Whining 'N Dining

Ideas for a Zero Waste Lunch

This Sunday, I had the privilege to join Sarah Auerswald Mar Vista Mom, Annie Barnes of InspireTheChange.com, Jennifer Taggert of TheSmartMama.com,  Emily Carey of ScrappyNaps, and Melissa Davis of Melissa’s Food Blog to display products and discuss ideas for a no-waste school lunch at the Mar Vista Farmers' Market. I was on hand to offer up school lunch ideas.

We had quite a table filled with fabulous products to keep it green and eliminate waste. In fact, you must, must visit Mar Vista Mom's site to enter her giveaway through Oct. 26 (she's giving away one of EACH of the below items!!) .

 

Here is the snackTAXI. The snackTAXI is a cloth, reusable snack / sandwich bag. It's amazing that one reusable bag has the potential to eliminate an average of 1000 plastic bags over its lifetime! snackTAXIs are lined with coated nylon, and can be machine washed and dried, or simply wiped clean with a damp sponge.

Click here for more info / to purchase.

Next up is the Tasty Lunch Tote by Built. One local mom who popped by the booth said this was the best lunch box that she has found hands down. Plus it is easy to wash.

Click here for more info / to purchase.

The Goodbyn Lunch Box is made out of safe, durable plastic. It comes in a variety of animal shapes and colors plus stickers for your child to decorate. Fun!

Click here for more info / to purchase.

Everyone's favorite of the day was the adorable Scrappy Naps by Emily Carey. Reusable placements that have a convenient little pouch for utensils. How many times have I been at a restaurant and wished that I had one of these?! Too many too count. They come in an array of eye-popping, whimsical designs.

Click here for more information / to purchase.

Laptop Lunches are an uber cool way to tote your eats to school. Gotta love all of the separate compartments for picky kids like my girl who fret over the sandwich touching the fruit. Plus they have a great user guide to inspire you as you fill it up each day.

Click here for more info / to purchase.

If you need more ideas for a waste-free lunch, check out the School Lunch section of my Amazon store for other great products.

 

Le Petit Lunch Set

Reusable sandwich bags are ALL the rage in school lunches these days. It's even cooler when you discover bags like the Le Petit Lunch Set, which I happened upon on Etsy.com today. (If you don't already know about Etsy.com, I would LOVE nothing more than to be the very one who shows you the fabulous site for handmade goods. Many of which are made by other mamas and daddies out there).

The Le Petit Lunch Set is made with 100% unbleached cotton and is machine washable. It's a 7x7-sized bag, which is basically your standard Ziplock sandwich bag size.

Now I'm hungry for a sandwich (oh and some almonds, too).

Happy Snacking! Great New Snack Container for Toddlers

If you are a fan of the Snack Trap, then you can appreciate the importance of containing a toddler's snack to minimize the spillage in your car. Now there's the Muchie Mug, which appears to have a lid that's a little harder for your rascal to remove (our problem with the Snack Trap). Have you heard of it? I've gotta get my hands on one of those.

Click here to read a review from our friends at Z Recommends. If ZRecs claims it's "the best snack holder ever," it must be pretty darn good.

Traveling for Turkey Day? Healthy Snacks for the Road or Sky

“Are we there yet?” “I’m hungry!” Sound familiar? Traveling with kids can be, well, challenging to say the least. And eating well on the road can be even more so.

Whether you’re going on a road trip or traveling by plane, careful planning for a family trip is an absolute necessity. And you must prepare for the unexpected delays and snafus along the way. After many family trips, I can say that snacks or lack thereof can make or break a long trip. If you forget the all important snacks, you are at the mercy of fast-food chains and airlines who may only serve you peanuts for a cross-country flight. This year, Food & Wine has come up with the Ultimate Airport Dining Survival Guide to help you find the best of airport dining.

Here are some suggestions for you and yours to be snack savvy on your next trip:
•    Make your own sandwiches / pack a picnic if traveling by car.
•    Try to eat balanced meals / snacks. Think complex carbohydrates.

o    Peanut butter and whole wheat crackers
o    Turkey, cheese and spinach wrap in a whole wheat tortilla

•    Pack fruit and veggies that are easy to access and not so messy.

o    Bananas
o    Apple slices
o    Orange slices or easy-to-peel Clementine’s
o    Veggie sticks (bell peppers, carrots, celery)
o    Shelled edamame
o    Grapes
o    Dried fruit / raisins

•    Remember to bring breakfast (which often gets the short end of the stick on a busy travel day).

o    Make nutritious mini-muffins (such as bran or oatmeal).
o    Give everyone a smoothie in the car on the way to the airport.
o    Bring portable yogurts and fruit.
o    Pack cereal, granola and / or protein bars.

•    Use ice packs if traveling by car for longer than 30 minutes with any items that are perishable (such as eggs, milk, meat, salad, cheese).
•    Put all of your snacks in small, reusable containers to facilitate easy access in your bag and refilling for the return trip. Hit Trader Joe's before you get on the road. That place is the healthy snack emporium!
•    Bring napkins and wipes for easy clean up. Don’t forget bibs!

Age-appropriate Snack Ideas

For babies:

Travel with Baby: How We Can Help

Seats & Eats: Some Things To Know Before Traveling With Your Baby

For toddlers:
•    Raisin boxes or bag of dried fruit
•    Cereal bars
•    String cheese  / Laughing Cow  / or other cheese slices with whole wheat crackers
•    Apple slices
•    Rice cakes
•    Graham crackers
•    Individual applesauce or fruit cups
•    Bags of cereal (Cheerios, Wheat Chex)

For preschoolers / elementary school children:
•    All of the above
•    Get them involved in the snack preparation
•    Sandwiches (PB&J or turkey wrap)
•    Trail mix
•    Granola bars
•    Bag of grapes
•    Bag of shelled edamame
•    100-calorie packs of crackers
•    Veggie sticks and white bean dip
•    Whole wheat pita bread with hummus
•    Celery sticks with peanut butter
•    Banana chips
•    100 % fruit leather

The Snack Planner from Whole Foods

Thank you, Whole Foods, for your handy Snack Planner. The good folks there have basically laid out ideas for a week's worth of healthy snacks for your kids. They know that you're trying to squeeze snacks between piano lessons and soccer practice, so many of their ideas are perfectly portable. Also, they ensure that you'll child gets in their whole grains and the recommended 9 daily servings of fruits and veggies.

If you are a parent who is on the go with your kids, trust me, you'll be grateful for this chart!

Click here for the link. Happy Snacking!

Meals on the Go: Japanese Balls

Tonight's featured recipe idea inspired me to create a new category, "Meals on the Go." Especially since many of us parents are constantly racking our brains for portable meals.

I thought this was such a great idea to feed an older baby or toddler on-the-go. It's from one of my new favorite blogs, Weeliscious.

Can't wait to make these, wrap'em up and take'em to the beach or zoo or picnic. After all, summer is almost here!