My once curry-loving, kale-eating kid is no so picky that I’m a little worried about what to pack for lunch. I’d love to avoid the usual suspects: i.e., mac+cheese and PBJs, and the stuff I’m trying to avoid at the school’s hot lunch.
I’m sure you’re in the same boat.
So, Mamas, email me with your best healthy and yummy lunch ideas — send along a recipe if it’s not self-explanatory. I’ll compile and share the wealth of ideas in post.
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.
Check out the new resuable Sprout Change diapers available from The Willow Store, located in Verona, Wisconsin.
Who knew a single diaper could be so many things? They are reusable and thus washable, reversible, organic, local (they’re made here in Wisconsin), and, best of all, one size fits all (5 to 40 pounds), so no need to buy, NB, SM, M, LG wraps!
They’re also about convenience and comfort. The shell is made of waterproof fabric and features multiple-options snap closures for the right fit, gusseted leg openings to keep the messy stuff inside the diaper,
The SoftSleeve insert is made moisture-wicking microfleece or organic cotton fabric. Essentially, you slide a Sprout change Inside diaper (made of an organic hemp/cotton blend) into the sleeve, then insert the whole thing into the shell.The diapers are reputed to be twice as absorbent as cotton.
Willow Store’s SuperWipes are well, pretty super, too. I love that they are thick, and two-sided—one side is super soft, the other made of gripping terry to tackle sticky messes.
I’ve also been thinking about buying stock in a paper toweling company, since we use so much of the dang stuff around here. Forget it. I can go local and just buy a few packs of organic hemp fleece/hemp terry Willow Store’s Forever Cloths—one side is soft enough for your skin, the other is for scrubbing … just like the dipe wipe—in large or small sizes. Use. Then re-use. I like it.
If you ask me, and Maleah Moskoff, there is nothing so welcoming as a good cup of tea.
Where to find one? Check in with Moskoff’s Madison-based Cha Cha Tea, an online tea purveyor site. One of her business’s mantras—“Take Time for Tea”—captures the beauty and benefit of tea: It makes us slow down. I think we all need a little of that.
Moskoff is a tea enthusiast. And, when she’s not busy caring for her young son, she’s working bringing the good stuff—locally blended high-quality, organic and fair trade loose teas from around the globe—to the masses, at least in this part of the world. (World-wide, tea is the #2 consumed beverage.)
She recently schooled me in the particulars—the fact that tea is like wine, influenced by terrior, how to brew a perfect cup and in the most economical way, and most importantly what NOT to do when preparing that cup (do NOT heat your water in the microwave!).
I love the Earl Gray Black Organic & Fair Trade, a rich, citrusy mouthful; Citrus Mountain Oolong, which is light and floral with jasmine flowers, lemon myrtle and essential orange oil; and Blueberry Rooibos, safe for the kids, it contains no caffeine and packs a refreshing, fruity, sugar-free punch (I am thinking of long cool drinks of it on ice this summer).
Worried about minutes and torn between the perceived coffee-pot convenience and the tea-brewing process? Moskoff aims to dispel the myth that a great cup of tea takes too much time to brew. Put your water on the stove to boil (or thereabouts, depending on your tea choice), add tea to your filter, then steep for 3 to 5 minutes. I added that time up—really, it was just about how long it takes my coffee maker to brew me a nice hot cup. And, you know, I find that a cup of tea is just a much gentler way to contemplate my day.
Cha Cha sells more than 50 outstanding teas, as well as tea pots, tea cups, and other artisan-made items for serving, preparing and enjoying tea.
Now that I’ve discovered Cha Cha Tea, I don’t think I’ll buy a box of pre-packaged tea bags from the grocery store again! SO glad that this mompreneur has enlightened me.
If you haven’t yet been to Bloom Bake Shop in Middleton, then you need to head on over. Now. The pics above—of some of Bloom’s nibbles—should be enticement enough!
Annemarie Spitznagle bakes up absolute deliciousness in her quaint corner store. She’s all about organic, sustainable, locally grown and just being green. We definitely like that, especially when it comes to eats for us and our kids.
A visit there is an exercise in the limitations of will power: I find myself standing in front of the case saying, “You can only have one, no two. OK, maybe three.” It’s hard to decide just which cupcake or bar or brownie or cookie or truffle to walk off with. Ahhh, if only she offered flight bites—mini bite-sized cupcakes and cookies, so I could try them all at once!
Among our favorites are the “Be Classic” vanilla and rich chocolate “Be Deep” vanilla cupcakes. And the Whoopie Pies! They’re huge and moist with marshmallow creme filling. Those are among her list of standards, with other flavors appearing seasonally.
I try to avoid wheat and dairy, so I’m a big fan of Bloom’s “Be Kind” gluten-free and vegan offerings. The pink velvet cupcake was perfection: moist and flavorful, not dense and gluey like the gluten-free goods that have come out of my kitchen and other bakeries. (Bloom is more than happy to bake up a big batch for you to store at home. Spitznagle is also willing to try things out: If you have a fave gluten/dairy free recipe or flavor, she wants to hear about it!) I also dream about the gluten-free, vegan chocolate chip cookie. It’s die for, especially if you like the taste of coconut with your chocolate, as Bloom makes them coconut oil instead of butter.
Hmmm, can you tell that we love the sweet bites at Bloom? And, as always at MomAppeal, we love her sustainable/local focus, and that it’s an example of another Madison-area mom putting her creativity out there to make great things happen—for the rest of us to enjoy!
Add this to your must-do list for Mother’s Day (uh, if it’s not already on your calendar, that’s Sunday, May 9):
After brunching it with the fam, grab your partner, favorite mommy pals, and maybe even your own mom, and head to “Listen to Your Mother.” It’ll be an afternoon of readings from some of “us”—12 Madison-area writerly “moms in the trenches” who read about the “beauty, the beast, and the barely rested that is motherhood” as we know and know and usually love it.
“Listen to Your Mother” kicks off at 3 pm at the Barrymore Theater on Atwood Avenue in Madison. Tickets are $10, available at the door, via phone, or online. Given the nature of some of the readings (aka “the beast” of motherhood), this is a perfect opp to line up a sitter and enjoy a little mommy time sans kiddos. A portion of the proceeds will go to “The Road Home,” a Dane County organization that finds solutions for homeless families.
Event sponsor Happy Bambino is hosting a giveaway—worth $300—that includes brunch for two, tickets to the show, a Happy Bambino gift certificate, and other goodies. Check out Happy Bambino’s blog for more details.
