Easy Lunchboxes Review and Giveaway

You all know how much I love products created by moms! Not only do I love supporting other moms, but I think they come up with the best ideas since they face the same everyday problems as I do.

Since Little J will be going to school all day next year, he will be eating lunch away from home for the first time. Since I am very definitely not a fan of school lunches, I will be packing him a lunch each day. This is going to add an extra step to an already tight morning routine. Lucky for me, I discovered Easy Lunchboxes.


Kelly Lester was a mom sick of searching for the right size containers and lids to make lunches for her 3 kids.

Her clever solution to the lunch-packing chore is the simple two piece EasyLunchbox container : The bottom has three compartments to hold an entree or sandwich and two side dishes. The fitted lid (which comes in 4 colors) covers all three compartments in a snap. No more mismatched plastic container pieces to keep track of or wasteful baggies. Fits perfectly inside the roomy EasyLunchbox custom carrying bag. And there is still plenty of room to throw in an extra snack or two, whole fruit, perhaps a thermos of soup, drink and ice block. Flexibility is key, and since so many different things can fit, no matter what menu you choose to include, it packs easily and quickly. It's amazing how much faster, greener, and easier lunch box packing is with the EasyLunchbox system.



By eliminating the unnecessary multiple parts and accessories offered by other companies, the EasyLunchbox System is 1/2 the price of similar products, so it's very affordable. And it's also reusable, which helps save the environment. FDA approved. No BPA, phthalates, lead, vinyl, or PVC. Safe for dishwasher and microwave.

The simple chic design and bright colors of the Cooler Bags can even be personalized!
They have included a sturdy grommet in the carrying handle so you can easily attach a pretty key ring, or your choice of any type of handcrafted or store bought “flair.” The Cooler Bags are made of the highest quality 300D Polyester for premium durability and toughness. Vinyl free (PVC free) & lead free, with an FDA compliant PEVA lining.



I have to say that this product was a HUGE hit at my house! I will be the first admit that my container cabinet needs an extreme makeover, so having a pre-set container to use was a great time saver. Big J liked Little J's lunchbox so much, he promptly ordered one for himself! (Much better than going out to lunch everyday.

Want to try the Easy Lunchbox system for yourself? Thanks to the generosity of EasyLunchboxes creator and founder, Kelly, I'm giving away a complete system to one lucky reader. The system includes an insulated carrier and four compartmentalized containers.



Here's how to enter:

1. Post a comment about your favorite school lunch memory - it can be what you ate, who you shared your time with, whatever. ONE ENTRY

2. Follow Wisconsin Mommy on Twitter. Come back here and post a separate comment letting me know you did this. ONE ENTRY

3. Become a fan of Wisconsin Mommy on Facebook. Post a separate comment here letting me know you did this. ONE ENTRY

4. Become a follower of this blog, Wisconsin Mommy. Post a comment here letting me know you did this. ONE ENTRY

5. Subscribe to Wisconsin Mommy's Posts via RSS Feed (Top left column). Post a comment back here letting me know you did this. ONE ENTRY

6. Become a fan of EasyLunchboxes on Facebook. (and post a comment) ONE ENTRY

7. Follow @EasyLunchboxes on Twitter, (and post a comment) ONE ENTRY

8. TWO ENTRIES: Tweet about this giveaway and mention @Wisconsin_Mommy and @EasyLunchboxes and a link back to this giveaway. Post two comments back here with a link to your Tweet letting me know you did this.

9. THREE ENTRIES: Post or blog about this giveaway on any online forum, group, blog, chat room, etc. with a link back to this contest. Post three comments back here with the links of where you did this.

The EasyLunchboxes giveaway will end on Friday, April 30th at midnight central time. The winner will be chosen using random. org and notified via email. Please leave an email address or link to your public blogger profile so I can get in contact with you if you win!

Not a contest-entering-kinda-gal??? Go to the EasyLunchboxes site now and save 10% off your order with coupon code "mama10".

Disclosure: EasyLunchboxes sent me samples to review as well as the giveaway set. My opinions are my own and are no way influenced by any compensation.

Do you know what your child is eating for lunch today?

It seems that all of the sudden, school lunches are in the spotlight. Whether because of Jamie Oliver's Food Revolution, First Lady Michelle Obama's campaign against childhood obesity, or the legislation that is before the Senate, school lunches are the hot topic of the day!

Personally, I welcome the examination of what is being served to our children. Before I started my career in education over fifteen years ago, I had no idea what a typical school lunch consisted of. Because I was teaching at an inner city school where many of the students came from lower income families, a large number of students qualified for both free breakfast and free lunch and were having two meals plus a snack provided by the school. The quality of the food was shameful. The meals were monochromatic, carb and fat laden, and full of processed junk. I wasn't the least bit surprised that the school in Food Revolution served pizza for breakfast - my school did at least once a week.

We all need to be concerned about the foods that are being served to our children. In the documentary,Two Angry Moms, one mom sends her daughter off to school with healthy lunches each day only to find out that she is being undermined by the school who is selling her daughter fries, rice krispie treats, and other unhealthy foods. (What I particularly like about this film is that it does not just show the negatives of school lunches, but also showcases schools that are making healthy lunch programs work.)

There are a number of school districts who are working toward providing healthy real food for their students. Unfortunately, they face many obstacles as showcase by Oliver's program. You may remember seeing a partnership between the Appleton, Wisconsin school district and Natural Ovens in the 2003 film Super Size Me. The program was funded for five years and then was not continued despite the clear benefits cited by those working with the students. I spoke with several people both at Natural Ovens and at the Appleton School District. No one was able to speak to why the program was not continued and I was continually directed to call the company currently providing the districts food which is located in VA.

This futile quest for information only served to demonstrate how difficult it is for parents to get any kind of relevant information about their child's school lunch. The district defers to the district's food provider. Once you get a live local person representing that company, they say that they cannot tell you anything and that you need to call corporate.

So what is a concerned parent to do?

First, educate yourself. Find out what is being served at your child's school - stop in and have lunch with your child if you are able. Take advantage of the information that is out there. Here are some great resources:

Two Angry Moms DVD

Join Two Angry Moms on Facebook to find like-minded parents and local events

Learn more at REAP's website

Check out http://www.schoolfoodfocus.org/

There are a ton of great resources at Natural Press including an information kit that details the Natural Ovens/Appleton program I spoke of above.

One brave teacher and blogger is publishing daily photos of the lunches her school is serving.

Once you have information, make your voice heard. Find other parents who are also concerned and let your local school district know your thoughts. Write your congress members and let them know as well.

And until the schools make healthy food a priority, I will be sending Little J's lunch from home. If this is something you are considering as well, you definitely will want to check out my Easy Lunchboxes review and giveaway!

And we have some winners....

I have quite a few winners I need to announce here, so let's get right to it!

The Tilty Cup winner is #11 Stephanie.

The Treasure Chest Pets winner is #7 Robyn.

The Plate-Mate winner is #5 Sarah (sbdny).

The NeckSaver winner is #3 The New Mommiez Blend.

The Walmart Gift Card winner is fan #21 Emily Whitstone.

I am sending out emails to all the winners requesting mailing addresses, so check your inboxes!

Didn't win this time? Don't worry, there are more great giveaways in the works!!
Be sure to become a fan at www.facebook.com/WisconsinMommyFan to be automatically entered in upcoming fan only giveaways (can we say "free gas card" people?!).

Healthy Chicken Nuggets Recipe

Have you been watching Jamie Oliver's Food Revolution? If not, you should definitely check it out - it is really eye opening. The last episode showed in graphic detail how chicken nuggets are made and Twitter literally exploded with people saying they will never eat a nugget again.

Hold on there - there's no need to swear off of chicken nuggets forever...not when I have an easy recipe to make your own from scratch. (Hear that sound? It's your kids breathing a sigh of relief.)

If this sounds daunting, it shouldn't. The first time I made these it took me less than half an hour and they got a HUGE thumbs up from both Big J and the-world's-pickiest-eater, Little J.

Preheat your oven to 450 degrees. Start off with good quality chicken breasts (I prefer organic, free-range). Cut them into cubes - about nugget sized. Cut as much or as little as you need for the meal.

Pour some whole wheat flour into a shallow pan and coat each piece completely with flour.

Next dredge each piece in the plain yogurt of your choice (again, I prefer organic. You can use low-fat, fat-free, whatever you have. Plain, unflavored yogurt adds a nice tang to the nuggets without adding any extra sugar.)

Toss the dredged cubes in whole wheat panko bread crumbs (Ian's makes a great one!!). If you can't find whole wheat, you can use regular panko in a pinch. For some variety, I add different seasonings to the bread crumbs each time.

Put the cubes on a greased cookie sheet and bake for 10 minutes or until crispy and the chicken is cooked through. (You can also parchment paper to avoid having to grease the sheet.)

Now, isn't that easy-peasy??? And sooooo yummy.

If you try it, let me know what you think!

Martina McBride Shines on Tour

Last night, I had the pleasure of seeing Sarah Buxton, Trace Atkins, and Martina McBride in concert at the Resch Center in Green Bay thanks to Christine of Cute Stuff.

The concert was amazing despite the fact that Martina had come down with what was obviously a nasty cold. She apologized over and over, but really didn't need to as she hit every note beautifully and was as energetic as ever. She performed a few songs off of her latest album, Shine but covered most of her Greatest Hits like "Independence Day" and "This One's for the Girls".

Martina really knows how to connect with the crowd and puts on a terrific show, complete with her floating over the audience seated in a giant blue moon. She made the rounds of the audience and I got to be thisclose to her!! (see picture below - sorry for the quality, it was from my camera phone)

If you are not familiar with Sarah Buxton, I highly recommend checking her out. She is a very talented up and coming artist and I definitely see her going places in the future!!

Land's End Twitter Party

We Wisconsinite's really love our Land's End, don't we? Hey, what's not to love - quality products at a great price! If you are also a Land's End lover, you will want to make sure to attend the Land's End Twitter party on Wednesday.

Be a part of this exciting Twitter Event and tweet with representatives from Lands’ End, the Islands Of The Bahamas and iexplore.com. The event will feature more than 25 fun giveaways ranging from Lands’ End luggage, beach towels, travel kits, beach bags and gift cards.



Lands’ End Harbour Island Twitter Event

Date: Wednesday, March 24, 2010

Time: 7:00 p.m. until 9:00 p.m. CST

Location: #landsend



Join the fun and follow:

@LEprMichele, @LEprMolly, @LEprLibby, @VisitTheBahamas,

@iexplore and @iexplore_Amanda

Disclosure: I am participating in the Lands’ End Harbour Island blog promotion.

Homemade Yogurt in the Crockpot

I'm one of those people who loves the idea of a crockpot, but has a hard time moving beyond the same three recipes I've always made in it. That's why I was so excited when I discovered Stephanie's blog where she has literally HUNDREDS of crockpot ideas and recipes that I had never even considered.

I've been wanting to try her Crockpot Yogurt recipe for a while, but haven't had a day where I was going to be around the house for enough time. Since LJ is home sick today (bad call on my part - I think I should have sent him in since he's bouncing off of the walls and seems totally fine) I thought I would take a crack at it.

So, what's the most unusual thing you've ever made with your crockpot?

Walmart Gift Card Giveaway

Spring is seems to finally be showing itself in these parts - the birds are chirping (and stalking me!!), the snow is melting, the grass is greening up, and the kids are out playing in shorts and tee-shirts. Hey - 60 degrees in March is practically a heat wave here in Wisconsin!

I don't know about you, but my skin takes a huge beating during the winter. By spring time, I'm almost afraid to peel away the layers of clothes to find the dry, flaky mess underneath. That's why I was especially thrilled last week to come home and find a gift pack of Olay Total Effects Body Wash on my doorstep. (Big thanks to both Olay and MyBlogSpark for the gift!!)

Olay´s most advanced body wash promises to go beyond cleansing to deeply moisturize and fight 7 signs of aging all over your body by helping to improve elasticity, relieve dryness, deeply moisturize, brighten dull skin, even skin tone, smooth rough skin, and minimize the appearance of dry lines.

And baby, does it deliver!

Want to try it for yourself? (Of course you do!!) The nice folks at MyBlogSpark and Olay sent along a Walmart giftcard for one lucky Wisconsin Mommy fan.

All you need to do to enter is become a fan of Wisconsin Mommy on Facebook! (Already a fan? Then you're already entered!) Becoming a fan is easy-peasy, just click on the "Become A Fan" button at the top of the left column of this blog. A fan will be chosen at random on March 30th to receive the gift card.

Good luck and happy spring.

My crazy paparazzi bird...

Those of you who have been reading Wisconsin Mommy for a while may remember that I had a crazy robin stalking me last year. He insisted on peering in all the windows on the back side of my house and followed me from room to room. Little J finally came up with the solution of scaring him away by propping stuffed animals in each window.

Guess what. He's baa-ack.

And he's not going to be fooled by any silly stuffed animals, even if they are decked out in scary costumes WITH WEAPONS.

AND he's discovered that if I disappear, he can fly to the other side of the house and peer at me in my office.

I've tried everything. If I close the blinds, he throws himself at the window over and over. If I paste up a picture of an eagle or some other bird, he moves to the side of it and keeps on staring in. I'm pretty sure he's just laughing at the stuffed animals now...

Any suggestions? (We're not getting a cat!)

Rocco Dispirito: Now Eat This

For someone who doesn't really like to cook, I've become quite a collector of cookbooks. About half of them promise recipes that are healthy and low calorie but usually taste like just that. Some have recipes for dishes that are so obscure, no one in my house has eaten them before. Inevitably, I hear cries of "Just make mac and cheese" or some other standard comfort food and the fancy low cal cookbook gets shoved to the back of the cabinet.

Not my most recent addition to my collection. In NOW Eat This!, award-winning chef (and undisputed hottie) Rocco Dispirito has taken 150 standard comfort foods and given them a makeover. Each now has 350 calories or less per serving and, even more importantly, TASTES AS GOOD as the original. And yes, LJ - there is even a recipe for mac and cheese!

I've made several recipes already and heard not one complaint from the picky eaters at my table. My favorite so far are the nachos. They use basic real ingredients that you can find at your local grocery store and most importantly THEY TASTE GOOD! (Do you notice that taste is a big requirement for me?)

If you are making any kind of an effort to watch your calories or eat in a healthier way, Rocco Dispirito's latest cookbook is a must have for your cookbook library!

Have a post about wellness or a product that can help people along their journey toward wellness? Link up your post below and post the Wellness Wednesdays button (the code is available in the right hand sidebar) in your post.

Contest Winners Announced

We have two winners to announce!
The winner of the Yo Gabba Gabba "There's a Party in my City" ticket contest is comment 22 which belongs to MaryAnn!


The winner of The Biggest Loser Giveaway contest is comment #3 which belongs to Tegan.

I have sent emails to both winners, so please get in touch with me by Wenesday, March 10th or I will need to choose another winner.

Wellness Wednesday: Why Exercise?

In the winter in Wisconsin some days it seems like a struggle to just get out of bed. It's dark and cold. Hitting snooze and rolling over to catch an extra hour of warm, snuggly sleep seems much more appealing than getting up and heading to the gym.



These are the days when you really have to have some good motivation saved up and ready to pull out of your back pocket. The thought of looking great in your skinny jeans can only get you so far when you're facing snowy roads and sub-zero temperatures.



Here are a few other things to add to your arsenal of motivation:

According to Professor David C. Nieman of Appalachian State University, regular exercise can lessen the duration and severity of colds by boosting the body's immune system.

The American College of Sports Medicine has conducted studies that show that exercise:

• Can be as effective as Prozac or therapy at reducing depression
• Reduces the incidence if high blood pressure by as much as 40%
• Lowers your risk of stroke by 27%
• Can reduce the risk of recurrent breast cancer by 50%
• Reduces the incidence of diabetes by about 50%
• Can reduce the risk of developing Alzheimer's by 40%
• Can reduce the risk of colon cancer by over 60%
  

I don't know about you, but that is pretty good added motivation for me! So don't just sit there...turn off the computer and go for a walk, hit the gym, play an active Wii game with your kids. The benefits are worth it.