Phoenix-based food blogger Lauren Allen grew up in a home where her mom cooked everything from scratch. So when she went off to college, Allen was surprised that many of her fellow students didn’t know how to cook or appreciate good food. “It was weird for me to meet other college girls my age who didn’t even know how to boil water,” Allen says. “I wanted to teach people that cooking is easy. You can make good food and cook things from scratch with real ingredients instead of making mac and cheese and Top Ramen.”
Allen was constantly calling her mom and asking for the recipes she grew up with to share with others. She began to document the recipes in a blog and website, Tastes Better from Scratch. “I wanted this to be our family’s legacy,” she says.
The blog, which Allen started in 2009 as a hobby, has since turned into a thriving business with more than 10 million visitors each month. This year, she published a cookbook, Tastes Better from Scratch: Easy Recipes for Everyday Life ($34.99), full of family recipes and some of Allen’s personal favorites along with 16 new recipes. “These are the recipes that made the website what it is and garnered us so many followers and fans,” she says. “It’s the best of the best.”
Tastes Better from Scratch features 116 recipes for every meal of the day, including desserts. A preview of the book includes recipes for Cajun Chicken Pasta, Sheet-Pan Sausage and Veggies, and S’mores Bars.
Each recipe has an accompanying photo and many have QR codes that link to instructional videos for visual learners, Allen says. “Most recipes include make ahead and freezing instructions when it applies, and variations to make it healthier or ingredient swaps.”
“Some people say cookbooks are a thing of the past because everyone looks up recipes online,” she says. “But you’d be shocked how many people print recipes because they want a hard copy to save.”
Allen receives a lot of great feedback from readers about her blog, and now, her cookbook. “People say not only have you made this easy and approachable, but now I actually enjoy cooking,” she says. “Those are the compliments I like the most.”
