The Best Recipes, Apps And Hacks We Tried This Week (March 23-27)

Our editors share what's keeping them calm, productive and entertained during coronavirus social distancing.
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There’s no “right” way to navigate this coronavirus pandemic; everyone lives and copes differently. That being said, fostering a sense of community may make getting through this time a little bit easier.

Enter this weekly guide. Every Sunday, we’ll bring you a short list of products, routines, workouts, recipes, apps and other things we tried the previous week that are making life easier during this universally stressful time. Take a look at this week’s suggestions below:

Routine recommendations

Monica Torres, HuffPost Life's work/life reporter, tried her hand at regrowing her scallions.
Monica Torres
Monica Torres, HuffPost Life's work/life reporter, tried her hand at regrowing her scallions.

Getting dressed like you would for any other day

I started wearing actual pants (like jeans) to “work” each day, which makes the end-of-day pajama switch feel like a real end of the day. ― Kate Auletta, Senior Editor, Culture & Parenting

Trying out your green thumb

One tip that has made my life post-work a little easier: regrowing my scallions. If you buy yourself a bunch of scallions, don’t throw away the roots! Put them in a cup of water — the scallions will grow back after a week or so. Change the water once a week. After a few days of being in water, my scallions have new leaves peeking through. It’s a small reminder that the world keeps on growing and pushing on. ― Monica Torres, Work/Life Reporter

App recommendations

House Party

My 8-year-old loves to see people she loves and play the game Chips and Guac. It’s so easy to patch in her dad, her babysitter, friends of the family ... and all of a sudden we are all cracking up together. ― Hillary Frey, Executive Editor

House Party is a great way to connect with your loved ones while you’re apart. It features a bunch of different games, like trivia and quick draw. I laughed so hard with my friends for a few hours this week (we’re all terrible artists). It made me briefly forget the reason we all had to use the app in the first place. ― Lindsay Holmes, Senior Wellness Editor

PBS Kids Games

Shout out to the PBS Kids Games app for all you parents of younger kids out there. ― Kate Auletta

Recipe recommendations

Kristen Aiken, HuffPost Life's senior Food & Style editor, made her family's "secret" pancake recipe for lunch this week.
Kristen Aiken
Kristen Aiken, HuffPost Life's senior Food & Style editor, made her family's "secret" pancake recipe for lunch this week.

A delicious breakfast for any meal of the day

I’m trying to take advantage of working from home by doing fun things the office doesn’t allow, like making pancakes for lunch. This week I used our Secret Family Pancake Recipe (it isn’t such a secret anymore), which is perfect because it doesn’t use a lot of flour! Anyone who’s been to the grocery store recently has probably noticed that all the flour is sold out, but this recipe mixes flour with cornmeal, which is still plentiful in stores. It’s the only pancake recipe I’ve used for the past decade, because nothing is better. ―Kristen Aiken, Senior Editor, Food & Style

A mouthwatering Israeli meal

I’ve been stress-cooking like CRAZY, and it honestly is the only thing that really calms me down right now. Well that, and a great night’s sleep. I’ve been diving into Adeena Sussman’s “Sababa” cookbook, which HuffPost’s Jamie Feldman praised in a review for us B.C. (Before Corona). I’m obsessed with the melted green cabbage! — Kate Palmer, Head of HuffPost Life

A simple Crockpot soup that will keep you satisfied for days

This Little Spice Jar minestrone soup is my go-to Crockpot recipe for when I want something savory that’ll last for a few meals. I’m vegetarian, so I’m always looking for flavorful veggie meals that don’t take a ton of time to make. ― Brittany Nims, Manager Of Commerce Affiliate Content And Strategy

Workout recommendations

Heart-pumping, boxing-based circuit classes on Instagram

I’m a bit of a Rumble fangirl. The boutique fitness studio has two offerings during normal life: a boxing class and a treadmill/training class. Thankfully, it’s hosting several free sessions on Instagram Live each week. The workouts feature a lot of the Rumble concepts you get in class. They don’t require any equipment, and they will have you drenched in sweat by the end. I love that I still get to “see” my favorite instructors (I really do miss them!) and get my butt kicked in the process. Highly recommend. ― Holmes

A killer at-home Pilates series

I go to a private Pilates studio in Los Angeles and have really missed working out with my trainer (and friend!) Amanda Kassar. When social distancing went into effect, Amanda quickly put together an at-home Pilates series that’s accessible on her website. The videos are somehow just as challenging as her classes even without a reformer, and it’s been really comforting hearing her voice — for a moment, it feels like I’m doing my “normal” workout routine. If you’ve seen her on Instagram (or read about her in Vogue!) and have been curious about her method but don’t live in Los Angeles, now’s a good time to try it out! ― Ashley Rockman, Senior Relationships Editor


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