Food | The TaterTwins

Lipton’s Pure Leaf Iced Tea

7 May posted by Jayme

Once upon a time, I lived in the north, where people drink their iced tea unsweetened. And then we moved south, and I developed a love for sweet tea. I definitely prefer fresh brewed iced tea over bottled- for the most part, when you buy it bottled it has a weird aftertaste to me. It’s a shame really, since unsweetened iced tea is a better beverage for me to grab when out and about than a soda.

When given the opportunity to try Lipton’s Pure Leaf Iced Tea, I jumped at the chance. It’s made from all-natural ingredients and no preservatives, so it’s as close to homemade tea as it gets! And with the new packaging, it’s also more eco-friendly. What is this new packaging you ask? Well they’ve changed their bottles from round glass ones to much lighter square plastic ones. The plastic is PET and recyclable like the glass ones, but with the new shape, they can fit more on a pallet. And the lighter weight means lighter loads, which means less fuel used for transport.

You don’t have to drink your iced tea straight up though! Check out all the Pure Leaf recipes available- some of which were created by Top Chef’s judge, Gail Simmons- you can find them right here. My recipe isn’t quite as fancy or complicated as some of these delicious sounding drinks, but it sure was yummy. I just added a splash of amaretto to my Lipton’s Pure Leaf Iced Tea!

What is your favorite summertime drink? Do you have any refreshing cocktail recipes?

I participated in a campaign on behalf of Mom Central Consulting for Lipton Pure Leaf. I received product samples and a promotional item to thank me for participating.

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Filed Under: 1featured, food, Review

Mocha #IcedCoffee International Delight #CBias

3 May posted by Jayme

I don’t know about you, but in the afternoon I start dragging. The twins stopped napping, so I don’t get the downtime I used to. And then the girls come home and the homework/dinnertime chaos starts. I crave iced coffee, but to load up the kids and drive to Dunkin Donuts is a pain in the butt. In addition to the time it takes, there’s the expense- not just for my drink, but the gas money to get there- and of course the donuts that the kids ask for!

But now, International Delight makes their own half-gallons of iced coffee! I can get enough iced coffee for the week for the cost of one day’s worth elsewhere, and it tastes just as delicious. It’s ready to drink- just pour over ice- so I don’t have to brew my own and cool it down. I don’t have to add cream and sugar. It’s already in there!

Available in three flavors, Original, Vanilla, and Mocha, you can find International Delight Iced Coffee in the dairy aisle. You can grab it at your local Walmart, and later this month the Mocha flavor will be at Sam’s Clubs in twin packs. Until then, you can find the Vanilla twin packs at Sam’s.

You can check out my entire shop here.

Some days, when I’m lucky, the boys nap and I can sit in my comfy chair with my iced coffee and relax for a few minutes before the girls come busting through the door from school. But most days, nap time looks more like this:

What do you do for an afternoon pick me up? Have you tried these yummy creamy coffees yet? For more info, check out the International Delight website, Facebook and twitter.

I am a member of the Collective Bias™ Social Fabric® Community. This shop has been compensated as part of a social shopper insights study for Collective Bias™. #CBias #SocialFabric

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Filed Under: 1featured, food, school

Easter Recap

21 Apr posted by Jayme

I know Easter is past, but I never posted about it. We were in NY at my mom’s and she and my 14 year old son, B, went crazy making a huge scavenger hunt for each person to go on Easter morning in order to find their basket. Everybody was given a plastic egg and inside of it was the first clue. Those lead to the next and so on, inside and outside, until we finally reached our baskets.

They spent HOURS writing clues and hiding the eggs for nine people- they even made up scavenger hunts for Aaron and I!

My oldest two boys were teamed up with the youngest two, since the twins don’t read. Mia and O paired up as well. Lili was given like five times as many clues as everyone else, just because they thought it would be funny if it took her forever, but since she was on her own and not following two sets of clues like the other kids, she sped through them and was done around the same time as the rest of us!

It was so much fun!

Later that afternoon, when everyone was full of candy, we started on dinner. Easter dinner is my favorite of all the holiday dinners because of the HAM.

My all-time favorite meal is ham, cheesy scalloped potatoes, and peas. It’s perfection. I always request it for my birthday dinner, I’d rather eat it than go out to dinner.

There’s not much better in life than your favorite meal cooked by your mom!

How was your Easter this year? And what’s your favorite meal?

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Filed Under: 1featured, Easter, family, food

Quick, Healthy Lunches for Little Ones

19 Apr posted by Jayme

This guest post was written by my friend Maria from Life, Loss & Other Things Worth Mentioning. Let’s welcome her to the world of bento lunches! These are the same lunch boxes I’ve been using for about 2 years now- for my kids and husband.

In September when Gavin, my 4 year old, started going to preschool, my life changed. I went from spending the majority of my days at home, to having one thing or another going on almost every day of the week. Then weekends came and there were always more projects and errands to run. I love being busy, but more times than is healthy, I would end up picking up fast food for lunch and bring it home. I loved that as soon as I got home, I could get the kids fed. It was sit and eat in the moments after walking in the door.

On occasion, I would pick up Lunchables for the boys to eat since I figured it had to be healthier than fast food. They loved the compartments and discovering what goodies were in there. In fact, Gavin started asking for them over the fast food kids meals. Then, it dawned on me that I was paying close to 5 bucks for a couple of crackers, slices of cheese, and lunch meat. That is crazy! So, I decided it was time to make my own Lunchables!

I bought these divided lunch containers from EasyLunchBoxes.Com and went to it. I love that I can put all sorts of fruits, veggies, meats, cheese, and even a sandwich if I want. I even like to put something sweet in there for a desert like a cookie or animal crackers. Today it was string cheese, some mini pepperoni slices, half of a peanut butter and jelly sandwich, baby carrots, and grapes. Then, for dessert, a piece of left over Easter candy.

The boys love them! I will even go as far as to say that if I offered Gavin a fast food lunch or see what Mommy put in his lunch box, he would choose his EasyLunchBoxes.Com lunch every time!

In the morning, before I head out for my errands or appointments, I assemble the lunches for the boys. Then, when I get home, all I have to do is pull them out of the refrigerator and voila! Lunch is served. That is the fastest I have ever been able to get a homemade meal on the table!

I really feel so much better about what I am feeding my children. Plus, I like that I am teaching them what is healthy, good portion control, and that our lunch is just as much fun as expensive store bought processed foods or a happy meal.

Maria Dillon

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Filed Under: bento, food, guest post, Review

#TysonBreakfast Bread Bowls #CBias

5 Apr posted by Jayme

A couple of weeks ago, my mom and I went on a huge shopping trip to Sam’s Club. Our deep freezer was looking a little sad and empty, so I wanted to fill it up. We got a little carried away though, and ended up filling two carts, so not only did we restock the freezer, but the fridge and cabinets too. It was crazy. I haven’t been to the store since! You can see our entire shopping trip here.

We shopped for everything, from Magic Erasers to clean crayon marks off of the walls, to granola bars for the kids to bring in their lunches. I even found some skorts for myself for this summer, and a pair of Levi’s for Aaron. We bought stuff for snacks, a couple treats, and of course frozen foods for every meal of the day- like these Tyson Breakfast Bread Bowls.

What’s funny is we only had two items on our list when we headed out that day- toilet paper and maple syrup. We came home without the syrup! It’s a good thing we went without any kids, because we ended up having to fold down my mom’s back seat of her car to get everything to fit. We were dreading bringing them all into the house and finding places for everything when we got home, but luckily, Aaron and the kids pulled up just minutes after we did and were there to help out.

So back to these #TysonBreakfast Bread Bowls… when I think Tyson, I automatically think about chicken. However, these bread bowls include a delicious combo of sausage, egg and cheese. I also pictured them as larger, more like the size of the personal pizzas- but these are smaller, and totally toddler friendly. They come two in a package, which is perfect for one adult, or my twins. They’re a quick, easy and portable hot breakfast.