11 Favorite Food & Beverage Items from ShiftCon

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If you follow me on instagram, you probably know I attended ShiftCon a few weeks ago because I flooded my instagram with pics from the 3 days I was there learning, connecting and eating! This year we had about 12 bloggers from San Diego make the trip to ShiftCon which was awesome to have more than double the presence we had from last year!



The green and organic movement is in full force and I'm so glad to be apart of it. It was from my baby sign language classes that I became connected to some moms who educated me about organic food and why it is so important (especially for our littlest ones) and I am doing my part to pay it forward and share it here on my blog and in my programs.

In case you don't know what ShiftCon is, here's a short video that sums it up pretty well....

This year I saw many of my favorite brands that I've known and used for years and sampled some new to me items that will become staples in our home for sure.

1. Annie's Homegrown

Before the conference I reached out to Annie's to share the discovery that I had made that there were many products of theirs on the store shelf that no longer had the USDA organic label. Not only did Annie's promptly reply right away, they shared that they have always had some products that are organic and some products that are made with some organic ingredients. This allows them to provide various price points for all consumers and still create a better product. My kids are fans of their bunny crackers and mac & cheese. My personal favorite item (but it's hard to choose) is probably their Organic Peace Pasta & Parmesan macaroni & cheese and it's available at Thrive Market.

Look at all the varieties of mac & cheese I came home with!

2. Stonyfield 

When I was a new mom a friend of mine recommended to buy only the Yo Baby yogurt products for Amberly. So I did. I fell in love with this brand. They've been so kind in supporting some of the events I put on for moms and babies too. But I love them even more after meeting them in person. They are a super creative yogurt brand that is on a mission to educate about organic foods. My kids request this brand specifically when I go to the store.




3. Love Child Organics

I talked with Leah, the co-founder of this child centered brand at great length while at the Expo and I'm glad I did because I learned something valuable. Not all organic food is 100% organic. To meet the USDA organic seal guidelines a product has to be 95% organic. Well, Love Child is 100% organic and they are unwavering in their values. I was sent home with some sample pouches which are designed for kids primarily between 6 months and 6 years old and got the 2 thumbs up at home.

Love Child Organics has me falling in love with their no synthetic ingredients promise.

4. Bitsy's Brainfood

A brand that wants to make eating healthy fun for kids? Absolutely! And they're not trying to trick kids into it either. The goal is to educate kids about eating healthy. And from my experience, this approach really works. Amberly spouts off stuff all the time and it's things I've taught her over the past few years that we've been on this green health journey. So I have proof it is sinking in! I loved the activity ideas that they showcased in their suite at ShiftCon and even won a Target giftcard when I completed my passport and spun the prize wheel. I will be borrowing some ideas from their hospitality suite when I help organize classroom parties for my son's 1st grade class.

Bitsy's Brainfood makes learning to eat healthy fun! Eat, Play. Learn.

5. Leaf & Love Organics

A lemonade box with zero sugar and only 5 calories, sweetened with organic stevia. I know parents are torn between giving their kids juice because of the sugar content and I was pleased to find that a couple of moms paired up and created something to conquer that problem. I sampled their delicious lemonade twice, cuz I have a thing for lemonade and so do my kids! My understanding is they plan to expand to more than lemonade and I look forward to seeing what they have on the horizon.

Follow Leaf and Love to support the work of these awesome moms!

6. Nature's Path Organic

Last year I fell in love with their Love Crunch and started buying their Envirokids Crispy Rice Bars for the kids as special snacks when we're on the road. My kids love them and ask for them whenever they see them on the store shelves. My favorite item currently is their Pumpkin Flax Granola. It's especially good to top off a healthy parfait snack. I just saw that they have  Pumpkin 'n Spice Granola Bars which I can't believe I haven't tried yet! Don't worry, I'll fix that straight away with my next Thrive Market order!

Nature's Path Organic is perfect for on the go healthy snacking.

7. Made in Nature

One of our snack breaks was sponsored by Made in Nature and I discovered a new favorite snack... Figgy Pops! I'm really head over heals for these things and think I made it a point to go by and sample them 5 or 6 times. The Figgy Pops are their latest development but their other popular products are the varied flavors of toasted coconut chips. I have yet to try all the flavors to pick a favorite but I'll have to remedy that really soon!

When you try the Made in Nature Figgy Pops, tell me you don't feel the same way.

8. Chosen Foods

Last year they sent these delightful surprise boxes to our homes post conference and I immediately fell in love with their avocado oil. This year they had a booth and I got to meet the people behind the twitter account!  They've just come out with a delicious new avocado oil mayo and I'm hooked. When I get their newsletter email it reminds me to check out their vast archive of healthy recipes. I'm just starting to experiment with Quinoa so this one is on my breakfast bucket list. I'm really hoping their product line will be available via Thrive Market soon since that's where I will be buying a lot of my pantry items now.

If you have yet to try Chosen Foods, it is a MUST!

9.  Nutiva

They did it again with their amazing popcorn snack.... lured me over to their table. We are already big fans of their coconut oil and all the amazing health benefits that accompany it. Since their coconut oil is not found on the shelves of my local Costco anymore I am glad I can find it via Thrive Market and still get a great price! We used their organic shelled hempseed in our smoothies all the time. One of my favorite smoothies of all time has a secret ingredient - coconut oil! Nutiva is another brand that has amazing recipes highlighted on their website for inspiration, I get so hungry just looking at it.

Nutiva has a Real Food Manifesto to help us all lead healthier lives.

10. Dave's Killer Bread

At the conference check in table we got to select a loaf of bread.... which seemed a little bit odd to me, I'll be honest. But, I went with it. I grabbed the variety that looked familiar from Costco and didn't have a chance to try it until I got home. We were out of cereal one morning and I crossed my fingers that Dave's Killer Bread in the toaster would disguise the "healthy" taste my kids have complained about with other breads. Well, the kids were eating their toast before I was and told me it was the best bread ever and that we have to buy it again. It turns out that they are not just about making killer bread. They're about giving people second chances. That's a whole lot of goodness to take in and I think we'll be "lifers" to support their cause and because it's just that good.

Organic and made with a cause - Dave's Killer Bread totally rocks!

11. Fork in the Road

Another one of our snacks was provided by Fork in the Road. I got to sample 3 different types of sausage and boy were they good! So of course I went back for more. Their products have no antibiotics or added hormones which is really important to me when feeding my kids. They have this cool tool on their website that allows you to trace your food back to the community of farmers who raised it. Talk about transparency and accountability in our food system! I'm looking forward to trying their breakfast sausage next.

Fork in the Road practices sustainable farming and supports family farms.

Here are a few of my key take aways from this year's conference:

We all have a voice and we can share little nuggets of information with our neighbor, with our facebook community, with our co-workers and our blogging friends and make a difference in cleaning up the food system. But perhaps our biggest voice comes directly from the purchases we make each and every day. Every time we put down the big brand and instead select the NON-GMO and organic products we are promoting health by shifting profits in the right direction. I still have a long way to go, but celebrate each of the changes our family has made so far. I may not be the greenest, but at this conference it doesn't matter, all shades of green are welcome and embraced.

I am excited to continue on our green journey or what I might be calling our SHIFT journey as it is really about making one small change or shift at a time.

Farm Fresh to You Brings Goodness to Your Door

This is a sponsored post written by me on behalf of Farm Fresh to You as part of 

the Mom it Forward Blogger Network. All opinions

and writing are my own. I only share things I believe to be of value.

Organic goodness in a box as fresh as it can get was delivered to my door before 8 a.m. last Friday. I was so excited to send the kids off to school and have fresh produce on my doorstep to put away without having even gotten out of my pajamas! "This is going to be a good day" I thought.

Just look at all the beautiful bright produce that came in this box...

Later when I decided to slice up one of the heirloom tomatoes that was so bright and plump, making it hard to resits, I could hardly believe how excited my mouth was about the simplicity of a tomato. It is true what they say, after having true fresh heirloom tomatoes, you just never want to go back to conventional tomatoes. My daughter has a thing for tomatoes too... but she usually likes to sprinkle a little salt on hers. When I told her to try a slice of the tomato from our Farm Fresh to You box she wasn't even thinking about reaching for the salt.

The only thing bad about these heirloom tomatoes was how juicy they were.... you know cuz that just makes a mess! But that's when you know it's good... you know what I'm talking about. I hope our next box has more heirloom tomatoes because Amberly and I will just sit at the table and savor bite after bite. I laugh when I think that I didn't like tomatoes as a kid!

Before I forget, and while you're equally excited about these luscious tomatoes, I want to share the Refer a Friend program at Farm Fresh to You. When you set up an account with them and share your code with a friend, your friend saves $10 off their first order and YOU get $25 credited to your account. Pretty sweet, right? So of course I am sharing my refer a friend code with you knowing you'll enjoy it just as much as I have. JZAN4279

I used their easy to use website to customize my box, opting for the No Cooking Box. I know myself well enough and our busy family schedule that I'm not in the mindset to be cooking up a bunch of vegetables to add to the dinner table right now. And it was the perfect option for us because we had things to make a nice dinner salad, a healthy after school snack and even some fresh mango for dessert!

Truly Fresh Dinner Salad:

Ingredients:

1 head of romaine lettuce, leaves torn into bite size pieces
1 large heirloom tomato, sliced
1/2 cucumber, sliced
1 avocado, pitted and diced
Your favorite salad dressing  (I need to experiment with making my own)

Enough for all 5 of us to get a good serving size.

I have to tell you that we've been growing accustomed to salad in a bag from the grocery store and I had forgotten how with just a few ingredients, count them, there are 4, you can make something that is so good, good for you and adds color to your plate! The cucumber was better than any cucumber I've purchased from the store and it didn't have that wax finish. Organic is the way to go, and Farm Fresh to You gets it to you when it still has that "just picked" goodness.

I've been browsing their YouTube channel and love hearing what other customers have shared, which made me dig further into the website and find all the amazing resources Farm Fresh to You offers. They've really thought of everything to make it super easy, especially for us busy moms who want to feed our kids the very best.

Another reason this works so well for me is that I can select items that I do NOT want in my box. For example, I'm not too keen on papaya so I simply mark that I don't want it in my box. And I can update this any time! Like I'm always teaching my kids "taste buds change every 10-14 days!"

To say we've had a bit of a heat wave here in San Diego would be an understatement.  One day after school when it was particularly warm I was excited about the cantaloupe I had put in the fridge and was ready to be cut open. But they weren't going to have just cantaloupe by itself... although they wouldn't mind that in the least, it is one of their favorite foods. Over the summer we've created a variety of parfaits which got me thinking about using our new parfait glasses.

Sweet Melon Surprise!

Ingredients:

1 medium size cantaloupe, diced
3/4 cup organic vanilla yogurt
1/2 cup organic granola

Directions:

In the bottom of your dish place your diced cantaloupe. Top with a dollop of the vanilla yogurt. Sprinkle with your favorite granola.

Yields 8 servings. Pictured you see 4. We enjoyed it so much we all had seconds!

We still have some of the bell peppers and cauliflower and carrots which I plan to just cut up and add to the table as a veggie platter that will double as a bright colorful centerpiece. Two for one right there, no need to buy fresh flowers when you've got a colorful assortment of produce to showcase.

Remember, Farm Fresh to You has an amazing refer a friend program and I'd love for you to use my code  JZAN4279so you can save $10 on your first box. Full disclosure, they will kindly credit me with $25 after you place your first order for helping you get hooked up to them. And you can then refer a friend and get exactly the same benefit! Nope, you don't have to be a blogger to enjoy this refer a friend program. I feel good about referring you to give then a try and know you'll be excited about the difference in the freshness and flavor. They've named it perfectly, it really is "FARM FRESH TO YOU".

Organic Tropical Smoothie Surprise

Amberly asked if we could make a smoothie. I was busy working at the computer so I asked her to give me 30 minutes to wrap up. She agreed and dutifully went off to play video games with her brother. Well, 37 minutes later she came back to peer over my shoulder and take note of the time on the laptop. Alright, alright, alright....

She got busy getting out the ingredients and asked that we only use half the amount of yogurt that we normally do because this particular brand in our fridge (our first and last time ever picking this one up) had too strong of a taste and changed the flavor of the smoothie. Okay. Now I had to put on my thinking cap and think about what else we would add to make up for using half the amount of yogurt. Looking at the bag of organic frozen fruit I noticed it was a tropical feel. "Hmm... I think we'll add coconut oil." To be honest, we made this twice, the second time with the tweaks made it perfect!

We had just enough mango nectar (juice) left. Whew! Nothing like having an idea in your head and your fridge makes you change your plans.

INGREDIENTS FOR ORGANIC TROPICAL SMOOTHIE SURPRISE

1 cup mango nectar
2 heaping cups frozen fruit (I got this Organic Wawona daybreak blend at Costco - pull out the strawberries so what is left are frozen pineapple, mango and peach chunks)
1/2 cup yogurt
1 banana
1 ice cream scoop coconut oil (we love Nutiva)
1 heaping tablespoon hempseed (again Nutiva)

Directions:

As I've mentioned in my last smoothie post, start by putting the juice into the blender first. I happen to have a Vitamix and love it! Next add the yogurt, the idea is that the more liquid ingredients go in first. Add everything else except coconut oil. Liquefy the coconut oil. I did this in a glass measuring cup in the microwave for 20-30 seconds. Go back to the blender. Cover blender. Blend on high for a minute or two. Now pour in the liquid coconut oil through the blender opening while still blending, continue blending on high for 45 seconds.

I've been adding in hempseed to our smoothies for a boost of protein and omega 3s. My kids can taste it if I add too much so I stick to the 1 to 2 TBSP and it is undetectable.

I happened to have fresh mango on hand and thought to garnish my tropical treat!

I hope you give this one a try! If you want to save it for later PIN THE IMAGE BELOW  to your "smoothie" or "healthy snack" or "breakfast" board!

If you enjoyed this post you may want to check these out... just click on the image!:

                 

Organic Mango Strawberry Power Up Smoothie

I knew we needed milk and forgot to stop at the store yesterday to make sure we'd have some for breakfast. The kids hate having dry cereal. Owen didn't feel like having eggs. What could I make that was quick and delicious? A smoothie of course! We've been on a smoothie kick and carefully charting our recipes so we can replicate them. Yesterday's Mango Berry Boost was a hit but I didn't have enough frozen mixed berries to go with a proven winner. I did find some organic frozen strawberries hidden in the freezer so that's what we went with. We were fresh out of bananas too.... but knowing that strawberry and mango make a good pair I didn't think it would matter. Since a majority of our ingredients were organic I was quite please with this being another example of how our efforts to slowly switch to cleaner eating is showing up.



Of course I had kitchen helpers because the kids have been loving making parfaits and smoothies lately. I let them measure, scoop and give ideas on what we could do to improve the taste. Their input came in handy this morning. Because we had places to be I had little time to take action shots, but they were definitely in the mix!

Organic Mango Strawberry Power Up Smoothie Recipe

2 cups Mango Nectar (juice)
1 cup Organic Plain Yogurt
3 heaping cups Organic frozen strawberries
2 TBSP Nutiva Organic Hempseed

Add the ingredients to the blender, start with the liquid first.

Blend for 2 or 3 minutes on high. Frozen strawberries seem to take longer than smaller berries.

Now, to be honest, at first I had put in just 1 cup of mango nectar.... but with all those frozen strawberries it takes quite a bit longer to blend so I turned off the blender and added another cup of mango nectar.

These came out just beautifully - oh and they were delicious! Plus, healthier because we used mostly organic items.

If you like a nuttier flavor, by all means add more hempseed. In a smoothie recipe that has fewer ingredients you're going to taste more of each of those items and what I've learned is that my kids don't mind the hempseed so long as they don't detect it. Hempseed is a great source of protein and omega 3s which is why we have been adding it to our smoothies, just like I did with the Banana Berry Hempseed Smoothie I call this fortifying our treats!

Now you have a delicious breakfast smoothie to enjoy with the kids! Be sure to pin this one.

Here's where I've linked up:

Healthy Team Snacks - Part One

This year my husband decided to coach our youngest child in Little League. I thought this would be my perfect opportunity to implement Healthy Team Snacks by taking on the Team Parent role. 

When we had our first parent meeting I was glad to hear that many of the parents were on board with keeping the snacks healthy. One mom even came over and said "and make the snacks organic!" That was music to my ears, I had to give her a hug.

Our kids have been involved in team sports for 5 years now and I had witnessed the trend of junk and overly processed food as the easy grab and go option become the norm. It was my goal to help parents see the value of healthy snacks and see that it didn't really take a lot of time and that our kids would really eat them. I'm of the mindset that we can effectively impact their long term health by providing opportunities to eat healthy, especially when they are among their peers, whether that be at playgroup, birthday parties, team sports or school lunch. 

I know I don't want to lug a cooler to the fields when it's my turn to bring team snack. An easy solution is to get an insulated carrying case that you might use for picnics. We happened to win this one at a silent auction filled with goodies from Humphries Half Moon Inn & Suites a few years ago and it has gotten its fair share of use!

This reusable Hot & Cold Pack from Rite Aid has been an integral part of our Healthy Team Snack Bag because I'm usually packing something that needs to stay cold.... and it's not drinks.... this season I explained that the kids had their water bottles in the dug out and they don't need sugary drinks.

Recently, it was our turn to bring team snack. This particular week I did have a couple of organic items on hand that were perfect for team snack. It was actually organic baby carrots from Costco that served as my gateway to buying organic.

The Organic Valley "Stringles" is just one of the small changes we made in our food purchases after I attended ShiftCon.

Costco doesn't have organic grapes (at least the one I live closest to), so I normally give them a water-vinegar bath. I was out of vinegar this particular day and used Apple Cider Vinegar with water to rinse off some of that chemical residue. It's an important step because grapes are on the EWG Dirty Dozen. Sometimes I can't remember which items are on the Dirty Dozen and find myself second guessing myself when I'm grocery shopping. Well, the EWG has made it easier for us mom....  offering a free Consumers Guide to Pesticides in Produce bag tag when you support them with a $10 donation. I just did this and will be sure to share when I receive it!

I'm glad I got turned onto Braggs ACV and had it on  hand because I end up using it for a bunch of things.

 As I've mentioned before, clementines are a staple in our house, so adding one of those to each snack bag would ensure there was something in there that every kid liked. Really, when you think about it, generally kids like all of these things!

Putting 12 of these baggies together took about 20 minutes because I had to let the grapes soak. Keeping the team snack cool is critical if you want it to be well received.

We don't keep score, so at the end of the game everyone is a winner. And I feel like I'm a winner too when I can help a bunch of kids embrace healthy eating! 

I've linked up here....

Real Solutions for Picky Eaters - Part 3

Finding that happy balance between the kids having snacks they want or love and mom feeling good about what she's serving can be like walking a tight rope. My kids' idea of a snack and my idea of a snack are sometimes farther apart than I would like to admit. I'd love to gloat and say that my kids come home from school asking for carrots and broccoli, but they don't. They generally want something sweet. Or something that is essentially all carbs. We have to meet in the middle in order to have some sanity in our house.

Last week I shared how we implemented our Healthy Fridge Snack Box and it was a huge hit!

There are so many reasons why this was the perfect move for us and we plan to keep it going. To be honest, the "snack box" really became a "snack drawer". I had to empty one of our produce drawers in the fridge to accommodate all the healthy snacks. Anyway, the kids emptied the drawer in a matter of a few days. Well, I couldn't get to the store right away to replenish everything, which means the kids had a lot of repeats of things that are easy like bananas and clementines and organic baby carrots, things we always have on hand.. Finally, I made time to go to Costco. But not before having the kids help me create the grocery list. We have found that to be very helpful in getting them to eat a variety of foods. 

Our kids know then that there is something coming home from the store that they chose. I think kids are no different than adults and like to have some feeling of control. This gives them some sense of control. Everyone gets a say in what we put in the shopping cart!

The kids specifically wanted more blueberries and more strawberries! That makes this mama very happy to oblige. Owen piped up that he wanted celery so we could make ants on a log. Easy. Done. We talked about getting green versus red apples and I said I wanted to get the organic prepackaged apples again because apples are at the top of the Dirty Dozen list, it saves me time not having to slice them and they don't turn brown. This is what we came home with from that Costco trip:

I love how many more organic items I am finding at Costco! Plus, they have made it so much easier to spot organic items by using green price labels on the warehouse shelves.
About half of what I bought this trip was organic! It makes snacking that much healthier. I've been talking to the kids about why we've been switching to organic, how it helps to reduce our chemical exposure so they can grow up healthy. When I teach my kids about their food, it seems to make a difference in their becoming conscientious about their choices. I will also teach them about blueberries being high in antioxidants, getting enough vitamin C and vitamin D to keep colds at bay and keeping a strong immune system overall with eating (or drinking!) our greens. I use the educate approach because when kids understand "WHY" we are diligent about eating our fruits and vegetables, they have a greater tendency to hop on board with picking the foods that they know these fun facts about.

Several days a week I work and don't get home until well past the time school lets out. On those days my husband, who works from home, picks the kids up from school and gets them started on their homework and oversees after school snack. While I want to be sure they are eating healthy, my husband doesn't necessarily like me to give too much direction in my absence.... so creating this Healthy Fridge Snack Box has been a great solution for us as parents in several ways.

I spent about an hour preparing the fruits and veggies for the next several days. That means washing them in a vinegar wash to remove any residue left behind, getting items into single serving containers and putting everything away to both optimize the space and still see what choices are available.

When we restocked this week, we had some duplicates from last week, but lots of new things to keep a sense of variety. This also helps the kids remember another important tip.... Eat A Rainbow! Rather than being particular about which foods they eat, I try to make the entire rainbow of fruits and vegetables available.

I find that when there's lots of color on the plate, I automatically am excited about what I'm about to eat.... and kids are no different. There's all kinds of ways you can serve up a rainbow and I love pinning anything the reminds me to put color on the plate.

When I get started preparing everything I make sure I have a bunch of clean individual size containers clean and ready to go.

Organic carrots and broccoli veggie packs are perfect for lunch boxes! To be honest, I don't know that I could get my kids to snack on broccoli.

The kids promised they would eat those veggie packs since I bought this organic ranch dip... oh my gosh, it is so good!

No one is being set up for success when parents have the "It's my way or the highway" mentality when it comes to their kids' food choices. Ultimately, our job is to provide the right balance of nutrition and the child gets to choose what they eat from those options. 

By providing a large selection of healthy snacks that are ready to go I've seen my kids reaching for more wholesome, nutrient dense foods instead of their typical snacks. I have just a couple of their favorites on hand and resisted buying more of the junk food at Costco since we're really committed to this goal of healthy eating, and the kids have really not been asking me "Where's the (fill in the blank with their favorite junk food)?" 

Cherries! The kids would finish the whole Costco package in one sitting if we let them. They didn't ask for cherries, but I knew putting them in the cart would be a hit. They did ask for grapes, so I grabbed those too, but I sure wish Costco had organic grapes since they rank on the Environmental Working Group's Dirty Dozen list.

 

The kids specifically wanted applesauce in the drawer so I made a special stop to buy this and was impressed I could buy organic applesauce and put it into reusable containers for pretty much what I would pay for the prepackaged indv. disposable cups that have extra sugar. 

Attending the Children's Physicians Medical Group picky eaters discussion was beyond valuable even for just the idea that Jaimi at The Stay-at-Home-Mom Survival Guide brought up.... having a healthy snack box in the fridge. Going off of that one idea has helped us in so many ways! I hope some of the other pointers above will provide you with real solutions to help your picky eater. I know these have helped us! What are your tips on helping your picky eater expand their palate? I'd love to hear in the comments below as I am looking to share more ideas in the next post in this series.

Did you miss part one? Read it here.

Did you miss part two? Read it here.