Well Fed Network

Posted by Sarah Caron on Well Fed on the Town.

Operation Green is a weekly Well Fed On The Town column where editors Cate O’Malley and Sarah Caron explore their efforts to live greener lives. Follow along as they forage for local food, find more Earth-friendly solutions and decide what their limits are.

Sarah: So, we were going to talk about healthy, greener snacks for kids this week. What have you found?

Cate: Ah yes, snacks and stubborn kids. The good news is that Nicholas l-o-v-e-s fruit, so a lot of his stuff is natural, organic and healthy to begin with. I bought a box of Envirokidz bars that looked very much like chocolate Rice Krispie bars. He declared them “yuck.” I did, however, get him sold on Newman’s Own chocolate cream cookies. Can’t think of the exact title of the cookies, but they’re the ones that look like Oreos. I told Nicholas they were exactly like Oreos, but better for him. Luckily he liked them - phew! You?

Sarah: I haven’t tried any packaged foods yet, but those cookies sound delicious. Typically, Will’s snacks are fruit (he ate about a cup of blueberries yesterday evening while I was cooking dinner), cheese (he loves fresh mozzarella and Dubliner cheeses), or veggies (one morning last week he walked into daycare clutching a cucumber slice - I had been cutting them for my salad and he demanded slices to munch on - I think he ate a quarter of the cuke).

Cate: Cucumbers are a big hit here too, dipped in “white sauce.” Luckily Nicholas likes salad, fruits and cheeses, so I’m just keeping an eye on buying more organic stuff vs. non-organic, which is easy enough.

Sarah: That’s what I am doing too Check out this interesting article on kids snacking. Since Will was just starting solid foods, we’ve made a conscious effort to avoid juice and a diligent effort to withhold really bad for you things like soda (though I admit, in a pinch, he has a sip here or there when we were out and he was parched. When that’s all that’s available sometimes you have to make exceptions). But that brings up another point, what about on the go?

Cate: Oooh, good article.

Sarah: Do we always pack snacks just in case? Or do we make exceptions during the rare occasions that we’re out and hunger strikes the kids before we can get to somewhere or something healthy?

Cate: I have a stash of granola bars in the car, which usually does in a pinch. I also buy those carrot/dip packs for something quick on the go. I think exceptions are ok, just not the rule. They still are kids, and it’s ok to give in to a guilty pleasure every now and again.

Sarah: I keep so few packaged snacks in the house that it takes a good deal of thought to have stuff ready in a pinch. But for us, berries are the magic, easy snack - I wash them when I bring them home so when Will gets hungry or we are on the run, I can just throw a few handfuls into a container for him.

Cate: Our farmer’s market finally starts this coming weekend, so that will be another great source. He likes the Nature’s Valley Fruit and Nut Bars, and I also make some homemade ones that are peanut butter flavored that he’ll eat.

Sarah: Our farmer’s market opened last weekend, though there was no produce then and only these adorable little strawberries today - of which Will has nearly polished off a whole quart.

Cate: Nicholas likes those root vegetable chips that I found at Trader Joe’s and Costco - have you tried them?

Sarah: are they ridge-y?

Cate: nope, but some are curled. Beets, carrots, potatoes, etc. Very tasty, especially with dip.

Sarah: Hmm, I will have to look for them. Are they like Terra chips?

Cate: Thinner. Ooooh, just remembered - also found a healthier Cheerios at Whole Foods that Nicholas liked. They are called Clifford Crunch and have a picture of Clifford on the box, which helped catch his eye.

Sarah: Really? Cheerios are a big deal in our house - Will LOVES them and asks for them whenever I open the cabinet they are in. So last week we talked about cleaning solutions that were more natural. How has the change over been for you this week?

Cate: So far, so good. I’ve been using the Mrs Meyers counter-top products and love the smell. I also found a dryer sheet substitute - they’re lavender scented, and are good for 5-10 loads. In the dryer now…

Sarah: That’s awesome. My husband has really taken to the new Method products that I have been using - he finished the whole can of wipes. So this time I bought the spray, since with a rag it will be more Earth friendly than the wipes (at least until I get that compost pile going). What kind of dryer sheets are they?

Cate: They are Trader Joe’s brand dryer sheets.

Sarah: You’ll have to let me know how they work.

Cate: Ah, yes, Method. Finally finished our SoftSoaps, so now have Method hand soaps in three locations. It’s nice when the husbands jump on the bandwagon.

Sarah: I bought the Method ones too - Love them.

Cate: I got the bright green ones - Nicholas loved the color. It’s the little things.

Sarah: LOL. Some of the things, like the new dryer sheets I bought, I am waiting to use because I just have so much of the old stuff left. But I am not sure at what point I just call it quits and do the switch. I really want to see how they work.
Cate: I hear ya. I couldn’t wait to start using the new stuff - funny how quickly we can change our thinking, huh?

Sarah: Definitely, I was strolling through Target today and realized I had no desire to buy even the most tempting of snacks there - because they weren’t natural.

Cate: Exactly! I’m still either using up my current stuff or freecycling it, but definitely looking forward to everything being switched over. I bought an all-natural fabric softener, but just recently saw that Arm and Hammer has a new essentials line that is supposed to be more environmentally friendly. It is made with 100% plant-based soaps and 100% naturally-derived softeners.

Sarah: I typically don’t use fabric softener, but that’s interesting.

Cate: They have detergent and dryer sheets in the line too.

Sarah: I wonder how they stack up to Mrs. Meyers, Seventh Generation and others.

Cate: I would think the others are still a step ahead, but at least the A&H price point is a tad more reasonable.

Sarah: That could make greener living more obtainable for more people.

Cate: So what’s on tap for next week?

Sarah: When does living green cause you to be more ungreen than green?

Cate: I know what you mean. Not using disposable cups, but having then to run the dishwasher more…

Sarah: Exactly. Or like driving an hour to a farm when the local grocery carries organics. Which is more environmentally sound?

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