Make The Grade With These Clever Back-to-School Finds (As Seen on CBS Austin)
Grab your notebook and pen, folks! Now that school is back in session, I stopped by CBS Austin’s “We Are Austin” to suggest some products that will help kids, parents, and educators kick off the school year feeling energized, confident, stylish, and secure. From backpacks to shoes, hydration boosters, lunchbox essentials, and beauty travel bags, check out my picks below!
Juice Plus+ Superfood Powder
Back-to-school season can feel overwhelmingly busy for kids and parents alike. And, with all the hustle and bustle, making good nutritional choices (and finding the time to consume the recommended daily amount of fruits and veggies) can prove challenging. Luckily, the Juice Plus+ Superfood Powder ($109 for 30-ct. box on JuicePlus.com) will help us enjoy a nutrition boost while on the move.
This delicious drink mix is packed with 30 fruits, veggies and berries, as well as plant-based vitamins and phytonutrients. These include: acerola cherry, apple, artichoke, beet, blueberry, broccoli, carrot, cranberry, kale, mango, peach, pineapple, and raspberry. Packaged in travel-friendly stick packs, the Superfood Powder is a useful way to hydrate and feed your body while on the move — whether you’re hustling the kids out the door in the morning, waiting on the school pick-up line, or watching the littles at soccer practice.
Superfood Powder is also part of the Juice Plus Healthy Starts program, designed to help adults and young people make simple, healthy lifestyle changes together that will become life-long habits. With Healthy Starts, if you buy the Superfood Powder on subscription, you can gift free Juice Plus+ Fruit & Vegetable Blend capsules or chewables to a child, teen or young adult (up to age 25). You can enroll today on JuicePlus.com
DSW’s Back-To-School Shoe Styles — and its National Shoe Donation Day Initiative!
Stylish and comfortable shoes are an absolute must to kick off the school year on a high note. And DSW has some great footwear options to help kids kick off the school year feeling stylish and confident— including classic styles as well as new launches from top brands like Nike, New Balance, Converse, Sperry and Crocs.
The New Balance Women’s CT300 V3 Court Sneakers ($59.99 on DSW.com), shown at top, are a versatile and comfortable choice that girls can easily pair with everything from dresses to jeans. The Nike Women’s Pacific Sneakers ($60 on DSW.com) are another fantastic choice, with mesh and suede uppers topped with a puffed Swoosh logo, alongside a herringbone sole, for a ’70s-inspired vibe.And you simply can’t go wrong with the timeless Converse Kids’ Chuck Taylor All Star Classic sneakers ($39.96 on DSW.com). The Crocs Kids’ Classic Clogs ($39.99 on DSW.com) are another sensible choice for younger kids, featuring a molded design for lightweight comfort — and they can be customized with Jibbitz charms to give them a touch of personality! And for those who love a classic preppy look, there’s the Sperry Kids’ Authentic Original Boat Shoe ($69.99 on DSW.com). From sneakers to ballet flats, clogs, boat shoes, boots, and sandals, DSW has something for every kid’s style.
And, right now, you can contribute to a fantastic cause while getting your kids their new shoes! Through August 15th, DSW is welcoming donations of gently worn shoes through their partnership with Soles4Souls.
To deepen its impact, DSW is launching its first-ever National Shoe Donation Day on August 15th in all stores nationwide. Through the 15th, customers are encouraged to bring gently worn shoes to their local DSW store, thereby helping Soles4Souls create economic opportunities for people around the world. In return, donors will receive a $10 DSW VIP Reward that they can allot towards the purchase of new shoes!
Mission Darkness Freeroam Faraday Backpack
Nowadays, more and more schools (particularly here in Texas) are enforcing phone-free policies in an effort to rid kids of distractions in the classroom and foster an environment that prioritizes learning. The Mission Darkness Freeroam Faraday Backpack ($195 on MOSequipment.com) constitutes a specialized solution for these specific educational needs. The sleek backpack features a padded laptop compartment, water bottle holder, and comfortable ergonomic design, but what’s truly groundbreaking is it’s ability to block all wireless signals, thereby protecting devices from tracking, hacking, and data theft.
The water-resistant backpack’s interior is lined with two layers of TitanRF™ Faraday Fabric, a lab-certified, high-shielding material that blocks WiFi, Bluetooth, cell signals (including 5G networks, GPS, RFID, and NFC), and radio signals (from low MHz all the way up to 40GHz). This fabric lining provides digital privacy — no apps or batteries are required. That makes this backpack an excellent choice for students this back-to-school season as well as for travelers and professionals concerned about digital privacy in public spaces like subways, trains, airports, and coffee shops.
Here in the Austin area, schools in the Lago Vista ISD are currently adopting this Generation Faraday technology for their classroom cell phone pouches. These pouches secure devices and eliminate distractions (like text and app notifications ), ensuring students remain focused in the classroom while also allowing kids to easily access cell phones should any emergency arise.
Halfday Iced Tea
A lot of people think of canned and bottled iced tea as a healthier beverage choice, but some options on the market can contain up to 40 grams of sugar — that’s double the amount of sugar you’d find in a Snickers or Kit-Kat bar! Thankfully, we can now enjoy the iced tea flavor we love and crave without the excess sugar and calories — all thanks to Halfday Iced Tea, a better-for-you take on a beloved classic.
Halfday Iced Tea is crafted with prebiotic fiber to support gut health, and it’s low in both sugar and calories. Halfday’s exclusive GOODDAY Prebiotic Blend delivers 6 grams of prebiotic fiber from cassava root, fructan fiber, and organic agave inulin to support digestion and sustained energy. Each naturally sweetened can contains just 3 to 5 grams of sugar, so there’s no sugar crash or guilt involved!
Available in flavors like Lemon, Peach, Raspberry, Classic Half & Half, and Green Tea with Honey & Ginseng, it’s a refreshing and flavorful pick-me-up for parents, teachers, and students alike. The shelf-stable cans, meanwhile, fit easily into lunchboxes and backpacks.
You can find Halfday Iced Tea at H-E-B and Whole Foods stores or you can purchase a 12-pack on Amazon.
Everyday Dose
Love your morning cup of coffee but loathe the caffeine crash that inevitably follows? Well, it’s time to get familiar with Everyday Dose, a mushroom-powered coffee that delivers smooth energy and calm focus — all without the unwanted jitters or caffeine crashes. It’s the perfect coffee for parents, teachers, and teen and 20-something students this back-to-school season!
Everyday Dose’s functional blend eliminates the downsides associated with coffee while providing additional health benefits. It contains 100% Arabica coffee; L-Theanine, an amino acid that promotes mental clarity and calm focus; grass-fed collagen protein to enhance the health of your skin, hair, nails and joints; and lion’s mane and chaga mushrooms to support focus and immunity. Everyday Dose is gluten-free, dairy-free, soy-free, non-GMO, and contains no sugar, no artificial sweeteners or additives, and no fillers.
To enjoy this better-for-you coffee, simply add one scoop to your cup, add your choice of warm or cold water, then froth for 10-15 seconds. You can then add your favorite milk, creamer, or sweetener and customize as desired!
Everyday Dose is now available in over 1500 Target stores nationwide and on Target.com
KUSSHI Wristlet Clutch and Hair Tools Bag
Next, to keep beauty products and hair tools organized at home, in your backpack or travel bag, and in your dorm room, look to travel beauty accessory brand KUSSHI. All KUSSHI bags are made with premium neoprene and are machine-washable, so you can say goodbye to dingy makeup bags covered in lipstick and foundation stains. They’re also meticulously designed to avoid product spills and frustrating clutter, keeping your beloved beauty possessions safe and neat.
Featuring a detachable handle with silver hardware, the KUSSHI Wristlet Clutch ($39 on KUSSHI.com and Amazon) holds all your essentials: from your wallet and cell phone to your keys, sunglasses, and favorite beauty products. It features 2 interior mesh pockets (perfect for storing lip gloss, mascara, hand cream, and a travel-sized hair brush) and a slip-behind sleeve.
And the new KUSSHI Hair Tools Bag ($89 on KUSSHI.com and Amazon) is designed to keep your precious (and expensive!) hair tools safe and organized when traveling from point A to point B. The bag fits a blow dryer, curling iron, straightener, brushes, and hairspray, and it even has small zippered pockets in the back for stashing hair clips and hair ties. It’s great for frequent travelers, for girls who struggle to keep their bathroom spaces tidy, for college students with shared bathrooms, and for students who engage in activities like cheer and dance that require on-the-go touch-ups.
The thoughtfully designed bag is heat resistant up to 380 degrees Fahrenheit so, if you need to quickly style your hair and store your hair tool before running out the door, you can do so without worrying about burning anything. It’s a game-changer!
Sunrider ElectroSport
August is always the hottest month here in Texas, so we want to hydrate accordingly (and help our littles do so as well!). On that note, this is Sunrider’s ElectroSport, an ultra-concentrated electrolyte powder that replenishes electrolytes and minerals lost during perspiration. It’s great for athletes and people with active lifestyles. If your kids play football, soccer, or volleyball, you’ll want to stock up on ElectroSport.
Available in a refreshing lemon-lime flavor, the formula contains potassium and magnesium, which play a crucial role in athletic performance, muscle function, and recovery. And since ElectroSport contains no artificial colors or added sugar, it’s a healthier alternative to many sports drinks on the market. Each box contains 10 travel-friendly packets that you can stash in backpacks and gym bags, then mix with water when it’s time for a hydration boost!
A 10-ct. box of ElectroSport retails for $34.12 on Sunrider.com
Bright Littles Journals and Conversation Cards
Education starts at home, right? Well, the Austin-based company Bright Littles empowers families to have meaningful conversations with young children about issues like safety, health and digital responsibility — all through engaging and age-appropriate tools.
The Digital Citizenship Journal helps kids understand how to be kind online, stay safe, follow communication rules and manage their digital footprint. The Leadership Journal, meanwhile, uses fun games, reflection prompts, and badge-earning activities to help kids build confidence, empathy, and real-world leadership skills. The journals are $19.95 each on BrightLittles.com
And the Conversation Cards open the door to important topics like consent, emotional boundaries, cultural diversity, and environmental care, allowing these talks to unfold in a safe and playful way. These are also $19.95 on BrightLittles.com
