plated?  It is basically a meal program. You can either become a member for $10 a month and pay less for each plate or order your meal as a non-member with higher per plate cost. You pick a recipe from their website and all the fresh ingredients are delivered to your front door ( In my case the mailman placed it downstairs and my kind neighbor delivered it to me!!).  Every ingredients are packed in their own little bags with labels and then in a big freezer bag along with a recipe. Each week there's a new menu.

For my Plated meals, I ordered the London Broil and the Cod. I had cod the first night.  It was very easy to make and took around 30 mins from start to finish.  The meal itself was good. I rushed through the instructions and I missed a few steps, which was my fault. I'm sure the meal would have been better if I wasn't so excited about cooking that I skipped instructions.

The next night I made the London Broil. That turned out great because the recipe was a lot simplier. The tricky part was making sure I don't overcook the steak, which would make it rubbery. I love the fact that Plated don't marinate the meat in advance since I don't like a lot of spices in my food. The spices are in their own separate bags so I get to decide how much to put in my meal.

My version of London Broil

Overall, I like the idea behind Plated. All the fresh ingredients you need to make a meal in one bag. No more rummaging through the fridge and cabinets searching for the necessary ingredients for a great meal.  Best of all, you get to cook something that you never would before if you had to think about what to cook on your own.  Plated is slightly pricey especially at $15 a plate for non-members, but there is only a 2 plates option and you have to order 4 plates in order to check out. That's a total of $60.  While it is slightly pricey, Plated is a good way to learn how to cook and also increase your recipe collection.

Happy cooking everyone!