Why did you start Easy Lunchboxes?
I’ve always enjoyed fixing things around the house or trying to figure out a more efficient way to do annoying chores. For example, I love finding the perfect “gadget” that offers the solution to a problem. When I tried to find something that could help me cut down the time it took to make lunches (a morning routine that I dreaded), I discovered that there was nothing out there that was simple, inexpensive and easy-to-clean. So I decided to design and manufacture my own “solution”. And so EasyLunchboxes was born.

What’s your favorite thing about blogging?
After you’ve worked hard on a blog, laboring over research and finding the exact right words, sometimes you’ll literally get flooded with responses. That’s instant gratification and inspires you to keep going – knowing that you’ve inspired others.

Do you have a favorite lunch to prepare for children? Why is it your favorite?
After quick and easy, lol, my favorite lunches to prepare usually include a leftover from dinner, since I spend extra time cooking that meal and it often comes out pretty well. It’s easy to take a portion of whatever we had for dinner and then round out the lunch meal by adding colorful sides of crisp veggies with a little dip or seasoning salt and cut up fruit. And my kids love it when I put a cute little bento decoration inside for eye appeal. I love to ask them after school if they liked their lunch because they (usually) give me a hearty, “Yes!” Makes the effort worth it.

What’s your next project going to be?
Catching up on all the sleep I’ve lost over this one! Seriously, it seems that I can never get away from the computer, so my next project will be a vacation – and I’ll leave the laptop at home.

What’s the best advice ever given to you (with regard to eating well, blogging, or anything else)?
In regards to business, everything takes longer than you think it will, so the advice I have to keep giving myself is: be patient (and sometimes it’s a struggle to remember that advice.) As far as blogging is concerned, the key is to be helpful and positive. As I said before, I like to find solutions to problems. “Everybody’s a critic”, and it’s a lot easier to write a negative piece – but if your criticism doesn’t come with an “an alternative plan”, with “a way out”, what’s the point? There’s already plenty of negativity out there – my advice to bloggers is to not become part of that.

Any recommendations for people who want to start their own blog or get into healthier eating?
I think blog readers are pretty savvy. They can tell when someone is being dishonest. So write about things you really care about and not what you think everyone wants to hear – because chances are they’ve heard that already. There’s only one you and if you use the “voice” of the unique person that you are, your writing will be original as well.

A lot of people are scared about “eating healthier”. They think it’s a lot of work and/or that it’s costly. It’s actually easy: look for foods with the least amount of ingredients.

Manufactured food usually contains a lot of things that you can’t pronounce and shouldn’t be going into your body. I buy Trader Joe’s peanut butter, for example, because it has one ingredient on the label: peanuts. The other key to healthier eating is the word “fresh”, as in fresh fruits and vegetables. There’s always a produce sale going on somewhere and if you do a little price comparison between your local markets, you’ll find that “fresh” doesn’t have to mean expensive.

Who is your food icon?
Jamie Oliver. It’s just awful what children are eating these days and it’s caused an obesity epidemic. I love the way Jamie can truly make a difference in the lives of an entire city or town by making school lunch programs healthier and educating young people about nutrition. It’s a cliché but it’s true: our children are our future – and so he’s changing the world now and in the years to come. And he’s a great inspiration to others who have joined in this fight for change and education.

What are/were your favorite and least favorite food trends?
Advertising that something is healthy when it isn’t. Advertising or packaging that brags about healthy ingredients while neglecting to mention the sugar that completely negates any nutritious ingredients that might actually be there. And speaking of sugar, I don’t like how sugar makes it into a lot of products via “corn syrup” or “honey” – no matter what you call it, sugar alters your metabolism in negative ways, adding calories, making you crave more food and, in short, making you fat.