What do you do when you need to make dinner, but you have a million other things that are dinging, pulling at you, and driving you bonkers? We’ve got you covered with easy, low-stress recipes that are a lifeline on busy nights.
Welcome to the SOS Series
Summer is winding down, energies are shifting, and I’m coming to you with exciting news today:
We are about to kick off the SOS Series for Fall 2024!
This is the third-ever installment of the SOS Series and it will be lots more of the stuff we love: easy, delicious, big flavor, low-to-no-stress-style dinner recipes!
We’ll have one new recipe per week to take us through the months of September and October! Fall is my favorite cooking season.
What Is The SOS Series?
A little backstory if you’re unfamiliar: I started the SOS Series in April of 2021. It was developed as a way to help my own self get through a really challenging season – adjusting to life with a new baby, while wrangling the tiny toddler tornado, while trying to get back to work, while keeping one eye out for Covid, while ultimately trying to not totally lose my mind every night at dinnertime. It was a season of takeout, frozen meals, and snacks for dinner, and while I love chips and salsa as much as the next person, there just comes a time in your life where you say: Okay, I’ve eaten enough chips. I need to make a proper meal.
At the heart of my struggle was the lack of time and energy: I love to cook and I wanted to eat good food that was actually delicious, exciting, and wholesome… but I was (am?) so tired.
This was the beginning of my passion for easy-ish recipes. My ultimate qualifiers for any SOS-style recipes:
- Can we make this with a short list of easy-to-find ingredients?
- Can we get this on the table quickly?
- Am I super excited to eat the leftovers?
- And mostly, will this recipe give me (and my family) a few moments of joy as we fill up our plates?
When Does The Series Start?
The SOS Series kicks off on Tuesday, September 10.
We’ll be sharing new recipes here on the blog every week throughout the 8-week series!
How To Get All The Recipes
New recipes will drop on Tuesday mornings through the months of September and October!
There are two ways to get these recipes:
- Sign up for our email list below – you’ll get every new recipe right in your inbox on Tuesday mornings!
- Check the blog for new recipes (also Tuesday morning)!
You can also follow along on Instagram to get updates on the recipes for each week! New SOS videos will be posted on Tuesday mornings.
What Kind Of Recipes Can I Look Forward To?
There are SO MANY GOOD RECIPES to look forward to in this series!
Protein is a big focus in our house right now, so I really tried to anchor all of these recipes around protein more than ever before! Nothing new, no powders or add-ins or special ingredients, and no macro counting for me personally.
That said, I am just trying to be more aware and making sure each meal naturally packs a good amount of protein, and that has definitely translated into more protein-forward recipes for this run of the series! We have chicken, turkey, tofu, beef – a little bit of everything coming your way.
One Last Personal Note
These recipes are for everyone who has ever felt the pressure at dinnertime.
Whether you are feeling overwhelmed at work, dealing with physical or mental health challenges, attempting to manage a household of babies and kiddos, or just having an off day, my hope is that these SOS meals are here for you to deliver a really doable, fun, wholesome, delicious dinner option as a lifeline. Honestly, I hope they feel like a hug.
The personal stories you have shared over the years on our previous rounds of SOS recipes have been truly transformative for me. We have heard from people going through chemo, people dealing with chronic depression and anxiety, people in the thick of it with babies and kids, people who are working overtime at demanding jobs, and just a general chorus of “please do more of these recipes.”
In addition to just making what I love to eat and what works for my family, your real life stories have served as my guiding light when I’ve been creating these recipes.
I am so excited to do this again with you!
See you back here on Tuesday!
Filed Under: SOS Series
September 5, 2024
Nice to meet you!
I’m Lindsay and I ♡ FOOD. I used to be a teacher, and now making food and writing about it online is my full-time job. I love talking with people about food, and I'm so glad you're here.
Did you make a recipe? Tag @pinchofyum on Instagram so we can find you!
What a great idea. And I’m right there with you! I live in the Twin Cities too, have a 2.5yr and 8mo. I have survived the last year + thanks to our crockpot, trader joes frozen cauliflower rice, and pre-cut vegetables.
This is me, 4 year old, 2 year old and barking dog. I am so burned out on making dinner for my family but also hate to just slop something together. Oh and did I mention I accepted a promotion and will be transitioning to that role full time in may?? This could not be more perfect timing! SOS!
Something un-pretentious from this blog??? I’ll believe it when I see it. As someone who hasn’t had the luxury of “working” from home, and sees absolutely ZERO humor in the privilege people have to make jokes about not putting on pants or washing their hair for the last year, I needed this a long time ago!!!! And no, I don’t have kids, and yet, I find myself twice as busy as everyone else who does…but like I said, I work for a living…
Amanda, judge much? I don’t know what you find pretentious about this site, but your obvious scorn for the work of people who work from home and raise children is unnecessary and not attractive. Glad you admit you don’t know what you’re talking about when it comes to the work this woman does, and way to support women who have a different job from yours!
Go read some unpretentious food sites then. I myself find a website that features ingredients like peanut butter pretty unpretentious. (Talking about you, spicy tofu stir fry!)
Listen hun. I can “judge” if I want, but I didn’t saying anything untrue. My scorn is for every single privileged person like you who has the pleasure to “work” from home and somehow think it makes them the victim! hah! I’m not obligated to “support women” because I’m a woman…which is painfully ironic given your judgy, scornful hypocrisy…
You keep trying to put words in my mouth while all I see are clucking hens squawking because I hit a nerve.
I never said a thing about pretentious ingredients (seriously you have to be kidding me), especially because I know that “organic” “clean” “detox” etc are BS marketing terms.
And as a Minnesotan who literally lives down the street from the office of this blogger…I also have the authority to say that her attitude towards a lot of things is exactly the kind of privileged tripe I have to put up with a lot around here. I’m not going to apologize for not being a sanctimommy or for telling it like it is.
Go crawl back to your hole.
You’re Welcome.
What are you going on about? 😆
You sound fun.
You’re ignorance is showing. We all have our issues. I have the privilege ( not luxury) of working from home…being MOM…6 kids- college to diapers and homeschooling. 3 properties to deal with and yeah, my showers last about 8 minutes. Most don’t include washing my hair. Just because you are busy with your life, doesn’t mean others who have it differently are full of it. I hope you have the privilege of bearing children one day. Then you’ll remember this conversation. You have no idea what its like, right now. Trust me. Ps…we make sacrifices to be at home.
MY ignorance?!?!?/! ROFL okay hun. Just because I haven’t had children yet, does not mean I haven’t had to raise children. I certainly never pretended I was the only busy person in the world.
One day I will have long forgotten this post because I don’t heed the opinions of sheep.
For someone who works twice as hard as those that have kids I’m surprised you have time to leave snarky comments on blogs you don’t like. I like this blog and appreciate the information and recipes provided for FREE. If you don’t like it may I suggest you don’t read it?
Haha!!! This comment is so funny to me. So busy yet still commenting on websites that apparently don’t make food you even like.
Lindsay, my ENTIRE family (mom, sisters and their own families, husband and two kids) LOVE your recipes. I also work full time and have two kids under 5 so I can be a bit picky w what I make and you’re are always winners! My sisters and I will literally text each other pics of our dinners and we all know it’s a POY winner without having to be told where the recipe came from. 😂
I’m excited for this series!!!
We love hearing this!
You love to hear a bunch of hypocrites sending hate my way because the truth hurts??? Good to know.
It takes zero energy to keep scrolling. Maybe if you had done so, you’d even have had some energy left over to make yourself some dinner!
girl. you sound stressed and kiiinda like you’re taking it out on a blogger who no one is forcing you to follow. hope you are able to find time in your busy schedule to eat a warm comforting meal and re-evaluate the way you respond to people.
You’re a trip! Sorry you had this unfulfilled need long ago, but now a solution is here…so maybe it’ll still be useful? No use in blaming others for something out of their control.
Also, not to make this a kids vs. no kids argument, but coming from someone who has always been a hard worker and works a lot, I have to say that in my experience…having no kids vs. having kids is no comparison. NO comparison. You *think* you’re twice as busy as everyone who has kids and works full-time, but…that’s the comedy of not having kids, you truly have no idea. 😀 Have a wonderful day!
Also, LOVE the projection you shoved in there. Hope your meds are working!
I know a hateful city burning leftist when I hear one. I hope you pledge allegiance to something good and pure someday, and barf up your hate rhetoric for good. Not real becoming.
I never leave comments, but I thought I’d drop one here. I have 5 littles aged 7,6,4,2.5 and 15 months. Cooking has become the ball that I dropped and I almost cried tears of joy when I read that there might actually be recipes that are easy AND TASTE GOOD for me to make in the season of life. And then I almost cried again when I got to the bottom and realized there was no recipe in the post 🙃 I am so looking forward to this series! Thank you for your honesty and sharing your recipes.
We hope you enjoy the recipes, Laura!
YES! This is brilliant! I always appreciate easy recipes. Thank you for doing this! Sending a virtual hug to you and your family. 🙂
I am SO excited for this!!!! I love your recipes as is, but SOS recipe style?! BRING IT ON!
My all time fave from you is that spicy african peanut stew in the IP. That’s an SOS meal to me!
Also please Ms. Amanda below. She sounds bitter. We all have different life situations and no one ever knows someone else’s hard or why that can be so challenging.
Yay! So excited. Your recipes have never failed me and I cannot recommend you enough! With 3 babies under 3, two dogs and a cat, I can relate to the craziness! Looking forward to your recipes and thanks so much!
Awesome, Tasha! We hope you enjoy the recipes!
Thank you for this! I love so many of your recipes and constantly feel the 5pm pressure. Sure the meals will be simple and delicious.
New Mom, so tired but miss cooking, my happy place. Cannot wait for this! Your recipes are the best so I know these will be amazing. thank you for doing this and keeping motherhood real!
Thanks for following along, Lisa! We hope you enjoy the new recipes!
So need this right now. Thank you!!
Thank you thank you thank you! I am looking forward to this!
Yay 🎉
I already follow your Instagram and get your emails. Will these be a different email? Do I need to sign up again for these recipes?
No need to sign up again if you already receive Pinch of Yum emails!
Hi Lindsay!
I have followed your blog for many many years now and would love to have our companies collaborate. I am also a fellow Minnesotan now living in NYC.
Our company is called Phoebe. It is a business dedicated to everything new mothers and we support our members from pregnancy through postpartum and back to work.
I would love to have your series featured in our support for new parents.
Emily
Chief Executive Mom at Phoebe
Hi Emily! Please email us at [email protected]. Thanks!
Heck yes! What has helped me are sheet pan dinners and grill dinners. It all goes in, I set a timer and that’s the end of it.
Also, frozen chopped veggies like onions are surprisingly helpful
Yes, we love sheet pan dinners! And great tip on using frozen veggies to cut down on prep time!
Great idea! And congrats on the new baby. Somehow I missed that Baby arrived.
Lois
Wow!. I can’t wait for these recipes! I could have used one last night! No energy, baby crying unless held, dog also wants attention, 20 other things on the to do list. Thank you for such a wonderful idea!
Love this series already, just based on your description!
Wow! This is totally me, dying potted plants from Fall 2020 still in the backyard and all! Looking forward to this series.
No babies or toddlers, but newly widowed (1.5 yrs, but still new every day) with interest but no energy or enthusiasm. SOS recipes sound perfect, and this one sounds delish Thanks for the inspiration.
So sorry to hear about your loss – cooking when grieving is HARD. Sending you positive energy.
I’m right there with you. I lost my husband 1-1/2 years ago, too. Meal prep is really hard , and cooking for one is not easy . Really, really looking forward to SOS.
Sending love to you, Lisa ❤️ We hope you enjoy the series!
Thank You so much for all of your wonderful help and recipes….. I don’t have the little ones…. I take care of seniors…… and I enjoy all of your recipes…. I’ve made many of them….with great reviews!!!!
Awesome, Jay! We hope you love the new recipes!
Hey Lindsay,
Fabulous idea and looking forward to seeing what the POY team has been cooking up!
Hang in there.
Susan
oh my god, this is what I’ve been waiting for. Homeschooling mom to a 6 y/o, 3 y/o and 9 m/o with a husband who works long hours, and we basically have two meals around here: lunch is tortillas, apples, cucumbers, and cheese — and dinner is bread w/ honey, carrots, berries, and yogurt. Every day that I crap out and just give the kids this, I feel guilty. Thank you for this series!
I was a divorced mom raising 6 kids by myself in the 70’s and worked outside the home to support them. Believe me, it was hard, I am now in my 80’s, but I rememer thinking, “What to feed the kids”!
Your way of expressing gratefulness yet desperation during the toddler + baby + quarantine time of life is so well said and relatable all at once- it makes me laugh and tear up at the same time! Can’t wait for this series!
This series sounds fantastic! I can’t wait to see what you & the POY team have put together!
Thanks for so many great recipes, and years of excellent work 😀
I’m SO here for this. Thank you!
I’m SO excited for this series! We’re about to have our first baby and I was already feeling overwhelmed about how we’ll juggle making healthy(ish), feel-good food with a newborn. I’ve been making POY recipes for years and y’all have my favorites! Can’t wait for more! 🙂
Glad to see you’re still thriving with your food blog, Lindsay. 🙂