When I was pregnant with Jackson five years ago, I embarked on the healthy eating, natural living journey. The realization that I was bringing a person into the world opened my eyes and made me rethink what I was eating, buying and doing with my time. It wasn’t just about me and my hunky husband anymore— it was about that little ball of energy growing inside my belly and the beautiful family that had begun.

So I bought organic sheets. Then a Moby. And next an Ergo. And eventually I found myself standing in the grocery store paying $7 for organic milk. And then I switched to rice milk. And finally settled on almond milk. I told you— it is truly a journey!

I cut back on my trips to Taco Bell and spent more time in Trader Joe’s.

Once I dove into the world of the “green mama,” I realized how easy, doable and fun it actually was.

Take The Honest Company, for example. Their name says it all. They create household products your family can trust. They work hard to create unquestionably safe, eco-friendly, beautifully designed, and affordable essentials for your family. And they come right to your doorstep— pretty sweet when you are a new mom with spit up on your clothes and boobs that seemed to always spring a leak.

I have been using The Honest Company Family Essentials Bundle for the past few months and love the concept and products behind it all. Here are some of my favorites so far:

Fruit + Veggie Wash: I am a hard core green smoothie machine and am constantly washing, chopping and blending fruits and veggies. This spray removes wax, bacteria, pesticides and chemicals from the outside of the produce before I add it to our smoothies.

Dishwasher Pods: These cute little plant and mineral-based pods are simple to use and work really well. And I can feel good knowing that my dishes don’t only look clean, but they actually are clean and chemical-free. There is no bleach, petrochemicals or fragrance that can irritate and harm us and our little ones.

Rinse Aid: This stuff goes hand in hand with the pods. We have hard water here in Florida— really hard water. And this rinse does the trick without bringing in harsh chemicals that have a corrosive effect.

A healthy home can start with products like this. It’s a simple way to take a step in the right direction. And it’s a great time to take that step. And if you had an experience like me after having your first child, you know how important it is to find these products that you can trust and use daily.

Join the Discussion!

How did becoming a parent change you? Did you get an Ergo or eating at home more? I would love to hear what parenthood did to you!

Do you struggle getting your kids to regularly eat green vegetables– especially the leafy kind?

Jen and myself (Jadah) just got finished hosting a 30-Day Green Smoothie Challenge on our website Simple Green Smoothies.

For 30 days of January, we shared inspiring photos and green smoothie recipes on Instagram, Facebook and with those who signed up for our challenge through email.

Here’s the amount of green smoothie lovin’ we shared with our communities (and it’s still growing):

• Instagram: 73,311
• Facebook: 12,892
• Email: 22,276

That’s a total of 108,479 RAWsome people (and that’s not including spouses, partners and kids)!!!

The great thing about green smoothies– you can replace them as a meal (breakfast is my green smoothie meal time) and kids love them too! So now you can feel good about getting your children to eat their fruits and leafy green vegetables everyday. And for those kids who don’t like the green color, serve the smoothies in a concealable kids cup with a straw!

So if you’re ready to replace at least one meal a day with a nutrient packed green smoothie and get your kids on board. You’ll find the recipes, tips and challenges in our guide here at just $5 for a limited time– click the link for more details.

Purchase the 30-Day Green Smoothie Challenge

If you want to join our next live smoothie challenge, sign-up by clicking the link below:

April 1 -30, 2013 Green Smoothie Challenge! 

What moms are saying about the challenge

“My 17 year daughter, 14 year daughter, 8 year son and 4 year daughter LOVE them. My 4 year daughter always asks if she can have some more of the Green drink.” -Cynthia Salinas Montana

“My 4 year old and I made the strawberry, banana, blueberry green smoothie for the family this morning. Both of my little ones (4 and 18 months) enjoy the green smoothies we make but their favorite is the beginner’s luck recipe. They don’t eat their vegetables often so I’m beyond excited that they drink the smoothies.” -Jasmine Hogan

“2 years and we always have problems with breakfast. Now I’m super happy because if she doesn’t drink her smoothie or doesn’t want anything for breakfast, I offered a green smoothie and everyone is happy!” -Gloribel Gonzalez Guzman

“My 14month old daughter is loving the challenge too! This morning I got her on video with her spinach, romaine, almond milk, blueberry, dark cherry, banana, agave syrup and flaxseed smoothie goatee.” -Hillary Parlow

“My son is 6 and looooves mommy’s smoothies, he even makes them with me! Thanks for the new smoothie recipe we will be trying it!” -Passion Ridley

“We have been enjoying the green smoothie challenge! The whole family loves them…ages 5, 2, and nursing 5 mo old with no complaints.” -Rashae Doyle

Written by Josh Solar from The Happy Family Movement

On any given Saturday, you’ll find our family scrambling around to get not 1, not 2, but 3 kids ready for soccer. Finding cleats, unis, shin guards, and making sure they’ve all had breakfast, pack snack packs…not to mention getting ourselves ready. Inevitably, we’re running behind, and that means that we end up having to swing by some no good fast food restaurant to grab lunch for the kids. Not a solid way to prepare for sporting events if you ask me. That all changed one November Saturday last year…

The scrambling around like a pack of wild dogs to get ready still happened, but on this Saturday, it marked the last time our family ever had fast food again. I still remember it like it was yesterday. Max had a game at 11:30, we were all hungry, so we stopped to grab them chicken nuggets and apples from McDonald’s. He scarfed it down before his game…and, 20 minutes later got sick to his stomach and couldn’t play. Afterwards, he said, “I don’t ever want to eat at McDonald’s again.” And we haven’t.

This incident coincided with our family trying to eat better. We’ve been incorporating more veggies into our diet, cutting out processed foods, high fructose corn syrup, and eliminating artificial colors and preservatives (huge thanks to Trader Joe’s for coming to Kansas City!). We’ve been blessed with kids who get excited about reading nutrition labels on the boxes in the grocery store. They know if they can’t pronounce a word, chances are it’s probably not good for us. More real, whole foods for the whole family, and healthier kids for us to enjoy.

5 Tips to Stop Eating Fast Food

Here are a few tips for how to make it a little bit easier for your family to eat healthier…

1. Organize, organize, organize! We use reusable snack packs to put our favorite Trader Joe’s snacks in. (Makes it easier to grab on the go.) We also always have little bags of organic baby carrots and applesauce squeezers ready to throw in a to go bag as well. The quicker and easier you make it to have healthy snacks on hand, the more your family will eat them.

2. Make it fun! Make up fun stories about where the food came from, make a fun lunch, pick up your own Today I Ate a Rainbow kit, anything that sparks your kids’ imagination will do. Lia wouldn’t eat any veggies for the longest time, but we could get her to drink low sodium v8 by calling it Monster Juice.

3. When in doubt, make a smoothie! We’re still trying to get the kids on board with green juices, but until they come around to that, they LOVE smoothies.

4. Get educated. Read The Unhealthy Truth. Watch some good documentaries…such as Food, Inc, Super Size Me, Fat, Sick and Nearly Dead, or Forks Over Knives. You can never learn enough about what we put into our bodies and how it affects us.

5. Find a local door to door organic delivering service. It’s great because you’ll get to try a whole variety of fruits and veggies that you normally can’t find in your local grocery stores. Then, look up some fun recipes to make with your kiddos. Kids love to cook! You’ll be trying new things, and so will your kids. Win-win!

Those are some of our favorite tips and tricks that have helped us stay far away from fast food. I sure know I feel more energized. And when you’re energized, you’re better capable of dealing with the stress that comes from raising a wild family.

Leave a little love in the comments section below letting us know what you do to get your family eating healthier.

** The Happy Family Movement has an Intentional Parenting E-Course that begins January 7. For more about it, click here. **

Q: My kids aren’t fans of milk and we don’t push it. Are we missing out on calcium or other nutrients to build strong bones and teeth?

We do drink some almond milk and occasionally coconut milk, but in the back of my mind I wonder if we should be supplementing with something additional.
A: “This may surprise you, but your kids can get all the calcium and other nutrients they need for strong bones and teeth without ever drinking a drop of cow’s milk. Humans like all other mammals were not designed to ingest breast milk after the first few years of life. After weaning, most of the enzymes needed to adequately digest the milk sugars (lactose) and milk proteins (casein and whey) decline in the human body since these substances are not in the other foods we traditionally hunt and gather. This is why so many people have digestive issues, true allergies and sensitivities to milk and other dairy products.”

How to get enough calcium without milk

Kids can get the 800-1300mg of calcium recommended daily by eating a variety of other whole, unprocessed foods including spinach, kale, okra, collards, Chinese cabbage, soy beans (edamame), tofu, broccoli, beans, salmon, and sardines. Calcium is also found in fortified foods like breakfast cereals, orange juice, and most nut, rice, soy and coconut milks.

More importantly, kids need to get enough vitamin D, magnesium, manganese and vitamin K to help the body absorb calcium into its more than 200 bones and teeth. Without adequate calcium absorption, studies have shown that their bodies can be plagued later in life with osteoporosis, heart disease, hypertension, cancer and kidney stones.

Whole food sources of calcium absorption-aiding nutrients

Magnesium – spinach, swiss chard, cocoa powder, pumpkin, squash, sesame seeds, tahini, molasses, dry roasted soy beans (edamame), almonds, cashews, whole grain oats, wheat,

Manganese – spinach, wheat germ, rice bran, oat bran, hazelnuts, pine nuts, pecans, roasted pumpkin and squash seeds, flax seeds, sesame seeds, tahini, sunflower seeds, dry roasted edamame, chili powder, cocoa power, chili powder

Vitamin K – dried herbs including basil, sage and thyme; deeply colored leafy greens like kale, collards, cress, spinach, turnip Greens, mustard greens, beet greens, swiss chard; broccoli, spring onions (scallions), brussels sprouts, asparagus, pickled cucumber and prunes

Vitamin D –. Vitamin D is in very few whole foods in very small amounts-fatty fish (like tuna, mackerel, and salmon), beef liver, and egg yolks.

Your body also makes vitamin D with exposure to sunlight, but that process is hindered with sunscreen and because kids are spending more time in doors. Therefore some foods have been fortified with vitamin D like dairy products, orange juice, soy milk, and cereals. Doctors are also recommending up to 5000 IU of supplemental vitamin D per day to help with calcium absorption and other immune boosting benefits of vitamin D.

Try out these recipes below for a smoothie and a side dish rich in calcium and other nutrients your family can enjoy to grow strong bones and teeth.

Calcium-Rich Recipes

Almond Butter and “Jelly” Green Smoothie Smoothie

Spinach and almonds are packed full of calcium along with other antioxidants and phytonutrients, so this green smoothie is super healthy and yummy. No added sugar or water needed. This is a sweet take on a child’s classic sandwich filled with fresh fruit and leafy greens.

Ingredients

2 cups spinach
2 ripe bananas
2 c. red and/or black grapes
2 c. baby spinach
2 c. almond milk
4 Tbsp almond butter

Directions

1. Blend your spinach and grapes together until you get a juice-like consistency
2. Add remaining ingredients and blend
3. Chill in refrigerator for an hour or use frozen grapes instead of fresh.
4. Top with raw sliced almonds

More healthy smoothie recipes on our new site: Simple Green Smoothies.

Sautéed Swiss Chard with Toasted Sesame Seeds

Ingredients

1 large bunch fresh Swiss chard
1 ½ Tbsp extra virgin olive oil
1 small clove garlic, sliced
Pinch of dried crushed red pepper
2 Tbsp water
1 tsp Earth Balance or butter
Pinch of salt
1 Tbsp toasted sesame seeds (or toasted pumpkin seeds)

Directions

1. Rinse Swiss chard in water and remove the toughest third of the stalk.
2. Chop Swiss chard leaves into 1-inch wide strips.
3. Heat medium-sized sauté pan on medium heat.
4. Add olive oil, sliced garlic and crushed red pepper; Sauté for about a minute.
5. Add chopped Swiss chard leaves and cover for 5 minutes.
6. Add 1-2 Tbsp water and flip chard over, so what was on the bottom is now on the top and cover for 5 more minutes.
7. Check for doneness by removing a piece of cooked chard and tasting to make sure it is tender.
8. Add 1 tsp butter or Earth Balance spread and pinch of salt.
9. Toss to combine.
10. Sprinkle with toasted sesame or pumpkin seeds and serve immediately.

• Use organic ingredients whenever possible.
• Recipes are Vegan and Gluten-free.

Angela offers nutrition counseling, workshops and corporate wellness programs. To learn more about Angela, a Registered Dietitian and Holistic Nutritionist, visit www.vitalandwell.com.

Ask the nutrition expert!

Have a burning question about nutrition for your family’s diet? Ask our holistic nutrition expert your question in the comments below, and we may feature your question with the answer in a future post.

Written by contributor Angela Stanford, MBA, RD, RYT Registered Dietitian/Holistic Nutritionist & Owner of Vital Nutrition and Wellness. *image via

Q: What foods can I feed my family to ward of colds and flu this season?

A: With fall upon us and temperatures dropping, people are catching colds and getting sick. Help protect your family by feeding them these 10 immune boosting foods.

10 Immune Boosting Foods

Grapefruits are rich in vitamin C and flavonoids which are natural chemical compounds found to increase immune system activation. If you are not fond of grapefruits, eat their cousins – oranges and tangerines, other vitamin C-rich citrus fruits in season.

Sweet Potatoes are a great source of the antioxidant beta-carotene that sweeps up damaging free radicals and converts to vitamin A to keep the connective tissues in your skin strong and elastic as your first line of defense against harmful invaders like viruses and bacteria.

Mushrooms contain the mineral selenium which if you have low amounts of in your system studies have shown increases your risk of developing a more severe flu.  Also potent in the B vitamins riboflavin and niacin, studies have shown mushrooms have antiviral and antibacterial effects from the beta glucans that increase the production and activity of white blood cells to kill and rid your body of those nasty bacteria and viruses.

Garlic contains allicin, an infection fighting antioxidant that helps ward off immune system invaders and bacteria like H pylori.  A British study showed that people who ate more garlic in their diets were 2/3 less likely to catch a cold than those that did not.

Cooking tip: peel, chop and let garlic sit for 15-20 minutes before cooking to activate immune boosting enzymes. Spinach is an excellent source of folate which is key in aiding your body’s ability to resist infections and support lymphocytes that identify and destroy harmful invaders.

Spinach is an excellent source of folate which is key in aiding your body’s ability to resist infections and support lymphocytes that identify and destroy harmful invaders.

Cauliflower like broccoli and Brussels sprouts is a cruciferous vegetable rich in antioxidant vitamins that gives your immune system a boost. It also contains choline to keep your cells functioning properly and supports a healthy gastrointestinal barrier, keeping bacteria safely confined in the gut. Cauliflower is also a good food to eat when you’re sick because it’s rich in glutathione, a powerful antioxidant that helps fight off infection.

Cinnamon along with being a tasty and versatile spice, is a potent antiviral and antifungal agent. Add it to smoothies, baked sweet potatoes and roasted carrots, or sprinkle it on oatmeal, yogurt or you favorite toast with a smear of coconut butter. Yum!

Almonds are a not only a source of omega 3 fats, but also a rich source of the fat soluble vitamin E and contain B vitamins to help increase resiliency to stress that can make you susceptible to illness.

Yogurt contains probiotics or “live bacteria” that not only aid digestion, but like other fermented foods that contain the bacterial strains Lactobacillus casei and Lactobacillus reuteri have scientifically shown to prevent colds, improve immune response and shorten sick leave from work by 33%.

Wheat Germ is the food source part of the seed and is an excellent source of zinc which helps boost immunity.  Found raw or toasted, it tastes great sprinkled on salads, rice, or steamed vegetables.

Eating more of the foods listed above along with proper hand washing and getting enough rest will really boost your body’s defenses to ward of colds and flu this season.

Try cooking up these immune boosting recipes below or make your own creation using several foods listed above.

Immunity Boosting Recipes

Immune Booster Smoothie

Ingredients

2 cups spinach
1/4 cup carrots
1 banana
1/2 cups orange juice
1 cup water
2 cups frozen strawberries (I defrost them first because the flavor is more intense)
1/2 cup frozen blueberries

Additional immune boosters: powdered probiotics, olive leaf extract and elderberry extract (amount varies depending on how many people are drinking the smoothie)

More healthy smoothie recipes on our new site: Simple Green Smoothies.

Sweet Potato, Corn & Kale Chowder

Ingredients

1 Tbsp Canola Oil
2 med. Carrots
1 med. Red Onion, chopped 1 stalk Celery, chopped 1 large Red Pepper, seeded & chopped
1 large Sweet Potato, peeled and chopped
1 sprig Fresh Thyme, minced
¾ tsp Turmeric
1 med Tomato, chopped
5 cups Cold Water or Veggie Stock
1 cup Fresh or Frozen Corn Kernels
3 cups Spinach Leaves, chopped, heavy stems removed and washed
Salt & Freshly Ground White Pepper to taste
Cayenne Pepper to taste
1 Tbsp Cornstarch
½ cup Fresh Parsley, chopped
¼ cup Cashew Pieces (optional)

Directions

In a large pot, heat the canola oil over medium-high heat. Sauté carrots, onion, celery, pepper, and sweet potato for 3 minutes. Add the thyme and turmeric; combine well with the vegetables. Add the tomato and cold water and simmer for 20 minutes. Add the corn, spinach, salt and white pepper, and simmer for 5 minutes. Season with cayenne pepper.

Combine the cornstarch with 2 teaspoons cold water (but see cashew option below). With the soup simmering, stir in the cornstarch mixture, continue to stir, and simmer for 3 minutes. Remove from heat and stir in parsley.

If using cashews, use a blender or food processor to blend the cashews, cornstarch and ¾ cup of soup broth. Return this mixture to the simmering soup and continue to simmer soup, stirring often for 3 minutes.

*Use organic ingredients whenever possible.
*Vegan and Gluten-free.

Source: Whole Foods Cookbook (substituted spinach for kale)

 
Angela offers nutrition counseling, workshops and corporate wellness programs. To learn more about Angela, a Registered Dietitian and Holistic Nutritionist, visit www.vitalandwell.com.

Ask the nutrition expert!

Share your recipes and secrets on how you keep you and your family healthy during the flu season.

P.S. — Have a burning question about nutrition and you or your family’s diet? Ask our nutrition expert, and we may feature it in a future post.

Written by Contributor Britney Manuel of BtanJerine, and A Simply Raw Life. 

At about 3 o’clock PM everyday a little man inside of me says, “it’s time for chocolate!”, and when he talks…I listen! And sometimes much to my dismay, this little man has cheap taste. So in an effort to be proactive I knew I had to at least make a healthier version to tame this wild beast of a chocolate monster within me. So this is what I did!

Vegan: Cranberry Almond Energy Bars with Chocolate Frosting

Ingredients

4 cups raw almonds
2 lbs. dates
1 cup shredded coconut
2 tablespoons chia seeds
2 cups dried cranberries

Frosting

1/2 cup maple syrup or agave nectar
1/4 cup coconut oil, warmed to liquid
2/3 cup cacao or carob powder

Directions

1. Blend the dates in a food processor until it makes a thick paste, and place in a bowl.

2. Pulse the almonds in the processor until they are finely chopped and add to the bowl. (I left some bigger chunks so that the texture varied).

3. Pulse the shredded coconut for a few seconds and then add to bowl.

4. Add chia seeds and dried cranberries.

5. Work mixture together with your hands until it makes a sticky ball.

6. Line a 9×13 cookie sheet with parchment paper. Add mixture to parchment paper. Cover ball with another sheet of parchment paper and use a rolling pin to flatten the ball into about 1 1/2 inches.

7. Place bars in the freezer for 1 hour.

While the bars are freezing make the chocolate frosting.  Add maple syrup to the blender first followed by the coconut oil and cocoa powder. Blend well until smooth.

Take bars out of the freezer and cut them into bars. Pour frosting over the cut bars and return to the freezer. Bars won’t completely freeze (except the cranberries). Transfer to an airtight container and store bars in the freezer. I think that they taste better par frozen, so I just pop them out of the freezer and eat them straight away.

Store in the freezer for one month.

Makes approximately 15 bars

ARE YOU DROOLING YET?

For more sumptuous recipes visit Britney at A Simply Raw Life, or for off beat jewelry check out BtanJerine

This post is brought to you by Yes To, an awesome company that makes natural skin and hair care products that actually work. Sign up for their newsletter to receive a special goodie from Yes To.

Winter is right around the corner and my skin is already letting me know it needs some extra TLC. As the air gets cooler and the heater kicks on, my skin dries out (and it isn’t pretty). Does this happen to you too?! Well, now is the time to start applying more moisturizer to keep your beautiful skin looking, well beautiful.  Here are three great products from Yes To, one of my favorite companies (they are on a mission to create all natural skin and hair care that really work.) And I can vouch that they do work! I have quite a few of their products already and will definitely be adding more on my next trip to Target.

3 Secret Weapons for Healthy Winter Skin

1. Dry and flaky skin: Now is the time to swap out your lotion for a thicker cream or ointment, which has a higher lipid to water ratio. This helps trap the moisture and prevents your skin from becoming dry and flaky. Coconut oil is a great winter moisturizer, yet can be a little oily.  Another great option is a body butter like the ones Yes To makes, which are free of parabens and petroleums.

2. Raw and cracked hands: Your hands are exposed to the elements more than most parts of your body and more prone to dryness.  During the winter months, it is very beneficial to use an intense hand repair cream to keep them moisturized and prevent dry and cracked skin (which is more vulnerable to infections).

3. Sallow and sagging: As we get older, our collegen production decreases and leaves us more vulnerable to wrinkles and less resilient skin. Vitamin C is well-known for its antioxidant properties and helps prevent damage to our collegen. So make sure to eat enough fruits, pepper and broccoli to help your skin out! You can also use a rejuvenation lotion like Yes to Blueberries which can help firm and improve your skin’s elasticity.

Interested in going more natural and less chemicals?

Sign up for Yes To newsletter and receive a goodie in your inbox as a thank you.

Written by contributor Angela Stanford, MBA, RD, RYT Registered Dietitian/Holistic Nutritionist & Owner of Vital Nutrition and Wellness.

The kids have been back to school now for a few weeks, and already you may be searching for new, healthy ways to pack lunches that are made of whole foods, not processed foods laden with artificial ingredients wrapped in excessive packaging that could harm your children and their environment. Here are some lunch box  supplies that follow the good for the earth guidelines:

1. Lunchboxes Not Ziplocs! choose a sturdy lunchbox, free of BPA and PVC that is easy to clean with mild soap and water.

2. Reusable Containers: choose stainless steel containers for hot foods and BPA and PVC free plastic, reusable containers for cold foods, so these chemical don’t leach into the food. Buy larger containers of food and portion them into your reusable containers rather than buying single serving sizes. This reduces the amount of containers you chuck into the landfill and will save you some $$$$ too! If you do use single portion sized containers, make sure they are compostable or recyclable. Avoid using zip locks because they stay in the landfill forever!

3. Beverage Containers: choose stainless steel bottles (Kleen Kanteen) or BPA and PVC free plastic as a lighter weight option (Nalgeen is a popular brand). Sigg bottles are another brand that is lightweight aluminum construction with a liner that keeps the aluminum from leaching into the beverage. All of these containers are reusable and do not use resources like electricity and water to recycle plastic water bottles. Using stainless steel versus single use plastic water bottles also reduces the risk of chemicals in the plastic leaching into the water you child drinks. Replace beverage containers if they become dented or cracked.

4. Silverware: buy two inexpensive sets of stainless steel silverware for each child in your family – 1 for the lunchbox and 1 for the dishwasher to ease cleanup during the busy weekdays. This keeps plastic silverware out of the landfill leaching chemicals into the earth as they breakdown.

5. Cloth Napkins (2 for every kid): switch out cloth napkins when soiled and wash all with other towels at the end of the week to conserve water. Using cloth saves trees and energy and water used to turn the trees into paper napkins. Start a paperless kitchen here.

Now that you’ve got the eco-friendly lunch supplies, here are a few tips for parents and caregivers on how to be successful at packing a lunch that is good for the body and good for the earth.

How to Pack a Lunch: Good for the Body and Earth

1. Think 4 Colors: try to put 4 different colors in the lunchbox and take Mother Nature’s lead on encouraging kids to eat a rainbow of color for better health. E.g. turkey sandwich on 100% sprouted whole grain bread (brown), red apple, green edamame, orange baby carrots. You can save money too by looking for fruits and veggies in season. They are most often the produce items on sale.

2. Mix it Up: variety is the key to getting more nutrition in each bite and keeping choices fresh helps kids get more excited about what is in their lunchbox.

• Switch up the Sandwich – instead of bread, use 100% sprouted whole grain pita pockets, hotdog buns, English muffins, tortillas, 100 calorie rounds or a double layer of romaine lettuce leaves
• Hot alternatives – serve soups, burritos, pasta and stir-fries. Heat up a stainless steel thermos with boiling hot water for 5 minutes. Drain and then place the heated up leftovers in the warm container. Warming up the container ensures food will still be warm at lunchtime.
• Last night’s leftovers – leftovers make great lunches. You can serve them hot or cold depending on your child’s preference. Some kids like cold spaghetti with meatballs.
• Dips & Spreads – spread on flavor, protein, fruits and veggies with foods like pesto, hummus, roasted red-pepper walnut spread, salsa and 100% fruit spread. Remember choose organic when possible to avoid artificial ingredients and GMO’s.

3. Bring a Beverage: white milk or water only – flavored milk and juices (even if organic 100% juice) are filled with sugar and can contain as much sugar as soda!

4. Skip the Treats: cookies, candies and chips don’t belong in a lunch. Save the treat for treat-time, not mealtime. Fruit is a great sweet addition to a lunch that is already wrapped up by Mother Nature in natural packaging (skin) containing fiber to help stabilize the entry of those natural sugars as they enter the bloodstream.

Give it a try! Look at the lunches I pack for my two daughters below and try to pack your children a lunch that is both good for their bodies and good for the earth!

For more health and nutrition inspiration, visit Angela, a Registered Dietitian and Holistic Nutritionist, at Vital Nutrition and Wellness.

Join the discussion!

How do you pack a healthy and eco-friendly lunch for your child? Share your tips in the comments below.

Every Halloween, we carve pumpkins and bake the seeds. And every year we taste a few and throw the rest out. They just never taste that good. Well, not this year! I decided it was time to change up the recipe and see if I could make something that actually tastes good and is a little healthier (I am on a mission to find healthier alternatives to pretty much everything).

After baking my first batch of pumpkin seeds in coconut oil, I can proudly say these seeds are AWESOME! The entire house smelled delicious while the coconut oil roasted the seeds to a golden brown.

By using coconut oil instead of canola or even olive oil, I was able to up our family’s consumption of lauric acid, which is considered a miracle compound. According to Dr. Mercola, our body converts lauric acid into monolaurin, which has anti-viral, anti-bacterial and anti-protozoa properties. A great addition to everyone’s diet, especially during flu season. It’s really an incredible oil, I use it for almost everything in my life— deodorant and toothpaste included. 

Healthier Pumpkin Seed Recipe

I hope you enjoy this pumpkin seed recipe as much as we do! And if you want to help us spread the word on ways to make Halloween healthier, Pin this on Pinterest.

ingredients

2 cups pumpkin seeds (rinsed and dried)
1  tablespoon coconut oil (warmed so it’s in a liquid state)
salt and pepper
yummy additions: cinnamon, curry powder, garlic powder

directions

1. After you take out the pumpkin guts, make sure to rinse and dry your pumpkin seeds. We used a strainer and then laid them on a linen towel to dry over for a couple hours.

2. Once dry, preheat oven to 350 degrees.

3. Put the seeds on a baking sheet and mix with the coconut oil. Then spread the seeds out on the pan and season heavily with salt and pepper. You can even add some curry powder, cinnamon or garlic powder to the mix.

3. Bake in the oven for 45 minutes and get ready for your home to smell incredible.

Eat almost immediately after taking out of the oven— they taste the best when they are nice and hot.

What’s your favorite seasoning to use on pumpkin seeds?

Are you into sugar and spice, or salt and pepper? Or maybe you have your own version that your family loves. Share it here! We have tons more pumpkins to carve this season and I can’t wait to try out more recipes. Maybe I’ll even feature it here on Family Sponge.