Healthy Snacks and other things for summer on a Monday

Oh summer is here!  I have been waiting for this all year.  It is the one time I don’t NEED to get my kids anywhere for anything and it just feels like we have a lot more freedom.  That said it makes my life a little busier and I have a lot more late nights trying to get my work done.  How on earth does one get ANY work done with kids at home?

As a blogger, I get to try some lovely things and I love sharing my favorites. So an unexpected package made me laugh because I had no idea I was getting a package of Laughing Cow Cheese Dipper snacks and they arrived on ice on a weekend I wasn’t home and by the time I got to them the ice they had been sent with had melted.  But that’s okay because I don’t think they REALLY need to be refrigerated after all-I saw them on the shelves of Bartells so I’m glad I didn’t throw them out.  They are going to be so handy with all of our road trips this summer and I’m excited to see how they taste.

These apple sauce packs from Santa Cruz Organics were also helpful at a recent soccer game.  We are all soccer all the time nowadays and I’m sad that we have new stadium rules when we go to Sounders games and we can only bring certain size purses and bags to the game.  But we are still allowed to bring food into the stadium and these apple sauce packs are easy to pack and help the kids from eating too much other junk food.

We have had some recent celiac diagnoses in our extended family so we’ve been trying TONS of gluten-free products and it has been a lot more inclusive eating for ALL of us.  Simple Mills sent me some mixes to try and we really liked this banana one.  Of course we added chocolate chips……(I’m sorry but banana feels sad without chocolate.) They were tasty and not sweet (except for the added chocolate chips) and I’m glad because I don’t like when recipes try to overcompensate for a lack of one ingredient with way too much sugar or salt.

And these Arctic Freeze desserts I was sent are also helping with reducing sugar and junk food. They definitely taste healthier than ice cream or other frozen things I usually pick for dessert BUT they are a decent replacement.  I love that they are an easy way to make the smoothie bowls that are popping up everywhere right now.  I had this ‘smoothie bowl’ for lunch the other day and I was quite happy with how it turned out.

As for fashion, I am still loving Golden Tote with mad love and for summer outfits I can’t get enough of their totes.  I love that I can pick a couple pieces and get a bunch as a surprise and I wore a dress to a party recently and got a ton of compliments.  I wore something else for school pick up and again, tons of compliments.  I love Golden Tote always sends me a bag of clothing that pushes my style boundaries and gets me to wear things I don’t normally wear.  So I’m a loyal customer and no, I am not sponsored by them at all.

I also am excited about this jacket I found at Eddie Bauer and I’m waiting to see how much it goes on sale because I’d like to get it but it still feels a little spendy.  It’s lightweight and perfect for warmer liquid sunshine days and days when I need to walk the track while the kids play soccer and we are now playing soccer ALL THE TIME.  I thought I was signing the kids up for summer soccer but we ended up trying out for year round soccer and now I am a total soccer mom.  I need a whole new soccer mom wardrobe and I’m so excited that the best sale of summer will be happening in a few weeks so I can take care of this.

Is anyone else dying to find out what will be on sale at the Nordstrom Anniversary Sale?  And I’m also SO curious what it will be like at Vancouver Nordstrom.  I always dreamed of getting a Nordstrom in my hometown.

Also, because of soccer we’ve been eating at Mod Pizza way more often-it’s such a great pizza place in Seattle if you’re ever in town. And their salad bowl? These are so perfect and healthy for summer!  I love that you can put as many toppings as you like in this bowl.

So happy Monday.  I hope you’re set up for a good week.  Is anyone else shopping or eating anything wonderful today?

(PS. I was sent a few products in this post for review: the Laughing Cow Cheese, the Simple Mill mix, the Arctic Freeze desserts and the Santa Cruz Organics Apple Sauce but of course, as always the viewpoints are my own and I was not required to review)

(PPS. Seattle has sunshine in the forecast all this week!!!!)

Terumi

Terumi Pong is a Seattle-based family travel writer and mom of twin teenage boys.  She loves coffee and pastries, shopping local and looking for greener ways to live.  She is also known as Scout’s mom (Scout is a 5ish pound little black yorkie-poo)