We all know that getting kids to eat their fruits and vegetables is important, but the actually implementation can always be difficult.  While we often have fresh fruit at the beginning of the week (right after our weekly grocery trip), toward the end of the week, we are pretty low.  That’s why I like the idea of Fruit2Day, a healthy fruit juice with no added sugars that includes diced-up pieces of real fruit in each bottle.

My kids were excited to try out the juice, just from looking at the appealing packaging.  I wasn’t sure how they’d like the diced up fruit – my daughter was a little tentative toward it but my son drank it all down very quickly.  I tried it to, and was really pleased to find that it tasted great, and wasn’t too sugary tasting.

Fruit2Day is available in the refrigerated section of your grocery store – to print a $1 coupon or find locations to purchase, visit the Fruit2Day website.

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Helping Kids Get Healthy – Fruit2Day

I am not a fan of bug sprays, poisons, or other ways of keeping those creepy crawly or flying creatures away from me. However, I am even less of a fan of those creatures on my body or my children’s bodies. Since we live in an area that is overrun with the buggers, keeping the bugs away is a significant issue that can’t be overlooked. With worries of dengue fever and some sensitive skin in the family, one mosquito bite can turn into a big thing. Protection and deterrents are necessary but they are often sticky and smelly. I was very excited to give Bug Off! Bug Rub by Sunfeathers a chance. Something that would do the job without making us miserable at the same time.

The first thing I noticed about Bug Off! Bug Rub is the smell. It isn’t the usual overly-sweet yet medicinal smell typical to other bug deterrents. With citronella, rosemary, geranium, and lemongrass essential oils, the rub has a pleasant, more citrus-y smell to it. All you have to do is smooth the rub on to your hands and face and you are ready to go. Made with shea butter, Bug Off! Bug Rub moisturizes while it keeps the mosquitoes, black flies, and other buggies away. It’s perfect for any outdoor activities, especially if you’re going to be around others and don’t want to keep them away, along with the pests.

To check out Bug Off! Bug Rub and other Sunfeather products, like Bug Off! Soap and Shampoo and Bug Bite Soother, visit The Sunfeather Natural Soap Company

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Naturally-Smelling, Natural Bug Deterrents

When I studied abroad in the UK, one of my favorite stores and brands was Boots – a ubiquitous drug store in London that carries their own line of cosmetics and beauty supplies.  In fact, Boots’ signature brand is the UK’s #1 cosmetic and beauty brand.

Boots is now available in the US at Target and Target.com, and they just launched their first organic line, Botanics Organic– which is affordable and eco-friendly.  I had a chance to try out a few of the products – the Hand Wash, the Lip Balm, the Hydrating Day Cream, the Body Oil and the Body Butter.   All of them are really gentle and have a nice, pleasant, mild scent.  My personal favorites are the Day Cream, which is moisturizing without being greasy, and the Lip Balm, which I use, without fail, twice a day.

Boots Botanics Organics packaging is made from recycled materials, which I also love.  I hate buying products that contain layer upon layer of packaging.  All of the Boots Botanics Organics products are under $25, and can be purchased at Target or Target.com.

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Organic, Affordable Skincare Products from Boots

As a native New Englander (and former temporary resident of Seattle) I’ve grown up with seafood as a main part of my diet.  I like the idea of eating fresh fish, and introducing it to my children, but it’s hard as a busy parent to know what to buy and how to prepare it.

A few weeks ago, I have the opportunity to interview Food Network Chef Michael Smith from Prince Edward Island (Chef Abroad, Chef at Home, Chef at Large and The Inn Chef) about ways to cook healthy seafood recipes and Prince Edward Island culture.  He sure made me want to visit there soon!

Check out the video of the interview – and his recipes, which are after the jump…

Prince Edward Island Smoked Salmon with Pasta and Simple Lemon Dill Cream Cheese Sauce

This is one of the most popular dishes on my table. Our friends love its bright, familiar flavours and we love how easy it is to make. You can toss steaming, wet, just cooked pasta with melting cream cheese to form an incredibly smooth luxurious sauce. The smoked salmon adds extravagance balanced by other familiar flavours: dill, lemon, onion, mustard and capers. A five star dish for sharing!

Serves four

1 lb penne or your favourite shaped pasta like bowties, long pastas like spaghetti don’t work as well
1 cup room temperature cream cheese
1 bunch of fresh dill, chopped
4 green onions, sliced
1 lemon, juiced and zested
1 heaping spoonful of Dijon mustard
1/4 cup capers
8 ounces smoked salmon, or more
sprinkled sea salt and freshly ground black pepper, to taste

Bring a large pot of salted water to the boil. Season it liberally with salt until tastes like a day at the beach on Prince Edward Island. As the pasta cooks it will absorb the salted water and become properly seasoned. Cook al dente, until the pasta is cooked through but still pleasantly chewy.

Scoop out some of the starchy cooking water. Drain the pasta but not quite all the way. Leave it a bit wet. Toss the pasta back into the pot along with a splash or two of the reserved water, perhaps a half-cup or so in total then immediately add the rest of the ingredients. While the pasta is still steaming hot it will easily melt the cream cheese and form a rich creamy sauce. Season with salt and pepper. Serve immediately.

Simply Steamed Island Blue Mussels with Three Different Flavours

Mussels are super simple to cook and travel with their own built-in sauce base. They’re easy to steam and when you do, they release a flavourful broth that many connoisseurs swear is the best part. That broth can be flavoured any way you care too so mussels are also a great ingredient to free style with.

Serves four

Five to six pounds of mussels, rinsed well with lots of cold running water
Choose 1 of the following three flavouring groups:

• A 12 ounce bottle of your favourite local beer, a sliced onion, a tablespoon of butter

• 1 cup of orange juice, 1 tablespoon of curry powder

• 1 cup of whatever wine you’re drinking, 1 tablespoon of mustard, 1 teaspoon of dried thyme, 1 tablespoon of butter

Wash the mussels very well and discard any that are open and wont close with a bit of gentle finger pressure.

Pour the liquid and other aromatic ingredients of your choice into a large pot with a tight fitting lid. Stir to combine and bring to a simmer over medium-high heat. Add the mussels and cover with the lid. Shake the pot occasionally and cook until all the mussels have opened, ten minutes or so.

Spoon out the mussels into a serving bowl. Strain the remaining liquid to remove any broken shell or lingering sand in it. Serve with the mussels and lots of bread for soaking up the flavourful juice!

Organic Prince Edward Island Field Greens with Apple Vinaigrette & Pumpkin Seeds

A simple greens salad is both healthy and tasty. When you toss it yourself with local organic greens and a homemade dressing it can also be a powerful way to support sustainable food choices.

Serves four

Four handfuls of local, organic field greens
1/2 cup of toasted pumpkin seeds
1/4 cup of canola oil
2 tablespoons of apple cider vinegar
1 tablespoon of local honey
1 teaspoon of any mustard
salt and pepper to taste

In a festive salad bowl, whisk together the oil, vinegar, honey and mustard until they form a smooth dressing. Toss the greens in the dressing until evenly and lightly coated. Sprinkle on the pumpkin seeds and any other of your favourite locally and seasonally inspired salad garnishes!

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Healthy and Quick Seafood Recipes for Family Dinners – Interview with Chef Michael Smith

I’m lucky, because I have two children who love to play together with their toys.  While they do love all kinds of toys, even super cheap plastic toys, I do have some concerns about their safety, as well as the environmental impact of some of these imported plastic toys.

That’s why I was thrilled to learn about Green Toys, which are made in the USA out of recycled milk jugs.  I love to see that these milk jugs that we go through by the truckload are actually recycled into something that this useful!  Not only are the actual toys environmentally friendly, the packaging is also green (and totally omits all of that hard plastic and those twist ties, which are is my personal nemesis).

We have the sand pail as pictured above, as well as the jump rope.   They are high quality and fun for the kids to play with!  I also love the cookware and dining set, as well as the tea set – because inevitably these toys will end up in the mouth, and I have lots of concerns about this happening with just any toy.

To purchase Green Toys, you can visit http://www.kangarooboo.com, and use the coupon code GreenFun09 which will give you 10% off of Green Toys only until July 31, 2009.

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Environmentally Friendly, Safe, Green Toys

Extra time is not something that most of us moms have.  And so it really irked me when every morning I would have to practically babysit my toaster in order to get the bread to come out just right.  Too light or too dark, it seemed that getting perfect toast was never simple.  Then I got smart.  Actually I got a Smart Oven.  Created by Breville, the Smart Oven is a countertop device that can toast and roast, bake and broil, reheat and keep warm to perfection every time.

How is it so smart?  First, the Smart Oven’s Element IQ ideally adjusts the oven’s 1800 watts of power based on which of the 9 preset menu functions you choose.  BROIL sends all the power to the top elements to perfectly melt cheese or brown meats.  TOAST equally browns both the top and bottom of the bread while BAGEL crisps the top side of the bagel, only lightly toasting the bottom side.  Making COOKIES?  The Smart Oven has a preset for that.  Need a fast dinner and want to throw in a PIZZA?  Smart Oven has a preset and an included non-stick pizza pan.  If the cookies or pizza are frozen, just press the FROZEN FOODS button and the oven will automatically adjust the time to allow for defrosting and cooking.

But what really puts the Smart Oven at the top of its class is its ability to remember your desired settings.  Take for example the TOAST function.  The TOAST function is preset for 4 slices at level 4 toasting (on a 1-7 scale), but if every morning finds you making one piece of toast at level 3 or 6 pieces at lightly toasted level 2, the Smart Oven will remember that setting and the next time you turn the oven and switch to the TOAST function, it will already be set with your new default setting.  Ah, one less thing to remember in the morning.

I know what you’re thinking….an oven this smart must be complicated with all sorts of knobs and buttons. Au contraire.  The Breville Smart Oven has 3 knobs – function, temperature/browning level and time/number of slices.  And since the Smart Oven remembers your desired settings, most of the time, you only have to turn the function knob and press the start button. Two additional buttons – Convection and Frozen Foods – offer further customization.  And who says that you can’t have beauty and brains?  The designers at Breville aimed to create a product that not only possessed useful, innovative features, but that the average consumer would want to keep out on their countertop.  The result?  A sleek, stainless steel toaster oven that blends seamlessly in the kitchen and makes toasting, roasting, baking and broiling effortless.

I was already won over, but little did I know that the Smart Oven would get even better.  Usually I try to have family dinners with my husbands and two kids under three, but as life would have it, once or twice a week, I end up needing to feed my kids earlier in the evening.  The environmentalist in me always cringed when I had to turn on the oven – heating up the whole 4+ cubic feet of space – in order to make a handful of fish sticks or roast some veggies for them.  Now I have a smarter solution.  From heating up kid dinners and keeping rolls warm to roasting asparagus for a late dinner with my husband, I no longer have to waste the time and energy heating my entire oven for small jobs.  Saves times.  Saves money.  Saves my sanity.  I love smart ideas.

Learn more about the Breville Smart Oven at www.brevilleusa.com or pick up your own at your local Williams-Sonoma store.

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A Smart Idea – The Breville Smart Oven

This summer it seems like my family and I are constantly on the go.  And wherever we go, our SIGGs go too.  Sure, there are lots of companies offering BPA-free drinking containers these days.  But no one offers as many options and as much personality as SIGG.  From pirate sharks, ballerinas and Sponge Bob for kids to simple solid colors and bold modern graphics for teens and adults, SIGG offers an endless number of color and design options to find the perfect SIGG bottle to capture the essence of you.  In addition to the great designs, I love the combination SIGG bottles have of being both incredibly durable and lightweight.  The designated “kid” bottles come with the kid top (a twist-type sport spout), but one of the great things about SIGG bottles is that as your kid grows and your SIGG lasts (and as durable as it is, it will last), you can purchase any one of SIGG’s other lids to update the look and spout performance of the bottle.  In addition to the four different lids to choose from, SIGG also offers a ton of accessories like detachable handles, carry straps, pouches and covers to customize your SIGG to your lifestyle.  And speaking of customizing, SIGG recently introduced customizable bottles through CafePress (where you can choose between seven different background images and add your own customized text) as well as signature SIGGskins (upload your own photos and add color, text and designs – see mine at right!) to create a one-of-a-kind drink container. A great gift idea for holidays and birthdays!

But no need to wait for a special occasion – this summer go green, stay hydrated and bring along your perfect SIGG bottle to all your summer adventures.

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This Summer, Bring SIGG

Let’s face it, very few moms escape the inevitable mommy tummy that happens after carrying one or more kids.  Even if you exercise or otherwise try to fight it, often the effects of carrying a child do permanently alter the shape and size of a mom’s stomach.  After a pretty rigorous exersize regimen where I lost a few sizes, I still don’t have the slender stomach I long for.

That’s why I was excited to try Yummie Tummie, a brand of body shapers that help smooth and slim that tummy.  Available in a variety of styles, sizes, and colors, Yummie Tummie actually works from the top down to give your stomach a slender look and feel.

I chose a tank in the nude color, which is neutral enough to go with just about everything I own.  I tried to decide between two sizes and chose to go up in size – something I’m glad I did, because they are a little tough to get on.  But, once I get it on, it’s really flattering!  I especially like how it fits – it doesn’t just squish the stomach, it flattens it!

The selection of styles is great for those who have a specific dress or shirt you are looking to wear it with.  I’m getting ready to pick out my next one — should I go for the Bareback or the Basic V?  To check them out yourself, visit Yummie Tummie online.

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Flattening and Slimming Body Shapewear for that Mommy Tummy

I’ve already talked quite a bit about my adult acne problem.  I had absolutely no breakouts as a teen, but have been on and off prescription medicines through my 20s and my 30s, so I was excited to have the chance to try out Clear Remedy by iQ Derma.  Clear Remedy is a three part system, with an optional spot treatment cream, and it’s simple and easy to use!  The system utilizes such ingredients as salicylic acid and Benzoyl peroxide, along with skin calming ingredients.

Step one is a cleanser, which works to unclog pores, so they won’t turn into pimples, whiteheads, or blackheads.  I really loved the cleanser, because it did a great job cleaning my skin, but didn’t it leave it feeling dry or tight.  Just be careful near the eyes – you should use a separate eye makeup remover with this or any other medicated wash.

Step two is the Acne Treatment Lotion, which contains 2% salicylic acid.  It’s not irritating or drying at all, and works to prevent acne bacteria from growing.  I not only use the lotion on my face, I also use in on some places on my body where I also get breakouts.

Step three is the Hydrating Lotion.  Even though I have adult acne, I absolutely cannot live without a moisturizer.  The great thing about this moisturizer is that it doesn’t clog pores, and works to calm and hydrate the skin.  It does not, however, contain SPF, so I highly recommend using that separately.

The spot treatment has benzoyl peroxide as an active ingredient, and is good to use on existing breakouts.  It’s a good size to carry with you, so you can apply it as needed.

So far, I’ve been seeing great results with Clear Remedy, with no drying.  I have had some pesky breakouts start to disappear, and a few red spots where breakouts had been have started to clear up.  I haven’t had any dryness or irritation at all, something that has occurred on a few occasions with other products.

I’ll follow up with another post in a few weeks with more progress as to how my skin is doing.  In the meantime, you can get 30% off Clear Remedy and free ground shipping by clicking this link and using the code GETCLEAR30

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Clearing Acne and Inflammation Without Irritation or Dryness

We have loved reading pop-up books with our sons since they were babies. They never seem to get bored of the 3-D illustrations in their favorite books. Recently we received a copy of Baby Signs, a pop-up book that illustrates a variety of beginner signs, like book, eat, and more. It’s fun to see the movement come to life and it’s a wonderful way to learn signs together with baby. It also comes with a small poster that further illustrates seventeen signs. The book is well constructed and sturdy and has a number of tabs for mom or dad to pull for a curious baby.

More information and samples pages are available on Scholastic’s website. Here is a little blurb on the book from Scholastic.

BABY SIGNS is based on American Sign Language and will help encourage the use of non-verbal gestures to communicate. Research has proven that babies who are taught to use signs to express their basic ideas before they can say words are happier because they can communicate with others.

Would you like to read Baby Signs with your own little one? Please leave a comment below and you’ll be entered into our giveaway. One grand prize winner will receive their own copy of Baby Signs Pop-Up Book and a $50 gift card to Babies ‘R Us. Four (4) other winners will receive a copy of Baby Signs Pop-Up Book (valued at $25.99). The contest ends July 22 at 11:59 ET. Please no PO Boxes. US Residents Only. Only one entry per person.

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Reading and Signing with Baby Signs and Giveaway