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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!

Back to School: 3 Reasons to Let Kids Pack Their Own Lunch

August 25, 2015 1

kid lunch

Back to school time is here which means busier mornings and evenings.  Finding the time to prepare and pack nutritious, homemade lunches every morning or evening for your kids can be challenging with homework, family dinner, extracurricular activities, and social time all packed into a few hours before bedtime. Some parents may feel frustrated to see half their carefully prepared lunch return home in the lunch box, too! There are so many reasons to teach your kids to pack their own lunch for school; read on for our top 3.

#1: It’s a Time and Energy Saver
In the beginning, especially with younger kids, you’ll put in extra time and effort while you supervise your child in the kitchen as she learns to use new utensils and skills. Once she gets the hang of it, though, she’ll take pride in the responsibility and the fact that she gets to make decisions about what to feed herself. After the confidence and excitement set in and her lunch-making skills solidify, you can sit back and relax while the lunches seem to make themselves!

#2: It Teaches Your Children Good Nutrition
One of the best parts about letting your kids pack their own lunch is letting them decide what they’ll eat tomorrow. In the beginning, it’s wise to let them choose just one item, like a side or drink, and work up to total decision-making power about lunch. During this process, try to let go a little. Kids who choose cookies over carrots time and again will eventually learn that they don’t feel as good come afternoon as they did when mom was packing a healthier option, and will begin to attune to their own bodies and intuitive cravings.

#3: It Gives them a Green Perspective
Kids who are involved with the entire lunch process—from preparing and packing to bringing home, emptying, and cleaning containers—are more able to notice the amount of waste produced by packaging and uneaten food. If they’re responsible for cleaning out their lunchbox before making tomorrow’s lunch, they’re also likelier to choose foods and portions that they know they’ll be able to finish the next day to save themselves the trouble of dealing with the stinky remnants they didn’t eat today.

Allowing your children to prepare their own lunches empowers and teaches them. If you stick with it, in time you’ll have raised a very healthy, efficient, lunch-making machine! Has your family passed off lunch-making duties to the kids?

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?

6 Time Saving and Eco-Friendly Back to School Organizing Tips

August 17, 2015 0

bux

As a parent, I feel that one of the most important tips for back to school is being organized. I have shared a lot of my tips in the past, however, there are still so many other tips that I haven’t mentioned. Most of these tips are very simple and will save you time, energy, money – and in the long run will save the environment too. Read on to learn my 6 favorite back to school organizing secrets – get organized now so the first day of school will run smoothly!

#1: Get Yourself Ready First!
Tip number one is the most important tip that I can give you – get yourself ready first! If you try to get your children and yourself ready at the same time each morning – you are going to be overwhelmed. When Eben was younger, I would get up a couple of hours before he did – while it may seem early, I was able to exercise, tidy up the house, shower and get myself ready – all before he woke up. I never felt stressed when something popped up – because I was ready, and I could jump in to help fix any of the morning mishaps. (and believe me, over the years, there were plenty!)

Back to School Tip #1 – get yourself ready before your child gets up!

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#2: Build Chores In!
All children should have chores. Chores are great on so many levels, they teach children responsibility, pride of ownership, it builds character, and what Mom couldn’t use a little extra help around the house. It doesn’t have to be a long list of chores, instead it can consist of making their bed, feed and take care of animals, tidying their bedroom and packing up their supplies for school. After school, you can add in a few more – walking the dog, unloading and loading the dishwasher, setting the table and helping pick up the house.

#3: Snack Station!
Giving your child easy access to the best, healthy snacks for school is easy when you incorporate a snack station in your pantry and refrigerator. When Eben was younger,  we had a pantry snack station and a refrigerator snack station (you can see the lunchbox packing station here). It helped a lot too – because now that Eben is a teenager, he is pretty good at picking healthy snacks on his own.

Give your child easy access to healthy snacks by incorporating a snack station in your fridge.

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#4: Breakfast is Ready!
Eben is not a cereal type of kid – he doesn’t like cereal, any cereal. Period. However, we don’t always have time or feel like whipping up a hot breakfast in the morning. Our solution, we make them ahead of time and either refrigerator or freeze them. This way he always gets his choice of his favorite breakfast items (these items are always healthier than a boxed cereal anyhow) and it makes for a quick and yummy breakfast time, with foods he will actually eat. And of course I also keep the refrigerator stocked with his favorite fruits and organic yogurt to go with breakfast too.

#5: Lunch is Ready!
If you have a lot of lunches to pack in the morning and find yourself spending too much time on it, consider packing your lunches the night before. Consider making a little more dinner, and packing the leftovers for your child’s lunch. Eben always loved this because he would have much rather had shish-ka-bobs, or a homemade soup for lunch over a sandwich any day! It is also a great way to give your child’s lunchbox menu a lot of diversity, the lunch is ready to go and your child is more likely to eat their lunch everyday.

#6: Bag the Equipment!
When Eben was younger, he had swimming as his P.E. activity – instead of running around every Friday morning looking for his swimsuit, swim shirt, goggles, sunscreen, and towel – I packed everything together in a bag and it stayed there. When he brought home the wet clothes on Friday afternoon, I would toss the entire bag in the laundry room and wash and repack the swimming bag for the following week. Then, it would go on a designated hook in our mudroom and would be ready to go. This same tip can be used for any sport or activity that your child has particular clothing for – just pack it and forget it.

What eco-friendly and time-saving secrets do you have for back to school?
Please leave your comment below – they support us all in living a greener lifestyle.

5 Benefits of Bamboo Bed Sheets

August 14, 2015 1

5 Benefits of Bamboo Bed Sheets Note from Sweet Greens: Meggie Haneckow

Bamboo bedding has incredible benefits for you and your family. Below are a few of the benefits that bamboo bed sheets and comforters provide.

1. Environmentally Friendly
Any bedding made from bamboo is environmentally friendly whether its bamboo bed sheets, bamboo comforters, or bamboo duvet covers. Bamboo is a grass that grows back on its own even after it is cut down. This means that it is a naturally renewable resource and using bamboo in textile production reduces our reliance on nonrenewable resources. Any changes that we can make to reduce our reliance on nonrenewable resources helps to protect the environment.

2. Hypoallergenic and Chemical Free
Organic bamboo bedding is naturally hypoallergenic and also chemical free. Truly organic bamboo bedding is never treated with chemicals in any step of its production. Even while it grows, bamboo isn’t treated with chemicals because it doesn’t need pesticides to protect it. During textile product companies avoid using harsh chemicals and dyes so the bamboo can keep all of its beneficial qualities.
The hypoallergenic and chemical free qualities of bamboo bed sheets make them a great option for infants and children. Buying bamboo crib sheets or twin size bamboo sheets can help relieve your children’s allergies so they can breathe easier and sleep through the night.

3. Antibacterial
In addition to being hypoallergenic and chemical free, another benefit of bamboo is that it is naturally antibacterial. This is because bamboo bed sheets and comforters wick excess moisture away from your bed at twice the rate of cotton, the fabric traditionally used in bedding. Less moisture means that bacteria can’t grow as easily as it can in traditional bedding, leaving your bed healthier than ever before.

4. Temperature Regulating
Since bamboo bed sheets and comforters wick moisture away, they reduce the presence of humidity in your bed. As we all know, humidity is the enemy in extreme temperatures. By eliminating humidity, bamboo bed sheets and comforters can keep you cooler in the summer and warmer in the winter since the moisture isn’t aggravating the extreme temperatures.

5. Softer and More Comfortable
Bamboo bed sheets are also surprisingly soft. In fact, organic bamboo bedding is even softer than cotton. The threads of bamboo have almost a plush feel, making them extra soft and cozy. Bamboo bed sheets and comforters wrap you up in a cocoon of luxury and comfort, which makes your bed a haven from the hard-working world.

With all of these benefits, bamboo bed sheets are great addition to any home, which makes them the perfect gift.

To find the perfect bamboo bed sheets, bamboo comforters, and bamboo duvet covers, shop at Cozy Earth! Cozy Earth has the softest, most environmentally friendly bamboo bedding on the market today. With Cozy Earth bamboo sheets, you can sleep soundly knowing that you have the best bedding in the world.

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