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The Lazy Genius Kitchen: Have What You Need, Use What You Have, and Enjoy It Like Never Before
From the New York Times bestselling author of The Lazy Genius Way comes a fresh perspective for getting the most out of your kitchen!
"An empowering, transformative, and slightly sassy guidebook."--Jenna Fischer, actress, author, and producer/cohost of Office Ladies podcast
You want your kitchen to be the heartbeat of the home, but you're overwhelmed and out of breath trying to make it happen. Meals are on a never-ending loop, and you don't have time to prepare dinner, much less enjoy it. Popular Lazy Genius expert and bestselling author Kendra Adachi is here to help!
Packed with proven Lazy Genius principles, the book will teach you to:
- name what matters to you in the kitchen--whether that's flavor, convenience, or something else entirely
- feed your people with efficiency and ease
- apply a simple, actionable five-step process--prioritize, essentialize, organize, personalize, and systemize--to multiple areas of your kitchen, empowering you to enjoy your kitchen the way you've always wanted
You don't need magical recipes, fancy gadgets, or daunting lists to follow to the letter; you just need a framework that works whether you're cooking for one or for twenty.
Straightforward, strategic, soulful, and a little sassy, The Lazy Genius Kitchen will turn your hardest-working room into your favorite one, too.
"An empowering, transformative, and slightly sassy guidebook."--Jenna Fischer, actress, author, and producer/cohost of Office Ladies podcast
You want your kitchen to be the heartbeat of the home, but you're overwhelmed and out of breath trying to make it happen. Meals are on a never-ending loop, and you don't have time to prepare dinner, much less enjoy it. Popular Lazy Genius expert and bestselling author Kendra Adachi is here to help!
Packed with proven Lazy Genius principles, the book will teach you to:
- name what matters to you in the kitchen--whether that's flavor, convenience, or something else entirely
- feed your people with efficiency and ease
- apply a simple, actionable five-step process--prioritize, essentialize, organize, personalize, and systemize--to multiple areas of your kitchen, empowering you to enjoy your kitchen the way you've always wanted
You don't need magical recipes, fancy gadgets, or daunting lists to follow to the letter; you just need a framework that works whether you're cooking for one or for twenty.
Straightforward, strategic, soulful, and a little sassy, The Lazy Genius Kitchen will turn your hardest-working room into your favorite one, too.
208 pages, Hardcover
First published May 3, 2022
1347 people are currently reading
8379 people want to read
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Displaying 1 - 30 of 610 reviews
May 19, 2022
I mostly feel like I'm already a kitchen Lazy Genius, but I also loved this book and stuff like the liquid index is life changing. Now, Kendra, if I know how to use tongs but not hyaluronic acid, where do I go?
March 19, 2022
Kendra Adachi does. 👏🏻 not. 👏🏻 disappoint!!! 👏🏻👏🏻👏🏻 I sped-read this book in preparation for an upcoming podcast interview and let me just set the scene for you: the publishing industry isn’t what it was. Us podcasters aren’t receiving the same kinds of hard copy advanced reader copies that we used to! I received a watermarked, two-page spread PDF that I had to read off a website and move the page around with my mouse to see the whole thing. It was slightly insane. And I’m here to tell you that it was worth every single page jostle to consume this content! It was smart, funny, and practical, as Kendra’s work always is, and I hope she has many, many more books left in her. We can all benefit from her kindness and structure in how to make our lives better and less frustrating. I can’t wait to get a real copy of this book (which I will absolutely buy with my own money) and I have already started implementing her principles in my kitchen.
Go preorder this book today! It does not disappoint and you will want it to live in your kitchen for all the different seasons you have to come. I will buy a copy for each of my kids when they venture into having their own kitchens someday- it’s that good!
Go preorder this book today! It does not disappoint and you will want it to live in your kitchen for all the different seasons you have to come. I will buy a copy for each of my kids when they venture into having their own kitchens someday- it’s that good!
May 15, 2022
A fun, colorful book with lots of great, practical tips. I think it will be more beneficial for families or roommates but as a single gal who has a fairly decent grip on her kitchen, there wasn't as much that I could glean from it. But, will be trying out a few ideas!
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July 13, 2022You know that musician you just adore as both a person and an artist who has an amazing first album that is so inspired they instantly become a favorite? And you eagerly await their sophomore album, but sadly it’s just not as ground-breaking or impressive as their first work? And you realize it’s not really their fault- they spent their whole lives developing that first album, but the second is done under a microscope, with a ton more voices and opinions, and under a much tighter time frame? So of course it can’t possibly be as good? ….You see where I’m going with this, right?
Now I LOVED TLG Kitchen Show on YouTube! It was so great. Please watch those, no matter how you feel about the book because those episodes are great. They’re helpful, fun, and interesting. I was very impressed by them.
I’m sad this book didn’t work for me because I am Adachi’s target demographic. I am a married mother of 2 who does not feel confident in the kitchen, but I’m an Enneagram 1 with a great appreciation for routines and systems. I thrive when I feel my family and I, as well as our home, are all being efficient and effective.
But this book was just not helpful to me, sadly. I love TLG principles and find them to be an awesome framework. But in this case, I wanted fewer questions and reflection (what matters most here, how about here, and AGAIN HERE?). So many questions and steps in that teeny tiny font with unhelpful, random images off to the side (apparently to justify all that white space?). I wanted more stories from real people, and practical examples, and genius little tips and tricks.
The writing felt choppy and like it just wasn’t cohesive- I thought her first book had a much better flow. This just didn’t come together into one natural piece of writing, IMO- it definitely read like a combination of several podcast episodes/blog posts at times.
I wonder what this book could have been if Adachi hadn’t written it under a tight deadline in the midst of a very stressful global pandemic.
I still love her work and her personality, and think her principles truly are genius. I’ll have to revisit this book in the future when I’m in a different season of life to skim through it and see if I find more/better takeaways at that point.
Now I LOVED TLG Kitchen Show on YouTube! It was so great. Please watch those, no matter how you feel about the book because those episodes are great. They’re helpful, fun, and interesting. I was very impressed by them.
I’m sad this book didn’t work for me because I am Adachi’s target demographic. I am a married mother of 2 who does not feel confident in the kitchen, but I’m an Enneagram 1 with a great appreciation for routines and systems. I thrive when I feel my family and I, as well as our home, are all being efficient and effective.
But this book was just not helpful to me, sadly. I love TLG principles and find them to be an awesome framework. But in this case, I wanted fewer questions and reflection (what matters most here, how about here, and AGAIN HERE?). So many questions and steps in that teeny tiny font with unhelpful, random images off to the side (apparently to justify all that white space?). I wanted more stories from real people, and practical examples, and genius little tips and tricks.
The writing felt choppy and like it just wasn’t cohesive- I thought her first book had a much better flow. This just didn’t come together into one natural piece of writing, IMO- it definitely read like a combination of several podcast episodes/blog posts at times.
I wonder what this book could have been if Adachi hadn’t written it under a tight deadline in the midst of a very stressful global pandemic.
I still love her work and her personality, and think her principles truly are genius. I’ll have to revisit this book in the future when I’m in a different season of life to skim through it and see if I find more/better takeaways at that point.
July 9, 2022
"A Lazy Genius is a genius about the things that matter and lazy about the things that don't."
There you go.
That's the heart of this book. The philosophy behind The Lazy Genius Kitchen reminds me of my pediatrician who told me, "You as mom know your child best. Trust your gut." That's what this book does: this book encourages us as cooks, at whatever skill level we fall, to trust our gut when it comes to knowing what we like to eat, to knowing how much trouble we want to go to in our cooking, to knowing what things we need in our kitchen to get the desired result. This book is a confidence builder, and it relies on doing a few simple things to clear out the clutter that has accumulated in our cooking brains from all the other books we've read and shows we've watched and advice we have been given.
Well worth the couple of hours I spent with this little book.
There you go.
That's the heart of this book. The philosophy behind The Lazy Genius Kitchen reminds me of my pediatrician who told me, "You as mom know your child best. Trust your gut." That's what this book does: this book encourages us as cooks, at whatever skill level we fall, to trust our gut when it comes to knowing what we like to eat, to knowing how much trouble we want to go to in our cooking, to knowing what things we need in our kitchen to get the desired result. This book is a confidence builder, and it relies on doing a few simple things to clear out the clutter that has accumulated in our cooking brains from all the other books we've read and shows we've watched and advice we have been given.
Well worth the couple of hours I spent with this little book.
July 12, 2022
I probably wasn’t the right person for this book. I’m super picky about the tools I allow into my kitchen and putting those tool in the place I’ll need them.
I think it could be helpful to someone who finds they don’t cook and eat at home, but it felt really complicated for something that should be simplifying. I think it’s the way the sections were laid out.
I loved her first book and maybe I would have enjoyed this one audio better. It did feel like a written out podcast.
I think it could be helpful to someone who finds they don’t cook and eat at home, but it felt really complicated for something that should be simplifying. I think it’s the way the sections were laid out.
I loved her first book and maybe I would have enjoyed this one audio better. It did feel like a written out podcast.
May 2, 2022
Pretty basic and repetitive, but I love her podcast.
August 16, 2025
Three and a half stars. Add an extra half star if you're a newbie, or needing to overhaul your cooking life for whatever reason. Take off a half if you're currently calm, collected, and competent, because you probably don't need most of her advice. But do keep the book in mind for the next time your life swivels around.
September 2, 2022
3.5🌟
I enjoyed her first book more. There are some things that I hadn't thought about before and some things I'll implement, but overall a lot of the concepts are things that seem pretty common sense if you spend any amount of time in the kitchen.
I enjoyed her first book more. There are some things that I hadn't thought about before and some things I'll implement, but overall a lot of the concepts are things that seem pretty common sense if you spend any amount of time in the kitchen.
June 25, 2022
Excuse me this was so incredibly helpful I will be using it forever thank you
July 8, 2022
This book should have been waaaaay shorter than it was. If you read three chapters you’re pretty much done as the rest of the book just repeats over and over without giving much helpful advice.
May 24, 2022
A unqualified five stars. I wish I could go back in time and give this book to every woman lost in a standard kitchen.
July 17, 2022
This book is funny, practical and so encouraging.
July 20, 2022
Love love love this book. Kendra Adachi feels like the big sister I never had, who cheers me on and makes me laugh and helps me believe in myself. She’s just the best. In her book she sets up a strategic framework to follow that can apply to every corner of not just your kitchen, but your whole house and life. It’s pivotal and practical and personal and un-put-down-able.
“If the panic stays panicky, if the meal is gross, if everyone is yelling, it doesn’t change who you are as a person.
If the panic turns to euphoria, if the meal is amazing, if dinner ends with trust falls, it doesn’t change who you are as a person. Your value doesn’t come from how well you succeed or how dramatically you fail. Your value is rooted in love, not lists. Remember the love of your family, your friends, yourself, and the God who made you.” (pg 177)
“If the panic stays panicky, if the meal is gross, if everyone is yelling, it doesn’t change who you are as a person.
If the panic turns to euphoria, if the meal is amazing, if dinner ends with trust falls, it doesn’t change who you are as a person. Your value doesn’t come from how well you succeed or how dramatically you fail. Your value is rooted in love, not lists. Remember the love of your family, your friends, yourself, and the God who made you.” (pg 177)
July 5, 2022
Yet again, the target audience for this book is clearly white, middle class women, especially those that get married in their early 20s and have no idea what they’re doing in a kitchen. If none of that describes you,this book is probably not for you. Personally, I was extremely bored reading it, and don’t feel that I learned any new information.
November 11, 2022
Way too complicated for something that’s supposed to make your life simpler. All the invented terms and bolded words actually make it difficult to follow along with and apply, rather than reducing to the essentials. Don’t recommend.
February 24, 2024
Another absolute gem from Kendra. Did I need any of the advice in this book? Honestly, our current kitchen flow is pretty great (planning, cooking, cleanup, etc). But her writing style makes anything enjoyable to read. And the fun graphics/colors throughout the book made it even better. Also, Section 3 “use what you have” is a crazy helpful and specific compilation of lists of things that I guarantee anyone would be able to use some of right now.
If anything at all about cooking, or your kitchen, or grocery shopping, feels a little off, you need this book.
If anything at all about cooking, or your kitchen, or grocery shopping, feels a little off, you need this book.
May 20, 2022
Carrie says:
Reading this book was like having a conversation with a friend. Sure, that friend may give you tough love, but Kendra does it in a compassionate, funny way. She shares practical tips that anyone can immediately use in their kitchens, and I loved how she broke the kitchen into different sections to make your space seem not so overwhelming. The reminder to just do what works for you and not worry about what other people are doing was exactly what I needed to hear. Three words that describe this book: helpful, life-changing, and purposeful.
Reading this book was like having a conversation with a friend. Sure, that friend may give you tough love, but Kendra does it in a compassionate, funny way. She shares practical tips that anyone can immediately use in their kitchens, and I loved how she broke the kitchen into different sections to make your space seem not so overwhelming. The reminder to just do what works for you and not worry about what other people are doing was exactly what I needed to hear. Three words that describe this book: helpful, life-changing, and purposeful.
August 20, 2024
A fantastic guide from my mentor I’ve never met. As a disciple of the Lazy Genius podcast, I was pleased to find that in many ways Ive already “lazy geniused” my kitchen, so much of the first half felt like a refresher. The back section with cooking and meal prep tips was particularly helpful to me! I’ll read anything Kendra writes.
March 28, 2023
Fantastic.
May 11, 2022
Did I expect anything less?
February 15, 2023
If you're newly on your own and setting up your first home, read this book. If you're married with kids for 10 years, this may be basic.
September 28, 2024
Always love Kendra Adachi and her helpful doable advice. Now to get my husband to read this so we can implement workable changes for our family.
December 4, 2022
Enjoyed this one so much I returned the library book and bought my own! I will keep it in my kitchen and reference it often.
September 12, 2022
4.5 stars. Fun, practical, and informative. I enjoyed this book even more than her first.
May 21, 2022
The book you didn’t know you needed.
Written in such a warm style, this book is about becoming the boss of the most intimidating room in your house. I loved learning the science behind organizing my kitchen, meal planning, cooking terms and tools, and how the heck to know when to add salt, etc. Highly recommend!
Written in such a warm style, this book is about becoming the boss of the most intimidating room in your house. I loved learning the science behind organizing my kitchen, meal planning, cooking terms and tools, and how the heck to know when to add salt, etc. Highly recommend!
May 5, 2022
This book is geared towards helping you identify what matters most to you when it comes to cooking in the kitchen. I didn’t really get anything out of this book, because I was inadvertently implementing everything she suggests—kitchen zones, a few necessary tools, storage I love, pot to plate, making dinner earlier in the day. But it did help me pinpoint what matters most to me—and that is my mood! I hate menu planning, and I base my meals off what is on sale at the store. Breakfast is sometimes chocolate cake and often noodles. Also, my kids never ask what’s for dinner, which I find interesting.
I am at the season of life where my teens can cook dinner and do all the cleanup if needed. I definitely would have found this book more useful and relevant if I was a new wife or mom.
I am at the season of life where my teens can cook dinner and do all the cleanup if needed. I definitely would have found this book more useful and relevant if I was a new wife or mom.
October 1, 2022
I’ve followed Kendra Adachi online for several years — she’s like the kind, comforting and wise big sister we all wish we had. I read and enjoyed her 2020 “The Lazy Genius Way,” but the Kitchen is really where she’s at her prime. Not only is it a beautiful and bright addition to your kitchen/cookbook stack, but it’s so approachable and helpful, with a framework that can be applied to almost any context. Looking forward to a slow reread this winter and using the book to guide some lazy genius kitchen projects. Also made my first “Change Your Life Chicken” this past week, and it definitely lives up to its name.
May 25, 2022
Read this in an evening but want to return to many principles over the rest of forever. I love Kendra’s voice. Reading her books feels like getting practical advice from a big sister. She writes with such kindness and care for her readers and brings really practical ideas about organizing everything about a kitchen from the stuff in it to the stuff we make out of it. I’m ready to tackle my pantry and countertops and meal plan! Love love love her cheat sheets for how to cook chicken and flavors that work well together.
August 20, 2022
I love Kendra Adachi's no nonsense way of laying things out. I loved the Lazy Genius Way so I read this book, despite not really having any issues with my kitchen. It definitely made me realize I need to prioritize minimizing clutter (the thing that matters to me) and also gave me a few more ideas of how to organize and purge recipes. The end of this book was a lot of recipes and cooking advice that I had a hard time applying as a vegetarian, but still it was a good book.
Displaying 1 - 30 of 610 reviews