We are finally in back-to-school mode with both kids. It was a great summer but my little guy wore me right out and I am very happy to be back into the regular routine. This routine, of course, includes weeknight cooking. Depending on our daily schedule I will sometimes prep food while they are at school. If I don’t have time to do that I’ll review some of my oldies but goodies, or the ingredients in our fridge, to come up with a quick and easy dinner recipe. Recently I made this easy skillet chicken cacciatore because I had the last couple of peppers from our garden in the crisper and a fresh packet of chicken to be eaten.
Last weekend we were supposed to endure the rains of Hurricane Hermine and they never came. It has been a long, hot summer in Connecticut and our garden so desperately needed the rain and cooler temperatures so I was excited. I am glad we did not have to endure any crazy hurricane weather like our neighbors to the south, but I honestly didn’t mind the idea of part of our long weekend being rained in. Naturally we had some party plans and I was all for preparing food to take to friend’s homes, including this peach caprese salad which is just fine, rain or shine.
(Disclosure: This post is sponsored by General Mills Big G Cereals. The opinions are wholly my own. Thank you for supporting the brands that support The Naptime Chef.)
Let’s talk whole grain in honor of National Whole Grain Month. Last month I spent 48 hours in Winnipeg, Canada with General Mills Cereal learning all about oats. I learned about everything from how grain is grown and harvested, what makes it “whole”, and why it is so important for your diet. I was shocked (shocked!) to learn that 95% of Americans don’t get enough whole grain in their diet. How did I miss such a statistic? Consuming whole grains isn’t too hard, they are found in Big G cereals, breads, and more. Yet, it seems that we never get enough.
(Disclosure: This post is sponsored by Mirum Shopper but all opinions are my own. I am proud to work with Mirum shopper to bring attention to the Feeding American program.)
This month my kids are starting school. I took a little time off at the end of August to get my house together and prepared for the back-to-school routine and all that comes with it. That meant gathering school supplies, labeling lunch boxes and folders, shopping for bulk snacks, and buying the ingredients for many of our much-loved weeknight dinners I haven’t made since last spring. Getting everything organized is hectic, but I am grateful I can do it. I know how lucky we are that we can buy loaves of bread for lunches and offer a wide variety of snacks to my kids to choose from each day. Feeding my family without worry is a luxury and it is not something everyone can afford to do.
Today I am working with Ahold stores and Unilever to bring awareness to their Feeding America campaign. I am not including a “read more” jump in this post because I am not looking for clicks or “likes” or popularity points here. I want people to read and learn, to take a moment to think of the hungry in their own community – especially the children – and think about how they can help this fall.
This month Feeding America has partnered with Ahold Stores (Stop & Shop, Giant, Martin’s, and Giant Carlisle) and Unilever to help alleviate hunger in their communities. Making your own contribution is SO simple:
If you purchase $15 in Unilever products, you’ll save $5 on your purchase, and part of it will be donated to the Feeding America program. Each transaction provides 11 meals to people in need.
Here is a video that further illustrates how the program works. To help out even more, spread the word of this program by sharing this video using the hashtag #BuySaveFeed – each share is worth an additional donation.
It is not about donating money, or buying something you don’t want or need. It is simply about selecting some of your favorite Unilever products and letting them do the rest.
So, if you have the time this weekend I hope you’ll buy some Unilever products and help out this campaign. It will make such a huge difference in the lives of many. Together we can work to alleviate hunger in our communities and I am grateful that this partnership is taking place in mine.
Hi! I am gearing up for the start to the school year and will be of the blog until next week. There is so much to do with getting ready for school and getting the house back together after a wonderfully busy summer. I’m so grateful for all the fun I’ve had. To get you in the mood to get back to school and excited for freshly sharpened pencils and all that comes with it here are a few of my favorites for this time of year:
A great reminder for those of you looking for back-to-school meal ideas.
We had another great summer in Cooperstown. I hope you all will come visit next year!
It’s the season of many, many fresh berries. While we endeavor to eat them all up before the get too soft, that doesn’t always happen. My solution? Bake. These one-bowl any berry muffins are the perfect treats to make with kids when you have that last handful of berries that you don’t want to freeze, but need to be eaten. You know they are so fresh that it would be a shame for them to go to waste!
Earlier this summer we took a lovely vacation to Boothbay Harbor, Maine. Though I went to college in Maine I never spent much time exploring the coast and I was so glad to finally have the chance. Boothbay is about one hour north of Portland and is in a world all its own. The town is quaint and laid back, and the lobster shacks are bountiful. Here are a few things we loved about our visit:
