Snack Attack...

Are you a harried mother who has to plan balanced, nutritious snacks for your toddler every morning? I know I am -- and yes, forgive me for I have sinned...I don't prepare a snack from scratch - instead I look to the grocery aisle and Amazon for support and inspiration when it comes to packing my son's snack.

Here are some of my snack options :

Dairy : Babybell Cheese, Organic Valley/365 String Cheese, Gogurt

Beverage :  Water in a stainless steel water bottle, SO Coconut Milk,  Juicy Juice ( the small 4 oz cartons),Low Fat Chocolate Milk

Produce : Apples (Baby Apples or lunch box sized apples), Carrots (rarely - I usually need to monitor the intake), Organic Grapes, Organic Strawberries

Snacks : Revolution Foods Mash-Ups, Revolution Foods Sammy Jammies, Kashi TLC Bars, Cliff Kids Bars, Cliff Kids Fruit Strips, Ritz Handi Snacks, Terra Chips, Nature's Bakery Fig Bars, Nilla Wafers (Reduced Fat - My son's absolute favorite from pre-school), Pirates Booty, Fig Newton - Apple Crisps, snack bags of nuts - almonds and walnuts.

Prepared Meals : Half a Sandwich with Maranatha Dark Chocolate Peanut Butter

Hope this gives you some snack ideas for school...

For the past few weeks I have been making healthy smoothies every morning with a flat of organic berries that I picked up from the Farmer's Market - I keep it a little different every morning...here's how I made the smoothie today and I call it the Berry Surprise Smoothie. The surprise being the black grapes and plums which add another layer of  flavor and the enriched soymilk which makes it  silky and luscious...Enjoy !!!

• 4 oz of Strawberries ( 6-7 big ones)
• 2 Oz of Black Seedless Grapes (about 6)
• 1 Black Plum
• 3 Oz of Wildwood Probiotic Soy Milk

Blend in Magic Bullet. Add Honey or Agave Nectar if you want it sweeter. I enjoyed it without any added sugar. This recipe goes out to Smitha @ Smitha's Spicy Flavors who is hosting the event  Healing Foods : Berries, a series  which was concepted by Siri.

Have you been taking care of yourself lately?

ps: my pictures are usually taken with the camera on my phone...so if it is blurry, my apologies.