Balance Bar Partners With Mom Blogger Jenny Ingram To Help Parents Head Back To School With "Balance® is in the Bag" Parent Survival Kit

RONKONKOMA, N.Y., Aug. 19, 2014 /PRNewswire/ -- No doubt about it, the back to school season is busy! In fact, in a national survey, Balance Bar learned that 77% of families have three or more activities per week once school starts, making it the busiest time of year for them according to 61% of the respondents. To handle this busy time of year, many parents find their purses, totes and other bags chock full of important supplies. To help prepare for this school year, Balance Bar has partnered with Jenny Ingram, a nationally recognized parenting expert and mom blogger from Jenny on the Spot, to offer advice for packing the perfect back to school bag.

Ingram believes organizing bags with several must-have items will make every parent's life easier and more balanced as they dash from activity to activity.  One of her must-pack essentials is the NEW line of Balance bare® bars. Made with simple, nutritious ingredients including whole nuts and fruits, Balance bare® bars are the perfect snack for busy moms and dads that kids will love too. The bars are non-GMO, certified gluten-free, soy free and come in three delicious flavors – Mixed Berry Nut, Sea Salt Caramel Nut and Sweet & Spicy Nut.

"Back to school is always an exciting and busy time for parents and children; full of new friends, fun activities and lots of running around," said Jenny Ingram of Jenny on the Spot. "It's also the time of year I find my purse getting weighed down not only with my stuff, but my kids' as well. Staying organized is key – and so is staying energized with nutritious snacks like Balance bare® bars."

Here are some of Jenny's tips to survive back to school season with a well-organized and expertly packed bag:

• Keep Smart Snacks within Reach. Back to school isn't only exhausting for kids. Moms and dads get worn down too so smart snacking is important. Pack nutritious snacks to have in your purse for when you're running errands or going from school to practice. Itzy Ritzy's reusable snack bags are perfect for keeping your on-the-go snacks organized and always handy. Fill them with grapes, almonds, carrot sticks and Balance bare® bars for a nutritious snack sure to satisfy both busy moms and kids until dinner!
• The (digital) calendar is key. To make sure no one misses an activity, homework deadline or playdate, color code each kid in your calendar so you know exactly who is doing what and where and when. I also love the Cozi app – it's free and great for organizing your upcoming activities and goes everywhere you do since it's on your phone.
• Pack bags within your bag. If you're like me, you have a huge bag. It's great for storing lots of things, but it can be a wasteland and hard to find anything if you're not organized. I keep a mini bag that holds my chapstick, hand sanitizer and other items I regularly reach for in a brightly colored small bag that stands out. An Itzy Ritzy snack bag can even double as an organizational bag that's stylish too!
• Miniature First Aid Kits. It's helpful to have some first-aid basics in your bag for everyday incidents that are bound to happen. My homemade first aid kit includes Band-Aid® brand bandages, Neosporin®, Kleenex® and wipes. Trust me on the wipes – they're much more effective than napkins at cleaning up whatever messes my kids have.
• Be prepared for homework. With after-school activities, keep homework supplies in your car and bag so your children can do their work while you're waiting for soccer practice. Keep rulers, pencils, pencil sharpeners, scissors, calculators and a clip board in the car to make sure you're prepped for any homework assignments.
• Beauty for all. If you have little girls, you know how crazy mornings can be when you're trying to get them dressed and out the door. Every morning, at least one of my daughters forgets to brush her hair or decides she wants a ponytail last minute. My bag always has a hair brush, comb and hair bands for quick beauty touch-ups in the car. You might not have time to do it when you're rushing out of the house, but these little details mean a lot to your little one.

To celebrate back to school, Balance Bar (@BalanceBar) and Jenny Ingram (@Jennyonthespot) will be hosting a live, one-hour Twitter® party on Tuesday, August 19^th at 2pm ET focused on organizational tips to survive this new season. Joining the Twitter party via the hashtag #BalanceIsInTheBag will be Itzy Ritzy, the go-to school snack bag, and Balance Bar blogger ambassadors, Run Gia Run, The Nutritionist Reviews, Redefining Dad and The Sweet Life with Erika. Balance Bar® and Itzy Ritzy products will also be given away to participants using the hashtag throughout the Twitter Party.   

Balance Bar will also host a Pin Now Pinterest® sweepstakes from August 19 to September 12 asking fans to pin their "Balance is in the Bag" images that express how they expertly pack an organized bag for back to school. Visit Pinterest.com/BalanceBar for more details.

About Balance Bar®          
Founded in 1992, Balance Bar®, one of America's original nutrition/energy bars, offers the right ratio of ingredients and nutrients that are scientifically formulated to help keep you in balance, delivering the nutritional benefits to help you enjoy today while looking after tomorrow. Balance Bar® is available in four unique product lines (Original, Gold, Dark and bare) that offer more than 20 delicious flavors. Original, Gold and Dark are based on the 40/30/30 nutrition model – a proven formula developed by scientists to help maintain blood sugar levels already within a normal range and that represents the caloric ratio the body needs to enjoy lasting balanced energy and help satisfy hunger for longer; 40% of total calories from carbohydrates, 30% from protein and 30% from dietary fat. Balance bare® bars still offer a great nutritional profile, but are not based on the 40-30-30 principle. For more information, visit www.Balance.com. Follow Balance Bar® for tips and nutritional information on Facebook® (www.facebook.com/BalanceBar), Twitter® (www.twitter.com/BalanceBar) and Pinterest (www.Pinterest.com/BalanceBar).

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SOURCE Balance Bar