Mama Tip #6: Fun Snacks and The Original Fun Healthy Snacks

I know it's been done, but here is how easy it is to make a healthy snack fun and a fun snack healthy.

The Wolfman's Brother enjoying:  2 dried plums, 2 sugar cookies, 3 veggie straws, 4 chocolate chips, 10 almond slivers.  Dill will surely not get eaten.  I know, I need more fresh options but at least the dried plums are a good start.

In 4th Grade my classmate Jason brought in this cookbook and demonstrated the recipe for the vegetable monsters.  It was a lot of fun.  Mother subsequently purchased for me, during Cook Book Book Report Month.  My friend, the author and cartoonist Marc Tyler Nobleman always loved that I had this book on my shelf, as he is a super hero all-knowing guru.

Very early adopters of healthy eating guidelines in the early 80s, this book's messages of  healthy eating stayed with me throughout my childhood.  I believe this is out of print but you can currently get it on Amazon for $75.00

I actually ended up taking Dr. Joan Gussow's course on Nutritional Ecology at Teacher's College of Columbia University.  I recently wrote her a note thanking her for her work.  I mentioned this book and how much it meant to me.  Dr. Gussow didn't remember me, but that didn't matter.  She is a trailblazer when it comes to healthy eating.  For her I have the highest regard.

Yeah, some locally-sourced fruits would have been a good addition to the Wolfman Brother's snack.

At least he had organic milk for those cookies.

Mama Tip #5: Buy Laundry Detergent When it is On Sale at the Grocery Store or Pharmacy

I admit I love the convenience of Costco just like anyone else, and I have gotten used to purchasing my laundry detergent there.

But like my mom has always told me, buying Arm & Hammer detergent when on sale for $1.99 per bottle is the best buy out there.

Easy for you to say, mom, since you are in the suburbs.
Not so easy for the urban mama.

on sale at $1.99 per 50 ounces, this is the best buy for  laundry detergent!

If Tide Ultra at Costco is $14.29 for 50 ounces, who cares if what is on sale is not the same brand!  This is a no-brainer, and one need not be so brand-loyal when it comes to laundry detergent.

Plus, due to skin sensitivities, we only use Fragrance Free.

Yes, you can and should use Fragrance Free for babies.
Forget about Dreft (I know, you like the smell, but it isn't good for the baby's skin.  Trust me).

So, if you find yourself in the suburbs, get to an A&P or SuperFresh or Waldbaum's or Food Emporium where you might find, as I did, a great deal.

Limit of 3.

I think I will go back tomorrow for some more Via Roma Marinara sauce and get more detergent.

Phood Tip #2: The Best Jarred Marinara Sauce for the Money

My family has been eating the private label jarred marinara sauce produced by On Point for years.  Initially it was produced under the label Master's Choice and we bought it at the Food Emporium, A&P,and Waldbaum's.  All the flavors were delicious:  Four Cheese, Bolognese, Tomato Basil, Marinara to name a few.  All natural ingredients, made with olive oil, no additives or hidden spices.  Always the best price for the homemade-quality taste when compared to the specialty brands like Rao's, Patsy's and the like.  Also, they were all Kosher.  Even the Bolognese was OU-Glatt.

No longer Master's Choice, the sauce is now marketed under the more attractive label of Via Roma.  This is still the private label for A&P, and mama mia are they doing a good thing!

For the Kosher folks out there, only the Marinara is certified Kosher parve.  (Please, bring back the other flavors!  You are very good for the kosher world!).  This is the best quality, best tasting, best priced jarred Parve sauce any Kosher consumer will ever have.  It is a necessity for Friday night sweet & sour meatballs.  I recently tried substituting ketchup, and my kinderlach could taste the difference.

For everyone else:  try out all the flavors and see what you like best.

Via Roma Marinara Sauce, $3.99 per jar, currently on sale for $2.49 at my local SuperFresh, Certified Kosher by the Orthodox Union (the O-U)

At $3.99 a jar, this is the best homemade-tasting sauce for your buck.

It is made locally in Pennsylvania, too!

Currently it is on sale at SuperFresh (also an A&P affiliate) for $2.49 a jar, no limit.

My sister Reba dismisses this sauce, as she is more of a food purist and immersion-blends a can of san marzano tomatoes as her sauce, but she doesn't have children yet, and so I wonder if she will start relying more on the convenience foods that most families use when God-willing she has children of her own.  But, I hear her.  And, she remembers the glory days of when this was part of her after-school snack atop a piece of vegetarian schnitzel (aka tivall in Israel) with melted cheese on top.

The Marinara is higher in fat than the others at 6g per serving, but the Tomato Basil is lower and similarly tasty.

Manga!


And, if this type of stuff matters to you, for further info on the company, read this recent Forbes article on A&P's CEO.

How CEO Sam Martin is Driving the Imperative to Overhaul A&P

Mama Tip #3: Great $20 Birthday Gift Idea for Kayla or Oliver

Our new Wild Animal Baby arrived today, published by the National Wildlife Federation.

This is a good publication for early childhood, but they have others for older ages:  Ranger Rick and Your Big Backyard.

I know what you're thinking:  It takes advance planning, and I need to bring a wrapped gift to the party.

Yes, that is sort of true.  The child will not receive this magazine the day of.

However, you can order the magazine online at the last minute, wrap up (better yet, place in a regifted gift-bag from your bag of bags) a nature-themed toy or goody bag prize that has lost its way in your home, write up a mock-certificate that they are to receive a subscription to this magazine and call it a day!

Who needs more toys in their house?

Only snag is that you will continue to receive the renewal for this gift at which point you say:  let Kayla or Oliver's parents figure that one out!

However, a potential bonus is if you order during one of their promotions, you will get the free gift, not the gift recipient.  That means one more pair of binoculars for your child.

Parents will so appreciate it, you get the credit for giving a useful, thoughtful gift without creating more garbage in the house, and everyone will now know the difference between a macaw and a manatee.

Order here    (and, no, I am not currently receiving financial support from anyone, be it a company or individual, as it relates to the Whole Phamily.  The products I am endorsing are those I believe in.)

Mama Tip #2: Become a Creature of Habit With Room to Wiggle

Early this morning, I found myself 10 minutes late to spin class.  Normally I sit in the same area, but I saw a friend with an open seat in her vicinity and was tempted to sit next to her.  I am glad I didn't.  I have my reasons:  it is near the windows, I like to be up front in the mirrors, and it offers more privacy.  It is my makom kavua, or dedicated space, that I return to day after day.

If I succumbed to impulse just to be social, I would have lost out.  Don't get me wrong:  I love to mix it up.  But I would have given up the reasons why I am there in the first place.  And one of those is not to catch up with my girlfriends.  (actually, we did get a chance to chat, but it was after the class, which is the appropriate time and place).   

When it comes to children, routines are essential.  They enable them to thrive and yet getting them to stick to the routine is challenging.  One area where I have been successful due to sticking to consistency with my kinderlach is in clearing the table.  We use the Hebrew word  toranut to refer to clean-up.  When the Wolfman leaves the table with his breakfast dishes still there, I will say simply, "Did you do your toranut?"  Repetition of this question has instilled that he knows it is his responsibility.  When he acts like he doesn't want to do this job, I will ask probing questions such as:  "Is there something you need help with?  Are the dishes too heavy?"  Often, this helps.

There is a time and a place for everything, and routines help us get there.

Pete Seeger captured this  Jewish concept in "Turn, Turn, Turn," a song popularized by the Byrds.  It is based on the Book of Ecclesiastes (which appears in the Old Testament or Tanach).  It is called  Kohelet in Hebrew and is read in synagogue during the holiday of Sukkot, a harvest festival all about changes of the seasons.  As creatures of habit, every year our sukkah has the same look and feel, but the people who come to it bring variety of all stripes.  

I like that.

Mama Tip #1: Let Your Children Pour Their Own Beverages

The Wolfman's Brother is eating his oatmeal with strawberries, a bit of maple syrup and a chocolate syrup drizzle as I type.



If there is one thing that I learned while teaching early childhood with the lovely Original PurpleGirl, it is to use small pitchers for the children so they can pour their own.  Here, we have an Arcoroc glass pitcher you can pick up at Crate and Barrel.

This is the perfect size for small hands, and even my older two (The Wolfman is 6 and Concealed Light is 8) find it useful.

Easier than trying to get them to pour from a gallon container.

And empowering.