Favorites: Dinner Kits from Good Eggs

I'm so excited to partner with Good Eggs to bring you a preview of their new Weeknight Dinner Kit launching on April 16th. I've tried other meal kits before and there were always two things I didn't like about them--too much wasteful packaging and it took at least an hour to prep and cook. When I received the Good Eggs Weeknight Dinner Kit, I was so happy to see that the box was small, the ingredients were minimally packaged, and any packaging material that was required was compostable.

The kit came with 3 dinners and each one literally took only 10-15 minutes of prep time. Each recipe is clearly marked A, B and C with corresponding labels on the ingredients. It was easy to distinguish and separate for storing in the fridge.

I decided to make the Mint Pesto Pasta with Spring Peas and Green Garlic first. Initially I thought it wasn't enough food but turns out I had some pesto leftover so I could make a lunch the next day. Score! Lucas and Theo LOVED it! They never had mint and arugula pesto before and they kept asking for more. Score again! The meal came with a giant salad and a yummy red vinaigrette.

Love this on the box!

I also got a Buh-Bye Box to encourage being fully present at the dinner table.

Thanks Good Eggs for the amazing Finishing Salt from Omnivore.

And thank you again for the Fresh 2016 Harvest Olio Nuovo from Other Brother. It was perfect for drizzling at the end of the

I highly recommend this dinner kit for busy families. It's absurdly fresh, easy, and delicious.

Here are more details of the Good Eggs Weeknight Dinner Kit:

• Customers who sign up for the dinner kit receive 3 meals, which can be ordered and delivered at the same time as their weekly groceries (subscription not required).
• Kit options change weekly
• Cost is $69.99
• Promotional pricing in April and May: $49.99 (use code DINNERKIT20 for $20 off your first kit)
• 1 meal = 3 servings
• Each weekly menu comes with a Good Eggs seasonal green salad mix and dressing that can be paired with any meal. (pairings suggested on recipes)
• This spring, there will be 2 omnivore meals and 1 vegetarian
• Coming later this year: vegetarian, paleo and other options

+ Ceramic bowls by Colleen Hennessy
+ Napkins by Sweetgum Textles
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Family Trip to Lake Tahoe

A few weeks ago we were fortunate enough to take a family trip to my friend Lisa's cabin in Lake Tahoe. It was SO beautiful and the perfect little spring break weekend getaway with good friends Brad and Nancy and their son Ben. Remember our last trip to Lake Tahoe two summers ago (Theo was still using a pacifier!) and our family vacation to Maui last year? Another reason we wanted to go to Tahoe was because Theo had never seen snow before--of course he LOVED it. How could you not love this place?

All photos taken with my iPhone6.

Before...

And after...

And then the clothes came off!

We can't wait to go back! :)

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Family Trip to Maui

Last week we went on our first family vacation to Maui since Lucas was nine months old and still crawling. We went with our good friends Brad and Nancy and their son Ben which made it extra fun. We even got to celebrate our 10-year anniversary with a nice dinner out just the two of us. I will say that that it was more of a trip rather than a vacation with the kids around. There were plenty of awesome moments -- the beautiful beaches and the pool with water slide, the delicious food (love the ahi poke!), hanging out in our condo, the Hawaiian shave ice, but I could have done without the whining about every little thing. :)

Here are some photos I took with my phone. This picture perfect beach was Napili Beach. It was gorgeous, but the waves and undertow were deceptively strong that day so we had to keep an extra eye out for the kiddos. I even had to "save" Lucas one time from a giant wave by grabbing the hook on his life jacket while holding Theo in my arm!

Scroll to the end to read about a few of my favorite spots.

Hawaiian shave ice and fish tacos! Yum!

We got to celebrate our 10-year anniversary with a nice dinner sans kids at the beautiful Merriman's. We look so tired but are so happy! We traded babysitting nights with Brad and Nancy :)

Happy Theo!

Mad Theo! Tantrums are no fun even in Maui! ;)

When in Hawaii, we had to do spam masubi and shave ice!

It rained on our last full day in Maui but we went out to the beach behind the condo when there was a break in the rain.

We had a bit of a nightmare flight home. After flying nearly two hours toward home, the pilot announces a problem with the hydraulic pump in the center of the plane and that we would have to fly back to the Honolulu airport where we hung out for an additional six hours. After a plane, crew, and pilot change, we were ready to board. We landed around 12:45 a.m. and with two half asleep kids, luggage and car seats, it was a challenge. Also, we had taken BART which closes at 12:30 a.m. so we took a cab back to the BART station. One more car seat change and we were finally headed back home and all in bed by 2:30 a.m. Phew!

Some of my favorite spots (thanks to our friend Tina and our friend John for the recommendations!):

Stayed at Honua Kai Resort and Spa in Maui - We made breakfast each day and lunch most days to save money and the hassle of getting the kids in and out of the car to go eat somewhere.

Ululanis for the best shave ice ever!

Star Noodle for delicious house made noodles and Asian food. We got take out there several times -- make sure to book a reservation if you want to eat at the restaurant.

Napili Beach - Really beautiful white sand beach that's family friendly though the day we went the waves were a bit bigger than usual. 

Kahekili Beach - We had the best time at this calmer beach located just behind the Westin Ka'anapali Ocean Resort Villas.

The Fish Market Maui - Delicious poke, fish tacos, crab cakes, and fresh fish

Merriman's - a beautiful beachside dining experience for a fancy night out

+ Family photo taken by Nancy Cho. All others taken by me with my iPhone 5.
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Apple Picking with Lucas and Theo

The last time we went apple picking was about three years ago somewhere near Boston on a rainy weekend with our good friends. Lucas was only about 16 months old and we made a triangle trip by train (Boston, New York, and Washington, D.C.) to visit some dear friends. One of my favorite things we did was go apple picking.

A couple of weekends ago we discovered Gabriel Farm, the cutest organic apple farm in Sebastopol. The family farm features eight varieties of Asian Pears, several varieties of Apples, Fuyu Persimmons, Lavender, Plums, and many sorts of berries. Sadly, due to the drought, the apple picking season was cut short, but I'm glad we made it on the last day of the season. I was so happy to have found this place -- it was just the right size for Lucas and Theo to run around and not get lost or in trouble, pick Fuji Apples (my all time fave!), take a stroll, and taste some of the best fruit we've ever had. Plus, we were able to meet up with Nana and Grandad there (they live about ten minutes away) which was a total bonus. We are definitely going to make this an annual tradition.

This pretty much sums up Theo and Lucas' personalities.

This too -- Lucas is always running and Theo is always eating.

I absolutely LOVE these shots of Theo -- he doesn't know I'm there and I spotted him examining his apple and then trying so hard to devour the heck out of it. Too cute!

Silly monkeys

Theo and Lucas adore Grandad.

If you get a chance to visit Gabriel Farm in Sebastopol, I'd highly recommend it. Fuyu Persimmon picking starts October 25th!

What are your plans for the weekend? We have a birthday party and a retirement party to attend, as well as hosting a movie night in our yard.

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Jackson Family Photo Shoot

We had a fun photo session with friend Sarah Hebenstreit of Modern Kids Co. at our home and neighborhood late last year. She is a photography genius and is just so good at what she does. One of her smooth moves involves pretend barfing which instantly seems to catch the kids' attention or at least make them crack up. The boys were squirmy which was a challenge but I love all the shots.

I take a lot of pictures of the boys and have a bunch of the boys with Nick, but there aren't too many photos of me with the boys or our whole family together so this was a nice treat. I will cherish these forever.

// Photos by Sarah Hebenstreit of Modern Kids Co.

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LEE Magazine - Japan

I'm so honored to have my home and family featured in Japan's LEE Magazine. It was such a fun photo shoot with minimal styling (a.k.a. keepin' it real = stuff everywhere!). Thanks to friend Lena Corwin for suggestion my home. Everything is in Japanese so I have no idea what it says. If anyone wants to translate, let me know! I must admit I was a little sad not to see Pixel in our family shot. Not sure what he was up to when we took that photo, but I'd like to think he was basking in the sun by our front window. And that thought makes me feel happy.

// Photos by Kikuko Usuyama