Peeled Snacks - A Delicious New Addition to the LaLa Lunchbox Food Library!

LaLa Lunchbox has partnered with Peeled Snacks and now, you and your hungry little monsters can easily add their delicious, wholesome products into your lunchboxes every week!

I've been singing the praises of Peeled Snacks since I discovered them. And here's something to sing about: Peeled Snacks makes "gently dried fruit" with no refined sugars, no preservatives, no added oils -- TOTALLY up my alley. My kids are crazy for these too and we have bags stashed in the car and the pantry all the time. 

Peeled Snacks products are now part of the LaLa Lunchbox Food Library!

Peeled Snacks products are now part of the LaLa Lunchbox Food Library!

The products quickly became a staple in my home. Then I started seeing them everywhere I looked - at all of my favorite grocery stores, at Starbucks and even at Duane Reade. There's one in particular, Much Ado About Mango (dried mango) that we have to buy in bulk from Amazon because everyone in my family (everyone with teeth, that is), gobbles it up. We manually added it to our LaLa Lunchbox food library many months ago and Peeled Snacks became a regular feature in my daughter's lunchbox.

Today I am thrilled to announce our partnership with Peeled Snacks so that families can now choose their products as part of a healthy lunch using LaLa Lunchbox. Noha Waibsnaider, Founder and CEO of Peeled Snacks says she "founded the company to fill a critical void in the snack market and offer organic fruit snacks that are delicious, naturally nutritious and healthy. I believe people should have healthy options that are made of real food and are available within their lifestyle.” That's something we can all get behind.

I'm proud to welcome Peeled Snacks into the LaLa Lunchbox family to help raise a generation of informed, empowered, healthy kids.

* Current LaLa Lunchbox users can access these new Food Library products by updating the app on the App Store. 

Why Organic?

My daughter and I were at the grocery store the other day when she told me "Mommy, all of the kids bring (that brand) of yogurt drink to school with their lunch. Can we get it too?" You know the type... it has some famous cartoon character and about six pounds of added sugar in forms that are unpronounceable. "I know it's not organic, Mom. But can we just try it?" 

img courtesy of fanpop

img courtesy of fanpop

The thing is, at that moment I wasn't thinking about how I didn't want her consuming non-organic dairy. I wasn't thinking about how I didn't feel comfortable with all of that processed sugar. I was thinking about how we fill our fridge and pantry with mostly healthy fare, and how our produce, our dairy and our meat is pretty much always organic but I've missed great opportunities to explain why. What good are principles without understanding? What good are values without explanation? 

And so right there in the dairy aisle, my daughter and I paused to chat about cows and farmers, hormones, chemicals and antibiotics. I told her that in our family, we think cows should be able to be cows. They don't need anything artificial, they don't need to grow at a faster pace than they were meant to grow. We didn't want those antibiotics or hormones in our bodies, as a result of drinking that milk. And so on. "But Mom," she asked, "Why would the farmer want to give the cows something just to grow faster? And why would the farmer take away the cow's favorite food (grass)?" She concluded that she didn't want those things in her body and so "we should keep buying the organic farmer milk." But despite the conclusion, there was a sadness to her answer -- she really wanted to try that yogurt drink. Friends are a powerful thing. And so I bought it. I knew she understood it was a one-off and I didn't want to be rigid. It's all part of the lunch drama that families deal with. Mine is no exception. 

You know what? This is tough stuff. I really had no idea what to say and so, as with all things parenting, I just did my best.  I'm certain that much of it went over her head. But I'm also certain that it won't be the last time we speak of this. Today I came across this eye-opening article about the meat industry's antibiotic consumption. I welcome any tips and suggestions for talking to kids about these important issues...

Carrot Dill Frittata

Hello Meatless Monday! After the hoopla about Nemo, and the sledding fun we had this weekend, I'm tired! I was left scratching my head for dinner ideas tonight. My daughter complained last night -- apparently we've had chicken too often for her liking lately. Ugh. 

Hmm. What to do? We always have eggs in the house. I *love* eggs. And I was pretty excited to read this in Greatist recently about the egg news. Bottom line, and to quote Shana Lebowitz: "It turns out, for non-diabetic people, there was no association between eating up to one egg a day and CHD (Coronary Heart Disease) or stroke." 

Awesome.

Carrot Dill Frittata

Carrot Dill Frittata

Frittata for dinner? Well yes, don't mind if I do! I don't have time to shop for the week until tomorrow so dinner will have to be something cobbled together from the fridge. Behold! Carrot Dill Fritatta. This was so easy, I almost feel guilty about it. Actually, no. I don't feel guilty at all. It's mid afternoon and a big part of dinner is already done. Ready to whip this up? Here's how:

Carrot Dill Frittata (serves 4-6) 

8 organic carrots
2 onions, sliced
1/3 c fresh dill, chopped
12 eggs
1 T olive oil
salt and pepper to taste

Preheat oven to 375. Slice the carrots into shreds using a slicer. Put aside. Slice the onions and saute in a pan with olive oil until caramelized. This may take a while - for me it took 45 mins. In a bowl, crack the eggs and add the dill and carrot ribbons to combine. Add salt and pepper to taste. Spread the caramelized onions on the bottom of the pan you'll use to cook the frittata. Pour in the egg/carrot/dill mixture. 
Bake at 375 for approximately 40 minutes or until egg is cooked through (but not so much that it's rubbery). 

Enjoy!

Easiest. Lemon. Chicken. Recipe. Ever.

What do you do when your husband is traveling on business and you're solo with three kids? You make life as uncomplicated as possible, that's what. So tonight for dinner, my kids and I are having Chicken with Meyer Lemons, sliced avocado and some sliced mango. Here's the great news: this chicken dish is the easiest thing ever and my kids are crazy about it.
We went grocery shopping this weekend as a family before my husband departed. The kids were intrigued by the Meyer lemons so we bought several. Meyer lemons are a delightful combo of sweet and tangy and they are incredibly juicy. They were recently the subject of a New York Times article and featured in this sea scallop recipe. They have a thinner peel than a regular lemon and when cooked, it is edible and delicious.

I came across a chicken recipe recently that called for (regular) lemons and shallots that was both easy to prepare and tasty. My kids enjoyed it but they both picked off the shallots (more for me!). Today I've made it even easier and made this dish with just the Meyer lemons (no shallots). My kids are going to love it. 

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Here's how: 
Preheat oven to 375 degrees. 
Place chicken drumsticks on parchment paper in a baking dish. 
Slice a Meyer lemon. Place one slice underneath the skin of each drumstick.
Sprinkle with salt, black pepper and garlic powder. 
Add one slice of Meyer lemon to the top of each drumstick. 
Bake in the oven for approximately 40 minutes or until juices run clear when cut. 

Enjoy!