Things Look a Bit Different Around Here! (A Few Tips to Navigate the Changes)
Hey friends!
It’s been a long time in coming (and months in the planning!) but my little home away from home website got a much needed facelift. Both inside and out!
While you may see a slightly different color scheme and some new design elements, a lot of the improvements were updates made to the bones and structure of my website so it’s optimized, fast, and purring along nicely.
I wanted to specifically point out a few new features and design changes in case you had questions or haven’t noticed them yet.
I know change can be hard, but please know I made these changes very intentionally and thoughtfully. And I promise they really are an improvement to make your life (and mine!) better.
Homepage
You’ll notice on the homepage there are some new features, including a section of reader favorites (which could also be called the most popular recipes) and another section of MY favorites. Because, guess what, I have very strong opinions about which recipes fall into ones I can eat for the rest of forever. 🙂
The recipes in these sections will change every week or so to keep the ideas fresh!
And for you weekly menu fans, it’s still there at the bottom! The only change is combining Saturday and Sunday into one “weekend” day.
Recipe Format
One of the most notable changes is that the recipe card is looking a bit different! This improvement is being rolled out one-by-one to ensure the utmost quality control in switching over all the recipes to the new format.
I have over 2,000 recipes living here, so it’s going to take a hot minute to get it done, but you’ll start seeing a new format to the recipes as they get updated.
Old style:
New style:
Again, not all the recipes are in the new format yet, but they’ll be there soon(ish). All of the same features are still here PLUS a few new ones!
(If you are looking for the Save to Prepear button on the new format, it’s getting added today!)
Nutrition Facts
After hundreds of you asked (begged, pleaded, threatened) for it, I finally caved and added nutrition facts to the new recipe format.
I never planned to include nutrition facts, because even the best nutrition calculator can be off a little, AND, I’m a big believer and proponent of intuitive eating vs calorie counting, so I don’t look at nutrition facts myself.
However, I know a lot of you rely on them for counting carbohydrates (shout out to all my Type 1 Diabetes families out there!) and many of you DO track nutrition facts for your meals, and I know it’s important to you!
So consider this my gift to you. 🙂
I’m not going to lie, it pains me to add nutrition facts to recipes like donuts, but I’ll just take a lot of deep breaths and hope no one writes me hate mail because they found out via my blog that donuts actually aren’t health food and they feel like their whole life is a lie.
*If you don’t see nutrition facts on a recipe yet, it’s because that recipe still needs to be converted to the new format. Working as hard as I can to get this done!
Print Photo
I get that, like, only 3 1/2 of us are still printing recipes in this day and age (I’m a die hard recipe printer-outer), but for our awesome print community, you can now select whether to print the recipe photo or not.
This has been a long requested feature, and I’m excited to roll it out!
Weight Measures
I’ve included weight measures in ounces on all my baking recipes for several years, but many of the old recipes don’t have weight measures.
Using weight measures and a kitchen scale is an awesome way to level up your baking game in the kitchen! Plus, it helps recipes be even more foolproof since many of us measure flour, sugar, etc differently when using a measuring cup.
As I convert all my recipes to a new format, I will be adding weight measures to ALL my baking recipes – even the super old ones languishing in the cobwebby dungeons of the archives.
In the past, I’ve used OUNCES for all weight measures on my recipes. I did this mostly because I was highly influenced by America’s Test Kitchen when I first started blogging, and they use ounces instead of grams. However, I have gotten many, many, many confused questions over the years when readers see things like: 1 cup of flour = 5 ounces.
Many people associate 1 cup = 8 ounces, which is true if we’re talking fluid ounces. But 1 cup can equal a lot of different weight measurements depending on the ingredient.
To help clear up any confusion, I’m converting all my weight measures to grams, which is a more widely accepted and accurate method for weighing ingredients. And of course, I’ll still continue to use cup measures as well.
I know this may cause some of you consternation. Those of you, like me, who have gotten so used to setting your kitchen scale to ounces. But I promise, in the long run, this is the better way. Thanks for your patience as I roll this out!
Reviews
I’ve said this before, but it bears saying again: it means SO much to me when you take the time to leave an honest, unsolicited review on any recipe on the website.
These reviews help me as I continue this endeavor of food blogging (and as I create and test many more recipes), but it also helps give reputability to my recipes, as well as helps my content show up in google searches.
So THANK YOU to all of you who leave ratings and reviews. I appreciate each and every one of them! (Yes, even the ones who constructively and nicely say why they didn’t enjoy a recipe for whatever reason.)
In the new recipe format, there are several ways to leave a rating or a review. A rating is just selecting a star amount without leaving a comment. And a review is a star rating + a comment.
1) Under the title of the recipe, you can select a number of stars to rate the recipe (without leaving a comment – although if you select three stars or lower, it will automatically ask you to leave a comment so I can learn from the valuable feedback!).
2) Down at the top of the comment thread, you can leave a comment and select a number of stars to rate the recipe there. Or you can leave a comment without selecting a star rating.
Search
I’m still working on improving the search function to return the most relevant results, but for now the best results will pop up as you type in your search criteria and wait for the dropdown box to load.
This is enabled on mobile and desktop.
A Few Last Notes
There are a few more design changes that are kind of fun: keep your eye out for the What to Serve With This box on main dish posts as well as cute FAQ boxes to answer the most commonly asked questions (and save time reading through the comment thread).
Thank you for your patience as I continue to update recipes and roll out some of the remaining changes!
One quick note about ads: you guys, I know ads are annoying. I don’t like them much, either. But ads are kind of a necessary evil as they are the revenue source that pays my bills and allows me to continue giving you my very best tried-and-true recipes.
As my blog has grown exponentially in traffic over the last decade+, it has turned into a full-time business, and it requires a lot of behind-the-scenes work to keep it up and running.
I think long and hard about ad placement and the amount of ads that appear. There is no magic formula. And I know many of you feel like you’d make different decisions if you were in my shoes.
But please take a moment to be thoughtful as you judge or issue criticism. All of the pieces of the blogging puzzle add up to an insane amount of work and costs associated with web hosting, design, contract employees, audits, plugins and more. I’m running only about 1/2 of the ads available to me in order to keep the user experience fairly positive.
With this redesign, I’m tweaking a few things ad-wise (and trying to eliminate some problematic ads that have popped up – I apologize for those; thanks to those of you who bring them to my attention).
Ok, I think that’s it!!
I appreciate you and your kindness, loyalty, and patience! I’m excited for these website changes and hope that you are, too! Thanks for being here, you guys.
Wow, awesome and exciting changes! Your website is the best. Thanks, Mel!
You taught me to cook.
I will forever be a-okay with ads if it brings you revenue.
I also have printed out all my favorite recipes (and will continue to do so) in case the apocalypse happens and I need to make all the cookies (because, of course, the power will stay on through the apocalypse to allow me to bake).
I love how much you love what you do and want to help us all become better in our kitchens. Thanks for taking the time to update everything.
Wow! What a lot of work, thank you so much! It looks good.
The changes look good! The only thing I am missing is where to find the date each recipe was posted. This mainly helps when there are two recipes for something so I can figure out which is newest. Thanks!
Hi Cassidy – I moved it below the recipe. 🙂
Mel, what would I do without you!!! Whenever I’m so burned out on old recipes you give me something new, thank you so much! When I make something new I tell my family it’s one of Mel’s and their worried looks vanish. Thanks for everything!
Thanks for the keeping the print button; I always print because I’m a messy cook. Also looking forward to the nutritional info. The older I get, the more I realize maybe cookies maybe shouldn’t be part of all three meals ;).
I love your blog, it’s always the place I go first, as I have never had a failure with any of your recipes. And maybe more importantly, you taught me to bake bread, which I do weekly.
Mel, I am always printing out your recipes, just in case the world ends and there is no internet. I will NEED to have you by my side in the kitchen! And I don’t mind the ads at all. You are so generous to offer all your delicious recipes for free. Thank you and I feel like you are part of our family, since you show up at so many meals.
Just want you to know that I am so grateful for all that you do. I love your site and everything you share. Thank you a million times.
I’m loving the new design! Thank you for keeping on doing this every day- your recipes and ideas are always my go-tos. I’ll gladly deal with a few ads to get food ideas that suit my style, plus your delightful commentary.
I’m a recipe printer, too! I like to be able to escape my screen when cooking, plus it makes it easy to keep notes for future use.
Mel, I love your new changes! I am so excited to test some of the functions out, especially reader favorite and your favorites! And also I LOVE weights for baking, cuts down on the mess for me so much! Thank you! Thank you for keeping your blog and content going for us! You are so special!
A very nice set of enhancements. I hope that you have a way to automate the updating of the recipes. If not, please talk to a techie type to see if it can be done.
A suggestion: In the Nutrition section, add “per serving.” It’s probably what everybody would assume, but why not spell it out and remove all doubt.
I’ve done websites, although not blogs, and I have some notion of the effort required behind the scenes. I really appreciate all your work, as well as your recipes 🙂
love your recepes; love your website; love the way I can print your recipes; love your sweet face.
Oh my heck – I did not know you were an Idaho spud like me. Now I like you even better. I love it when I see a post on Facebook because I know that your recipes will wonderful I must have ream of paper with your patterns on each page. I love how easy it is to print your recipe. I thank you for that.
Keep put your good works. Kathy Anderson Salt Lake City, Utah
Yay! I usually don’t do well with change but I am excited for this! I love your recipes. I’m eager to check out your favs and reader favs. I know our personal favs in this house (there are many). Thanks for being you and for all you do 🙂
Everything you do is thoughtful and full of kindness. Thank you for ALL the work these changes. I’m super excited!
Thank you so much for thos very thoughtful and professional explanation. My favorite part was you acknowledging and explaining honestly about the ads. It proves that you truly are as wonderful and personal as you were from the beginning, which was one of the reasons I started following you. Your new changes are exciting and Im so happy for your success. You deserve and earned it. Please keep being you.
I love your blog and am excited about the new changes. Thank you for switching to grams. As a Canadian, it is more familiar to me and as an engineer, I always wondered why you didn’t use the more accurate measurement system given your love of being accurate.
Thank you Mel! Your recipes are always amazing and your site just keeps getting better. I am an avid printer and baking by weights gal so thank you for improving those two things.
I love you guys so much! Your comments are awesome (and helpful!). I am mostly so excited at all the recipe printer outers coming out of the woodwork. 🙂 For those of you who noticed the search function was returning pretty crummy or nonexistent results, it’s fixed! Yahoo. I was ready to scream over that one. I’ve also made notes of other questions/constructive thoughts you’ve mentioned. Thank you!
Not a report on a recipe but a thank you for your hard work in providing us with information about all thing cooking/baking/menu planning and many more. Your recipes are go to for me. Thank you, thank you, thank you!
Mel, I love the changes you’ve made. I’ve been following you for years. You are my favorite cooking blog hands down. Thanks for all of the great recipes and all that you put into your blog. I love your voice that comes shining through all of your posts. You are down to earth, funny and gifted at putting together great recipes! If I ever see you in person I’m warning you now that I’m going to be giving you a big hug!
Mel! Just thanks. No way to say how much I mean it. Love your content. I’ve used your web site for years and years and feel grateful every time I’m here for these real life recipe and even your words of wisdom. You are a good person and even if you make a gabillon dollars from your ads it will never be enough…so no complaints here! Ad it up!
This is my first comment, ever and I am 72 years old. Mel, profit is not a 4 letter word. You work hard for your readers and we should respect your efforts. I have an ad blocker on my computer BUT I turned it off about 2 years ago on your site as I respect your work and your economic support of your family. (and the recipes taste good too!).
Love the new look and I am a printer. Always and forever print out your recipes, so thank you for making that easier! Love the areas of Mel’s favorite and reader favorites! Looks great! Thanks for all you do!
Dear Mel-
I love your website and recipes! Thank you for all the updates and information.
Mel, from the bottom of my heart, thank you so much for the efforts and time you put into this website. It boggles my mind that it’s avail to me at NO COST. Your website is my #1 go-to. I love these new features and thank you 100000x over for the recipes that have made my mealtime life breezy and successful. Among my friends, you are referred to so frequently that we feel like you are one of us. Please continue to let us know how we can support you and anytime you want to roll out more cute aprons/hoodies/engraved spatulas, we will be first in line. With gratitude…xo
I thought you and your website were awesome 10 years ago and I think you are both still incredibly awesome! Thank you from me and my family for all of the reliably delicious recipes. (and I like to take a teeny tiny bit of credit for the growth in your business, I have told so many of my friends and family about you!)
Hi Mel,
Great job! I love your site so much not only for your recipes, but your personality! You’re funny, honest, real, considerate and a very wonderful caring person.
I do have a request regarding the nutritional facts…Could you add saturated fat grams for all of us Weight Watchers out there? It would very valuable to be able to calculate the correct WW Smart Points.
Thanks for ALL you do!!
Susanna
Yes, I’ll add it! 🙂
Yay!!! Thanks! you’re the best!!!
I forgot to mention that I’m a major printer outer too!! Tee Hee!!
Sounds like some wonderful changes are in effect. At the same time, that sounds very tedious and time consuming. I wish you a smooth transitional update.
Can I just say I am embarrassed to admit I just recently found the “jump to recipe” feature? ROFL! Some recipes I keep going back to, or I can’t find my print out or it succumbed to being dropped in the dish water. lol
Love your fabulous site and all you do. I appreciate you so much. <3 <3 <3
Mel, I always enjoy trying your new recipes, thank you for the updates to your site.
Also, thank you for leaving a print button! I print all recipes that I really like and add them to a binder, along with my notes (Let’s be honest, we can’t always make it exactly like you do. Everyone has different tastes and allergies.) so that my children can choose which ones they like/need and take a copy with them back to their homes to try and replicate.
I save recipes so I can customize and print because I destroy anything in print. I retype recipes from my favorite books because I trash the page I’m working g from and my kitchen when I bake or cook. If you want to see where I ate, look at the table. If you want to see what I ate, look at my shirt.
Thank you for including metric amounts too. It’s high time the US joined the rest of the baking/cooking planet.
Thanks for explaining everything that’s going on. I can only imagine the job it must be for you to organize all these recipes & everything else you do, mind boggling!!! I know what’s it’s been for me just to try & organize my little batch, kudos to you you’re doing a great job & we thank you for all your hard work. Nancy
Amazing!
I am a recipe printer, and while photos are great on the site, they’re hard on home printers.
Ads don’t bother me; they are necessary for you and you should get paid for the great job you do.
These all sound like some thoughtful, good changes to your already wonderful website. I have never been bothered by the ads because I’m just so grateful you’re willing to do all the recipe testing and tweaking to give us the best of the best. And like you, I’m a huge fan of intuitive eating, so I don’t pay attention to nutrition facts, but I think it was very kind of you to add it for the people asking. Thanks Mel, for working so hard to help us feed our families well!
I’m sorry – I need to go on a mini rant here lol….This is a free resource that is saving all MKC readers time, money, and wasted effort in our kitchen. With the amount of work you spend on this Mel – I say run all the ads you want! It actually makes me feel really bad to hear you’re running ½ the amount of ads for a subset of people who don’t get what it takes to keep a business up and running in 2021 – like it is shockingly, eye-opening how many people truly don’t understand the INSANE amount of work it takes behind-the-scenes. I’d kindly ask the ad-haters to see how long it’d take for them to write personable, compelling copy followed by photos and clear, easy-to-understand directions. Then I’d like to tell them: can you just do this 2,000 more times for free? Real supporters of MKC will never be bothered by the extra scrolling/pop-ups and WANT YOU TO SUCCEED MEL! We want you to reap the benefits of YOUR hard work! It’s kind of like that quote “never explain yourself. The person who likes you doesn’t need it…and the person who dislikes you won’t believe it.” For those who are truly bothered by ads, there are two easy solutions: SOLUTION 1: Just go in the kitchen yourself and try to come up with your own family winners OR SOLUTION 2: Simply change your mindset to that of gratitude – grateful for the fact that Mel is taking the time to help you become a rockstar in the kitchen. And the cost? Just a little extra scrolling or pop-ups. With the quality of recipes on this site, I’d happily mine through 39202 ads to get to the gold mine of MKC recipes.
❤ X 100!
What she said!
Hi Mel! I am a long time follower of your blog and delicious recipes. These changes seem wonderful, and thank you for taking the time to explain the what and whys of the changes. Also, thanks for the shout out the the type 1 diabetics. I have been living with it for 43 years, so the carb count is especially helpful. My husband and I love your recipes and make your recipes several times a week. It is common to hear “This is one of Mel’s” after a compliment about a meal. So we count you as one of the family, lol. BTW, I have been making milk kefir smoothies (with coconut milk) for several weeks now, and love them. Thanks for your blog about the benefits of kefir a while back. Thanks for all you do!
I think all these changes sound good. I appreciate all the work you do to make all 2,000 of your recipes uniform.
Mel, I have followed you and your recipes for such a long time. I want to thank you so much for having such a sweet, kind personality. It is just refreshing to read your comments and to use your wonderful recipes. Your recipes are always my go-to when I want a good one. What a darling family you have and seem to be growing up so fast. Just wanted you to know my feelings. Have a great day. Virginia R.
I of course noticed the new format a few days ago (I’m on your site literally every day) and, because I love you, I’ll try to get used to it! Thank you for all the hard work you do to keep the recipes coming and the website running.
Not sure why it didn’t post 5 stars so I’m trying again.
Yay Mel!!! Thank you for your continued work and diligence in keeping us and our families fed!! You are my real life modern day Julia child and I just love you!! And while I am 100 on board with intuitive eating my daughter needs a heart surgery which will require a low fat diet for 6+ weeks so nutritional facts will be so helpful during that time. Love you to pieces!!!
Oh, Leila, many prayers for your daughter and you!
Looks great!! You got my at the Type 1 mama part. I am one and that’s so incredibly kind of you to help out with that. It’s hard to find that at time and anything that makes life easier deserves a giant thank you!!
I think these changes look amazing. I really like the recipe format, with the yield more evident. Also the Pin It button is fantastic. I really appreciate all the thought and efforts you have put into this.
Thank you for continuing your work in helping us keep our families fed with food they actually want to eat! #NotACook. #AppreciateTheHelp
So excited for you and your new design! I’m looking forward to navigating it. You recipes haven’t steered me wrong yet!
Looks awesome Mel! You are amazing!
As a long-time reader of your site, I have always loved your blog and have made countless MKC recipes. The ads have never been a problem for me. And all the changes? AWESOME! So glad you are adding weight measurements to all your recipes. I love baking and cooking that way. And although I never asked for nutrition facts, I’m more than happy to use them now that they’re available! So many thoughtful and user-friendly changes to an already great blog make your site even better than ever. Thank you so much for all your work and time! And P.S. – I still print recipes!
The website looks so good! I appreciate all the work and thought that went into the changes. I’m one of the 3 and a half that still print recipes, but only the ones I use most often so that means at least half of my binders are your recipes now. Also, don’t feel bad about the ads! Of course you need to get paid for your work!
Thank you, Mel, for all you do! So many of the recipes that I regularly make are from you. You have changed my cooking life! And thank you, also for taking the time to explain the changes to your website! How kind of you to think of your readers in that way. So appreciated! I do have one question. I am already missing the date a recipe or post was put up on your blog. I have lots of reasons why it helps this brain to have the date. Is that feature gone for good? Appreciate all the work you do for us!!
Hi Robyn, it’s not gone! I switched it so it now appears at the bottom of the post under the recipe.
In my house it’s called “Mom’s Purple Binder”, and probably 2/3 of the recipes are yours. During Covid, I graduated to the 4″ binder and put them all in plastic sleeves to save them from messy cooks. Recipes only go there after we have tried them and agree on their greatness. I am a much better cook after years of your blog, but don’t worry, after they say “this is great”, most times my reaction is, “it’s Mel’s”. I can’t imagine life without printed tried-and-true recipes, beautiful cookbooks to flip through, and Mel’s Kitchen Cafe to give me inspiration!