Aug
19

I like it!

by Sofia   -   in Cooking  Good things for kids  Shopping

Monissa perheissä harrastuksiin mennään suoraan päiväkodin tai koulun jälkeen ja silloin pieni välipala on usein tarpeellinen. Listasin alle muutaman oman suosikkini ihan perinteisten eväsleipien ja hedelmien lisäksi ( näitä kaikkia myydään Suomessa, lista jälleenmyyjistä löytyy ihan tämän blogimerkinnän lopusta)…

It´s time for after school hobbies and in many cases this also means portable snacks. (Also an “afternoon slump” -snack at work is a necessity for some.) A sandwich and an apple goes a long way but sometimes it´s nice to spice it up a little. I wanted to share a few of our favourite ready made snacks on the go you might want to try…

Sometimes there just is no time to sit down for lunch or you really feel like you need that little something to take you from lunch to dinner. So a so called power bar ( I´m a huge fan of raw bars and not so much artificial protein bars which I would not even give to children) might be a good idea to have handy at your desk or in your handbag. My favourites are these Swedish Getraw bars. I especially love the liquorice flavour. I really need to start making my own snack bars. These are also great for kids as a snack before a dance class. Raw bars are basically nuts and dried fruit in a handy form and with added flavours like vanilla and in this case aniseed oil and liquorice root.

Another raw bar brand we like a lot is Raw•Bite and they look pretty too and Roo Bars mulberry and vanilla is a favourite as well. Rude Health´s snack bar the Pumpkin is also super good. I love that it has ginger and cinnamon. It´s like a mild pumpkin spice bar.

Chai Mylk and Chocolate Mylk from Rebel Mylks are something we found quite recently and although it´s not a necessity in ones snack case, it´s a nice addition as a special treat every now and then. The Chai flavour actually tastes like liquid cinnamon buns! These are quite sweet but do not contain any sugar but date nectar instead. They also have a coffee and matcha green tea mylk. I wish they had the kids versions ( banana and orange-chocolate!) of Mylks available in Finland too…

Ok so maybe popcorn is really not the healthiest snack but these are so good and easy to take with you so if you feel like giving your kid a treat while waiting for a sibling from practise you might want to try the Planet Organic´s sweet and salty popcorn. But do not be surprised to find your own hand slipping in that bag again and again…

We also like to add dried fruit amongst our snacks. Dried organic mango and – bananas are crowd pleasers in our household. A few in addition to you regular snack of choice or instead of an actual fruit that sometimes feels too messy like when you are traveling while eating ( not ideal at all but sometimes just mandatory for a burst of energy before practise).

These Renée Voltaire´s Berry Boosts are also yummy and so easy to take with you. As are their chocolate covered pumpkin seeds too!

These may not be portable as they are eaten frozen but we are so so happy that an old favourite of ours previously only sold abroad is now available in Finland so I had to share these too. Smooze´s! The Guava and coconut is our favourite but all the flavours are good ( like the pineapple and coconut… hello pina colada smoothie ice-cream)! You can store them in your pantry but they must be frozen before serving.

Mitä teiltä löytyy eväsrasiasta? Näppäriä ideoita on myös käyttää mm. jämäkämpiä paperisia cupcake vuokia erittelemään marjat tai vaikkapa kirsikkatomaatit eväsrasiassa ja laittaa pikkuisten leipien päälle suloiset cocktailtikut jotka pitävät eväsleivän kasassa ja lisäävät entisestään sen houkutusarvoa lapsen silmissä.

Lattemamma

Kaikki kuvat Ruohonjuuri

p.s. Renée Voltairea myy Suomessa ainakin Stocka ja Anton & Antonit, Urtekramin kuivattuja luomu hedelmiä saa ihan lähikaupoistakin, Rude Healthin patukoita muistaakseni Punnitse ja Säästä-liikkeistä. Muita mainittuja tuotteita myy Ruohonjuuri ( heillä on myös verkkokauppa).

Aug
18

Please forgive me… a little lesson learned in life

by Sofia   -   in Random

I´m sure we all have those moments we are not too proud of as parents. We do the cuddling and we do the comforting. We do the teaching and raising as best as we can. But then there are those days or quite simply those moments when we just do not manage. And believe me I know there are good reason for snapping at your kids. Sometimes even the most angelic ones turn in to little “Damiens” really. They get cheeky and do not listen to a word you are saying. You snap. Fine. I´m pretty sure that happened to you too. But I´m not talking about those moments. I´m talking about the moments when you really should be the adult in the house. When you know you are wrong and they are just little people who need our love and understanding. And yet you snap. Let me give you an example and my little life lesson learned…

I was alone on the island with the girls. It was one of those amazingly gorgeous nights when you just hold your breath and count your blessings. Mr Espresso had to pop in to the city to do something at work. So the girls and I decided we would eat dinner al fresco. I know people think that many bloggers or “Instagram affeccionados” just make things look pretty to look good in their photos. Well I for once grew up in a house where there were linen napkins on the table at weeknights and water was served from a pretty jug. My mom would never put out cold cuts or cheese in their wrappings. So I do like things to look pretty, but I liked them so even before Instagram times. So we set the table nicely with my lovely clay bowls I really really love to use at the country house. The girls love these too as they are mostly pink!

Aug
17

La Carrousel Paris

by Sofia   -   in Good things for kids  Shopping

Laventelin tuoksuinen silkkipaperi rapisee. Pienet karamellit tipahtavat paketista ulos. Mitä ihanaa? Pari mitä kauneimman haalean, pehmeän vaaleanpunaisia pellavaisia lyhytlahkeisia lappuhaalareita ja sitten vielä toiset samanlaiset. Selästä ristiin kulkevat olkaimet pienen lapsen päällä saavat äidin sydämen sykkimään hieman kovempaa. Pieni käsi taas kulkee kultaisen tereen reunaa ja pysähtyy ihailemaan helmiäisnappeja. Nämä ovat kuin pienet aarteet!

I have a few little brands I really like and one of them is Le Carrousel. These French clothes are so lovely! I ordered my girls little linen overalls for the end of summer and even more so keeping our fall and winter vacations in mind. They came wrapped in silk paper and starched with a lavender scent. Heavenly! The girls were very excited about the french candy that came with the parcel too. These salopettes are the sweetest ever and I´m so glad we still, or finally to be more exact, have some warm days here in Finland so the girls get to wear these beauties to nursery and pre-school. I´m really looking forward to seeing what Le Carrousel has planned for the Autumn-Winter season.

Gorgeous little details like golden piping and mother of pearl buttons.