On the List

Fridge Before Kids: jar of mustard, left-over sushi and six-pack of Diet Coke.

Fridge After Kids: water, organic milk, bag of apples, string cheese, six-pack of Minigo, chicken soup…the list goes on.

Suddenly the grocery store has risen to new heights on the list of where-it’s-important-to-shop these days. (Never mind the drugstore and your new $100 a week diapers and wipes tab.)

Hark back to the days when cave-moms needed to stock up for the winter with wholesome nuts and berries. Like them, we just feel better when the larder is stocked with good finds for the family so that’s why we’ve been trolling the grocery and drugstores to find some excellent additions to your shopping list.

For the Milk-Lover (or Milk-Hater)
For the most fun we’ve had with milk since the days of blowing through a straw until it bubbled over the edge of our cup (who, us?), try the new Sipahh milk flavouring straw. Kids just dip the straw (it’s filled with flavour beads—Chocolate, Strawberry, Cookies & Cream, Caramel or Vanilla) into their milk and it magically changes flavour. They love it! Free of artificial colours, fat-free and gluten-free, what we moms like about Sipahh is that it adds only about 2 g (or 15 calories) of sugar to a glass of milk which is much, much less than the regular chocolate milk alternative. Available at Shopper’s Drug Mart.

For the Souper-mom
Lately we’ve been really into making homemade soup (it’s easier than it sounds—just throw whatever veggies and leftover meat you have into a pot of broth and let it cook away, add some pasta or rice and you’re all done). So when we discovered the new Campbell’s Organic Free Range Chicken Broth (there’s Vegetarian Vegetable too) our soups and sauces got even better. Made with ingredients free of man-made pesticides, hormones or antibiotics and (what we love the most), with 25 to 30 percent less sodium than the regular ready-to-use broth, a few boxes of this broth are a new staple in our soup kitchen. You can taste the difference, but your kids won’t. (Widely available.)

For Those Solo Mom Meals
Sometimes you feel like a adult meal even when you’re eating with the kids. We’ve stocked up our freezer with the President’s Choice Rotini with Chicken Pesto. Made with 100% whole wheat rotini (so it’s very high in fibre), this yummy pasta dish is full of pieces of seasoned chicken breast and chunky veggies in a pesto sauce, topped with Parmesan cheese (and all for only 370 calories) and free from that funny preservative-filled aftertaste most frozen entrees seem to come with. Definitely better than a bowl of cereal! Available at Loblaw’s stores.

For the Clean Sweep
You know how much we love the Method line of home cleaning products (we know, we know, it’s not normal to be so passionate about your dishsoap), and the same goes for the latest addition to their line-up, the omop all floor starter kit which they promise “makes floors friendly to kids, pets, and white tube socks”. We got a sneak preview of the wet/dry mop which comes with a washable microfiber mop pad, compostable sweeping cloths, and Method’s all floor cleaner which is handily dispensed through the ergonomically designed handle (and smells divine, we might add). (Available at most Shopper’s DrugMart and Safeway stores—hitting shelves this month.)

Life after kids has changed us in so many ways. The fridge is the least of your worries.