Meet Lauren

Hi and welcome! I’m Lauren Allen, and this little corner of the web is my online kitchen! I’m the recipe creator, writer, and photographer behind everything you see here on “Tastes Better From Scratch”. I’m so happy you stopped by!

Where It All Began

The name “Tastes Better From Scratch” is courtesy of a motto ingrained in me by my Mom. I don’t think it was until I moved out of the house that I realized you could buy things like “pre-made” pie crusts or store bought jam. She taught me well that everything really does taste better homemade. 

I love to use real ingredients to make delicious homemade food for the everyday cook. I try not to use processed products, although you may see a recipe here and there with a short cut. 

I come from a long line of amazing cooks.  I have many fond memories of experimenting in the kitchen with my twin sister.  We jumped at the responsibility of making dinner for our family and loved experimenting with our own “creative” recipes.

The Path That Lead Me Here

  • After graduating with a Bachelors degree in Journalism, I worked for a magazine publication and an organic foods distributor. Along the way I started compiling my favorite recipes on a blog and eventually decided to make this blog my full time business.
  • Part of my passion for food also comes from having traveled to many places all over the world and trying all types of different food.  Food has an amazing way of helping us share and discover different cultures even if we are unable to visit in person. Growing up, my mom cooked a variety of international dishes including Thai, Indian, and German food.
  • During my study abroad in Spain, I was taught hand how to make several classic Spanish dishes (e.g. Paella, Tortilla de Patata, Torrijas). Soon after I was married, Jeff and I had the chance to live in Mexico (teaching small business workshops) I got to learn from the locals how to cook some truly authentic Mexican dishes including Mexican Rice and Tamales.  I'm so thankful for all of those experiences.

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About The Blog

Tastes Better from Scratch has continued to grow both in front of and behind the scenes.  We have been fortunate to develop a loyal and diverse readership that brings more than 10 million readers per month and our social following continues to grow on Facebook, Instagram, Pinterest, Twitter, and Youtube.  We’ve been featured by USA Today, Country Living Magazine, Yahoo, BuzzFeed, MSN, and others.

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The best place to find the right recipe for your family is through our Recipe Index.  There you can search for recipes by course, main ingredient, cuisine, or by cooking method.

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About Our Meal Plans

We are also known for our FREE Meal Plans. Each meal plan contains one week’s worth of recipes, along with a printable grocery shopping list with everything you need to make each recipe as well as an estimated cost per recipe and meal plan!

As if that wasn’t great enough, you can also CREATE YOUR OWN free meal plan with any recipe from our website.  Check out this video to see how.  If you’d like to receive a free meal plan to your email each week, subscribe here.

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Each 5-day meal plan includes a printable grocery shopping list with budget information, to help save time and money!

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Close up photo of a bowl of rice, chicken, pineapple, red bell peppers and zucchini.Day 1
Day 2
Mongolian beef on a plate with rice and chopped green onion on top.Day 3
Chicken Fajita Pasta served in a skillet with a scoop of salsa on top.Day 4
Five chicken taquitos lined on a plate with a bowl of salsa on the side.Day 5

Whether you are new to the site or a TBFS foodie, we are SO glad you are here.  It’s YOU that makes this website possible. So thank you, wherever you are, for making the recipes I share, for commenting, sharing, and for supporting me and TBFS in any way that you do.