Making a healthy, filling, nutritious lunch your child wants to eat shouldn’t be stressful – or break the bank. We share tips and tricks to help keep costs down while ensuring you’re helping make healthy food choices for your kids

School dinners have always had a bit of a bad reputation. Just try giving it a quick google: Why are school lunches… and you’ll get an autocomplete suggesting ‘so bad’. For many, the lack of variety and memories of past frozen, processed foods from our own childhood lunches make us wary of school dinners. As of April 2022, the average cost of a school dinner has reached £2.60 per day, making them a costly option for many families.

New research has revealed that packed lunches aren’t much better. According to research released by Starling Bank in September, the cost of kids’ packed lunches has increased by an eye-watering 70% since April 2021, from an average £1.40 to £2.37 per day. When you add in the additional time spent preparing lunches, cleaning up, and meal planning, not to mention the often strict school guidelines on what can and cannot be included in your child’s lunch, it can make preparing a daily lunchbox a stressful task.

With worries about the cost of living driving many families to cut back where they can, the rise in the cost of food feels like a double-edged sword. How are you supposed to give your child the best possible diet, without over-spending? The good news is, despite 41% of Brits associating healthy food with unaffordable prices, you can eat healthily for less. With a little bit of planning, getting back to basics, and trying top tips from nutrition experts, you can start making packed lunches a less stressful, more affordable option for the whole family.

What should be in a ‘school-approved’ packed lunch?

Making a packed lunch can be tricky. While the exact rules vary from school to school, many have banned items that were commonly considered as lunchbox staples. For parents with limited time and money, this can make lunches feel like a challenge.

It’s always worth checking with your school directly to ensure which foods are and aren’t allowed. Including banned foods can mean that part of your child’s lunch is confiscated, or they may be required to eat by themselves in another room. This can mean some kids may still feel hungry after lunch, as well as missing out on valuable time socialising with friends outside of the classroom.

Commonly banned foods can include:

• chocolate or sweets
• high-sugar yoghurts
• crisps
• anything containing nuts
• cake or biscuits
• fizzy drinks or squash
• foods high in processed sugars
• processed, packaged meat products (sausage rolls, store-bought pies or pasties)

Food also needs to be able to last until lunchtime without needing refrigeration and should be edible without the need for reheating.

But what is allowed in your child’s lunchbox? Schools often recommend:

• at least one portion of fruit
• at least one portion of vegetables
• meat, fish or non-dairy

Hi friends! How was the weekend? I hope you had an amazing one. This blog post is a way to bring it back old school and share some more real-life adventures. Quite a few of you let me know that you missed the style of blogging from the past (I do, too!) so I’m trying to do it in a way that’s low-key and still focused on my experience, instead of the kids’ experience if that makes sense? It can be tricky because the kids are obviously a huge part of my life (and by far the most exciting and such an enjoyable part of my life). I’m still trying to navigate blogging in a way that feels authentic to me without overdoing it on kid content, while continuing to create value-driven posts, too.

If you guys enjoy this and want more everyday-style posts, let me know!

This weekend was a wild one and packed with so many fun adventures. Friday night, we went to a local fall festival with the fam. My dad, stepmom, aunt, cousins, Kyle and Meg, and their kiddos were all there.

We also ran into so many familiar faces that evening! Tucson is a small world, but feels smaller the longer we stay here.

BEFORE fall festival, the Pilot took P to a birthday party while I took Liv to dance, so P had double fun times. The kids played in the obstacle courses, got their faces painted, did the cake walk and bingo thing, and it was a blast.

Saturday morning, P had a soccer game, I took care of some work stuff and chores, and then one of Liv’s best friends came over for a sleepover.

We took the crew to sushi at Ginza,

(dress is here! Heads up that it runs big, so if you’re in between sizes, I’d size down)

and then picked up one of P’s friends so she would have a buddy, too. We headed to the mall, where the younger kids hit up the giant arcade with the Pilot, the older girls and I went to Claire’s and got boba teas.

We made it back to the arcade for some motorcycle races, Dance Dance Revolution, and then grabbed ice cream before P’s friend went home.Read more

Classic Margherita Pizza Recipe

My go-to pizza at all pizza restaurants is a margherita. It’s my favorite…hands down. Logically I had to create my own classic margherita pizza recipe that rivals the pies I had in Italy.

I honestly feel like you can judge how legit a pizza place is on how good their margherita is. If they can’t make a good marg…pizza in it’s most simple, pure form…then I have little hope for any of their other ‘zas. Might be harsh, but it has worked for me so far!

The crust in this recipe is a Neopolitan crust which means that it is thin. We love it thin and chewy. This pizza crust recipe is flawless and the perfect compliment to the simple and delicate but bold flavor of a margherita pizza.

Ingredients for a Margherita Pizza Recipe

Recipes that are amazing have to be complicated and have a grocery list a mile long, right? Wrong! The crust has just 5 ingredients, the sauce has 2, and for the toppings, there are 3. It really couldn’t be more simple! Here is what you will need:

Dough:

• Baker’s flour (or 00 flour): essential to getting that chewy crust you want in a pizza, see section below for more details
• Water: it needs to be warm (105-115 degrees F) to activate the yeast properly
• Sea Salt: go for fine grain, adds flavor to the crust
• Sugar: feeds the yeast
• Instant Yeast: don’t use active dry yeast

Sauce:

• San Marzano Tomatoes: you can use crushed, whole, diced…whatever you can find…it all ends up in the blender
• Sea Salt: adds flavor to the sauce

Toppings:

• Fresh Mozzarella: you can use as much or as little of the cheese as you want
• Fresh Basil: I like to leave the leaves whole and scatter them over th

Full of spiced ground beef and covered in tangy tomato sauce, cabbage roll casserole is a hearty stick-to-your-ribs meal. With all the flavor of the more labor-intensive Cabbage Rolls and a minimum of effort, this is a dinner-time win.

You know those meals that are never pretty, but they are always tasty? The meals that your family requests and you cringe because you never really can get excited about “just a casserole” for dinner? This is one of them.

Layered Cabbage Rolls may not be the prettiest meal I make but it is nonetheless often requested by my husband.

Cabbage Roll Casserole

Cabbage Rolls are one of Sean’s favorite foods. This recipe simplifies the traditional rolled version down to just a couple of steps and despite appearances, they really are tasty! I’ve been making this version of cabbage rolls for years.

Along with how easy it is to put together, I also really like that I never have to worry about what side dishes to serve. This is an “all-in-one” meal that’s filling, hearty, and completely satisfying.

That’s more than worth the trade-off of not having the most aesthetically pleasing dinner every so often.

Layered Cabbage Casserole

This method of making cabbage rolls is a little simpler than the traditional version which involves rolling tons of individual cabbage leaves.

Ground beef and onions are cooked with herbs and spices in the skillet, then layered on top of cabbage leaves in a casserole dish along with uncooked rice.

After mixing together a simple tomato sauce and pouring it over the cabbage rolls, the whole thing bakes in the oven in one dish. The flavors of the meat and sauce shine against the simple backdrop of tender cabbage and fluffy grains of rice.

This Cabbage Roll Casserole is a very quick meal to put together and then it cooks in the oven through the busiest part of th

Starting university comes with fresh challenges, so here’s how to find the help you need

Going to university can be an exciting time. With the chance to focus on a subject you love, make friends, and try new experiences, many find student life enjoyable and fulfilling. But starting university can also be daunting. And if you have a mental health problem, or another health condition, it can be even harder to adjust to student life.

Thankfully, there’s lots of support available to help you make the most of your time at university. Here’s how to access it.

Speak to the disability team

Often, the first port of call is speaking to the disability team at your university. This service is there for students with any additional needs, including mental health conditions, dyslexia, sensory impairments, and physical disabilities. They are used to supporting people, so don’t be nervous about approaching them.

It’s best if you can reach out to them before you start, to make sure they can arrange support from your first day, but don’t worry if you’ve already started – they are available to help you anytime.

Disability teams often have disability advisors who you can meet with to talk through what’s known as ‘reasonable adjustments’. This, for example, could mean they recommend you get extra time on exams, because you have a condition that affects your reading or concentration.

Your university’s website should have the contact details for the disability team, as well as info about what they provide.

Apply for Disabled Students’ Allowance

You may be eligible for Disabled Students’ Allowance (DSA). This is additional funding that helps cover extra costs of being a disabled student – including having a support worker, or help towards the cost of equipment.

What you get depends on your individual circumstances – you have to fill in a form and have an assessment to decide what would be best for you. There’s more information about DSA at gov.uk.

Don’t worry if you feel daunted by the application process, the disability team at your university will be able to help.

Speak to someone

If you’re struggling, it’s OK to reach out. Lecturers and staff are used to helping, whether you’re finding it hard living in halls or are overwhelmed by work. And if you’re worried about deadlines or feel stressed, letting your lecturers know means they can be more understanding. Sometimes, having a chat is enough to make you feel better. They may also be able to suggest practical ideas to help.

Universities usually have their own counselling service for students, offering the chance talk about anything that’s troubling you. Check your university’s website or speak to the student support team to find out what’s available where you are.

You may also find that your university runs wellbeing sessions that are open to all students. These can cover things like dealing with stress or learning mindfulness, and are worth checking out.

Support from your students’ union

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