Shopping Around - Pacific Foods' Milk and Soy Blend and Prang Fun Pro Crayons are among the recommended products; these and other products are discussed - Brief Article

Vegetarian Times, Sept, 1999 by Wendy Thayer

Best of Both Worlds

What do you do when you want to give your family the benefits of soy but they prefer the taste of dairy milk? Keep everyone happy with Pacific Foods' Milk and Soy Blend ($1.89/32 oz.), a refreshing lactose-free drink that contains 30 milligrams of disease-fighting soy isoflavones. Available in reduced-fat and low-fat options. For info: (503) 692-9666; pfo@pacificfoods.com.

Color Me Green

Prang Fun Pro Crayons (64/$5.49), made of pure soybean oil, are sure to keep your kids happy for hours. Not only do they come in brighter colors than the traditional crayons made from petroleum-derived paraffin, they don't flake as much. A nice bonus: These eco-conscious crayons are nontoxic, nonallergenic and biodegradable. For info: (800) 824-9430; www.prang.com.

Stay Clear-Headed

Every parent knows that once school starts, the dreaded lice scare is soon to follow. Desert Essence Therapeutic Treatment Shampoo and Conditioner ($8.99/8 oz.) are a gentle and natural way to help prevent head lice, using a combination of tea tree, blue cypress and eucalyptus antiseptic essential oils. For info: (800) 848-7331.

Bear Essential

Tuck your child in with a fuzzy friend. Sooth-eze's "Toasty Bear" ($29.95/15 inches) contains 10 calming herbs, including lavender, thyme, rose and lemon balm. When placed in a sunny window or near a radiator, Toasty Bear absorbs the heat and stays warm and grant for up to two hours. Ages 3 and older. To order: (888) 766-8439; www.sootheze.com.

Coochie-Coochie Cuisine

No need to mix two or three containers of baby food anymore to get a nutritious meal for your little one. One of Well-Fed Baby's frozen meals ($1.69/4 oz.) provides a complete organic, soy-based, vegetarian and kosher meal for your baby without artificial flavors, colors or preservatives. These cryogenically frozen meals include Legumes and Lentils; Millet and Mangoes; Brown Rice and Lentils, Tofruity; and Banana-Mango Congee. The paperboard packaging is safe for microwaves and conventional ovens. For info: (888)-WELLFED; www.wellfedbaby.com.

Juiced Up

This school year, pack your kids' lunches with Vruit, little boxes of pure juice ($2.29/three-pack of 8.45 oz.) with no added sugars, colors or preservatives. The drink blends vegetables and fruits into two delicious flavors, Berry Veggie Blend and Tropical Blend. A single serving provides 100 percent of the recommended daily allowance of vitamins A and C. For info: (734) 429-2310; info@americansoy.com.

Mama Knows Best

No more Cocoa Fruity Pebble Charms for breakfast. Mother's Groovy Grahams ($3.79/105 oz.) is a kid-friendly, low-fat, 100 percent natural cereal sweetened with unsulphured molasses and honey and no artificial colors or flavorings. Great with soy milk or eaten straight out of the box (the way we do). For info: (888) 679-9865.

Play with Your Food

If your children are too young to help in the kitchen, then bring the kitchen--the fruits and vegetables, at least--to them with Learningsmith's "Velcro-Veggies" produce basket ($19.95/8.5 x 10.5 inches). The carry-all comes with four food cartons, a plastic play knife and 19 plastic fruits and veggies that "crunch" when your child "cuts" them. For info: (800) 404-2190.