A healthy lunch alternative.

With school back in full swing, moms everywhere are running into the same problem: What to pack for Junior's lunch.

Coming up with exciting and healthy lunches that the kiddos will actually eat can be challenging. With many schools banning the old standard PB&J, easy and healthy lunches seem hard to come by.

It's tempting to purchase those prepackaged lunches at the supermarket. I have done it myself a few times. I had the chance to share one of those lunches with Little J and I happened to pick up the package and READ it while we were eating. I was horrified. The next time you are in the store, pick one up and read both the nutritional information and the ingredients on the package. You'll be shocked.

I was really bummed that I could no longer buy those lunches in good conscience knowing what was in them - they were so easy and Little J thought they were yummy.
Then I was introduced to GoPicnic.

GoPicnic creates the highest quality, best tasting ready-to-eat meals that
are exceptionally convenient and require no refrigeration or special preparation – you can truly enjoy them anytime, anywhere! Every GoPicnic meal is ready to eat right from the box, just grab a drink and enjoy one of
our delicious, nutritious meals today. GoPicnic meals come in many
varieties, including full meals, kids meals, and quick snackboxes. (from www.gopicnic.com)

The folks at GoPicnic were nice enough to send a variety of samples for us to try out. I'd love to recommend one over the rest, but we honestly loved them all. Little J liked that there were a variety of choices in each pack and I loved that they are healthy and I can give them to him without feeling guilty, since they are all natural with no artificial flavors or colors.

The folks at GoPicnic would love for you to try them out as well. The first 10 people to leave a comment on this post will receive a free sample from GoPicnic as well. GoPicnic would also like to offer Wisconsin Mommy readers a 20% discount off of any order with the coupon code GPMOMS.

Organizations can also sell GoPicnic products to as fundraisers - a great alternative to wrapping paper!! Find out more at www.GoPicnic.com/fundraisers.

Ragú's Fresh & Simple Pouches

I am usually a pretty good cook. I try to have some sort of homemade meal on the dinner table at least five or six nights a week. It's not always fancy, but it usually is pretty healthy and somewhat yummy.

Before we had Little J, we used to eat out quite a bit. We have since scaled back due to concerns about the health of our wallets and waistlines. Still, there are those days when cooking a meal seems overwhelming on top of running to practices, getting the laundry put away, running errands, and everything else that needs to get done in a day.

Ragu has come up with a great product to help out on just such a day...Fresh and Simple Pouches. Heated up in 90 seconds in the microwave, Ragú's Fresh & Simple Pouches can be added to any pasta, meat, or seafood dinner and taste delicious. In addition to how easy Ragú's pouches are to prepare - all you have to do is snip off a corner and toss in the microwave - they also contain only all-natural ingredients, along with Vitamin C, calcium, fiber, and protein. And to make me feel less guilty, the sauces have no sugar added, no artificial additives or preservatives. Plus, no messy pan to clean up at the end of the meal! Thanks so much for the free samples, Ragu!!

Check out Ragu's website for more information as well as some great recipes to try. (Be sure to print out their free recipe booklet.)

Cranergy

Ocean Spray has come out with its own energy drink, Cranergy. A delicious and naturally energizing juice drink, Cranergy is made with a base of cranberry juice, which is then enhanced with natural energizers like green tea extract and B vitamins. It contains no high fructose corn syrup and is sweetened with Splenda and has only 35 calories per eight-ounce serving (50 percent fewer calories than other leading energy drinks and traditional sodas).

Best of all, Cranergy tastes great! Ocean Spray was kind enough to supply me with some samples of their new beverage in Cranberry Lift and Raspberry Cranberry Lift flavors. Now I have to add that I grew up on cranberry juice and have always been a huge fan of it, so I wasn't sure if I was going to like this jazzed-up version. I had nothing to worry about. Ocean Spray has stayed true to their juice roots and only improved on what they have already done. Both flavors were crisp and refreshing and definitely not overly sweet, like I had feared.

Not only is Cranergy refreshing, but the green tea and B vitamins give a little extra lift to your energy without having that sugar or caffeine crash in the afternoon. I will definitely be adding Cranergy to my grocery list. If you would like to try Cranergy for yourself, grab a coupon here.

Go For the Gold!

It's hard to believe Tony the Tiger and Frosted Flakes turn 56 this year (and does he look good for his age or what?). Frosted Flakes were such a major part of most people's childhood breakfasts. They conjure up feelings of home and family.

The folks at Kellogg's have improved on this breakfast staple with a new product, Frosted Flakes Gold. With ten grams of whole grain and three grams of fiber in each serving, Kellogg's has combined better nutrition with that great taste we all remember.

Kellogg's has also teamed up with the American Youth Soccer Organization (AYSO), Little League® International and Girls on the Run International to create the Earn Your Stripes™ program. This program encourages kids to be more active, eat right and work hard to achieve their goals.

Thanks to Kellogg's for the cereal sample and to Mom Central for their sponsorship.

Need More Time in the Morning?

Yeah right, who doesn't! And what is the one thing that we all know shouldn't fall victim to the morning rush, but often does?
Breakfast.

The folks at Breakfast Breaks know that mornings can be crazy and they have put together a portable, and more important HEALTHY, breakfast in a box. I admit...I was a bit skeptical of these at first. I am a huge fan of convenience, but it usually comes with a high price: empty calories, high fructose corn syrup-laden juice imposters, sugar-loaded cereals...you know what I'm talking about, right?

I was pleasantly surprised when I opened up my box of Breakfast Breaks and found.....
100% real juice
whole grain cereals
100% natural dried fruit
(The stuff I was already giving Little J anyway!) plus
a spoon, napkin, AND a wet wipe already packaged up and ready to go, all I needed to supply was the milk for the cereal.

Now on an average day, I can probably handle getting all of this together for my child on my own - but the next day was the day that we needed to bring my parents to the airport for their early morning flight out of this wintry abyss and getting out of the house on time was going to be a struggle. Throw in ANOTHER snowstorm and a frantic call from my mother saying they would like to leave an hour earlier than planned and my whole schedule went completely out the window.

Enter Breakfast Breaks! Little J happily ate his yummy, nutritious breakfast in the backseat while I drank down a Grande Latte (at least it has calcium) for my nourishment. Now, if they can come up with an adult version that can be eaten with one hand while battling airport traffic in a snowstorm....

Breakfast Breaks come in four varieties.

Froose

Is your child CONSTANTLY asking for juice? I know Little J is, and I began to worry that perhaps all the juice I was giving him wasn't the best for his little growing body. I do water it down quite a bit, but still...is there something better out there?

Turns out, other moms are wondering the same thing. And some of those moms are inventors and nutritionists and in a position to do something about it. And one of those moms invented Froose.

Froose is the brainchild of Denise Devine, a Mom of three, who was working for a major food company and was herself frustrated by the lack of healthy choices for her young children. Her Mom-instincts kicked in when she noticed her son drinking fruit juice all day long and then, after filling up on empty calories, she'd find him not hungry for dinner. She set out to develop a nutritious smoothie-like alternative to juice incorporating whole grains, complex carbohydrates, vitamins, minerals, and fiber. After several years of research, in collaboration with The International Food Network at Cornell, Denise now holds 19 process and composition patents that ultimately enabled her and her team to create a drink that suspends whole foods in liquid form. The resulting beverage is Froose.

With statistics about childhood obesity growing scarier every day, it's great to have a drink that combines the best of whole grains and fruit in one nutritious, portable package. Froose comes in grab-and-grow™ 4 oz. juice boxes, making it a convenient, tasty and nutritious alternative to juice. One box of Froose contains only 80 calories and a healthy amount (3 grams) of fiber. Sweetened with organic brown rice syrup, a complex carbohydrate (which means No Sugar High and No Empty Calories!), it is also wheat and gluten free.

Learn more about Froose at (where else?) http://www.froose.com/ ! You can place an order there and try it for yourself.