We a n G re e n’s 2 0 1 3 Back 2 School Guide

{We Love SNACKS}

Save the earth BY PACKING HOMEMADE SNACKS

There is an average of 194 school days in a year. If each student replaced 1 single use packaging snack (think yogurt, fruit cups, crackers, cheese strips, applesauce, etc.) with a homemade snack packed in a reusable container an average size school would save

85,758 pieces of garbage a year.

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1. Weelicious’ Whole Wheat Cheddar

Crackers2. Family Fresh Cooking’s Strawberry

Applesauce3. Mary’s Gone Crackers & Organic Cheese4. Martha Stewart’s Yogurt with Blueberries

5. Today I Ate A Rainbow’s Kale Chips

6. Bob Greene’s Healthy Chocolate Pudding7. Kidshealth.org Homemade Peanut Butter

8. Annalissa’s Raw Coconut Yogurt with Goji Berries

9. Tessa’s Homemade Sunflower Butter

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4 5 6

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MoPa’s House Made Sweet Chips

Scrub clean one awesome sweet potato, and slice thin. Set your oven to 325 and grab a non-stick baking sheet.

Line your baking sheet with thin potato rounds, brush one side with EVO, and the other with honey. Add a touch of salt & pepper.

Bake for about 15-20 minutes until they appear crisp. Watch them close, you don't want to burn these little gems!

Once the edges crisp up, remove from the oven to cool.

Add a squeeze of lime, or serve with hummus and yogurt for dipping.

Nate & Charlie love this sweet and salty snack. I love it because it's a great alternative to the bag variety. Serve room temp as an afternoon snack, or batch cook, and be snack ready all week long.

Denell Mom of 2 &Founder of www.mopa.com

FACT: Did you know e v e r y y e a r A m e r i c a n s throw 31 million t o n s o f o t h e r w i s e c o m p o s t a b l e food waste in l a n d fi l l s a n d i n c i n e r a t o r s , enough to fill 7 2 5 , 0 0 0 i c e cream trucks?

TIP: Try composting!

DO: Check out the Grades of Green c o m p o s t i n g a c t i v i t i e s HERE!

Michelle’s Granola Bars2 cups whole multigrain oats1/4 cup sunflower seeds1/2 cup dried cranberries1/4 cup wheat germ1/4 cup ground flax1/2 cup sliced almonds2 pinches sea salt1/2 cup almond butter3/4 cup honey1/4 cup brown sugar1/4 chocolate chips

Preheat oven to 350F. Grease a ceramic or glass 9X13-inch baking dish and line with parchment paper.

Mix oats, sunflower seeds, cranberries, wheat germ, flax, and almonds together in a bowl. Spread mixture on a sheet pan and toast in preheated oven for 8 minutes. Return mixture to large bowl.

In a medium saucepan, combine salt, almond butter, honey, brown sugar, and chocolate chips. Bring to a boil over medium heat and immediately remove from heat. Pour over oats mixture and combine until dry ingredients are evenly coated.

Transfer to the lined baking dish. Press mixture down and together by folding over parchment paper to press down. Tear off edges of parchment paper so it does not cover the mixture when baking. Bake for 25 minutes.

Let cook for up to 2 hours and then cut and serve.

~Michelle Mom of 2 & Inhabitots Editor

Wean Green’s LImited Edition Lunch Bags Coming Soon....

{We Love DIPS}

"Less than 10 percent of 4- to 8-year-olds consume the USDA (U.S. Department of Agriculture) recommended daily servings of vegetables," said Jennifer S. Savage, associate director of the Center for Childhood Obesity Research at Penn State.

T h e C e n t e r f o r

C h i l d h o o d O b e s i t y Research at Penn State

concludes that children wil l eat more of each veggie

when paired with a dip t h a n w h e n i t w a s

served alone.

M A K E V E G G I E S

FUN !

{We Love LUNCH}

An average elementary school student creates 67 lbs of school lunch waste a YEAR!

Make Food. Pack a LitterLESS Lunch.

Mexican Chicken Sliders

Ingredients1 1 pound ground chicken breast2 1 tablespoons chopped fresh cilantro3 1 teaspoon cumin4 1/2 teaspoon garlic powder5 1/4 teaspoon onion powder6 1 teaspoon salt7 1 large egg

8 1 tablespoon o

Preparation1. In a large bowl, combine all the ingredients, except the oil, and mix to

thoroughly combine.2. Divide the mixture into 8 equal portions and form into patties. You will use

about 1/4 cup of the mixture per patty.3. Heat the oil in a skillet over medium heat and cook for 3 minutes on each

side, or until chicken is cooked through.4. Serve with desired accompaniments.

Accompaniments: sour cream, jack cheese, cheddar cheese, sliced tomatoes, lettuce, slider buns

C h e c k O u t o n e o f

C a t h e r i n e ’ s F a v e s :

Vegetar ian Sandwich

Sushi Sandwiches

”I love rol l ing a l l o f the g i r l s ’ favor i te

sandwiches out into these b i te s ize rol l s . I

never see any le f tovers ; ) ”

~Mel issa , CEO

Some of Wean Green’sFavorite Recipes!

Cheesy Green Hummus

I pack a l i t terLESS lunch everyday for work! This

cheesy green hummus has become a s taple in

my lunch k i t . ~Kat ,

Customer Serv ice Manager

Favorite Lunch:“The kids love pearled couscous and broccoli mixed together. Sometimes I add Organic hot dogs to it too”

Favorite Snack:

“I use those kids plates that have sections and in each section I put: 1 handful of raisins, 1 handful of freeze dried fruit and 1 handful of Annie's Cheddar Snack Mix. They love the variety”

~MarissaMom of 2 & EIC George & Ruby

FACT: Did you know that Los Angeles County throws away

enough trash to fill Dodger Stadium everyday?

TIP: Try packing a trash-free lunch at least once a week!

DO: Check out the Grades of Green Trash Free Lunch Program HERE!

~ElinaMOther of 1 & co-founder of A-List Moms

PEANUT SAUCE2 tbsp creamy organic peanut butter 2 tbsp rice vinegar1 tbsp soy sauce 2 tsp sugar1 to 2 tbsp water, to thin out the sauce, if necessary

Make the spicy peanut sauce: Whisk together all the ingredients for the sauce until smooth and creamy, and set aside.

ROLLSRound rice paper wrappers fresh mint leavesfresh basil small fresh cilantro sprigscucumber cut into thin sticks carrots cut into thin stickspeppers cut into thin sticks 8 Boston lettuce leavesscallions, quartered lengthwise then cut crosswiseinto 2-1/2-inch pieces (white and light green parts only)

1. Make the vegetable filling: Use a mandolin or box grater to slice the cucumber, carrot and red pepper into thin strips

2. Soften the rice wrappers: Fill a round cake pan halfway with warm-hot water. (It should be quite warm, but cool enough to stick your fingers in it without getting burned. For each wrapper, immerse it in the hot water bath until it softens, which takes about 30 seconds. Watch for it to begin curling, then immediately flip it over and continue flipping until it is just softened. Use both hands to pull it up out of the water, being careful so it doesn't collapse on itself, and spread it immediately on a plate.

3. Put filling in the center of the wrapper: Fill the center of the softened wrapper first by laying about 3 to 4 herb leaves down the center. Then, add 1/8 of the veggie mixture. Add a few sprigs of cilantro and 2 to 3 mint leaves, depending on how large they are.

4.Roll up the summer rolls: To roll up your roll, first fold the top and bottom edges of the wrapper over the filling, then fold in the edges towards the center and continue rolling the filled wrapper until it's closed and snug.

Let kids put together their own rolls. Dip in peanut sauce and enjoy!Continue this process with each of the wrappers. You may need to change your hot water halfway through. As you finish each roll, place it on a cookie sheet and cover the rolls with a damp towel.To serve, slice in half with a sharp knife and serve the peanut sauce on

the side.

SUMMER ROLLS

F i t s p e r f e c t l y i n W e a n G r e e n L u n c h C u b e s !

Some of our Fave SAVE THE EARTH Organizations

TakeOutWithOut NonToxicRevolution

GreenPeace Healthy Child Healthy World WWF

Earth Day Network Friends of the Earth 1% for the Planet

Grades of Green

n u t r i t i o u sHEALTHY

F U N

DIPS

EASYECO

SCHOOL LUNCHES

FAVORITESD E L I C I O U S

SPREAD IT

SNACKS

Make Lunch. ~Melissa

Questions, comments, love letters? Call: 1.888.923.9326Email: info@weangreen.com