Chilean Easy Peelers

Caterpillars, dealers, healers...
All rhyme well with Easy Peelers.
A juicy citrus to stave off munchies;
They're great for packed school lunches.
We know our rhymes are silly,
But we have fun with fruit from Chile.

Now that Eddie started a new school, he begged me to allow him to have packed school lunches rather than hot meals. He is slowly settling in in this big school environment, and so far I haven't been pressuring him into eating school lunches. I might at some point encourage him to eat school meals on some days.
He loves simple homemade sandwiches or wraps, with ham and cheese. I also add a yogurt on a stick to his lunch box, a cheese string, a drink, a pack of fruit rolls and a piece of fruit.
He chooses which fruit to have, it is usually an apple or a clementine.

Easy peel clementines and mandarins are a great source of vitamin C, calcium, magnesium and water, which helps to keep you hydrated. Chilean easy peelers are now in season, and are widely available at the moment, from September to November.
What we like about easy peelers is their juicy sweet taste and convenience. They are portable and easy to peel. Children won't need help to peel this fruit, especially in the school environment. A lovely snack for a lunchbox or after school.

Did you know that last year the amount of Chilean mandarins sold in the UK reached over 2,000 tonnes, that's a pretty big mountain of fruit. Eddie and I tried to imagine just how big a mountain of 2,000 tonnes might be.
Another bit of useful information: Easy peelers are a great source of water; in fact 87% of their nutritional composition is water.

If you've been at school around playtime, you know it is a total chaos. Many a time, when I arrive to school to help with reading, and the kids run around like mad, screaming, throwing leaves at each other, fighting. It's a wild-wild world. They all look red in the face, hot and flushed.
No wonder they are all thirsty after the playtime. Having plenty of fluids is paramount to stay hydrated. And if you have a piece of fruit which gives you more water, it is even better.

Eddie comes home tired and peckish after school. He likes to relax on the sofa, watching his favourite shows on TV, with a few selected snacks including mandarins on a little table nearby.

It was an Inset day at school yesterday, and Eddie and I watched Witches together. We liked the film more than the book for one simple reason - it has a happy end, while the book ends on a sad note.
We were sitting on the sofa, wrapped up in a duvet, and at times we felt like throwing the mandarin peelings at the screen, when witches were getting particularly nasty.

This post is an entry for the BritMums #ChileanEasyPeelers Challenge, sponsored by Chilean Citrus Committee.

Disclosure: we received 10 easy peelers to sample and give a seal of approval. All opinions are our own.