Busy Mom Tip

Even though your eyelids are not fully parted, you start the day by slapping peanut butter and squirting jelly on bread. You throw in chips and a cookie and call it a lunch. Your brain is glad you can check that morning chore off your list but your heart says, "You could have done better."

Most of us, when we're short on time, can almost talk ourselves into believing that gummy bears have enough fruit juice to be considered an actual serving of fruit or that potato chips are a vegetable. We know better, but when the clock is ticking away and the bus driver is honking the horn, it's just not that simple.

There is no one who wants your child to be healthy more than you, right? That's what I thought too - until I came across iLunchBox. Beth Anne Bentley cares, and she has created an amazing Web site to help moms like you and I pack healthy (and fun!) lunches for our children 180-plus days a year.

The iLunchBox Web site is easy to navigate and has amazing amounts of helpful information. On iLunchBox you'll find lunch-box recipes as well as food allergy recall alerts, healthy serving sizes and even printable shopping lists. Readers can submit their own recipes or search for ingredient substitutes while planning out the best, most healthy choices for their young scholar. What's more? The iLunchBox lunches and recipes are kid-tested.

As you garner information while perusing Beth Anne's brain-child, you will be on your way to a year's worth of successfully packed lunches to keep your kids smiling and fit your busy lifestyle. Recipe ideas range from muffins and cookies to sandwiches and wraps to salads, spreads and dips. You can even find tips on how to keep that tuna sandwich from spoiling - just check out the Food Safety Tips section on the home page.

If there has ever been a no-brainer for moms, this is it! iLunchBox is a gift to busy moms ... so run with it ladies!

Michelle Kemper Brownlow lives, blogs and cleans peanut butter off her ceiling fan in southeastern Pennsylvania. She writes for regional parenting magazines and has a weekly inspirational-humor column called the "The Gift of Gab." For more information, contact Michelle at michellebrownlow@yahoo.com.