Fabulous or Not?

Eating Right Kids: Safeway makes healthy foods for kids

If you are parent who packs their child's lunch everyday, I'm sure you often wonder what parts they actually eat, what they trade away and what gets trashed and wasted.  I certainly remember begging friends for a fruit roll-up or a sandwich that looked tastier than what my mother had packed for me.

There just might be a good solution to your concerns available at a grocery store neat you!  Eating Right Kids is a new initiative between Safeway and Warner Bros. to provide healthy options for kids at lunch, snack time and on the go.  

 Eating Right Kids features bottled juices that my son and I love, and some tasty fruit cups, snacks and cereals too.  The Spaghetti-O's-like Pasta Rings with Meatballs in Tomato Sauce is made with Whole Wheat and contains 10 grams of protein per serving, 20 if you eat the whole microwavable container, which is simple enough for an older child to prepare by themselves once parents are comfortable allowing the kid to use the microwave.  I'm a big fan of the fruit and vegetable snack packs available in the Produce section.  Apples with Cinnamon Dip, Celery with Peanut Butter and Grapes with Cheese are just a few of the options available.  If we want our kids to consume healthy foods and teach them good habits for life, this line of products is a good place to start.  

Warner Bros Consumer Products is now partnered with Safeway to offer a healthy eating solution targeted at kids featuring Looney Tunes characters.   There are more than 60 items across many categories including produce, breakfast foods, dairy, snacks, including chewy granola bars and frozen entrees.   Eating Right Kids is available at over 1700 Safeway stores throughout the U.S. and Canada.

Eating Right Kids is an offshoot of Safeway's already in existence Eating Right line targeted at adults.  Eating Right Kids was highlighted by the Federal Trade Commission for its ability to positively impact the childhood obesity crisis in America.

The Looney Tunes characters make snazzy packaging that appeals to kids. 

I'm glad to see a collaborative attempt between various kid-friendly outlets and food manufacturers to encourage better health habits among the younger generation.   I hope to see much more of this in the coming years.  Cheers to Safeway and Eating Right Kids and Warner Bros. Looney Tunes for partnering for this important initiative.

You can learn more about Safeway's Eating Right Kids by clicking here.

Fabulous: Bertolli Frozen Meals

I will be the first to say that I am not at all ashamed to admit that at least a couple of dinner-hour meals each week are not exactly something that June Cleaver would approve of serving your bacon-earning darling husband. 

Sometimes we have late play-dates, sometimes it is just me eating with Noah and sometimes I just plum don't feel like cooking.  (Control your  GASPS, modern day housewives have a little tool called take-out, or...)

I hate leaving Marc to fend for himself for dinner so when I'm not up to cooking or need to get food into our mouths in less than ten minutes I break open a bag of Bertolli Frozen Meals and toss it in the skillet to cook while I feed Noah some crackers yogurt. 

I am usually hesitant when it comes to frozen food because it is often disgusting and/or unhealthy and I prefer my food be palatable and enjoyable.  I know! High standards!   

These dishes have a moderate amount of calories and the comfort food aspect is well balanced by the veggie/protein availability.

My favorites are Chicken Florentine & Farfalle and Shrimp, Asparagus & Penne.  They cook to table-ready temperatures in about ten minutes.  I toss it into a skillet and stir a few times while it warms and sauces-up over medium heat.  I add a salad or a side of steamed broccoli when I want something extra but the Bertolli meal is usually just enough for me and for Marc.  Some soup or  garlic bread would be a great addition too.

The choices include shrimp, chicken and meat flavors and they even suggest a wine paring! 

I try to buy them on sale for $6.99 but the regular price is about $8.

As of publication there is a coupon on the Bertolli website to save $1.50 on a frozen skillet meal. 

Hendrick's Gin: Cures What Ails You

Before you think that Stacy asked a Senior Citizen to write reviews here, let me assure you: Hendrick's is not your Grandma's Gin. First, it's exquisite packaging:

The website deserves praise, too; with it's classic pencil drawings and modern lines, it blends the classic booze of parlors with a current, modern feel. The music is kind of a nightmare but that's just a personal taste thing. I don't dig websites with noise.

I first tasted Hendrick's last summer at Tallula's Eat Bar in Arlington, whose small but adorable cocktail menu features a drink called "Gnome's Water," which used Hendrick's, lavender, cucumber, mint and soda. Right away I knew this was different. It is by far the smoothest and least abrasive gin I have ever tasted. Months later a bartender at Gordon Biersch recommended it over ice and cucumbers and that sealed the deal; a gin smooth and refreshing enough to drink essentially straight? This is not the gin to which I had been accustomed.

Summer is coming (please let it be coming) and Gin and Tonics will again be on rotation. See if your local bar has started stocking Hendrick's and order it up with Tonic or, if you're brave, over ice and cucumber. You will not be sorry. Hendricks is fabulous.