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

This month in the Eat Well, Spend Less series we’re focusing on summer fun, or, in my case, a crazy and insane summer schedule. Can you still eat well when your days are crammed full of activities and work and plenty of swimming? Of course! I’m not going to lie. This summer is going to be a difficult one. Between book promotion, the kids’ activities, summer camps, and Kiera’s schedule (OH MY GOODNESS, managing her schedule is a full-time job now that she’s headed to... more

Summer is just about here, and so as part of Eat Well, Spend Less, we’re looking at ways to get your kids involved in the summer menu and kitchen play. From shopping to fun recipes, this Monday menu features lunch and snack ideas for the summer. This conversation could go one of two ways: 1) Summer is a great time for getting the kids in the kitchen because you’re free from all the school activities, homework, and summer sports, OR 2) Summer is a hectic time filled with inconsistent... more

This month’s Eat Well, Spend Less is focused on the kids and the process of getting them in the kitchen to cook and eat. With summer vacation looming, this is the perfect time to tackle the terrain. When I was seven I cooked my first meal. I opened up a worn copy of my mom’s Betty Crocker Cookbook for Girls and Boys, and I made roast chicken, green bean almondine, and yeast bread shaped like a turtle. (The turtle actually came from Alpha-Bakery Gold Medal Children’s Cookbook.... more

It has been one year since we started the Eat Well, Spend Less series (big thanks to Jessica!), and we’re taking a look at how our food budget, menu, shopping habits, and diet may have changed in the last 12 months. Last April we kicked off the Eat Well Spend Less series by looking at the way we eat. I went over several meal planning tips and guides, and then I broke down an actual week of our food budget and a sample menu for that week. To date, those are two of my favorite posts of the series... more

Tips to Eat Well and Spend Less during pregnancy, the first postpartum weeks and beyond, as well as a few things we’re loving as winter turns to spring in 2012. Photo by Aimee I have this sense of urgency lately where I feel like I should be doing something else, but there always seems to be a different task or obstacle standing in my way. It feels a lot like nesting, this desire to organize my entire life with the snap of my fingers, Mary Poppins’ style, and then move on to the more... more

Those first weeks after the baby can be difficult to find the time and energy to eat well. Here are a few tips to eat well and spend less without relying on the drive-thru or takeout. Plus a Parents Need to Eat Too giveaway. This month we’re talking about feeding babies here on Eat Well, Spend Less. Between the lot of us, we have 35 kids, so I’d say this is a subject we’re pretty well equipped to take on, but more than that, in the last few weeks we’ve welcomed three brand... more