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School is back in session. Here are 5 simple lunch ideas to keep you sane while you keep your family healthy.

With O Organics, it's easy.

Photo credit: Canva

Yes, school lunches CAN be easy, healthy and inexpensive.

Parents, let’s face it: prepping school lunches can feel like trying to solve a complex math equation. It's got to be nutritious, appealing, fast, and let's not forget…within budget. But what if we told you there’s a secret weapon that can make this whole ordeal a breeze? Enter: O Organics from Albertsons.

O Organics offers a wide range of affordable, USDA organic goodies that are perfect for school lunches. From crunchy apple slices to delicious, creamy greek yogurt, they've got you covered. Plus, their prices won’t break the bank, proving that healthy eating doesn’t have to be a luxury.

Now, let’s get down to the good stuff: the food! Here are some simple, kid (and wallet) friendly lunch ideas—made entirely with O Organics ingredients—to help you ditch the processed junk and give your kids the fuel they need to conquer the classroom:

1. Pasta Salad

  • Main: A cold pasta salad made with O Organics whole-grain rotini pasta, O Organics chopped vegetables (like cucumbers, bell peppers, and cherry tomatoes), and Italian dressing. Add protein with chickpeas or a three bean blend.
  • Side: O Organics apple slices.
  • Snack: A serving of O Organics Greek yogurt, with some granola for a fun topping.

2. Egg Salad Sandwich

  • Main: A sandwich using whole wheat bread filled with a mixture of O Organics hard boiled eggs, mayo (or Greek yogurt for extra protein), mustard, dill, onion powder, salt and pepper.
  • Side:O Organics tortilla chips and salsa.
  • Snack: A pack of O Organics fruit strips.

3. Peanut Butter Apple Wrap (great for toddlers)

  • Main:O Organics peanut butter spread on a couple of flour soft taco tortillas, topped with thinly sliced apples. Drizzle some O Organics honey, roll it up and voila!
  • Side:O Organics baby-cut carrots with a side of hummus.
  • Snack:O Organics cottage cheese.

4. Quickie Quesadilla

  • Main: A tortilla filled with O Organics Mexican Style Shredded Cheese, black beans, and a sprinkle of chili powder.
  • Side: A couple of hard boiled O Organics eggs.
  • Snack: Ants on a log.

5. A Hot Dog…that stays hot

  • Main: You know the drill. Hot dog (we recommended the O Organics Beef Franks). Mustard. Cheese. Bun.
  • Side: A colorful side salad with spring mix, cherry tomatoes, and vinaigrette dressing.
  • Snack:O Organics banana chips.

But how the heck do you keep the hot dog hot? We’ve got just the tip, courtesy of Allrecipes.com:

Step 1

  • Preheat an insulated beverage container by filling it with boiling water. Let stand for 15 to 20 minutes. Right before leaving, dump out water and replace with more boiling water. The preheating keeps it hot for a longer time. Place the hot dog into the water and close the lid.

Step 2

  • When your child is ready for lunch, they can take the hot dog out of the container and place it on the bun.

Remember: This list is just a starting point. You can totally customize it to your kid’s needs and preferences. You can even involve your kiddos in the lunch-packing process to make it more fun for everyone. Let them help choose the menu, make a shopping list, pack their lunches…even grow their own veggies! If you’re feeling ambitious, that is.

No matter how you choose to give your kids the best possible start to their day, making small changes and taking advantage of resources like O Organics can help make it happen in a sustainable and enjoyable way.

So, what are you waiting for? Shop O Organics now exclusively at Albertsons, Safeway or any sister store. Your kids' bodies (and taste buds) will thank you.

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O Organics’ delicious, easy-to-cook homestyle spaghetti recipe helps feed America’s hungry

O Organics is donating a meal for every product purchased at Albertsons stores, up to 28 million meals.

via Two Plaid Aprons

Mei and Kyong and a delicious plate of spaghetti and meatballs.

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When most people think about Korean cooking, they probably imagine the enticing aroma, colors, and flavors of a plate filled with kimchi and bulgogi or a hot bowl of bibimbap. But when cooking influencer Kyong reflects upon his childhood, he has fond memories of his Korean mother cooking him a delicious and easy-to-prepare spaghetti and meatballs recipe.

"My parents were busy running their dry-cleaning business and couldn't call off work or take long breaks like a traditional 9 to 5 job, so there wasn't a lot of time to cook,” he recalled. “So, my mom learned how to make quick-and-easy meals, and her spaghetti and meatballs were my favorites.”

Is there any better example of the American melting pot than a hard-working Korean mother cooking an Italian staple for her family?

Kyong and his fiancé, Mei, are popular chefs whose Two Plaid Aprons Instagram page has over 500,000 followers. The couple met at Chef John Folse Culinary Institute of Nicholls State University in Thibodaux, Louisiana.

Two Plaid Apron’s Instagram and YouTube pages have dozens of videos that teach you how to cook everything from kimchi spam fried rice to chicken alfredo to crab rangoon. The recipes come from all parts of the globe, with a particular focus on Asian cuisine.

Two Plaid Aprons has partnered with O Organics to teach you how to make Kyong’s mother’s spaghetti and meatballs while also giving you an easy (and tasty!) way to help Americans suffering from food insecurity.

“Food is very important to us, not only because it fills our stomach, but also because we relate memories to food,” Kyong and Mei said. “So, we were incredibly happy to be able to partner with Albertsons and Upworthy to help fight food insecurity. O Organics is donating a meal for every product purchased at Albertsons stores, up to 28 million meals. This recipe uses 8 O Organic products. That’s 8 meals donated. That is incredible.”

Plus, with O Organics, you’re providing these families with nutritious meals. O Organics is committed to producing USDA-certified, affordably priced organic foods that support the well-being of all.

Food programs like this are even more critical during the summer. Did you know that 1 in 8 kids experience food insecurity in the United States, and 22 million of them rely on school meal programs unavailable in summer?

“For the more than 22 million children who depend on school breakfast and lunch programs, summer vacation means worrying about when they’ll eat next,” Feeding America says.

Here’s how to make Kyong’s mother’s delicious spaghetti and meatballs using O Organics.

Yield: 2 Servings (10 Meatballs)

Spaghetti & sauce:

1 jar (25 oz) O Organic tomato basil sauce
8 oz O Organic spaghetti
1/4 large O Organic yellow onion, diced
1 TBSP O Organic extra virgin olive oil
1/2 tsp salt
5 tsp sugar

Meatballs:

1/3 cup O Organic plain breadcrumbs
1/2 cup O Organic whole milk
1 lb O Organic ground beef (85% lean)
1 large O Organic egg
1/4 cup parmesan, grated
1/2 tsp black pepper
2 cloves garlic, grated
1 tsp salt

1. In a saucepan over medium heat, add the olive oil. Once hot, add the diced onion and sauté until translucent.

2. Add the jar of tomato basil sauce, salt, and sugar.

3. Cover the saucepan with a lid and allow the sauce to simmer for about 15 minutes.

4. Meanwhile, make the meatballs. First, mix together the breadcrumbs and milk. Set aside to let soak.

5. In a large mixing bowl, combine ground beef, egg, parmesan, garlic, salt, pepper, and the soaked breadcrumbs. Mix until everything is well combined and cohesive.

6. Use a small cookie scoop to portion the meatballs (2 scoops per meatball). Gently compact each portion in your palms and roll it into balls.

7. Once finished, give the simmering sauce a good stir and place the meatballs into the sauce. Make sure to arrange them in a single layer.

8. Cover and let the meatballs simmer in the sauce for about 30 minutes or until cooked. Make sure to swirl and/or stir the sauce occasionally. Be gentle to prevent breaking the meatballs.

9. While waiting, bring a pot of water to a boil and add the spaghetti. Cook according to the package instructions or about 12 to 14 minutes. Drain well and portion onto serving plates.

10. Top the pasta with the desired amount of sauce and meatballs. Enjoy!

Now that you’ve enjoyed Kyong’s mother’s spaghetti and meatballs. What are some of your favorite meals that you can make using O Organics?

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1 in 8 kids in the U.S. experiences food insecurity. One simple grocery choice can help.

It's truly a win-win.

Albertsons

No child should have to worry about getting enough food to thrive.

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When you’re a kid, summer means enjoying the fun of the season—plentiful sunshine, free time with friends, splashing in pools and sprinklers. But not every child’s summer is as carefree as it should be.

For some, summer means going hungry. According to Feeding America, food insecurity affects 1 in 8 children in the U.S., largely because families lose the free or reduced-price meals at school that help keep them fed during the school year.

But back-to-school time doesn’t make food insecurity disappear, either. Hunger is a year-round issue, and with the increased cost of groceries, it’s gotten harder for families who were already struggling to put food on the table.

So what can be done—or more specifically, what can the average person do—to help?

The good news is that one simple choice at the grocery store can help ease the burden a bit for those experiencing food insecurity. And the even better news is that it’s also a healthy choice for ourselves, our families and our planet. When we’re out on our regular shopping trips, we can simply look for the O Organics versions of things we would already buy.

But wait—aren’t we all feeling the pinch at the checkout stand? And isn’t organic food expensive? Here’s the thing: Organic food is often much more affordable than you might think. The cost difference between organic and non-organic products keeps narrowing, and many organic and non-organic foods are now almost identical in price. Sometimes you’ll even find that an organic product is actually cheaper than its brand-name non-organic counterpart.

Since 2005, O Organics has helped give health-conscious shoppers more options by making organic food more accessible and affordable. And now, it’s helping those same shoppers take action to fight food insecurity. For every O Organics product you purchase, the company will donate a meal to someone in need through the Albertsons Companies Foundation—for up to a total of 28 million meals.

Look for the O Organics label in every aisle.O Organics

Here’s what that means in real-world terms:

Say you’re throwing an end-of-summer backyard BBQ bash. If you were to buy O Organics ground beef, hamburger buns, ketchup and sea salt potato chips, you’d be donating four meals just by buying those four ingredients. If you added O Organics butter lettuce and O Organics sandwich slice pickles, you’d be donating two more meals, and so on.

And where are those meals going? Albertsons Companies Foundation works with a network of national and local charities fighting hunger, and regional divisions choose organizations to fund locally. So every O Organics product you purchase means a meal on the table for someone in your area who might not otherwise have the nourishment they need.

No kid should have to worry about getting enough food to thrive. We all make conscious choices each time we walk down a grocery store aisle, and by choosing O Organics, we can make a difference in a child’s life while also making healthy choices for ourselves and our families. It’s truly a win-win.
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Simple ways to stay healthy even when you’re insanely busy

Photo by Joshua Rawson-Harris via couponsnake.com on Unsplash
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Now that life is returning to normal (sort of!), people are finding it hard to fit in healthy meals amid a busy schedule. While the easiest solution may seem like grabbing fast food at a drive-thru or vending machine, that’s certainly not the healthiest choice.

Albertsons makes it easy to avoid falling into the fast food trap by offering O Organics® snacks and easy-to-prepare on-the-go meals, keeping bodies fueled and ready to run. But first? You have to make some sort of a plan, and then actually stick to it. Depending on your schedule and how many people live in your household, it may be beneficial to meal plan every week, making one large grocery list to prep lunches and dinners ahead of time.

If you don’t have time to walk the aisles of the grocery store, there’s the option of grocery pickup and/or delivery, the single most amazing invention of all time. Albertsons offers the option to create a profile based on your location, build shopping lists based on meal plans and recipes (both are available on their website), and a few clicks later, VOILA. Your order is ready for pickup!

Photo courtesy of Albertsons

For days when you know you won’t have much time between appointments to eat an actual meal, keep items in your bag or car like O Organics® mixed nuts, O Organics popcorn, O Organics fresh fruit, or protein bars. That will prevent you from getting hangry and whipping into the closest fast food chain. Items that need to be refrigerated, like string cheese, O Organics yogurt, and frozen meals, can be stowed in a refrigerator at work or school, or an insulated lunchbox.

Baby carrots with individually packaged containers of hummus or veggie dip is a great choice if you’re too busy to cook but also not behind the wheel of a car, because that particular snack requires both hands. Personally, I like to pack crackers and cheese, cucumber slices, and cherry tomatoes to snack on if I’m waiting in a parking lot (I find myself doing this a lot) or sitting at my desk, waiting for a Zoom call to start.

Photo courtesy of Albertsons

Another, more industrious option is to make a double batch of fiber-filled chewy chocolate chip cookies. This particular recipe includes quinoa and applesauce, so obviously they’re healthy. These cookies are delicious fresh out of the oven or for several days afterwards—you can even freeze them!

Main Ingredients

Cooking Instructions:

Step 1

Preheat oven to 375º. In a food processor, pulse 1 cup of the oats about 7-8 times to a finer consistency.

Step 2

In a large mixing bowl, combine all ingredients except chocolate chips. Mix well. Add chocolate chips and evenly incorporate.

Step 3

Spray a baking sheet with nonstick spray. Drop by rounded tablespoon full drops onto baking sheet. Use spoon to slightly flatten the top of the cookies.

Step 4

Bake for 12-14 minutes. Remove from oven and let rest on baking sheet for 1 minute before placing on a baking rack to cool.

Hydration! Don’t forget hydration. I have a terrible habit of grabbing a cup of coffee when I feel worn out, when I’m actually on the struggle bus because my body needs water. Keep a refillable water bottle handy—and use it!

In review: the first key to staying healthy when you feel like you’re way too busy to stay healthy is always being prepared with nutritious snacks within reach, both in and out of your home. The second is having items on hand to whip together a homemade meal quickly, and the third key to staying on track is to bake plenty of cookies.

Lucky for you, O Organics, only available at Albertsons and their sister stores— Safeway, Vons, Jewel-Osco, ACME, Shaw’s, Star Market, Tom Thumb, Randalls and Pavilions, can help with with every single one of these, so you can be merrily on your way to your next meeting with a bounce in your step.

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