CFO Favorite: Good Olive Oil

As I've mentioned in the weekly newsletter, I recently read The Dorito Effect: The Surprising New Truth About Food and Flavor, and it's got me thinking an awful lot about flavor now. I've been shopping at the farmers market (and have decided that the food I buy there does indeed taste better), and exploring specialty locally-produced foods, like milk. I was a little surprised to realize, though, that I started on this journey almost a year ago, when I started buying California Ranch Extra Virgin Olive Oil.


I'd been reading a lot about how most grocery-store olive oil isn't fresh at all, and might actually be rancid, even though it doesn't scream rancid when you taste it. I'd also read that Ina Garten swears by Olio Santo - which was initially sold out when I went to go buy it, probably because Amazon's stock had been swept up by Ina fans.


I then did some independent research, and kept coming up with California Ranch Extra Virgin Olive Oil as the go-to, everyday olive oil of many chefs. It was in stock at Amazon, and more affordable, so I gave it a try, and it had so much more flavor than the extra virgin olive oil I had been using (sometimes I'd buy the giant Kirkland bottle at Costco, sometimes I'd buy whatever looked good to me at Trader Joe's). It's fruitier and has more depth, and it's subtle but definitely noticeable. When I first made the switch, my husband kept telling me that whatever I'd cooked with the oil (main dish or side dish) was particularly good.

I gave a slightly more expensive California Ranch variety a try, the Arbequina, which was stronger, but slightly too sharp for me. I did eventually get my hands on a bottle of Olio Santo, and it's also stronger, but more mellow, so I prefer it. Now, I use the California Ranch for everyday cooking, and the Olio Santo for times when the flavor of the oil is front and center, such as in dressings.


I've discovered that the best price for California Ranch Extra Virgin Olive Oil is at Target, especially when there's a sale or Cartwheel offer. If you're an Ina fan, and/or you want to try the Olio Santo, Amazon now offers a two-pack for $39, which is slightly cheaper per bottle than the $20 single bottle I've bought previously.

Do you have a favorite olive oil?

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CFO Favorite: SodaStream Sparkling Water Maker

I've had a SodaStream for almost 10 years, since before the sparkling water craze hit grocery store shelves. I was lucky enough to win it from The Bragging Mommy, and it just might be the best prize I’ve ever won. It’s definitely the most used!



Ever since I received my SodaStream, I’ve been drinking unflavored sparkling water (the flavor mixes never did anything for me). And it’s so economical!

I drink at least 2 liters per day, which is equivalent to four 500 ml bottles. Each CO2 canister lasts me about a month, so it carbonates at least 60 1-liter bottles. The lowest price for an 8-pack of 500 ml bottles is $1.99. Sixty 1-liter bottles is equivalent to 120 500 ml bottles, or 15 8-packs. Fifteen 8-packs at $1.99 each comes out to $29.85, not including CRV (California Redemption Value) of 5 cents per bottle.

Each SodaStream CO2 canister refill is $14.99 at Bed Bath and Beyond, and they let you use coupons for them. A $5 off $15 purchase coupon (which they’ve always let me use for this purpose) brings the cost down to just $9.99. I don’t remember if they charge sales tax (I think they do), but even then I pay less than half the cost of buying individual bottles.

Plus, the SodaSteam has the added benefit of being much more environmentally friendly. Even though I do recycle, it’s best to use less plastic to begin with.

If you prefer flavored water, it's so easy to add slices of orange, lemon, lime, strawberries, and/or cucumber. You can also use an insulated tumbler to keep your sparkling water cold on the go. (All sparkling beverages - at least in my opinion - are much better cold!) There are also natural flavored syrups that you can get

There are a lot of different SodaStream options out there, and you might want to try the more expensive SodaStreams that come with flavor syrups if you're interested in them. (You could also try making your own flavored syrups.)

If you just want plain sparkling water, Amazon has a sparkling water maker for just $49.99. However, if you're just getting started, I recommend the water maker with one CO2 canister for $74.81 $63 (love a price drop!). A new CO2 canister is $29.99, so the combo is a better deal.

CFO Favorite: Command Cord Bundlers

Cord clutter isn't a huge pet peeve for me like it is for some people, but a few months ago, I read a tip for reducing cord clutter. Since I have a fair number of small appliances that I move back and forth, I decided to give it a try ... and fell in love!


If you've used other Command products, you know they're great - they stick, but they can also be easily removed. Command Cord Bundlers are what they sound like - they're an easy way to bundle up a cord. Here are two ways I use them:


This is the Vornado Tower Fan that I keep near the kitchen - I use it when I'm cooking something particularly smoky and when I'm cutting onions (it blows the air away from my face and keeps me from crying). I used to wrap the cord around the base, but sometimes the cord would be in the way. The Cord Bundler keeps it off the floor and makes it look neat.


This is my almost 20-years-old hand mixer. I used to loosely wrap the cord around the mixer when I stored it, but now I can keep the cord neatly out of the way - so it won't flop off the shelf and hit me in the face when I open the cabinet where I keep it!

There's something about Command products that make them fun to use - I think it's knowing that you can undo what you've done if you're not happy with the result. :D In any event, if you have some cords that are getting in your way, I highly recommend giving the Command Cord Bundlers a try.


This is not a sponsored post, just a product I genuinely love. This post does contain affiliate links that help support this site at no additional cost to you. Thank you for using them! You can read CFO's full disclosure here.

Chief Family Officer’s Favorite Things: Prep Solutions by Progressive2-Way Grate and Measure

One thing that makes cooking easier and more pleasant is having great tools. But sometimes it takes me a while to find the right one.


And so I've been on a quest for a great grater. You wouldn't think it would be so hard to find one. But I've always hated the traditional box grater, which I find difficult to clean, and a little dangerous to use (I lost many a fingernail tip on my old box grater). I'll use the shredding blade in my food processor for large batches, but that can be a lot of cleaning for not a lot of product.

I tried this multifuction grater, which worked pretty well but the plastic cracked after a few months.


Luckily, I found the Prep Solutions by Progressive 2-Way Grate and Measure, which has turned out to be exactly what I've been looking for. It's super easy to use, and super easy to clean. Whatever you're grating falls into the clear plastic container that it comes with, and you can grate in both directions, which makes the work go quickly. I find it easiest to use when it's sideways rather than standing up, but it works either way.


One nice feature is that there are measurements on the side of the container, so if I need a cup of grated cheese, I just have to stand it up vertically to see how much I've got. This grater also seems very durable (I've been using it regularly for a few months now and it's holding up perfectly), and I absolutely love that both parts can go in the top rack of the dishwasher. In fact, it's so easy to use that I've been using it to shred zucchini instead of breaking out my food processor like I always did before.

There's something so satisfying about finding the right tool for the job! See my other Favorite Things.

This is not a sponsored post, just a product I genuinely love. This post does contain affiliate links that help support this site at no additional cost to you. Thank you for using them! You can read CFO's full disclosure here.

Chief Family Officer's Favorite Things: The Ove-Glove

I'd needed a new oven mitt for, well, years. I had one, an old - very old - favorite. And I had picked up some others along the way, including an OXO silicone mitt (which was too big for me) and silicone pinch mitts (which leave too much skin exposed when emptying a big pot of boiling water). But I could never find a mitt that fit as well as my old oven mitt, which my mom had gotten me over a decade ago at a now-defunct store.


The problem became an urgent one a few months ago, when I realized my beloved oven mitt was literally falling apart and wasn't going to last much longer. Then, early in the holiday season, I happened across a glowing review of the Ove-Glove.


At less than $15, it was affordable and I really liked the flame-retardant quality, since the heat was really penetrating my rapidly eroding but still-beloved mitt. I got my Ove-Glove last month, and it's a keeper! I was finally able to toss my old oven mitt into the trash, where it had long belonged, since by the end, I was risking a burn every time I used it. The Ove-Glove is quite heat-proof, and even my smallish hands can get a solid grip on baking pans and steaming hot pots. Plus, it's easy to clean (throw it in the washer with the kitchen towels, then hang it to dry).

The Ove-Glove is definitely one of my Favorite Things!

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New Favorite Kitchen Appliance: NutriBullet Blender

One of the books I've been reading off and on is How to Live a Good Life by Jonathan Fields. He talks about the three buckets of life, the first being the Vitality Bucket. One of his suggestions is to have a daily green smoothie, and he recommends the site Simple Green Smoothies.


I've actually known about SGS for several years, and regularly used their formula to make smoothies in my Vitamix. My favorite combination is spinach, water, a banana, and whatever fruit I have in the freezer. Reading How to Live a Good Life made me decide to commit to a daily green smoothie.

The thing about my Vitamix, though, is that it's huge - the jar holds 64 ounces, or 8 cups! And it was difficult to blend up smaller portions in that large jar. Vitamix does make smaller containers, but they're all rather expensive.

So I got a NutriBullet, which came with 3 cups and 2 blades - all for less than the cost of one Vitamix jar. It's been great, because it's so easy to blend up one or two servings at a time. I have a green smoothie almost every day now, because of the ease and convenience (which are great strategies for creating a new habit, according to Gretchen Rubin, who literally wrote the book on happiness and habits).


The NutriBullet does a fantastic job of making a smooth smoothie - I follow the SGS technique of blending the greens with liquid first, and I never get lumps. The only thing it doesn't blend perfectly is berry seeds, so I avoid strawberries and raspberries when I use it because I really dislike the grittiness. (This isn't a problem with the Vitamix.) I've been adding chia seeds to my smoothies lately, and those get blended up completely. (I do soak them first, which undoubtedly helps.)

I love my NutriBullet so much that the next time I visit my parents, I'm going to order one for the their place and teach them how to make a daily green smoothie!

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My Favorite Pick-Me-Up: Happier Podcast

Over the last few months, I've discovered a really easy way to snap myself out of any bad mood, whether I'm sad, angry, irritated, or just blah. It's the Happier with Gretchen Rubin podcast, which is hosted by author Gretchen Rubin (The Happiness Project), and her sister, Elizabeth Craft (a TV writer and producer).


Luckily for me, they produce a new episode every week, and there are almost two years' worth of archives, so I always have something new to listen to (although I'm about to finish listening to the old episodes I'd missed before I discovered the podcast). In fact, this podcast works so well to keep me upbeat that I only let myself listen when I need a pick-me-up.

I listen in the car, when I'm stuck in traffic.

I listen when I'm exercising.

I listen when I'm cleaning the house.

And of course, I listen whenever I'm feeling down.

Gretchen and Elizabeth feel like old friends at this point, and since Elizabeth lives in LA, I harbor this stalker-ish fantasy about meeting her sometime and freaking her out by acting like I totally know her. They are both marvelously positive without being fake, and I can't help but wonder if I'm entertaining the people who see me laughing as I walk outside during my sons' practices while I listen to the podcast.

I've adopted numerous positive habits and tricks from listening to the podcast, since Gretchen's most recent book, Better than Before, is all about habits. In fact, I use a strategy called "pairing" to make unpleasant tasks like cleaning more palatable. (I know some people actually like cleaning ... I am not one of them!)

Do you have a favorite podcast? If so, please let me know what it is in the comments. I feel lost thinking about what I'll do when I've listened to all of the Happier episodes and have to wait for the new one to be released each week!

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Chief Family Officer's Favorite Things: Ball-Cap Buddy

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With two athletic boys around, it's no surprise that my house is overrun by baseball caps. I still don't have a great storage solution, but I've finally found an easy way to clean the hats: the Ball-Cap Buddy.


It's basically a plastic cage that keeps the hat's shape while it's in the dishwasher. Here's an example of my older boy's White Sox hat. As you can see, the front and back are both filthy:





I ran the hat in the Ball-Cap Buddy through the quick wash cycle of my dishwasher, in the top rack, using OxiClean Diswasher Detergent. Here's what it looks like after being washed and dried:




I wouldn't call it a miracle-worker - the hat definitely doesn't look new. But it looks so much better than it used to, such that I'm not embarrassed to let my child out of the house with it on. And since most of our baseball caps run in the $30 - $40 range, the $6 Ball-Cap Buddy is going to save us a lot of money on new hats!

See all of Chief Family Officer's Favorite Things here.

Chief Family Officer's Favorite Things: Trader Joe's Cold Brew CoffeeConcentrate

One of my favorite discoveries this past year has been Trader Joe's Cold Brew Coffee Concentrate:



This coffee concentrate makes for the easiest iced coffee ever! The directions say to use one part of coffee concentrate to three parts of water or milk. However, I've been using about three parts of nonfat milk, a splash of heavy cream and a splash of maple syrup to make my iced coffee. If I'm not out and about to grab a chai tea latte at Starbucks, the iced coffee really hits the spot.

Each bottle contains 32 ounces and costs $7.99 (at least here in LA - prices may be regional). Once opened, you can refrigerate the bottle for up to 30 days. (I write the date I opened it on the label with a Sharpie.) If you don't use up the whole bottle, you can freeze what's left in an ice cube tray. I've done this and used the frozen coffee cubes when a recipe called for coffee or when I wanted to keep my coffee cold in an insulated travel mug (these Contigo mugs are my favorite because they don't leak and keep drinks hot or cold for hours).

See all of Chief Family Officer's Favorite Things here.

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Chief Family Officer's Favorite Things: Progressive Chop Turner

This post contains affiliate links that help support this site at no additional cost to you. Thank you for using them! You can read CFO's full disclosure here.



Over ten years ago, when I first began cooking for my husband, one of the first things I learned was that he likes his ground meat to be as miniscule as possible. We have a wooden spoon that curves into a point on one side, much like this OXO Wooden Corner Spoon:


It was our utensil of choice to mash ground beef and turkey as it cooked, but the cooking process required a lot of intensive attention - time that I could (and preferred to) spend on other meal prep tasks while the meat cooked. Still, I love my husband and I want him to enjoy his food, so I did my best to get the ground meat as small as possible.

Then, one day, I received a promotional pack for some product. The box included the item I was supposed to promote {I honestly don't even remember what it was anymore}, as well as various kitchen items, including the Progressive Chop Turner:



It's really odd-looking, and I didn't know what to make of it. I'm not even sure why I decided to use it, but I'm so glad I did! More than any utensil I've ever used, it gets my ground meat down to uniformly small pieces:


It's hard to make out each individual lump of meat because of the uniform color, but that's now how all of my ground meat comes out looking if the recipe calls for crumbling it - tiny! And the best part is that I don't need to stand over the stove while the meat is cooking. I can wander away for a few minutes to do something else, then come back, vigorously stab and turn the meat a few times, then leave again. (Yes, I get to work off some angst too!) I repeat the process for as long as it takes the meat to cook, and by then, I've accomplished quite a few other tasks around the kitchen too.

Not long after my husband and I got together, I discovered that one of my friends likes her meat the same way {I learned this because she pulled out a lunch from home one day, and I gawked at how perfectly small and uniform her ground turkey was}. So for perfectionists and picky eaters alike, I highly recommend the Progressive Chop Turner!

You can buy the Progressive Chop Turner for $7.99 at Amazon. If it's unavailable, Oxo makes its own oddly shaped chopper.

See all of Chief Family Officer's Favorite Things here.

Chief Family Officer's Favorite Things: The Sneaky Chef's No Nut Butter

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I have been meaning to write this post for quite a while now, because The Sneaky Chef Creamy No-Nut Butter has become a staple food in our house.
It's not the healthiest food, nor does it follow the "real food" rules of being minimally processed. The ingredients include powdered sugar with cornstarch, palm fruit oil, and mono and diglycerides from a vegetable source. But at least the main ingredients, golden peas and canola oil, are non-GMO.

And it's a great replacement product for us. Because where most families can use a 100% natural, organic, minimally processed nut butter like peanut butter or almond butter, or the popular alternative, sunflower butter, we eliminated those options when we discovered one of the boys is allergic to peanuts, tree nuts, soybeans, and most seeds, including sunflower. Thankfully, his allergy is not so bad that the tiniest whiff of one of these forbidden items produces a reaction. But I certainly wouldn't risk having any of these things in my house.

I stumbled across No-Nut Butter about six months ago while doing research for an article, and since peanuts and soybeans - like golden peas - are legumes, I wasn't entirely sure that it would be safe for my son. But he's been able to tolerate it without issue, and I've been delighted to discover that No-Nut Butter freezes and bakes well.

In fact, I can prep ahead and make No-Nut Butter & Jam sandwiches to freeze for school lunches:


I freeze half-sandwiches, since that's what I pack for each boy. Each half goes into a plastic baggie, and then the baggies go into the bag the loaf of bread came in. When I'm getting lunch ready in the morning, I just pull a sandwich out of the freezer! {Making my own sandwich bread is one of my cooking dreams/goals, but I've yet to find a recipe that the kids like.}

No-Nut Butter also served me well in a modified version of these Stuffed Chocolate Chip Cookies, and is great in smoothies as well.

Of course, if you know of any other peanut-free, nut-free, seed-free alternatives, especially if they're less processed/more natural, I'd love to try them, so let me know in the comments!

Buy The Sneaky Chef Creamy No-Nut Butter for $7.49 at Amazon or Vitacost.

Chief Family Officer's Favorite Things: Burt's Bees After Sun Soother

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For some of you in other parts of the country and the world, it may feel like fall has arrived. But here in Southern California, we've been experiencing an extreme heat wave with temperatures 20 to 25 degrees above normal. In my corner of Los Angeles, we had multiple days well over 100 degrees this past week!

Our family is actually really good about applying and re-applying sunscreen, which is important because we spend countless hours outdoors due to the boys' sports. But inevitably, we all end up getting too much sun at some point.

Which is why I'm so glad I discovered Burt's Bees Aloe & Linden Flower After Sun Soother:


Unlike every other aloe product I've tried for sunburn, this stuff really works. As I've mentioned before, I'm quite fair and redden and burn incredibly quickly. When I apply Burt's Bees After Sun Soother, the redness is almost always completely gone the next day, and if it's not totally gone, it's at least gone down significantly. Perhaps most importantly, any pain associated with the overexposure to the sun is always gone.

The After Sun Soother works well on my kids too, although they don't seem to respond to it quite as well as I do. But at least I feel ok about using it on them because it's 99.5% natural and is free of parabens, sulfates, and other possibly harmful ingredients. (And honestly, I'd use it on myself even if it weren't so natural because it's so effective!)

Burt's Bees Aloe & Linden Flower After Sun Soother is $10.66 at Amazon and $9.99 at Drugstore.com.

Chief Family Officer's Favorite Things: Nexcare Waterproof Bandages

When the boys were little, I discovered Nexcare's Tattoo Bandages, which covered a cut or scratch in every direction, and were so waterproof that the boys could swim for hours, take a long bath, and still need to have them pulled off. The tattoo bandages were so great that my husband and I used them regularly, even if it meant we were wearing Star Wars or superhero characters - a small price to pay for a bandage that stayed in place!

To my great relief, though - especially since the boys are no longer into character bandages - Nexcare makes an adult version called Nexcare Waterproof Clear Bandages.
The hubby recently got a nasty little cut on his arm, and the Nexcare Waterproof Bandage stayed in place for a full 24 hours, until he pulled it off himself. I had to use one a couple of weeks ago when I had one of those small but annoyingly irritating and painful cuts on my hand, and the small waterproof bandage did the trick by covering it up so I didn't keep rubbing it accidentally.

I can't recommend these bandages highly enough!

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Chief Family Officer's Favorite Things: Powdered Sunscreen

Thanks to my boys' constant participation in sports, I spend a lot of time in the sun. But the irony is, I hate being in the sun. My skin burns easily, and I quickly turn red in the heat. So I'm known as the lady with the parasol, because I have a lovely one that I always have with me.

But even when I have my own shade, I think it's important to have a coat of sunscreen on my face. A few weeks ago, I was slathering on some Neutrogena lotion at the soccer field, when another mom saw me and showed me her recent find:


It's powdered sunscreen! It goes on like regular translucent powder, but it has a mineral powder sunscreen that you can just brush on your face.

I've been using the powder regularly since. It goes on easily, and actually works great as a basic powder to minimize shine, with the added benefit of sun protection and no gooey mess.

I do usually still rub in a layer of Neutrogena Ultra Sheer before I leave the house, and then use the powder to reapply sunscreen throughout the day. I'm so excited to have found powdered sunscreen!

This post contains affiliate links that help support this site at no additional cost to you. Thank you for using them! You can read CFO's full disclosure here. Top image via FreeDigitalPhotos.net by samarttiw.

Chief Family Officer's Favorite Podcasts

In the last year or so, one of my favorite ways to get centered and expand my horizons has been by listening to podcasts. If you're not familiar with podcasts but have a smartphone, all you really need to know is that you can listen to podcasts pretty much the way you listen to music - you just download the podcast from iTunes or Android Marketplace, then play back the audio file using a podcast app on your phone (I just use the one that came with my iPhone).

The first podcast I listened to was Michael Hyatt's This is Your Life. Its focus is on leadership and personal development, and it reminds me a lot of the things my dad used to say to me when I was growing up. A few of my favorite episodes include #90: How to Discern Your Calling, #36: How to Develop More Discipline, and #9: Is Work-Life Balance Really Possible?.

Then I discovered these podcasts, which I've added to my list of favorites:

Internet Business Mastery - IBM is hosted by Jeremy Frandsen and Jason Van Orden, who focus on helping listeners build an online business, but with an eye towards personal development and achieving success no matter the path. Some of my favorite episodes are #222: How to Never Run Out of Amazing Ideas, #203: Single Motivating Purpose, and #195: How to Create Habits that Stick.

Amy Porterfield's Online Marketing Made Easy - Amy Porterfield is a Facebook marketing expert, but her podcast is broader and covers a wide variety of internet-related topics. A few of my favorite episodes are #22: How to Start and Build a Profitable Podcast with John Lee Dumas, #18: A Backstage Pass to the Inner Workings of My Business, and #4: Proven Video Marketing Strategies with James Wedmore (who had lots of great tips on making a video).

Entrepreneur on Fire - I found this podcast because it's hosted by John Lee Dumas, who was a guest on Amy Porterfield's podcast, and it turns out Entrepreneur on Fire was named one of the best iTunes podcasts in 2013. There's actually a new interview with an entrepreneur every day, which is pretty incredible considering most podcasts release new shows weekly or less often. There are far too many shows to list any favorites, but it's fabulous to have fresh material to listen to at all times.

There are many other podcasts, of course, including Freakonomics and The Dave Ramsey Show. If you have a favorite, please share it in the comments as I'm always looking for new great content to listen to!

Image via FreeDigitalPhotos.net by Iamnee.