LilSugar

A Few of Lil's Favorite Things: September

LilSugar — Tue, 02 Sep 2008 13:00:00 -0700

Send your kids back to school with a hardy lunch in hand. While your children may be focused on hitting the books, there's no time like the present to make sure they are mindful of the world around them. Help them choose an Eco-friendly lunch box or lunch sack to tote and store their mid-day meal. These reusable options are economical as you won't have to invest in any brown paper bags and environmentally conscious since they make for limited debris. Don't forget to tell your tots to toss their leftovers in the compost bin.

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School Year's Resolutions: Eco-Friendly Lunch Boxes

LilSugar — Tue, 04 Aug 2009 12:00:00 -0700

Brown paper bags are so passe. Make sure your child isn't outcasted at the earth-friendly lunch table by buying them an eco-friendly lunch box that helps reduce waste. Unlike the green lunch carriers of years past, today's bags are cute, kid-friendly, and serve many purposes. Check out a few of our favorites:

Kids Konserve lunch kit comes with a stainless-steel bottle, two stainless-steel containers with leak-proof plastic lids, a reusable baggie, a cloth napkin, and both a recycled aluminum name tag and recycled cotton lunch sack all made from nonleaching, BPA-free, lead-free and phthalate-free materials.
Munchlers Backpacks come in three cute polypropylene designs that unzip right into a place mat. The insulated bags easily fit lunch and a beverage.
The Lunchsense Lunchbox Set is BPA, PVC, and phthalate free, and comes with four food containers, a drink bottle, and a reusable ice pack. It opens up flat so it can be used as a place mat as well.
The lead, PVC, BPA and phthalate free Gator Tots Lunch Bag is large enough for a large lunch and keeps foods cool throughout the day. Its retro fabrics make it fun to look at too.
Cartoon and movie-loving tots will love Zak Design's phthalate-free lunch totes that feature every character from Spiderman to High School Musical.
Crocodile Creek's fun designs are a great alternative to character-driven ones. The eco-friendly bags even have an outside pocket for notes, utensils, or extra lunch money.
The Land's End Critter Lunch Box is a classic that has been lead and PVC-free for years.
Fleurville's Lunch Pak functions like a backpack that is insulated and ready to hold a midday meal. The lean and PVC-free bag also has storage compartments for holding projects from school.

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Are You Nutritionally More Lenient With Snacks Than Meals?

LilSugar — Fri, 22 Jan 2010 12:30:00 -0800

"Mommy, I'm hungry!" Even an hour after having breakfast or lunch, lil ones' stomachs seem to find a way to ask for more food. A handful of goldfish crackers here and pack of graham crackers there, snacking has become big business. In the food section of yesterday's New York Times, a reporter took a look at the endless snacking that goes on with her own children and their classmates. She found:

Between 1977 and 2002, the percent of the American population eating three or more snacks a day increased to 42 percent from 11 percent, according to a large study of American nutritional habits conducted by the Agriculture Department with the Department of Health and Human Services.

While we may work overtime to prepare healthy and nutritious meals, with only the freshest organic ingredients, when it comes to snack time, many mamas seem to grab whatever they can to appease their tots' hunger tantrums, even if it means cookies, cakes and candy-like treats.

What is especially baffling where I live, in Los Angeles, is how often the kind of parental paranoia that obsesses about school ratings, vaccines and myriad imagined plagues is matched by utter disregard for the nutritional downsides of mowing down Fruit by the Foot every afternoon at 4. Rarely do I see a parent show up on the soccer field with a homemade snack, or even a bag of carrots.

Are you as careful with the snacks you give your kids as you are with their meals?

Ecotot: Healthy Lunchboxes You'll Be Proud to Pack

LilSugar — Thu, 21 Jan 2010 09:00:00 -0800

Packing lunch and snacks for school-age children can be a tricky chore. My little school gal loves apples, fruit leathers, and cheese sandwiches one week, and despises them the next. While you can't plan for alterations in their taste buds, you can map out how you will pack the goods.

FitSugar suggests whipping up new lunch habits for the new year and I couldn't agree more. Anything will taste better if it arrives in a BPA-free Goodbyn lunchbox ($30), which can be decorated and toted about town without spillage or daily plastic bag waste. Looking for something smaller or less detailed? Try one of the colorful options below. Who knows, the new carrier may trick them into eating their greens.

School Year's Resolutions: Lunch Box Makeovers

LilSugar — Thu, 13 Aug 2009 05:00:34 -0700

You've moved from brown bagging munchies to an eco-friendly lunch bag, so now it's time to upgrade its contents! Get out of the everyday sandwich rut and start getting creative with what you pack to sustain your kids.

Shape up. Simply changing the shape of the food you are packing can make a big difference. Use cookie cutters to create sandwiches that will put a smile on your lil one's face.
Roll it up. Use creative "packaging" to put a sandwich together. Wraps and pitas can add some interest to the lunch box, as can turning an ordinary tuna sandwich into a sushi-style roll.
Put it on a stick. String some fruit and veggies onto a stick for a mini-kabob that looks more enticing than fruit in a baggie.
Repurpose dinner. Cook up some extra pasta at night and mix it with fresh vegetables and some protein to make a tasty cold noodle salad.
Build it up. Put the ingredients for a nutritious sandwich in the lunch bag and allow the kiddos to build their own creation, in the order they want.
Make it brunch. French toast and fruit salad can easily make their way into the lunch box for a fun alternative.

For some added inspiration, check out these books filled with lunch-bag-ready recipes.

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Delilicious: After School Snacks That Won't Spoil Dinner

LilSugar — Thu, 27 Aug 2009 12:00:34 -0700

Breakfast was a brain-stimulating balance of eggs, fruit and whole-grain cereal, their lunch bags may have been filled with sandwiches cut into fun shapes. But once the children walk in the door from school, all they can think about is their growling stomachs.

Satisfy your hungry students with after-school snacks that provide nourishment without killing their dinner appetite. Skip the cartoon character decorated, pre-packaged snacks and give them something inspiring. The key to keeping it healthy and exciting is having fresh ingredients on hand – be it leftovers or an assortment of fruit and vegetables that are already washed, cut and ready to go. Try some of these ideas.

Ants on a Log mixes protein and vegetables and look fun on a plate.
A brown paper bag filled with air popped corn is healthy and reminiscent of a trip to the theater.
Left over sloppy joes can be added to small whole wheat rolls for some fun-to-eat sliders.
Rachael Ray's Banana-sicles are as fun to make, as they are to eat.
Homemade smoothies can be made with frozen fruit, making them a perfect treat year round.
Open the freezer and have your children munch on frozen grapes or yogurt tubes.

What is your child's favorite after-school snack?

School Year's Resolutions: Eco-Friendly Backpacks

LilSugar — Thu, 06 Aug 2009 05:00:14 -0700

Send them off to school with the right pack on their back. When selecting the prefect bag for lugging books, art projects and supplies to school, eco-conscience parents know that avoiding knapsacks with shiny plastic designs will help limit their child's contact with PVC and lead. Selecting an eco-friendly backpack does not mean forgoing style for function. Take a look at some of our favorite selections:

Dante Beatrix's "Big Kid Eco Pack" is made entirely from recycled plastic drinking bottles with naturally biodegradable canvas trim. Available in three designs, the bags are the perfect size for elementary school kids.
Bazura's small messenger bag is 100 percent lead-free, made from non-biodegradable juice containers. Each bag saves landfills from being clogged by the foil juice containers.
The Fleurville Kids Backpack is lead, PVC and Teflon-free, and includes a removable lunch tote to help keep everything together when not in use.
Ecogear's Ecozoo packs are perfectly sized for younger schoolchildren and feature adorable designs. Made from organic cotton canvas with non-toxic dyes and sustainable wood components, kids will want to take these "pets" with them wherever they go.
Known for their durability, Land's End's eco-conscience knapsack is made from 100% recycled fabric.
Though it costs a pretty penny, the Reactor Solar Backpack is integrated with a solar charging unit that can be used to power cell phones, iPods and more. Designed for older elementary kids, the backpacks will provide a whole education on the power of solar energy.

Enter to win a $1,000 wardrobe for your child from Tea Collection!

Mural Meals on the Go: Ants on a Log

babysugar — Tue, 11 Aug 2009 06:00:33 -0700

After a Summer filled Popsicle fest, most kids face a let down in the fun food department as PB&Js get shoved into plastic bags for a run-of-the-mill lunch day. Moms can keep up the feast festive with easy and nutritious mural snacks that will have lil munchers grinning. Pull out a trick that mama taught you and craft some "ants on a log" with three healthy ingredients: celery, peanut butter, and raisins. Strip the celery's skin so tots don't get string stuck in their chompers. Cut the stalk into two to three inch pieces and fill them with peanut butter. (If you have a peanut-free rule at your school, you can substitute cream cheese or another spreadable filling.) Finally, place raisins on top and voila, you've got yourself ants on a log!

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More Kids Saying Embarrassing Things

babysugar — Fri, 07 Aug 2009 13:05:39 -0700

"Mommy! She has big chi chis!" My 2-year-old daughter shouted this at a woman behind us in the airport security line. I quickly responded, "Yes honey. If you are good and eat all of your lunch, you can have your 'chi chis' for a special treat. They are in the backpack." Pursing his lips to contain his laughter, my husband surveyed the situation and looked at our completely confused child and said, "That's right. Mommy's got the candy in her bag." Candy was all she needed to hear to get her mind off of the huge "chi chis," and our embarrassing moment was over. We got quite a few good ones from our readers, and I've recently heard some other goodies worth sharing. Tell us some of your own in comments.

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Ecotot: Kids Konserve

LilSugar — Mon, 20 Apr 2009 13:00:01 -0700

Think about all the disposable goods that go into a packed school lunch - plastic baggies, aluminum foil, wrappers and often times, a paper bag. Children each generate an average of 67 pounds of lunchtime trash every year. Chance Claxton and Lynn Julian, founders of Kids Konserve, were appalled when they read that statistic. Taking lunch into their own hands, they created a re-usable and waste-free lunch system that appealed to both parents and kids.

Their Signature Waste-Free Lunch Kit ($40) comes with a stainless steel bottle, two stainless steel containers with leak proof plastic lids, a reusable baggie for items like sandwiches, cheese and cut apples, a cloth napkin, and both a recycled aluminum name tag and recycled cotton lunch sack. All of the kits products are made from non-leaching, BPA-free, lead-free and phthalate-free materials. To continue educating tots about the benefits of recycling, the company has also launched the Waste-Free Lunch Challenge, offering schools the opportunity to sell the kits and earn 25 percent of each sale. With Earth Day just two days away, switching to a reusable lunch kit may be the easiest way to begin greening your life.