Posts filed under 'food item'
My 5 year old starts kindergarten, so I’ve got lots of back-to-school thoughts and supplies on the brain right now (more to come …). Particularly, I’ve been on the hunt for safe, reusable, and plastic-free food containers for packing up breakfast and lunch.
Check out these cool Snack Taxis. Perfect for snacks and sandwiches—even grownup-sized versions—they are water resistant, easy for kids to open, washable and thus reusable. Plus they come in a multitude of cool patterns. Good-bye plastic baggies! The company also makes lunch sacks and reusable napkins. Buy ‘em online or at retail location near you (see they list on Snack Taxi’s site).
Also love To-Go Ware’s stainless steel Sidekicks for snacks, yogurt, etc., and the two- and three-tier Tiffins, great for keeping foods separate. Check out the carrying sacks and reusable utensils, too.
— Mama Kate
August 26th, 2010
Come to the Capital Brewery on Sunday, June 6th from 2p-6pm to enjoy great music by Natty Nation, Capital Brewery’s brews, fun kid’s activities and amazing Ethiopian food —all while supporting Clinic at a Time, a wonderful grassroots organization that helps the people of Ethiopia!
“The goal of the organization is to improve the quality of health care for the poor and the underprivileged communities in the Province of Gojjam, located in northwestern Ethiopia. They do this by collecting and providing medical supplies; helping to improve existing public health care facilities; 
helping to build new facilities; and providing health care-related information and education to health care workers and the community.Working from her home – with no paid staff and virtually no “overhead” costs – Mulu is able to commit 100 percent of the donations collected for CAAT toward improving health conditions in Gojjam.
Everyone working with CAAT is doing so on a volunteer basis. And because of her lifelong ties to the community, Mulu can work directly with regional government authorities, civic organizations and community volunteers there.”
“CAAT is truly a unique organization. Because of Mulu’s personal connections to people in the region – and because of CAAT’s lack of “bureaucratic red tape” and expenses for office space and employees that that larger organizations must cover – donations to CAAT will have an immediate and direct impact on the health care needs of the region.”
*If you cannot make it to the event, but want to make a donation, please visit Clinic At a Time. There is such a great need…
June 4th, 2010
How have I lived in Wisconsin, nearly all my life, and never known about this deliciousness?
Snow ice cream. It’s simple. No fancy machines or gadgets necessary: Snow, milk, sugar…and whatever else, like chocolate sauce, or sprinkles, or fruit, or brown sugar and cinnamon and nuts, or ???
Here’s what we did. Fill a cereal bowl with about a cup of clean snow, pack it down well (the Madison, WI, snow is perfect right now) and add more if there’s room in the bowl. Add sugar (1TB), unsweetened cocoa powder (1/2 TB), and heavy cream (about 1/4 c to 1/2 c … wait, guess that would be 1/3 c). Stir it up. Eat. Repeat.
My kids told me I should go out and get my own bowl, and stop tasting theirs. So I did. I mixed mine instead with chocolate soy milk. It was fab, and the calorie count’s a little sweeter on the waistline (heavy cream is, gulp, 50 cals per TB with 3.5g sat fat, 20mg protein, 0 sugar and protein):
1 cup snow
1/2c chocolate soymilk
90 cals
1.75g fat
.5g sat fat
7g sugar
4g protein
0 cholesterol
Thank you Mama Theresa for cluing me in (my kids bless you for it, my waistline may curse you if the snow keeps accumulating!).
It’s a new reason not to shovel. Enjoy!
—Mama Kate
February 22nd, 2010
Families!
Get your taste buds out and get ready for some good eats—and play a little game in the process. Bean Sprouts Cafe is looking for VIPea Taste Testers to test out the online recipes that with the cafe’s Bean-GO game!
This healthy twist on Bingo is a great way to get kids to try to new taste (read: fruits and veggies). To play, get out your Bean-go card and let the kids pick a food to try. Together with your kids, follow the provided recipe to make the delicious eats. Cross off each new food after your kids try it, until they get five in a row. Or, play “blackout,” in which each square must get crossed off. Winner gets a reward! (Perfect reward: Make an entire meal or snack of their favorite tastes or recipes! I think my kids will get an extra few Ring-a-Bing-Bing Cherry + Chocolate Chip Cookies washed down with a double-sized Super Star Fruit Smoothie!)
A Bean-go card activated with a recipe for each taste is available on the Bean Sprouts web site. Be sure to rate the recipes—you and your bitty bakers can pass along your expert taste bud and prep chef advice for Bean Sprouts’ new book “Bean Appetit: Hip & Healthy Ways to Have Fun With Food.”
Food IS fun!
—Mama Kate
February 10th, 2010
I gotta say, I am digging Gwyneth Paltrow’s GOOP website/newsletter, whose mission is to “nourish the inner aspect.” It’s filled with lots of ideas, both hip and helpful (well, and some not so at the moment—though I do love anything foodie oriented, I, sadly, don’t envision I’ll be lunching with the kids in Barcelona or London any time soon, or purchasing any designer fashions until my next life …). About every week or so, I get a nifty, conversational email about the idea of the week (and hey, it’s from Gwyneth, no less!). GOOP is wrapped around six main categories: Make, Go, Get, Do, Be, See. And, Miss GP includes plenty of family- and mommy-friendly ideas. GOOP features expert advice aplenty. And, there are lots of celebrity hooks—recipes and restaurant ideas from GP buddy Mario Batali, Cameron Diaz’s “green list,” DJ AM’s party jam picks, gal pal Madonna’s fave books, and so on—and that’s kinda fun. Essentially, though, I find it a great resource and collective of ideas—info on things alternative (healing modalities, for example), travel ideas (for my future files…), general food for thought (parenting ideas from experts). Back on that foodie note, I absolutely love the recipes GOOP features—a great variety that runs the gamut from family friendly to vegan, dairy-free, meat-free, super healthy deals that sound truly delicious. One friend had great success with Gwyneth’s detox diet (minus 6 lbs in one week) … that’s one aspect of GOOP I’ve not yet checked out, but hope to soon!
—Mama Kate
July 3rd, 2009
Two parents, who were having trouble getting their 5 yr old to want to eat anything other than hot-dogs and macaroni and cheese (we’ve all felt those struggles), came up with the aptly named Food Game to banish their mealtime issues!
This game is easy to use, teaches kids the different types of food (proteins, starch, vegetables…) and keeps kids engaged and not bored while eating —they get to spin a spinner and find out what to eat next! Kid’s love that! Also, look at the great way the board fits into mealtime. There is an orange spot where your child’s plate sits on the gameboard !
After using this game, many parents who could not get their kids to sit at the table, or eat broccoli have been amazed to see that this game actually has helped their child to do just that. I bet this game would absolutely keep my daughter eating the whole variety of foods offered to her as well as keep her wanting to stay at the table for longer periods of time.
Phenomenal!!!
Mama Jen
February 18th, 2009
Fresh off a Sharpie high, after labeling all of my preschooler’s clothing and gear, these landed in my inbox. Label Daddy peel-and-stick stickers would have saved me a little chunk of time, and a little aggravation … maybe it’s just me, but it’s pretty hard to write neat little names, let alone initials, on some of those teeny tiny, shiny, slippery tags.
Two California dads who’ve been through the process came up with this brainstorm. They’ve created a variety of sticker types, which can be personalized with your child’s name. The allergy notes boldy declare your child’s triggers. Shirt tag labels fit those tiny labels I mentioned above, and the shoe labels come laminated for extra durability; in fact, all labels can be laminated to repel dirt, sunscreen, etc. Sport labels are UV resistant.
As an extra cool measure, you can further personalize all your labels with different fonts, icons and colors. And, you can even go the photo route: use an image of your child, instead of name or initials. The labels and stickers safe in the microwave, dishwasher and laundry.
Other labels in the company’s arsenal will help keep you organized, from garbage bin, return address, and spice labels, to small- and medium-sized all-purpose labels.
I think these snazzy little things will help me keep tabs on my kids things — and mine — in the school years ahead.
— Mama Kate
January 27th, 2009
As the school year approaches and normal life takes effect after all the sun-soaked summer days we have enjoyed, how do you regularly prepare for healthy dinners when your energy is low, you may not be feeling well, and you are running your kids from here to there and everywhere? The Dinner Spin is here to save the day!
We wrote before about the ultra-helpful, Oprah approved, Six o’clock Scramble, but there is a new kid on the block—Janis Bowers’ Dinner Spin, a wonderful website where you can receive a weekly menu of healthy dinners AND a grocery list. Nice!
The healthy recipes Janis prepares helped her husband significantly reduce his cholesterol and the whole family get regular healthy dinners and avoid fast food pitfalls. Now you can have at it too!
The website also includes freezer recipes to help you prepare for a busy time, cooking tips, holiday or special occasion recipes, side dishes and a forum where you can chat about your forays into cooking.
You can try the recipe for free for two weeks and after that you can subscribe for 3 months for $21, 6 months for $36, or 12 months for $48. Not bad at all!
Happy Cooking!
Mama Jen
August 25th, 2008
We’ve found another kids cup to love: The Safe Sippy by Kid Basix.
Bret Plate, a father of two, was worried about the toxic components of plastics and how they may leach from his kids’ drinking cups and into their beverages. In search of a better alternative, he designedbeverage container of food-grade stainless steel, inside and out. All plastics used on the product are certified or tested free of BPA and pthalates (the company says it pays for independent lab tests to ensure the cups are free of these substances). The interior no-spill valve is made from silicone. Why are there no plastics on this cup, then? As the company says, nobody wants to sip on a steel straw.
The no-spill valve isn’t absolutely leakproof; the company admits that while the valve will prevent major spills, there still will be drips and dribbles when the cup is inverted. I haven’t found a perfectly hermetically sealed sippy cup, so I can live with a few drips. And I appreciate that this one’s easy to put together, and has saved us from those leaks caused by “assembly-mom error.” The removable outer sleeve adds a nice grip-factor for kids, especially if you choose not to use the sleek little handles, and also insulates cold drinks from their little mitts.
The Safe Sippy is easy to clean, and is dishwasher safe. We wash ours the fast, easy and green way: in the recommended solution of baking soda, vinegar and hot water, the same way we wash our other stainless steel containers.
And, well, the cup’s styling is just plain cool. It comes in three great color combinations: stainless steel and orange paired with bright blue, turquoise or hot pink. In fact, it’s so cool, my kids fight over the single Safe Sippy we have. Guess I should finally purge all those plastic cups and stock my shelves with these.
Mama Kate
August 18th, 2008
My inner Martha Stewart is making a rare appearance these days before she goes back into her usual hibernation….I am organizing a family cookbook!
My husband’s side of our family put together a wonderful family cookbook that each family member can go to when looking for their family’s favorite recipes etc…I loved the idea and wanted to do it for my side of our family.
I found a phenomenal site called Heritage Cookbook. Even Oprah likes it…
The best part of being able to make and publish your family cookbook with this site is that everyone you want to contribute can enter their recipes on their own. You simply sign up, add your desired contributors, and an email is sent to them to invite them to join in on your cookbook adventure! This saves the cookbook organizer from needing to decipher family penmanship and enter in all the recipes. Ugghh…the horror!
Make your own cookbook if you are a “culinary queen,” gift a collection of your family recipes to your mom for mother’s day, or make a cookbook to sell and donate the proceeds to charity! Actually 5% of your purchases to this company go to charity. Also, they only print on FSC approved paper so Heritage Cookbook.com has that great green thing going for them! Great great stuff!
The customer service here is top-notch. When you email Susan Love, the creator of this site a question or comment, she gets right back to you with whatever information you need! That is so valuable!
Enjoy!
Mama Jen
April 8th, 2008
Previous Posts
