Tuesday, August 30, 2011 at 07:05 AM
It’s Trade-Up Tuesday, everyone’s favorite day here at A Better Bag of Groceries because I blog about a trade-up I’ve made and I give away something for free. Today I am hosting a special Back To School giveaway because that time of year is really here.
My kids do not go back to school until after Labor Day, so I’m still in Summer Mode. But the reality of Back to School sort of hit me when we finally got our power on after Hurricane Irene and there were school closings from other towns running at the bottom of the newscast!
The thing that I really like to stock up on for Back to School is shelf stable items. Things that are safe to be consumed even at room temperature. Where we live in the Northeast, schools are not air-conditioned. So, when my kids go back to school next week (I can’t believe it’s next week), it will be hot in the classrooms. And the American Academy of Pediatrics (AAP) study that was just released a couple of weeks ago has me a little freaked out! The AAP study of 705 insulated lunch bags showed that more than 90% of the lunch items inside the bags were at unsafe temperatures 1.5 hours before consumption and thus, ripe for bacteria formation, even when multiple ice packs were used. Aaack! So, it makes sense to pack foods that can be eaten safely at room temperature.
So, I hit my local Big Y in Walpole, MA to find some shelf-stable foods with higher than average NuVal scores for my kids’ lunches and snacks. Of course, my kids’ lunchboxes are always filled with fresh veggies and fruits (that I keep as cold as possible), but I need to round things out with beverages and snacks for the classroom. Here’s what I found:
- Full Circle Raisins: NuVal score of 87
- Horizon Organic 1% Lowfat Milk: NuVal score of 81
- Fruitables Berry Berry Juice Boxes: NuVal score of 26
- Cheez-It Scrabble Junior: NuVal score of 23
- Chocolate Teddy Grahams: NuVal score of 26
Raisins: I chose these Full Circle Raisins instead of SunMaid because they got the same great NuVal score, but they cost less.
Horizon Milk: My son drinks these all the time during the school year. They are “UHT” milks. That means ultra high temperature: specially packaged to stay fresh at room temperature before opening. That’s critical given what we now know about lunch box temperatures! The alternative would be to buy milk in the school cafeteria, but I know my son (a slow eater) needs all his lunch time to eat, not to stand in the milk line!
Fruitables: The average score for shelf stable juice is a 13. These Fruitables get a 26. These are one of the best juice boxes I have seen that do not have artificial sweeteners (I know some readers are not fans of artificial sweeteners.)
Cheez-It Scrabble Junior: When I was choosing a cracker for this giveaway, I almost went with Triscuits, because they score so high for crackers. Original Triscuits get a 31 and most kids like them. However, I could not resist these Scrabble Cheez-Its for the Back To School theme. And since the average score for crackers is a 17, you’re still doing well with a score of 23 here.
Chocolate Teddy Grahams: The average score for cookies is a 7. Chocolate Teddy Grahams score a 26. That is a reason to celebrate! Especially if you are a chocolate lover.
Today’s Giveaway
One lucky reader will be all stocked up for the first week of school. All you need to do is leave a comment below telling me one (or more) of the following:
- What you wish could me made shelf-stable
- What you put in your kids’ lunch boxes
- What you love about Back to School time
I’ll select one winner at random at 8 am Eastern on Wednesday, so don’t delay. Good luck everyone.
For More Information on “above average” choices for lunch boxes, check out my blog post on Kindergarten Snacks.
Posted by: Melissa
Posted in: back-to-school, Trade-Up Tuesday
Tags: back-to-school
Friday, August 19, 2011 at 07:15 AM
Every August, I resist the Back to School madness. Actually, I have to shield my eyes and run by those pesky school supply aisles in the stores beginning as early as July 1st. It makes no sense to me. My kids’ last day of school was June 28th! And out came the Back to School ads one week later?
But here it is August 19th. In some parts of the country, school started this week! In fact, when I was listening to NPR last week, they said that school had just started in Atlanta. I am so thankful that my kids don’t begin until after Labor Day. I want to eke every moment I can out of summer, before we go back to the crazy school week schedule that includes homework, sports, and extra-curricular activities. Truly, I would like to just bury my head in the sand and simply deal with all of the Back to School stuff come September. But, I have learned (the hard way!) that you can’t really do that. There are a few things that you may want to consider to checking off your list mid-August, otherwise you’ll find that you’ll be wait-listed for activities, the right shoe sizes and good colors are long gone at L.L. Bean, and that backpack that your son really, really wanted is on backorder or no longer in stock.
So here’s my Must Do Get Ready For School List:
- Fall Activities: Plan out your kids’ activities for the fall and get them signed up. This year, we sat down with our kids and discussed what they wanted to do. Since we both work full time (and we don’t have a chauffeur), we have to limit activities (one sport each). And even that is difficult! My husband and I made a list of all the calls, emails and research that had to be done and we did it all in one week. Whew! We felt much better when we were done. We’ve been late before doing this and we’ve found ourselves driving two towns over for a Y t-ball class. That’s no fun and a huge waste of time.
- Supplies for Fall Activities: We try on cleats and ballet shoes. We check ballet tights to see if they need replacing. My favorite place for dance attire? Discount Dance Supply You cannot beat their prices and they save your online order history so you can re-order easily.
- Backpacks: My kids have had character backpacks for a few years now (you know, the cheap kind from Target) and I find that they last one year (if that). The zippers break and they just don’t hold up. My daughter actually had a toddler sized backpack from Pottery Barn and it has lasted three years! But it is too small. So this year, they are getting LL Bean Back Packs. These should last a few years. Our school recommends that you not embroider your child’s name on their backpack for safety reasons. Think about it. A stranger could easily call your child by their first name. And your child might be confused and think they’re being picked up by someone that day. I think that’s great advice. We’re monogramming with initials.
- School Supplies: I am lucky. I happen to live in a school district where you don’t get one of those back to school supply lists. My good friend just moved from our town to Colorado and she was surprised to learn that her son’s school supply list included 29 items such as 100 sharpened #2 pencils, paints, erasers, notebook paper, binders etc. So, for those parents who have the unfortunate luck of having to shop for these lists, I guess maybe you should get it done.
- Footwear: My kids get two things in August. 1. A pair of LL Bean Comfort Mocs. Brown for my son, black currant for my daughter. These no-nonsense shoes work great with jeans and are just the perfect New England all-weather shoe. 2. A pair of New Balance sneakers. They both have physical education class twice a week, and footwear is key.
- Clothes: OK, here is where I go minimalist. For now, all I buy is the first day of school outfit. That is it. Think about it. When our kids go back to school, it is still hot. They are wearing what they wore in June. There is no reason to go buying all new clothes right now. Wait until they go on sale. Don’t worry. They will. So that you don’t panic, take inventory. Put a few outfits together that look nice. Unless your kids grew two inches in the last 8 weeks, you should be OK. Another benefit is that it is a good opportunity to weed out clothes that are worn out or simply don’t fit. There’s nothing better than purging!
So, with that done, (whew!) I can savor what is left of this glorious summer. I feel good knowing we’ve got the basics covered. The Back to School thing is not so scary.
Did I miss anything?
Questions of The Day
What Back to School To Do must you get done now? Or can it wait? Does the early-July Back-to-School frenzy make you crazy?
Posted by: Melissa
Posted in: back-to-school
Tags: back-to-school
Friday, September 17, 2010 at 08:11 AM
OK – one more Back to School post and then I’ll give this theme a rest. Promise. But I couldn’t let these two weeks pass without paying homage to the the bravest of the brave: the Moms who decide to dust off their college backpacks and head back to school after quite some time. Like my good friend, Karen.
Karen lives with her husband, Jeff in Northern New Jersey with their two awesome kids, a girl, age 11, and a boy, age 7. Karen graduated from Colby College back in 1990 and went on to work in Manhattan in the publishing industry. Soon after her daughter was born, Karen left publishing and spent some time as a stay-at-home-mom while still freelancing in editing at times. Fast-forward to today. With both kids in full-day grade school, Karen has decided to go back to school to pursue her M.Ed. in Special Education/Elementary Education. Wow! Karen is one busy Mom, but she took a few minutes out of her day to answer some questions for me:
Me: What made you decide to return to school?
Karen: I am currently in a program that will certify me to teach Kindergarten through 5th grade as well as certify me in Special Education. I have always been interested in working with children, during college I worked in a camp for severely disabled children. I returned to school part-time when both my children were in school full-day.
Me: What is different about college now than it was in the late 1980s? What is the same?
Karen: The differences: well, last semester I took a test in my pajamas at home! The technology to register, to attend class, to find out grades, it is all on-line and it is such a time saver. Oh and one word (well, maybe 2) PowerPoint! Most of my lectures are posted on line in PowerPoint. Instead of taking notes most students just print out the PowerPoint. When I gave my first presentation, my 11 year-old daughter helped me with the basics. What is the same is the course work – I still have homework and projects although I find I am much better now at studying because I only have a limited amount of time to do so.
Me: How are you juggling being a student and being a mom?
Karen: Some days are better than others! I also work part-time as a freelance editor, so it is all about priorities. The days I attend school can be a bit frazzled but I believe I am setting a good example for my children by showing them that “Moms” can go to school and an that you are never too old to be a student or a learner.
Me: What is your goal when you complete your studies?
Karen: I will be certified to teach and would like to be Special Ed teacher in a school district.
Me: Shifting gears, I know you have been a long-time ABBG reader. What do you think of NuVal?
Karen: I love NuVal. I wish we had it in my local grocery stores. When I was on vacation in New Hampshire, we saw it in Price Chopper. My children and I loved comparing the scores of products and guessing the more nutritious food.
Me: What Trade-Ups have you made since learning about NuVal?
Karen: I absolutely love Greek yogurt. I can’t go back to the other stuff. My favorite is Chobani. I have also replaced white rice with brown rice and while my family complains a bit (well, mostly my husband) I know it is a better choice for my family.
Thank you, Karen for answering all my questions. When Jeff whines complains about the brown rice that you are serving him, know that you can always serve him parboiled rice instead. It actually gets the same great NuVal score as brown rice – an 82! – but it has a consistency more like plain white rice. I wrote a post about it a long time ago and you can read it here.
Congratulations to Karen, and to all the other brave Moms out there who have made that courageous step to go back to school. We’ll be cheering you on!
Posted by: Melissa
Posted in: back-to-school, Chobani
Tags: back-to-school, brown rice, Chobani, parboiled rice, rice
Tuesday, September 14, 2010 at 07:09 AM
Welcome to Trade-Up Tuesday, everyone’s favorite day here on A Better Bag of Groceries because I write about a trade-up I’ve made since learning about NuVal and I give away something for free. Today”s giveaway is very timely now that we’re well into the Back to School swing of things. Minute Maid Fruit Falls are a staple in our household. Here’s how I learned about them.
As part of my job with NuVal, I sometimes travel to visit the awesome retailers who have decided to put NuVal scores on their shelves. It was on such a trip that I found myself in a Meijer supermarket in Michigan looking at scores in the juice aisle. I had never heard of Minute Maid Fruit Falls but I was amazed that they got a NuVal score of 41. While that might not sound like a high score (the scale is 1 – 100 and 100 is most nutritious), it is when you consider the scores of other juice boxes and water beverages:
- Capri Sun Roarin Waters: 10
- Juice Juice Apple Juice Box: 11
- Kool Aid Cherry Water Beverage: 10
- Mott’s for Tots Apple Juice Box: 20
I could not believe that score of 41. Back at home, my kids were sipping on Carpri Sun Roarin’ Waters which only got a 10! So, I flew back to Boston and immediately checked around with my Mommy friends to see who knew about these Fruit Falls. By checking in with neighbors and friends, I soon learned that I could buy them at Target and Roche Brothers (but not at Stop & Shop – weird!) Anyway, we stopped buying Capri Sun Roarin’ Waters and started buying Minute Maid Fruit Falls right away. It was a no brainer. But without the NuVal scores, I never would have known this.
I talk to a lot of Moms. A lot. And these days, everyone is talking about what to put in lunchboxes and backpacks. So last Thursday’s post with The List of the best-scoring packaged snacks – you know, the kinds of things you can put in your child’s backpack that won’t be all soft and mushy at 2 pm – got a lot of hits. But now, everyone is asking me about drinks. And well, other than water (which also goes with both of my kids to school every day), these Minute Maid Fruit Falls are definitely a Go To beverage for us.
Today’s Giveaway
One lucky commenter will win this 10-pack of Minute Maid Fruit Falls. All you need to do is leave a comment below telling me a beverage that you’ve traded up to since learning about NuVal. I’ll choose one winner at random at 8 am EDT on Wednesday so don’t delay.
Our Back To School Update
Fair is fair. I put pictures of my son’s first day of second grade on the Blog, so I must do the same for my daughter. Yes, my baby left for Kindergarten yesterday. Sniff!
My husband captured this great captured this great action shot.
I jumped right on that bus and grabbed this priceless shot of our last-born’s first day on the school bus!
After two years of seeing her big brother get on and off that school bus, it was finally her turn. She was thrilled!
Posted by: Melissa
Posted in: back-to-school, Trade-Up Tuesday
Tags: back-to-school, Minute Maid Fruit Falls
Friday, September 10, 2010 at 07:25 AM
In yesterday’s post, I answered a question sent in by a mom who had been required by her daughter’s Kindergarten teacher to send in peanut-free, packaged snacks to be shared by her daughter’s Kindergarten class. Not easy. Thankfully, we will send our daughter to Kindergarten with an individual snack of our own choosing on a daily basis. While this means that we will have to add the preparation of that snack to our evening checklist of things to do, I prefer this to the communal snack method because our daughter is more likely to have a nutritious snack this way.
It’s hard to believe that my daughter starts Kindergarten this week. Will I cry when my last born gets on the bus on Monday morning? You bet I will! Even though she is such a big girl with tons of day care and pre-school experiences behind her, she was very nervous when we went to Kindergarten orientation this week.
She looks a little nervous, doesn’t she? She was gripping my hand very tightly as we walked the hall to her classroom. But as soon as we arrived, her teacher, Mrs. Simmons, put her right at ease.
Mrs. Simmons was my son’s Kindergarten teacher, so I know her well. She has one of those nice soothing, calming voices and she speaks so sweetly to the children. I wish I could stay in Kindergarten all day too!
While the Classroom Aid introduced the children to some classroom routines, Mrs. Simmons sat down with us parents to do paperwork and go over some things. I think we spent 20% of our time together discussing Snack Time. There are two things in Kindergarten that are A Very Big Deal: taking the bus to school and Snack Time. So, we spent a lot of time on these things. Thank Goodness this is my second time going through this!
Since I am now the Mommy Blogger for NuVal(I was not when my son was a Kindergartner), I took copious notes on Mrs. Simmons Snack Time Guidelines. They were awesome! She really is a pro at this.
- A good snack is something that your child can handle independently. (So fondue is out.)
- A good snack is something that your child can eat in 5-10 minutes. (So leftover beef teriyaki on a stick is probably not a good choice – all that chewing. Not to mention the stick could be used as a weapon once Snack Time was complete.)
- A good snack must be peanut free. (This one isn’t even funny. My heart goes out to children with allergies. And it’s so important not to break this rule, because the kids work on these tables after they eat).
- A good snack contains no nuts at all. (That means no tree nuts, no granola bars that were manufactured in factories that contain nuts. Again, imagine if your child had allergies).
- Fruit is a great snack.
- Cut up vegetables are a great snack.
Mrs. Simmons also told us that instead of bringing in cupcakes for birthday parties, she is encouraging that we think of something else. Great idea. OK, now I feel a little guilty about those Red, White and Blue cupcakes I brought in when my son was in her class, but that’s OK. Instead, she suggested that your birthday girl or boy could hand out stickers or pencils to everyone in class. Love it!
Mrs. Simmons is an avid A Better Bag of Groceries reader and I know that she works hard to make nutritious choices for her family, just like I try to do. Most recently, she said that her own 7-year-old daughter is all into Star Fruit. She likes it because it looks like a star. Adorable! And it scores a 100 on the NuVal scale.
So a huge Thank You to Mrs. Simmons for helping us to get started on the right foot with these great guidelines. Now, I need to go make sure I have enough tissues ready for the big Kindergarten send-off coming up on Monday morning.
Enjoy the weekend, everyone!
Posted by: Melissa
Posted in: back-to-school, snacks
Tags: back-to-school, kindergarten snacks, snacks
