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The First Lunch: What I Packed (And a FREE Photo Printing Offer!)

August 18, 2014 · by Tiffany Merritt · 3 Comments

This shop is part of a social shopper marketing insight campaign with Pollinate Media Group® and Del Monte, but all my opinions are my own. #pmedia #DelMonteBTS http://my-disclosur.es/OBsstV.

My baby girl is at her first day of Kindergarten at this very moment. I was all smiles dropping my Darah off this morning for her first of approximately 2,340 school days that stretch from 8-3 from now until she graduates from high school.

I pretty much cried like a baby all the way back home. This is such a HUGE milestone. It feels much more monumental than her first day of preschool or her first time heading to a school program 5 days a week. Now we are fully in “the system” of American education. All day, 5 days a week, 9 months of the year. It’s like my baby has entered into the work force, only her job is to learn.

I will miss her, you guys. She’s one of my lunch buddies. But now it’s time for her to sit with her friends at lunch and form new relationships over soy butter sandwiches (peanut-free…that’s how our school rolls) and juice boxes. But lunch will also be an opportunity for her to feel connected to her mama, even if only for a brief moment while she inspects the contents of her lunch box. This is just one more reason why I want to have lots of ideas on hand so that I can offer her a fun variety that she will also love.

One of the brands I look for on the shelves to add to my lunch box supply arsenal is . They have some great healthy products designed to give your kids the nutrition they need to stay focused in school. We regularly use Del Monte Fruit Cups as add-ins to our smoothies. For school lunches, though, we go with Fruit Burst Squeezers.

These are a HUGE hit with both of my girls and Darah in particular gets tickled any time she gets them as part of a meal or as a snack. So I knew it was the perfect thing to include in her very first school lunch box. I can promise you that it will be the very first thing she eats. I really love it because there’s NO high fructose corn syrup and no artificial flavors.

Lunch Box Breakdown

Here’s the complete breakdown of what I packed in Darah’s first lunch box. Maybe it will give you a few ideas to have on hand if you are a bout to launch into daily school lunch packing duty!

1. Soy butter and jelly sandwich. We don’t have nut allergies at my house, but they are very prevalent in her classroom, such that we have been asked not to send any food with nuts in it. I found soy butter at the store and it tastes quite similar to peanut butter, so we are going with that!

2. Cream cheese and celery. Ordinarily I would go with peanut butter and raisins on a piece of celery, but that’s not an option, so I headed in another direction. Darah loves cream cheese, so she’ll go to town on this. The celery isn’t going to load her down with awesome nutrients, but it’s still a veggie, so that makes it a win. Plus it has an awesome crunch factor! Carrots would be another great “crunch-tastic” veggie to send.

3. Del Mont Fruit Burst Squeezers. I have complete and total success getting my kids to eat these. More so than if I send a piece of fruit. I think it has to do with how fun they are to eat, and how easy they are to eat. Darah is a very slow eater. She always has been. So she might not make even finish her lunch in time if some of it isn’t liquid. Totally serious about that. Fruit Burst Squeezers go from full to completely sucked dry in about 30 seconds. It’s quite amazing to watch, actually!

Free Photo Offer

Right now at select Walmart Super Store locations you will find a free back-to-school photo offer! You can take your first day of school photo (or really, any photo you want!) of your child to Walmart between now and September 13th (or while supplies last) and get a free 5×7 print with a back to school border (the photo will be 4×6 and with the border, it will be 5×7). I had one printed of Darah in her classroom so that I can see her in her element during the day.

But it gets even better! When you get your free print you will also receive a $1 off Del Monte products coupon in the photo envelope. I took mine and headed straight over to the aisle with the products I wanted and got stocked up for a great price. That was a total win/win! Prices vary by area, so I can’t guarantee that you’ll find the same prices at your store, but the Fruit Burst Squeezers for me were priced at $2 per pack of 4. So with my coupon, I only spent $3 (plus tax) for 8 individual squeezers. Woo hoo!

Do you have any great ideas for stuff to include in school lunch boxes? And have you tried Del Monte Fruit Burst Squeezers, yet? Did your kids love them as much as mine do?

Tropical Relief from the Winter Blues from Del Monte (Giveaway!)

February 14, 2014 · by Tiffany Merritt · 185 Comments

The Del Monte products, information, gift pack, and gift card have been provided by Del Monte. But all thoughts and opinions are my own, as always!

I know that not everyone in the entire country has snow piled up in their yard, but a good chunk of us do, myself included. We got 5 inches here in Chattanooga, an amount that is pretty debilitating to a city in the South. We’ve had snow quite a few times this winter, and let me tell you, the novelty of it has worn off. I’m OVER IT. And I can only imagine how those of you who got 12-18 inches (or more!) this week feel about it.

My kids have been stuck in the house quite a bit this week (we don’t own snow suits, so trips outside to play in the snow don’t last very long). I’ve blown through a lot of our stockpiled craft projects and coloring books and every imaginary game I can think of. My kids knew I was running out of ideas, so Darah suggested that we “play in the pantry.” Which really just means, “Let’s EAT ALL THE THINGS!”

Del Monte To the Rescue

Fortunately, there actually was something tucked away that brightened all of our spirits: a taste of the tropics from ! We’ve really enjoyed the Mango Pineapple Fruit Cup Snacks. I usually have these on hand for road trips, or for occasions when Darah begs to have a “packed lunch” like the kids who get to stay past noon at her school (true story…she feels deprived for not having her food presented to her in a lunch box). But if ever there was a time when we needed something tropical, it was this week!

And when the snow does finally thaw and we get to head back out into civilization, I’ve got my purse stocked with Del Mont Fruit Burst Squeezers. It never fails that my kids tell me they are hungry as soon as we back out of our driveway, and I’m guessing some of you out there have the same experience with your kiddos. Have you seen the on the shelves? I found some at my local Walmart.

I like that both of these Del Monte products leave High Fructose Corn Syrup out of their recipes. They are a very easy way for me to get a serving of fruit in my kids’ tummies, and the girls think of them as special treats. Win/win!

And speaking of winning….

Win it!: One lucky Stuff Parents Need reader will win 2 Del Monte VIP coupons for free products, as well as a $25 Walmart gift card!

Be sure to enter my other current giveaways, found on the sidebar of my page.

a Rafflecopter giveaway

How to Let Children Be in Charge of Snack Time

October 13, 2012 · by Tiffany Merritt · 3 Comments

“Let me do it, mom!” are words that frequently come out of Darah’s mouth. She is working so hard to be independent, and I am trying my best to listen to her and give her the opportunity to do things all by herself. It requires patience on my end, to be sure, but I can see the pride she has when she accomplishes something on her own. I imagine that it must be a very empowering feeling to a 3 year old!

One step I have taken toward giving Darah the freedom of choice and the ability to take action on her own is with her afternoon snack. It is part of her daily ritual to have a little something to eat after her quiet time. I used to prepare the snack for her, but lately I have been stocking the snack bin in the pantry and letting Darah go in on her own and select the item she wants that day. Darah LOVES getting to make her own decision, and she loves to talk with me about her different options while she mulls over her options. She also loves to work on opening her snacks herself, although this is an area where mom is still needed to help.

It is my job to make sure that every option in the bin is a healthy choice. Del Monte Fruit Cups have been introduced to the snack bin, and they get snapped up VERY quickly, I have to say. I recently went to Walmart to restock our supply of fruit cups, and while I was there I picked up two new flavors, Diced Apples & Pears with Caramel Flavor and Diced Pears with Vanilla & Spice. Don’t those sound simply scrumptious for the fall and winter seasons? I spotted them on the shelves at my local Walmart a few days ago. If you want to come along with me on my entire shopping trip, click here to see what I saw while grocery shopping at 6 am!

(At. $2.28 for a package of four, these cost just .57 per snack).

Before these new fruit cups landed in my cart, I needed to check for an important ingredient, or perhaps I should say, a lack of an ingredient:

(Bingo! Del Monte Fruit Cups contain no high fructose corn syrup! The presence of that ingredient makes or breaks whether or not I buy it for my daughter. I wish I could say I was as disciplined with that rule with my food, too. Baby steps, right?)

After I got home, Darah helped me unload the groceries and very quickly found her new snacks. She was thrilled, and she helped me add them to her snack bin so that they could be an option for her later that day.

After her quiet time (and she actually napped that day! Woo hoo!) Darah made a bee line (or should I say ladybug line? She was trying out her Halloween costume…) for her snack bin. After double-checking with me that it was time for a snack, she looked over her options and made her choice. Del Monte Fruit Cups, please!

(Notice how I keep the snack bin at Darah’s eye level. This is key, but it also requires that your child develop discipline to not raid the snack area when it isn’t snack time. Our daughter is getting better at this, but we’ve had more than a few conversations about it, I assure you!)

Darah was quite pleased with her selection, and after trying to get it open, herself, she asked me for some assistance.

While she doesn’t normally wear bibs, I thought it might be wise to put on a smock over her costume since these fruit cups do contain a light syrup and the odds of it landing on her costume were good. I sat with her while she ate, and we talked about what our plans were for the afternoon. We decided that a walk down to the park might be fun. While we chatted, she made a point of telling me that she liked her snack because it was just the right size for her. I think she’s right!

After she had eaten most of her snack, I asked her if it tasted really good. She didn’t respond to my question with words, but instead, with action!

(I’d say that drinking the leftover liquid to make sure every drop of this snack was eaten is a good sign that it was a hit!)

As I watched Darah slurp down every bit of her snack, I couldn’t help but think about how glad I was that this product is free of high fructose corn syrup. That makes it a #SmartSnack in my book, and means that it will be in regular rotation in our snack bin. I’m especially looking forward to stocking up on this to use when apples and pears aren’t in season and finding tasty ones is a challenge. That’s the perfect time to reach for a Del Monte Fruit Cup!

One other idea I have for this healthy snack is to use it at breakfast. Tomorrow morning I’m planning on giving Darah a fruit cup along with her oatmeal and letting her combine the two for a fruity twist to a hot breakfast staple! Darah will be able to control the amount of fruit she uses, and I think that will make it a lot of fun for her.

Do you have any tips for ways to make snack time for your kids a more enjoyable experience, and one in which they take some ownership? Do your snack options include Del Monte products? Drop the company a line on their Facebook page or on Twitter to share your tips and tricks or to get more information about all the ways Del Monte can help make snack time healthy and fun.

I am a member of the Collective Bias™ Social Fabric® Community. This shop has been compensated as part of a social shopper insights study for Collective Bias™ and Del Monte #CBias #SocialFabric. All thoughts and opinion expressed here are strictly my own.