Last weekend we welcomed home the newest addition to our family, Oakley, an 8 week old American Brittany pup. His arrival was very much anticipated and his homecoming was everything I thought it would be and then some. The boys are head over heels in love with him and very rarely leave his side. Oakley is a sweet little pup and absolutely loves to snuggle and play. He sure is a big hit with all the kids in the neighborhood and has adjusted well to being played with constantly at the ball fields and everywhere else we have taken him. All the hesitation I had about bringing a puppy into our home quickly faded when I saw the boys interact with him. It's so fun watching them knowing these guys will be lifelong friends.

So without further ado, I introduce to you, Oakley:

Of all the photos I've snapped of our new little pup, this is by far my boys' favorite. One of the reasons they chose this particular breed of dog was so he could accompany them on bird hunting trips. When they saw this picture they all gasped and started talking about his "point"! Ahhhh...life with boys!

Today's "Welcome home, Oakley" lunch includes: ham/cheese sandwich, grapes/cheese, broccoli/carrots, and a bag of trail mix (almonds, chocolate chunks, and bite-sized pieces of a Quest bar) all packed in an Easy Lunch Box

Two days ago our youngest son had to say good-bye to his very best friend. Our neighbors moved away which was a little hard to swallow considering our boys have been practically joined at the hip for the past few years. I knew when my little man got home from school yesterday it was going to be tough for him not to meet his buddy out in the cul-de-sac to play. So I made up two of his favorite treats, a Shamrock Shake and chocolate chip cookies, to try to distract him from the empty house across the street. The snack certainly brought a smile to his face but it wasn't long and he was standing at the front window looking out to see if his friend was really gone. It's going to be quite an adjustment for him, but luckily we were able to arrange to bring home our little puppy this weekend which I think will definitely help ease the pain!

The Shamrock Shake is easily one of my boys' absolute favorite "snacks" although we have been known to have them for breakfast, lunch and/or dinner. HA!! When I first looked at the recipe I thought there was NO WAY my kids would like it (especially my youngest son who is the pickier eater of the two boys). Neither of my kids care for avocados, but I thought I'd try it anyway and am I ever glad I did. They LOVED it! So much so that they beg for one almost every day so I'm now having to keep my veggie drawer well stocked with avocados.

A huge thank you to Maria Emmerich, author of Secrets to a Healthy Metabolism,for this wonderful recipe!!!

Healthified Shamrock Shake

1/2 cup avocado
3/4 cup unsweetened almond milk (or full fat coconut milk)
1/4 cupJay Robb vanilla protein powder
2 TBS cream cheese
1 cup crushed ice
4 TBS erythritol (or Xylitol)
1 tspstevia glycerite(omit if using Xylitol)
1/4 tsp mint extract or about 1 tablespoon fresh mint leaves
OPTION:use a different extract to switch up flavors! We love Mango!

Place all ingredients in a blender (I use this BlendTecwhich is on sale now for $100 off!). Puree until smooth. Pour into 2 glasses. Makes 2 servings.

Healthy Chocolate Chip Cookies (adapted from this recipe):

• 2 1/2 c. almond flour


• 1/4 t. salt


• 1/4 t. baking soda


• 8 T unsalted butter, melted (or 1/2 cup of coconut oil)


• 1/2 c. xylitol (or other natural sweetener)


• 1 egg


• 1 T. vanilla


• 1 c. sugar-free chocolate chips

1. Preheat oven to 350 degrees F.


2. Combine all the dry ingredients in a bowl and blend with a spoon.


3. Add the wet ingredients and blend it well with a spoon.


4. Drop about a tablespoon of batter in each cookie spot on the cookie sheets. Space them about 1 1/2 inches apart.


5. Bake for 12 to 15 minutes, or until they are starting to brown around the edges.

Last weekend we had a chance to see the Super Moon light up the sky so I went to the library in search of a moon-themed book to read with my youngest son. I found Catching the Moon by Myla Goldberg which is a story about a moon who comes down from the sky to visit a lady he sees fishing each and every night. The moon learns that the lady is not fishing for fish, but for him! The story is beautifully written and illustrated!!

My son seems fascinated with the "man in the moon" and loves looking for a face now whenever we see the moon up in the sky so I decided a moon-themed lunch would be fun for him. Today's lunch includes: turkey/cheese sandwich with white American cheese accents, grapes, celery and peanut butter, dark chocolate and Quest bar slices, two pumpkin chocolate chip mini muffins

Below are some other twaddle-free "moon" themed books we've enjoyed reading to our boys over the years. For those of you unfamiliar with the word twaddle it means dumbed down literature; absence of meaning. Most often when I'm on the hunt for books for my kids I'm searching for age appropriate twaddle-free books.

1) Papa, Please Get the Moon for Me by Eric Carle 2) I Took the Moon for a Walk by Carolyn Curtis 3) Happy Birthday, Moon by Frank Asch 4) The Moon Book by Gail Gibbons 5) Kitten's First Full Moon by Kevin Henkes 6) Owl Moon by Jane Yolen

Today's lunch was inspired by the science experiment my son recently completed for a school project. He decided to investigate which liquid(s) would make a nail rust the fastest. To complete the experiment he gathered five clear plastic cups, placed a nail in each cup, and filled each one with a different liquid (vegetable oil, vinegar, orange juice, 7-up, and salt water). After letting the nails soak in the liquids for several hours he began to notice that only one of the nails was rusting. We left the cups sitting on the counter overnight and in the morning there was still only one nail that had any signs of rust on it. Can you guess which liquid it was? Here's a hint:

That's right...the nail soaked in water (H2O) and table salt (NaCI) rusted the fasted. Included in today's lunch: Turkey/cheese sandwich, cheese letter accents (I didn't have a lower case "a" to create the NaCI so I had to make do with what I had...hopefully any science teachers reading this will understand) grapes, almond flour pumpkin mini muffin, celery/peanut butter, dark chocolate squares all packed in an Easy Lunch Box. The beaker cookie cutter can be found HERE

Something my kids were really missing after making the transition to a healthier lifestyle was cereal. I've tried with all my might to find an alternative, but I've discovered that looking for a cereal not packed with sugar, genetically modified soy, wheat, and other fillers that actually tastes good is next to impossible. When Maria Emmerich, author of "Secrets to a Healthy Metabolism"(the book that started it all for me), posted a recipe for Peanut Butter CerealI decided maybe it was time to make my own. I'll admit I was a little skeptical and was fairly certain my kids would turn their noses up at it but I made it anyway. Boy, was I wrong!!! Not only did my kids eat it, but they LOVED it. My youngest son, definitely the pickier of my two kids, gobbled down his first bowl and begged for more. I've since made two batches and I'm finding that this not only makes for a quick and easy breakfast option, but it's perfect as an after school snack or a little filler for my boys who usually come home from hockey games H-U-N-G-R-Y!

Chocolate Peanut Butter Cereal (posted with permission from Maria's Nutritious and Delicious blog)

2/3 cup erythritol (or Truvia)
1 tsp stevia glycerite (omit if using Truvia)
1 cuppeanut flour
1 cupJAY ROBB chocolate whey protein(or egg white protein)
1/2 cup butter or coconut oil, melted
2 TBS water (or 2 more TBS butter/oil for a "crunchier" cereal)
2 TBS unsweetened cocoa powder
OPTIONAL: 1 tsppure chocolate extract

Preheat oven to 300 degrees F (170 degrees C). In a large bowl, combine erythritol and stevia glycerite, peanut flour, whey, and extract in a small bowl. Stir in butter and water with fork or pastry blender until mixture resembles coarse crumbs. Divide the dough in half and place half of the peanut butter dough on a cookie sheet with defined edges. Keep the other half in the bowl and add the cocoa powder; stir to combine well.

Place the cocoa cereal dough on separate cookie sheet with defined edges or the butter may leak off. Bake for 12-20 minutes or until golden brown. Remove from the oven and gently stir while still hot. Let cool in the cookie tin (it will crisp up A LOT). Break pieces apart and enjoy with unsweetened almond milk. Makes 8 servings.

If you've been reading my blog for a while you probably remember just how much my youngest son loves dogs. When he was 7 months old our neighbors had a puppy and whenever we were outside our little man would crawl all the way across our yard, into the neighbors yard, and over to the dog where he would sit and pet and play with him. Anytime we are out and about and spot a dog he begs to go over and pet the dog. The funny thing is that dogs seem to love my son right back. I can't tell you the number of times we've been around dogs and more often than not they clamor toward my son. My husband and I often joke that he's like a mini dog whisperer.

For the past few years my husband has been trying to talk me into getting a dog. I've never owned a dog or cat in my life so the thought of bringing a four-legged friend into our home wasn't something I was all that comfortable with. It seems I've heard story after story of dogs who rip apart the house, eat shoes (oh, how I love shoes!), and need to be exercised everyday. The thought of all the possibilities of what could go wrong had me frozen and unwilling to commit! However, the boys (especially my youngest son) have now joined my husband in begging for a dog. They have done an incredible amount of research on a breed well suited for our lifestyle, along with reading up on how to train a dog, how to care for a dog, how to keep a dog from eating shoes (they obviously knew that was a big roadblock for me). As the boys continued to plead their case I felt my defenses going down ever so slightly.

After much thought I decided that having a dog around for my boys to care for and love might not be such a bad idea...especially considering just how much our youngest son loves dogs. When my husband suggested we travel to go see a litter of puppies just born I knew the battle was pretty much over. Sure enough about 2 seconds into our meeting with the pups I was sold. I'll let the pictures speak for themselves:

Today's lunch is in celebration of the newest addition to our family who will be coming home in 4 weeks and 6 days (according to my son who is keeping very close track on the calendar)!! The lunch includes: peanut butter sandwich, white American cheese with ham accents for the paw print, celery and peanut butter (if nut allergies are a concern you might consider using sunbutter), almond flour chocolate chip cookies, two squares of dark chocolate all packed in a Planet Lunch Box

You may remember from my last post about children's literacythat I'm working really hard to give ownership to my son over the types of books he reads. We've found that by taking him to the library or book store and letting him select books he is FAR more likely to read those than the books I've been picking up and storing in our home library. For the past few weeks my son has been absolutely fascinated by the story of the Titanic. We have no idea what prompted his interest in the subject, but on a recent trip to the book store my son approached the checkout counter with two books devoted to the subject. The first book he chose was 882 1/2 Amazing Answers to your Questions about the Titanicwhich is a fact book(surprise, surprise!!) and the other, The Titanic, is an interactive history adventure. Between these two books he has learned a lot about the doomed ship and loves to quiz us all on the facts he's learned over the past few weeks. The former history teacher in me is trying to soak up every minute of this! Together my son and I have spent time on-line looking at video footage of the Titanicand atimages of the Titanic remains. I'm surprised by just how interested he is in soaking up information on this topic all because of two books he picked up at the store. What a relief it is for me not to have to force my son to get his daily reading minutes anymore . For us it really has been all about giving our son the lead and providing him plenty of opportunities to grab books that are of interest to him. All I can do is hope that this will help build a lifelong love for reading!

Today's lunch is in honor of the 100th anniversary of the Titanic disaster which occurred on April 14th, 1912 (although the boat didn't actually sink to the bottom until 2:20 am on the 15th). Included in this lunch is a peanut butter ship sandwich (if nut allergies are a concern you might try sunbutter), blueberries, cucumbers/hummus, string cheese, chia seed cookies, almonds all packed in a Planet Lunch Box

Today I'm taking a little break from talking about nutrition and instead focusing on another topic I'm passionate about...children's literacy. Prior to having children I was a high school history teacher and during the summer months I worked as a reading specialist with ESL (English as a Second Language) students. Needless to say, I understand the value of reading and hoped beyond all hope that someday I would have kids that loved reading just as much as I do. When I discovered I was pregnant I started what has become a mega collection of children's books. Before our kids were even in school we had bookshelves lined with board books, picture books, chapter books, old book series, new book series...all waiting ever-so-patiently for our boys to dive into. Both my husband and I spent countless hours with our kids reading with the hopes that would help develop an interest in reading.

All of our effort and preparation thus far seems to have helped somewhat. Both of our boys do love books and seem to have a genuine interest in reading. When our boys started school I was hopeful that their interest in books would continue and that they would both easily transition from one reading level to the next. They certainly have progressed, but at times I'll admit that it's a bit of a struggle. As part of our school's reading initiative our boys are required to read a certain number of minutes each and every day to help achieve a monthly goal of 400 minutes. That seemed easy enough when we started, but with our oldest son now in 3rd grade and involved in after school activities and sports it was getting harder and harder for him to meet the daily requirement. Thus began a book battle of sorts. My son was moaning and groaning about reading. Often saying he was too tired to read and he would do it later. When he finally did find time to sit down and read I would walk by and see him sitting with a book in hand and a blank stare on his face...obviously not engaged in what he was reading. All kinds of bells and whistles were going off in my head as I feared we were setting him up to despise reading which is the last thing I wanted!

I went on-line to do some research on this topic and quickly realized I was not alone. Evidently this book battle is something a lot of parents of boys deal with...what a relief that was to read. In fact, The U.S. Department of Education reading tests for the last 30 years show boys scoring worse than girls in every age group, every year. So I made a list of resources, did a fair amount of reading on the topic, and developed a new strategy. It's been working so well that I felt compelled to share it with you here in case there is another parent out there struggling with the same thing.

Pam Allyn, author of "Pam Allyn's Best Books for Boys" said, "Tension between parent and child is the single most deadly bullet. Be a team player with your child on this reading journey. Do not be critical or judgmental about what the child reads. If they love comics and cereal boxes, riddles and video game manuals, celebrate and affirm their choices. The home should be a sanctuary for reading."

What I took away from that is that I needed to give some ownership to my son in what he was reading. The 2010 Kids and Family Reading Report sponsored by Scholastic reports that only 39 percent of boys say reading books for fun is extremely or very important versus 62 percent of girls. Reading this statistic made me realize that what I think would be "fun reading" doesn't mean my son would feel the same. So I took my son to the book store and let him pick out a few book on his own with ZERO guidance from me. When it was time to check out I noticed that every book he selected was a non-fiction/fact book of some kind. Interesting!! Come to find out that a recent study shows that given the opportunity 80% of elementary-aged boys will pick out a non-fiction book from a library over fiction. Most of what we had in our home library up until that point were fiction books!

Now we have an abundance of non-fiction books including fact books, joke books, biographies about famous athletes, Presidents, historical figures, etc... Right now, my oldest son is drawn to Question/Answer type books which we have started referring to as "Why" books. I used to have to block out time in our day for him to read and every other minute he was asking if his reading time was up. Now I find my son reading at the breakfast table, in his room, in the car...you name it. I think he loves that he can absorb a lot of factual information about topics he's interested in relatively quickly. It's not to say he doesn't love chapter books. In fact, I think he enjoys chapter books more now than ever before because he's not being forced to read them. One little tip that has worked well for us with chapter books is to read the first chapter to our son. This gets him engaged and interested in the story and then he's eager to finish the book.

If you're interested in reading more on this topic you might visit the following sites:

1) Scholastic

2) Guys Read

3) Read Aloud Dad

Today's "WHY?" themed lunch was inspired by one of my son's favorite books of the moment "Time's Big Book of Why". This is a fun, fact-filled book perfect for curious readers! I've also started adding some of my boys' favorite books to the This Lunch Rox Amazon Store...I'll continue to add books as we go.

This lunch includes: turkey sandwich with white American cheese accents, broccoli & ranch dressing, strawberries/blueberries, almond flour chocolate chip cookiesall packed in the Planet Box Lunch Box

Today's the last day of school as we head into the holiday weekend so I thought an Easter themed lunch would be appropriate. If you read my last blog entry I'm sure it will come as no surprise that one of the holiday traditions we try to avoid is overloading Easter baskets with candy. It's not to say the kids won't have a little bit of candy to enjoy, but I decided to fill a majority of their baskets with non-candy items. I found a few things I think the kids will get excited about so I thought I'd share them with you in case any of you are looking for ideas:

A. Pocket Kite

B. Scratch -N- Sniff Stickers

C. Smencils

D. Fingerprint Art Set

E. Mad Libs

Today's lunch includes: a bunny digging for carrots (that's right...you're looking at the back-end of a bunny) turkey sandwich, carrots/hummus, grapes, chia seed cookie, string cheese all packed in a Planet Lunch Box