Fun dessert alert! Did you know you can whip up your batch of ice cream right at home without any extra appliances? All you need are the right ingredients and plastic bags. Read on for the “scoop” on how to make homemade ice cream in a bag.
Ingredients for Homemade Ice Cream in a Bag:
1 tbsp. sugar
1/2 cup milk (will make about one scoop of ice cream, can sub soy, coconut, or rice milk or use cream)
1/4 tsp. vanilla
6 tbsp. rock salt
1 pint-size plastic food storage bag (e.g., Ziploc)
1 gallon-size plastic food storage bag
Ice cubes
How to Make Ice Cream at Home:
1. Fill the large bag half full of ice, and add the rock salt.
2. Seal the bag.
3. Put milk, vanilla, and sugar into the small bag, and seal it.
4. Place the small bag inside the large one, and seal it again carefully.
5. Shake until the mixture is ice cream, which takes about 5 minutes.
6. Wipe off the top of the small bag, then open it carefully.
Insider Tips:
A 1/2 cup of milk will make about 1 scoop of ice cream, so double the recipe if you want more. But don’t increase the proportions more than that—a large amount might be too big for kids to pick up because the ice itself is heavy. This ice cream won’t have quite the same consistency as a pint of store-bought, but you can control the ingredients so that’s a big win.
If there is a milk allergy, try this with fruit juice. Use straight pineapple juice—it’s a terrific fruit sorbet. OR rice/soy milk as the milk substitute.
This recipe for how to make homemade ice cream in a bag is courtesy of Yuumii, an online community founded by a San Francisco family who wanted to come up with creative ways to spend more quality time with their kids.
Blow their minds with indoor Olympics, ice cube art, and a comedy-hour giggle fest
The weather is finally warmer. But now it’s kind of gone overboard, and the novelty of all-day outdoor summer activities has worn off. We’ve got indoor summer activities that will get your child moving, experimenting, and creating in the comfort of your living room, kitchen, or playroom. If it’s reached crazy temps where you live, it sounds like you’ll need some great indoor activities for kids.
Create a cool collage. Spend the day (or at least part) drawing summertime pictures. Your little artist can create portraits of the family at the beach, draw the swimming pool or recreate what they see just by looking out the window. Use a large poster board or cardboard as a background and collage the pics into one summer mural.
Have a dance party. Pick a few summer-themed tunes (like anything from the Beach Boys) and dance, dance, dance.
Play store. Set up shop in just in no time at all and play grocery store. Or maybe you’d rather go to the moon or climb Mt. Everest? Here are 27 make-believe prompts that’ll fill those 30 minutes before dinner.
Play a round of “Would you rather?” Would you rather have a pet monkey or a pet porcupine? Inquiring minds want to know! All you need are a few good questions. Here’s a great list you can pull up, so you can dish out questions as fast as your kids can answer them.
Draw a shadow. Set up toys, place books on their short sides, or use any other item that casts a shadow. Place the objects on a light-colored paper and shine a flashlight on it. Your kiddo can draw the shadow. Now move the light, pretending that it’s the sun. Draw the new shadows to see how the sun’s rays change as the day continues
Sing a song. Choose a favorite family song and sing as a group. Don’t worry if you can’t carry a tune; the goal is for everyone to spend time together enjoying a fun indoor activity.
Make popsicles! Everyone loves to cool off in the summer with a delicious frozen treat, so why not make them yourself? Here’s our list of really yummy popsicle recipes. Which will be your family favorite?
Have an indoor picnic. When the weather gets too hot or rainy, that doesn’t mean your summer day is ruined—just move the party indoors! Lay out a blanket and have a picnic in your living room.
Play animal charades. Can your kid waddle like a penguin? Or maybe hop like a bunny? This twist on the classic game of charades can be as easy or as hard as you want. All you have to do is write down a bunch of animals on cards or paper and have everyone take turns picking a card and acting out the animal.
Connect the dots. Tic Tac Toe is so yesterday. The Dot Game is so today. And it can easily be re-created when you’re in a lurch. You need paper and a pen to make a large-scale dot grid. Then, take turns connecting one dot to the next, trying to complete squares. When you do, don’t forget to claim your property with a big fat initial smack dab in the middle of the box.
Learn how clouds hold water. There may not be a cloud in sight, but that doesn’t mean your science-loving child won’t get a kick out of this experiment. With a few simple everyday ingredients, your child can explore the science of clouds with this fun indoor activity from Learn With Play at Home.
Make crumpled paper art. Explore art in a completely colorful way. Learn how to turn regular watercolor paint into awesome artwork with texture, depth and so much more. Get the full directions from Buggy & Buddy.
Freeze water and oil. What happens when you mix oil and water? Make a few regular ol’ ice cubes and a few with veggie oil. Drip drops of food coloring in before popping the cubes into the freezer. Take them out (after they’re completely frozen), put them onto a piece of paper, and watch what happens as they melt.
Sponge print fun. Take the stack of unused kitchen sponges that you bought at the big box store and put them to use. Cut the sponges into shapes, dip them into tempera, and let your little one paint the day away. They can sponge-paint a pattern, make abstract art, or put shapes together to make a picture, such as a tree or a house.
Get glowing with ice. This indoor activity is cool—in both senses of the word. Explore the wild world of tonic water, experimenting with its ability to glow (really, it does). Make tonic water ice cubes, pop them out of the freezer, and take them to a dark room. Turn off all the lights, turn on a black light, and watch the glow. Get the details here.
Make slime. This is always a fun indoor summer activity if you’re okay with a mess (it will happen). Add glitter, sequins, craft sand, or small toys for a better sensory experience. If you need a new recipe, get your slime-making steps here. And when they’re done, check out how to get slime out of just about anything.
Make a water-density rainbow. Explore density with this completely colorful experiment.
Ice-Capades! Freeze colored water in ice cube trays and then let the kids paint with their slowly melting watercolors. Check out these other surprising ways you can have fun with ice.
Sink or Float
This basic science experiment is perfect for schoolers or makes for an exciting indoor summer activity for toddlers. And as a bonus, it uses water—perfect for a hot summer day. Fill the sink, tub, or plasticware bin with cool water. Pick a few waterproof items, predict if the objects will sink or float and then toss them in; observe what happens and record the data.
Make sensory bottles. This is an easy indoor summer activity for kids to try; this sensory play idea lasts for more than one day. Fill an old plastic bottle part-way up with water. Add sparkles, colorful craft sand, or anything else your child wants. Drip a drop of food coloring in and pour a splash of baby oil into the mix. Close the bottle, seal the top with tape, and shake to watch what happens.
Set up your own indoor Olympics.
Set up your version in the living room or playroom. Create obstacles to pretend slalom around or set up an indoor aquatic race. Your child, the neighborhood kids, and the rest of the family can act out swimming movements as everyone races around the house.
Make something out of a cardboard box. Give those Amazon packages a second life with one of these fun ideas.
Paint without a brush. If you have finger paints or tempera at home, your kids can get into this art activity from Mini Monets and Mommies.
Make melted crayon shells. Older kids enjoy crafting too. Use those seashells from your beach vacation with this colorful indoor summer activity from Fun at Home with Kids.
Have a beach party. That is, have an indoor beach party. Grab the towels, pull up a paddling pool (minus the water), and pour a few kid-friendly fruit juice drinks. Fill the pool with torn blue tissue paper or a blue sheet. Pretend to splash, all from the cooling comfort of your home.
Sign up for an Outschool course. There are dozens of different courses and classes for every interest. Check out our favorites here.
When it comes to the topic of “must-dos” while pregnant, there is no shortage of suggestions—from well-meaning friends, online articles, and even perfect strangers. Take your prenatals, get plenty of rest, see your doctor regularly…the list goes on. But what you may not hear as often are things you should avoid during pregnancy. We’ve rounded up a list of seven things to skip while expecting.
Certain Foods
Trying to navigate the world of pregnancy cravings while still managing to consume a healthy, well-balanced diet isn’t easy. But consuming only foods safe for your developing baby is one of the most important things you can do while pregnant. As a rule of thumb, it’s not the type of food as much as how it’s made that matters. For example, beef, poultry, and seafood all get the green light, unless undercooked or raw. (Deli meat is a no-go, too.) Other foods to pass on: soft cheese, such as brie and feta; raw eggs; and unpasteurized dairy products.
Certain Skincare Ingredients
It’s a no-brainer to do an immediate check on any supplements you take internally once those two little lines appear, but many women forget to also review the ingredients in the lotions and serums they apply topically. The FDA maintains an extensive list of ingredients to watch out for, which include retinoids (known to cause birth defects), benzoyl peroxide and salicylic acid, and sunscreens that contain oxybenzone or avobenzone (shown to impact a fetus’s developing nervous system). But your best bet is to talk to your healthcare provider. To be sure your products are in the clear, pop them into your purse before your next OB visit for review.
Kitty Litter
If a cat is part of your family, it’s likely that cleaning out the litter box ranks high on the worst chores list, alongside scrubbing toilets and washing dishes. The good news? You have doctor’s orders to avoid scooping the box for your full term. Kitty litter can expose you to toxoplasmosis, a rare parasitic disease, which has been shown to lead to miscarriage or fetus malformations. If you’re a solo feline owner and must take on the task, be sure to wear gloves and wash thoroughly after changing out the box. Also, keep in mind, litter isn’t the only source of toxoplasmosis—consuming insufficiently cooked meat or touching infected gardening soil can also transmit the disease.
Stress
While a certain amount of trepidation is to be expected while you’re expecting, especially if it’s your first pregnancy, limiting outside stressors is important. Chronic and serious stress during pregnancy has been linked to miscarriage, high blood pressure, premature delivery, and even effects on baby’s brain development. Make an effort to reduce stressful life situations and find healthy ways to cope with any stressful situations that inevitably arise.
Specific Beverages
Passing on alcohol during pregnancy is a no-brainer, but there are other sips to skip. Due to potential bacteria, avoid unpasteurized milk and juices (including those that are fresh-squeezed). Because caffeine (think: coffee, black and green tea, and soda) and artificial sweeteners can pass through the placenta to baby, it’s best to proceed with caution and enjoy these drinks sparingly, if at all. Yummy swaps: sparkling water with a splash of pasteurized fruit juice, herbal teas, and decaf coffee.
Saunas and Spas
Easing your achy pregnancy muscles in a spa or sauna might sound like just what the OB ordered, but it’s actually quite the opposite. Elevated body temperature (above 101 degrees) can lead to complications for mama, such as lowered blood pressure, dehydration, and dizziness, as well as increasing the risk of birth defects for baby. A warm bath or a heating pad focused on sore spots is a safer soothing alternative.
Wet Paint
While it can be tempting to roll up your sleeves and paint that baby nursery yourself, it’s best to leave the painting to the professionals or your nearest and dearest. While today’s paints do not contain lead, they can contain harmful chemicals that can be absorbed through your skin or inhaled. If recreational painting is a favorite hobby or profession, be sure to mask up, wear protective clothing, and ensure the space is well-ventilated before allowing your inner artist to emerge.
Today our kids not only know how to pronounce quinoa (“KEEN-wah”), but their breakfast often consists of chia seeds mixed with organic raisins. How far we’ve come—we grew up eating processed sugar, bleached flour and food dye disguised as healthful options from the Four Food Groups. Not that there’s anything wrong with that. At least once a year we still mix Pop Rocks with a Coke. Scroll down to take a walk down memory lane with these 1970s and 1980s foods.
The phrase “healthy birthday cake” might sound like an oxymoron, but we’re here to tell you it can be done—and it can taste amazing too. We’ve rounded up a bunch of drool-worthy healthy cake recipes that are still big on flavor. Whether you’re looking for the best healthy chocolate cake recipe, a vanilla cake recipe, or even something vegan, you’ll find it here. Keep reading to get the scoop!
A vegan birthday cake that doesn’t skimp on fun or flavor: sign us up! This sweet creation by Orchids + Sweet Tea is colorful inside and out, thanks to a healthy dose of rainbow sprinkles.
It’ll be love at first bite with this deceptively healthy cake from Feasting on Fruit. The ice cream is made with frozen bananas, while the cake is sweetened with dates and coconut sugar.
This lightened-up cake from Well Plated is a delicious pick for sensitive tummies, and it pairs perfectly with a fluffy coconut frosting. Top it off with sprinkles, and you’ve got a dessert everyone will rave about.
Take your chocolate cake to the next level with this fabulous recipe from Green Smoothie Gourmet. A dash of cinnamon in the batter adds an extra dimension, and the dark chocolate frosting is a fitting finish. Oh, and it’s vegan and gluten-free!
Chocolate lovers, you’re in luck! This vegan treat from Occasionally Eggs is sure to be a hit. The cake is lightly flavored with orange juice and coconut milk, then topped with a heavenly whipped chocolate ganache.
Bettina at Oh Everything Handmade whipped up this dessert for her baby’s first birthday—but the delish ingredients can be a hit with kids and adults of all ages. Think applesauce, bananas, cinnamon and nutmeg, with a cream cheese frosting to top everything off.
Chocolate Beet Cake with Chocolate Avocado Frosting
Trust us, you can’t beat a beet cake. With this decadent dessert from The Pretty Bee, you get all of the fiber and antioxidants, but the beet flavor is totally hidden under all that chocolate-y goodness. Add on a super creative (and delicious!) avocado icing and you’re set for any celebration.
Chocolate Quinoa Cupcakes with Naturally Pink Frosting
How about some quinoa in your birthday cupcakes? Making Thyme for Health gives the traditional chocolate cupcake a healthy twist with quinoa, almond milk, and more. As for that pretty pink frosting? It’s colored using a little beet juice instead of fake dye!
We’ve got to give major props to this cake from Chelsea’s Messy Apron. Not only does it showcase our fave fall flavors in a healthy way, but it’s also made in one bowl. That means less cleanup, more birthday party!
Ahh, white cake. There’s a reason it’s a birthday staple. This version from Yammie’s Gluten Freedom has all the traits of the classic cake except for one update: it’s totally gluten-free.
Want to give your kiddo a colorful cake but without all those iffy food dyes? Itsy Bitsy Foodies has come up with a way to do it thanks to veggie and fruit juice. The result? Totally wow-worthy and dye-free.
Healthy Chocolate Cake with Peanut Butter Cream Cheese Frosting
Chocolate, banana, and peanut butter are pretty much a dynamic trio when it comes to birthday cake flavors. HelloBee makes this fudgy masterpiece with whole grain flour and a cute five-inch pan. Oh, and did we mention the cake is totally free of refined sugars?
What’s up, doc? Vegan carrot cake, that’s what! For your birthday kid, Love & Lemons has totally vegan-ized everyone’s favorite carrot-y treat. Special ingredients include applesauce, almond milk and frosting that uses macadamia nuts instead of cream cheese.
This cake from Chocolate Covered Katie has been kid-tested and kid-approved. It’s light and fluffy like any good birthday cake, but it’s also got its fair share of fiber, selenium, manganese and protein. Don’t forget the healthy strawberry frosting!
Ready to give a classic cookie a whole new twist? These Fig Newton-inspired cupcakes from Amy's Healthy Baking are 100% whole wheat and made without refined flour or sugar—but they still have the same great flavor you know and love, thanks to a fun figgy filling.
You will love this delicious Flowerless Whole Meyer Lemon Cake from The View From Great Island. An entire lemon, peel and all, is used in the recipe, so you will not be missing any flavor!
This Almond Flour Banana Cake from One Lovely Life is a tasty way to use up older bananas and make a healthier cake. This recipe is paleo-friendly, healthy and it will make everyone happy!
If the typical birthday cake isn't your thing, then this Gluten Free Angel Food Cake From Veggie Balance is a sweet and light way to celebrate. This recipe is also dairy-free and nut-free!
— Taylor Clifton, Abigail Matsumoto & Susie Foresman
Hot days call for cold treats, and there’s no time like the present to swap out your go-to Otter Pops for a new dessert that’s perfect for kids. From delicious frozen cookie dough bites to oat-milk chip ice cream, we’ve found a few new products to infuse a little fun into your llife. Keep reading to see them all.
It's pretty much everyone's dream to have frozen cookie dough ready to pop in the oven for a warm treat. Home Dough totally gets that convenience is key and delivers in the taste category as well. With Home Dough, fresh-baked, better-than-homemade cookies are always just ten minutes away. Choose from Chocolate Chip, Oatmeal Toffee, or Molasses Ginger Spice, all made from tried and true, mom-approved recipes and the same simple ingredients you’d find in your cupboard. They even come in gluten-free varieties! We suggest you order up a variety pack and try them today!
$18 for 8 cookie balls, $48 for a 24-ball variety pack. Available here.
Enlightened Sundae Cones
Sundae cones are what summer is made of and Enlightened is here to bring this favorite treat to your home with less sugar than regular cones. You'll get a crunchy cone filled with frozen Green yogurt or light ice cream and topped with nuts and chocolate. A final surprise? The chocolate-filled tip is there for your last bite. Order them online or find them at a store near you.
Killer Creamery's Sammies
courtesy Killer Creamery
For a treat that doesn't have a lot of sugar but tons of taste, we love the new Sammies from Killer Creamery. Offered in chocolate or vanilla ice cream with the classic cookie outside, with only 120 calories, no added sugar and only two to three net carbs, you'll feel just fine having one after dinner!
Available at stores nationwide, $5.99 - $6.99 for six.
Bubbies Vegan Mochi & Cookie Dough Bites
Bubbie's
Two new options from Bubbies will get you starting the summer off right.
The irresistible combination of ice cream wrapped in a decadent chocolate chip cookie dough is easy to eat—and even easier to enjoy! Like all Bubbies products, the Cookie Dough Bites are made with all-natural ingredients, are Certified Gluten-Free, Kosher dairy, no rBST, and Non-GMO!
Those looking to add a vegan treat to their dessert lineup will love these new additions to Bubbies mochi repertoire. You'll find mango, chocolate and strawberry vegan mochi that enrobe the non-dairy frozen dessert in perfectly sweetened mochi dough.
Daiya’s Dessert Bars make for the perfect treat for a hot day. These indulgent, chocolate-dipped, frozen dessert bars are completely plant-based and so tasty, parents will want to keep them for themselves!
If you want indulgent taste without the guilt, Nubocha is here for you. This low-sugar, non-dairy gelato brand was co-founded by famed Italian chocolatier Gianluca Franzoni, and it is reimagining gelato with health and wellness in mind.
Its low-sugar, dairy-free recipes consist of just three main ingredients: premium varietals of nuts or cacao, pure spring water, and allulose, a rare, zero calorie sugar found naturally in foods like raisins, figs and maple syrup. The simplicity of Nubocha’s recipes and its unique use of spring water as a base, allow each thoughtfully sourced ingredient to shine, offering a healthier, flavorful gelato with no added sugar and less than 350 calories per pint.
Beckon Ice Cream’s lactose-free ice cream is the perfect cold dessert for your summer gatherings. They just released perfectly-sized snack cups in flavors vanilla (with rainbow sprinkles in the lid), dark chocolate (with brownie chunks in the lid) and mint chip. These portable cups are a great option to bring in your cooler for your next park picnic.
If you love ice cream but it doesn't necessarily love you, ReThink has you covered. All of ReThink’s ice cream flavors are made with A2/A2 Dairy to be extra digestible. They're diabetic-friendly, Keto, gluten-dree, lactose-free, and made with all-natural ingredients including collagen, prebiotic fiber, and green tea extract for antioxidants.
We sampled the current flavors of Vanilla Supreme, Chocolate Majesty, Mint with Chocolate Flakes, Chocolate with Almond Butter, Coffee Hazelnut, Lemon Poppy Seed, Cardamom Pistachio, Almond with Chocolate Flakes, and Black Cherry Vanilla. Chocolate Majesty stood out as the kid favorite while Lemon Poppy Seed was much loved by the adults.
Attention, your new summer obsession is here! Check out Must Love—a new non-dairy, GMO-free, plant-based ice cream that will be the perfect addition to your freezer stash. Must Love is now available at Sprouts and select Whole Foods stores, with wider distribution ahead! Must Love offers two different bases: bananas and oat milk. The banana base is made with only bananas, coconut milk and dates while the oat milk base with only oat milk, coconut milk and dates. Cashew Cookie Dough is a kid favorite and Choco Choco Chip is for all you chocolate lovers out there.
Coconut Bliss Cups of Joy
If you are looking for a plant-based frozen dessert to add to your freezer this summer, you definitely need to try Coconut Bliss. The brand’s first ever single serve ice cream indulgence,Cups of Joy, are perfect for kids (and their parents) looking for a convenient and delicious plant-based treat. The cups are available in two flavors, Dark Chocolate and Madagascan Vanilla Bean. The four-pack retails for $8.99.
Want a little hands-on fun for your family's dessert? Coconut Bliss’s at-home ice cream machine, theBliss Maker™, brings their convenient plant-based scoops directly to your home. Order up the bundle and you'll also get ice cream mix that's ready to pop in the machine!
N!CK's Swedish Style Light Ice Cream
Amazon's #1 ice cream N!CK's Swedish Style Light Ice Cream has expanded its vegan line to include four new flavors that you're going to love: Vanilj Bean, Strawbär Kräm, Hazelnöt Fudge and Peanöt Butter Fudge.
Perfect for your summer sundae party, these flavors are joining the line up that tastes and melts just like dairy, but is still lactose and animal-free thanks to Perfect Day technology. Perfect Day’s real milk protein is made without animals, so kids can enjoy the real taste, texture, and nutrition of dairy—but produced sustainably and without the downsides of factory farming, lactose, hormones, or antibiotics. A dessert that you can feel good serving your family!
Your fave Outshine bars are getting some new flavors! Made with fresh milk for that creamy goodness, each bar contains five grams of protein, 25% less sugar than regular frozen dairy bars and four delicious flavor choices. Enjoy Strawberry and Mango, which are made with real fruit, in addition to Chocolate and Coffee, which offers 20mg of caffeine!
Available at retailers nationwide starting Spring of 2021.
Turkey Hill's 2021 Lineup
Get ready to sit down and cool off with Turkey Hill's new line of novelties that include 16 products like Ice Cream Cookie Sandwiches, Fruit & Cream Bars and Layered Sundae Cups. With flavors that include Caramel Brownie, Chocolate Cream Pie, Peanut Butter, Choco Mint Chip, Coconut, Orange and Strawberry Lemonade there is something for everyone.
You can find all the new products at retailers nationwide.
So Delicious Dairy Free Light Frozen Desserts
So Delicious Dairy Free has just launched its brand new Light Frozen Desserts! Each pint is less than 330 calories and they are certified gluten-free, vegan action certified and non-GMO Project Verified. Current flavors include Salted Caramel, Peanut Butter, Strawberry, Cocoa Chip, Mint Chip and Tiramisu.
Available in grocery stores nationwide for a suggested retail price of $5.49 per pint.
Popsicle Fruit Twisters
Popsicle's newest sweet treat combines real fruit and milk. The twisty popsicle has a surprise fruit filling and is just 70 calories each. Enjoy two fresh flavors that include Strawberry, Blueberry & Vanilla Swirl and Peach, Raspberry & Vanilla Swirl.
Talk about the perfect bite! These mochi-covered ice cream bites from Mochidoki are a new favorite summer treat with kid- and parent-approved flavors like vanilla chip, Thai tea, mango and salted caramel. At just 80 calories a piece, they are full of quality, natural and non-GMO ingredients, and are less messy than typical ice cream treats. They are currently available for purchase at their NYC stores and can be shipped to 26 states plus D.C. (with more to come).
Each one of these 3.5 ozs cups is filled with healthy ingredients like chia and flax seeds and organic fruits. There are no artificial flavors, they are dairy and gluten-free and they come frozen, so each one is perfect for a snack at any time. Chocolate and strawberry were our favorite flavors!
What's better than gelato delivered to your front door? New gelato flavors created each month and delivered to your front door! Each month has a theme based on the season, or collaborations or whatever strikes their fancy. Think watermelon, banana split, root beer float and more.
Kids will flip over these Organic Ice Wands featuring Anna, Elsa and Olaf from Frozen 2 and the plant-based Organic SuperFruit Freezies that were released from DeeBee's just in time for the summer heat. DeeBee's Organics shelf-stable freezies are made from premium organic fruits with zero added artificial flavors, colors, or preservatives and are allergen-free of nuts, dairy, fish, wheat and soy. You can feel good serving them every afternoon this summer!
Officially the first oat milk pop available, Chloe’s Pops come in three tasty flavors: Mint Chip, Salted Caramel and Raspberry Chip. All three flavors are dairy-free, plant-based, Non-GMO Project Verified, gluten-free and made without any artificial ingredients. Also, these oat milk pops are free of the top eight allergens.
Inspired by a coconut macaron, this flavor from Talenti is not just a non-dairy alternative, but it’s got layers of goodness, including real coconuts, chocolate cookies and a non-dairy hot fudge swirl.
Another fun treat from Chloe’s is their Marvel Pops! Inspired by Marvel Universe, these fruit popsicles are made with just three ingredients: fruit juice, cane sugar and water! Perfect for a backyard treat, these new pops are free of the top eight allergens.
As we all focus every day on what food our kids will be likely to eat, do we really know what they actually need in their lunches to grow healthy and happy? We gathered for you some valuable tips with the help of Claire Bladier, a professional in nutrition research who collaborated with experts from the French Agency for Food, Environmental and Occupational Health & Safety (ANSES). Whether you’re a beginner or an expert in packing nutritious lunches, here are some ideas to take your lunchbox to the next nutritious level.
Why do we need to watch our kid’s nutritional intake?
Filling our kids and teenagers with the nutrients they need helps them grow and prevents health issues when adults. It is also during childhood that certain behaviors and habits are acquired, which will be maintained throughout the individual’s life.
ANSES’s experts identified inadequate nutrient intakes for children regarding certain nutrients such as calcium and iron.
Around 57% of boys 13-15 years old and 80% of girls 16-17 years old are at risk of calcium deficiency
Around 25% of girls 13-17 years old are at risk of iron deficiency.
(Source: ANSES, June 2019)
These two nutrients are essential to help our kids grow healthy. Below are growth-supporting foods to favor in the lunchbox starting today!
How to Get More Calcium
Calcium is important for strong bones, as well as for the healthy functioning of nerves, muscles, and heart. Growing children need about 3 servings of calcium every day.
Where to find calcium? Milk and dairy products like yogurts and cheeses are first in line to provide your kids with their daily intake. Think of other dietary sources of calcium for children who consume few dairy products: leafy vegetables (spinach, cabbage, lettuce…), pulses (beans, peas, lentils…), seeds (fennel, sesame, chia…), and certain mineral waters.
Food Tip: Foods rich in vitamin D helps the body to absorb calcium, such as fatty fish (salmon, mackerel, and herring), liver, eggs, vegetable fat like margarine).
How to Get More Iron
Iron helps move oxygen from the lungs to the rest of the body and helps muscles store and use oxygen. To keep your child’s growth and development on track, offer iron-rich foods at meals and snacks.
Where to find iron? Favor meat, fish, or eggs to provide daily intakes. Other sources of iron are wholegrain bread, pulses, nuts, and dried fruits.
Food Tip: Foods rich in vitamin C such as blackcurrant, strawberries, oranges, pineapples, grapefruits, pepper, can help absorb more iron.
Keep an Eye on Sugar Consumption
ANSES warns about excess sugar intakes, in particular for younger children. The experts identified two priority levers to reduce these excess sugar intakes: sugar-sweetened beverages (cold non-alcoholic beverages and fruit juice) and pastries/biscuits/cakes. Frequently offered as afternoon snacks, these items can be replaced with foods lower in sugar such as plain dairy products, fresh fruits, nuts, and water.
Ready to take your lunchbox to the next level? Find lunchbox ideas that will help you maximize your kids’ intakes in growth-supporting foods by searching Teuko today!
Teuko is the first platform that empowers families to simplify lunch packing. Using Teuko, they can find and share kid-approved lunchbox ideas, recipes, and tips, all in one place. Teuko is transforming the lunch packing experience by boosting inspiration and motivation week after week.
Working from home, in the office, teaching kids—oh my! Healthy eating is difficult to make a top priority these days. Here’s your #momhack alert: getting kids involved in how their food is grown will make those greens, beans and everything in-betweens more exciting than a bag of chips!
Good news: you don’t need to scour the internet for fun at-home food science ideas. Del Monte Foods, your go-to for fruits and veggies picked and packed at their peak, and GrowingGreat, a non-profit that empowers kids to make healthy choices through food science and nutrition, have paired up to create a super-food, super-fun lesson plan! It’s a free, national STEM Distance Learning Curriculum, as easily accessible as Del Monte Foods! Check out their handy bilingual PDFs and videos that can be accessed on any device. Expect fruitful inspiration–get the whole family involved for a fun weekend activity or let kids explore on their own and keep them entertained, learning and engaged while you work from home! Who knew a veggie could be a kid’s best friend? Each lesson has a challenge, hands-on exploration, taste test, and a parent page with fun facts about food, science discoveries, recipes for kids and more. Read on to learn about three fresh lessons your kids can discover this fall, plus the perfect pairing to keep your family fueled for learning!
The Challenge: To explore how proteins help fuel and grow our bodies! In this lesson, you’ll distinguish between proteins, carbohydrates and fats, and sort out the sources of the proteins we eat. You’ll use your newly acquired knowledge to build your own protein cookie using both animal and plant proteins. Bonus: This lesson also comes with a printable coloring sheet! Get the lesson here!
Fuel Your Fun With:Del Monte® Oats To Go, the first ready-to-eat, no-prep homestyle oatmeal goodness in a cup that has high amounts of protein, whole grains, fiber and ½ serving of real fruit. With four flavors, everyone can find one they love while they enjoy another type of carbohydrate!
2. Graph Your Groceries
The Challenge: Find a label with the least ingredients, the most ingredients and the most grams of added sugar. Kids will learn how to read food labels and graph their results to see what foods are the healthiest choices. Tasting the products they graph, kids will talk about how the amount of ingredients affects the food’s taste, and record their data. They'll also learn about the canning process and even try it for themselves! Get the lesson here!
The Challenge: Develop a fruit drink without any added sugar and grow new veggies from old veggies. Kids will taste test orange soda, a sports drink, and mandarin oranges, discussing the difference in taste and ingredients. By measuring the amount of sugar on the label, and pouring it into a cup, kids will be able to see how much sugar is in each. Kids will even get to make their own no sugar added fruit drink. There’s also a no sugar added snack recipe parents and kids can make together.
Just like people, plants get thirsty too! Using carrots, beets and potatoes, kids will determine how much water they drink over time, finally deciding how much water and room they need to grow, and then planting them! Get the lesson here!
Fuel Your Fun With:Del Monte® Fruit Cup® Snacks, packed with flavor that comes from 100% fruit juice! While you’re snacking on your fruit cup, you can even use some of the fruit or fruit juice for a DIY fruit drink.
When you’ve got a kid with allergies, Halloween is a unique challenge of its own. Navigating through piles of candy that your kiddo may or may not be allergic to is not the easiest task, which is why we’ve put together a list of candies and treats that skip some of the most common allergens, like tree nuts, gluten, soy and dairy. We hope it comes in handy both when buying candy and going through your little one’s haul, but remember: always check the ingredients list and manufacturing practices before letting your littles dive in!
Enjoy Life Chocolate Minis
Enjoy Life, a leading allergen-free food manufacturer, has released their latest treat—Halloween Chocolate Minis. Choose from dark chocolate, ricemilk chocolate, ricemilk crunch and a variety pack. All of the chocolate is free of the top eight allergens and is gluten-free.
Halloween can be tough for kids with food allergies. That's where free2b comes in. Their line of sun cups and mint cups are top 12 allergen-free, and free from artificial flavors, colors, sweeteners, preservatives, hydrogenated oils, palm oil and carrageenan, as well. The entire line is Non-GMO Project Verified, Certified Gluten-Free, Certified Vegan, Kosher Pareve and Fair Trade Certified.
Our kid tasters particularly loved the consistency of the filling in both the sunflower and mint options. Buy them in two packs or in Halloween-themed single packs for trick-or-treaters. You can purchase them online or at a store near you.
Black Forest Organic Trick or Treat Mix
Made with real fruit juice and simple ingredients, trick-or-treaters will go wild for this tasty mix from Black Forest Organic. It’s got a nice variety of lollipops, gummies and fruit chews, and they’re all gluten-free and nut-free.
Allergy-friendly food company SAFE + FAIR has an awesome line of kid-approved treats, including Abby’s Cookies and Remy’s Grahams. The treats are nut-free (and made in a nut-free facility), non-GMO and made with whole grains, so you’ll feel good about handing them out to the little ghouls at your doorstep. SAFE + FAIR even donates 3% of proceeds to the Sean N. Parker Center for Allergy and Asthma Research at Stanford University.
This cult-favorite brand carries a range of delish vegan and paleo chocolate bars in flavors so good, you won’t even want to give them away. Try the cashew butter and raspberry jelly, the crunchy mint or the almond butter and puffed quinoa. All of the bars are free from dairy, palm oils, emulsifiers, soy lecithin, gluten, refined sugar, cane sugar and sugar alcohols, but note that some flavors contain nuts.
Made from organic fruit juice and cane sugar, these sweet beans are free of over 10 allergens, including tree nuts, soy, casein, sesame and more. And, they recently released a new multi-pack—just in time for the big night!
Your kid can finally dig into a "peanut" butter cup, a "snickers" bar and "milk" chocolate on Halloween! These individually wrapped treats are milk free, nut free, gluten free and wheat free. They are also vegan, processed in an allergen-free environment and taste great.
Partake makes cookies in three flavors: a yummy (and slightly spiced) carrot oat, sweet potato millet and a wholesome sprouted grain chocolate chip. Thought up by a mom who struggled to find a tasty, allergen-free snack for her own kiddo, each box of cookies is filled with veggies, fruits, and grains, and is free of top allergens, including tree nuts, peanuts, eggs, wheat and more. Gluten-free and non-GMO Project verified, there’s nothing but goodness left in these sweet snacks.
Kids love Dum Dums for the more than 15 different flavors, while parents love the price! Free of the top eight allergens, and made in an allergen-free facility, these suckers are always a good bet. Be sure to look for the newest flavor—pineapple!
This year Welch's Fruit Snacks has a Halloweeny box and pouch with custom holiday-themed fun shapes that include a bat, a spooky witch, haunted castle, and pumpkin. These guys are completely peanut & tree nut free (and also made in an allergen-free/isolated environment) and perfect for trick or treating, lunchbox treats or parties. The fruity, beloved treats will balance out the overflowing chocolate and candy options for you and your gang.
Even though these classic treats are free of the top eight allergens and are produced and labeled in compliance with FDA Good Manufacturing Practices, kiddos with severe allergies still might want to skip 'em. But, if they get the green light from parents, we found a great combo bag that offers both Sour Patch Kids and Swedish Fish.
Annually a top pick: the name says it all. Lovingly made in small batches in Vermont, mail-order customers keep coming back for these incredibly delicious chocolates, creamy fudge, and every other candy you can think of! How about jelly beans? Check! Gummy Bears, crunchy-chewy Pretzel Caramel Bark? You know it. Everything is made in a tree-nut free facility (gluten/wheat, soy, eggs and dairy products are processed here, however), and worry-free seasonal candies can be shipped anywhere in the U.S.
Turn up the heat with these delectable, shiny, soft, allergy-free hearts. Zinged up with spicy real cinnamon oil and bursting with flavor, they're a throwback to the old-school cinnamon hearts from our own childhood. These little red guys are; "Hot! Hot! Hot!", and for calmer palates Gimbals' also has a complete line of other candies. Gimbal's candies are peanut-free, tree nut-free, gluten-free, dairy-free, soy-free and egg-free and also include gourmet & sour jelly beans, Sour Lovers, Cherry Lovers, and black-as-Halloween-night Licorice Scotties.
Another one of the candy bunch you've already heard of, but did you know Smarties are free of all Top 8 allergens? These have been dubbed "America's Favorite Candy Roll" since 1949 and Smarties Candy Company has even been featured on the Food Network's "Unwrapped" television show with a fancy-schmancy factory tour so they're about as legit as candy gets. Allergy-free, gluten-free and completely vegan. Timeless.
So now you've met some of the new kids on the allergy-free block. Well: look no farther because here's a very familiar face! More than just Juicy Fruit or Spearmint gum, Lifesavers are delightfully allergy-free, the Gummy Life Savers and Creme Savers, too. Skittles & Starburst, oh my! Add Altoids to the allergy safe list, as well, and they're also gluten-free. So find the rainbow, taste the rainbow, and even ride the rainbow of favorite fruit flavors all while remaining allergy safe - and you can find these tasty treats absolutely everywhere.
If dark chocolate is your thing, look no further than PASCHA Chocolate's original assertive, tasty bars. This allergen-free organic chocolate is just right for baking and is such a great addition to recipes it will take your culinary skills to a whole new level (even if the Martha Stewart gene skipped you!). How about kitchen fun on an afternoon that won’t cause any bad reactions? Mail-order chocolate chips can get whipped up into sweet batters for cookies and bars, and whole or mini-bars can be nibbled any old time without allergy-worry—so get cookin' and take a walk on the Dark Side!
Craving candy? Why not make your own at home? Making candy at home is easy—especially if you have a kid helper by your side—and it makes for a sweet summer project. From an easy rock candy recipe to a taffy recipe you’ll want to bookmark, once you taste these candy recipes, you won’t ever want to go back to the store-bought stuff. All you need are a few common kitchen items and simple ingredients, so keep reading to find out more.
Here’s a better-for-you version of an old-school candy classic. Pixie Sticks are just as fun to make as they are to eat. This DIY Pixie Sticks recipe call for freeze-dried fruits instead of fake flavorings.
Kool-Aid Taffy calls for powdered drink mix to give it a burst of color and flavor. If you love Starburst candies (and you’re not up for pulling taffy for hours), this recipe is for you.
Pate de fruits have a perfectly intense fruitiness that is not at all gummy thanks to fruit puree, plus a gem-like presentation that makes them almost too pretty to eat.
Rich and buttery, this recipe for homemade toffee takes just 30 minutes from start to finish but expect the toffee to be eaten up in less than five minutes ... it's that delicious!
Chocolate, caramel and a rich homemade nougat melded into one delicious candy bar. This recipe for homemade Snickers-style bars is bound to become a family favorite.
