Rent A Book, Give A Smile

A Mission for a Cause Beyond Healthy Eating

I was recently contacted by Campus Book Rentals to write up a post regarding their partnership with Operation Smile. A partnership to help bring back more smiles from our children with congenital facial deformities.  I have joined the cause to help spread the mission worldwide.

What is Campus Book Rentals?

It is a textbook rental company that helps you save money in college in the most efficient way.  They have the largest selections of textbooks in the nation, and provide free shipping both ways, which I love the most. I must admit I'm a sucker of freebies and low price tags. So forgive me for that. But this program appeals to me and my family that's why I agreed to join the cause and blog about it to share to my followers. Not only that, but also, they have the most flexible rental periods. They allow you to loan books by quarter, by term or by semester.  Still doesn't work?  How would you want if they let you choose your own return date? You got it! For as long as you return the books you borrowed.  There's even more to that. You are also given a 15-day grace period in case you forgot to return on due date. What's even better is that you have the freedom to highlight, mark, or write on the book you loaned. Visit their website now and start saving 40-90% off the bookstore prices.

But, if you're more comfortable to get your own book, that works too.  You can make use of their other program, Rent Back Textbooks, to make money out of your precious investments over and over.  Don't sell your textbooks. Campus Book Rentals will rent your book to another student.  And each time it gets rented, you get paid. Visit their website to learn more information and start earning.

What is Operation Smile?

It is an international medical charity for children that brings back the beautiful smiles of our children, that will dramatically change their life forever.  Operation Smile is a mobilized force of medical professionals with a very huge heart, who provide safe, effective reconstructive surgery, and related medical care for children with congenital facial deformities such as cleft lip and cleft palate.

Great news for affected parents and family members!  There's hope for your children or siblings who were born with facial deformities. Contact them thru this link, and you will receive instructions on how to receive their medical services.

Statistic shows that one in 10 of those children will die before their first birthday. The children who survive are often unable to eat, speak, socialize or smile. In some places, they are shunned and rejected. And in too many cases, their parents can't afford to give them the surgeries they need to live a productive life.

I agree that every child deserves a future filled with hope.  That every child should have access to safe and quality surgical care.

What is the mission?

Over the last 3 years, Campus Book Rental have partnered with Operation Smiles by donating life-saving cleft lip surgeries for children in need. This year they intend to continue the support, and have found a way for students to donate as well. For every book they rent, a proceed goes to the cause.  What's even greater, is when students rent back their textbooks to other students through Rent Back Textbooks, they have the options to donate a portion of their earnings, or all of it. I know God created us equally.  We may be short with one thing, but abundant in others.  This is what I call human dissimilarity, which we need in order to appreciate our blessings and learn to help people cope up with their needs.

I am calling out to all families, friends and followers. Please support the cause by tweeting, sharing on Facebook or other social medias to reach families who may need the services of  Campus Book Rentals or Rent Back Textbooks, and you may indirectly help change children's smiles and lives forever.


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Bean Sprout Veggie Wrap

Meatless Monday for your Lunchboxes

This is being linked up to Meatless Monday Linky Party over at Bento For Kidlet.

I have finally convinced myself to pack lunches for myself to work as well.  Mostly because I work from 8:30am -1:30pm, which gives me ample travel time for school pick up daily. And get tummy growls by the time I'm in school waiting in line till the kids are out.  Seriously, I eat lunch at 2:30-3pm daily.  And that depends too if there are emergency PTA duty in school.  I find myself eat like a horse by the time I'm home, just to compensate the meals I missed.  Definitely not healthy. 

 

I wasn't so sure what to prepare for dinner last night. I found myself staring at our fridge looking at bean sprouts, tofu, carrots and green beans.  Then I opened the freezer and saw the chicken legs staring at me.  Scary ha! I was honestly so exhausted from our Pumpkin Patch trip that afternoon, and I'm just looking for something quick and easy to prepare for dinner, but something healthy and the kids would definitely eat.

 

I decided to sauté the bean sprouts with the other veggies I mentioned earlier. Easy but boring.  So I thought of wrapping them up for a bean sprout roll, for which we call it, the "Bean Sprout Veggie Wrap."

My husband is not huge on bean sprouts because of his not so good childhood memories.  But when I started this dish, he changed his outlook towards bean sprouts, and had given it a second chance.  Great! My kiddos especially love this because it's crisp and juicy when eaten raw.  They love it as an appetizer when we dine in Korean Restaurants. But I have to think of a way to serve it to them.  And wrapping it isn't a bad idea after all.  I've seen my mom served it for us when we were growing up.  And we love dipping it in a spicy vinegar sauce.

This is easy. Just sauté all the veggies, drain the excess liquid once cooked. You can either toss it or save it for your rice.  It's yummy since it's already flavored with seasoning.  Wrap them up with a lumpia (eggroll) wrapper, about 2 sheets each.  We usually deep fry them to give the wrapper a crispy touch.  But for healthier option, just brush olive oil on both sides of the wrap and put them in a 450-475 degrees F oven for about 10-15 minutes on each side. Watch them so you don't burn them.  I make use of a toaster oven so it would take a while. Once it turns light brown, turn them right away.  Refrigerate any leftovers.  Reheating is done the same.

We all had this for dinner last night, and lunch for this noon.  Please excuse the  picture above. It was photographed by a camera phone so it wasn't at its best.  I am already at work writing this post, and just needed a picture to go by since I left my decent camera at home.

Please head over to Bento For Kidlet Meatless Monday and see what other contributors have in store for you.  If it's from Bento For Kidlet, it must be the best :)

 

If you love Healthy Eating Starts at Home, you may subscribe via email to get all my posts straight to your inbox. No spam mails, just healthy food ideas for your lunchboxes.

All bento accessories are available through Bento USA,

the cheapest and most complete online bento products in the USA.

Other bento gears are also available thru My Amazon Affiliate Link.
Thank you for your support!

If you need weekly meals straight to your inbox, try MOMables.

It's our one-stop shop when we're on a lunch rut.

Easy DIY Potato Chips

Healthy Food Idea for your Lunchboxes

I have always wanted to prepare foods from scratch.  But I'm not a kitchen pro, so it only happens when it does.  And for the most part, I'm a chicken when it comes to trying new stuffs.  I read food magazines, recipe books, and watch the Food Channel.  When I found an idea, I would bookmark, print, and imprint it in my memory.  But it all stops there.  I need a little push to try it. Simple inspiration like kids' request.

To make story short, last year I met someone who taught me how to make potato chips from scratch. With a tip to make it crisp and light.  And of course, with lots of kids' request, which made me push myself to make it a family's snack retreat on movie nights and play dates.

So what's the secret?

Make sure you cut it as paper thin as possible.  But don't worry if you can't.  They still taste good, but not as cripsy when their thinner.  My secret is to make use of a grater or peeler.  It takes a lot of practice, but worth the effort and time.

Look for a grater that has an elongated slot like shown above.  They will make your life easier.  It will help you cut potatoes in half the time.

Brine it.  The salt water solution draws the starch away from the potatoes, making it lighter and crisper to fry or bake.  Honestly, I haven't really tried baking it since we love potato chips fried and drained.  Plus, since it's already brined, it's not bland at all. They're as yummy as the pouched snacks.

Deep fry or Bake it. We do option 1, which is deep frying with vegetable oil.  I will try to bake them next time.  But first let me find out the right oven temp and correct length of time to bake it just right.

 

Drain and Serve. Drain excess oil well with paper towels, then serve.

 

I hope you enjoyed this little tutorial.  I have found this pretty easy to make and it's nice to know my family devour it on snack time, without the worries of any added MSG or preservatives to it.

Here are the lunches I packed with potato chips. Kids and adults love them just as much.

If you love Healthy Eating Starts at Home, you may subscribe via email to get all my posts straight to your inbox. No spam mails, just healthy food ideas for your lunchboxes.

All bento accessories are available through Bento USA,

the cheapest and most complete online bento products in the USA.

Other bento gears are also available thru My Amazon Affiliate Link.
Thank you for your support!

If you need weekly meals straight to your inbox, try MOMables.

It's our one-stop shop when we're on a lunch rut.

Pizzadilla!

Food for your Lunchboxes!

My schedules had been crazy busy for the past weeks. How have you been?  I honestly miss blogging a lot, as I have tons of lunch pictures on my camera. And I'm trying my best-est to upload them on my computer to start blogging the kids' lunches once again.  Bare with me. This busy momma has so much on her plate right now. We will soon catch up and get back on track.

The kids are requesting for PIZZA lunch. I don't have the needed ingredients for the crust, so I have to think of a way to deliver it in the best possible alternative.  Then I thought of PIZZADILLA.  Why not? I have all the ingredients to stuff it.  Back in November, I featured Pizzadilla for the very first time on my blog before it became famous.  I was even undecided whether to call it Pizzadilla or Pizzawich. If you missed that post, check it out here!

This lunch is very easy and quick to prepare.  I have an electric griller that does the trick for me each time. It's all about warming both sides of the flour tortilla before even spreading the marinara sauce over, then add cheese, pepperoni, olives, mushrooms, etc.  You can eat it like we normally eat a pizza, or top it with another warmed flour tortilla.  Flip. Wait till cheese has melted, and tortilla is slightly toasted and crisped. Then serve/pack.

Prep ahead of time!

• Wash and pre-cut fruits and vegetables the night before.
• Decide which lunchbox to use and have all the silicone cups, picks, utensils, napkins, and other gears ready on the kitchen countertop by night.
• Refill water bottles and refrigerate them.  If you're using non-thermal bottles, you might want to consider to freeze them overnight to double as icepack for lunches, and be thawed in time for recess and lunch, and still cold.  Consider that for warmer weathers though.

We need lunch ideas as well. We are open for suggestions.  If you have any lunch that you would want to be featured on my blog, please send me an email along with your name, the lunch picture and description.  I will gladly feature your creation!  All lunch credits belong to you. 

If you love Healthy Eating Starts at Home, you may subscribe via email to get all my posts straight to your inbox. No spam mails, just healthy food ideas for your lunchboxes.

All bento accessories are available through Bento USA,

the cheapest and most complete online bento products in the USA.

Other bento gears are also available thru My Amazon Affiliate Link.
Thank you for your support!

If you need weekly meals straight to your inbox, try MOMables.

It's our one-stop shop when we're on a lunch rut.

Sarah Thebarge's The Invisible Girls...A Memoir

A Food for the Soul...A Book for a Cause

I participated in a campaign on behalf of Mom Central Consulting for Jericho Books. I received a product sample to facilitate my review of a wonderfully written book by Sarah Thebarge, The Invisible Girls.

The story started with her interesting train ride from Portland suburbs toward downtown.  She was reading a book when 2 sparkling brown eyes peeked in the corner of her book and disappeared.  And again. And again.  Till she realized that a preschool Somali girl seated right across her were playing peekaboo with her.  Sarah winked at her.  The little girl tried to figure out how to wink back, but ended up with both eyes in a prolonged blink instead.  Sarah looked around and saw the girl's mom, with her toddler standing in between her legs trying to sleep in an upright position.  She thought, somebody needs to hold that tired little girl, which she found her arms stretched out towards her.  The little girl climbed to her lap, and were out in no time.

The scene unfolded quickly. It has short chapters. Merely 3-4 pages each. Something that I like the most.  The synopsis evolved around her battle with breast cancer, and her intervention with a Somali refugee family.  I like how these stories were woven into one.  Back to back.  Chapter after chapter. The transition blended so smoothly.  The book is indeed very inspirational, heart-wrenching and filled with humor.

I love how she lived her life, her choices, and decisions.  She is not a perfect woman.  As a matter of fact, she has her share of imperfections just like each one of us.  She is a fighter, a dreamer, and a charitable woman.

She fought breast cancer even when she has lost her fiancé and other support system.  She managed to return to her feet after 18 months of grueling and painful cancer treatments.  I love that she has not lost faith in God, despite of her questions as to why bad things happen to good people.  At this point I'd like to give credit to her parents who have raised her and her siblings with tough love,  God being the center of their family.  This has given her enough courage to keep battling even if the thought of death at a very young age is at the back of her mind.

I personally admire her courageous decision to leave her successful career, an Ivy League education, and a failed relationship in Connecticut to start anew.  Her move to Portland has given her a fresh start with an unforeseen mission in life that encouraged her to move on and continue life as it is.  I believe her battle with cancer, and the story behind it, has given her enough anchorage in life with her intervention and rescue of Hadhi and her girls.

Hadhi is a Somali refugee, who had battles of her own.  She was a victim of battery & was abandoned by her husband, which left her raising 5 daughters; namely, Fahri, Abdallah, Sadaka, Lelo, and Chaki, in a culture unknown to them. They were the Invisible Girls because they kept themselves hidden from the outside world due to language barrier, safety issues, and uneducated of the culture they live in. Sarah bridged this gap for them.  She helped them survive the American culture.  I loved how she educated them on personal hygiene, and the positive and humorous feedbacks from the girls.  Her high hopes to help this family has given her a meaningful reason to give her life a second chance.  Paralleled to her life's own experience, being invisible to people after her bilateral mastectomy. 

Sarah Thebarge has a good heart.  Her love for the girls are unconditional. She has started to blog about them in hopes to help them learn the true meaning of Thanksgiving and its tradition. Now she has written this book as a memoir of their invisibility to the eyes of the several.  Please know that a portion of the books' proceeds go to the girls' college education.  Let us all reach out and help in our own little ways.

Disclosure:  I was provided of a free hardbound copy of the book to facilitate an honest, unbiased and rational review.  The complimentary copy did not influence my review in any way.  I reviewed the book in the hopes to help encourage my readers to read and/or gift the book.  Portions of the proceeds go to the college education of Hadhi's girls.

The book can be purchased thru My Amazon Affiliate Link or thru other local retailers.
Thank you for your support!



If you love Healthy Eating Starts at Home, you may subscribe via email to get all my posts straight to your inbox. No spam mails, just healthy food ideas for your lunchboxes.