I was born in North Vancouver, grew up in North Vancouver, and – after living abroad and having many overseas adventures – live in North Vancouver again, since 2020.

Despite spending most of my teen years desperate to leave, now that I have my own kid, I have a new appreciation for North Vancouver, and have trouble naming another place in the world that is so safe, and so naturally beautiful (although most of Norway probably qualifies).

I love it when friends and non-Vancouver family come to visit us here, and we can show them our favorite spots. Unfortunately, because of Vancouver’s housing prices (completely outrageous), those that come to visit us have to stay in a hotel. We simply don’t have any extra space for guests in our apartment.

Which brings me to this article. Anytime someone comes to visit us, we spend a fair amount of time helping them decide which North Vancouver hotel to stay in. I’ve written that email countless times over the last couple of years, laying out the different hotel options in relation to location, public transit, and budget.

Today, I’m sharing that info so that anyone else who is planning a trip to North Vancouver – or is planning to stay a few nights in North Van on a larger trip to Vancouver, Whistler, and Vancouver Island – can benefit from our local knowledge.

Is North Vancouver a Good Place to Stay When Visiting Vancouver? (Why Stay in North Vancouver)

North Vancouver is on what’s known as the North Shore, which includes the cities and districts of both North Vancouver and West Vancouver. The North Shore sits north of downtown Vancouver, across Vancouver Harbour / the Burrard Inlet.

Confusingly, North Vancouver is north of Vancouver, but West Vancouver is not west of Vancouver – West Vancouver is west of North Vancouver.

I told you it was confusing!

To add to it, “the West Side” is a totally different area – it’s the western area of Vancouver proper, south of Kitsilano and east of the University of British Columbia.

Adding one more point of confusion to the mix, “The West End” is the western side of downtown Vancouver, stretching between Stanley Park and English Bay.

To avoid getting confused, it’s fair to simply say you’ll be staying on or visiting the North Shore, as all locals will know exactly what you mean.

The North Shore is connected to Vancouver proper via two bridges (the Lions Gate Bridge and the Iron Workers Memorial, often referred to as the Second Narrows Bridge) and the Seabus, a passenger ferry that connects Vancouver’s Waterfront Station (on the downtown side of the water) with North Vancouver’s Lonsdale Quay (on the North Shore).

Depending on the type of trip you’re planning, there are a few reasons you might consider staying in North Vancouver as a tourist, instead of downtown.

North Vancouver is Home to a LOT of Natural Beauty

The North Shore, which includes North Vancouver and West Vancouver, is mostly known for its outdoor attractions and beauty.

The area is home Vancouver’s 3 local mountains (Seymour, Grouse, and Cypress), two suspension bridges set in temperate rain forests (Capilano Suspension Bridge and Lynn Canyon Suspension Bridge), and some of the world’s best mountain biking.

We also have a beach (Ambleside), great hikes (Quarry Rock is probably one of the most famous), lots of quaint waterfront (Deep Cove, Lighthouse Park in West Van, Horseshoe Bay) and some great parks and playgrounds.

If you’re mostly interested in visiting Vancouver’s mountains and forests, staying in North Vancouver is a great bet. You’ll be close by, and you won’t have to worry about bridge traffic to get to the North Shore.

North Vancouver is Very Safe, and the Shipyards is a Great Location to Stay in Vancouver with Kids

North Vancouver is extremely safe and family friendly.

The Shipyards area around Lonsdale Quay is one of my top recommended areas to stay in Vancouver, BC if you’re traveling with young kids in particular, and don’t want to be overly concerned about safety.

The Shipyards consists of a large public plaza at North Vancouver’s waterfront, which has a covered area that is frequently filled with kids (in the summer it’s a spray park, in the winter it’s a public ice rink, and in between it’s great for kids to scooter, bike, and climb).

There’s also a waterfront walk and pier.

There are two hotels at the Shipyards – The Pinnacle at the Pier and the Seaside Hotel – and one very close by at Lonsdale Quay (the Lonsdale Quay Hotel).

There are also a decent number of restaurants in the area, including Nook, an Italian restaurant which is a favorite in my family.

The Shipyards / Lonsdale Quay area is well connected by public transit. You can get to downtown in 15 minutes via the Seabus, where you can connect further via bus or Skytrain. You can also take the bus from this area to Grouse Mountain and Capilano Suspension Bridge easily.

Staying in North Van is Convenient if You’re Planning on Taking a Ferry from Horseshoe Bay

If you plan to visit Vancouver Island via BC Ferries, you’ll take either the Tsawwassen to Swartz Bay ferry, or the Horseshoe Bay to Nanaimo ferry.

The Horseshoe Bay to Nanaimo ferry departs from the North Shore, in Horseshoe Bay, which is about a 20 minute drive from North Vancouver.

Staying in North Van is a Great Option if You’re Heading to Whistler Next

Likewise, basing yourself in a North Vancouver hotel for a night or two is a great choice if you’re heading to Whistler next.

Highway 1 runs through North Vancouver and West Vancouver, which then turns into Highway 99 – otherwise known as The Sea to Sky Highway – which is the road you take when driving up to Whistler.

It’s Convenient If You’re Taking a Cruise from Vancouver

Most cruise ship passengers taking a cruise out of Vancouver stay at Canada Place near the cruise ship terminal on the downtown side of the water, which makes sense!

There are some really nice hotels right by the Vancouver cruise ship terminal, so if you choose to stay there, don’t second guess yourself.

However, if you want to get slightly off the beaten track, or you can’t find a hotel you’re happy with by the Vancouver cruise terminal, staying in North Vancouver, at either The Pinnacle by the Pier, Seaside Hotel, or Lonsdale Quay Hotel, isn’t a bad option.

You’re 15 minutes from downtown via the seabus, and the seabus station (Waterfront station) is only a short, 5-minute walk to the cruise ship terminal at Canada Place.

Plus, you get the cross the harbour on the way to and from your ship.

Best Hotels in North Vancouver For Every Type of Trip and Traveler

It’s worth noting that there aren’t actually that many North Vancouver hotels to choose from.

Below, I go over the options that do exist, including those I recommend to friends and family, and have stayed in myself.

There are also some recommendations on this list that I haven’t stayed in, and are based on my personal knowledge of the location and research into reviews, instead.

Best North Vancouver Hotel for Most Travelers Visiting North Vancouver

Best for Almost Everyone: Pinnacle By the Pier Hotel at the Shipyards

North Vancouver’s Pinnacle at the Pier Hotel is my top choice out of all the hotels in North Vancouver.

It’s where my in-laws and my dad always stay when they come to visit us.

We’ve also stayed in it ourselves on several occasions, and can speak with personal experience about this North Vancouver hotel.

As far as the hotel itself goes, it’s a solid 4+ star hotel in my opinion.

The beds are extremely comfortable based on personal experience, the rooms are clean and modern, and there are some decent facilities, including a fitness center; a great indoor pool (and a hot tub, steam room, and sauna); free wi fi; and a decent on site restaurant, which is best known for good breakfast and brunches.

The rooms facing the water have nice views looking over the Shipyards and pier, and across the Vancouver harbour. Get one of these if they’re available and prices are within your budget.

While the hotel itself is nice, the location is also exceptional for adults or families traveling to Vancouver.

For families, the covered plaza at the Shipyards has a spray park in the summer, an ice skating rink in the winter, and a flat area for biking, scooting, running, and climbing in between. You’ll find many families there at all times of the year, enjoying the very family friendly atmosphere.

There’s also a tiny but fun playground along the “boardwalk” (we call it the Seawall in Vancouver), to the left of the pier, if you’re facing the ocean, and a seasonal “wading area” in between the Tap and Barrel and the Polygon Gallery, which kids seem to LOVE (mine included!).

For adults, there is a nice selection of restaurants in this area.

At the Shipyards itself, Nook is a great Italian restaurant; Joey’s is a local chain that has casual, North American fare; and Pier 7 is a great option for seafood. The Tap and Barrel is is known for their huge selection of wine and beer on tap, and has a good selection of pub grub. Both the Tap and Barrel and Joey’s have great views from their patios.

Nook and The Tap and Barrel in particular are family friendly as well. The Tap & Barrel has a kids menu, and Nook will happily do a kids pasta or pizza if you ask.

If none of these are to your liking, you can be downtown in 15 minutes on the Seabus, or walk a couple of blocks up Lonsdale to find a bigger selection of restaurants.

The stretch of Seawall at the Shipyards is also part of the Spirit Trail bike path, which connects a huge stretch of waterfront on the North Shore. If you want to check it out on two wheels, you can rent bikes from Reckless Bikes, just across the street from the front entrance of the Pinnacle Hotel.

Finally, the Pinnacle Hotel is a 5 minute walk from Lonsdale Quay, which has a market that’s currently being refurbished, and is home to a public transit hub, which will give you easy access to Grouse Mountain and Capilano Bridge via the bus system.

It’s worth noting that neither the Pinnacle Hotel or the Seaside (which I cover below) offer free parking, and parking at the Shipyards is fairly costly.

The Pinnacle charges $29.00 per night plus taxes for parking at the time of writing.

Check Prices and Availability at The Pinnacle Hotel North Vancouver

Best for Couples: Seaside Hotel North Vancouver

The Seaside Hotel North Vancouver is just across the street from the Pinnacle, and also overlooks the Shipyards.

It has all of the same benefits in terms of location as the Pinnacle does, but it has a more upscale, boutique-hotel vibe.

Whereas the Pinnacle doesn’t have a spa, the Seaside does (however, no on-site pool or fitness). The rooms are also a bit more design-forward.

The restaurant is known for its oysters and cocktail program, but the menu is fairly well rounded with something for most eaters – although less so for pickier kids.

Whereas the Pinnacle is a “something for everyone” kind of hotel, in my opinion the Seaside skews more adult and couples, and it’s usually pricier than the Pinnacle as well.

Check Prices and Availability at The Seaside Hotel North Vancouver

Best for a Central Location on a Budget: Lonsdale Quay Hotel

The Lonsdale Quay hotel sits on the top floor of North Vancouver’s Lonsdale Quay (“quay” is pronounced the same as “key” FYI).

Known simply as “the Quay”, Lonsdale Quay is a collection of market, artisan and food stalls on the main floor, with shops on the second floor.

The entire Quay is currently undergoing a major refurbishment, and I think it’s fair to say it was much needed. Once the new Quay launches, there will be a new Kings Taps restaurant, plus revitalized merchants throughout the building.

But in the meantime, it’s all a bit tired and dated, and isn’t a destination I’d go out of my way for.

So where does that leave the Lonsdale Quay Hotel?

It’s still not a bad option. Location-wise it’s next door to the Shipyards, and within a stone’s throw of the Seabus and the bus hub where you can catch buses to visit different spots around the North Shore.

It also tends to be a bit less expensive than the Pinnacle Hotel, making it a good option if you want a central North Vancouver hotel on a tighter budget.

Personally, I’d rather stay at the Lonsdale Quay hotel over the options below (the Capilano Road motels, and the Holiday Inn Suites North), but that’s based on location alone. I prefer busy, vibrant areas, and The Shipyards/Quay area fits that bill.

Check Prices and Availability at The Lonsdale Quay Hotel North Vancouver

North Vancouver Hotels Near Grouse Mountain and Capilano Suspension Bridge

Another option, location wise, is staying closer to Grouse Mountain and the Capilano Suspension bridge: two of the biggest reasons tourists come to North Van.

Both are truly spectacular destinations, and are absolutely worth crossing Vancouver Harbour from downtown Vancouver to the North Shore to visit.

If you plan on doing Grouse and the Suspension Bridge in a day, you can stay in downtown Vancouver and catch a bus to both.

However, if you’d prefer to have a slightly more relaxed day, break up your visit over two days, or see some of North Vancouver’s other attractions, as well, it’s worth thinking about basing yourself in North Vancouver.

There are 3 motel-style accommodations just down the road from both attractions at the bottom of Capilano Road.

I haven’t stayed at any of these, and would almost always recommend someone stay at the Shipyards over this location, due to the fact there’s just not a lot going on in this area in terms of restaurants and entertainment. However, this area is safe and fine, and it’s extremely convenient for getting an early start or staying late at either the Suspension Bridge or Grouse.

This area is also fairly convenient in terms of getting to and from the Highway. If you’re arriving in North Vancouver late at night, or plan on leaving early in the morning for Whistler, these aren’t a bad option.

All 3 of these hotels also offer free parking; parking is costly at the Shipyards, so if you have a car and are on a budget, then these might be a better bet for you.

The three hotels in this area are: the SureStay by Best Western Capilano Inn; the EconoLodge; and the North Vancouver Hotel.

At the time of writing, they all had around the same ratings from past guests, although the Econolodge was rated lowest, and the SureStay and North Vancouver Hotel were tied as the highest rated hotels in this area (true at the time of writing, but this may have changed by the time you are reading this: best to click through on the properties to check the current ratings and reviews on Booking.com).

All three have free parking on site and free wi fi. Beyond that, there are a few key differences.

SureStay by Best Western Capilano

This is probably my top choice of the three motels in this area, given it has the most amenities. There’s a seasonal heated outdoor pool, which is fun if you visit in warm weather. There’s also an on-site restaurant (De Dutch Pannekoek House) which is open for breakfast and lunch. The Best Western also has basic kitchenettes available in some rooms, which is a bonus for packing lunches and simple breakfasts.

Check Prices and Availability at the Best Western North Vancouver Capilano

North Vancouver Hotel

While the North Vancouver Hotel doesn’t have a restaurant or pool, it does have an on-site laundry, making it a great option if you’re on a longer trip, and expect you’ll need to wash and dry your clothes.

Check Prices and Availability at the North Vancouver Hotel

EconoLodge

The EconoLodge has an outdoor pool (seasonal), free parking, and kitchenettes available. No laundry that I could tell, and no on-site restaurant like the Best Western.

Check Prices and Availability at the EconoLodge

Best North Vancouver Hotel for Mountain Biking, Capilano University, and Visiting Mount Seymour and Lynn Canyon Park

The Capilano Road motels – SureStay by Best Western Capilano Inn, the EconoLodge, and the North Vancouver Hotel – are on the western border of North Vancouver, before the start of West Vancouver. They’re well located for visiting Grouse Mountain and Capilano Suspension Bridge.

The Shipyards hotels – the Pinnacle, the Seaside and Lonsdale Quay Hotel – are well located in the North Vancouver City Center.

But what if you’re visiting Capilano University? Or are in North Vancouver for the world-famous mountain biking on Mount Fromme or to visit Lynn Canyon Park in Lynn Valley?

The Holiday Inn Suites North Vancouver is a great option for all of these.

It’s located just across the Second Narrows Bridge on the North Vancouver side, close to Mount Seymour, Mount Fromme and Lynn Canyon (about a 10-minute drive for all of these).

This is also a great location if you need to stop for the night, en route to Whistler, or if you’re going to catch an early ferry from Horseshoe Bay in the morning. It’s right off the highway, and if you get going before rush hour, it’s only a 15- to 20-minute drive from here to the Horseshoe Bay ferry terminal.

In terms of amenities, it has an indoor pool, sauna and fitness centre, and an on-site restaurant and on-site pub.

Check Availability and Prices for the Holiday Inn North Vancouver

My Summary on Choosing from the Best Hotels in North Vancouver

• Best Overall and My Top Choice: Pinnacle Hotel North Vancouver
• Best for Couples and Friend Getaways: Seaside Hotel
• Best Central Location on a Budget: Lonsdale Quay Hotel
• Best for Visiting Grouse Mountain and Capilano Suspension Bridge: SureStay by Best Western Capilano
• Best if You Need to Do Laundry: North Vancouver Hotel
• Best for Capilano University, Mount Seymour, and Lynn Canyon: Holiday Inn North Vancouver
• Best for an Overnight Stop on the Way to Whistler: Holiday Inn North Vancouver
• Best for Free Parking: SureStay by Best Western Capilano, North Vancouver Hotel, EconoLodge, or Holiday Inn North Van

Embracing the Why’s in Life

I don’t know about you, but I’ve always had a bit of an independent, anti-authority streak.

If someone – a teacher, a boss, any authority figure, really – wanted me to do something that I thought was unreasonable, I always wanted to know why.

And if I didn’t like their answer? Well…let’s just say it didn’t result in a highly motivated me.

I think why is a great question to ask in our everyday lives, because it leads to curiosity, hypotheses and testing, and new discoveries.

Whenever I feel a twinge of annoyance that my 3-year-old is asking my “why” for the eighth time, I try to remember I want to encourage her to question things in life, always.

What is a Family Vision Statement? It’s all About Finding Your Family’s Why

If asking why is important in our-day-to-day lives, it’s especially important when it comes to the big decisions in our lives.

Companies have a mission statement to guide them in their day to day operations.

And plenty of adults I know have one too – especially those of us who are living intentional lives.

For example, I’ve long had an entrepreneurial streak, and have worked for myself for the past decade, because a lot of my whys revolve around owning my own time, and having “time freedom.”

While mission statements are common for companies, and lots of adults talk about their personal whys, there aren’t as many of us talking about finding our family’s whys.

Which is weird, because for many adults – those of us who are parents, especially – our family itself is the why. I know that’s the case for me and my husband!

While this is pretty intuitive as a parent, I encourage you to go deeper than this, and define your family’s why more specifically.

My Family’s Why = My Family’s Mission Statement

It wasn’t until my family delved into the work of writing our own family mission statement that I realized what a powerful tool it is.

Seriously, it’s a cheat code to a more harmonious and fun family life, and a life that’s filled with more meaning and action.

Indeed, a family mission statement is a great start around defining your family’s why.

Once you know your family’s mission statement and why – your purpose, your goals, and how you’re going to get there – it makes day-to-day decisions and even bigger life changing decisions around schooling, work, moving cities (or even countries) easier.

(We used The Family Journal to write our family mission statement. You can get it on Amazon or follow the step-by-step ideas below).

Why Create a Family Mission Statement?

Put simply, a family that knows its core values, lives its core values, and is intentional about living the life they want together is more likely to achieve that life.

By taking the time to create a family mission statement, your family is taking an important and intentional step towards creating the family life you want and living your family’s core values.

Key Components of a Great Family Mission Statement

Family mission statements should contain the following information:

• It outlines your goals and expectations of one another.
• It will clarify your family’s mission. By that I mean your family’s ideas of how to live a good life filled with purpose, whatever that means for your family.
• It defines your family’s values and the central beliefs you plan to live up to as family members.
• Every member of the family gets a chance to contribute and share their thoughts.

Some of the Benefits of Taking the Time to Create a Family Mission Statement

• Your family will increase each others’ sense of belonging and working together.
• You’ll each have clear ideas about how to move forward and live in a way that inspires and energizes each member of the family.
• Your family’s mission statement can serve as an easy-to-reference accountability tool to ensure you’re living up to what you said you would.
• You’ll teach your children they can leave intentional lives, and show them they have a lot of choice and agency in terms of how they act and the kind of life they want to create and live.

How to Create a Detailed Family Mission Statement

If you’re on board with the idea of creating your own family mission statement, the next step is to actually get at it.

Below, I’ve shared the process we used.

We were inspired to create a family mission statement when we started working through The Family Journal, which is available on Amazon.

Creating a family mission statement is actually the first of many exercises contained in The Family Journal, which also includes setting monthly and yearly goals for your family. It provides a great guide and some handy family mission statement examples to get going.

Our Family Mission Statement Example

For the record, our family mission statement is still a work in progress. As we practice living it, we end up making small tweaks here and there, but this is what we came up with:

In this family, we believe in abundance and a growth-mindset, and live intentionally knowing our choices shape our lives. We are brave, flexible, persistent, creative, and adventurous. Our family loves to have fun and laugh, and we value experiences and spending time together. We practice being kind to ourselves, each other, our community and the earth, and we actively care for our bodies, relationships, and the planet every day.

Of course, our family mission statement and family values will likely be completely different from what your family comes up with!

And that’s exactly how it should be.

Here’s the process we used to craft our family mission statement, with the help of The Family Journal as our guide. We hope you find it to be as useful an exercise as our family did, and I’d love it if you cared to share your family mission statements in the comments below this post.

Step 1 – Start with Parents

While every member of the family should have input, it’s natural that parents guide the process.

Decide together – or by yourself if you’re a solo parent – the most important values and beliefs of your family so you have a general idea of what the adults in the home value before bringing in the kids.

Step 2 – Schedule a Family Meeting that’s Free from Distraction

Once you’ve agreed as parents on the top line family values and beliefs, you can bring your kids into the discussion.

Schedule a time to meet together, without distraction, and explain what you’re doing and why a family mission statement is important to your family life.

This is a great time to talk about broader concepts associated with intentional living, such as goal-setting and having a growth mindset, as well.

Step 3 – Lead a Guided Discussion until You All Agree on the Same Principles and Family Mission

Brainstorm Values and Beliefs

Share the top line values and beliefs you agreed upon as parents, and then ask your kids to brainstorm around those ideas, adding in more ideas to form the basis of your family mission statement.

Depending on how old your kids are, every family member should ideally list a few values and beliefs they hold important.

While older kids will get the concept of values and beliefs a little more readily, younger kids may need it simplified by asking questions such as “what’s the best part of being part of this family?” or “what are some things we do together that you really like?“

The results of this family meeting – a brainstormed list of values and beliefs that are unique to your family – will serve as the foundation from which your family vision statement can be written!

Examples of Core Values Family Members Might Include

• Respect
• Integrity
• Love
• Kindness
• Generosity
• Community-Minded
• Empathy
• Compassion
• Equity
• Fairness
• Responsibility
• Honesty
• Forgiveness
• Abundance- Mindset
• Collaboration
• Positivity
• Active and Healthy
• Stewardship for the World
• Adventurousness
• Courage
• Persistance
• Disciplined
• Growth-Mindset
• Live intentionally
• Proactive
• Self Compassion
• Fun
• Flexibility
• Adaptability
• Supportiveness
• Appreciation
• Selflessness
• Service oriented
• Creativity
• Autonomy
• Relationships first
• Togetherness
• Faith

Use Guiding Questions and Prompts to Find your Family’s Purpose and Family Values

Sometimes it can help to use guiding questions or conversation prompts to start talking. The ideas below might be useful and help define the values that will form the core of your family mission statement and your shared vision.

• What words would you use to describe our family?
• How do you feel when you’re at home and we’re spending time together as a family?
• How do you want other families to feel when they visit our home?
• When is our family the best? What are our strengths as a family?
• How should we talk to each other and act towards one another? How do you like to be treated by other family members?
• What are our responsibilities towards one another?
• What are some things we love to do together as a family? What’s really fun?
• How do we want to act to people who are outside our family? What can we offer or give to others?
• How do we want others to describe our family? What words would they use?
• Are there any big ideas that are really important to us?
• What are the most important things we value as a family?

Step 4 – Draft and Refine Your Family Mission Statement

At this point in the process, feel free to put pen to paper (or fingers to keys) and start writing. Start by writing a few sentences based on your answers in Steps 1 through 3, and use those sentences as a rough draft.

To refine the family mission statement based on your draft, discuss why the sentences you wrote are so important to you as a family. This will give you some ideas about what’s missing, what may be unnecessary, and any words or ideas that need to change before writing a final version of your family mission statement.

Step 5 – Discuss How You’ll Live Your Family’s Mission Statement in Everyday Family Life

Every point in your family mission statement should support the values and beliefs that you’ve established – that’s the most important part!

But it can really help to write out some examples, and phrase similar concepts using other words, especially for younger kids.

At this point in the process, take some time to write out what the mission statement will actually mean to your family when put into practice. In other words, how will you live the family mission statement, and put your family’s top priorities into practice.

Here are some ideas for leading this discussion:

• How do we spend money as a family to support our family’s purpose?
• How much time do we spend together as a family and what do we do in that time?
• What does our ideal family vacation look like?
• How important is education in our family? How important is achievement?
• What role do our friends play in our lives?
• How much time do we spend on activities outside the home and outside our family?
• What ways can we live up to our responsibilities to each other?
• Do we need to have set household chores and responsibilities?
• How do we want to talk to each other and treat each other?
• What do we do when we have conflict or feel frustrated? How do we speak to each other and solve our problems while sticking to our principles?

Here are some simple family mission statement examples in action, that can help help kids understand how a family mission statement could be put into action.

“We respect each other and treat each other how we want to be treated”

• Ever member of the family speaks to each other with kindness and gentleness, even when we’re frustrated or angry.
• As individuals, we respectful of each others’ things, and ask before borrowing or using each others toys or other things.
• We help each other out, and look for opportunities to be helpful.
• Everyone speaks kindly about each other.
• We each strive to be honest with one another, even if it feels hard or scary to share our feelings.

“We value spending time together, and having fun as a family”

• As a family, we like to use our money on doing fun things together, and try to have unique experiences at least once a month.
• We commit to spending one weekend day/ weekday evening together as a family, without planned activities with others.
• Everyone in our family gets to help plan our families activities, and choose fun things to do together.

“We believe in a growth mindset and living intentionally”

• In our family, mistakes are seen as a chance to learn, and we know practice helps us learn and grow.
• There are lots of things in life that we don’t know. We believe we are capable of learning if we work at it.
• We like to try hard things, and use different strategies until we succeed and learn.

Final Thoughts

A family vision is a unified expression of your family’s vision for life and relationships. It includes descriptions of each family member’s role in achieving that vision, and also some practical steps to get there. And it’s the go to resource when making decisions in family life, from big changes to the mundane day-to-day.

In this post, I shared how we came up with our own family mission statement. TBH, it’s still a work in progress, but I don’t mind that. If truth be told, if feels like a living document. I’m happy to make small changes as we realize what works and what doesn’t.

I hope our experience inspires your family to sit down and do the same.

When my husband and I bought our first home, we were excited to start entertaining friends.

And, I must admit, having a good home bar stocked with all the essential spirits and accessories felt like the epitome of great entertaining.

There’s really something special about pouring yourself or your friends a favorite cocktail in the comfort of your own home.

And learning the difference between a Negroni and a Cosmopolitan – and developing some basic bartending skills to make these kinds of cocktails at home? As it turns out, it’s easier than you might think!

What Are the Basic Supplies You Need for Your Home Bar?

For a truly functional home bar ready to whip up your favorite cocktails at home, you need a combo of the right spirits, glassware, and tools for the job.

I certainly don’t recommend using a baking sieve instead of a cocktail strainer to strain a fancy Martini, nor do I suggest serving them in a coffee mug instead of classic shaped martini glasses!

In my view, if you’re going to the trouble create a home bar, you might as well do it right! Which is why I wanted to pull together a this home bar checklist with all the essential tools, glassware and bottles you’ll need to stock your at home bar cart like a pro.

Essential Spirits for a Home Bar

It’s not a bar without the ability to make fantastic alcoholic drinks, which leads me to the most important home bar essential: the spirits and liqueurs you’ll need to make the many cocktails most common when entertaining.

Vodka

This clear white spirit is one of the most versatile home bar essentials you’ll need when it comes to making mixed drinks.

Depending on your style, budget, and how much space you have, you may want to keep more than one bottle of vodka stocked in your home bar. Use a premium, smoother tasting top-shelf brand, such as a Grey Goose or Belvedere vodka, for cocktails like a Martini. The flavor of the spirits really stand out in a martini, so it’s worth using the good stuff!

For something with more mix or a fruity summertime cocktail, like an Ocean City Orange Crush, Cherry Lime Cocktail, Strawberry Lemonade or Blueberry Lemonade, you can defer to a budget friendlier brand, such as Smirnoff or Tito’s.

Flavored vodkas are also popular, with a hint of vanilla or lemon being the most adaptable for making a variety of cocktail recipes at home.

If you’re feeling creative, you can also infuse your own vodka fairly easily – I did a bacon vodka a few years back that was awesome in a Bloody Mary!

Gin

While the botanical bouquet of juniper berries and floral aromas isn’t to everyones taste, this spirit is a must for a variety of cocktails, including the infamous Singapore Sling, and (of course) a classic Gin and Tonic.

Like vodka, the world seems to have exploded recently with an endless and expansive range of craft gins, with every flavor imaginable hitting the marketplace.

For a home bar, a classic London-dry gin, like Beefeater is good for most standard cocktails. But for a gin connoisseur, other favorites, such as Tanquery and Bombay Sapphire, or Spanish or Japanese versions, are lovely to add.

If gin IS your thing, don’t be afraid to try a selection during your cocktail nights out at bars, and then make splurge on a bottle of your favorite for your home bar once you’ve found a flavor you like.

One of our favorites is Empress 1908, which is from Victoria, Canada. It changes color from deep blue to a lovely purple when you add tonic, making it a bit of a showstopper!

Rum

For rum, you’ll need two bottles: one white and one dark rum.

Caribbean vibes hit hard, and a rum punch is one way to get a party started. A simple Bacardi can be a good base for Mojitos, Pina Coladas, a Dole Whip Copycat, or a Lime in the Coconut, and a dark or spiced rum makes a great Dark & Stormy.

Rum cocktails are sweet and satisfying, and even for those who prefer their cocktails to be a little lighter, having a bottle of rum in your collection gives you a ton of opportunities to make a wide variety of drinks.

Whiskey

Call it whisky / whiskey / bourbon / rye whiskey, a bottle of this aged golden brown stuff is needed if you want to stock your home bar for those with a more mature palette.

(The name and spelling, BTW, depends on the part of the world it comes from, and the type of grain used to make it).

From an Old Fashioned to a Whiskey Sour, or even on the rocks, the darker flavor of whiskey goes well with ice or in a long drink, too.

Just be sure that once you open your bottle of whiskey, you don’t leave it too long to drink it.

Once opened to the air, whiskey begins to oxidize and its flavor changes.

Tequila

Not just for taking as a shot with lime! Tequila is a Mexican favorite, and fans of Margaritas will agree that it’s a basic essential for your home bar.

Mixed with orange juice you can create a sweet Tequila Sunrise, and you can mix with ice and citrus fruit for a fresh cocktail too.

Generally speaking a white tequila, like a 1800 is best for making cocktails, whereas an aged Tequila will be better for sipping.

If you want to get fancy, you can swap Tequila for Mezcal, which has a smokier flavor and is still lovely in margaritas, although with a slightly more sophisticated flavor profile.

Optional Liqueurs

Liqueurs are not essential, and you can make most cocktails with just the 5 basic spirits mentioned above, but these 3 additions will help to round off your collection and prove your worth as a great home bartender!

Orange Liqueur

Triple Sec pops up in many common cocktail drinks, including a Margarita, Sidecar and Cosmo. Having a bottle of orange liqueur like Cointreau should last you a while and will add an extra zing of flavor to the recipes you create.

Amaretto

This almond flavored liqueur appears in popular drink recipes such as an Amaretto Sour, and also goes well with Coke and ice for a refreshing long drink.

Coffee Liqueur

A flavor enjoyed and savoured, coffee is creeping up in cocktail popularity, with classics like Black and White Russians requiring a coffee liqueur. Modern takes on coffee drinks include Espresso Martinis, made with vodka and coffee liqueur.

Essential Juice and Mixers

When adding mixers to your cocktails don’t scrimp on the brands.

Having a cheap soda will nullify the point of having a premium brand liquor in your recipe.

It’s also vital to keep your mixers fresh, which is why so many places provide their mixers in individual bottles when you drink at bars.

For your home bar, using individual sized bottles for tonics and club soda will keep the fizz fresh. When using sodas for mixed drinks, stock these in the smallest size options you can, and only get the largerbottles for bigger parties and events.

Tonic Water

As a big fan of a G&T, I know the tonic matters as much as the gin when making the perfect cocktail.

It seems tonic makers have also recognized the cry for classier tonics, as the market is full of options. In addition to original and light styles, you can find flavored tonics too, if you desire to spruce up your gin drinking style.

If you don’t know where to start with tonic, Fever Tree is a good option for a premium tonic.

Club Soda

Many cocktails simply need soda water mixers to complete the flavor. Unless you are planning on a large party, buying these individually will keep the bubbles best, for when you pour over the ice in a long drink.

Juice

Freshly-squeezed juice is always preferable when making mixed drinks, but it’s not always possible to have for your cocktails.

Orange juice is needed for classics, such as Screwdrivers, Tequila Sunrises, Harvey Wallbangers or even a simple Bucks Fizz.

Cranberry Juice makes for a perfect Cosmopolitan or a Sea Breeze.

For a tropical touch, pineapple juice adds some aloha vibes to your cocktail flavors.

And, no bar is complete without tomato juice for a Bloody Mary.

Mixers

Keep a selection of sodas in stock, again in smaller bottles if they will be infrequently used as the bubbles will disappear after being open for a few days. You may prefer to stock them in cans if you use them infrequently.

Usual favorites include:

• Coke
• Ginger Ale
• Lemon-lime soda

Additional Garnishes and Flavors

If you want to be able to make the best cocktails like a pro, garnishes and flavorings will set you apart from other home bartenders.

They’re the finishing touch that will turn your favorite cocktails from great to outstanding!

Angostura Aromatic Bitters

For a truly authentic Old Fashioned or Manhattan cocktail, you can’t leave out the bitters.

Instantly recognizable from its oversized label, this small bottle of basic bitters adds a ton of flavor, and lasts for a very long time!

Simple Syrup

Simple syrup is mostly a mix of sugar and water, which you can make at home. Just be sure to mix it well, and clean up any spillages to remain ant and bug free!

If you prefer to buy a bottle there are many to choose from.

Grenadine

Make mine a mocktail! Let the kids join in the fun with their own non-alcoholic cocktails too. A Shirley Temple is an easy blend of ginger ale or lemon soda with a splash of grenadine for good measure.

Garnishes

Other garnishes for your home bar may include:

• Mint leaves
• Maraschino cherries
• Lemons
• Limes
• Oranges
• Green Olives

Other Drinks

Not everyone is a cocktail drinker, which is why you’ll want to consider keeping some good red, white, and rosé wine on hand, as well as a selection of beers. I like to have a mix of craft beer and basic lagers to meet as many of our guests’ preferences. And wine is great for whipping up red, white, and blue wine slushies or peach wine slushies.

Home Bar Tools and Accessories

Glasses

There’s a fairly wide selection of glassware and cocktail glasses to choose from, but as a home bartender, you don’t need the perfect glass for every possible drink you’ll pour.

In fact, you’ll find most drinks can fit in three types of glasses: a highball glass, rocks glasses and a cocktail glass.

Think generally about the type of cocktails you’ll most likely make at home, and choose your glassware accordingly. However, if you want to add another particular type of glasses, by all means go for it!

Beautiful glasses and presentation are part of the experience in my view, which partially explains why copper mugs are so popular for Moscow Mules.

Cocktail Glass

A martini glass has a wider mouth to allow the drinker to smell the aromas of the drink, and the triangular shape allows for garnishes to be easily placed too.

However, a speakeasy style coupe glass is a little more forgiving to spills than a triangular shaped martini glass, and can easily be used in place of cocktail glasses for most drinks, and even frozen cocktails and champagne cocktails.

Highball Glass

A highball glass is a tall straight glass, that’s great for spirit and mixer blends.

Collins glasses are similar to a highball glass, but are a little taller and narrower. At a home bar, you really don’t need both highball glasses and Collins glasses, so choose one or the other.

Rocks Glass

A rocks, or lowball glass, is made for sprits served straight, or ‘on-the-rocks’ as the name implies. But on a budget bar essentials list, it’s actually a double rocks glass that will be more useful for your home bar. Double rocks glasses can be used for not only bourbons and whiskeys, but can be used for margaritas and Manhattans too.

Bar Spoons

A bar spoon is needed for long drinks – giving them a well needed mix or for adding a dollop of syrupy flavors.

Made with long stems, bar spoons allow you to reach the bottom of your glasses without poking your fingers into someone else’s drink!

Muddler

A muddler is one of those bar tools you didn’t know you needed until you owned one. It helps you get the most flavor out of your mint and lime for a perfect mojito, and lets you squish your citrus quickly and easily.

Choose one with a grooved head, and one long enough that you won’t graze your knuckles on the side of the glass as you use it.

Cocktail Shaker and/or Mixing Glass

James Bond liked his drinks shaken, not stirred, and who am I to argue? It definitely elevates the experience when your drink comes out of a cocktail shaker.

Avoid an overly cheap shaker, that doesn’t fit together properly, or you’ll run the risk of squirting your Cosmo over the walls.

If you really want to up your game, add a cocktail mixing glass for stirred drinks in addition to the more common shaker. They are super classy looking, with a vintage look, and will give you the option of making both shaken and stirred drinks, depending on your guests’ preferences.

Cocktail Strainer

Once you’ve muddled in herbs and citrus garnishes, have run it through the shaker, and have ice chips to boot, you’ll need an easy way to strain them into the glasses, without losing half your drink in the process.

A good strainer effortlessly separates the solids in your drink from the liquids, and adds a bartender flair that screams upmarket cocktail bar.

Jigger 

Home bartenders run the risk of being overly liberal with the liquor. While this might seem like a benefit to some, nobody wants to be too tipsy to enjoy themselves after only one cocktail.

Add to that, many cocktail recipes are defined by their flavors. Mixing them in unbalanced ratios can result in mixed drinks tasting off.

A jigger helps with this.

A jigger allows you to pour precise measures of spirits, with the large cup holding up to 2oz and the small cup having a capacity of 1oz.

Both sides also usually have incremental marks for other measures too, making cocktail recipes easier to follow.

10-Piece Bar Tool Set

If you’re setting up a home bar from scratch, and need to get all of the bartender essential tools (bar spoon, shaker, strainer, jigger, muddler, plus tongs and some pouring spouts), you can get them as a set to save time and ensure they all coordinate.

Available in rose gold, gold, or a gunmetal black, along with classic silver style, this set contains all the basic tools needed to get started at home.

Spherical Ice Mold 

Last but not least, don’t forget the ice, ice, baby…!

Science has proven that ice spheres melt slower than 2-inch ice cubes, and take longer to dilute your drink, making them better for mixing in your whiskeys and bourbons, in particular.

Who am I to argue with science?

Final Thoughts on All the Essentials To Make Cocktails at Home

I hope this list has helped you get around to the job of stocking your home bar cart with the essentials needed to make your favorite mixed drinks and classic cocktails.

Next up, you’ll need to think of a reason to invite over some friends so you can host them in style.

While bartending skills take practice, I’m sure you’ll find a friend or two who is willing to sample your creations until you get the recipes just right.

About a year ago, I noticed our dishes were…kinda gross. Somehow, whatever brand we’d been using was leaving residue on our glassware, dishes and utensils. It resulted in a bit of a soapy taste being added to pretty much everything. Not ideal when you’re hoping for clean dishes!

Needless to say, we switched brands. But honestly, I just kind of randomly chose an unscented “natural” brand, figuring that would fix the problem.

Since then, I’ve started wondering about all the different brands on the market. I wondered if there’s a clear overall winner in terms of getting things clean without leftover taste and smell residue. Ideally, it would also leave clean dishes without costing an arm and a leg. And come from a company that feels good to support (and is maybe even a bit eco friendly?).

Growing up, my family always used Cascade, but now that I’m an adult I find the various Cascade brands (Cascade Complete, Cascade Platinum, etc.) to be a bit to scented for my liking, plus I prefer to use more natural options for cleaning, and for beauty and body care whenever possible.

Because I love a good research project, I figured I’d test out some of the top brands I know other friends and family use.

What follows is my journey to find the best, be it powder, pods, or gel.

Worth noting, I actually bought and tested all of these, so my reviews aren’t influenced by anything other than how well the formula actually performs!

And while I can’t say it was the most scientific of studies, I did my best to keep testing conditions fairly constant across each test group.

Best Dishwasher Detergent

To find the best, I tested 10 different brands, using the methodology described below.

I realize not everyone is as committed to this cause as I am.

Maybe you just want to know the results?

Of the 10 dishwasher detergent brands* I tested, 3 brands came out as my top picks.

They all scored a near-perfect 33.5/35 on my tests. When price comparing, I found Better Life was also the best budget option (prices change over time and between retailers).

• Best Overall (3-Way Tie): Nellie’s Dishwasher Powder, Method Dishwasher Packs, Better Life Dishwasher Gel
• Best Powder: Nellie’s Dishwasher Powder
• Best Gel: Better Life Dishwasher Gel
• Best Pods: Method Dishwasher Packs
• Budget Pick: Better Life Dishwasher Gel

* The 10 dishwasher detergents reviewed include: Nellie’s Dishwasher Powder, Method Free & Clear Detergent Packs, Better Life Dishwasher Gel, Finish Quantum, Puracy Dishwasher Packs, Ecover Citrus, Grab Green Pods, Seventh Generation Powder, Mrs Meyers Clean Day, and Nature Clean.

How Did I Decide on the Best Dishwasher Detergent? Testing and Methodology

I’ve gone into detail about how each brand performed in my tests below. However, I also want to share how I tested, compared, and decided on the detergent winner.

To start with, I bought and tested 10 different dishwasher detergents.

I evaluated them in my own dishwasher across a range of different tests. I then compared/contrasted each detergent to determine my winners.

For each test and criteria, I scored each detergent on a scale of 1 to 10 (10 being the best). I then multiplied the initial score by a weight to indicate how important that criteria is, as explained below.

Dirty Dishes Test

This test measured cleaning power; basically, how well it actually gave you clean dishes and was grease fighting, and which cleaned the best. Worth noting, I didn’t use rinse aid.

In my view, this is the most important criteria. I weighted it accordingly, giving it a full weight of 100%.

Maximum possible points in this criteria is 10/10 (10/10 points x 100% importance weight).

Soap Taste

This test measured whether a detergent left a soapy taste residue on our dishes. This is a fairly important measure, so I assigned it full weight in terms of importance.

However, in my testing I found all the detergents performed well. Put another way, none of the detergents left a soapy residue in my testing.

As such, I cancelled this score from the overall points, as all detergents scored equally.

Ease of Use Test

This assessed user experience. Was the dishwasher detergent easy or annoying to use? Did the packaging keep it contained or allow spills? Did the dishwasher pods explode in the package? Did they properly dissolve or get stuck at the bottom of the dishwasher?

In my view, something with “automatic” in its title should be super easy to use.

While important, this criteria wasn’t as important to me as actual cleaning power. How spotless my dishes get, and whether a dishwasher detergent can dissolve stuck on food residue and get crusty bits off my dishes and glassware is definitely the most important!

So I weighted this criteria at 75% importance.

Maximum possible points for this criteria is 7.5. (10/10 points x 75% importance weight).

Customer Service Test

While not super important to performance, it’s nice to know a company is helpful and cares enough about it’s customers to answer a question. I weighted this criteria at 50% in importance.

All brands started with a score of zero. To get a full mark, the company had to respond within one working day of my inquiry.

Companies that didn’t respond by the time of publishing got a score of zero. I’ve since gone back and updated the post as I heard from companies that initially didn’t respond. These companies lost one point per business day it took to respond, beyond the first day.

For example, Nature Clean responded within 4 days, so their points for this category were marked as 10 possible points minus 4 point penalty x 50% = 3 points.

Maximum possible points awarded is 5. (10/10 points x 50% importance weight).

Scent Test

This one is fairly subjective, I’ll admit.

Most of the dishwasher detergents I tested were fragrance free or more natural scents. This is personal preference, as I don’t love things that are too fragranced.

However, I wanted to offer some point of comparison. For this test, I asked was the scent pleasant or overbearing? I weighted this criteria as 50% in importance.

Maximum possible points were 5. (10/10 points x 50% importance weight), with natural or no scent getting higher scores.

Price

This one is important! Just not as important as performance, so I weighed this one at 75%, same as the Ease of Use test.

Basically, I worked out price based on what I could find online, in USD. I then compared prices per load across all brands to determine value for money, and assigned points based on the comparative price.

Maximum number of points is 7.5, and cheaper was considered better. (10/10 points x 75% importance weight).

Best Dishwasher Detergents by Points Breakdown

Based on this scale and scoring system, a perfect score would be 35. Here’s how the points broke down by dishwasher detergent brand:

• Method Free + Clear Dishwasher Pods (Total Points = 33.5): Dirty Dishes Test (10), Ease of Use Test (7.5), Customer Service Test (5), Scent Test (5), Price (6)
• Nellie’s Dishwasher Powder (Total Points = 33.5): Dirty Dishes Test (10), Ease of Use Test (7.5), Customer Service Test (5), Scent Test (5), Price (6)
• Better Life Gel (Total Points = 33.5): Dirty Dishes Test (10), Ease of Use Test (7.5), Customer Service Test (5), Scent Test (5), Price (6)
• Finish Quantum Powerball (Total Points = 30.5): Dirty Dishes Test (10), Ease of Use Test (7.5), Customer Service Test (5), Scent Test (3.5), Price (4.5)
• Puracy Dishwasher Pods (Total Points = 30): Dirty Dishes Test (8), Ease of Use Test (7.5), Customer Service Test (5), Scent Test (5), Price (4.5)
• Ecover Citrus Dishwashing Tablets (Total Points = 27): Dirty Dishes Test (10), Ease of Use Test (6), Customer Service Test (0), Scent Test (3.5), Price (7.5)
• Grab Green (Total Points = 26.75): Dirty Dishes Test (7), Ease of Use Test (5.25), Customer Service Test (5), Scent Test (5), Price (4.5)
• Seventh Generation Dishwashing Powder (Total Points = 26.25): Dirty Dishes Test (7), Ease of Use Test (6.75), Customer Service Test (0), Scent Test (5), Price (7.5)
• Mrs Meyers Clean Day (Total Points = 24.5): Dirty Dishes Test (7), Ease of Use Test (7.5), Customer Service Test (5), Scent Test (3.5), Price (1.5)
• Nature Clean (Total Points = 24): Dirty Dishes Test (7), Ease of Use Test (7.5), Customer Service Test (3), Scent Test (5), Price (1.5)

Detailed Dishwasher Detergent Reviews (Winners Only)

Below you’ll find more detailed reviews of how each of the top performing detergent performed in my test. I haven’t included reviews for all the detergents, but you can see full score breakdown by category later in this post!

Best Overall (Tie) & Best Detergent Powder – Nellie’s

Nellie’s performed admirably across all tests, and it’s gained a spot as one of my favorites.

In terms of cleaning, it performed perfectly without rinse aid, getting all the dishes and cutlery in my test sparkling clean. It’s also scentless, and I found there was no lingering taste OR smell when I opened the dishwasher at the end of the cycle.

It comes with a small scoop which makes it easy to measure. If you live in a place with a small dishwasher, you don’t have to worry about it not fitting, as you can simply adjust the amount in the scoop.

I also appreciate that all Nellie’s products are plant based and mineral based and biodegradable, making it an eco friendly choice.

The company also got back to my customer service email within one business day, which I appreciated. In response to my question, they recommend customers who live in hard water areas consider using a rinse aid.

Learn More

Overall Winner (Tie) & Best Tablets – Method Free & Clean

Method Dishwasher Packs tied with Nellie’s and Better Life as the highest-scoring and therefore best dishwasher detergents in my test, with both getting 33.5 points out of 35.

And Method tablets worked great! It cleaned perfectly without rinse aid and is scentless, meaning no lingering taste or smell on my dishes. According to the company, it will work great with hard water, too, also without rinse aid.

The tablets were also super easy to use. The pacs seemed to stand up well in the bag (no pod explosions), and were fairly uniform in size and shape. Method also passed the customer service test, responding within one business day.

Learn More

Overall Best (Tie), Best Gel & Best Budget – Better Life Dishwasher Detergent Gel

Better Life is the third product with best overall status, scoring the same (33.5/35) as Method Packs and Nellie’s Powder.

Better Life performed equivalently to Nellie’s and Method on all measures, getting my dishes perfectly clean without rinse aid, and being really easy to use in gel format. Being liquid, it also means no worries that it won’t dissolve properly.

In comparing prices across brands and retailers, I also found Better Life to offer great value for money.

As with Nellie’s and Method, Better Life got back to me quickly on my customer service test, responding within a day with the following tip:

“For best cleaning result, we recommend to shake the bottle. For regular loads, squirt 1 tbsp. of gel into your dishwasher’s detergent cup. You may double up with 2 tbsp. if the racks are very full with dirty dishes or a little more crowded.”

In terms of scoring one for being environmentally friendly, Better Life gel is biodegradable and waterway friendly.

Learn More

Detailed Testing and Methodology

If you’d like a bit more info about how I tested and compared all 10 brands, I’ve outlined it below.

The Dirty Dishes Test (Weight: 1)

It probably goes without saying, but my main criteria for evaluating these dishwasher detergents and comparing them is performance. 

Any by performance, I mean do they live up to all the buzz words you hear in dishwasher detergent commercials.

Are they grease fighting, powerful cleaning, stuck on food residue dissolving? Does it get rid of stains?

And do they leave my dishes spotless and my stainless steel cutlery sparkling clean, without pre-rinsing, even when cleaning big messes?

To test this, I did my best to run an “apples to apples” or “food to food” comparison, running a load through my dishwasher with each of the following food residues, without doing any pre-rinsing dishwashing, and without the help of rinse aid.

• Caked on, dried pasta sauce smeared on a side plate. I then microwaved to ensure it was really baked on and didn’t attempt to rinse.
• Fork used to mash avocado on a bagel, with bits of avocado left on the fork and dried on (didn’t rinse).
• Peanut butter and honey smeared and drizzled on a plate (my dishwasher ALWAYS seems to struggle with peanut butter, and having a toddler means we have a lot of peanut butter!). Again, I didn’t rinse.
• Cream cheese on a knife that I didn’t rinse.

Best Dishwasher Detergents by Cleaning Power

Nellie’s, Better Life, Ecover, Finish, and Method were the best dishwasher detergents in my cleaning performance test, and left my dishes spotless and free of stains.

Based on cleaning performance alone, Nellie’s would win best powder, Better Life best liquid, and Ecover, Finish Powerball, and Method would tie for best dishwashing detergent pods.

The Ease of Use Test (Weight: 0.75)

This is a bit of a broad term, but the best way to describe it is, did I find this product easy or annoying to use?

This means different things for different types of dishwashing detergents (such as tablets vs liquid, for example).

• Does the detergent fit easily into my dishwasher’s detergent tray (and does the lid close).
• For pods, is each pod or tablet fairly uniform in size (while this doesn’t really effect me with a full size dishwasher, it’s important for those with a small dishwasher and detergent tray, as it’d be super annoying to have some tablets fit easily, and others not fit at all).
• Are the packs durable, so there aren’t any leaks and spills within the main packaging that gets on my hand when I reach in to grab one of the pods or tablets.
• Is the packaging suitable to ensure the detergent doesn’t spill or leak
• Does it fully dissolve when used?

Best Dishwasher Detergents by Ease of Use

Method, Nellie’s, Better Life, Finish Quantum, Puracy, Mrs. Meyers and Nature Clean all scored a perfect 7.5 in this criteria.

The Customer Service Test (Weight: 0.5)

While this isn’t as important to me as whether my dishwasher detergent actually works and is fairly easy to use and store under my kitchen sink, I do appreciate company’s that offer great customer support, and wanted to test and compare the different products on my list.

To do so, I sent a fairly generic email about whether their brand’s formula was suitable for use with hard water, and waited to see how long it took the company’s to respond.

You can see the text of my email and the results below.

Email Text

Hello,

I’m getting in touch with a quick question about your dishwasher detergent (PRODUCT NAME).

I have quite hard water in my area, and have found some of the dishwasher detergents I’ve used in the past don’t have enough powerful cleaning action to overcome the hard water, and get the food off!

I’m currently trying to find a new automatic dishwasher detergent brand to switch to, and wonder if the PRODUCT NAME formula works well with hard water?

Or do you have any tips in terms of what I should look for to find the best dishwasher detergent for hard water? I am open to using powder detergents, dishwasher tablets / detergent pods, or liquid/gel as long as it actually gets my dishes clean.

Thank you,

So how did the different dishwasher detergent brands do in my customer service experiment? The results are below:

• Grab Green: Received a same day response
• Better Life: Received a same day response
• Finish Quantum Powerball: Received a same day response
• Mrs Meyers Clean Day: Received a response within 1 business day
• Method: Received a response within 1 business day
• Puracy: Received a response within 1 business day
• Nellie’s Dishwasher Powder: Received a response within 1 business day
• Nature Clean: Received a response within 4 business days.
• Ecover: Have yet to receive a response
• Seventh Generation: Have yet to receive a response

The Scent Test (Weight: 0.5)

Basically, I wanted to answer the question, did it have a cloying, overbearing scent?

I’m not a huge fan of synthetic fragrances, so generally prefer something that’s going to get my dishes sparkling clean, without hitting me in the face with fragrance.

In this regard, the fragrance free / free and clean brands performed the best on this criteria: Method, Nellie’s, Better Life, Puracy, Seventh Generation, Grab Green, and Nature Clean got a perfect score.

Price Per Load (Weight: 0.75)

Because prices change based on different promotions, volume purchased, and across retailers, I hesitated to include this measure. However, getting great value is an important factor when buying something.

So, I broke it down by price categories, and looked across retailers to see how much I could find each product for at the time of writing. I then assigned points based on value as follows:

• Under $0.20: 10 points
• $0.21 and $0.25: 8 points
• $0.26 and $0.30: 6 points
• $0.31 and $0.35: 4 points
• $0.36 and above: 2 points

Final Thoughts

I hope this post was helpful, and you find similar results to me! If you found this post helpful, I hope you’ll share my reviews with others!

Faux Pallet Wood TV Wall

At our last house, our living room had vaulted ceilings with a brick fireplace that formed a perfect accent wall and natural focal point in the room. Having a natural focal point made it easy to know where to center furniture, and was the perfect starting point for holiday decorating. 

This living room, however, doesn’t have a natural feature point.

As part of our renovation, we tore down 7 walls to create an open concept space. While I love the open concept, it left a long, grey wall that extended from the front corner of the house, all the way to the back corner.

It was just a loooong wall of nothing but pale grey. While I knew I needed some way to make it into an accent wall or feature wall, I wasn’t sure exactly how to do so.

And I had practicality to consider, too. This was our TV wall, and we had a tiny media unit to put somewhere.

Once the renovations were done, we just plopped down a TV stand and media unit, and never really did much else, but I never really loved the look.

Basic Entertainment and Media Stand Be Gone

Eventually, I hit a breaking point with this TV stand.

I couldn’t stand the open back that showed all those cords, so I never put much of an attempt into decorating it.

I knew I wanted to do something to break up the long expanse of pale grey of the wall. But until I decided what, I just didn’t care to fiddle with anything else.

Which brought me to a weekend of furious Googling…

Wood Pallet vs Wood Accent Wall

You see, I love dimension on walls like the board and batten we added to our foyer/mudroom.

Plants just add so much character and depth as opposed to just painting a flat wall.

I also love the trend of using pallet boards to build a wood wall. DIY pallet walls have a gorgeous, shabby chic barn wood look to it!

However, it wasn’t until I saw this fireplace surround from Thrifty Decor Chick, that I knew what I wanted.

I love the idea of building a bump-out from the wall. For one, building a bump-out would add dimension to the long, flat wall. However, I also loved that practical aspect of it, as it would not only hide the television and media unit cords, but it would also hid the wall mount for the TV.

I knew it’d be difficult to achieve the bump out with a pallet wood wall. I also knew I didn’t really want the natural pallet wood look or even a wood look, because there was already enough wood tones going on in this room.

By using store bought planks instead of pallet boards, I figured I could make something that looked enough like pallet wood to be on trend, with a bit more structure, polish, and practicality to suit my project’s needs.

(If you’re really set on using pallet boards / making a pallet wood wall, I’ve added my thoughts on how to create this project from pallet wood at the bottom of this post!)

How to Build a Faux Pallet Wall for Your TV

Materials You’ll Need for my Faux Pallet Wood Wall

• 2×4’s (how many you need depends on how wide your wall will be)
• 3″ screws
• 1.5″ screws
• Plank Paneling (we needed 4 packs, and this is what we chose to use as an alternative to pallet wood/reclaimed barn wood)
• Corner molding
• Crown molding
• Wood putty
• Painters tape
• Paint

How to Build and Install a Faux Pallet Wood Wall

Frame the Wood Accent Wall with Studs to Create a Bump Out

The key to this wood TV wall is creating a “bump out” that will hide your TV mount and all the cords.

And to create said bump-out, you need to build out a frame for the wood wall.

Start by screwing 2×4’s into the existing studs in your wall.

We used 3″ screws, and drilled them in at an angle to attach them to the existing studs. You’ll need to do as many of these as you want your plank wall wide.

(I took this picture a few steps in, but it still gives you an idea of how we attached the studs and cut them around the baseboard)

Build the Wood TV Mount

You also need to decide where you want your TV mount to be, and cut the studs to allow room for that.

We used scrap wood to build the wood TV mount base.

By building this part out from the wall, it will make the mount flush with the new plank wall. But how far out you need to build it depends somewhat on the type of TV mount you buy.

Make sure you use a level when you’re on the TV mount step. It would be pretty frustrating to go to all this trouble and end up with a crooked TV!

Cut a Cord Hole

Because of where our outlets are in this room, we cut a circle in the side of the outer stud to pull our cords through.

By cutting a cord hole, you can keep your electronics cords tucked nicely behind your wood wall, which will give you a much tidier look!

Consider Cord Access

We placed the power strip in the bottom of the wall. We did so knowing we would be cutting an access hole in the planks so that we could always reach it, and that we planned to have a media unit/credenza in front of the wood TV wall to cover it.

The other options is to keep the cut outs from the planks and use them to make a “door” that attaches with hinges to hide it. (If you end up using pallet wood or barn wood that is shorter and more randomly arranged, you could also just arrange it so there’s a gap for cords).

Then we pulled the cords up through the TV mount and taped them in place so they wouldn’t fall as we were working.

In real life, we did all these steps before we started screwing the wood planks in, but I wanted to show you a picture with the planks so you could see the access hole we cut out for the power strip.

You can also see in the picture above how we bumped out the electrical outlet so that it would be flush with the new wall (on the right edge of the picture).

Attach the Front Planks (My DIY Pallet Alternative)

Attach your planks to the new studs using 1.5″ screws.

We attached the front pieces first, being sure to cut around where the TV would mount would sit and any electrical outlets.

Install Side Pieces and Corner Molding

Then attach your side pieces, corner molding and finally the crown molding to finish it off.

Fill, Finish, and Paint

Use the wood putty to fill any nail holes, and tape off the entire unit using good quality painter’s tape.

And then start painting!

We had to use a brush and a roller because of the grooves in the wood planks. It went very quickly, though. It only took about 45 minutes for one coat of paint.

The plank kits that I link to in the supply list are stain-grade, if you want the look of a stained plank wall instead of a painted wall.

And for those of you who are wondering, the paint color for this wood TV wall is this deep gray from Sherwin Williams.

A Note About Centering Your Television on a Wood TV Wall

One thing I do want to point out is this finished picture before we started painting.

Do you notice anything that makes you scratch your head?

The TV mount is very off-center.

We wanted our TV mount to be attached to the original studs in the main wall for safety and stability.

That meant that the mount wasn’t centered on the wall.

To get around this, we chose a mount that we could slide the TV left to right a few inches on, so in the end the TV itself is centered even if the mount isn’t.

Pallet Wood vs. Planks

Don’t get me wrong, I do love the pallet wood and reclaimed barn wood aesthetic, and definitely considered it for this project.

So why did we use store bought planks instead of pallet wood?

To start with, the reasons above: I didn’t want a stained or natural wood accent wall, because we already had a lot of wood happening in the room. And if I was going to paint it anyway? It didn’t seem like there was a lot of point in going to the trouble of using reclaimed wood pallet boards.

However, I also held back for a few other reasons. For one, we have young kids running in and out of the house all the time, and I was concerned about safety of rough wood, especially around splinters, etc.

Finally, I also really wonder about cleaning pallet walls and rough barn wood or reclaimed wood. Part of the beauty of these accent walls is their texture and roughness, but I have some serious questions about how you dust and clean them.

We lived in an apartment with a massive brick wall for a few years, and it was TOUGH to dust!

Could You Use Wood Pallets for the Boards?

I’ve thought a lot about how I’d change this project if I was really married to the idea of using a proper pallet wood or barn wood for the boards.

I think it’s possible, but would require a bit of adjusting.

Pallet wood planks are about 36″ long, and studs in a home are typically 16″to 24″ apart. So you should theoretically be able to screw the pallet wood into the studs to install a pallet wall.

However, one of the key tricks when you install a pallet wall is scattering the pallet boards, so they look a bit random. This is kind of important to getting the shabby chic pallet wood wall aesthetic.

What I probably would have done is installed plywood sheets to cover the studs, painted the plywood sheets a really dark color to account for gaps in pallet wood, and then attached the pallet wood to the plywood using liquid nails. Voila: a pallet wall with a bump out!

Final Thoughts About Our Faux Pallet Wood TV Wall Mount and Accent Wall

We LOVE the way this built in wood TV wall mount turned out!

A wood feature wall was exactly what this room needed to add a defined focal point, and it’s so practical since it serves as a wood TV wall mount, too.

I’m currently trying to convince my husband we should build one for our bedroom and add sconces for over our  nightstands!

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Be sure to PIN this post, because I just know that you’re looking around your house trying to find a spot for it!

Clean Your Oven: A Cautionary Tale

I vividly remember buying our first house, and the process of heading into other people’s homes to see if it would one day become our home.

On the day of our first showing, I was so excited to get there. Me being me, I was super excited to check out room sizes, layout, and anything else that had to do with aesthetics and design.

But when we actually walked into the first house? Our agent took us immediately to the kitchen, and more specifically the oven. He opened the oven door, and inspected inside to see how clean the oven was.

A Clean Oven is a Clean Home?

Our realtor explained to us he does this at every single house he shows, and it’s the first thing he checks. He said it’s almost always a good indicator of how well the homeowner keeps up with the rest of their home maintenance.

As the theory goes, if you’re cleaning your oven regularly, you’re also probably changing your air filters. If you clean your oven regularly, you also probably keep the dryer vents clean. And on and on.

Apparently, you can tell a lot about a person’s cleaning habits by how the cleanliness of their oven.

Oven Cleaning vs Life

I vowed then and there that I would always prioritize oven cleaning. But….life happened.

School schedules, holidays, extracurricular activities, and dentist appointments.

It’s crazy how busy life can get, and some of those home maintenance basics like oven cleaning can just fall by the wayside, right?

Basically, you should ever look inside my oven.

How to Clean Your Oven Without Chemicals

Part of my hesitation around oven cleaning is that I can’t stand the self-cleaning function that’s built into the oven. The smell is absolutely horrible and gives me a terrible headache.

Plus, it takes hours! Seriously, why does it take so long??

I’ve tried using well-known cleaners, but have always found the chemical smell lingers.

The next time I turn on the oven, it inevitably smells like bleach or ammonia. Even if I wait a bit between using the self clean function, or using elbow grease with oven cleaner, and then using the oven again? It always seems like the heat intensifies the chemical smell.

Not something that I want my food to smell like! Or even my kitchen.

Using Oven Cleaners When Cleaning Your Oven

I’m really not a big fan of oven cleaners that use a lot of chemicals.

We’ve been moving away from chemicals in cleaners for years now, and often choose more natural brands, or go for vinegar, baking soda, and lemon when we can. Seriously, baking soda is impressive and powerful!

The truth is, many household cleaning products aren’t that great for our health or the planet. And since there are better, safer, and more natural alternatives, why wouldn’t I use them?

Which is why I love this steam cleaning method to clean your oven.

What You’ll Need for My Oven Safe Steam Method

To DIY this at home, you’ll need a steam cleaning machine of some sort.

I used two different machines to clean my oven: a steam mop and a full steam machine.

However, the steam cleaning machine is a lot more versatile, so if you’re going to buy something new, I recommend getting the full steam cleaning machine over the mop.

(The steam cleaning machine in this post is the Wagner Tech One. The mop shown unfortunately is no longer available for sale, but you can find other brands that make them).

Why You’ll Love to Steam Clean Your Oven

Using a steam machine to steam clean your oven is a bit of a revelation.

This thing is literally the answer to all of my previous cleaning dilemmas. And when you steam clean your oven, you can count on:

• No chemicals
• No smell
• It works incredibly well
• It’s FAST
• It’s an oven safe method that works on every part of the oven and stove!

Steam Clean a Ceramic Stove Top with a Steam Machine

I started with steam cleaning my stove top.

For the most part, I’ve managed to keep this pretty clean. We had one spill over 2 years ago, though, that I just couldn’t get clean.

You can see the dark stains and burn marks in this photo. These stains are 2 years old, seem to get even harder to clean after every use of this burner.

I’ve tried many cleaners and a razor blade with no success…until I tried a steam cleaning machine.

I used the  nylon brush attachment on the steam machine, and some distilled water, and it was gone in minutes.

It never fails to amaze me how much heated water and a little elbow grease can clean stubborn marks and stains so well!

Steam Clean Your Oven Door with a Steam Cleaning Machine

Then I moved inside the oven. This is where it gets embarrassing: our first real estate agent would be horrified!

The door is absurd. Despite what it looks like, I actually do clean it a few times a year.

But I also use my oven A LOT, and apparently I’m not the neatest!

For this job, I mostly used the copper wire brush and the squeegee attachment for the inside of the oven.

You can see here where I took two quick passes with the steam machine. This was literally right after I started. Just two passes with the copper wire brush attachment removed that much built-up gunk!

After a bit more work, you can see a huge difference!

I still need to work on the frame around the oven door window, but I am so amazed about how clean this got without using chemicals or commercial cleaners of any sort!

Steam Clean Your Oven Interior

For the bottom of the oven, I first moved the oven racks up to the highest position (or you can just remove them completely). 

I used the copper wire brush for this part of the job as well.

This is where I (embarrassingly) started:

And after about 15 minutes, this is how much better it was already starting to look!

For Extra Tough Jobs…

If you find you need some extra cleaning power after using your steam cleaner on your oven, you can try the following.

Traditional Steam Method for Your Oven

You can try this before or after using your steam cleaner to clean your oven.

Basically, fill an oven safe pot, such as an earthenware casserole dish, with water. Then turn your oven on to 450F, and place the water-filled dish inside on a middle rack. Leave it for around an hour to steam up your oven.

When you come back, you should find some of the more stubborn grease, food crusties, etc have been loosed from the steam room you created inside the oven.

Wait for the surfaces to cool, and then use a bit of elbow grease to scrub and wipe the grime away.

Other Benefits of Having a Steam Cleaner or Steam Mop at Home

One of my favorite parts of a steam machine is how versatile it is. I end up carrying it from room to room, and it can tackle so many different surfaces.

The same steam machine that worked its magic on my stove top, can move into the living room and tackle the carpet.

I’ve also used my steam machine to clean our patio furniture, our grill, our shower, floors, vehicles and so much more! It’s my favorite versatile tool and I love that it’s the best way to clean naturally!\

Quick Hack to Organize Your Steam Cleaner

I use one of these organizers to keep track of all the attachments.

The top row is for all of the attachments that go with the Steam Mop. The bottom row is for the steam machine attachments.

No more searching between boxes and on the garage floor for attachments that have rolled off!

Shoe organizers are awesome for organizing bits and pieces like this!

Final Thoughts

I hope this post inspired you to use fewer chemicals to clean your oven. If you don’t have a steam cleaning machine yet, or don’t want to buy one, the old fashioned method of creating a steamy environment inside your oven will do the trick – and baking soda and vinegar or lemon always helps!

If you know someone who has a steam cleaner, please share this post so they can get the most out of it!

Onion Rings Are an Ultimate Comfort Food!

When I want pub grub, most of the time I’ll choose french fries as my side.

There’s something so delicious about a great burger with fries…it’s hard to beat!

Once in a while, however, I love (LOVE!) to add onion rings to my order. Or, my favorite “I need a treat” move, half fries and half onion rings.

Frozen Onion Rings and a Side of Nostalgia

For some reason, onion rings remind me of my childhood.

I have this very specific, random memory from my childhood about getting a small fast food burger with my mom, and sharing a side of onion rings instead of french fries.

It’s one of those strange memories, because I have no idea when the moment happened. Add to that, I’m pretty sure it was an ordinary, insignificant day.

I guess those onion rings must have been really, really good though, because they have stuck in my head and I remember them even now, 30 years later!

These days, I rarely have onion rings. But when the craving strikes? I NEED them!

Air Fryer Frozen Onion Rings Are Yum!

Since this last year has been all about staying home, cooking more, and getting more creative in the kitchen, I figured I’d experiment with making air fryer frozen onion rings.

You see, onion rings are an absolutely perfect once-in-a-while treat.

If I could master making air fryer frozen onion rings (and using frozen onion rings instead of making them from scratch) … well let’s just say my once in a while treat would be way more convenient!

Of course, the real challenge is to make frozen onion rings in my air fryer that are BETTER than takeout or sitting at a restaurant.

Personally, I think I’ve done a pretty good job, and hope you try out my air fryer frozen onion ring method in your kitchen!

Why Air Fryer Onion Rings Are the Best

When it comes to making onion rings at home, your first choice is whether to make them from scratch (which is a bit of a process) or use frozen onion rings.

The downside of making onion rings from scratch is the effort involved, and the difficulty in getting them super crispy on the outside without a deep fryer.

Prior to the popularity of the air fryer, frozen onion rings had some big cons too. Despite being precooked in oil, they still never got all that crispy on the outside.

And despite best efforts frozen onion rings were a mere shadow of what restaurants could deliver.

I Demand Perfection for my Air Fryer Frozen Onion Rings

Here’s the thing about onion rings. They’re a treat!

And whenever I’m having a treat, I want it to be perfect, not just okay. 

If I am going to justify the calories of enjoying a burger or chicken tenders and onion rings, those rings better be darn delicious!

And that means golden and crispy on the outside, and soft and sweet on the inside.

Unfortunately, that’s almost impossible to achieve when dealing with frozen onion rings in the oven.

Why Air Fryer Onion Rings are Superior

Compare oven-baked to cooking air fryer onion rings, it’s no competition.

The benefits of air fryer rings is no more soggy bits where the breading mushes together.

And no more breading falling off, leaving the poor onions naked and without their delicious crispiness.

Finally, no more extra oil. Seriously, frozen onion rings have enough oil as it is from being pre-cooked in the manufacturing facility. You don’t need to add even more when you cook frozen onion rings at home!

Nah….air fryer frozen onion rings are the bee’s knees, friends!

Crispy! Golden! Soft! Sweet Perfection!

How to Get the Perfect Air Fryer Frozen Onion Rings

The brilliance of air fryers all comes down to how air fryers cook your favorite frozen food. They heat evenly with super hot air, and keep the need to use extra oil (aka: calories) to a minimum.

Preheat Your Air Fryer

Start by pre-heating your air fryer to 400F.

I bang on about preheating air fryers quite a bit, but I really do find it makes a difference. Even though air fryer companies insist you don’t need to pre-heat, doing so helps things cook more evenly in my experience!

If you have a digital air fryer display, then pre-heating is easy – just heat until it reaches 400F on the digital display.

If, however, you have one of the most simple models, just pre-heat it for 3 to 4 minutes – that’s enough!

Place Frozen Onion Rings in Air Fryer Basket

Layer your onion rings into the air fryer basket. It’s okay if they overlap slightly, but you don’t want too much overlap.

The beauty of the air fryer is in the name – the air! So you want to make sure the hot air has plenty of surface area available on each frozen onion ring, so it can work it’s magic.

One nice thing about making air fryer frozen onion rings is one bag of onion rings tends to have a ton of different sized rings within.

You can see in the photo that my bag was full of large, medium and small onion rings, and some of the small ones nestled into the big ones.

It worked, so don’t stress too much!

Air Fry

Air fry for 8 to 10 minutes, until crispy, not soft.

Enjoy immediately, and don’t be afraid to pair them with some of your favorite dipping sauces!

What Sauce Goes with Onion Rings?

Speaking of your favorite dipping sauces, here are a few good dipping sauce for onion rings, if you feel like getting a bit creative!

• Ketchup
• Ketchup-Mayo Mix
• BBQ Sauce
• Honey Mustard
• Blooming onion dipping sauce (a horseradish dipping sauce)
• Ranch
• Garlic Aioli
• Blue Cheese Dip
• Ceasar Dressing

How to Serve Onion Rings?

While onion rings are an obvious side for pub grub, you can also add an onion ring or two to your burger to make an awesome topping! They work well with “normal” burgers or cheeseburgers, but are also great with my pineapple pork burger!

And for a really fun way to serve onion rings, I love these diner style fry and burger baskets with checkered paper.

It gives you the greasy spoon experience at home, and is an easy way to add a bit of fun an whimsy to your meal (they’re also great for serving fries and chicken wings!).

How to Reheat Onion Rings?

If you don’t need to cook onion rings all the way through, and just need to reheat them in the air fryer, it will be even faster.

Preheat your air fryer to 400F, and heat for 3 to 4 minutes, until piping hot throughout.

This is great if you have leftover onion rings cooked via my method above. However, I also love this to heat up food that is being delivered, and has gotten a bit cool in the Uber Eats driver’s car!

Final Thoughts

I hope you found these instructions to cook frozen onion rings in air fryer helpful!

If you know an onion ring lover, or know someone who recently got an air fryer and needs some inspiration, I hope you’ll share this post.

And be sure to check out my other air fryer recipes for frozen food, including burritos, pot pies, chicken tenders, and fries!

If you love the Disney Dole Whip, but would like a more grown up (aka: with alcohol) version, this Boozy Dole Whip with Rum cocktail recipe is the adult version you’ve been waiting for!

A blend of pineapple, banana, coconut milk and rum, it’s a refreshing, summer drink that will make you feel like you’re on permanent vacation!

Let’s get this party started!

Fact: Disney Dole Whips are Delicious

It’s been a couple years since I’ve been to Disney and Universal, which means it’s also been a couple years since I’ve had a Disney Dole Whip!

If you’ve never had one, you might not realize how super sad that is.

You see, a Dole Whip is the perfect hot-day-at-Disney treat.

They’re refreshing, they’re creamy, they’re tart, and they’re perfect for cooling down in hot weather.

The problem? You have to go to a Disney park to get one…

Time for a Disney Dole Whip Recipe Copycat

Well…that last sentence isn’t entirely true.

While you have to go to Disney Parks to get an official Dole Whip, the Internet is full of Dole Whip fans who’ve tried (and generally succeeded) to make copycat versions.

Indeed, there are lots and lots and lots of Disney Dole Whip recipes out there. Which means I (and you, too) can make my own copycat version at home, whenever the craving hits me!

This Dole Whip recipe from Mama Cheaps is not only delicious, it’s easy enough that your kids can help you make it this summer!

But what about when you want a Dole Whip that’s not for kids? I’m talking about a delicious boozy Dole Whip.

Maybe a boozy Dole Whip with rum….

This Boozy Dole Whip is the Alcoholic Dole Whip Upgrade I Need in My Life

We can all agree rum is the ultimate tropical vacation alcohol, right?

And cocktails with rum are the ultimate tropical vacation drink?

And pineapple is the ultimate tropical fruit?

Can you see where I’m going with this?

I figured I’d do a bit of experimentation to see if I could figure out how to make a boozy Dole Whip with rum so I can have some tropical vibes at home.

And I succeeded! Oh, how I succeeded!

This Dole Whip with rum recipe is easy, delicious, and oh so refreshing.

And while I’m no nutritionist, I’m going to tell myself it’s not that bad for me either.

I mean it’s pretty much all fresh fruit with a little coconut milk thrown in for good measure, right?

How to Make a Dole Whip with Rum (Recipe)

My boozy Dole Whip with rum uses a combo of fresh pineapple (for garnish) and frozen pineapple chunks, a banana, coconut milk, and rum (or rum cream).

I’m going to walk you through the basic steps to make it below, with a full recipe at the end of this post!

Prep Time: Pre-Freeze Your Fruit

While bringing a piece of the Magic Kingdom to your house is super easy with this Rum Dole Whip recipe, you do need to plan ahead a bit.

That’s because you’ll want to start off with frozen fruit (frozen pineapple chunks and frozen banana) to achieve the ultimate creamy, slushie consistency that makes this boozy treat so good!

To keep things simple, I recommend using a bag of frozen pineapple chunks from the grocery store. While you could freeze fresh pineapple, if you prefer or have some in the freezer already, grocery store frozen pineapple will work just fine.

You also need a frozen banana for this recipe.

Just be sure to peel your banana before freezing. I peel mine, cut them in half and them put them in a ziploc bag in the freezer. Remove all the excess air from your freezer bag before sealing it to prevent freezer burn.

Cocktail Time!

Once the pineapple and banana are frozen, it’s time to make some cocktails!

This part is super easy. Basically, you just combine all the ingredients in a blender and blend until smooth and creamy!

• Frozen pineapple chunks
• Frozen banana
• Coconut milk
• Rum
• Not in the Blender – Fresh pineapple wedge (to garnish the glass)

I used rum in mine but you can also use rum cream if that’s what you have on hand. It just gives it a creamier texture. You use the same amount of rum cream in place of the rum. I would pick one or the other, though, you don’t need to use both!

You can also throw in a bit of vanilla ice cream for added sweetness, or to balance the coconut flavors if you decide to use coconut rum (see below).

Can I Substitute for Coconut Rum or Spiced Rum?

Heck yes, you can! You can use coconut rum or spiced rum in this cocktail, or just plain old regular rum.

If you use coconut rum, you may want to swap out the coconut milk for vanilla ice cream – then you’ll still get the creamy and the coconutty flavors, without it being too coconutty (if that could even be considered a problem).

Obviously, injecting vanilla ice cream will change the calorie count!

Can I Substitute Lite Coconut Milk?

Heck yes, you can! If you want to make this drink a bit healthier, substitute Lite Coconut Milk and use white rum

Tools Needed to Make a Dole Whip with Rum

• Blender– you really need a full size blender for this recipe. I normally go to my trusty 3 cup food chopper for drinks, but this was just too many ingredients for that. A blender it is then! When my old blender died, I bought the Ninja Shark and…I LOVE it! So if you need a new blender, consider the Ninja.
• Freezer Bags– I’ve tried freezing fruit in generic sandwich bags before and the right freezer bags really do make a difference when it comes to freezer burn!
• Unbreakable Cocktail Glasses– You are going to want to drink these while sitting around a pool! Don’t ruin your afternoon by having broken glass on your patio. These unbreakable glasses are my go-to for summer BBQs!
• Pineapple Corer– Do yourself a favor and get yourself this pineapple corer, slicer and peeler in one. It will be your BFF this summer.

Other Summer Cocktails You Would Love!

• Strawberry and Peach Wine Slushies
• Red, White and Blue Wine Slushies
• Sparkling Cherry Lime Cocktails
• Orange Crushes

Recipe Time

Below, you’ll find the recipe I used to make my adult version of this cocktail. Nutritional info has been calculated automagically by a third party plugin, so I can’t attest to its accuracy. And, of course, enjoy this and all alcoholic drinks responsibly!

Yield: 2

Boozy Dole Whip with Rum

Print

This refreshing drink combines the favorite Dole Whip treat at Disney World with rum to make it a perfect adult beverage on hot summer nights! Power up the blender, because this Rum Dole Whip will become a summer go to!

Prep Time 30 minutes

Additional Time 5 minutes

Total Time 35 minutes

Ingredients

• 3 cups frozen pineapple pieces
• 1/2 banana (frozen)
• 1 cup sweetened coconut milk
• 4 oz. rum
• Fresh pineapple wedges (for garnish)

Instructions

1. Peel a banana, cut it in half, and put it in the freezer in an air tight freezer bag for 30 minutes or until completely frozen.
2. Combine 3 cups frozen pineapple pieces, 1/2 frozen banana, 1 cup sweetened coconut milk and 4 oz. rum in a blender, and blend until creamy and smooth.
3. Pour into serving glasses and garnish with a pineapple wedge. Enjoy!

Notes

You can adjust the amount of rum to your liking. This recipe provides about 2 oz per serving which is about the amount in a shot glass. 

Nutrition Information:

Yield:

2

Serving Size:

1
Amount Per Serving: Calories: 529Total Fat: 3gSaturated Fat: 3gTrans Fat: 0gUnsaturated Fat: 0gCholesterol: 0mgSodium: 31mgCarbohydrates: 97gFiber: 5gSugar: 88gProtein: 2g

ATurtlesLifeForMe.com offers estimations of nutritional information for recipes contained on this site. This information is provided as a courtesy and is an estimate only. This information comes from online calculators via a third-party plugin, and may be inaccurate. It is meant as a best guess, and not intended to provide dietary advice of any kind. To obtain the most accurate representation of the nutritional information in any given recipe, you should calculate the nutritional information with the actual ingredients used in your recipe. You are solely responsible for ensuring that any nutritional information obtained is accurate.

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Nothing says I’m enjoying a hot day better than sitting seaside with a refreshing summer cocktail in hand, am I right?

And if you can load up on Vitamin C while you’re at it? It’s practically healthy!

The Orange Crush cocktail is a delicious and refreshing treat on a summer day, just as perfect for enjoying on the beach or in your backyard.

If you’re ready to try your hand at making Crushes, you’ll find everything you need in the post below, plus my tips to make the best cocktail possible for yourself and your friends.

Introducing the Adult Version of the Orange Crush

Back when I was a kid, one of my favorite drinks was Orange Crush. But no, I’m not talking cocktail orange crush. I’m talking about the soda.

Back in my youth, the childhood version of Orange Crush was highly prized for its ability to turn your tongue and upper lip a bright orange stain, which would last whole the summer day playing outside!

Thankfully, the much more adult namesake doesn’t dye your face, but is just as refreshing on a hot summer day.

Invented in Ocean City, Maryland

The first time I tried an Orange Crush, I was surprised to learn it is not, in fact, named after the beloved soda.

Rather, it’s the brainchild of Harborside Bar & Grill, a local institution in Ocean City. And it gets its name from a much more literal meaning.

Rather than being named after the soda, the Orange Crush cocktail gets its name from the actual act of crushing (and squeezing) all the oranges you need to make the drink.

I like to think it’s also called an orange crush because you really should use crushed ice to get the best (i.e. most refreshing and delicious) results.

My Vodka Orange Crush Cocktail (Recipe & Ingredients)

I’ve written out a proper cocktail recipe at the end of this post, but it you’re a fan of guesstimating, you can probably stick with these loose instructions for this delicious cocktail.

(Although don’t blame me if you end up with too much alcohol – proper measurements and full instructions are further down in this post, so guesstimate with caution!)

Here’s what you’ll need, in addition to the crushed ice…

Freshly Squeezed Orange Juice That’s Crushed!

An orange crush cocktail is basically orange upon orange upon orange. So… a lot of orange!

And the key to an amazing orange crush cocktail is using fresh squeezed orange juice that’s been squeezed straight from an orange. Or in the case of this cocktail, oranges!

While you can use orange juice from a carton, if you have the time and patience (and ideally a juicer of some sort), fresh orange juice is far superior.

I also recommend using a navel orange, or several. You need about 1/3 cup orange juice per cocktail, and a navel orange will give you roughly 1/4 cup to 1/3 cup of juice. So if you’re making 2 cocktails, it’s best to have around 3 oranges on hand.

Once you’ve squeezed the juice, add it to a cocktail shaker, pouring it over ice (crushed is best).

Layer On Some Orange Triple Sec and Orange Vodka

Now it’s time to layer on the oranges (and layer on a boozy one-two punch, with vodka and triple sec)

Into your shaker, add orange vodka and orange triple sec.

Now you’ve got your layers of orange upon orange upon orange.

Shake for 30 seconds or so, until foamy and blended.

Quick note, Grand Marnier will do the trick if you don’t have the triple sec!

It’s Lemon Lime Soda Time

Pour your triple orange mixture into a cocktail glass, and then fill the rest of the glass with your favorite brand of lemon lime soda, such as Sprite, 7-Up, etc. The light citrus sweetness really balances all the orange.

You can substitute Sprite with any brand of lemon lime or soda (citrus sodas like Sierra Mist, 7-Up, or a generic brand work).

Just make sure you don’t add the citrus soda until after you’re done shaking the juice and alcohol. Otherwise, the laws of carbonation will leave you with quite a mess!

The 4th Orange in the Crushes Cocktails

Finally, garnish your cocktail with a fresh orange slice, and enjoy.

Side effects may include extreme refreshment on a summer day or a super relaxing beach day with friends, so enjoy with caution!

Tools Needed to Make This Drink

I’m not a huge fan of having a ton of extra kitchen gear that never gets used, but for this drink (and many cocktails), it really is helpful to have a few basics: a cocktail shaker, a jigger, a juicer, and some summer appropriate outdoor glasses.

Cocktail Shaker– Don’t eschew a cocktail shaker, because they really do help make your drinks taste better! Your ingredients blend together better, get colder and start foaming to signal they’re ready. It’s made a huge difference for us, and makes it easier to make delicious drinks every time.

Shot Measuring Glass / Jigger– More than just a standard shot glass, I love this one that has measuring lines on the sides. Of course, you could just eyeball your ingredients, but when you’re first getting started, it isn’t a bad idea to have some guidelines!

Juicer – While I’m the first to admit the Smeg Citrus juicer is adorable and looks great on a counter, you don’t really need something this fancy, of course! Something like this basic Oxo will do the trick for juicing!

Unbreakable Stemless Wine Glasses– And, of course, my favorite unbreakable glasses! It’s summer, which seems to lead to more walking around outdoors with a drink in hand. It is not a bad idea to have these unbreakable wine glasses… especially around a pool!

How to Make This Recipe: Orange Crush Cocktail Recipe

Below, you’ll find the recipe as well as a guesstimation of nutritional information. Note, that info is provided by a third party plugin, so may not be totally accurate.

Yield: 1

Orange Crush Cocktail

Print

This refreshing vodka orange crush cocktail is made with fresh orange juice, vodka, triple sec, lemon lime soda, and crushed ice. A copycat recipe based on the Harborside Bar & Grill's Ocean City original, Orange Crushes are easy and refreshing, perfect for a backyard barbecue or beach party on a hot summer day!

Prep Time 5 minutes

Additional Time 5 minutes

Total Time 10 minutes

Ingredients

• 1/3 cup freshly squeezed orange juice (equivalent to roughly 1 to 2 navel oranges)
• 2 oz orange flavored vodka
• 1 oz orange triple sec
• Crushed ice
• 1 can Sprite, or another lemon lime soda
• Orange wedge (for garnish)

Instructions

1. In a cocktail shaker, combine freshly squeezed orange juice, vodka, triple sec and crushed ice. Make sure the lid is secure and then shake vigorously for about 30 seconds.
2. Pour into a glass and top off with Sprite or another brand of lemon lime soda.
3. Add an orange wedge as garnish, and enjoy!

Nutrition Information:

Yield:

1

Serving Size:

1
Amount Per Serving: Calories: 638Total Fat: 1gSaturated Fat: 0gTrans Fat: 0gUnsaturated Fat: 0gCholesterol: 0mgSodium: 106mgCarbohydrates: 124gFiber: 5gSugar: 113gProtein: 3g

ATurtlesLifeForMe.com offers estimations of nutritional information for recipes contained on this site. This information is provided as a courtesy and is an estimate only. This information comes from online calculators via a third-party plugin, and may be inaccurate. It is meant as a best guess, and not intended to provide dietary advice of any kind. To obtain the most accurate representation of the nutritional information in any given recipe, you should calculate the nutritional information with the actual ingredients used in your recipe. You are solely responsible for ensuring that any nutritional information obtained is accurate.

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I’m not going to lie…I love chicken wings.

In fact, I’m a huge fan of pub grub appetizers in general.

Back in our childless days, my husband and I would hit the pub and share a plate of chicken wings and a plate of nachos for an ultimate, not at all healthy, but oh so delicious, Friday night dinner.

Since having our daughter, however, and really over the past year with restaurant closures and restrictions, we haven’t been able to get out as much.

Which is why I was excited to experiment with our air fryer, and figure out how to make perfect, crispy on the outside, delicious chicken wings in the air fryer we bought last year.

What’s So Great About Air Fryer Chicken Wings

I’ve experimented with both frozen wings and fresh wings in the air fryer, and get into more details about my method below.

However, it’s worth mentioning why you should get excited about making wings in the air fryer.

One of the best things about air fryer frozen chicken wings is how easy they are to make. If you have store bought, precooked wings in your freezer, they can be ready in less than 20 minutes, with zero additional oil, and with super delicious and crispy results.

That’s a benefit I can get behind!

However, my air fryer chicken wings methods are also healthier than most other ways of cooking chicken wings, because you don’t need oil!

If you decide to make them from scratch, they’re even healthier, since they’re not precooked (i.e. not pre-deep-fried) by the manufacturer.

Finally, they’re delicious!

It seems crazy to me that people still deep fry or bake things at all, since the air fryer is so good at making all sorts of foods (frozen pot pies, french fries, burritos, chicken tenders) delicious and with minimal effort.

What You’ll Need to Make Frozen Chicken Wings in Air Fryer

Ingredients

The ingredients on this one are pretty straight forward.

You’ll need a box of frozen chicken wings (we used buffalo wings for the photos in this post, which came with sauce), and some veggies and dip to serve on the side.

For dip, I love blue cheese dip with chicken wings. In fact, I could even say I love, LOVE, love bleu cheese!

I often use bottled blue cheese dip, and then crumbled fresh blue cheese on top. It’s a super simple recipe: pour some dressing into a bowl and then use a fork to crumble bleu cheese to sprinkle on top.

Cut up some celery and carrot sticks to serve on the side, and voila! You’re done!

However, you can also make a blue cheese dip from ranch dressing – mix store bought ranch seasoning with 1 cup of 5% sour cream, and crumble blue cheese into it!

Instructions

In the photos for this post, I used store bought frozen chicken wings, so I’m going to focus on how to get perfect air fryer frozen chicken wings, first.

However, I’ve also tested out how to cook fresh chicken wings in air fryer.

If you’d rather go full DIY, you can follow my Buffalo chicken wings in air fryer recipe a little bit further down in this post!

To air fry frozen wings, start by preheating your air fryer.

Remove the chicken wings from the package, and remove any ice crystals that may have formed on the surface of the frozen chicken wings. It makes intuitive sense, but it’s worth pointing out that water (or ice, in this case) is the enemy of crispy chicken wings, so you want to wipe any big ice crystals off! Just wipe them away, and gently pat with a paper towel if needed.

Place the wings in the air fryer basket in a single layer.

If you’re worried about the wings sticking to the air fryer basket, you can give them a quick spray of pure cooking oil, using something like an Evo mister.

Air fry for 15 minutes or until golden brown.

I like to check them and flip them about halfway through.

Remove from air fryer basket and enjoy!

That’s it – 5 minutes of prep at max, and just 15 minutes air fry time to cook frozen chicken wings!

How to Make Homemade Air Fryer Chicken Wings

If you’d prefer to make air fryer chicken wings from scratch, I’ve got you covered! As with the frozen chicken wings, they’re still super easy, and they’re still healthier in the air fryer than some other methods.

Cooking Wings in the Air Fryer? The Key to Crispy Wings is the Coating

One of the keys to making really good wings in air fryer or convention oven is the coating.

You can use a few different coatings, and all work out great. But seriously, the coating is really important.

TBH, I normally go and wing it (heehee!) with chicken wings coatings, mixing up something based on what I have in the house.

The flour dredge method is my go to.

The Flour Dredge Method

In the pictures of these wings, here’s what I did (for about 3 lbs of wings).

• Dry the chicken wings first using paper towel. Just as you want to remove ice crystals from frozen chicken wings, you want to to dry out the fresh chicken wings to maximize the chance of getting super crispy wings!
• In a bowl, use a fork to whisk about 1 cup of milk and 1 egg.
• In a separate bowl, mix 1 cup flour, and 2 tsp. salt, plus a dash of black pepper, cayenne pepper, paprika and garlic powder.
• Dip each wing in the milk mixture, and then in the flour mixture and place on a baking tray or dish.
• After dredging the wings, refrigerate them for 15 to 30 minutes before you air fry them. This refrigeration is the key to a great coating in my experience, because it lets the flour mixture stick to each of the chicken wings really well.

If You Want to Make Crispy Gluten Free Wings Try This

As I said above, I tend to “wing” it when it comes to coating chicken wings before air frying, based on what I have in my pantry or how I’m feeling that day.

If you are out of any of the ingredients above, or would prefer to use a different coating, here are two other options you can use.

With all of these, I also add some spices and flavor into the mix (a dash each of garlic powder, paprika, salt, pepper and cayenne is my go to):

• Potato starch. Bonus for this, it’s gluten free, and you can use just potato starch alone (just toss the wings in a bowl with the starch, and wiggle them around or push with a fork until coated).
• Baking Powder. Try to find a brand that doesn’t include sodium aluminum sulfate since some people are quite sensitive to the taste, and interpret it as a bitter flavor. Also, when using baking powder, a little goes a long way. You only need 1 Tablespoon or so for 2 dozen wings, tossed with spices, and then toss the wings in the mixture.

After coating and refrigerating the chicken wings for about 30 minutes, preheat the air fryer to 375℉.

Cook Time for Fresh vs Frozen Chicken Wings in Air Fryer

Once you’ve coated and chilled your chicken wings, it’s time to cook them in your air fryer. As per always, preheat the air fryer.

The main difference for fresh vs frozen chicken wings in the air fryer is actual air fry time / cook time.

You’ll see my suggested cooking temperature and cook time is different for air fryer frozen chicken wings vs fresh air fryer chicken wings.

Here’s my best explanation as to why.

Because frozen chicken wings tend to be pre-cooked, they actually tend to require less cook time. I know – mind blown. In the example and photos above (the buffalo wings), we cooked the chicken wings in an air fryer at 400℉ for 15 minutes.

For fresh chicken wings, however, I recommend cooking them on a slightly lower temperature (400℉) for longer, both to let them get nice and crispy and to ensure they reach a safe internal temperature.

This is around 20 to 24 minutes total time in a large, single layer in the air fryer basket, like my Breville or my mom’s Cuisinart, in my experience. However, you’ll want to flip the wings half way through.

Then there’s fresh wings that you’ve frozen in your own freezer. In this case, the frozen wings haven’t been pre-cooked, so you’ll need to add a bit of extra cooking time on top of the fresh wings instructions – around 5 minutes.

Sauce Tip for My Chicken Wings Air Fryer Method

When it comes time to add the sauce to your chicken wings, I recommend melting a bit of butter in a large bowl in the microwave, adding the sauce, and mixing it together. Then dump the chicken wings right into the bowl from the air fryer basket, and toss them around that way.

For ratios, I use about 2 to 4 tablespoons for butter to 1/2 cup of sauce (in this cause, buffalo wing sauce). You can use less sauce if you don’t like them too hot. 

It’s a super easy way to get the wings perfectly coated – just toss in the sauce and they’re ready to go!

Look at that crispiness! I love crispy on the outside chicken wings.

Get Creative with Different Flavors for Your Air Fried Chicken Wings

Sure, buffalo sauce and hot sauce are the classic chicken wing flavor.

And with good reason – they’re delicious!

But you can switch it up with different, creative flavors, too.

I tend to break down chicken wing seasoning into dry (i.e. salt and pepper wings) and wet (i.e. hot sauce).

For dry wings, I season them prior to air frying. For wet wings, I coat them in sauce after air frying.

A Few Different Chicken Wing Flavor Ideas

• Lemon Pepper (Mix garlic salt and lemon pepper seasoning into your wing dredging / coating mixture)
• Dill Pickle (marinate fresh wings in leftover dill pickle brine, drain, and then add a bit of dried dill and garlic salt to the dredging / coating mixture)
• Honey Garlic (I like to toss cooked wings in honey garlic sauce after air frying, so the honey doesn’t burn)
• Salt and Pepper (about 2 tsp of each, combined in a mixing bowl. Toss the wings in the mixture before placing in the air fryer basket)

FAQs and Tips

Are Frozen Chicken Wings Pre-Cooked?

Yes (sometimes). Not all frozen wings are already cooked, but in my experience, most are. This means they need less cook time for safety, although they will still take a bit, given they are frozen solid, and you want to give them enough time to get crispy.

Cook the Chicken Wings in a Single Layer in the Air Fryer Basket

The key to effective air frying is in the name – it’s the (hot) air!

So you really want to make sure the wings aren’t piled in too tightly with no space between them.

As a general rule of thumb, arrange them mostly in single layer. I find this easier to do in our Breville air fryer or my mom’s Cuisinart (which are like toaster ovens) than a “real” air fryer, like the COSORI one we used in these photos.

Having them a bit close together is fine, just don’t stack layers upon layers of them!

Flip the Birds

Sorry – I couldn’t resist the pun.

You need to flip the wings half way through cooking for best results.

Final Thoughts

If you have a chicken wing lover in your life, or someone who recently bought an air fryer and is trying to learn the ropes, I hope you’ll share this post!

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