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Healthy Snacks for a Road Trip {courtesy of OneBar}

This is a sponsored post written by me on behalf of OneBar.

healthy snacks for a road trip

Are you getting ready for a road trip this summer? Anything that takes longer than one hour in the car for us is considered a “road trip” since we don’t do it often. We will be visiting Connecticut this weekend so I’m thinking about what snacks to pack to keep the whole family happy, and quiet, for the three hour drive.

The kids recently taste tested the OneBar and they gave it a big “yummy” when they tried out the apple, cherry and mango flavors. Kids can be very picky about eating fruit and the OneBar can help fill in the gaps. Each bar counts as a full serving of fruit, but is low calorie so the kids will still eat their next meal.

On car rides, one thing that drives me crazy is accidentally packing a snack that leads to very messy hands in the car. Since we drive a minivan, those kids are wayyyy in the back and I can’t just wipe hands off as we travel. Maybe your kids love cherries, but you won’t take the risk of packing cherries in the car. Could you imagine? Just pack a OneBar and they get a favorite treat and you don’t have to deal with the mess. Each bar is “dusted” with a superfruit called baobab. The dust keeps hands from getting sticky, but also delivers a healthy dose of antioxidants.

Onebar-what's inside?

For parents packing for kids with allergies or food sensitivities, the OneBar is made without gluten or wheat. Plus it’s made without added sugar, and no food dyes either. Sometimes life moves at a fast pace and it’s great to have a snack ready for a road trip or in between school and sports practice.

Packing a variety of snack items for the family on a road trip not only helps keep everyone’s energy level up, but it helps beat boredom. Try to pack a rainbow of colors and see if the kids can name every color they ate. Pack up snacks in individual bags so you can avoid sibling squabbles.

onebar flavors

Which flavor OneBar would your family like the most? Any new flavors you want to see in the mix?

All Random Recycling readers can enter to win a giveaway for three boxes (all three OneBar flavors, including Apple, Cherry and Mango). Don’t want to wait for the contest? Order now with the coupon code EasyFruit – good for 25% off their total order placed by August 31 at OneBar. Check out where everyone else is enjoying their OneBar by searching the hashtag #easyfruit.

a Rafflecopter giveaway

onebar healthy snack

This is a sponsored post written by me on behalf of OneBar. All opinions shared here are my own.
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See you in Dallas!

This is My First Bliss!

This week I’ll be enjoying some fun (and hopefully some sun) in Dallas for the 2013 Blissdom Conference. It’s a blogging/social media conference primarily for women. There will be green bloggers, food bloggers, photography bloggers, craft bloggers, and bloggers who don’t really subscribe to a specific theme. I’m excited to visit with old friends and meet others I’ve talked with only online. Networking is one of the best things about a blogging conference. If anyone heading to Blissdom is attending their first conference, just keep your eyes and ears open for new conversations to join. Your new friends just may become your partner in some new endeavor.

If you are visiting Random Recycling for the first time, you can learn more about me here. I’m a green blogger, but my real passion is cooking healthy meals for my family. You can find my weekly meal plans here and some favorite recipes here. I try to mix in our stories of sustainable living in the modern world alongside product reviews and giveaways. I often put my kids to work in the garden or kitchen, so you will see some pictures of them included here. They keep me on my toes and I love them to pieces. I’ll miss them and my husband during my time away in Texas.

Emily RoachYou will be able to spot me at Blissdom with my sidekick Nikki from Days with Us, plus our other friends from Boston Parent Bloggers.

Oh, and I’m 29 weeks pregnant. Please don’t tell me to sit down, but do remind me to drink more water.

See you in Dallas!

 

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Celebrate Dr. Seuss’s Birthday

 Celebrate dr seuss birthday

This is the week to talk about Green Eggs and Ham and The Lorax with your kids. Why? Well it’s Dr. Seuss’s birthday on March 2nd. Dr. Theodore Geisel’s wonderful story books deserve a special time to celebrate the silliness of them.  Our own collection of Dr. Seuss books are hand-me-downs, some from my own childhood and others from my younger cousins. I love sharing them with my kids and laugh at their questions about all the funny things everywhere. We had a fun Dr. Seuss party and here’s some fun food and decorating ideas.

READ

No question the best way to celebrate Dr. Seuss book’s is to read them. You may be reading aloud with your little ones like us, or you get to listen to young readers work their way through funny phrases. Read Across America Day is this week and there are numerous events to get involved. “Grab Your Hat and Read with the Cat” is the theme of Read Across America week for 2013. Pottery Barn Kids will be hosting a special story time and craft activities to celebrate Dr. Seuss. A “Cat-a-Van” will travel the country stopping at 17 cities to promote literacy and giveaway more than 20,000 books.

Dr. Suess Books RandomRecycling

Be green and borrow Dr. Seuss books from your local library. If you want to fill in your own collection, Toys R Us has a special buy 2 get the 3rd free sale this week. We also have the Dr. Seuss app from the Apple Store. It’s a collection of stories and it has both the read aloud or read to me functions. I love having these books on hand when we travel!

WATCH

My kids are PBS kids and they love watching The Cat in the Hat. My daughter calls Nick and Sally “friends.” This Friday, there will be two new episodes on PBS Kids. THE CAT IN THE HAT KNOWS A LOT ABOUT THAT! will feature two brand new episodes. “Rumbly Tumbly / Planet Name Game” features a super shrunken trip into Thing One’s stomach as well as a whirlwind trip to each of the eight planets, and “Top of the Sky / Jiggle Bones” follows the Cat, Nick and Sally as they travel to Audrey the Astronaut’s space station and visit Dr. Giggles to see why bones are important.

LEARN

Use the books as inspiration to do a project with the kids. Here are a few I came across that look fun!

  • Create silly photo props. Let the kids take some pictures with their Thing 1 and Thing 2 hair. 
  • Make Silly Socks. We may need these for “Wacky Wednesday” at preschool this week.
  • Who-ville hair anyone?
  • Decorate a Lorax door. Talk about the message of The Lorax and share some ways to be green with your kids.
  • Handprints Thing 1 and Thing 2.
  • Did you know Dr. Seuss is a SigEp? My husband reminds me every time we read one of his books. 😉

Happy Dr. Seuss week! Please share any events or happenings in your school.

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Monday Meal Plan Feb 18

I almost forgot it was Sunday night because of the nice long weekend. Another snow filled one here, complete with very cold noses and homemade hot cocoa. I made a loaf of oatmeal bread in the bread maker today and it was enjoyed as an afternoon snack, and at the neighbor’s for dinner.

This week is a short meal plan as we plan to visit friends in Vermont. I’m planning on making a batch of homemade granola to pack with us for the trip. This morning we made the Oatmeal Cookie Pancakes from the Joy the Baker cookbook and they were so good, I may make a dry mix of it to make again and share with friends. We topped them with some homemade applesauce that we made last fall…delicious. I find it’s helpful to take care of breakfast foods when you are a houseguest, especially when you are able to bring something special.

Random Recycling's monday meal plan board

Sunday~ It was going to be Walnut Crusted Salmon…last-minute switch and had Shepherd’s Pie with the neighbors. Perfect end to a snowy day.

Monday ~ Probably having the salmon for lunch, then Sloppy Joe’s for dinner. (Pioneer Woman’s recipe.) Plus I have a sample of Smith’s Farm Gourmet Macaroni and Cheese kit to test out. It’s a local dairy farm and there are two beautiful cheeses that I’m excited to mix up into yummy side dish.

Tuesday~ Our family favorite chicken nuggets and sweet potato fries on the side. We will need to finish up any leftovers in the fridge too.

Wednesday~ Off to vacation!!

 

Anyone else taking some vacation this week?  Do you tend to bring some of your own food or pick things up once you get to your destination?

All of the past meal plans can be viewed here. If you are looking for more ideas, you can visit OrgJunkie’s weekly meal plan post.

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A Blogger’s Holiday at the Royal Sonesta Boston

The kids had a blast at the Royal Sonesta Hotel

I had the opportunity to check out the Royal Sonesta Boston hotel last weekend for a Boston Social Media holiday party. The hotel welcomed a group of local bloggers and their families for an afternoon of fun and great company. From the moment we entered the hotel, the staff was super nice and had the event well organized. I always love seeing hotels decorated for Christmas and took the opportunity to click a quick one of the kids in front of one the many decorated trees at the hotel.

Here are a few fun facts I learned about the Royal Sonesta Boston.

  • The hotel is great for kids. The indoor pool alone is a winner.

    Even the kids straws are special.

  • They have a composting program!
  • Lots of new green initiatives are in work for each hotel room.
  • They buy local when possible. The bar tools were purchased from a local shop in Somerville.
  • They make their own sodas. We had the Pomegranate Lime Black Pepper soda and it was amazing.
  • They give kids homemade play dough at their restaurants instead of paper and crayons.
  • The restaurants partner with local farmers to create farm to table inspired menus.

The event was a blast for both the kids and adults. The kids were entertained with crafts, play dough making, and cookie decorating. The adults enjoyed a civilized lunch while the babysitters from UrbanSitter watched our little ones. Ice cream sandwiches with homemade cookies finished off the  lovely afternoon.

Homemade play dough made in house.

Thank you to the Royal Sonesta Hotel for hosting us, and Niri and Isra for coordinating it all. Go team #BSMHoliday! To hear more about our Boston Social Media parties, here is my friend Lori from Groovy Green Livin’s recap. She shares more about what this group means to all of us.

I also want to mention our group has partnered with three charities for the holidays. Toys for Tots (we packed the bins at Burton’s Grill on Tuesday night!), Pediatric Cancer research and we adopted two families who were devastated by Superstorm Sandy.  If you are a tweeter, if you send out a tweet with the hashtag #Aflackids, Aflac will donate $2 towards pediatric cancer research for every tweet this holiday season.

Disclosure: We attended a complimentary event at the hotel. All opinions shared here are my own. 

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