I watch it happen every spring. Everywhere I go, I see families out in their gardens, filled with optimism and enthusiasm! I watch them labor and toil, rototilling the soil, raking, hoeing, digging, turning over earth until they have a nice, beautiful patch of bare soil. I watch them lovingly and tenderly place their garden […]
You know I’m a huge fan of both Costco and ALDI, and I shop both of them regularly. I shop for real food groceries at Costco only about once every 4-8 weeks though, and ALDI is much more likely to be my regular weekly stop. That’s partly because of location and partly because it takes
Car trips with children can be a harrowing experience for any parent, but when you have a child who gets motion sickness – that’s a whole new level of challenge. I recently had a reader email asking if I had any experience with car sickness remedies, especially treatments that would be safe for kids. It’s
Preventing Motion Sickness in Children (or “How We Got to Travel Again”) Read More »
My house doesn’t have a pantry. So I found one anyway… Like many city houses built in the 1920s, our house has a small kitchen with not many cabinets. In my tips for a tiny kitchen, the very first tip is to set up a pantry outside the kitchen, and I explain how Daniel and
If I’ve packed over 1,000 lunches in bento boxes, do I get to be an expert yet? (We love packing dinner leftovers for lunch the next day!) That’s five years straight for one child plus three more years for another one, plus many odd days for summer camp, road trips traveling with the whole family,
Did you know you can cook frozen ground beef in the Instant Pot even without a trivet?! No thawing. No waiting. It’s a lifesaver on busy days. Great for our family favorite quick dinner, homemade hamburger helper or any ground beef recipe! I’ll admit, when I first heard about the Instant Pot, I scoffed at
How to Cook FROZEN Ground Beef in the Instant Pot {VIDEO} Read More »
School is under way. That means two things. That doesn’t mean throw in the towel, buy boxes of cereal and say a prayer your child stays healthy. No way! That means it’s time to get smart and start the day with a nutrient boost that supports the immune system and provides critical vitamins and minerals
Nutrient Packed Blueberry Spinach Smoothie Recipe That Kids Love! Read More »
There is an alien invading your grocery store. And, no. I don’t mean those “Franken-foods” like bottled cheese whiz or marshmallow whip in a jar. I mean an actual, certifiable, GREEN ALIEN. One with strange wrinkles and things sticking out of its face. I give you: Kohlrabi. Well, I’m guessing you’ve gathered by now that
{Series: Those Weird Veggies} Everything You Didn’t Know to Ask About Kohlrabi Read More »
Meal planning can be hard. When you’re feeling overwhelmed, trying out an online meal planner is worth it! Here’s my Cook Smarts review. The Cook Smarts app can help you meal plan better, especially if you have a personality like mine! Wouldn’t it be great if there were personality typing for meal planning systems? I’m
I am an organized soul. Really, I am. Certainly my life and surroundings do not always reflect that, but it’s something I’m constantly striving for – a sense of order, a sense of having a teeny bit of control over some small areas of my life. Running a household is serious work that requires serious
The System That Finally Worked…and it’s not Digital (Shhhh!) Read More »
Let’s talk about some of Murphy’s Laws of parenting. Doesn’t it feel like the constipated baby always blows out when you’re one minute late to leave for church already, the naps get fought when you scheduled a phone call during that time because you knew the toddler would be tired, and the healthiest kids get
It’s dinnertime on a Wednesday, and you’ve just been handed 10 pounds of fresh, organic, locally-grown, assorted vegetables! You’re eager to get some of them onto your family’s plates tonight and make sure you use every bit as wisely as you can before next week—when another load of vegetables will arrive—and you never know what
5 Easy Steps for Using a Week’s Share of CSA Vegetables Read More »
The anchors asked us yesterday on live TV, “What is something you like to eat that’s more fun? Do you ever want things in your lunch that you see in other kids’ lunches?” Of course my poor kids weren’t ready for the question, so after some silence I jumped in and mentioned homemade granola bars
There’s nothing better than a kid messing up and earning a consequence. Don’t believe me? I didn’t pack my 5th grader’s lunch almost the entire year, and I barely had to remind him that it was now his responsibility. Why? Because he earned it as a consequence for messing up. I can’t even remember the
School is right around the corner (I said it…don’t throw tomatoes). Depending on where you live it could be a month, a couple weeks or even days away! Of course that means school lunches are coming too. When you have to manage food allergies, your choices are limited. No more pb&j. No crackers and cheese.
The Best Real Food Allergy Friendly Lunches {Portable & Easy} Read More »
What kid doesn’t like mashed potatoes? It’s a favorite at our house even if I don’t have gravy, but I’m always looking for ways to reduce the starchy foods and incorporate more low-carb, nutrient-dense veggies onto our plates. This recipe is basically a “mashed potatoes” substitute but with…cauliflower! It’s a great swap, because first of
Healthy Creamed Cauliflower (Instead of Mashed Potatoes) Read More »
That moment when I saw a young pregnant mom in a bar drinking a beer (or two or three), long before I was a real food blogger, long before I was a mom myself, and even before I was of drinking age…I gaped in horror. I knew nothing about prenatal nutrition, health, or growing a
The Perfect Birth Won’t Guarantee Healthy Gut Flora for Baby Read More »
We’re all trying to add more vegetables into our diets – from steamed vegetables to dehydrated vegetables to roasted veggies. That’s why I have The Best Produce to Stockpile. Today, we’ll be covering fermenting vegetables! All it took was one bite. I was hooked. A friend had offered me a small jar of her homemade sauerkraut
Welcome to a new series that I’m so excited about: Those Weird Veggies. Thanks to some developing health issues, I’ve had to pull back from my go-to recipes (like meals including grains, dairy, and eggs) and really focus on meats, fruits, and veggies. Desperation can drive you to exploration… and in the process I’ve discovered
{Series: Those Weird Veggies} Everything you Didn’t Know to Ask About Parsnips Read More »
Kids like to snack. No question about it. And summertime is no exception. You head to the park for some fun, spend the day at the beach or load up the car for a family vacation. Or maybe you prefer staying home and you’re just playing in the sandbox in the back yard. Either way
The Best Real Food Allergy Friendly Snacks {For Your Road Trips & Summer Fun} Read More »
