Healthy Lunchbox Series Day 5 and Friday Foodie Finds #9

It's the last day of my Healthy Lunchbox Series!

It was a ton of fun and I'm both sad to see it end (and to leave home/family tomorrow early in the morning) and excited to start my own new school year. I have an idea of what classes I'm going to take, but it isn't set in stone yet! I still have plenty to do.

Anyway, here's another sample lunchbox from the series - and it's the last one!

Today is National Trail Mix Day (who knew?) so I had to, of course, include a packet of trail mix. I chose a bag of Flanigan Farms Nuts 'n Thing, because it's already conveniently packaged and contains a yummy assortment of different nuts, seeds, and dried fruits. Yum!



I also included the last of this summer's tomato harvest from the three tomato plants we grow in our yard (for a little veg) and some Mighty Pretzel Minis, since my little sister enjoyed them so much last time.As for the sandwich?

 It's just a plain old butter-and-cheese and multi-grain bread half-sandwich. While unusual sandwich combs are what I tend to prefer, there's something to be said for simplicity. Especially when you're packing for young children. While it's fun to think out of the box and try something new, don't forget that packing healthy lunches is just about enjoying good food and fuel. It doesn't always have to be pretty, complicated, or unconventional! Staples are staples for a reason :)

Don't forget to check back for the Healthy Lunchbox Series wrap-up post tomorrow, as well as enter my Nana's Cookies Giveaway and my Gardein Giveaway! Winners of the Nana's Cookies Fudgy Wudgy Bars will be announced in tomorrow's post.

Okay, now on to the second part of the post!

Let's face it - my Friday Foodie Finds? Well, they're pretty much always very sweet-centric. Yes, I have a sweet tooth. :)

But as I've been actually making an effort to try more savory foods lately, I decided to dedicate this Friday Foodie Finds post to exclusively savory foods. V for vegan (everything is vegetarian, since I am), R for raw, and G for gluten-free. Enjoy!

Julia's Vegan Big Mac Steam-Baked Buns V

Ashley's Curry Grilled Zucchini Roll-Ups G

Maria & Josh's Vegan Sushi Salad V

Elly's Southwestern Stuffed Sweet Potatoes G

David, Luise, & Elsa's Grilled Portobello and Peach Burgers V

Yum. I've been eating a lot of granola, ice cream, and PB&Js lately, so I need to tempt myself back over to savoury a bit. I think I'll try some of these - they look like they just might do the trick!

Do you have to remind yourself to eat savoury foods?

Which recipe (if any) are you going to try?

What are you most looking forward to this weekend?

Animal food based diets are associated with a reduced risk of breast and ovarian cancer

This study was published in the International Journal of Cancer 2008 Feb 1;122(3):609-13

Study title and authors:
Nutrient dietary patterns and the risk of breast and ovarian cancers.

Edefonti V, Decarli A, La Vecchia C, Bosetti C, Randi G, Franceschi S, Dal Maso L, Ferraroni M.
Istituto di Statistica Medica e Biometria Giulio A. Maccacaro, Università degli Studi di Milano, Milan, Italy. valeria.edefonti@unimi.it

This study can be accessed at: http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/17764109?dopt=Abstract

The study examined the associations between dietary patterns and breast and ovarian cancers. The study included 2,569 women with breast cancer, 1,031 women with ovarian cancer, and 3,413 controls.

The study found:
(a) Women consuming an animal products pattern diet had a 26% reduced risk of breast cancer.
(b) Women consuming an animal products pattern diet had a 2% reduced risk of ovarian cancer.
(c) Women consuming a starch-rich pattern diet had a 34% inreased risk of breast cancer.
(d) Women consuming a starch-rich pattern diet had a 85% inreased risk of ovarian cancer.

Animal food based diets are associated with a reduced risk of breast and ovarian cancer, whereas a starch-rich diet is associated with an increased risk of breast and ovarian cancer.

 

Healthy Lunchbox Series Day 4

Wow, it's already my second-to-last day at home. While I'm very excited to go back to school, I'm a little sad to leave my family so soon. It feels like I just got here, even though it's already been a week and a half!

Anyway, you're not here for my sentimental blah-blah-blah.

So here's day 4 of my Healthy Lunchbox Series!



Yesterday was National Sandwich Day, but I made Nacho Momables instead. So today, a day late, I decided to go for the old lunchbox staple - a sandwich! And a PB&J at that :) But of course I had to jazz it up a little, as I can never leave 'good enough' alone. I like great.

Or at least unconventional.

 Again, this is a lunch for a seven-year-old with a short lunch break followed shortly by a snack. So if you're packing for an older kid, a more active kid, or an adult, just increase the portions. With this lunch it's easy - make the sandwich out of two slices of bread, instead of one, and include more grapes and cookies (or add a yogurt on the side). The great thing about brown bag lunches is how customizable they are!

Okay, so here are the components of this lunch:

* A jazzed-up PBJ (also known as a SBHC)
* Purple Grapes (washed with a special fruit wash out of water and vinegar, since they're in the Dirty Dozen)
* Newman's Own Organics Ginger-O's
* Ocean Spray Cranberry Juice Cocktail

The cranberry juice was a bit tart for my little sister, but I liked it. It's not 100% juice, though, and I wasn't in love with all the added sugar. I think I'll keep looking, or stick to their 100% apple juice, for the staple in my lunch. My sister liked the Ginger O's, but still prefers the standard chocolaty Oreo-type cookie. She loved the grapes and said that we should always leave them on the stem now, because it's "more fun that way."

My little sister told me that there's a kid in her class with a peanut allergy, so you have to sit at a different table if you have peanut butter in your lunch. For anyone with a similar situation, a peanut allergy, or a peanut-free school, there are plenty of peanut butter alternatives that are just as yummy and nutritious! Like Sunbutter!

I used their unsweetened organic sunflower seed butter in this sandwich, which is made with only one ingredient : fresh roasted organic sunflower seeds! Though there's oil separation, which is just natural, once you stir it it's pretty much the same consistency as your standard all-American peanut butter! It's also processed in a peanut-free and tree nut-free facility, so it's totally allergy safe :)

PBHC

Ingredients (serves one 7-year-old, double for anyone else):

* 1 slice of honey wheat bread (any bread will do)
* 1-2 Tbsp. Organic Sunbutter
* 1 Tbsp. Honey
* A small handful of Craisins

Directions:

1) Spread the Sunbutter on the bread. 
2) Spread the honey on top.
3) Sprinkle the Craisins on top of that (I sprinkled them just on half of the slice, since I was using just one slice here).


4)  Put the other slice on top (or if you're just using one slice, fold the halves together).

Now doesn't that look delicious? I promptly made one for myself and can confirm that it is as yummy as it looks.

My little sister didn't like it very much, as there were just too many different flavors going on for her relatively simple tastes, and said she'd prefer just Sunbutter and honey next time. My mom and I loved it, though, so I'd recommend doubling to the recipe to a proper sandwich portion and packing it for adults and older kids!

I'd love to try cutting sandwiches into fun shapes as a lunchbox twist, but you just end up cutting away so much of the sandwich when you do! Has anyone figured out a way to make shaped sandwiches without so many sandwich scraps?

Don't forget to check back tomorrow for the last day of the Healthy Lunchbox Series! In the meantime, there's still time to enter my Nana's Cookies Giveaway and my Gardein Giveaway!

 What's your favorite PBJ Spin-off?

How do you like your peanut butter sandwiches?

What do you consider the end of summer?

Bread, cereals and soy increase the risk of ovarian cancer

This study was published in Cancer Epidemiology, Biomarkers and Prevention 2011 Feb;20(2):308-17

Study title and authors:
Dietary phytoestrogens and the risk of ovarian cancer in the women's lifestyle and health cohort study.

Hedelin M, Löf M, Andersson TM, Adlercreutz H, Weiderpass E.
Department of Genetic Research, Folkhälsan Research Center, Biomedicum Helsinki, Helsinki, Finland.

This study can be accessed at: http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/21098648

This study investigated the relationship between diet and ovarian cancer. The study included 47,140 women who were followed for 16 years.

The study found:
(a) Women who consumed the most whole-grain bread had a 48% increased risk of ovarian cancer compared to the women who consumed the least whole-grain bread.
(b) Women who consumed the most isoflavones (soy products) had a 15% increased risk of ovarian cancer compared to the women who consumed the least isoflavones.
(c) Women who consumed the most cereal fibre had a 19% increased risk of ovarian cancer compared to the women who consumed the least cereal fibre.
(d) Women who had ovarian cancer consumed 8% less meat than women without ovarian cancer.

The data from the study shows that the risk of ovarian cancer increases with higher consumption of bread, cereals and soy.

Does Calorie Restriction Extend Lifespan in Mammals?

Until about two years ago, the story went something like this: calorie restriction extends lifespan in yeast, worms, flies, and rodents.  Lifespan extension by calorie restriction appears to be biologically universal, therefore it's probably only a matter of time until it's demonstrated in humans as well.  More than 20 years ago, independent teams of researchers set out to demonstrate the phenomenon in macaque monkeys, a primate model closer to humans than any lifespan model previously tested.

Recent findings have caused me to seriously question this narrative.  One of the first challenges was the finding that genetically wild mice (as opposed to inbred laboratory strains) do not live longer when their calorie intake is restricted, despite showing hormonal changes associated with longevity in other strains, although the restricted animals do develop less cancer (1).  One of the biggest blows came in 2009, when researchers published the results of a study that analyzed the effect of calorie restriction on lifespan in 41 different strains of mice, both male and female (2).  They found that calorie restriction extends lifespan in a subset of strains, but actually shortens lifespan in an even larger subset.  Below is a graph of the effect of calorie restriction on lifespan in the 41 strains.  Positive numbers indicate that calorie restriction extended life, while negative numbers indicate that it shortened life:

Read more »

WIAW #53 - Healthy Lunchbox Series Day 3

First, don't forget to enter my Nana's Cookies Giveaway and my Gardein Giveaway! It's been giveaways galore here lately, isn't it fun?

If this is your first time stopping by, welcome! If you're a regular reader, you know that I'm halfway through my Healthy Lunchbox Series. So this WIAW is about what my little sister had for lunch!

Today is National Sandwich Day, so I originally planned on packing a sandwich as part of my little sister's lunch in honor of that. But we had leftover tomato sauce from last night's dinner of spaghetti and tomato sauce, so I couldn't pass up the opportunity to try making my own Momable!

I loved Lunchables when I was in elementary school, but Lunchables aren't exactly a nutritional superstar of a kid's lunch. They're okay for now and then, but they tend to pretty packed with less healthy additives, preservatives, and dyes, not to mention all the environmentally-unfriendly packaging involved, so Momables sounded like a great idea for a more frequent lunch.

The concept of Momables is to take a Lunchables meal and make a homemade version, saving money and packaging. Since I had leftover tomato sauce and nacho  Lunchables are pretty popular, I decided to make a Nacho Momable!

 

I used a bag of The Better Chip Sweet Onion (made of 40% fresh veggies and it's gluten-free and non-GMO), a little glass jar of homemade tomato sauce (leftovers from the night before), the leftover frozen banana bites from Monday's lunch as that sweet something, and a Just Fruit Bar Pear Strawberry bar. As the drink, she had a bottle of Ocean Spray 100% Apple Juice.

Here are her thoughts: she loved the apple juice! It was perfectly fruity and she likes the nice big bottles the juices come in, because she gets pretty thirsty "from all that learning!" 

She is too cute.

She liked the chips, because they were nice and crunchy, but they had a little too much seasoning for her. She would have liked a bit less,  especially since she was dipping them in the tomato sauce (which she was surprised to find that she enjoyed cold). She liked the banana bites again (yay!) and loved the Just Fruit Bar. She said it was "like fruit roll-ups, but better because it's sticky and actually tastes like strawberries."

Note: this lunch is definitely kid-sized. My (7-year-old) sister has a really short lunch, followed by a snack break less than two hours later, so she doesn't eat very much at lunch. This isn't enough for an adult lunch! If you are an adult and you like the idea of this lunch, you could make it more appropriately sized by adding a sandwich. 

I'm out doing college shopping (I head back to school this weekend!) so I don't have more pictures for you this Wednesday. Sorry!

I hope you check back tomorrow for day 4 of my Healthy Lunchbox Series!

Did/do you like Lunchables?

Which Lunchable was/is your favorite?

What's one of your back-to-school must-haves?

Bread consumption increases the risk of lung cancer

This study was published in the Journal of Experimental Therapeutics and Oncology 2011;9(2):153-8

 

Study title and authors:

A case control study on the lung cancer risk factors in north of Iran.

Karimzadeh L, Koohdani F, Siassi F, Mahmoudi M, Moslemi D, Shokrzadeh M, Safari F.

Department of Nutrition & Biochemistry, School of Public Health, Tehran University of Medical Sciences, Tehran, Iran.

 

This study can be accessed at: http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/21699022

The study assessed various risk factors of lung cancer. The study included 40 cases of lung cancer and 40 controls.

Regarding bread, the study found that bread consumption was associated with a 3.6 times increased risk of lung cancer.

Healthy Lunchbox Series Day 2 and a Recipe!

It's day 2 of the Healthy Lunchbox Series! My 7-year-old taste tester loved the finger food theme of yesterday's lunch, so I kept the eat-with-your hands theme going here. But with a nautical twist!

This lunch is nutritionally balanced, to provide a kid with the energy s/he needs to learn! There's your veggies (a chopped carrot) and peanut-free dip: 



There's your fruit, in the form of a Pear Strawberry Just Fruit Bar, made of 100% fruit (just pear puree, pear juice concentrate, and strawberry puree) with no added sugars, preservatives or additives.

There's your humor (a super-corny pirate joke), your 'kid's meal toy' (an eye patch from Pirate's Booty), your cheesy, all natural snack (Pirate's Booty is baked, with 50% less fat than chips, and is trans fat- and gluten-free) :

Here are the ingredients, for those of you who are curious:

And then you have the focal point of the meal, with your energy-giving carbs and healthy fats: homemade pancake pinwheels!

 They only take a few minutes to throw together, but they're delicious, convenient, and fun to eat!

 You start with your basic pancake.

 Quick & Easy Pancake (makes 1, serves 1)

Ingredients (serves 1)

• 1/4 cup all-purpose flour
• 1/2 tablespoon sugar
• 1/2 teaspoons baking powder
• 1/8 teaspoon salt
• 1/4 cup 2% milk
• 1/8 tsp. vanilla
• 1/2 tablespoon Smart Balance Olive Oil & Butter blend, melted (or oil)
• Oil for the pan

Directions

1. In a medium bowl, whisk together milk, butter (or oil), and vanilla. Add dry ingredients to milk mixture; whisk until just moistened (do not overmix; a few small lumps are fine).

2. Heat a large, oiled skillet pan over medium heat. 
3. Pour batter into pan, cook for 1-2 minutes on each side (flip once).

After your pancake cools (you can either let it sit on the counter for a bit or stick it in the refrigerator for a few minutes), the assembly begins!

PBJ Pancake Pinwheels (serves 1)

 
1) Spread the pancake with 2 Tbsp of PB Crave Razzle Dazzle.

2) Roll up the pancake, starting from one edge and rolling to the other, until you have a pancake log.

3) Stick five toothpicks approximately equal distances apart in the log.

4) Slice between each pair of toothpicks.

5) Enjoy!


They're so yummy and they also smell amazing with the Razzle Dazzle. I'd recommend using a flavored nut butter over nut butter and jam, because jam can make the pinwheels soggy if you make them the day before, as I did.

 
I recommend using a creamy nut butter (think Skippy-style: so like PB Crave or Barney Butter or something) over drippier nut butters for this recipe, because it makes the overall pinwheel mouth feel amazing.

Here's what my sister thought of the lunch: she didn't like the carrots and Wowbutter combination. She liked the Wowbutter, but thought carrots with nut butter sounded weird. She didn't eat the Just Fruit bar, because she ran out of time, and she only ate half of the Pirate's Booty (their lunches must be pretty short!) but the Pirate's Booty was her favorite part of the lunch.

Oh, and she laughed at my joke :) What's a pirate's favorite letter? Arrrrrr!

She also said she liked the pinwheels and that they were fun to eat. Though she said she unrolled half of them to make them easier to eat, so take that as you will... Anyway, I'm off to make up tomorrow's lunch!

Don't forget to enter my Gardein Giveaway and my Nana's Cookies Giveaway (winners announced Saturday)!

What was your favorite bag lunch as a kid?

What's your go-to bag lunch now?

Do you use a lunchbox for work/college or a paper bag or...?

Gluten-Free Picnic Recipes for Labor Day Weekend

My newest picnic fave- quinoa salad with pears and pecans.

 

Labor Day is almost upon us. Summer's last bash. To inspire you to dine al fresco I've gathered my favorite gluten-free  picnic recipes, salads, and pot luck supper ideas- in one handy reference. Take advantage of the warm weather and get out of the kitchen. Spread a blanket under a tree or tote a basket to the beach.

Life is short.

We need more picnics.

Read more + get the recipe >>

Trendy Tuesday #4

First, have you entered my Nana's Cookies Giveaway or Gardein Giveaway yet? If not, why not? Silly! :P

Okay, to my post - I love fashion (not exactly a secret anymore), but sometimes I'm guilt of accessory laziness. Accessories really make an outfit, but if I'm just hanging out around the house, I'll often skip accessories. Boo! So this week, I'm dedicating my Trendy Tuesday to accessories!

Elanor goes for the gold

Kendall goes for eclectic

Sara goes vintage

On the theme of cute shoes...

Donatila goes for studded sandals

Maria goes glam

Don't forget to check back later on for the second day of my Healthy Lunchbox Series!

 

Whose style speaks to you the most? They're all fabulous!

Do you use a lot of accessories in your daily looks?

When/why do you find yourself getting a case of the fashion lazies? For me, it's when I'm overly busy with work during the semester (ahem, midterms and reading period and final period) or when I'm just at home/in my room/not around anyone but family and close friends.

Statin use is associated with accelerated artery calcification in type two diabetes

This study was published in Diabetes Care 2012 Aug 8

 

Study title and authors:

Progression of Vascular Calcification Is Increased With Statin Use in the Veterans Affairs Diabetes Trial (VADT).

Saremi A, Bahn G, Reaven PD; for the VADT Investigators.

Phoenix VA Health Care System, Phoenix, Arizona.

 

This study can be accessed at: http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/22875226

The objective of the study was to determine the effect of statin use on progression of calcification in the arteries in type two diabetes. (The higher the calcification, the higher the risk of a cardiac event). The study included 197 participants with type two diabetes.

The study found:
(a) Coronary artery calcification was significantly higher in more frequent statin users than in less frequent users.
(b) Aortic artery calcification was higher in more frequent statin users than in less frequent users.
(c) In participants initially not receiving statins, progression of both coronary artery calcification and aortic artery calcification was significantly increased in frequent statin users.

More frequent statin use is associated with accelerated artery calcification in type two diabetes.

Healthy Lunchbox Series Day 1 (& a recipe)

Sure, it's been a while since (most of) us have been in the public school system. And who knows? Maybe some of you never have been. But whether you were bumping around town in a long yellow school bus for thirteen years (kindergarten counts!) or not, chances are that you've heard about the nutritional let-downs in public school lunches.

I was lucky, because my mom packed most of my school lunches - so often, in fact, that it was a treat when I 'got to' buy lunch at school! But, financial stuff aside (sorry, but making healthy lunches affordable is a political issue, not a food blogger issue) many moms just don't pack lunches for their kids because they don't know what to pack - or they pack the same boring sandwich day-in and day-out that their kids eventually throw in the towel and say they'd rather have the cafeteria food.

For such cases, I thought it might be handy to put together a post full of healthy, kid-approved* lunches for back-to-school! In Guilford County this is the first week of school - and as I'm still at home for this last week (before I head up to school myself on Saturday!) I'm packing all of my little sister's lunches (she's 7 and in the second grade!) and getting her feedback.

I've enlisted the help of some healthy food companies and will be, day by day, sharing her healthy lunch boxes with you in my healthy lunch box series!

After all, how can we expect America's children to learn their best and grow to be their best, if we don't do our best to fuel them right? They're our future, let's give them the tools they need to succeed!

I mean, I don't know about y'all, but... I want my social security when the day comes. ;) Bwahaha, JUST KIDDING - I actually do love kids (particularly my little sister) for reasons other than wanting a cushy retirement!

Day 1

Kids love trying lots of different things, so a finger food assortment is always fun!Who are we kidding? Some older people like it too. ;) I could totally see a similar meal working for the rest of us, just with bigger portions of everything.

For her first day of second grade, I packed a salad of mixed greens with a light drizzle of olive oil and a scoop of homemade tuna salad (note: my little sister is not vegetarian), sharp cheddar cheese cubes with Newman's Own Organics Mighty Pretzel Minis, an Ocean Spray Cran-Grape juice bottle, and frozen banana bites for dessert. You know, in honor of today as Banana Lovers Day.

My mom made the tuna salad. She combined tuna, a wee bit of olive oil, whipped mayo, chopped celery, and salt and pepper to taste. Then I served the dollop on some organic mixed baby greens (I think lettuces are part of the dirty dozen? If not, they ought to be) for a nutritious tuna side salad.

I made the frozen banana bites on my own, YUM.

Here's what I used:

Halve the recipe for a kid's portion. I made double as much, because it would obviously be completely irresponsible of me not to taste test the dessert first. ;) Oh, and this recipe is vegan!

Banana Dessert Bites

Ingredients: 1 ripe banana, a few spoons of honey, and 1/2 a packet of Olomomo Nut Co. Chai Bliss Almonds (so yum, btw).

Steps:

1) Peel the banana.

2) Slice the banana horizontally.

3) Stick a toothpick in each piece of banana.

 4) Drizzle each banana generously with honey.

5) Top with nuts.

6) Freeze.

It was already pretty tasty before freezing:

but it's worth a little restraint until the bites are frozen (about an hour will do the trick). They're so much more amazing frozen (or well chilled, as frozen ones will be after a few hours in a lunch box).

I give this recipe two thumbs up, but who cares what I think?

My sister says she enjoyed the lunch - it was the right amount and it was fun to eat, because of the different sections of the lunch and the finger food portions. She enjoyed the cran-grape juice, though it was a bit tarter than her usual grape juice, as a way to mix things up. She also liked the pretzels, but said that the banana dessert was kind of messy from the honey. She said she still wants to have it again, but she wants me to pack more napkins next time.

Whoops. Napkins? Such a rookie mistake.

Anyway, now that you've had a review from my little sis, here's a picture-heavy, word-light (since a picture is worth 1,000 words) review of some Newman's Own Organics products that would make great additions to a kid's (or adult's) lunchbox!

These are crunchy, not stale-tasting at all, and neither overly-salted nor under-salted. They also didn't take on the taste of the plastic bag, even in this hot August weather, unlike a pack of airline mini pretzels I had the misfortune of rediscovering in my backpack the other day. *Insert ick face here.*

But I'm more of a sweets than savory girl, so I'd still rather find their cookies (!!!) in my lunchbox.

And I thought I'd be loyal to Oreos forever! I'm sorry, Oreos. Apparently even your yumminess is yummier organic.

And with mint. *Swoon.*

The chocolate is as intense as Oreos and the cookie bits are just the same in texture (not too crunchy or too soft). They're sweet enough, but not as sweet as Oreos, which can border on too sweet after a few. My little sister actually prefers these to Oreos and wants them as her after-school snack!

We were almost hesitant to try these, as pretty much everyone in my house (with the possible exception of my dad) is a Reese's fan. How could an organic counterpart compare?

Answer: WONDERFULLY. My mom, little sister, and I all liked these even better than Reese's!

The chocolate is just a touch less sweet, but extra creamy so it's perfect!

Meaning, of course, that we were stoked to try the caramel cups.

Again, 1 package = 1 serving = 3 cups.

It's the same delicious chocolate and the caramel is delicious, too, but we preferred the chocolate peanut butter cups. The caramel here was just a bit too runny for our tastes.

The peppermint cups had a really creamy peppermint filling, enrobed by dark chocolate, and put Andes Mints to shame.

The huge surprise here was that these were my little sister's favorite! I wasn't expecting that, as I think of minty dark chocolate as a more adult taste!

Newman's Own Organics also makes chocolate bars (what don't they make?).



Both the mocha milk chocolate and plain milk chocolate were beyond creamy, effortlessly replacing Hershey's as our household go-to chocolate bar.



I liked that they tell you the cacao percentage, I like the gold foil, and most of all I like the creamy, dreamy chocolate!



Check out the super dark chocolate!



It's also creamy, not at all bitter or crumbly (which can be a problem for dark chocolate bars) and still sweet, but not overly so.



They make the same cups that htey have in milk chocolate in dark chocolate as well.



Again, the caramel cups' filling is just a touch too runny for our tastes. We still really enjoyed them, but we'd love them if the caramel was creamier!



And, again, the peanut butter was delicious. Oh, and ignore the color above - I don't know what was going on with the lighting, but these were nice chocolaty cups, not whitish at all!

I love Craisins, so I had to try Newman's Own Organics' organic version:

Just three organic ingredients and no dyes!

They're really not needed, considering how love the red dried cranberries already are.

And they're every bit as yummy as Craisins! They're a touch chewier, not quite as hard, so I think I might even like them a bit better!

The crunchy cookies stole the show for my mom, though.

They're little, perfect for a bite-sized treat. The chocolate chips are delicious, not hard as some can be, and the oatmeal adds a nice heartiness to the cookie.

There are about 30 cookies per bag, with each serving as 5 cookies.

The double chocolate cookies are perfect for satisfying a chocolate craving!

YUMYUMYUM.

Aaaaaand another pic, because they're that good:

I've always liked fig newtons, though, so Fig Newmans were my favorite.

Fig Newtons can be a bit too sweet and these are just a little bit less sweet so they're perfect!

How could you not love them?

My dad's favorite were the ginger snap, because he really likes ginger cookies but likes them super crunchy.

These fit the bill!

They have real pieces of candied ginger in them, which is an extra little something to knock the flavor level up to AWESOME.

The Hermits reminded my mom of Lebkuchen. But I think these are yummier! I'm not a Lebkuchen fan, but I liked the Hermits microwaved for 30 seconds and served with vanilla ice cream.

Like my Healthy Lunchbox Series, Newman's Own Organic is all about proving that food can be delicious and convenient without giving up the healthiness by pumping in artificial ingredients and preservatives. They do a great job!

Don't forget to enter my Nana's Cookies Giveaway for a treat to add to your own little gremlin's lunch box! And my Gardein Giveaway for quick, healthy, vegan after-school eats.

Did you have packed lunches in school?

Do you feel that government is doing enough to promote healthful meals in school? Should it be their job?

Did you know it was banana lovers day?

*No children were harmed in the preparation of this series. All meals were inflicted upon served to a kid volunteer, my very opinionated (and not more or less interested in healthy foods than other kids) 7-year-old sister. If it made it in here, it's because it actually tastes good to kids, not just health-minded parents.