my travel tips and no-fail kid dinners

so into that #45

Hi, happy Wednesday!

How are you? I’m feeling pretty frazzled, honestly. Something I’ve learned about parenting is that just when you’re in a good, solid groove with schedules and childcare and the daily flow of things, something will come unglued and send you scattering to pick up the pieces.

We’re in one of those tricky times. George is traveling a lot for work too, so we are like ships passing in the night right now. We are currently in the midst of a 10-day stint where we won’t see each other once, we each have multiple trips, and they all overlap. We have random sitters (because our regular sitter is out with a knee injury for two months) helping bridge the gaps between when one of our flights takes off and the other’s lands. It’s… kind of insane.

I know it’ll all regulate soon — it always does! — but right now, dang, we’re in the thick of it.

In the spirit of having taken over 25 flights in the past 60 days, today’s So Into That is all about travel essentials that make being away from home feel as cozy and easy as possible.

PS: I thought about deleting all of this and just sharing a quick, “I’ve been traveling a lot, here are some things I’ve been loving!” but I always want to share the reality behind being a working parent. Sometimes it’s smooth sailing and I feel like *I can have it all.* Other times, it is really hard. Right now it’s hard!

1. I’m a recent convert to packing cubes and am obsessed with these from Quince.

2. Reason 1,000 why I love these zippy bags: they’re ideal for keeping snacks, toys, and other travel needs organized on cross-country flights whether I’m flying alone or with my kids. When I’m flying solo, I keep my charger, headphones, book, phone, and chapstick in a zippy bag and it’s the only thing I keep with me at my seat — I stow my personal item in the overhead bin so that I have more leg room. That small change has been such a nice unlock to making my travel days more comfortable! And when I’m with the kids, each boy gets a zippy bag with snacks and toys in it.

3. Listening to a podcast or, let’s be serious, smutty book while I’m trudging through TSA, boarding, sitting on the tarmac, etc. makes that “lost time” feel not so lost. These are my favorite inexpensive earbuds.

4. I also always travel with a book. Right now I’m reading The Love of My After Life and am really enjoying it.

5. I maintain that having a Clear membership and TSA pre-check is the only way to fly in today’s hellscape of air travel. My AmEx reimburses me for my membership costs to both Clear and Global Entry, so it’s a no-brainer for me.

6. Always bring a bathing suit. Always. Just when you think you won’t have time to hang by the pool or go in the sauna, your meeting will get cancelled and you’ll wish you had it.

7. It’s a sad day when I forget to pack my Hilma. I love their sleep and digestive support supplements for when my sleep cycles and tummy are funky from travel.

8. From Molly: I’m going to be traveling in a few weeks without my baby and just bought a Ceres breastmilk chiller to store my pumped milk in while there.

9. From Jillian: This mask is SO good at bringing moisture back to your face, especially after a long flight.

10. I’ve gotten really good and packing light and here’s one of my tips: I don’t pack any shirts that are strictly exercise shirts. Instead, I mostly plan my daytime outfits around simple tee shirts, and then I wear the tee shirt that I wore the day before to workout the next day. Sure, it’s a little stinky, but I did 10 days of the book tour and carried on the entire time, so concessions have to be made!

11. I try to book hotels that have a Peloton, when possible, so that I can squeeze in an efficient, quick workout.

12. In my youth (aka before this year) I used to always use the hotel shampoo and conditioner. Now, I realize that means I’m setting myself up to have no idea what kind of hair day I’m going to have! I am now a *travel bottle* person. Nothing makes me feel like I have my shit together quite so much as packing the perfect amount of face wash for a 5-day trip.

I’ve also perfected my travel outfit formula. If it’s a flight under two hours, I’m wearing comfortable jeans with a tee shirt and an oversized sweater. If it’s a flight over two hours, I’m swapping the jeans out for an elastic waistband: either Sézane Jimmy trousers or my newest elastic waistband addition, these chic and so comfy pants from J Crew.

Plus, cute socks and stocks (sandals when flying somewhere warm, clogs when flying somewhere cold), always! Easy to slip on and off, and no cold toes!

my children absolutely crush hella green pasta — aka “green monster pasta” — which, btw, contains a pound of kale and 12 ounces of spinach!

I recently realized that my kids were getting home from school starving around 4 p.m., loading up on snacks, and then not eating a good dinner because they were already full of snacks. So we flipped dinner time and snack time and it’s been really, really great. They’re much more likely to try new foods and actually eat their dinner when they’re super hungry right after school, then they have a little snack before bed.

I don’t love to eat so early, which means that I’m typically making a “kid dinner,” sitting and chatting with them while they eat, then eating with George later in the evening. We won’t do this forever, but for now I am releasing the guilt around having a perfect sit down “family dinner” that had me in a stranglehold for the first many years that I was a parent.

Here are a few (almost) never-fail kid dinners in my house.

The tricky part with pulling off dinner right after school is that George and I are also finishing work at the same time, so these are all really simple, quick meals that we can pull off in a few minutes. Often, it’s leftovers that I’m just reheating! If it’s a real recipe, I’ll cook it whenever I have time and they’ll eat it a few times that week:

• pesto pasta

• hella green pasta (also in the book on page 111)

• healthy-ish turkey bolognese (the book has a similar recipe on page 226)

• cheater bolognese (brown 1 pound ground beef and 1 pound cauliflower rice, season with salt, pep, oregano, and garlic powder, add a jar of pasta sauce, and toss with pasta and Parm)

• dumplings + broccoli or mushrooms + peanut sauce

• turkey sandwiches

• frozen meatballs + broccoli or mushrooms

• pasta tossed with butter, parm, and pasta water until super saucy glossy

• goodles mac and cheese

• rotisserie chicken + cucumbers + pretzels + hummus

While we’re talking kid dinners, here’s a list of WTC recipes you all have told me your kids love! What kid dinners never fail in your house?

creamy white turkey chili, 2023

This chili is a MAJOR fan fave, if you’re new here! Making two pots of chili — a “white” chili like this and a “red” one like this — is a Halloween tradition for my fam. Whether you’re meal planning for next week or just looking for a cozy easy weeknight meal, make this chili ASAP!

crispy butternut squash salad with aged gouda and pecans, 2022

emily nunn

of

The Department of Salad: Official Bulletin

brought us this gorgeous fall salad during my maternity leave two years ago. Her recipe includes butternut squash “chips” that are fab in this salad and are also just great for fall snacking. In fact… I’m going to make a batch for my kids soon and add it to their dinner plates! Calling anything a “chip” increases the odds that they’ll eat it.

green chicken tortilla soup, 2021

This is even more of a dump-and-go situation than the creamy white turkey chili since we cook the chicken right in the simmering soup (vs. browning the meat first, like we do with the turkey chili). This would actually be an ideal recipe to cook in the slow cooker! See the notes section beneath the recipe for instructions on how to make it a crockpot meal.

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