As the sun rises on Thanksgiving day, I will reflect on my life’s blessings. Above all else I am thankful for my husband and children who bring constant moments of clarity to a sometimes unclear world. I am thankful for the support of my family, the laughter and comfort of my friends, and those special moments of peace, when I can center myself, breathe, and appreciate all these gifts in my life. (more…)
Watch it wiggle, see them jiggle…and squirm, and meltdown, and bounce off the walls. Yup. I’ve seen it. My kids love jello, at least they did the two times I made it for them. But both times I cringed as I poured hot water over that neon colored powder, the overly sweet smell wafting up through the steam. But who am I to deprive my kids of that fun, jiggling food product that makes them giggle? I don’t have to. (more…)
As we head into fall, I find that my family starts to crave the cozy goodness of fresh popcorn. It’s a perfect after school snack on a gray afternoon and it makes a delicious accompaniment to a Sunday movie.
I know on the surface it may seem easier to grab a bag of microwave popcorn and throw it in for three to five minutes. But is it three minutes to fresh popped corn or three minutes to a chemical coated health risk? You be the judge… (more…)
A few fresh treats just for fun! Hope you all have a Happy Halloween! (more…)
What creeps you out the most on Halloween? Goblins and witches? Spiders and ghouls? Or is it the load of processed, corn syrup-laden, artificially flavored “treats” that will fill your children’s smiling plastic jack-o-lanterns? Bet I can scare you even more. Did you know that some of those well known candies they’ll be ingesting contain ingredients like TBHQ (a form of Butane)? TBHQ, believe it or not, is an ingredient in many processed food items ranging from candy to chicken nuggets. The following excerpt from author Michael Pollan discusses TBHQ in regards to it’s placement in a McDonald’s Chicken McNugget: (more…)
Last week we deconstructed peanut butter. This week we had to top it with a quick, healthy jam! Making jam is a summer routine for my family but it requires a few pieces of special equipment, quite a bit of time, and in my case, a couple of scorching burns (none of which make for a fast Out of the Box Food alternative). But since fresh, homemade jam can be such a treat, I knew we had to explore a quick and easy alternative for Out of the Box Food. (more…)
When you think of peanut butter what ingredient first comes to mind? Peanuts? Good. What else needs to be added to make it peanut butter? Was your answer nothing? You’re right! Nothing! But many of the nationally recognized brands of peanut butter contain other ingredients like hydrogenated oil and sugar. I grew up on Skippy Peanut Butter so I automatically bought what I knew (or thought I knew) for my kids. But now that I am looking at labels before buying products, I am steering clear of many of my good ol’ standbys. (more…)
You ready for this one? I’m not even sure if I’m ready to write about it, but it is DEFINITELY a food story that needs to be told. Over the summer I took my boys to a popular indoor playground in Los Angeles. You know the ones where your kids climb, swing, slide and basically wreak havoc for several hours in a padded room while you try desperately to tune out the constant drone of screaming? Yup, that’s the one. (more…)
Last week a friend suggested we take a deconstructed look at breakfast bars. As a working mother of two under four, her mornings are busy and rushed yet she wants to provide a healthy start to her kids’ day. One day in a pinch, she picked up a nationally recognized brand bar for the following morning’s breakfast. Ten minutes after eating the bar, her son was bouncing off the walls. That little self-proclaimed “health” bar, had turned a quiet morning into a wild, stress-filled kickoff to the day.
Aren’t school mornings challenging enough? (more…)
It’s the third week of first grade at our house, and already my children are coming home with processed food requests from their friends lunch boxes. Yesterday it was for “those cups of white and brown pudding that everyone has”. Okay, guess we’re going to push pudding cups up on the list of Out of the Box Food explorations. (more…)