Stay-At-Home Resources: Groceries, Supplements, and Activities for Kids

woman sitting cross-legged and reading a book

This week I forgot what day it was (several times), installed a mini-trampoline in my living room to keep my kids from bouncing off the walls, and worked to adapt to this unfolding situation.

Normal feels so far away, and I’m guessing it does for you, too.

Like many of you, my family has had to be creative about getting the supplies we need. If you’re still looking for some items that are available at your usual stores, I thought I’d share some resources that may be helpful. I’ve also included links to some wonderful kids activities (mostly free) that my family is trying out right now.

If you have a tip or resource that you think should be listed in this post, please share it in the comments below!

Groceries & Household Supplies

Misfits Market – Organic produce delivered directly to your door at a 40% discount. Imperfect, occasionally odd-looking fruits and veggies that won’t get sold in stores but fill the need for the budget conscious, healthy eating family. Get 25% off your first box with coupon code COOKWME-IQ4XEZ

ButcherBox – Choose your favorite cuts of grass-fed / grass-finished beef, organic free-range chicken, and heritage breed pork to fill your box. ButcherBox ships direct to your door. As of early May 2020, they have a waiting list for new customers due to high demand. Customers on the list are getting approved, so it’s definitely worth signing up.

Grove – For everything from natural household cleaners to personal care, Grove offers a reliable supply of options you can have shipped to your door. Customize your refill shipments as needed. Right now, expect 6-8 days shipping time vs. their normal 48 hours.

Shipt – When Instacart is overwhelmed, try Shipt. In our area, it gives us access to more than the one grocery store available through Instacart.

Thrive Market – We’re getting a lot of our staples (and some of our household supplies) from here right now. They’re currently experiencing shipping delays of 7-10 days, so we’re restocking in advance of when we will need things. (I’m only ordering stuff we will use regardless of whether local groceries become more available.)

Pete’s Paleo – Chef-made meals catered to your diet (Paleo, Keto, AIP Friendly, Low FODMAP) shipped frozen to your door. Order on Monday, delivered on Friday. Weekly seasonal menu is posted on the website (meals like Mango Glazed Chicken with Sautéed Spinach and Beets). Just pop them in the oven to warm up.

Trifecta Nutrition – These chef-made organic meals (Keto, Paleo, Clean, Vegan, Classic, Vegetarian) are fully cooked and macro balanced. Change, pause, or cancel your plan at any time. Shipping is always free.

PaleoValley has grass-fed jerky, bone broth, whole-food vitamin C and more for 15% off for a limited time with coupon code MP15.

Four Sigmatic has put together a bundle of two products – mushroom coffee and chaga extract – that’s 20% off with free shipping. You can find it here, and you can read more about the chaga mushroom here.

Serenity Kids is offering 10% off first orders with code MOMMYPOTAMUS. They make low sugar baby food that uses only ethically sourced meats, organic savory veggies, and healthy fats.

Supplements & Essential Oils

My family is focusing on getting good sleep, daily sun and nutritious food to support our immune systems naturally.

To be clear, the only way to prevent a viral infection is to not come into contact with that virus. Although it’s not a guarantee, the best way to do that is to focus on the basics: hand washing, social distancing and keeping surfaces clean.

Also, supplements are not a prevention or treatment. Rather, they’re thought to be helpful by supporting our bodies innate defense systems.

With that said, my family takes supplements as part of our daily – almost, we skip 1-2 days a week on purpose – routine. Here are some places I’ve ordered from recently.

Perfect Supplements has committed to not raising their prices right now, which I deeply appreciate. They have a page where they list product availability and backorder status.

Plant Therapy is offering 15% off tea tree essential oil, lemon essential oil, and orange blood essential oil through Monday. You can find the sale here – the discount applies automatically.

Starwest Botanicals has some hard-to-find herbs in stock, like elderberry and astragalus root (you can read about the benefits of astragalus here).

Kids Activities & Educational Resources

Free streaming kids audiobooks from Amazon.

The San Diego Zoo has a website just for kids with amazing videos, activities, and games.

Tour Yellowstone National Park!

Take a virtual tour of the Louvre in Paris.

19 science podcasts you can listen to with your kids.

Try your hand at coding with Star Wars.

From rainbows to tornadoes and winter storms to tsunamis, meteorologist Crystal Wicker breaks down the fascinating world of weather. She’s also shared a lot of experiments that can be done at home, like making a rainbow or a tornado in a jar.

The Smithsonian Institute brings your child everything from live video of the National Zoo to the Smithsonian Learning Lab.

The Smithsonian also takes a deep dive into ocean life.

Kids can play instruments online, including the guitar, piano, pan flute, drums, and bongos.

Innerbody explores the 11 bodily systems in depth. With interactive models and detailed explanations, this website will help them learn more about the internal mechanics of the amazing human body.

Banzai teaches kids financial literacy using age-appropriate, real-world dilemmas.

Kiwi Co is offering 15% off their kits with coupon code LEARN and free resources for at-home learning.

Green Kids Crafts is offering 10% off their kits with coupon code HOMESCHOOL.

If you need more ideas, I’ve shared 50+ kids activities here, plus free online resources for learning at home.

Telemedicine

SteadyMD – Several of you have asked if SteadyMD (a service that gives you access to your own personal doctor via text, phone or video chat) is taking new patients.

I checked with them a couple of days ago and they are – the amount of time it takes to get in varies depending on the doctor you choose and the state you live in, but can be as little as 1-2 days. You can read my SteadyMD review here, or sign up here.