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If you’re nervous about the first day
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Hi Reader, If you have a kid starting school for the first time or starting at a new school, and you’re feeling a little nervous about how lunchtime is going to go, there are a few things you can practice at home ahead of time. 1. If you only do one thing, do this: Do a full lunchbox test run. Pack their lunch and snack exactly the way you plan to send it to school: water bottle, lunch box, thermos, pouches — everything. Then have them open it all by themselves. If there’s something they can’t open easily, you’ll know before the first day instead of when they’re sitting in a busy cafeteria waiting for help. Lunch at school can feel surprisingly fast! Find out how long your child will have for lunch, set a timer, and let them practice eating within that window. You don’t need to pressure them to finish. The goal is just to help them get a feel for how much time they’ll have. School mornings are not the time you want to be asking, “what do you want in your lunch?” Make a little menu of meals your child likes so you don’t have to think about what to pack — a main, fruit or veggie, snack, etc. You can use my packed lunch menu to make this incredibly easy! What Everyone's Making From Mama Knows Fudgy Sweet Potato BrowniesThis has been the #1 recipe on my website for months – and for good reason. The recipe makes a delicious brownie, while also being packed with nutrients. Win-win-win.
3-Ingredient Oatmeal CookiesThe easiest cookies you can make with ingredients you have on hand right now! Personally, we’ve been eating too many Oreos and it feels like time to switch to something a little more wholesome. Oatmeal cookies fit the bill perfectly.
What Everyone's Reading from Mama Knows ON THE BLOG Healthy Bread BrandsI love finding healthier versions of our everyday staples. Check out my favorite bread brands that are packed with nutrition and loved by families.
The Best Cups & Water Bottles for KidsThis post was originally geared toward toddlers, but I’ve edited it to highlight the 8 best cups and 8 best water bottles for kids of all ages. One of my most popular posts ever!
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Mama Knows Nutrition
Subscribe to get weekly inspiration with kid-friendly recipes, my personal meal plans, quick nutrition tips, and relatable mom tales that will make you smile, laugh, or cry, depending on what kind of week I'm having!
Hi Reader, OK, if you can't tell, I'm all about the fall recipes right now. I love a sweet treat that we can feel good about nutritionally, and this one delivers. This recipe will be on my website soon, but I wanted my newsletter family to be the first to try it! Date Caramel Apple Dip Ingredients 1 packed cup (180 g) pitted Medjool dates 1/4 cup creamy cashew butter (like Whole Foods 365 brand or Target Good & Gather) 1/3 cup whole milk 2 tablespoons hot water 1 teaspoon vanilla extract 1/4...
Hi Reader, Food dyes have been all over the news—and if you’re a parent, you might be wondering if you’re supposed to start checking every ingredient label for Red 40. The FDA is moving to phase synthetic food dyes out of the U.S. food supply, citing concerns about children’s health. But some of the claims being made about dyes go quite a bit further than the research does. So let’s separate what we actually know from what makes a good headline. Are synthetic food dyes harmful? Most children...
Hi Reader, When you were a kid, did you turn your pajamas inside out when you wanted to have a snow day? I’m really not sure why we felt those two things would be related. We were somehow sending a message to the universe by showing it the insides of our sleepwear. But I’ve decided to take that same type of logic and hope that if we do lots of baking with pumpkin, then fall weather will finally come to Texas. 🙏 Let’s show the universe our open cans of pumpkin and maybe the weather will dip...