Healthy Lunches with No Waste....

My oldest son has started pre-school two days a week and we are adjusting to the new schedule (life has just been busy). The pre-school we send him to is not close to our house, so Brody and I stay up in the area and run errands so we don't waste gas or time. Plus, I figure grocery shopping might be easier with one :) Because we do this, Brody and I also need to pack a lunch on these days.

I have to tell you about easylunchboxes.com. A friend of mine told me about them and I am so glad she did! They make packing lunches easy, and much less wasteful than using tons of plastic baggies. I love that it has 3 compartments, because it makes me be more creative with what I pack for them and I find it is a healthier lunch. I can give them to the boys in the car and the act like a little tray. It is an easy way for them to eat their lunch. Having a child with food allergies, we pack lunches and snacks all of the time when we go out and this system has been a lifesaver!

We packed a family picnic this past weekend (there are four of us) and we each had two easylunchbox containers in each cooler (and we had two coolers). There was also room inside the cooler for an ice pack and apples.

This is similar to the new bento luchbox system and you can even buy pieces to add to make your easylunchbox.com more creative/functional. Check out the gallery of some of the lunches that have been packed using this system.

Due to overwhelming demand, they are currently sold out of container sets....BUT a new shipment arrives Mid-October (which really isn't that far off). Place your order now and they will include a FREE cooler bag that fits with the container sets (a $7.95 value) as a thanks for your patience.

Picking Apples....

One of the activities that we can do, that is food related as a family, is pick local produce. This past spring/summer, we picked strawberries, cherries, blueberries, peaches, went into our garden and gathered our harvest or took a trip to the local farmer's market.

It is such a wonderful feeling to see Brody pick fruit right off the tree/bush and be able to eat it with no worries! Besides the wonderful health benefits of vine-ripened fruit/produce, supporting local farms and knowing where our food comes from, it is such a treat for a family who has food allergies! Then I get to come home and make safe treats with the yummy fruit/produce.

This past weekend, we were able to visit Mercier Orchard and pick our own apples (the apples are herbicide and pesticide free) and were less than $1 a pound. We got to eat the apples right off the trees. They were the best apples I have EVER eaten (the Jonagold's were my favorite). The boys had a great time riding on the tractor up the hill to the many rows of apple trees. We went into the country store afterwards and were able to taste fresh apple cider...it was wonderful! I couldn't leave without buying some fresh apple butter (ingredients: apples, spices....LOVE it!)

I realize you might not be able to go to Blue Ridge, GA to Mercier Orchard, BUT I was in Whole Foods yesterday (in Cool Springs) and they had Gala Apples on sale for .99 a pound from Mercier Orchard!!!!! In the refrigerated section near the produce, they also had Mercier Orchard apple cider.

No matter where you live, I encourage you to find a local apple orchard and make some memories by picking and then making some yummy treats for your family.

If you know any good apple orchards near by (Nashville), let me know...we are still looking :)

Deal on Grass-Fed Beef at Whole Foods!

What a DEAL! On Friday, September 3rd you can get Grass-Fed Beef for $3.99 lb at Whole Foods. I will be relaxing at the beach on a much needed vacation, but I will see if I can find someone to help me stock up :)

While you are there, stock up on Simply Orange Juice for $2.50 for 59 fl oz....this is normally $3.50 or more....this is a SUPER deal! We LOVE this OJ (especially when it is on sale!)

A Day of Hope....

Team Allergen Free Please at the FAAN Walk

Things have been busy around here lately! We just finished up our first FAAN walk in Nashville, TN! We had 670+ walking to raise awareness. It was a beautiful day at Centennial Park and the company was wonderful!

I can't tell you how it lifted my spirits to meet other families who deal with similar struggles on a daily basis. It is just nice to be reminded that you are not alone. I can't tell you have amazing it was to have safe products all around us! I felt like a kid in a candy store. It was SO exciting!

We got to sample Divvies 2010 FAANtastic cookie contest winner choco-lot brownie cookie (I am eating one as I type...OH MY GOODNESS...it is DECADENT!). It says on the wrapper 1 for you + 1 to share...umm...this didn't happen :) Divvies is free of nuts, eggs and dairy. Epi Pen is treating you to 10% off enter promo code: EPI at checkout.

Enjoy life was there with coupons, soft baked snickerdoodle cookies, soft and chewy caramel apple snack bar and cinnamon crunch granola. It is great that Enjoy life is free of the top 8 allergens (milk, eggs, soy, wheat, peanuts, tree nuts, fish and shellfish).

Lucy's gave out Cinnamon Thins and Oatmeal Cookies (free of gluten, milk, eggs, peanuts and tree nuts). My favorite one was the Cinnamon Thins, they reminded me of fall.

Sunbutter handed out coupons and samples of their sunflower seed spread that is perfect for on the go!

We also got cool freebies and info from Epi Pen and FAAN, got to meet local asthma and allergy doctors and had fruit and water donated by Whole Foods.

I left with my bags full of safe goodies, my heart full of hope and felt rejuvenated and uplifted by all of the wonderful friends and families coming together for the same cause!

Bolthouse Farms...Feel Good About What's In This Bottle

We make our own smoothies at least twice a day, but I have found a drink/smoothie that is ready to drink that is SUPER yummy if you do not have time to make one yourself.

Bolthouse Farms has varieties of fruit smoothie drinks that are delicious on their own or you can use them in your own homemade smoothie and add even more nutritious ingredients to it.

So far, my favorite is C-Boost Fruit Smoothie because I love mango, but I have to say that I like the Green Goodness. I think because it is green, I feel like it packs a nutritional punch; it includes veggies (broccoli and spinach). In the Green Goodness, one bottle contains 3 3/4 servings of fruits and veggies. The USDA recommends that we eat 7-13 servings of fruits and vegetables a day, so this helps towards the daily goal. I am always looking for a way to get in our servings, since I am learning how important fruits and vegetables are to the health of my family.

Bolthouse Farms is 100% Juice/Puree (the three smoothies that have the below information are Green Goodness, C-Boost and Berry Boost...these are the ones that I bought)

• Gluten Free
• No Preservatives
• No Artificial Flavors
• No Genetically Modified Ingredients (LOVE THIS!!!!!!)

On the back of the bottle, it tells you what is in the bottle, for example, in the C-Boost it has 3/4 mango, 29 acerola cherries and 2 3/4 apples. I am such a visual person; I think this is so cool!

HERE IS A DEAL: if you have a Kroger nearby, you can stock up on some! A 15.2 FL oz bottle is $3.29, but they are buy one, get one FREE. So it comes out to $1.65 per bottle (which is a great deal for this smoothie). I have been looking for the bottles with the expiration dates that are farther out and I am stocking up. WE LOVE THESE! I think I am addicted. Grab some and tell me what you think! This deal expires on 9/11 so you still have time :)

Buddy Fruits-Pure Blended Fruit To Go

Obviously, eating fresh fruit is the way to go....but sometimes you want to give your kids a "treat", need something fun to keep them happy while you are out and about, or a new idea to help them eat more fruit. Buddy Fruits are perfect!

Buddy Fruits....Pure fruit and absolutely nothing else. All natural, no added sugar

No preservatives

No colorings

No additives

No fat

No genetic modification

No water added

No dairy or gluten

Nothing artificial

Only few calories

Only fruit and nothing else!

And they are allergen free!

Fun Info: 1 pouch equals 1 serving of fruit. It is recommended that we eat 7-13 servings of fresh, raw, fruits and vegetables every day. A serving is about the size of your fist.

Buddy Fruits

Easy to carry anytime and anywhere

-fits in pockets, lunch boxes, etc. It is very flexible.

No spoon, No mess

Re-sealable! Cap fits back on tightly

-LOVE THIS! Put the cap back on, and save the rest for later. How convenient?

Baking Idea- use them to add more nutrition and flavor to muffins, pancakes, etc and make them moist at the same time. Just squeeze the amount of fruit you want into your mix and then put the cap back on, put it in your refrigerator and save the rest for next time.

Where to buy Buddy Fruits

Power of Fruit-Frozen Fruit Bars

With almost 100 degree temps around here, we have been beating the heat with cold treats!

When I saw the Power of Fruit-Frozen Fruit Bars and read the ingredients, I was in LOVE! I am a label reader (as I am sure many of you are), and to see just fruit, fruit concentrate and water with no added sugar, colors or preservatives...I knew this was a product that I could feel good about letting my kids indulge in and wanted to share with you.

Because they are made of just fruit, they are also Allergen Free!

Power of Fruit™ Bars are purely delicious fresh fruit, frozen. Unlike other frozen fruit bars that claim to be natural, we have no 6-syllable ingredients or laboratory additives that would disqualify us from a spelling bee.

We blend whole fruits like strawberries, cranberries, blueberries, mangoes, pineapples and bananas together with just a little all-natural juice concentrate and water. That's it. Just don't tell your kids a bar is equivalent to ½ a daily fruit serving.

Stay Cool, Healthy and Allergen Free!