I have two sons in Elementary School… multiply that by 191 school days…. minus 12 hot lunches…. carry the two…. that’s approximately 370 sandwiches I’ll be making this school year! (When all four of my boys are in school, it’ll be 740! Yikes.) I’m proud to say we are healthy eaters- I know the importance of nutrition, and I feed my family whole, natural foods whenever possible. I would make them a sandwich, pack a juice box, a small yogurt or fruit cup, and a recess snack of crackers, pretzels, or something equally-easy-to-eat-while-running-and-climbing-on-the-playground. Then I watched Food, Inc. I took a good look at the lunchtime staple- THE SANDWICH! What I was putting into the sandwich I was putting into my kids, and I just wasn’t sure I wanted all those chemicals and food-like products going into my little boys. I’ve noticed over the last few months that natural options are popping up all over my grocery store. So much so that I can now make a sandwich I feel good about! [...]
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It was Little Miss’ first birthday last weekend (sniff sniff) and I was SO excited about throwing her her very own party. When I was in the UK last March I fell in love with some Very Hungry Caterpillar party decorations and thus inspired decided then and there that it would be the theme of her party. We ADORE the book by Eric Carle (if you don’t have it you must get it – it truly is one of those “must have” kids books) and thought the primary colours would be fun. I was a little unsure what to do about a cake until I stumbled upon the truly AMAZING Coco Cakes Cupcakes blog by local Vancouverite, and owner of Coco Cakes, Lyndsay Sung. Not only did Lyndsay create a fabulous Hungry Caterpillar cupcake train but she was sweet enough to explain how she did it in the comments (right down to which colour gels she used to get the “watercolour” look of the books). [...] Naturally sweetened using cane sugar instead of artificial sweeteners, Tetley Tea Infusions are concentrated packages of syrup which you add to cold water for an instant ‘iced’ tea beverage. There are four fabulous tea-based flavours to choose from: Green Tea, Pomegranate, Lemon, and Blueberry. Each of them is refreshing and delicious! One box contains six 30ml sachets of Tea Infusions, and each sachet has enough syrup to be mixed with 500ml (two cups) of cold water. [...] Kinderville makes a fabulous set of popsicle molds that resolves all of these issues. Their Little Bites Popsicle Molds come in sets of four (one each of the four colours pictured above), hold 3.5 fluid ounces, and are five inches tall. They are made out of BPA-free, non-leaching silicone, and are dishwasher and freezer safe. [...] Recently my husband and I splurged and purchased a Nespresso machine. We figured that good coffee and raising a child go hand in hand. I had been introduced to one a few weeks prior, by a friend who had expressed her love for her machine. She was so fond of it, she had taken it with her when she last went on a trip to Seattle. I decided, if my friend couldn’t be away from her coffee maker for a night, it must be good. I was right and lucky for me, it wasn’t hard to convince my husband. This would be a fabulous gift for Father’s Day. My husband loves ours. One of my favourite things about travelling is the search for products and ideas we don’t have here at home. I was in the UK last March and I fell in love with the absolutely gorgeous and colourful kitcehnware by London design darlings Joseph Joseph. When I got home I immeadiately contacted them to find out where I could get my hands on them and I was very kindly sent the nesting bowls (above) and the Index Chopping Boards (below). [...] For months now I have been walking by the beautiful packages of Dorset Cereals on the shelves at my local grocery store, and while I’ve often stopped to admire their stunning, unique packaging, I hadn’t actually worked myself up to making a purchase. This is because I actually make my own muesli-type cereal at home, but now that I’ve actually tried Dorset’s line of tasty cereals, I can tell you that those days are over! [...] A couple of months ago my husband and I sat down to watch the Academy Award nominated documentary Food Inc. thereby instantly altering the way we were eating permanently. I believe that all parents should be made to watch this film because it is so shocking and terrifying AND WE CAN ALL DO SOMETHING ABOUT I!!! I can’t think of another time that my entire life was changed by a small piece of media. Since watching the film we’ve significantly cut back on the amount of meat we eat (we ate a lot of chicken before this film and now maybe eat it a couple of times a month) and we’re choosing quality (i.e. organic) meat over mass produced. I’m also buying more organic veggies but to be honest because money is an issue as well I’ve been tending to stick to organic veggies for Little Miss’ food and regular ones for us – I figure you’ve gotta start somewhere! [...] Have you ever stood in front of the fridge holding the deli meat you purchased last week and wondering if it was still safe to eat? This happens to me ALL the time, and usually I err on the side of caution and toss items that make me suspicious. With two small children in my house, it’s my responsibility to worry about their health and safety full-time! [...] The other day we were having some friends over for dinner and I was trying to reconcile my desire for a yummy dessert AND my craving for coconut (no, I’m not pregnant!). I decided to make these amazingly delicious cocoa brownies (substituting 1/2 cup of unsweetened coconut for the nuts), but I couldn’t find any coconut ice cream to go with them. In desperation, I grabbed the tub of Liberté Mediterranee Coconut yoghurt I had in the fridge. [...] I have to say this DeLonghi coffee grinder may just be the best shower gift we received… it definitely was the most surprising but also quickly became the most relied upon. I’m not sure we would have made it through the first three months of parenthood without it. We have some fabulous friends who are super into their coffee and I think they were quite dismayed when they discovered we don’t grind our own beans so they set about converting us and boy did it work. There really is a huge difference with freshly ground coffee and I swear there were mornings where the smell of the beans kept me alive long enough to drink the coffee. [...] 
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