Eat Smart: Think Outside The Lunchbox

By Home Style Furniture

School’s in session and that means the daily ritual of filling the lunchbox is in full swing. Now might be the perfect time to reevaluate not only what you’re packing but what you’re packing it in.

Did You Know?

Over 20 million sandwich baggies are sent to our landfills every year, and each one takes between 500 to 1,000 years to break down

Americans throw away more than 60 million plastic water bottles per day

It’s as easy as 1-2-3 to find eco-friendly lunchbox alternatives that are safe for our kids and our planet.

Step 1 – Use BPA free, non-toxic containers and reusable baggies to fill their lunchbox with goodies they’re sure to love

Make this the year you stop throwing away all those plastic baggies. Invest just once in reusable products and save yourself money and guilt for years to come. Try getting a set for every member of the family and have fun packing your lunches together. Make sure you’re getting dishwasher safe products to make clean up easy and effective.

Bento Boxes

Metal lunchbox inserts

Fabric sandwich and snack baggies

Silicone food pouches

 Step 2 – Mix it up! Start with deconstructing the sandwich

Sandwiches are OK in a pinch, but why not try putting something a little different in their lunch box this year? Pare the sandwich down to its essential elements and roll, wrap or chop them up in style! Mix and match foods to create fun shapes and combos that’ll have them emptying their lunchboxes in record time.

Homemade wraps

Sushi rolls

Lettuce wraps

Crackers and cheese

Apple slices and peanut butter

Veggies and dips

Noodle salad

Laughing Cow cheese

Fun fruit shapes using cookie cutters

Frozen bananas sliced and sandwiched with peanut or almond butter

Yogurt parfaits

Mini muffins/quiches

French toast points/mini pancakes with fresh berries

Step 3 – Drink Fix. Smart solutions to the water bottle crisis

Be the first cool parent to make the switch to eco-friendly reusable water bottles. It’s the easiest and most practical way to show kids how much you care about the planet and their future. With so many varieties to choose from, let everyone in your family pick out the one that reflects their unique personality.

Stainless steel water bottle

Collapsible water bottle

Fruit infuser water bottles

Content provided by: +Tailbase & Ashley Furniture

www.tailbase.com

Happy Father's Day!

by Home Style Furniture

Happy Father's Day

When a special day like Father`s Day is around the corner, surely we want to offer our celebrated something special to tell them how much we love them. Parents always have and always will love homemade gifts and cards, because of all the love we put in it when making the craft. Here are 2 card ideas you can easily do with kids or by yourself:

Wallet Card

You will need: 

Brown craft paper: 4.5x11(cover of the wallet); 3.75x11(big pocket for the message); 1.5x3(small pocket for the gift card)

Craft paper (choose his favorite color) for the message you will write Glue to stick all parts together

1. Put ½ inch of glue on the 2 smaller sides and 1 bigger side of the “big pocket” paper. Then stick it to the “cover” corner-to-corner. Make sure that there is one side of the “big pocket” that doesn’t have any glue, and then you will be able to slide your message in it!
2. Do the same for the “small pocket” and stick it on the “big pocket” to the right or to the left, but not in the center!
3. Slide your message in the bigger pocket and your gift card in the smaller one and bend the paper wallet in the center.

BBQ Card

You will need: 

Craft paper (choose his favorite colors!): 8.8x11(Apron); 7.5x3(pocket); 6x1.5(name tag) 

2 inch ribbon 

2 little buttons 

An image of BBQ utensils (printed or drawn) 

Glue and pencil!

1. Cut the 2 upper corners to make curves.
2. Put ½ inch of glue on the 2 smaller sides and 1 bigger side of the pocket. Then stick it to the bottom of the apron. Stick the 2 buttons on both 2 top sides of the apron.
3. Stick each end of the ribbon behind the top of the apron.
4. Add the utensils in the pocket as well as your message.
5. Stick the name tag to the pocket listing the name of the kids.

Then, just write how much you love him and why you think he`s the best dad in the world, and there you go!

Content provided by: +Tailbase 

www.tailbase.com