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3 Delicious Organic Lunchbox Lunches

August 28, 2015 1

Organic Lunches

School just started, however your student may be getting sick of seeing the standard PB&J in her lunchbox (or you’re sick of making it!) I know this happens in our family – Eben will want the same thing for lunch for a few weeks and then all of a sudden as I am packing lunch – he chimes in that he wants something different! If you are struggling for new lunch ideas, it’s time for a box-lunch upgrade! Read on for three new lunchbox standards that your child will be asking for again and again.

#1 Wraps and Burritos
Wraps are a great way to get a few servings of healthy vegetables into your kid’s day. I like to make extra chicken breast at dinner the night before and combine it with cucumbers, avocado, lettuce, tomatoes, carrots—you name it!—into a hearty wrap the next day. Make sure to include a healthy fat like avocado and a protein like garbanzo beans or feta cheese so that your student gets a balanced meal. Burritos are one of my all time favorite lunch foods and I haven’t met a kid yet who didn’t like them, too! Create a healthy version by combining black beans and brown rice and a sprinkling of cheese. Send some avocado slices, lettuce, or tomatoes in a separate container and the meal is complete.

#2 Homemade Soup
Hearty, homemade soups and chillis are a great fall and winter lunch to send to school with your kid. The next time you make a big pot for the family, portion some out into jars or Pyrex containers and freeze or store the portions in the fridge. On lunch morning, simply heat up the soup and pack it in a thermos. Add a slice of seedy, whole grain bread and the meal is a winner!

#3 The Re-done Lunchable
Instead of serving your kids the highly-packaged, preservative-laden lunchables that come from the grocery store, create your own using healthy ingredients. Put together whole grain crackers and organic cheese with fruit and nuts or hummus with carrots, celery, pita bread, yogurt (right now – the Stonyfield Petite Creme’s are Eben’s fave!) and almonds for a more filling, much more nutritious alternative.

What are your favorite organic lunches to send to school with your little ones? What’s the new PB&J in your household?

6 Eco-Friendly Lunchbox Essentials for Green Kids

August 26, 2015 0

Now that the kids are back at school – you are probably testing out the new lunchbox. If you are like me, it can be hard to find the perfect lunchbox essentials. We have had a hard time with the lunch bag being too small, containers leaking, water bottles that won’t fit inside the lunchbox and even worse, the lost lunchbox. Over the years, we have fine tuned Eben’s lunchbox and have found 6 essentials that we highly recommend – all of them are eco-friendly too, read on to check them out!

1. Large Reusable Insulated Lunch Bag $35
Over the years we have tried out quite a few eco-friendly lunchboxes, the key is a lunchbox that is insulated and large enough to hold everything including a water bottle. For Eben it also helps if it has a handle to carry it by – since adding another bag to his shoulder isn’t an optimal option. I love this one printed with EAT on the front. Such a fun statement at lunchtime!

2. Hen House Lunchbox Napkins (6) $25
Reusable fabric napkins are a must for the lunchbox – these fabulously designed ones from Hen House Linens add a pop of color and whimsy to the lunchbox. We loves our and have found them to be super durable too.

3. Contigo Reusable Water Bottle $25
I adore Contigo products – I am a huge fan of the reusable water bottles and coffee mugs. These are large enough to hold a sizable lunchbox drink for Eben, keep his drink cold and they don’t leak! They also have a fantastic kids line with insulted food jars perfect for soup or chili on a cool fall day.

4. Island Picnic Reusable Organic Cotton Snack Packs $17
Pretzels and Popcorn and Nuts – oh my! These organic snack packs are the perfect size for packing those back to school treats! I pack Eben a couple of snacks every day and these are perfect for keeping the snacks together!

5. Wean Green Reusable Glass Lunch Cubes $6-12
These are by far my favorite reusable lunch containers, we use them every-single-day. They come in an assortment of sizes that fit perfectly inside a lunchbox, are made from non-leaching glass and the lock seal means no leaks EVER.

6. SwaggerTags $4
Never worry about a lost lunchbox again – Swaggertags are a fantastic way to identify your child’s lunchbox without giving too much information away (you have to open them to see the identification – the outside is customized by you with any photo!) They come in a selection of fun colors too and are guaranteed to not fall off. Perfection!

What is a must have for your child’s lunchbox? I would love to hear – leave your comment below!

Starbucks Gets Real: Real Food for a Healthy Planet

August 24, 2015 0

Starbucks Gets Real - Real Food for a Healthy Planet 1

Starbucks is giving their top selling Pumpkin Spice Latte a makeover this fall, marking a positive change for the environment. The coffee giant is updating their recipe to include real pumpkin, and they’re making other changes too, like eliminating the artificial caramel coloring from their drinks. The change comes as part of the growing real food movement and bodes well for both our health and the environment. Jump over to The Keeper Blog for the whole story!

4 Green, Healthy Snacks for School

August 19, 2015 0

snacks.jpgSchool children are growing their bodies, brains, and personalities and eating right is key for the healthy development of all three. With so much junk available to kids these days, we thought we’d provide some ideas for delicious, nutritious snacks to send to school with your kiddos. Buying non-GMO and organic when possible is far healthier than buying conventional. Read on for 4 green, healthy snacks for school.

#1: Fruits and Vegetables
Seasonal, organic fruits and vegetables are such an important part of your kids’ diet. Check out your local farmer’s market or CSA to see what’s in season, or visit the local or organic sections of your grocery store’s produce aisle—the cheapest, most abundant produce is usually what’s in season! Kids love carrots and ranch dressing; you can also pack cut up cucumber, radishes, tomatoes, broccoli, and snap peas with a yummy dressing or homemade hummus for a fiber or protein boost.

#2: Nuts and Seeds
One of my all-time favorite, classic snacks (and one I know most kids love) is organic apples and peanut butter (I buy the kind you have to stir because it’s made without palm oil). You can also substitute almond butter if you’re trying to avoid peanuts or sunflower seed butter if your kids can’t do nuts at all. Nuts and seeds are packed with Omega fatty acids, regulate blood sugar, and provide a protein-fat boost that lowers cortisol and helps stressed kids calm down. My favorite trail mix to pack as a snack is a combination of almonds, walnuts, dark chocolate pieces, dried cherries, and dried blueberries—it’s an Omega-3, super food power snack!

#3: Whole Food Bars
Whether you make your own or purchase a nutritious option, bars that are packed with protein, fiber, and good fats make for a great snack that will keep your kid full and focused throughout the afternoon. Check labels: it’s best to buy organic, non-GMO, whole food bars that are made especially for kids because they’ll pack the right amount of vitamins and be lower in sugar. Choose nuts, seeds, and dried fruits over sweet bars that will just make your kids crave candy.

#4: String Cheese
String cheeses are so much fun to eat and they’re the perfect little pick-me up as a mid-morning or –afternoon snack. Most are under 100 calories so they won’t make kids sleepy but are full of fat and protein to give their brains and bodies the little kick they need to make it to 3:00. I like to pair a string cheese with a piece of seasonal fall fruit.

What school snacks do your kiddos gobble up? Which ones come back home in their lunchbox?

Wine Is Sunlight Held Together By Water: Quivira Vineyards And Winery Review

July 31, 2015 5

To those of you who know me, this will be of no surprise, I love wine. I mean I really, really love wine. I am always looking for new organic and biodynamic wines that I haven’t tried before. Last night the mister and I enjoyed an evening wine tasting sponsored by Quivira Vineyards and Winery.

Quiveria provided us with a 2006 Zinfandel (Anderson Ranch, Dry Creek Valley) and 2008 Grenache Rose (Wine Creek Ranch, Dry Creek Valley). I would like to share what I loved about these wines and Quivira Winery – would you like to hear?

Quivira Vineyards is a small, family owned biodynamic and organic winery located in the heart of Sonoma County’s Dry Creek Valley and was founded in 1987. Through biodynamic and organic processes, they craft fabulous wines made from grapes grown on the estate’s vineyards. Biodynamic farming is a philosophy that treats a farm as a self sustaining system, that is responsible for creating and maintaining it’s individual health and vitality without external or unnatural additives.

Quivira’s artisan wines are produced in small lots, and from handpicked vineyards. They are committed to sustainable development and biodynamic farming. Quivira has been awarded certification through the Demeter Association. Products bearing the Demeter Association symbol has been grown by biodynamic agricultural methods according to very specific and rigorous standards.

Quivira’s sustainability practices include a creek restoration project to restore the Steelhead and Coho salmon population within Wine Creek, a small creek that runs through the Quivira estate. Also, to add to Quivira’s sustainability choices, it is a solar powered winery.

Now, let’s talk about the wines! The 2008 Grenache Rose was fully dry with hints of wild strawberries. It has a beautiful salmon-orange hue and was presented in a long elegant bottle. This would make an amazing holiday or hostess gift.

The 2006 Zinfandel was smooth, full bodied without being overbearing and had a fabulous mouth fill. It also had a beautiful rich color and excellent legs. Usually, I am partial to white wines, but this Zinfandel has won me over. It made it to my favorites list.

In a nutshell: Quivira Vineyards and Winery is focused on making the best wine possible, using sustainable farming practices and with as minimal impact to the land as possible. Now, that is something I can drink to. Cheers!

Give Quivira Wines a try and let me know what you think?

Have you tried biodynamic/organic wines? What are your favorites?
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