The what, why, and how of getting your kids involved in menu planning and the discussion of daily meals. I am in the kitchen, bent at the waist with my head tucked inside the refrigerator. Our fridge is always stuffed full with the season’s produce, wrapped in plastic or teetering in bowls. Each week I tell myself I need a better solution for organizing the Tetris-esque contents of my chilled rectangle. On the shelf below the jars of yogurt and opened jams, amidst the lettuce, Brussels sprouts,... more

Wondering what lunch box food storage containers are the best for sending to school with your kids? Here are a few of our favorites from PlanetBox, Kids Konserve, LunchSkins, and more. Deep breath. Let’s discuss the basics behind school lunch: The storage basics. Everyone always wants to go over the things that go in the containers like the ABCs of School Lunch Ideas and How to Pack Freezer Smoothies, but I’ve found that having a good set of quality containers on hand is sometimes one... more

We’ve been berry picking quite a bit this summer. Take a look at our trip to an organic blueberry farm and how we incorporate it into a healthy and active lifestyle. On Tuesday we rubbed the morning sand from our eyes, pulled on tennis shoes, and loaded into the vehicle. As we drove, the landscape of urban lakes with walking paths and charming two-story houses from the 1900s shifted first to retailers, massive indoor malls and Swedish furniture shops and then to a selection of oversized suburban... more

Take a look at how to survive summer with these kid-friendly lunch ideas for everything from road tripping to lounging around the house. Summer, when kids run wild and reckless with abandon. This month on the Eat Well, Spend Less series we’re looking at all the ins and outs of summer eating, be it cookouts, camping, during road trips, while on vacation, or just while lounging at home. I’m sharing a few of my lunchtime tips for all sorts of summer situations. The Road Trip Lunch The... more

This month in the Eat Well, Spend Less series I look at how the group introduces new foods to their children, whether they eat the same food, and whether they think any of that is important at all. Lights glare from the bubbles above the dining room table, sending yellowish streams through the room. Typical in the winter, when the sun sinks below the horizon before the food has a chance to be set out and the family called around the table. Banter across the warm oak includes sarcasm and teasing... more

This month in the Eat Well, Spend Less series we are focusing on getting back to the basics of feeding your family. Let’s start at the very beginning, a very good place to start. Dinnertime is ever evolving in our house. This year we embarked on the path of swim club family, dragging the eldest to and from the pool a mere five nights a week for two-hour-long swim sessions. Combined with basketball, swim lessons for the younger crowd, catechism, homework for four, and time to wind down and... more

Looking for inspiration on what to pack in your kids’ lunchboxes as they head back to school? Here are a few fun lunchbox ideas to get you through the year (or at least the first half of it) in this month’s Eat Well, Spend Less series. I pull the white cotton sheet over my head and pretend the world does not exist. Being woken up to the sound of my husband’s alarm blaring at 5:45 a.m. after having just crawled into bed at 2:17 a.m. is a painful reality. If I can just keep my eyes... more