Join Andie Summers’ Tasty Talk for LLS

Hi! I'm Andie Summers and I am excited to be the featured speaker for May's Tasty Talk. My talk will be about making a difference and it will benefit LLS. The Leukemia Lymphoma Society is an organization that gave my sister an extra 10 years, and connected me with some amazing people. Some of whom you will get to meet at the lunch! Please attend. I promise to make it worth it. Details are here, and keep scrolling for my story ...

When I was growing up, my parents were involved in a lot of activities. They coached and managed and served on boards. My father was a strong believer in serving others. He was a Marine, and also served by participating in charity walks and donating blood. It is how my sisters and I were raised and it is how I have lived my life.  

About 10 years ago, an acquaintence of mine reached out and asked if I was interested in helping out her latest endeavour. I knew Lauren because she used to work with my husband at the Philadelphia Eagles, but had switched jobs and started working for LLS. They were bringing their Big Climb fundraiser to Philadelphia and she thought I would be a good fit for the event.  

I had never heard of LLS, but am always up for an opportunity to do something for the community, so we met and I learned that LLS stands for Leukemia and Lymphoma Society. My oldest sister Debbie was diagnosed with Lymphoma just about a month before Lauren called. Talk about a God wink. I told Lauren I would happily do anything they needed me to do, as long as they saved my sister.  

That following year saw my sister travel between her home in Northeastern Pennsylvania and Fox Chase Cancer Center. She was in and out for chemo and radiation. She spent weeks if not months for in-patient treatment which included a stem-cell transplant; the research for such a procedure was funded by LLS.  

The following year, I signed up for Big Climb and Debbie climbed with me. After that, I raised over $90,000 for LLS when I ran for Visionary of the Year. And through these events, I met others who are as grateful as I am for the work LLS does.  

One of the hardest things about being a cancer survivor is never knowing if or when that ugly disease will rear its head again. For Debbie, it happened late last year. I immediately got on the phone with my LLS contacts who helped guide us through tough decisions.  

We lost Debbie on March 17, 2024. 

Have you ever lost a sibling? I was not ready for the hole in my heart, my soul, my being. But I am at peace knowing that the money raised for efforts like Big Climb and Visionary of the Year are what gave Debbie an extra 10 years with her husband. With her daughters. She was able to meet three of her grandchildren. And I have another decade of beautiful memories with my beautiful sister.  

Through my own service for LLS, I have met some beautiful people who made a lasting impression on my life. One of them is Heather Fuller. Heather is one of those people who is as beautiful inside as she is out. She is a cancer survivor and a warrior. And has dedicated her efforts in this year’s Big Climb to Debbie’s memory.  

I am speaking at the Tasty Talks luncheon on Wednesday, May 8^th and proceeds from the event will benefit Heather as she takes on the steps at Lincoln Financial Field in this year’s Big Climb.  

At the lunch, Heather will sell raffle tickets for a basket full of goodies and all the money benefits LLS. If you cannot make the lunch, you can make a difference by making a donation HERE.

It's back to school time! And with it comes so much stress and so many expenses! (This list will help you save money.) Check out these school lunch hacks your kids will love, and you'll love to make!

I've learned to compartmentalize my issues so I tackle just one at a time. It helps me from becoming overwhelmed. Helps. And I can use all the help I can get. (Like these great items every mom needs for back to school!)

One thing that used to really give me anxiety is packing my kids' lunch. When my daughter was in kindergarten, she wouldn't eat a sandwich. (I mean, really? No peanut butter and jelly, no turkey and cheese, not even grilled cheese!) That was a challenge I tackled, and feel I won. Both she and my son were known for their fun little "bento box" lunches that included kabobs and deconstructed sandwiches.

Thank GOD for the internet. I was on every mom blog, Instagram, and TikTok I could find to figure out how to be creative with healthy foods for the kids. Okay, relatively healthy foods. They are kids. My goal was to get a fruit and or vegetable in them at lunch. I knew the carbohydrates and proteins would be a little easier.

But here's the thing. You know as well as I do that eating healthy foods that are fun and enticing to kids can be easy if you're willing to pay an arm and a leg for them. It's a real shame that junk food is so much more accessible and more cost-effective than real food. But our kids have enough hurdles to overcome, especially at the beginning of the school year. So, let's take this one for them.

And getting creative with your kids' school lunches doesn't have to take up all your time and energy, either. Don't reinvent the wheel. There are others who came before you (who somehow have time to create snazzy social media posts) who really want to help. Use their ideas and let's do what's best for our kids.

I will take every tip I can on being more organized in order to tick my chores off quicker. I love this hack in organizing school lunches and snacks!

Why make a new lunch every. single. day. when you can make a week's worth in one shot?! And, omg, Hawaiian Rolls are so delish!

Grilled cheese sandwiches have to be the perfect food. And what makes them even better is when you cut them into strips and pop them in a thermos for lunch!

I don't think you can ever be too organized. This hack, however, looks like too much work for me. But it might work for you!

Another great hack for making multiple sandwiches at the same time. And these fit perfectly back in the bread bag. YAY!

My mama used to do this for me. I would eat Spaghetti-Os for lunch pretty often in my little Thermos. She had it down. Thanks, Mama!

This hack is tried and true. But if your kids are anything like mine, they'll eat the Uncrustable in the lunch box, and maybe the apple, but certainly not all of that fruit. I'd add a Tastykake (and I'm okay if you judge me for that. I'm just being realistic.)

This is absolutely my kids' favorite lunch. Putting food on a skewer makes it fun to eat! The kabobs I make are similar to this, but I put everything on the same skewer using cubes of meat and cheese alternating them with fruit, and I put a brownie chunk in the middle, so they (in theory) have to eat the good stuff to get to dessert.

Kids love fun food, which is why the kabobs are such a hit. My son is a glutton for Lunchables which make lunching super quick and easy. But they're also expensive for what you get. And, let's face it, they're not very good for your kid. So, make your own! If you don't have fancy boxes like these, just do what I do and use silicone (reusable) cupcake liners.

My kids could eat Ramen until they turn into noodles. This is a great trick to make it for them for school lunch. I like to add frozen peas (my son won't eat them, but my daughter does) and shredded carrots.

Does your child ever eat their food while it's still hot? No! Kids procrastinate and never seem to complain that their food got cold. So why not give your kid the food they love for dinner, at the temperature they end up eating it at anyway?