Squeasy Gear is in the house......Part 1

Hi Friends!! Summer is in full swing here in the M-town, and I'm happy to report that my kids are not driving me bonkers....yet. Happy summer to all of you! I don't blog very often during the summer break due to how manic and unpredictable our summer days are...yeah, you understand. But, when the super nice folks over at Squeasy Gear asked if we wanted to check out their cool new reusable pouches and sport bottles, I jumped at the opportunity.

When I was first approached by Squeasy Gear, I had the same reaction that you probably just did...."Hmmmmmm- Squeasy Gear...what's Squeasy Gear?" So, I donned my detective hat and dusted off my spy glass, and did some diggin' to find out what this interestingly titled product was. My discovery????

Squeasy Gear is a line of mess-free, eco-friendly reusable silicone food pouches and bottles designed for purées, smoothies, applesauce, yogurt, pudding, and the like. And, a removable insert prevents spills when serving water, juice, or other liquids. Ok, so needless to say, I was intrigued by this product. In all honesty, my kids are older and are quite adept at using a spoon, and there hasn't been a sippy cup in my house in years.....yes, YEARS! So, my first thought was that Squeasy Gear was designed for kids that were a lot younger than mine...toddlers and preschoolers. However, my little guy is always asking for those store bought prefilled applesauce and fruit pouches...you know the ones. Kids will eat anything in a pouch, right? So, I enthusiastically decided to see what Squeasy Gear was all about, and consider it from the perspective of a 7 yr old.

And I am sooooo glad that I did!! Squeasy Gear is such a cool product. Both of my kids hovered over me as I unwrapped the box, obviously intrigued by the brightly colored items inside. I received the bright green 6oz. Squeasy Snacker (perfect size for Z) and the gray 16oz. Squeasy Sport (awesome for my 15 yr old smoothie lover). I put the Snacker to the test right away. After washing it up (which was a breeze since the pouches can be turned inside-out), I filled it with applesauce for Z. I passed it on to him and waited....... A few minutes later, he returned with the empty Snacker in hand and responded, "This is really cool, Mom. Yeah, I like it." Thumbs-up from the Z-man!! Always a good thing to have the approval of a 7 yr old. I inspected the empty Snacker (and Z's shirt) for evidence of applesauce leakage and found none at all. Ten minutes into receiving the Squeasy Snacker, we already have 2 big pluses.....easy to clean and mess-free! I'm happy to say that Z wagged his Squeasy Snacker around with him all day, filling it with water on several occasions.

  

I'm anxious to give the Squeasy Sport a try. My oldest loves smoothies, and the Squeasy Sport is perfect for smoothies. I'll share the 15 yr old perspective of the Squeasy Sport bottle with you all soon. Stay tuned for that. We'll continue to use the Snacker, too, to see if it maintains it's thumbs-up status. Stay tuned for that. And we're headed to the lake on vacay next week, and Squeasy Gear is going to the lake with us. Stay tuned for that. Ok....lots to stay tuned for!! 

Here are some of the features of Squeasy Gear that I like:

Made with 100% food grade non-toxic materials...BPA, PVC, and Phthalates free- YES!! SG is safe for our kids and won't harm our wonderful Earth.

Leak free and mess free- The no-spill insert means Z can drink red punch in the den again!

Easy to clean- SG can be turned inside-out and placed in the dishwasher (top rack only) or hand washed, and all those hard to clean nooks and crannies come squeaky clean. 

Budget friendly- Those store-bought fruit and veggie pouches can cost $1.00 or more. Squeasy Snackers are refillable, so I can maintain my Frugal Fannie status and buy bulk sizes of applesauce, yogurt, or whatever.

Kid friendly- Squeasy Gear is easy for kids to use, lightweight, and brightly colored. 

Squeasy Gear is fun to use, and even the name is fun to say.....Squeasy Snacker, Squeasy Snacker!

Here is a lunch that I made for Z with his Squeasy Snacker:

This lunch is packed in Easylunchboxes.

• Homemade egg salad
• Wheat Thins
• baby carrots with Ranch dressing in the green cup
• blueberries
• Babybel cheese
• Miss Meringue mint chocolate chip cookie 
• Natural applesauce in the Squeasy Snacker

Linked to: Eats Amazing/ What Kids Eat Wednesday

Some of the things, or similar things, that I used to make this lunch:

Yay for summer!!!!

Whoohoo!! We made it!! The end of school is finally here, school's out, time for summer! I've been limping toward the end-of-school finish line now for a while. I tapped out somewhere mid-April. Are you there yet, Moms?? The end-of-school year insanity has come to an end (insert immensely huge smiley face here). Now time for the busy summer insanity to begin. Since we are so busy during the summertime, I usually don't post very many lunches. But, I have 2 super neat lunchpacking products that I'm going to try out and do a write-up on for back-to-school (yep, gotta start thinking about that now...LOL). So, stay tuned for this. Also, I like to showcase other fabulous bloggers during the summer, so look for this, as well. Hang in there, Moms, the end-of-year insanity will be over very soon for you, too, and I hope you all have an amazingly fun and wonderful summer, Friends!

Here is my kiddo's last lunch of 2nd grade:

This lunch is packed in Easylunchboxes.

• Alexia mini stuffed ham and cheese bites
• Rold Gold mini pretzels- There are 2 chocolate covered mini pretzels for a treat.
• Natural applesauce- I added some strawberry purée for flavor and color.
• baby carrots with Ranch dressing for dipping
• Brothers-All-Natural freeze dried strawberry fruit crisps

Some of the things, or similar things, that I used to make this lunch:

 

I think I can.....I think I can...

Yep! The title of this post says it all!!! I think I can!!! The end of the school year is finally here. FIVE. MORE. DAYS. I think I can! I feel like that little engine in the book The Little Engine That Could. The kids and I all have end-of-the-school-year-itis, and we are sooo ready to be outside playing, riding bikes, swimming, eating Popsicles, and of course, sleeping late. Our school focus is completely defunct and non-existent, and so is my lunch making mojo! But, we can do it....five more days. It's funny how every year we complain about how early school starts...usually the first week in August. But, the kidlets and I sure do love getting out in May. We're heading out on a family vacay next week so as to beat the summer heat, and the weather should be great! Whoohoo!!!!      

 We LOVE.......

So, lunchmaking this week will probably consist of "just throw it in a box" type lunches. But, any lunch looks cute when packed in a fun lunchbox like the Yumbox, Bento Kids, or the Goodbyn. Add a couple colorful silicone cups and you're all set. Today's lunch for the boy is packed in the Goodbyn Bynto, and it took me 10 minutes to make. Yep...I just "threw it in the box". Looks pretty fun and cute, huh?

This lunch is packed in the Goodbyn Bynto.

• King's Hawaiian dinner roll sandwich- Natural Selects ham and Swiss cheese
• Pirate's Booty puffed cheese snacks
• Sunburst cherry tomatoes
• Oikos strawberry Greek yogurt
• Pink Lady apple wedges
• mini shortbread cookie

Some of the things, or similar things, that I used to make this lunch:

Easy Lunchboxes are awesome...

Here at The Lucky Lunchbox, I get asked pretty often what my favorite lunchbox is. Like many of you, I have a cabinet FULL of lunch-making gear, lunch boxes, and bento boxes. I pack lunch for my son everyday, so I like to have a variety to choose from. I'm very fond of my all-in-one lunchboxes like the Yumbox and the Bentogo Kids, but the lunchboxes I find myself reaching for most often are the Easy Lunchboxes.

So, why are the Easy Lunchboxes my go-to lunchbox, you ask?? First of all, they are, well, EASY....easy for me and easy for my kidlet. I spend about 15 minutes a night making my little guy's lunch, and I love that the Easy Lunchboxes are one compact container. Whatever I'm packing for Z's lunch fits neatly into the 3 compartments.....I don't have to fuss with a multitude of zip-top baggies or separate plastic containers. Quick and EASY, right? As for Z, he can sit down at the lunch table, pop off the single lid, and before the other kiddies are done fighting with zip-top baggies full of crushed chips and searching for a teacher to remove difficult plastic container lids, he is happily noshing on his lunch. EASY, right?

Here are some of the other features that I love about the Easy Lunchboxes:

• ELB's are economical.  A pack of four boxes with colored lids is appx. $14. ELB's are budget friendly....a must for all the frugal mamas out there.
• ELB's are convenient. They nest together to save space and are dishwasher, freezer, and microwave approved.
• ELB's are eco-friendly. They are BPA, PVC, and phthalates free, and are waste free, so they are good for Mother Earth.
• ELB's are functional. They have three divided compartments of different sizes. So, sandwiches don't get mushy from fruit and chips don't get crushed. ELB's are NOT leakproof, however. 
• ELB's are kid friendly. They have easy open lids and are very lightweight, and ELB's are very durable.
• ELB's are fashionable. No, really! They come in three sets of fabulous colors: Classics, Brights, and Urbans....great colors to satisfy even the pickiest color connoisseur.
• ELB's are long lasting. I've been using my original set of Easy Lunchboxes for 19 months, and they still are in great shape with very little wear....not even a stain on them. 

So, let's sum it all up. Easy Lunchboxes are awesome!! They are staples in my lunch-packing arsenal.

Enough gushing.....now on to today's lunch!

This lunch is packed in Easy Lunchboxes.

• Natural Selects ham and pepperoni sandwich on whole wheat bread
• cheddar cheese slices
• Clif Kid organic Z bar- These are a new food like for Z. They are a great snack choice, too.
• strawberries 
• baby carrots and red cherry tomatoes with Ranch dressing in the green box 

Some of the things, or similar things, that  I used to make this lunch:

Sister Schuberts saves the day...

Ok...I admit it! My kids eat A LOT of sandwiches. They make for such an easy and simple lunch. It's a daily challenge to make a healthy and appealing lunch that kids will want to eat, isn't it? Now, my little guy doesn't mind sandwiches, and he is not too picky with them. But, regular white or wheat sandwich bread is definitely not his fave. He will eat these, but much prefers other breads. So, I often make him sandwiches on different types of bread. Some of his favorites are: King's Hawaiian dinner rolls, Sister Schubert's rolls, croissants, Oroweat flat sandwich rounds, bagels, English muffins, and pretzel bread. For today's lunch, I used a Sister Schubert's dinner roll to make Z a ham and cheese sandwich. These little rolls are the perfect size for a kid sandwich, and they are soooo good. If you have a kidlet that fusses over the regular white or wheat bread sammie, try using one of these other delicious breads for a sandwich. You very well may have sandwich-eating success!

This lunch is packed in the Goodbyn Bynto.

• Natural Selects nitrate free ham and Swiss cheese sandwich on a Sister Schubert's dinner roll
• Pepperidge Farm's gold fish crackers
• Sunburst cherry tomatoes with ranch dressing in the rainbow cup
• Yoplait dye-free yogurt
• Pink Lady Apple wedges
• Kit-Kat mini candy piece

Some of the things, or similar things, that I used to make this lunch:

New spring Yumbox...

Hi Friends. Wow!! Can you believe it....a lunch post!! Sorry it's been so long since I've posted a lunch. Busy does not even begin to describe my life right now. I know most of you are busy moms, so you completely understand. I wish I could say that it's my kids that are keeping my life so hectic, but it's other things. However, when our new Yumbox came in the mail, I just had to test drive it. At the beginning of this year, Yumbox announced new spring colors and an updated tray design. All of the new spring colors are sooooo pretty, but I chose the Ananas Yellow for the little guy. It's BE-U-TI-FUL!! I really am loving the new design of the tray. It has the same layout as the original Yumbox tray, but is more streamlined and has larger compartments, which means it will hold more food. If you've been thinking about the Yumbox for your kidlets, I say dive right in. Even if your kidlets are older, the Yumbox will suit their needs. The new tray design really does hold a lot of food.

This lunch is packed in the Yumbox.

• peanut butter and strawberry all-fruit spread roll ups- These are totally mangled because my bread was super stale. Stale bread doesn't roll well. Blerg!!
• Babybel cheese
• Pepperidge Farms goldfish crackers
• strawberries
• carrot rounds and black olives
• natural applesauce with blueberries
• Russell Stover's mini milk chocolate bunnies

Some of the things, or similar things, that I used to make this lunch: