“You know, with the pretty leaves and the fact that my mom isn’t trying to apply sunscreen on me every other second, I might like fall better than summer.” –@Insta2yearold
That quote might be lifted from Insta2yearold’s Instagram, but it’s a sentiment I share as well. Fall is my favorite season. I love the crisp air that’s perfect for long walks outside in thick sweaters with no jackets.
I love how the changing of the leaves wows us year after year, as if we totally forgot how beautiful they can be.
I love eating heartier foods and hot soups and snuggling on the couch under blankets.
I love watching my kids play in the leaves because it’s only the second time in their lives that they’ve done it.
This is because they are young, but also because we didn’t own our weekend house until last year, so raking leaves is something totally new to us.
Although you can also find plenty of evidence of fall in the streets of NYC too. The sidewalks are covered with leaves and Central Park is especially magical this time of year.
Mazzy and I wandered over there almost by accident after a day at the circus and had the best time climbing the rocks and looking up at the changing leaves mingled with the skyscrapers.
Harlow has now had a few months of preschool under her belt and when I mentioned how lovely the fallen leaves looked on the ground, she said, “Yes, Mom, it’s the autumn time.” As if she was the one educating me.
Mike is the cook in our house and during the fall and winter, you can often find him making soups from scratch in the kitchen, stirring and tasting, always sourcing organic local ingredients. His soups tend to be somewhat adventurous (crab bisque is his favorite) and the kids won’t go near them.
I’m a huge fan of soup and love when the weather gets cool enough to justify eating it for lunch. Near my old job, there was a soup shop I used to go to every single day, they knew me by order and name.
Mazzy has always been opposed to soup but then a few months ago, Harlow tried my chicken soup and loved it. Then she started asking for chicken soup all the time. Mazzy wanted to see what all the fuss was about and ended up liking it too.
Now, chicken soup has become a guaranteed “yes” when discussing options for dinner. Which is great because it’s one of the few things the girls get excited about that contains protein.
Even better, Annie’s just launched a new organic soup line that makes giving Mazzy and Harlow kid-friendly soups with good wholesome ingredients even easier.
Prior to Annie’s Organic Soups, there were not many soups with organic ingredients geared to kids. Annie’s has a variety of delicious soups with fun shapes like Organic Star Pasta & Chicken Soup and Organic Creamy Carrot & Bunny Pasta Soup, which gives kids 100% of their daily Vitamin A— a great benefit during flu season.
Currently, Mazzy and Harlow love the chicken varieties like Organic Bunny Pasta & Chicken Broth, they don’t feel the need to branch out.
Which I understand because I have gone through many soup specific obsessions over my lifetime. Like when I was pregnant with Mazzy, all I wanted to eat was Gazpacho. And when I was pregnant with Harlow, I was OBSESSED with Miso Ramen.
Good soups can do that to a person.
When the girls do decide to expand their soup palate, I have all five Annie’s Organic Soup flavors stocked and ready to go.
I’m just excited Mazzy and Harlow are opening up to the glorious world of wholesome, organic soups, a land that their Dad and I have been living in happily for quite some time.
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This post is sponsored by Annie’s Homegrown, but all thoughts and opinions are my own. Check out their newest video on their new line of organic soups for their #ChooseGood campaign:
Do you mind my asking mommyshorts, but have you tried the soups yourself? Do they actually taste nice? My daughter is the pickiest eater (I don’t even know how she survives a day on what little she eats) but have found other pre-packaged childrens foods to taste quite bland.
Now I want soup.
Wow, this post couldn’t have come at a better time for me. My kids hate soup, but my youngest one has a terrible cold and doesn’t have much of an appetite. Since I had to go to Target anyway (for a new humidifier), I picked up some bunny pasta soup for her. I had to bribe her to take the first bite but after that, she gobbled it up and asked for more, even drinking up the broth from the bowl. I tasted her soup and it’s a bit bland for me, but I don’t add salt to my kids’ food so I appreciate that it’s not too salty.
I made a Tuscan Veggie soup last week that my kids absolutely loved. I have nothing on my aunt though who makes every single kind of soup known to man and it’s ALWAYS fabulous. Now I want soup.