We go to a 100% nut-free school, so soynut or sunbutter is what we use on sandwiches. We love the flavor of WOW butter. Some studies suggest too much soy can lead to an increase in estrogen levels, so we mix up soynut and sunbutter frequently. This bento contains: Small fruit salad of canned Mandarin oranges and raspberries. BoomChickaPop (or chicks chicks boom pop according to Carter) Sandwich made with Country Hearth wheat (safe) Carrot sticks For a small snack, we have a brownie cookie by Enjoy Life brand. Hoping Nati let’s that slide tomorrow. She’s a tough cookie (pun intended becuase I’m a nerd) when it comes to healthy…
Southwest Bento Lunchbox
Eating the least amount of processed foods is always our goal at meal time. It doesnt always happen, but we try. Here is what the kiddos have in their bento tomorrow. Usually we try to use leftovers. Remember last week’s chalkboard, I had black bean burriotos for dinner Tuesday night? We made a double batch to put some of the leftovers to good use: LUNCH. Toasted pita bread cut into triangles Boars Head hummus, plain (safe, no pine nuts) Black beans mixed with corn, onion and garlic Carrots Raspberries Dessert: that new snack I just blogged about Milk from school HAve a great night! I’m so tired after today, 8pm…
Safe Cookie Bars
This week we are trying a new flavor of School Safe Bars. Already tested their banana chocolate chip and brownie bars. Both delicious, without that weird “Nut-free” flavor other brands sometimes have. Enjoy the first day of school!!
Slow Cooker Pork Chops
You won’t need to burn those Pumpkin Spice candles when you come home from work if this recipe is simmering in your crock pot. After being out and about at the Dane County Farmers Market Saturday, we came home to a lovely, fall-smelling home! This recipe took about 25 minutes of prep, which was very easy, and then simmered on low for 7 hours (or until you get home from work is fine, too) Ingredients Adapted from Cooking Light Magazine, September 2016 issue: 1 1/2 cups unsalted chicken stock 1 1/2 teaspoons sherry vinegar 3 tablespoons all-purpose flour Cooking spray 3/4 pound carrots, peeled and cut into 2-in. pieces 1/2 pound shiitake mushrooms, stems removed…
Safe Cliff/Luna Bars
Hopefully you had a great weekend and have started your Monday off with a giant mug of coffee or other delicious drink of choice. Today was our first FULL day of two kiddos in school. Still adjusting to just how quiet my van and home are during the day. A few tears were shed as we embrace this huge milestone in life. It’s exciting though, and both kids are loving their classes, teachers and new friends. How did I cope? Retail therapy. When I was taking my time grocery shopping today, I discovered that I was actually breathing, not holding my breath waiting for something to come crashing down by…
Deluxe Ramen Bowl
The title is kind of an oxymoron. If you saw my pretty chalkboard menu on Instagram this week, I’ll have you know that I only made TWO of the items planned. Life happens. This week was more exhausting than I thought it would be. Emotionally. Physically. I’m toast! At 3pm today, I literally hit a wall. The kids played pirate, dressed up and used safety scissors to chop up boobie traps (an entire roll of yarn) all over the house. They kept busy and I watched. It’s just yarn, easy enough to clean up. Here’s what I “cooked” tonight. Deluxe Ramen Ingredients Two packages ramen 2 cups chopped broccoli 1…
Trail Mix
I’m watching Flipping Summer on HGTV right now. Have you seen this show with Tarek and Christina? They create some seriously sweet spaces. Anyway, that has nothing to do with what I am about to tell you. We finally found a safe, Nut-free trail mix! It’s been 3 years since we have had trail mix!!!!! Last weekend, I decided to try Jet.com to order a few “target” items. Everytime I go to TARGET, I drop atleast $100. This makes me sad. I have lists, then Target has these amazing displays, cute tops, amazing $1 bins, and then I somehow justify every purchase, even if it means calling my MOM for…
My New Louboutins, OH I MEAN EPI PENS!
The EPI PEN that we kept at my daughter’s school last May SAVED HER LIFE. Wait. Let me say that again. SAVED HER LIFE! Yes. Our 5 year-old daughter suffers from life- threatening nut allergies where she has an anaphylactic response to any nut that she happens to eat. This allergy is not a choice. She was born with this very severe allergy. Because it’s so severe, we keep epi pens: at home at school/backpack in mom’s purse at Grandmas house That is a total of 4 epi pens at the current rate of $608.61 = $2,434.44 yearly. Epi pens expire every single year. This isn’t a one time purchase.…
'twas the night before school
Tomorrow’s the first day for Chloe and we are so excited. Her outfit is picked out, lunch box packed, and her backpack already in the car. Just wanted to share a quick pic of tomorrow’s (boring) bento box. Mini bags of cereal incase we are running late, and tooth brushes into the lower level bathroom for a last minute brush. Hopefully our 5:50am alarm will give us enough time! Sweet dreams! ?
Smoked Sausage Skillet
This meal is what I consider a “multitasker” meal. Meaning: you can still answer 1,000 kid questions, consume your evening glass of wine, and save a Thomas the Train balloon from the ceiling fan, which is mounted to the ceiling, 18 feet up (this actually happened, btw, and I used a broom, and two wire coat hangers to create an extra long arm, then hooked thomas with the end of the coat hanger. It definitely helped that both kids were cheering me on THE ENTIRE TIME.) In other words, you can’t mess this meal up. Multitasking Smoked Sausage Skillet (Adapted from Hillsboro Farms) Ingredients 2 cups of your favorite smoked…
Nut-Free Treat Box Ideas
Quick post here…..we found two treats today at our local (Middleton) Target. I love that these snacks are made in a dedicated nut-free facility. The hardest part about allergies is the cross contamination. Even if Oreo or Goldfish say they are nut free, they are not made in facilities 100% free of nuts. Yes, the chances of something happening are extremely slim, but it’s still a possibility, and one I like to eliminate at school lunch time. These snacks give me confidence that she will have a guaranteed safe snack that also tastes great!! Have a great weekend! We are off to Thomas the Train in Illinois tomorrow, then maybe…
Chili Loaded Sliders
Can you believe Packer Football is on TV tonight?! Whenever we plan to watch a game at home, we prepare game-time food and snacks. Go pack go! The kids and I had a low-key day; 3 hours outside riding bikes this morning (think Chloe has a cold), then naps, and an afternoon of play time inside while I cleaned out their closests and dresser drawers. We have a few back to school items that need to be put away, but for every new item we bring in, an old item must go. Here’s what we decided on for dinner with the Pack. Chili stuffed baked potato sliders with a slide…
Nut-free Dried Fruit, Finally!
For months we have been searching for safe, dried fruit options. Our usual stores do not have many options in the dried fruit area. Usually it’s bulk, the big bins that you self serve nuts, fruit, oats, etc from, which are not safe. The spoon to scoop poses huge cross-contamination risks! The other option is the big brand names, which all produce nuts, so those are not safe either. For the past few years, we have stuck with Raisins (not the yogurt coated, or chocolate coated, those are NOT safe) just plain old raisins. While bopping around on Downer Avenue today in Milwaukee, we stopped at Sendiks. I love this…
Sweet + Sour Tomatoes with Marinated Chicken
This week’s meal planning has been completely last minute stuff, just becuase of the virus Chloe had this past week. It’s OK, we are going with the flow. Yesterday at about 3pm, I was talking to Doug at work, and we decided to quickly marinate some chicken and slice up tomatoes for dinner. Easy. Fast. Under 20 minutes. He likes fire, so grilling is fun for him . I like using every measuring utensil in the kitchen, so marinades and salads are great for me to make. Team work. It’s a win win. The kids and I picked about 10 fresh tomatoes yesterday in the sweltering heat. Here’s the recipe.…
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