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.

Thanks!

—Mama Kate

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

We’re taking some chill time. See you back in a few weeks!

—Mama Kate

Congrats to Kristi T.  … hope Baby A’s bum is happy in the wrap!

— Mama Kate

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.

Win a free Sprout Change dipe with insert and SuperWipe!! Just visit the Willow Store web site and email me at MamaKate@momappeal.com 

with your favorite product from the company. We’ll draw and announce a winner on Monday, July 19, 2010.

—Mama Kate

We love anything sustainable, and are looking forward to visiting Jordandal Farms—which practices sustainably in Argyle, WI—for this year’s “A Day on the Farm.”

It’s sponsored by REAP Food Group—Research, Education, Action and Policy on Food Group, focused on building a regional food system that is healthful, just, and both environmentally and economically sustainable.

The day features a farm tour, kids activities, oohing over baby farm animals, and getting up to speed about Jordandal’s sustainable practices with the farm’s owners. A farm-fresh picnic-style meal will be served up by some of Madison’s finest chefs Madison Club, Restaurant Magnus, Dayton Street Grill, and Tornado Steak House.

Here’s what else you should know about REAP: The organization is all about making local farm-to-table connections easy, supports small family farms, and also organizes the Farms to Schools program (YAY! Keeping it fresh by connecting our local farmers with our schools’ food needs), and the excellent “Food for Thought Festival,” Burgers and Brew, and Pie  Palooza, among other events, in Madison each year. Check those out — and don’t miss the organization’s local coupon book.

Date: Sunday, July 18

Time: 11am-3pm

Advance tickets (recommended!): Adults, $20; kids 12 & under, $12; kids 3 and under, free.

For more details and to order tickets, visit REAP’s site, or call 608.310.7836.

—Mama Kate

        I like vintage shopping, so I’m kinda digging the fashions at ModCloth, which sells, yep, vintage, plus indie designers’ cleverly named vintage-inspired pieces. Online. Awesome. Now I don’t have to go dig through musty over-stuffed racks of clothing, and can just sip a Sidecar while browsing the Internet from home.

Their selections and styles seem to span the eras. Besides clothing, they’ve got shoes, accessories (who doesn’t need a great cloché for fun?), fun (and funny ha-ha) knick-knacky stuff and books, etc., for the “apartment.”

I can see myself now, outfitted head to toe, as I hop a vaporetto in Venice to head over to Peggy Guggenheim’s for a party.  They’ve got some techie geek job openings in their San Fran offices. Maybe I’ll implore my husband to apply so I can enjoy the staff discount.

— Mama Kate

“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…

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.

Want to learn more? You can have ‘Tea with Maleah,” your own private tea party during which she guides you in tastings and even parings that highlight the beverage.

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.

— Mama Kate

Hope you and your kids enjoy singing along as much as my fam does.

—Mama Kate