Lunch Box Love Notes - by Just Something I Made

I met Cathe Holden at a Blog workshop during the Creative Entrepreneurs Conference in San Francisco last year. She's had successful careers as both ad agency Art Director and Studio Owner/Graphic Designer, but after Cathe gravitated toward creative blogging. Inspiring others through design and crafting on her blog, JustSomethingIMade.com, her unique projects have been featured widely around the blogosphere.

I spotted a really cute idea on her blog this morning, that I had to share with you. It's a perfect way to "illustrate" that a kids lunch is a great opportunity to show them you love them. She takes a snapshot of some of the little notes she would put in her kids lunches when they were small. The smallest gestures can mean a whole lot. I thought it was the simplest but nicest way to express to a kid that you care, especially if you're a visual/graphic type person like me!

It doesn't take a whole lot of time out of your busy morning, but maybe it makes your kids smile a little when you're not there to prepare them a lunch. Maybe it'll make them think twice about trading their almond butter and fruit preserve sandwich on whole grain bread for a bag of cheetos. =P

See the full post on Cathe's site JustSomethingIMade.com. She has a whole arsenal of great ideas!

The Renegade Lunch Lady partners with Whole Foods

Join the school lunch revolution! We can make a difference one choice at a time!

The Renegade Lunch lady has been working to bring healthier food into schools for the last ten years. Chef Ann Cooper has dedicated her life to inspiring people by speaking about her love for food and hopes to change the way people think about food. She touches audience all across the country with how super passionate she is about nutrition and protecting the environment. Below, she shows us how to build a better lunch.

She shares some ideas on how to feed your family practical, economical and tasty lunches.



Some key things I learned from her:

1. We throw out 20 million plastic sandwich bags per day. WHOA!

2. If we keep eating and consuming at the current status quo, 1 in 3 adults will have diabetes at some time in their life. Double WHOA!

3. You can make some small adjustments to the old favorites, by making a few smarter choices at the grocery store (ie: whole fruit spreads instead of jam with high fructose syrup or use whole wheat pasta instead of regular)

4. How to use leftover dinners for the next days lunch creatively

See what Chef Ann The Renegade Lunch Lady is all about!
Find a whole foods store near you.