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.
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.
Check out this cool new event … think about submitting/auditioning NOW if you’re a writerly type. There’ll be humor, poignant moments, and just motherly comaraderie. Ann Imig, a cool mommy/writer pal is organizing it. She’s HILARIOUS by the way, and if you don’t yet read her blog, you should! Check it out: www.annsrants.com.
More event details on the way. Hope to see you there! Wear your corsage!
—Mama Kate
Dear Friends, Loved ones, and People who may/may not be interested:
I’m directing and producing a show on Mother’s Day: LISTEN TO YOUR MOTHER will be an afternoon of readings by Madison writers on Motherhood at 3:00 pm, Sunday 5/9/10 at The Barrymore.
Auditions are scheduled for Saturday April 10th by appointment, and full details can be found here.http://www.listentoyourmothershow.blogspot.com
I am so excited about creating a new Mother’s Day Madison tradition. After brunch and seeing the lilacs, why not celebrate yourself or your Mom, Grandma, Aunt, Sister, Best Friend, or hamster by listening to authentic voices from women who know the beauty, beast and the barely-rested that is MOTHERHOOD.
Thank you for your help and I really hope you’ll come. Now, back to your regularly scheduled screen-time.
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!).
