lunchbox – The Next Kid Thing

Best Gadgets from the 2018 New York Baby Show

May 30, 2018May 30, 2018 by Jen Rabulan-Bertram

Last week, the boys and I went to the New York Baby Show in NYC to check out the latest and greatest for babies and families. As one of my favorite events that covers the juvenile and baby market, I love getting a chance to spot the newest products and services at such an expansive venue.

In the past, I’ve loved spotting cool strollers and the big ticket items. This time around, I opted to go the goodie and gadget route. As it turns out, the New York Baby Show was loaded with goodies and gadgets that can help the whole parenting thing go a little smoother.

Here are just a handful of our favorites from the show:

Travel Tray

The Travel Tray is a really cool concept, and one I can’t believe hasn’t been invented yet. When we heard about this cool gadget from friends at the show, I
had to check it out myself!

The Travel Tray pops into any cup holder and becomes an instant tray to hold small snacks and food. I love that it comes in a variety of colors, is BPA, PVC and PHT-free. This cool gadget is great for the beach, sporting events, road trips and beyond.

Stuck on You Bento Box

I’ve been into the bento box lunches even before I became a parent. Needless to say, I love bento boxes, which is why I was drawn to Stuck on You’s Bento Box.

Bento inside 5up 1000

This bento box has a cool feature that can be personalized on the front. The interior features labeled sections for each type of food. These compartments not only help with portion control, but also promote variety and keep everything from touching! Be sure to check out Stuck on You’s other cool products!

Baby Tripster

This cool container is great for baby food on the go, fresh veggies or fruit and all kinds of snacks. I love that it has a gasket to ensure that it stays sealed. It’s small enough to pop into the diaper bag or cooler bag. It’s these cool new gadgets that make parenting so much easier.

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And, when we weren’t scouting out all the new finds on the showroom floor, we had a great time catching up with friends in the Blogger Lounge. The Blogger Lounge had a lovely lunch provided by Boston Market. I don’t get to eat out at Boston Market that often, but when I do, I’m always reminded how it’s such a filling family meal. As I chatted with friends, the boys had a great time playing in the play area—even the bigger dude!

Once again, we had a great time exploring the New York Baby Show. After taking all the photos and shooting video along the way, the best part is always seeing how baby products continue to evolve, and now, my babies, who were the inspiration for this site, are helping me find and share cool new products.

Full disclosure: this post is sponsored, but as always, all opinions on NKT are my own. Thank you for supporting NKT.

Lunch Box Essentials: Best Snacks for Kids at Aldi

May 16, 2017May 17, 2017 by Jen Rabulan-Bertram

Since I just got back from grocery shopping at Aldi, I have snacks for kids and lunch box essentials on the brain. As we round the bases to the end of the year, lunchbox duties, at least in our house, start to get a bit routine. Always looking to jazz up the lunch box and snacks, I thought I’d round up some of our favorite snacks from our favorite grocery store.

BestSnacksforKidsfromAldi

If you’re not familiar with Aldi, they’re a thriving grocer that’s has been a long standing favorite in Europe. We love Aldi for their small footprint—typically 5 aisles—making grocery shopping a quick in-and-out errand. They’ve committed to refreshing their overall look and selection:

which includes an expanded selection of fresh and organic produce, rolling out Healthier Checklanes that offer smarter options at checkout, and continuing to grow its product lines to offer better-for-you options for families to enjoy, including more gluten-free options and a range of products free of additives, antibiotics and added hormones.

Here are just a few of the many snacks from Aldi that are currently on our lunch box and after school snack rotation:

White Cheddar Puffs

Aldi’s White Cheddar Puffs are a great cheesy snack that isn’t too filling. The fun flavor of the Simply Nature White Cheddar Puffs won the Product of the Year Awards, solidifying them as a favorite pick for lunch boxes. If you’re familiar with that ubiquitous “pirate snack,” then you’re familiar with this style of puff. No dyes or other artificial ingredients, you seriously can’t go wrong with Simply Nature’s White Cheddar Puffs.

Fresh Fruit

I love the inexpensive fresh fruit options at Aldi. From the $2 bananas to the $2 blueberries to the $3 organic apples, there’s always a colorful selection of fresh fruit that are perfect for snacks. Fresh fruit are the original snacks on the go, so you can’t go wrong when grabbing a bag of ripe tangerines!

ALDI Organic Produce

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Mini Bear Grahams

Some of our absolute favorite items from Aldi are the great selection of pre-packaged snacks for lunch boxes. The Mini Bear Graham Snack Packs in honey are a great size for 2 kids’ lunch boxes for the week, with a few to spare for me to pop in my bag for when we’re on the go. The flavor is sweet, but not too sugary sweet. These mini crackers are perfectly sized for littles and bigs’ lunch boxes!

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Happy Farms Cheese Snacks

We’re huge cheese eaters in our house, so I love knowing that our cheese from Aldi is free of unnecessary additives and hormones. The prepackaged cheese snacks are super easy to pop into lunch boxes for a quick bite. I love that there are several flavors beyond the usual mozzarella string cheese.

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Vegetable Chips

Vegetable Chips is another staple in my weekly grocery trip. This blend of chips includes sweet potato, taro, batata and parsnips. A healthier alternative to regular potato chips, vegetable chips satisfy the crunchy salty cravings. As part of the Simply Nature brand, the vegetable chips are free from artificial ingredients and preservatives.

There are so many other awesome snacks and treats that are suitable for kids, so these are just a few from our favorites list. If you shop at Aldi, what are your favorites?

Full disclosure: This is not a sponsored post. We love sharing the things we love. Thanks for supporting NKT!

KidzVuz Back to School Bash

July 24, 2016July 24, 2016 by Jen Rabulan-Bertram

Heat wave aside, school lists and back to school bargains are starting to roll out! Thank goodness for our friends at KidzVuz, we had the chance to check out more back to school trends at their recent Back to School event.

At KidzVuz’ events I love bringing along my bigger guy to help scope out all the cool stuff. This time around though, my guy was busy with summer sports, so I attended solo. Nevertheless, I met with so many great brands, two new brands had young spokespeople and entrepreneurs at the helm.

LuckyBar

LuckyBar protein bars was a product of a mom’s ingenuity. When one of her sons wasn’t eating much, she was elated when he ate a protein bar. Because of this, she wanted to share these bars with other families so that kids could enjoy a great tasting protein bar while placating a finicky palate. I absolutely enjoyed the Chocolate Campfire and it was no surprise that my own finicky eater devoured the LuckyBar sample I brought home. I had the chance to chat with the founder’s son, which I’ll share in another post.

Classroom Direct

Back to school also means shopping for new supplies, not only for students, but for teachers, too! Classroom Direct is a one-stop online shop for teachers’ supplies, school supplies and other educational supplies. I loved learning that Classroom Direct has all kinds of learning resource supplies for teachers such as Common Core Curriculum kits and posters; classroom management tools such as, really cool timers, certificates and charts; and even gear and supplies for special needs students. I loved checking out the sensory animals stuffed with a beady-like material. They were a bit weighted, so toys like these double as tools for students with sensory issues.

Juicy Juice

Never one to miss out on delicious snacks and treats, I loved that Juicy Juice was at the Kidz Vuz Back to School event. I loved having a chance to taste the Juicy Juice Splashers, which is a mix of filtered water and juice. Juicy Juice Splashers has 50% less sugar, no added sweeteners and definitely no high fructose corn syrup or unnecessary colors. Flavors in the Juicy Juice Splashers line up include: Berry Lemonade, Peach Mango and Tropical Twist. I had the Tropical Twist and couldn’t get enough.

Zandra

I have to say, meeting Zandra and testing out this young entrepreneur’s line of natural beauty products was probably the highlight of the KidzVuz Back to School event. I loved learning that she started her business after constantly asking her dad for new lip balm, and frustrated with buying her so many lip balms, he told her to research and make her own. And she did.

The fact that Zandra researched the benefits of natural ingredients and fragrances makes her products even better. Her big balms, sugar scrubs, soaps and lotions boast delicious scents such as: Almond Alfresco, Japanese Kumquat, Lavender Vanilla Chai, Lemon Tea Tree and For the Love of Mint. These products are currently available Be on the look out for Zandra’s Beauty Products at select retail locations and online because they are absolutely divine!

Philips

The Philips Sonicare Electric Toothbrush for kids is one of my all time favorite toothbrushes for my guys. The brush allows for personalization, as well as a powered, more efficient toothbrushing experience, with upwards to 500 strokes per second. The built in timer is helpful, especially for those brushers who finish after 3 seconds of brushing. Need even more help to get the kids brushing their teeth with more care? There’s an app for that!

Philips has an interactive app for kids to brush along with, to help them keep the task at hand while coaching and motivating them along the way. What’s even cooler? The Philips Sonicare Electric Toothbrush for kids has a super cool Ice Age themed brush to go hand in hand with the latest release of Collision Course.

Mabel’s Labels

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As always, KidzVuz has such a fun swag bag filled with gear and gadgets to try out on our own to share on our sites. I love that Mabel’s Labels Write Away Labels found their way into the bags. These handy labels are durable labels that can be customized by you. These writeable, self-laminating labels are perfect for when you don’t necessarily need a singular name to label your belongings. I often use these for containers that my boys use interchangeably.

Full Disclosure: This is a sponsored post. I am being compensated to share my experience at the KidzVuz BTS Event, however all opinions on NKT are my own.

Back to School Must Haves from Momtrends’ Back to School Bash

July 23, 2016July 23, 2016 by Jen Rabulan-Bertram

We’re still very much in summer mode, however, when it comes to trend spotting and scouting the best kids’ products, we’re always looking ahead. Last week, together with many of my blogger friends, we descended upon Momtrends’ Back to School Bash to check out some of the coolest gear and gadgets for Back to School.

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Joules

I had the chance to meet British clothing brand, Joules at the Momtrends’ Back to School Bash. This brand makes beautiful, classic yet modern clothes with bold prints. The girls’ styles were age-appropriate, yet super stylish. The boys’ looks were polished, classic and fun. I loved the boots and outerwear and the vibrant colors that make these pieces stand out!

Aidan, my friend Alicia from Mommy Delicious’ son, modeling some looks from Joules.

Paula’s Choice

Always on the hunt for new skincare lines that work for me, it was great meeting Paula’s Choice. While Paula’s Choice makes a variety of products designed for different skin types, I particularly loved learning about their Clear line which is designed for oily and acne-prone skin. Paula’s Choice products are intended not to be irritating, so there are no fragrances or dyes or anything that could be harmful to your skin.

Vamousse

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photo credit: Momtrends

Having kids in school, there’s no doubt that at one point you’ll be faced with sick kids and possibly receiving a note from the school nurse that someone in your child’s class may be infected with lice. That dreaded letter has found its way to my son’s backpack this year more times than I could count. Lucky us, products like Vamousse are designed to be effective yet non-toxic. At any given time, I always have a Vamousse treatment kit in my arsenal, knowing that lice infestations can happen at any time with 2 boys in school. I also like that they have Lice Defense Daily Shampoo as well as Lice Elimination Powder. And, yay me! I won a cool Amazon gift card from Vamousse at the event. Thanks for being a sponsor!

Thanks to Vamousse, we were treated to a braid bar from Glam Squad. I had a great time getting my hair braided and catching up with Julie Cole, one of the founders of Mabel’s Labels!

Chewbeads

Known for their teething-friendly accessories, Chewbeads were onhand at the Momtrends Back to School Bash to showcase their new line of JuniorBeads. Perfect as accessories for kids, these necklaces, bracelets and pendants are made with silicone and can double as sensory tools. My younger guy has special needs and low tone, and we often have to exercise his jaw muscles with chewing on things, so these pendants would be perfect for him. Have a kid who bites their nails or needs some sort of sensory tool? JuniorBeads would be ideal for them. I love the necklaces, shark tooth pendant and that military tag!

Mabel’s Labels

One of my family’s must-haves year-round, Mabel’s Labels showcased several new designs, combo pack and a cool new school years memory book. I’m eyeing the limited edition zombie design for my tween who has outgrown the cutesy designs. The School Years Memory book is a perfect solution for parents who want to collect special certificates, awards and occasional artwork. I love the oversized size that can actually fit the giant posters that the kids bring home. The price is right around $30, making this affordable and an absolute necessity when organizing for the school year.

Nalgene

As a lunchbox enthusiast and gadget nerd, I absolutely loved learning about Nalgene’s new Lunchbox Buddy. This durable and versatile lunchbox is made with the same material that makes Nalgene so popular. I love that these lunch boxes are simple and rugged; the box itself can be thrown in the dishwasher and the outer case can be thrown in the washing machine—perfect my messy kids! And something that I never knew: all Nalgene products have a lifetime warranty. How’s that for awesome? I truly respect brands, especially ones that accommodate kids, that can stand behind their own reliability.

Earth’s Best and Ella’s Kitchen

In between school, sports, volunteering and all of the other demands of life, some days, we need an easy dinner solution. (ok, most days) Thank goodness for Earth’s Best. Earth’s Best has an extensive line of frozen foods that are geared to families. These products are void of all the bad ingredients, but packed with flavor and portability to boot. I loved tasting the different flavors, with the mini meatballs and pepperoni stuffed bites as my favorites. I will be adding Organic Fruit Cups into our lunch box rotation for when cheap fruit is no longer an option!

Sister brand, Ella’s Kitchen has been a mainstay in our pantry since Littles started eating solids. I love the delicious flavors they offer for baby foods, and their Nibbly Fingers are the best for babes and toddlers. I loved learning about their smoothies, which I’ve been including in my preschooler’s summer school lunch box. Those things are a hit!

Keen

Keen, known for their awesome sandals, was featuring highlights from their fall lineup. I’m eyeing several boots and hightops from my guy. I adored the sparkly hightops for girls, only wishing they came in my size. I appreciate that this brand is known for their casual and rugged look and feel, which is ideal for school-aged kids.

Wall Pops

Wall Pops offers a great selection of wall coverings that can be used as decor or as functional tools that are helpful for staying organized or informed. Always a fan of the oversized calendars, I love that they have maps and dry erase wall pops that make our school days seamless. We like using Wall Pops as calendars and as an unobtrusive way of reminding us what to do and when! My friends and I loved hanging out in the photo booth, thanks to Wall Pops!

A big thank you to Momtrends for having me once again at the Back to School Bash. As always, I loved checking out the awesome trends for fall, as well as hanging out with my girls!

Full disclosure: I received a generous swag bag and won a gift card at this event. As always, all opinions on NKT are my own.

Fun and Easy Halloween Lunchbox Ideas

October 31, 2014October 31, 2014 by Jen Rabulan-Bertram

Happy Halloween! We get all into this spooky day by tricking out almost anything and everything…and, not surprisingly, that includes school lunch!

If you follow me on Instagram, you might already know that I’ve been a longtime lunchbox fan. I play with my kid’s food, all in the name of smiles. For Halloween, I thought of spooky characters and incorporated them into lunch.

An easy go-to for Halloween-themed lunches include pumpkin-shaped sandwiches. I usually make a turkey or ham sandwich, but something not too thick. I then cut the sandwich with my pumpkin-shaped cookie cutter which has the lines in the formation. For the fruit and dessert, I cut 2 slices and pop some mini-marshmallows in for the teeth. For some containers you can just place the slices and marshmallows without any help. Since my apple wasn’t that big, I had to use tooth picks to secure the apple-lip formation, but then the marshmallows stayed in place. I just put mixed berries on the side, or rather, Boo-berries. And finally, to give the lunch a super fun look, I threw in one of our Halloween rings I saved from our local ice cream shop. Spiders or other tiny trinkets work well for decor. Easy peasy.

For this lunch, instead of bread, I used a pita and cut it into fourths. I stuffed the pita with ham and mustard for an easy sandwich. For the veggie, I roasted sweet potatoes the night before, like you would sweet potato fries. But before roasting cut out a jack o’lantern face to give it a fun effect. For the fruit, I threw in more berries!

And today’s Halloween lunch includes an easy, kid friendly salad. Salad? Why salad? Because my kid will be consume candy by the fistful later, I thought I’d throw in some nutrition for lunch. In a Konserve stainless steel container, I mixed some greens, goat cheese, tiny apple chunks and cranberries. I included some honey balsamic on the side and will cross fingers at least some of it gets eaten! For extra measure, I made a quick pumpkin-shaped sandwich and berries. The candy eyeballs were totally for effect. I wonder if those will get eaten first?!

For me, making lunch isn’t supposed to cumbersome, but rather, fun and delicious. If it takes more than 10 minutes to make, that’s just not fun for me. If my 7 year old can’t do it himself, again, that’s not fun. So, rule of thumb, make lunch fun and keep it simple. So, with that said, here are just a few Halloween-inspired lunches.

So, if you’re not into bento boxes or fun lunches for kids, before you say “somebody’s got too much time on their hands,” consider this: bento boxes have been around for centuries in Japan, and they incorporate healthier eating by limiting portion size and encouraging more wholesome foods.

Happy Halloween!