Shaina

About Shaina

Shaina Olmanson is a contributor for Simple Bites and the home cook and photographer behind Food for My Family, where she shares recipes, tips, opinions and her philosophy on food as she wades through the process of feeding her family, her friends and anyone else who will let her. She strives to teach her four children how to eat well: seasonally, locally, organically, deliciously and balanced.

Desserts in jars: the magic of the mason jar

Written by Simple Bites contributor Shaina Olmanson of Food for My Family.

Desserts in jars. You have likely heard of these cute little treats or seen them on Pinterest. They are hard to miss. It’s the glare that reflects off the glass, blinding you with their beauty.

I’ve been creating these sweet treats for a few years now with great results. I even wrote a book full of them called Desserts in Jars: 50 Sweet Treats that Shine. My friends and neighbors have been quite receptive to receiving them, and I’ve even had requests for them from adults and children alike. When I don’t show up with armfuls of jars there are cries of protest.

Why desserts in jars, you ask? Why not? In our home, we already use them to drink out of, to store spices, to line the pantry shelves. Still, here are the reasons why I personally love desserts tucked into cute little jars:
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Tips for Quick and Easy Family Meals to Maximize Summer

I’m on maternity leave from June 11 to July 16: The following is a guest post from Simple Bites contributor Shaina Olmanson of Food for My Family.

Summer is officially here, with its days spent building sandcastles at the beach and t-ball games in the evening. Summer has a way of starting out long and lazy, but then it quickly gets filled with activities and impromptu get-togethers, and it’s all those things that start to interfere with family dinnertime.

It’s easy to get into the habit of picking something up while you’re out anyway, stopping and grabbing something to eat between your daughter’s soccer practice and your son’s baseball game.

Before you know it, family mealtime can fall to the wayside as summertime activities fill your schedule.

Why Dine Together as a Family?

Family dinners serve several important functions. Studies have long shown that children who sit down to dinner together with their family are less depressed and get better grades than their peers that do not. They are also less likely to become addicted to drugs or alcohol.

Beyond those studies, preparing and serving a family meal also gives you control over what is going into your children’s bodies. Focusing on real food is important, and eating a diet high in fresh fruits, vegetables and whole grains and low in preservatives and deep fat fryers goes a long way in maintaining our health and energy.

How Do You Make Time?

So, we know it’s important to eat well and eat together, but how do we manage this in the midst of summer? The answer is not to always plan on being home every day at dinnertime, though that would also work. Instead, plan for the unexpected meals on the go.
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