Banana Muffins - Dairy Free and Egg Free

My little guy is turning 2 on Friday. Hooray! In preparation for his party, I bought fun cupcake liners yesterday and when he found them on the kitchen counter this morning, he pleaded, "Mama! My want a muppin peez." Really, how can you say no to that? 

As it happens, we had four bananas that were desperate for muffin making, so we set to work. My son gets a big thrill out of pouring and stirring -- this particular batch has about three times the recommended cinnamon - but he was having such a good time, I just let it go. They still taste pretty good! And with no added sugar, these are a nice snack. 

Years ago, my daughter went to preschool with a child who had dairy and egg allergies so I found and refined a recipe for vegan banana muffins that I could safely bring into her classroom. It has become my go-to recipe any time I'm baking with my kids. They love to lick the bowl so this egg-free recipe is a winning solution for everyone. 

Dairy and Egg Free Banana Muffins

Ingredients: 

• 4 super ripe bananas

• 1 1/2 cups all purpose flour

• 1/2 tsp baking soda

• 1 tsp baking powder

• 1 tsp cinnamon

• 1/2 tsp salt

• 1 tsp vanilla extract

• 1/2 c vegetable oil

• 1 c applesauce 

Preheat oven to 350. 

Mix all dry ingredients together in a small bowl. Set aside. In another bowl, mash the bananas. Add vanilla extract, vegetable oil and applesauce and mix together. Add dry ingredients to wet ones and stir to combine. We like leaving the banans slightly chunky. 

Pour into muffin pan lined with cupcake liners and bake for approximately 22-24 minutes. Makes about 12 muffins. 

Let cool for 10 minutes and enjoy! 

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Celebrating Dads

In my house growing up, Father's Day was always a big deal. Mother's Day too. It's the kind of holiday that some families celebrate big time and some not so much. We're part of the big time section.

My dad is an involved dad in many ways but he isn't the guy who sashays up to the grill and serves up a meaty feast -- my mom takes care of that. On Father's Day, Dad relaxes, usually on a deck chair, and soaks in some sun surrounded by the mayhem of grandchildren.  At some point in the afternoon, we all gather to open little presents and cards - homemade and store bought. This is how it's always been on Father's Day and since my husband became a father 6 years ago, it's pretty sweet to watch him get into a similar groove (though he quite enjoys the whole grillmaster thing). 

This weekend to celebrate the wonderful contribution of dads everywhere, LaLa Lunchbox is running a half price special on the app. If you know of any dads who might appreciate taking part in their kiddos' lunch planning, please spread the word! ​

Happy Father's Day!​

Working Kids and Customer Feedback

I had my first small business at the age of eleven. My mom let me and my friend Dana make our own lemonade (from real lemons) and open up stand down the road from the house where I grew up. 

After that there was a hamster breeding business (I learned a whole lot about life from that one) and a jeans-with-patches business and a jewelry making business and a fimo clay housewares business. 

Each of them has been great fun and each of them has been an outgrowth of a personal interest. I still have the labels that I had made for Gillian's Gems and my sweet mom still has some of the necklaces and the Fimo clay salt and pepper shaker set, among others. 

My parents always encouraged this type of entrepreneurial activity. There were fabulous lessons to be learned from each of them: a lemonade stand that's more visible sells more product; always separate the dad hamster from the newborns; don't spend more on beads than you can charge for a necklace; the list goes on. But the best thing about each adventure was understanding how customer feedback helps businesses of all kinds improve. 

• The lemonade was too tart. We sweetened it. 

• The pet store couldn't handle buying more baby hamsters, so I separated the mom and dad for a while. 

Today with LaLa Lunchbox, customer feedback is fueling future updates and version releases. I welcome any and all feedback and criticism to help improve the product. And so I would love to open the forum for discussion  either publicly here in the comments section or privately via help@lalalunchbox.com

What do you want to see in future releases of LaLa Lunchbox? What are some things you like about version 1.0? What do you wish was different? 

Thank you in advance! 

GoGo SqueeZ winners!

We've got 5 lucky winners for the @gogosqueez giveaway!! Congratulations to: 

1. Steph Chaly -- AppleCinnamon
2. Maria Lozada-Noye​ -- AppleStrawberry
3. Rebecca Wilson​ -- AppleMango
4. Jen Swetzoff​ -- ApplePeach
5. Susannah Bortner​ -- AppleMango

And thanks to GoGo squeeZ for their generosity! Enjoy!  ​

​** Winners, please send your addresses to: info "at" lalalunchbox "dot" com so that I can send you your yummy GoGo SqueeZ! 

GoGo SqueeZ Giveaway!

When my daughter was born in 2006, snack products with sippy-type tops ​did not exist as far as I knew. Fast forward six years and there are all kinds of things on the shelves in this category. Applesauce was always a favorite of hers - but in the early years, it was not exactly the tidiest snack and it was hard to have on the go. 

Today, my kids love GoGo SqueeZ. So much so, that I buy them by the case. My daughter loves the apple apple flavor. My son is not so choosy. Yet. On the GoGo SqueeZ website, they describe themselves as "the first squeezable, re-sealable, no-mess, 100% fruit, all natural applesauce based snack in the US." And they come in so many yummy flavors.  

GoGo SqueeZ has offered to give away 4-packs to five lucky LaLa Lunchbox readers. Winners will be chosen at random using Random.org. The giveaway is open until Thursday, May 24 at 5pm EST and there are two ways to enter: ​

• Option 1: Leave me a comment on this post telling us which flavor you'd like best: 

​applepeach, applecinnamon, appleapple, appleberry, applebanana, applestrawberry or applemango

• ​Option 2: Follow LaLa Lunchbox on Twitter and tweet about it to GoGo SqueeZ -- for example: "Hey @gogosqueez, I'm following @lalalunchbox for a chance to win a 4-pack of pouches​."

Winners will be selected on Friday, May 25. ​Good Luck!