LaLa Lunchbox

First Foods, Real Foods and the White Out Movement

I recently received an email from someone who will be using LaLa Lunchbox to plan for her infant’s foods. She hasn’t yet given her baby solids and wrote “I just got a baby food maker and don’t know where to start… it would be really helpful to share some of your ideas on the blog.”

I’m absolutely delighted to hear about out-of-the-box thinking with LaLa Lunchbox and happy to oblige. And with a newborn myself, it won’t be long before I, too, am making my own baby food again. So Maggie, this one’s for you: 

Six years ago, almost to the date, I started feeding my daughter solid foods. Her first food was avocado. Her second food was pear. Whereas once upon a time, parents were told to start their infants on cereals (rice or barley being most common), these days the emphasis is on pureed fruits and vegetables, My pediatrician wrote a book called The New Basics and inside he writes, “Cereals are high in starch, which is a slow sugar. I’ve observed that an early emphasis on starch contributes to both a predilection for white foods (rice, potatoes, etc.) and the acquisition of a sweet tooth later on.”  I agree with this philosophy and have actively chosen to feed my kids produce (seasonal and organic whenever possible) instead of cereals for their first foods. One of the great voices for pediatric wellness and healthy eating habits is Dr. Alan Greene.  He and his wife, Cheryl Greene, created a campaign called The WhiteOut Movement and their goal is to encourage parents to feed their infants whole grains and real foods, and make feeding white rice cereal to babies obsolete. Dr. Greene says “It’s no wonder that America’s kids are hooked on junk food. For the past 50 years the majority of babies in the United States have been given white rice cereal for their very first bite of solid food. Metabolically, it’s similar to eating sugar.” 

So what can you feed your baby? When choosing first foods, it’s a good idea to think about what can be prepared with little or no preparation. Foods in their most natural form that are excellent first foods for babies include avocados, pears and bananas. Find a ripe one, peel, mash and serve. Just keep in mind that your baby has never used his mouth and tongue for swallowing anything other than breast milk or formula. Bear with him as he learns to get the hang of the whole spoon/solids thing. Making your own baby food will save you money  and it’s a whole lot of fun. 

Other popular foods that can be easily prepared and served include: apple, squash, sweet potato​, honeydew, cantaloupe and zucchini.  Bake, boil, steam or roast until soft, and then mash and serve. You can use your food mill to puree the foods into a uniform texture for baby. If you prepare foods in bulk, you can freeze them in an ice cube tray and defrost as needed. That’s a good time-saving strategy for a working mom.

October is perfect for apples so here’s what I would do to prepare that: 

Pureed apple (baby’s first applesauce) 

• ​Peel and core two apples (my preference is organic).
• Cut into one inch chunks (approximately, but don’t sweat it if they’re bigger). ​
• Place chunks into a pot with about 1/8 c of water and put on medium heat. ​
• Let the apples cook, stirring occasionally, until they are soft. ​
• Mash completely​ until the texture is smooth. You can use your food mill if you’ve got one but it’s not absolutely necessary for apples. 
• Take about 1-2 tablespoons out and place in a bowl for baby’s first feeding. Store the rest in an air-tight container in your fridge. ​

Good luck! And please keep me posted on how things go! ​

Version 2 is here!

You spoke, we listened.

The number one feature request after LaLa Lunchbox launched this May was to be able to access the same account via multiple devices.

Done!

Just yesterday, my daughter planned her lunches for the week using my iPhone. My husband pressed ‘sync’ on his iPhone and tada! The grocery list was there on his device for him to see and take shopping. Easy peasy. Even the Peeled Much-Ado-About-Mango snack that I recently added appeared on his list. 

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Here’s what else is new on V2:

Save any meal as a favorite and use favorites for any meal. Besides saving and accessing your own favorites, you can access the favorites of other lunchboxes on the account. So for example, if my daughter wants to see (and pack) a meal that my son is into these days, she can. 

Change the minimum & maximum items allowed in your lunchbox. Now you can have as little as two and as many as eight items in a lunchbox. 

Login via Twitter, Facebook, or LaLa account. Of course, you don’t have to log in at all. But if you want to sync with another device, we’ve made it super easy by giving you three ways to log in. 

Other cool stuff: Version 2 has improved iPad compatibility, UI enhancements and bug fixes. 

We are absolutely thrilled for the release of V2! The school year is still new and there’s loads of lunches left to pack. Enormous thanks from our family to yours for your support and enthusiasm for LaLa Lunchbox these last 5 months. Please help to spread the word about LaLa Lunchbox and please keep the feedback coming! It’s thanks to you that we’re able to continue to make improvements and updates. Happy lunching! 

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Banana Sweet Potato Fig Muffins. Yum.

When I was little, my grandpa used to say he was waiting for someone to invent “smell-a-vision” so that when you watched a cooking show or talked on the phone with someone, you would be able to smell whatever it was that was cooking in their kitchen. If smell-a-vision was here today, you might want to call my house now. ​

The little guy and I had a muffin adventure in the kitchen this morning… an experimental recipe that went awry when I realized (after putting the muffins in the oven) that I had forgotten the baking soda AND the baking powder. Ugh. ​

I spent a full moment debating whether I should fix it or leave it - apparently aloud. When my son started saying “Mommy, what you forgot?” I realized we had come too far to have a muffin disaster. My son had personally added nearly every ingredient. He stuck his chubby little fingers into the batter so delightfully when it was fully mixed. He was excited about the final product. And I was too. So I took them out, poured the warm batter into a bowl, added the missing ingredients and put them back in the oven. ​

Boy does it smell awesome in here. ​And thankfully, the old adage about better late than never is totally true when it comes to rising agents. My son just wolfed down two of these muffins (with my assistance, of course). 

​Here’s the recipe for Banana Sweet Potato Fig Muffins - baking soda and powder included. 

Enjoy! ​

Preheat oven to 350 degrees. ​

In a bowl combine:

• 3 very ripe bananas, mashed
• 1 tsp vanilla extract​
• 1/2 c vegetable oil​
• 1 cup canned unsweetened sweet potato puree​
• 1 TB maple syrup​
• 1/2 tsp baking soda​
• 1 tsp baking powder​
• 1 1/2 cups flour​
• ​4 dried figs, chopped
• 2 tsp cinnamon​
• 1/2 tsp salt​

Mix thoroughly. Pour into muffin lined tin and bake for approximately 24 minutes. ​

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Back to School Jitters

My daughter goes back to school tomorrow. It’s a new school in a new neighborhood and we know no one. Jitters abound… Will the teacher be a good fit? Will we figure out how to make it to school on time? Will we all make nice new friends?
All of these questions contribute to the back to school jitters. But for me, back to school gives me pause. It serves as a reminder that time is flying. Whizzing.

How is it possible that my daughter is already in first grade? Am I doing right by her? How is she turning out?
The daily grind often gets in the way of these questions - until that moment you send your kid on the school bus for the first time, or drop her off in a new classroom, and watch her with that enthusiastic smile that reminds you of everything lovely and right about the world.
Frankly, for me one of the biggest challenges on the first day of school is figuring out how to hold back the waterworks until I exit the building.

So today I’m thinking about my gal who casually sauntered into her twos program four years ago all chubby cheeked and smiley. And that same gal with her lady bug raincoat on the rainy first day of kindergarten last year - same smile, different cheeks.
Looking forward to tomorrow…

The Green Thumb and The Brown Thumb Collaborate

My daughter has a green thumb. She gets it from my husband. Lucky them! I’m cursed with a brown thumb. ​

This past weekend, the two of them picked up some new herbs to grow on the windowsill, among them were mint and Thai basil. YUM. Frankly I’m happy that I can cook with the herbs but I’m not responsible for keeping them alive. ​

I was browsing through Dinner: A Love Story and came across this post and felt inspired. (Thank you, Jenny!)  ​So, my little Green Thumb and I set to work. We picked, washed and chopped fresh mint and basil while wheat berries were cooking on the stove. We also chopped a half of a shallot (actually that was my job… she opted out of that one, proclaiming it too smelly.) Once the wheat berries were finished we combined everything with the juice of one lime, 2 tablespoons of olive oil and some sea salt. Easy, quick, healthy. Delish. 

The Green Thumb and The Brown Thumb Collaborate

My daughter has a green thumb. She gets it from my husband. Lucky them! I’m cursed with a brown thumb. ​

This past weekend, the two of them picked up some new herbs to grow on the windowsill, among them were mint and Thai basil. YUM. Frankly I’m happy that I can cook with the herbs but I’m not responsible for keeping them alive. ​

I was browsing through Dinner: A Love Story and came across this post and felt inspired. (Thank you, Jenny!)  ​So, my little Green Thumb and I set to work. We picked, washed and chopped fresh mint and basil while wheat berries were cooking on the stove. We also chopped a half of a shallot (actually that was my job… she opted out of that one, proclaiming it too smelly.) Once the wheat berries were finished we combined everything with the juice of one lime, 2 tablespoons of olive oil and some sea salt. Easy, quick, healthy. Delish. 

Lunchbox Cutlery and Crust Cutting

It’s funny how developmental advances happen sometimes accidentally.
My daughter has been going to camp this summer at a fantastic place called The Barking Cat. Every day the kids go on adventures that as a parent with access to such a fabulous city, I wish I had the stamina for. The roster of places included The Met, The Museum of Natural History, The Marionette Theater, The Brooklyn Museum, The Guggenheim, Prospect Park playgrounds. The list goes on and on. Sure, we visit museums. But not four in a week. Every week.
Post- adventure the kids spend all afternoon creating art. I have been completely delighted with The Barking Cat and so impressed with how well Karen and Maria have run the program. Most importantly though, my daughter raves about it each day at pickup.
Campers are supposed to bring a packed lunch each day - fine for us because we use LaLa Lunchbox. But the other day I had one of those super tired accidental parental lapses in judgement. I prepared her sandwich in the morning and packed the other lunch foods. My daughter is not a crust fan so I trimmed the crust and, as usual, gave it to my son with his breakfast. Or so I thought.
At pickup, my daughter exclaimed “Mom! I loved taking off my own crust! Thank you for packing that knife!”

Oh.my.god. Did anyone hear that? Jesus. I packed a knife in my six year old’s lunchbox? In an instant I tried (unsuccessfully) to think back to the morning… Was I using a butter knife? Or some kind of totally inappropriate Ginsu-type?
Clearly it all worked out fine, but still. I quickly opened the lunchbox and it was, in fact, a butter knife. And a dull one at that. Phew.

The good news is that now my daughter wants to cut off her own crust always. And despite the fact that I won’t be sending her off with knives in her lunchbox any time soon, it’s an exciting new level of self sufficiency (under the right circumstances of course!)

At This Point, I Really Should Know Better

It’s quite simple, really. 

• step 1: when dining out, tell the waiter/waitress about allergies. 

• step 2: carry all medications.

• step 3: make sure said medications are current (not expired). 

I met some friends last night at one of my favorite restaurants. There are a few things on the menu that I’ve never ordered because my go-to standbys are so utterly delicious, it’s always hard to veer from them. Last night I changed my mind. Had a hankering for something from the sea. I’m allergic to fish, but not shellfish so I ordered the octopus salad with dandelion greens. One of my dinner companions ordered the same thing - but had her dressing altered to olive oil and lemon juice. It would have been wise for me to have followed suit. 

As I learned five hours after the fact, my dressing was made with anchovy fillet. I didn’t feel better hours after taking benadryl and finally Googled the recipe. I only have myself to blame. Step 1: ALWAYS tell the waiter/waitress about any allergies.  

During an allergy attack, my heart thumps. My fingers and hands shake from the medicine. I feel a strange sort of speedy buzz pulsing through my body from the inhaler, which competes with the utter exhaustion that comes from the benadryl. The reaction to my allergy medicine is sometimes just as intense as the reaction to the allergen itself. Anchovy, as it turns out, tasted quite yummy in that dressing. But I couldn’t finish my dish at dinner. I felt a few hives around my mouth and one on my lip. And a golf ball sensation in my esophagus. I know that golf ball sensation. I’ve known it all too well for a long time. But for some reason last night, I chalked it up to indigestion and to a cross contamination allergy. My allergies to fish (and nuts) are so sensitive that I can get hives if my food is touched by the same utensil that is used to for nuts and fish. Anchovy isn’t one of the more powerful or oily fish so the reaction isn’t as severe. I would have known after one bite if there was salmon in that dish. And I would have known what to do. You’d think after so many years of handling my allergies I’d be smarter about things and know how to distinguish a reaction to something I’ve eaten from something that’s touched something I’ve eaten but I never quite feel like I’m in my right mind when an attack comes on. I have trouble thinking clearly. 

I left my house last night without my allergy medication. Don’t ask me why. I’d certainly get a lecture from my parents for that one - even now as a grown adult with children of my own. And from my husband who, until midnight was on a cross country flight back home after traveling this week for work. When I have an allergic reaction, I’ve got the internal struggle of feeling completely afraid and helpless and at the same time feeling ultimate pressure to take proper care of myself, by myself. Maybe that’s why it’s so hard to think clearly. Step 2: ALWAYS carry ALL medications. 

I’ve been to this restaurant a million times, I figured. I wanted to take a small purse. I didn’t have room for allergy medicine. I realize how stupid that must sound. Believe me, I’m berating myself worse than any family member of mine could do. By the time I got home, I raced to take two benadryl. Benadryl has been my savior on countless occasions. I’m familiar with the hazy exhaustion it brings. But it’s been so long since I had any kind of allergic incident. I’m usually so careful. I’m embarrassed to admit that the benadryl all over my house carried an expiration date of February 2011. Step 3: ALWAYS keep allergy medicines current. 

My old boss used to say that expiration dates were things to be ignored. “Marketing tools to buy more product,” he’d say. I stayed up until the benadryl’s sleepy effects took over, even though I didn’t feel the relief I usually feel with a contact allergy. Unusual. It had been an uneasy, uncomfortable 2 hours. I finally googled the recipe for the dish and discovered the underlying reason: the anchovy. No wonder. It wasn’t a contact allergy at all. It was a real allergy. I.ate.fish. What an idiot. After some internal debate (and back and forth texts with my husband who landed late and had trouble finding a taxi thanks to last night’s storm) I took another benadryl and a dose of the inhaler. The golf ball feeling went away after 10 minutes. My body felt relief. 

I had a conversation with my mom just the other day about the terror a parent feels when his or her child has anaphylaxis. According to the Food Allergy and Anaphylaxis Network, each of my children has a 7 in 10 chance of having some sort of allergy because my husband and I both have them. “Challenging as it is, you learn to deal with the terror when they are little. You find ways to control situations as much as possible so that you avoid allergens. You get the help you need for them when that fails,” she said. “But then there’s a whole new level of terror that you feel as a parent when they grow up and you hope that you’ve done what needs to be done so that they take care of themselves.” 

Shame on me for not telling the waitress about my allergies. And for not carrying my benadryl with me always. And for not having current supply in stock. I’m okay now. It’s just going to be a long, tired day. 

People: if you have allergies, please don’t be a jackass. I say that in the nicest way possible. Take care of yourself, in the way that you know you have to do for your own best interest. 

A Confession! And All Good Things in Moderation

I’m a chocolate person. Some people are not. I find that odd, of course. 

So here’s a confession… I have stashes of chocolate lying around my house and in my car and in at least three of my purses. When I was a kid, my grandpa was like this. We used to laugh about it. He wasn’t the chocolate bar type - he was a box guy. As a kid with severe allergies, those boxed chocolate bon bon shaped things with their random fillings were a danger zone for me. ​ But I remember finding little boxes of them all around his apartment in the Bronx and getting a chuckle out of it but also being upset that I couldn’t indulge. 

As an adult, I like to have a bit of chocolate every day. ​It usually amounts to a one or two inch square. And with such a flood of delicious chocolate products on the market today, it’s hard not to indulge. Of course I have my rules. I never buy milk chocolate. I’ll only buy bars that are at least 55% cocoa (my sweet spot, as it were, is 70% or more cocoa bars) and my top three fave flavors are orange peel, candied ginger and mint. That sweet melty goodness of the square on my tongue can round out any day nicely. 

I’ve read countless articles praising small amounts of chocolate. ​Some have gone so far as to say that dark chocolate is healthy, like this article. I was overjoyed to read this article from the Huffington Post this spring about the relationship between chocolate and cholesterol. And this one from ABC News, Dark Chocolate for a Healthier Heart, is sure to please chocolate lovers. 

Today we see articles galore about too much of this and not enough of that. And eat this for a healthy heart, but not if you have diabetes. And avoid this if you don’t want gout but get lots of it if you want abs of steel. It’s dizzying. I’m okay with having a little bit of chocolate every day. I live my life healthfully. I eat well and exercise regularly and always have. One chocolate bar can last 2 weeks or more in my house. ​So am I advocating running out and buying up the world’s cocoa beans and expecting that to cure life’s ills? No way. I dont think that a headline in a few magazines should justify lifestyle behaviors that are beyond the scope of rational. So why, you might ask, do I have what I describe as stashes? Good question. If I’m out and unable to stop what I’m doing but need a bite of something, I can whip out of square of that chocolate bar. If I’m sitting in traffic, starving and cursing myself for driving in the first place, one square of that trusty chocolate saves the day. We all know that eating a chocolate bar a day isn’t healthy. But a bite or two seems okay to me. I’m able to stop after that. All good things in moderation. 

Food Allergies and Superstar Caregivers

​I’ve got food allergies. Life threatening ones. I grew up during a time when food allergies were not nearly as common as they are today and I have no way to calculate or fully understand the impact it truly had on my family life. I just saw a tweet from The Food Allergy & Anaphylaxis Network with a link to a survey about the impact of allergies on caregivers. Frankly, despite how awful it is that so many kids suffer from some kind of food allergy today, I’m relieved to see that the issues surrounding their caregivers are being addressed (and so much more attention is paid to allergies in general). 

Kids used to tell me that I should live in a bubble. I’m allergic to nuts and fish (among other things) - but my allergies go beyond just not being able to eat them. The oils of certain nuts and fish are so powerful that my body reacts just to smelling them, or touching a door knob that someone who ate those foods just touched. I carry an epi-pen and have been to the emergency room to get through bad reactions. Having allergies has made me more aware of the food I put into my body. I was a label reader long before it was cool. The ability to control what goes into my body is something that arose out of both need and anxiety in me. Those feelings are also what led me to create one of the specific features of LaLa Lunchbox. Users can customize their food library. Having choices and adding favorite foods is always a good thing, but being able to remove foods that make you sick or add foods that are in the safe zone was absolutely a must for my app. 

Bizarre as it may sound, I had not previously considered the full picture impact of my allergies on my parents or my sister until I started reading Feeding Eden, by Susan Weissman. I plan to write a full review when I’ve finished the book and am finding it thoroughly engaging, honest and very emotional thus far. 

For all of the caregivers of food allergy sufferers out there - hats off to you. To all of the food allergy sufferers, I hope you can take comfort and find safety in the amazing support systems that exist for you today.