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How My Snack Stash Saved the Day

June 29, 2013 · by Tiffany Merritt · 7 Comments

Last week I told you all about my toddler snacks that I took for our road trip up to Asheville. They were a great help in the car, to be sure. But they also totally saved the day in the most unlikely of all places:

AT A RESTAURANT.

That may surprise you to hear me say. But then again, if you have a toddler, then you understand that when they want to eat, they want to eat NOW. Tim and I took a while to figure out what we wanted to order, and then the food took a little while to come out. That span of 20 minutes was 8 eternities to little Layah, and she quickly started to lose her composure.

At first I thought one of us would just have to leave with herand we’d have to take turns eating our food. Then I remembered that I stuck an Earth’s Best Sunny Days Snack Bars in my purse.

I handed it over to Layah, and then turned around to grab my camera so I could snap a picture of our lunchtime hero. Here’s what was left of the bar once I turned back around:

This snack bar earns full credit for keeping Layah from losing her cool, and for keeping our family all at the same table, eating our food at the same time. It saved the day!

What snacks do you keep in your purse, either for your little ones or for yourself?

I am an Earth’s Best Preferred blogger, and as such, have received complimentary products to facilitate my review. All thoughts and opinions expressed here are strictly my own. This post contains affiliate links. I only recommend what I already buy and love.

Toddler Snacks for the Road: DON’T Leave Home Without Them!

June 23, 2013 · by Tiffany Merritt · 5 Comments

Before we left for our recent weekend trip to Asheville (a 4 hour drive away from us, factoring in a few stops with kids), I made sure that we had a fully stocked snack bag. Specifically, I packed all of this:

And while we stopped 4 times on that 4 hour trip, we never did stop because of hunger. So I’m confident that my heft supply of Earth’s Best provisions kept us from stopping 6 or even 7 times each way. In that sense, they were a major sanity saver!

I carefully selected each item you see here for different reasons, but the common theme for all of them is that they are highly portable and relatively mess-free. Even Layah is getting tot he point where she can feed herself a yogurt smoothie, and she can definitely tear up a Sunny Days Snack Bar! It is so nice to finally reach that point where we don’t have to pull over in order to give her any food! And I absolutely love that you can purchase the Earth’s Best Yogurt Smoothies in the 6 pack. I have a hard time finding that option in my local stores, but it is available on Amazon in sets of two 6 packs at a time.

One tip I have for you if your kids love the smoothies: If you aren’t taking them on the road, try sticking them in the freezer for a few hours before you give them to the kids. They are DELICIOUS as a cool slushy treat this time of year!

Are you taking any road trips? What kind of snacks do you pack for your kiddos? I’d love to hear what makes your “must have” list!

I am an Earth’s Best preferred blogger, and I such, I have received complimentary products for review purposes. All thoughts and opinions listed here are strictly my own. This post contains affiliate links.

3 Earths Best Products I Buy on Amazon Regularly

April 14, 2013 · by Tiffany Merritt · 2 Comments

I’ve been blogging faithfully about Earth’s Best products on my site for about 10 months, now. But I’ve been a loyal customer to the brand since I became a mom, and since the day that I realized we needed to supplement breastfeeding with some formula. I always love to hear about what products other moms are loyal to and how they find the best deals for them, so I thought I’d share with you 3 products from Earth’s Best that I order through Amazon.

My Earth’s Best Amazon Shopping List

1. Earth’s Best Formula. I actually buy the Earth’s Best Organic Infant Formula with Iron and the Earth’s Best Organic Sensitivity Infant Formula. I usually dump one can of each into a very large mixing bowl and combine the two powders, then put them back into their canisters all mixed up together. That is just what Layah seems to like best. Be sure to pay careful attention to the prices Amazon lists for each canister of formula. Right now, for example, it is cheaper to purchase the formula with iron 1 canister at a time than as a 4 pack, but it is cheaper to purchase the sensitivity formula as a 4 pack than 1 canister at a time. It makes no sense to me, but it must to Amazon!

2. Certain jarred foods. Recently I ordered the Earth’s Best Organic 2nd Gourmet Meals, Variety Pack. They offer a variety pack of 12, which includes Chicken Mango Risotto, Creamy Chicken Apple Compote, Sweet Pea and Turkey Wild Rice, and Tender Beef Spinach. Layah definitely loves to eat meat, and this way I know she’s getting organic goodness. And the price is right, at $10.99 for a pack of 12, shipped to my door!

3. Certain pouch foods. I always check out Amazon for the very best price they offer on Earth’s Best pouches. Right now they have a 12 pack of Earth’s Best Pear, Apricot, Barley Pouches for$14.08 for a pack of 12, which makes each pouch just $1.17. That’s a good price for an organic squeeze pouch, in my book! We often like to make our own squeeze pouches, but I have these on hand for an extra special treat, too.

That’s what I’m buying on Amazon from Earth’s Best. What about you? Do you have any favorites from the brand? Or is there anything else for baby that you love to order on Amazon? Please share!

I am an Earth’s Best Preferred Blogger, and as such, receive complimentary products as a thank you for posting. I really do purchase these items on Amazon on my own, though! This post contains affiliate links.

Earth’s Best Pouches Are a Travel Must-Have

December 26, 2012 · by Tiffany Merritt · 78 Comments

We have been doing a bit of traveling this holiday season, much the same as millions of other families across the world. We visited my family down in Alabama. They actually came up to visit us a few weeks ago when we had both our girls baptized. When they were loading up the car to travel back home, I sent them back with all the Christmas presents I had ready at that point and perhaps more importantly, I sent ahead some food for the girls. I wanted to make 100% sure that I didn’t forget the Earth’s best jarred food AND the Earth’s Best squeeze pouches. What a nightmare it would have been to have to go to Walmart, or really any store at all, on Christmas Eve to buy them!

Earth’s Best Food Pouches

I choose Earth’s Best for my girls for several reasons. First and foremost, the ingredients are all organic, and that gives me a lot of peace of mind. At home, Layah eats homemade organic baby food about 75% of the time, with some jarred food sprinkled in to give extra variety. I also aim to give Darah organic fruits and vegetables as much as my budget will allow.

Earth’s Best pouches are so fantastic to have on hand because it is pretty much guaranteed that Darah will eat them. Overall she is a good eater, but she’s 3, and that means that she certainly has days where the only thing in this whole world she wishes to eat is peanut butter and chocolate. Sigh… But I have found that if I offer her a squeeze pouch, she says yes to it EVERY. SINGLE. TIME. And Earth’s Best pouches contain all kinds of yummy stuff (no, not peanut butter and chocolate). It’s such a clever way for me to get some veggies and fruits in Darah’s system.

The pouches also work great for Layah, especially on the road. She doesn’t have the hang of sucking the food out herself, but I can squeeze the food onto a spoon for her and feed her at whatever place we have chosen to stop at. When she’s finished, I just screw the lid back on. Since the pouches are shelf stable, I know the food inside will be just fine for several more hours until we reach our destination (at which point I do refrigerate opened pouches and jarred food).

On this trip, Layah has been enjoying the Earth’s Best 1st Foods pouches, which include the following flavors:

bananas
pears

She has also REALLY enjoyed the Earth’s Best Greek Yogurt Smoothies. Banana is what she has tried so far, but you can also find it in apple or cherry.

As for Darah, as I said before, she will eat any of the pouches (even the 1st foods!) but I’ve been giving her the Just for Toddlers Sesame Street Fruit and Yogurt Smoothies, available in the following flavors:

Strawberry Banana
Apple Blueberry
Peach Banana
Pear Mango
Mixed Berry

Earth’s Best pouches help our family make the long road trip a little bit easier, and they also help us ensure that our kids are getting the great nutrition they need even when we are away from home and not “in charge” of the meals being served.

Win it!: One lucky Stuff Parents Need reader is going to win an Earth’s Best pouch sampler pack!
a Rafflecopter giveaway

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

I am a blog ambassador for Earth’s Best, and as such I have received complimentary products as a thank you for my time. All thoughts and opinions express here are strictly my own.

Proud to Be an Earth’s Best Blogger

July 15, 2012 · by Tiffany Merritt · 15 Comments

The very first solid food we put in Darah’s mouth was from Earth’s Best. It was rice cereal. Ever since that day (New Year’s Eve 2009), we’ve been big fans and loyal customers to this brand. When I was offered the opportunity to become an ambassador for the brand for the next 6 months, I knew the partnership made perfect sense. I already love and respect Earth’s Best, and now I get to share my thoughts and experiences with you, and along the way, offer up some wonderful prizes to you, my readers.

This is going to be so much fun!

Did you know that Earth’s Best has been around since way before organic became trendy and cool? It has 25 years under its belt, and in that time, has grown tremendously, now offering more than 100 products, including organic infant formula, a really impressive line of infant and toddler foods, and baby care products.

Earth’s Best works hard to be the company of choice for parents who are hoping to provide organic options for their babies and children, and who seek out companies that only use the purest ingredients.

Earth’s Best aims to help make your life a little less hectic. For example, we don’t all have time to go to our local farmer’s market each week and then come home and turn those ingredients into delicious purees and snacks. Earth’s Best is happy to take that chore off your hands without you having to sacrifice the standard you’d like to set for your child’s nutrition and overall health.

Over the next 6 months, I’ll be bringing you news about great new Earth’s Best products, information from Earth’s Best nutrition and health experts, and of course, wonderful giveaways. I hope this series will inspire some good conversations among my readers, not only about this particular brand, but also about how we can strategically make choices to provide products that are free from nasty chemicals to our children.

I’ll be posting for Earth’s Best twice each month, and one post each month will have a giveaway. Folks who comment on the non-giveaway post each month will get a bonus entry into that month’s Earth’s Best giveaway! So here’s your chance to earn a bonus entry!

Do you have any questions for Earth’s Best, either about their products or about ways to cut out unhealthy chemicals in your home and in your child’s diet? I’d love to take your questions and comments back to the company!