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I had two cups of kale, a carrot, an apple and half a cucumber for breakfast this morning. And I drank every last drop.

I’ve been on a juicing kick lately. It started after watching the documentary Fat, Sick and Nearly Dead that chronicles the journey of Joe Cross as he attempts to improve his health through juicing. But I’ve found it’s been a great way to up my veggie intake (breakfast is a hard meal to have a salad), another way to use all the greens that have been coming in my CSA bin and a fabulously sneaky way to get my kids to consume all sorts of veggies they normally wouldn’t.

Juicing has come a long way in recent years. One of the current trends is slow juicing, a process of slowly squeezing the nutrient-rich juice out of fruits and veggies instead of quickly spinning the heck out of them which some claim breaks up the nutrient molecules.

I had the chance to check out three recently-released slow juicers plus have a great giveaway for those of you who want to get started.

The first juicer I tried was the Healthy Juicer Electric from Lexen Products. This juicer is a masticating style juicer with what looks like a long single drill bit. The juicer slowly presses, squeezes and crushes fruits and veggies to release their juices. Unlike a blender or a traditional juicer, since the juice extraction is slow, it doesn’t heat the juice  and destroy any of the natural live enzymes.

The Lexen Healthy Juicer has an external pulp screen which means you can choose to leave it on (completely smooth juice, no pulp) or take it off if you like a little pulp in your juice. I also liked the beyond juice, the Lexen Healthy Jucier can be used to make pasta (3 pasta attachments included), wheatgrass (separate auger included), babyfood, soy milk, nut butters and frozen desserts (put in frozen fruit, get delicious sorbet!)

I was pretty impressed with the versatility of the product and how when you use the external pulp screen, the juice truly is completely smooth. Like most juicers, the Lexen has a fair number of parts, but the Lexen juicer was also very easy to clean. One drawback – since the Lexen Healthy Juicer is longer than it is taller, you’re going to have to sacrifice some counter space.

Next I tried two very similar juicers – the Hurom Slow Juicer and the new Omega 350 VERT. Both of these juicers have a compact vertical design. Even with all the pieces on, I can easily store it on my counter under my upper cabinets. Both juicers are slow masticating juicers which crush and press the fruits and veggies (instead of grinding, blending or chopping) to extract the most juice possible without damaging the nutrients.

Compared to the Lexen, I found both the Hurom and Omega VRT 350 to be faster, easier to add fruits and veggies one-handed without much tamping, and able to extract more juice. But the juice is not completely smooth like with the Lexen. The Hurom and Omega are also a little trickier to clean. Both come with a two-headed toothbrush/pick and yes, you need to use it.

The differences between the Hurom and Omega VRT 350? The Omega comes with 2 juicing screens (a fine and a course for more or less pulp) and is $10-$20 more expensive. The Hurom has a handle on the back which can be useful for tipping the machine to get the last bit of juice out. Overall, both are stellar machines and a great way to up to your veggie intake.

**GIVEAWAY** The kind folks over at Omega are hosting a 10 juicer giveaway of their new Omega VRT 350. A perfect way to counteract all those holiday cookies and cocktails or a great gift for someone in your life. To enter, leave us a comment below answering this: What is your biggest holiday temptation? Is it the eggnog or the appetizers? Candy canes or Starbuck’s yummy holiday coffee drinks? Leave us a comment below and hopefully you’ll be on your way to a healthy and happier holiday season!

One entry per person. US residents only. No PO boxes. Entries must be received by Dec. 2, 2011, 11:59 pm. Winners chosen by random.org and notified via email. If winners do not reply with their shipping details within 2 days of notification, a new winner will be chosen.

I’m lucky that my kids will each a variety of foods.  Here are a few we recently tried that they love and are now staples on their lunch and snack menus:
Tribe Hummus. Been buying Tribe for hubby for years but Cole (4) has recently decided that he likes hummus too!

Stretch Island Fruit Co. This one’s again for Cole but he just adores these all natural fruit strips and fruit rolls

Mott’s Snack N Go - both of my boys love Mott’s new Snack N Go, which makes applesauce easy to eat without a spoon (and mess-free!)

Dr Sears (yup, that same Dr Sears!) has a line of healthy snacks for kids including PopUmz which sort of taste like a cross between a rice cake and chip (only healthier than the latter!)

What about you guys?  What healthy and new lunchbox items have you been giving your kids?

I ordered my kids some Colourful Sticky Labels ($21). Love these!  They stick to just about anything – I have them on my kids’ backpacks, lunch boxes and inside their clothes. (They can go through the wash)

Each order comes with 45 Sticky Labels.  Aren’t they cute?  And so practical.  Avoid those mix-ups at school and label everything with Mabel’s Labels.

Disclaimer:  Mabel’s Labels was a sponsor of Style School.  As always, all thoughts and opinions are my own.

1) He’ll be going to school every day.

2) The school day is 2 hours longer than preschool.

3) He’ll need to bring a lunch.

It’s this last one I’ve been thinking about recently. Though we have a few random lunch bags that we use for park picnics and lunch playdates, my son doesn’t have a good lunch box. I especially was interested in one that wouldn’t require 5+ plastic bags every day to wrap up the assortment of snacks and nibbles inside. I wanted it to be compact, be able to hold a variety of types of foods and be good for the Earth.  And turns out, there are a number of good options. I’d like to introduce you to a few of them (plus give you some discounts!): Easy Lunch Box, Lunchopolis, and Goodbyn.

Easy Lunch Box

The name really says it all for the Easy Lunch Box. Each set comes with a four BPA-free plastic storage containers that each have three compartments – one large, one medium and one small. I love the simplicity of not having to worry about separate containers for packing, washing or storing. Just load the different compartments up, press on the lid and throw it in the included cooler bag. You can even fit up to three containers in one bag making it ideal for bringing lunch for multiple children. If you’re just using it for one child, a single container leaves plenty of room in the cooler for a drink, ice pack, silverware and a piece of fruit. The lids are not leakproof (though they do have a handy trick for carrying foods like yogurt), but they are easy for small fingers to open – important when choosing what containers you send with your child to school. The set is also pretty darn affordable.

Love: Simplicity of packing, clean-up, storage; cooler bag has room to allow for other things beyond containers; vivid color selection; also love their slideshow of great lunch ideas

Price: 4-pack of containers $13.95, cooler bag $7.95 at www.easylunchboxes.com (free shipping on orders over $25 when you order them through this link)

Lunchopolis by New Wave Enviro

Lunchopolis keeps it simple – one lead-free cooler, 4 color-tinted BPA-free modular containers (p.s. they nest inside themselves for storage), and one color-tinted drink bottle. I really like how compact Lunchopolis is. It fits well into my son’s backpack and is easy for his little hands to hold.

Knowing how much running and playing my son tends to do during the day, I like that the drink container holds 15 oz (compared to Goodbyn’s 8 oz). The insulated interior of the bag keeps the food cool with the help of an ice pack (not included) slipped into the inner pocket and even with the 4 containers and drink container, there is still room to hold an apple or kiwi.

Love: compact; larger included drink container; color-coded containers keep lunches for multiple kids separate;

Price: $29.99 for the whole set; get 10% off Lunchopolis at www.healthylifewater.com with the code “MWS10″ (also currently offering free shipping!)

Goodbyn

Goodbyn‘s lunch containers are like an eco-friendly, compartmentalized, sturdy Tupperware and lunch bag in one. The molded plastic unit comes in two sizes (Bynto and Original) and each has multiple compartments, a drink container and a built-in handle so you don’t need an additional bag to carry the lunch box. One less thing to get dirty or lose! Goodbyns come in 6 colors and each includes a collection of dishwasher-safe stickers to turn your Goodbyn into an animal, alien or just a personalized design.

My 5-year-old had no problem opening the lid (though on the larger Original Goodbyn, it took some practice to get him to effectively reseal the lid all the way around when he was finished). He was thrilled with discovering what surprises filled each compartment and loved being able to decorate the outside as he saw fit. And these aren’t just for kids – Goodbyn are a great option for bringing your lunch to work too.

Love: all-in-oneness; included stickers to decorate and personalize; one-piece lid effectively separates food; durable plastic; internal space to hold drink container

Price: Original $25.95; Bynto $16.95 but special for MWS readers get 15% off your order when you use the code “MWS2011″ at checkout. Good through September 30, 2011.

I’ve got the lunch box. Now to figure what to pack in it everyday….

What’s your favorite lunch box?

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Disclaimer: Companies provided product samples to facilitate this review.

Udi's Chocolate Muffins at BlogHer '11. Photo credit to Jo-Lynne from Musings of a Housewife

For years, I’ve been hearing my friends Kelly and Jo-Lynne talk about eating gluten-free.  I’ve listened curiously but without much personal attachment to the subject.

Then a couple of weeks ago, my vegan sister told me that she had gone gluten-free.  And that she’s lost 30 lbs doing it and all of her skin problems (bad eczema she’s had since childhood) are gone.

Meanwhile, Nate (7 years) has been complaining a lot this summer of having a stomach ache.  We can’t seem to find any rhyme or reason to the times he complains.  It’s been sort of on and off all summer and definitely seems related to food.  Someone suggested that maybe he has a wheat intolerance and that we try first eliminating that as an experiment to see what happens.

The idea of going gluten-free in our house is totally daunting to me.  But I decided I owed it to Nate to give it a try – a little at a time.  I’ve been slowly weaning us all from gluten, which hasn’t been as hard as I thought.  (Rice for pasta.  Corn tortillas instead of my usual wheat ones.)

In the meantime, I was already familiar with Udi’s Gluten-Free as I had visited their tent at a party at BlogHer just this past summer.  I was scarfing down these brownies like they were going out of style and I could not tell the difference between one of these chocolate muffins and a regular chocolate muffin that has gluten.  Truly.

Which is really awesome because I’m thinking that I can try some of the bread and other products for Nate’s lunchbox for back to school this fall.  He certainly won’t know the difference and it’s great to know that there is an option for gluten-free that is so readily available and that they have tons of products available that I would normally put in his lunchbox (packs of cookies, bagels, etc.).

Udi’s makes hamburger buns too, which I’m pretty psyched about too as I typically make Nate’s turkey sandwiches for his lunchbox on hamburger buns so I figure I can just switch to the Udi’s ones without much of an issue.  (I love easy!)

Time will tell how this goes for us and I’m still pretty intimidated by the whole thing but it’s nice to know there is a brand out there that’s readily available in my grocery store that will help us ease into this experiment without too much of a change.

Check out all of Udi’s Gluten Free Food offerings on their website and while you’re at it, Like Udi’s on Facebook!

Giveaway: $50 worth of Udi’s products (hamburger and hot dog buns, granola samples, and muffins).  Comment to enter.  Maybe give me a tip or two on gluten-free options as I endevour to cut down our gluten intake even more?  Tips are appreciated but not required of course.

One winner will be selected at random after Thursday, September 1st.

You can get an extra entry for tweeting me @WhitneyMWS with the link to this post.

Disclaimer:  I was compensated for writing this post but as always, all thoughts and opinions are my own.

Even this summer, when I got into eating it myself, they both still insisted that they don’t like applesauce.  (And this isn’t one of those things you can reason.  Yes they drink apple juice.  Yes, they like apples.  No, you can’t tell them that they would then like applesauce because rational thinking does not work with the monkeys I call my children.)

Yet this last weekend, while stuck in traffic getting home from Style School, we all got reinspired with a new love of applesauce after tasting some new products from Mott’s.

In fact, I didn’t even get to have a taste of the new Mott’s product at first - the Snack & Go packs – until later after getting home because my kids had eaten everything we had in the car on the way home.  This is what they look like – I love these for my kids lunches this fall.  It has a twist off top and then it’s easy applesauce on the go!  Since Saturday, my kids have been eating these as if they are going out of style!

Another awesome new product from Mott’s are their Medley Snacks.  These new snack packs from Mott’s are great ways to get your kids to eat fruit and vegetables.

Did you know that the Dietary Guidelines for Americans 2010 recommend making half your plate fruits and vegetables?  Giving your kids Mott’s juices and sauces is a great way to boost their fruit and vegetable intake at lunchtime!

And love that the Medley Juices have vegetables snuck into them too!  Check out this page for a list of Nutrtion facts on the Mott’s for Tots. These juices are 100% juice and has 100% DV Vitamin C.

Another tip from Mott’s nutritionist Lisa Salinas: There’s no best time for snacking.  Snacks are important for fueling children for their various activities and/or until their next meal.  They should mainly be driven by hunger or the need for energy for physical activity.

This is so true.  I have learned over the years that my kids are hungry all of the time.  With growing boys, they are constantly hungry and wanting a snack.  I truly don’t mind them eating throughout the day as long as it’s healthy so it’s nice to have a great option like the ones Motts offers for something tasty that will appeal to them as well as something that will be healthy and beneficial to their growth.  Thanks Mott’s!

Disclaimer:  Mott’s was a sponsor of Style School, an event I hosted in New York City last weekend.

Here I am with Colleen at the start of the event at our Style School with 77Kids Step & Repeat:

Truly, 77Kids just rocked it with their punk booth.  They were giving mohawks to the kids (and adults!), treats & goodies and the vibe was all hard core rock, punk and fun, as their clothes are for back to school and the fall.  With Colleen in front of their amazing booth:

We had some other amazing sponsors – here’s a list of who helped make Style School happen and a big thank you to each and every one of them!

Motts was samping their new Snack N Go Applesauce packs.  Apparently they are amazing – I wouldn’t know because my kids ate them all on the car ride home before I could try them!  I’m definitely going to have to go buy some more and save some for myself.  A lot of the Moms were saying they liked them for THEM (forget the kids!)

Another popular booth was Remington, who was there doing different hair styles for the Moms and kids using some of their products including the new Wrap to Waves.  Check out how amazing my 14-year-old niece looks in this photo after she had her hair done.

I’ll share more later for sure but for now I have to play with my kids and recover!  Thanks again to everyone who came out and made it such a great event!  Here’s to Style School 2012!

Giada showed us how to make Linguine with Sun-Dried Tomatoes, Olives and Lemon and Mini Caprese Burgers using the products she developed with Target.

I had a front row view and had a great time watching her cook and hear how she worked with Target. As she did her cooking demo, she chatted with us about kids and dealing with picky eaters (something that I deal with everyday with my oldest child). We found her to be warm and welcoming- plus the food she made was delicious.

Giada told us she prefers to strain her pasta by using a pasta scoop – not just draining a whole heavy pot into a strainer in the sink. She showed us the one she developed with Target called the Giada De Laurentiis for Target® Scoop and Strain Stainless Steel Colander ($14.99). We were given one to take home and it’s my new favorite kitchen tool. I don’t burn myself with the steam anymore by draining a whole pot of pasta — and since I make pasta for my children just about every day, it’s getting a lot of use. She also showed us her Panini Press and Mezzaluna Knife, as well as her Dutch Oven (which at $89.99 is pretty reasonable). As a mom who cooks every night, her tools (which were affordable and quality) are going to inspire me to create even more fun dishes for my family.

For dealing with picky eaters, Giada recommended making a few pasta shapes together to keep kids interested and to have my oldest child help me in the kitchen. We sampled her new specialty foods — note: you’ve GOT to check out her Charred Tomato Vinaigrette ($2.99) and her Pesto! New for 2011 is Bucatini, Galleti, Fuscilli Corti and Gobetti Pasta. The pasta has fun shapes and is organic. Prices range from $2.49 – $2.79.

I couldn’t possibly mention all the great Giada De Laurentiis for Target Products we saw, plus all the amazing Archer Farms and Target branded foods, but we love the selection and all the different specialty items we saw. One theme was rampant– they were affordable and still had quality ingredients. As Giada told us, “Only Target could have the resources to make her pasta sauce $2.99 and not skimp on good ingredients!”.

Thank you to Target who hosted Giada De Laurentiis’ Cooking Demo. We were given a samples of Target Grocery items to take home.

You need:

• White chocolate chips, melted in a bowl (via microwave or stovetop)
• fresh strawberries with stems
• Blue sprinkles

Double dip, put in the fridge to harden and you’re done!  A fun activity with the kids. Here’s a video of us all making them:

I was a religious reader of their weekly emails with both of my children.  But since my boys are now 7 & 4, I haven’t been on the site as much.  (Although I recently found out that they have updates up to age 8!)

But what I hadn’t seen before was that Babycenter goes beyond just baby talk.  They have Food & Recipes!   Readers can submit recipes and they have some fun-sounding foods listed on the site.

I’ve been drooling over this picture of Stir-Fried Tofu with Ginger that they have featured.  Doesn’t it look delicious:

Anyone can submit a recipe and you can then try and recipes and rate them.  Which I think is great – sometimes I find that the Mom-tested and approved recipe is better and easier than anything you’re going to find from a professional chef anyway.

Disclosure: This post is one in a series of posts sponsored by All about the Bump Month for the month of May. To visit the sponsor page please click here.