Make-at-Home Yogurt Drink

What kid doesn't love a yummy yogurt drink? Yogurt drinks are fun, often portable, and full of tummy friendly probiotics. My beef with the store bought brands though, is that even the organic all natural brands are often packed full of sugar. One I bought not to long ago had a whopping 25 grams of sugar in one small bottle!

I got the following idea from my smarty pants Mama friend, Seana. Making my own yogurt drink at home is easy, cost effective, and I control the contents! I use whole milk, whole milk plain yogurt, all natural juice (just a splash) with no sugar added and a tiny bit of agave. There are all natural, chemical free food colorings you can buy at Whole Foods too if your little one would appreciate a little fun color too. My tot, Violet loves this drink in a spill proof cup with straw. Easy peasy!

Aliment, Copyright 2012

Vi also likes this because she can feed herself, which she loves to do...and I like it because she doesn't quite have the dexterity for spoon feeding herself drippy droppy yogurt yet. 

What little tricks do you use to make your own versions of more sugary store-bought items?

Bon Appetit!

Tamar

School Lunch--Packed Consciously at Home

                                                                                        Source: drfuhrman.com via Brittany on Pinterest

     This school year our family has decided to start packing lunch for school. While I believe our school has come a long way in offering healthier meals for our kids, and I truly appreciate the efforts of the lunch staff to provide an entire Gluten Free lunch menu for the handful of kids who suffer from Celiac Disease there, the bottom line is: my family needs to save every penny these days! School lunch is reasonably priced, but with three kids buying every day we would be spending more than if we packed our own. Not to mention, that as well as the school does with their menu...I feel even better when I know exactly what my kids are eating and where it is coming from. I like that I can control the quality of the meals I prepare for them, where it comes from, and the portions. My kids have really big healthy appetites (which would surprise you because they are itty bitties) I try to serve them fresh fruits and veggies that are local and organic more often than not. I steer clear of overly processed foods. I'm not trying to sound like a food snob here, I'm just saying this is the ideal I am striving for, this is what I want for my kids. Packing their lunches myself means I can meet my goals more fully.

     With such "high ideals" for healthy meals, it should come as no surprise to you that I am also concerned about many of the chemicals found in conventionally made food storage containers and lunch boxes out there. The good news is that many companies are jumping on the bandwagon now and either removing harmful things like BPA (to name only one) from their products or creating new products made from things like stainless steal, silicone or even cloth! If you've been following us over at Ladies Holiday then you know how much we love AgainBags reusable snack and sandwich bags. I have been coveting the LunchBots bento boxes for some time now, but my wallet keeps saying "No!" to me, boo.

*Be that as it may...if any kind soul over at LunchBots wants to send me something to try, I'd be happy to give it a whirl and tell everyone why they are worth the money!! :)

     I was absolutely delighted--only one day after deciding that I'd start packing school lunch--to literally just happen upon these nifty lunch boxes from SmartPlanetHome.  I had been wandering my local BJ's Wholesale Club while waiting for my new car tires to be mounted and BEHOLD! There they were. With great excitement I present to you, the consciously made collapsible ECO Lunch Box, made from silicone (dishwasher and microwave safe, BPA free.) The best part? On the SmartPlanetHome website these beauties cost $17.99...while I'll say I still think that is a great price in comparison with similar products out there, I probably couldn't have afforded to shell out the cash to get one for each of my three littles. BUT, at BJ's, I spent only $9.99 each! What a steal!!

     From top to bottom you will see:

• The ECO Lunch Box comes with minimal packaging (one thin sleeve of plastic and no paper but for the label.) 
• The ECO Lunch Box collapses to a slim, easily store-able size, but then pops open to DOUBLE it's size with lots of room for good, healthy eats. 
• It has secure, yet easy to use, snap closure lid on all four sides.
• Comes with a built in spoon/fork/knife (fork has a serrated edge to use as a knife--genius!)
• A nicely sealing small silicone cup on the top outside of the lid holds condiments.
• I packed my gluten-eater, Isaac, a PB&J on whole grain bread, strawberries, and multi grain chips, it all fit nicely.
• My two gluten-free kiddos got a Mom-Made-Gluten-Free-Lunchable on their first day using the ECO Lunchbox. Shown above (clockwise from the top right): Sharp cheddar, Applegate Farms Turkey Slices, Driscoll's Organic Strawberries, garden fresh cucumber, and packed in the AgainBags snack bag (to keep them from getting wet next to the fruit) Food Should Taste Good brand all natural chips called "The Works."

     I was a little nervous that first day, I'll admit it. Would they have trouble opening the box or putting the lid back on properly so there wouldn't be a mess on the way home? Would their food stay fresh? Well, they didn't seem to have a problem with the lid, they loved their lunches so I assume they hadn't spoiled to the point of smelling or tasting bad. I am still in search of an insulated lunch tote that will fit these babes (won't fit in a regular 9" lunch tote) in fact, I've got my eye on this one--but all in all I am loving this product. I did notice on the SmartPlanetHome site that there are smaller sized containers (square one compartment or round with two compartments, see them here) that would likely work for most kids and fit in regular lunch totes. For my kids though, the larger size was the way to go! Another thing I might try is getting some small, non-toxic cold packs that could lie flat in the bottom of the large section to keep a tuna sandwich cold (or the like.) I'll let you know how it goes.

     In other lunch system innovations, I know Seana from the Ladies Holiday team bought a couple of the PackIt lunch totes for her kids this year and is loving them! If I can fit one of our ECO Lunch Boxes into a PackIt, then you better believe I will be hopping on that train...especially because they have a great BOGO offer right now!

     What eco friendly lunch systems have you tried? What do you like? I'd love to hear!

All packed and ready to go, 

Tamar

 

Giving Thanks at Mealtimes with Children

For some people, saying grace or giving thanks at meal time is a given because of religious adherence or simply because acknowledging the meal and effort involved feels right.

For those of us who do not have such habits or have let them lapse, incorporating an “attitude of gratitude” for the abundance of food we have available to nourish and sustain us, is a great practice to start.

Below are a few reasons we can offer our children of the importance of giving thanks and can be adapted to suit your child's level of understanding:

• We live in a time when, for most, food is in abundance, but that isn’t and hasn’t always been the case and still to this day scores of people go hungry.

• To prepare a meal takes effort and deserves to be acknowledged.

• The food procured, at the supermarket or farm stand, requires money for which someone had to work to earn it.

• If the food was grown by your family, it is nice to acknowledge the part you played in getting it to the table.

• The farmers, workers from the fields to the factories that had a hand in the production process can also be acknowledged.

This isn’t to say, we go out and thank them each in person or that they can actually hear us, but the energy we send out when we give thanks is positive and overall creates an environment of gratitude. Studies show the benefits include: stress reduction, immunity boost and the ability to not only take better care of yourself but better deal with unexpected events.

To bring gratitude to the table with my children, I typed up several mealtime prayers that I was familiar with, asked around for more and also scoured the internet. I then printed them out, trimmed them and “laminated” them with self-laminating sheets- so smudges could easily be cleanedThen I put them in a decorative basket on our table and each night at dinner we take turns “drawing” an offering of thanks and reading it aloud. We also hold hands. Various stuffed animals are also sometimes invited to the table to join paws and hands.

My children enjoy the surprise of a new prayer and over time have made up some of their own. Aside from eating together at the table, giving thanks at dinner has connected us to each other, our sources of sustenance and the greater world.

Please add any prayers, blessings or offerings in the comments box that you or your family enjoys!

In gratitude & Bon Appetit,

Deirdre