This Week's Bento Lunch
Traditional Hanukkah menus often include latkes as a way to symbolize the drop of oil that burned for 8 days and 8 nights following the rededication of the holy temple. Over the years, these traditional potato pancakes have evolved to become extremely versatile and can now be found in a number of variations. Although there are many options available, we decided to keep our latkes traditional and served them with sour cream and apple berry sauce as part of this fun and tasty holiday lunch.
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This Week's Bento Lunch
This week we've packed a rainbow in our bento! Eating a variety of different colored veggies is super nutritious and makes for a beautiful meal presentation. Happy chomping!
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This Week's Bento Lunch
Mornings can be rough but we all know that breakfast is the most important meal of the day, so don't go without - pack it to go! This week we've put together a silly breakfast sure to put a smile on the faces of even the crankiest of morning warriors.
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This Week's Bento Lunch
This week's bento lunch box is geared towards all those little ones out there on the go! Of course, the portions can easily be increased to work for big kids and adults too. One easy meal for the whole family - now that's a winning lunch!
Click here to view this week's full menu.
We're so happy to welcome guest blogger, Tracey Hanson from USA Love List today! Read on for some great reasons to be on the search for the Made in the USA label.
Jobs in
our Community
I have lived in New England all my life and have grown up surrounded by
empty mill buildings, once bustling with workers dyeing fabrics, making lace
for curtains, welding tools, and much more. One by one, the owners of these
companies moved their manufacturing overseas, leaving my neighbors, uncles,
cousins, and friends without the skilled jobs they had held for 15+ years. I
buy American made products to keep local people like these fully employed.
Consumer
Protection
My husband and I choose to buy made-in-the-USA products to keep our loved
ones as safe as we can. When my 5 year-old was a baby, Chinese-made toys were
being recalled daily because of lead contamination. This is when we decided to
make sure that everything that touched our kiddos mouths (toys, sippy cups) or
was put on their bodies (lotions, soaps, creams) was American made. Around the
same time as the toy recalls, pets were being sickened and killed from food
that was made in China. Sadly, it's happening again today.
Supporting
Local Farmers and Ranchers
I buy local produce and meats whenever possible to keep American farmers in
business, to make sure our food continues to be grown in the USA, and to reduce
my carbon footprint. I have always lived surrounded by farms, and I am
currently an organizer for our local farmers' market. I know how hard American
farmers and ranchers work to make a living. I buy USA-grown fruits and
vegetables and meat from animals raised in the USA. This year we even
raised and butchered our own chickens, which I am so thankful for, especially
since the USDA has just approved the import of chicken processed in China! How
fresh can our food be when it makes such a long journey to our grocery stores,
not to mention the fossil fuels that are consumed!
Finding
USA-made Products
The hardest thing about buying American made products is finding them!
Unless you know ahead of time which products are actually made in the USA,
reading every label can make picking up a few groceries a time-consuming
ordeal. This is where my kiddos come in handy! They help me check labels,
and boy does this keep them occupied when running errands! They get so excited
when they find a USA-made item. My daughter, the 5 year-old, can barely
read, yet she recognizes those elusive words, "Made in USA." They know
that when we purchase these items, we are helping the moms and dads of kids
across America keep their jobs.
Tracey Hanson turned her search for American-made products into a passion
and is currently the Green/Family Living Editor for USA Love List,
an online magazine that supports American manufacturing and promotes products
that are made in the USA.
You can read her Laptop Lunches Bento-ware review here: http://www.usalovelist.com/2013/07/made-in-the-usa-school-lunch-gear/
