Beltway Bambinos

(re) discover Washington DC through the eyes of your children

Healthy food delivery services for families in and around Washington, DC

I am the shopper of the groceries and the planner of all meals in our house. And yes, I’m also the preparer — lucky me! I enjoy meal planning because I have come to follow a few Instagram food bloggers who haven’t failed me and are reasonably healthy. However, there are times when I loathe trying to figure out what to make for dinner. So I present to you a few tried and true options you will thank me for later. We’ve tried them each service and loved them all for different reasons. We had the meals for lunches and dinners which made for a nice change in our typical routine and the Bambinos enjoyed some breakfast options that were new to them as well.

Just choose whichever selection works best for your needs and lifestyle and don’t forget to use those discount codes we’ve included. All of these meal services also make for a great gift idea for friends who had a new baby, an upcoming dinner you are hosting or to send to someone who may be recovering from an illness or surgery. Regardless of how you use these options, here’s to making meals a little easier and depending on your audience, perhaps a bit more delicious.

Gather Round Family Chef Service

Gather Round Family Chef Service provides a totally customized and effortless dinner experience to help busy families eat great even when life gets crazy. Chef Ariel Voorhees cooks in your kitchen on a weekly or monthly basis, so her meals are cooked just for you and the menus are unique to your family’s preferences. 

Gather Round takes the planning, shopping, cooking, and cleanup off your perpetual to-do list so that parents can focus on what’s important: raising a relaxed and healthy family at the dinner table and beyond. Looking for more confidence and joy in the kitchen? Gather Round offers cooking lessons to help you master exactly what you want to learn. And Chef Ariel can help you host a Cooking Lesson Dinner Party in which your group learns together and celebrates its shared efforts with a feast!

Healthy Fresh Meals

Healthy Fresh Meals is a local meal prep and delivery service that was founded in 2016.  Healthy Fresh Meals, aims to provide the DMV with healthy meals that are conveniently delivered to your front door! Eating clean is not always easy, so they’ve made it simple enough to fit every individual’s needs. Whether you are looking to lose weight, live a clean and healthy lifestyle, or build lean muscle mass through a natural diet, Healthy Fresh Meal service has a line of meals to fit your lifestyle including kids meals, family style, vegan and vegetarian, paleo, low carb, and low sodium.  Their meals can be tracked by scanning them into ‘my fitness pal’.  All meals and snacks are prepared weekly from scratch using only fresh ingredients, and packed in heat sealed containers staying fresh all week!  Each meal is a single serving portion. Use the code beltwaybambinos10 and get 10% off your order.

Vegetable & Butcher

Vegetable & Butcher was started because the founders were tired; tired of mediocre food that was marginally healthy; tired of yo-yo’ing between diets that were difficult to sustain; and most importantly, tired of the single-use plastics and plastic packaging that are destroying our planet and knew they could do better.

Healthy and flavorful are not mutually exclusive. Perfectly portioned, plant-based meals made with real ingredients; that is sustainable. Compostable and biodegradable packaging are better than plastic. Period. So they created a company that aligns with their core values: chef-designed, nutritious meals delivered in actually environmentally-friendly packaging.

Guided by the wisdom of generations prior, “eat your greens!,” the meals are primarily plant-based and loaded with vitamins, minerals and other important micronutrients. All of the meals are gluten- and dairy-free and the menu changes with the seasons to ensure that only the freshest, most nutrient-dense ingredients make it to your plate.

Mighty Meals

Founded in 2015 by two fitness professionals and a classically trained chef, MightyMeals believes high-quality, healthy food should be accessible to everyone. The Burke, Virginia company provides a convenient, healthy meal delivery service made with locally sourced ingredients by chefs, offering a wide array of meals on a menu that changes weekly. The mission is to empower people to live healthier lives by being the leading provider of healthy, high-quality, locally sourced, chef-prepared meals that are delivered to you. 

Take the guesswork out of your nutrition so you can spend your time doing the things you enjoy. Visit MightyMeals and use code Meal100 to receive $25 off your first 4 orders. MightyMeals is the official meal prep company of DC United, Old Glory DC and the University of Maryland, Baltimore County. 

P.NOKIO: A hip-hop musical opens this week at Imagination Stage

P.Nokio: A Hip-Hop Musical

February 26 – March 27

Book and Lyrics by Psalmayene 24

Music by Nick “tha 1da” Hernandez

Directed by Tony Thomas

For your comfort, shows are capped at 50% audience capacity.

G.Petto is an ingenious computer games designer who one day discovers that his newest game character, P.Nokio, can live outside the computer! G.Petto is thrilled at the prospect of having a “son,” and with the help of the Graffiti Fairy, he teaches P.Nokio how to become a real boy. But, P.Nokio falls in with con artists and finds himself in a web of lies that endangers his father. To save G.Petto, P.Nokio must wise up, keep it real, and learn that words and truth are the mightiest weapons of all. A completely contemporary, high-energy musical update of Pinocchio that will have your kids dancing in their seats. Best for ages 5-11.

Purchase tickets here.

Imagination Stage is a holistic theatre arts organization for all children and youth. For more information about our shows, classes, and camps, please visit our website.

Disney On Ice at Capital One Arena + GIVEAWAY

Disney on Ice is back at Capital One Arena February 17-21, 2022. The legacy of Disney is displayed through 14 classic and modern stories in this epic production that features an international team of award-winning figure skaters, high-energy choreography and a breathtaking set. With over 30 melodious masterpieces such as “Let It Go!,” “You’ve Got A Friend in Me” and “Hakuna Matata,” Disney On Ice Let’s Celebrate is the ultimate Disney fan experience. Families will join the fun in an exciting opening number that salutes Mickey Mouse and Minnie Mouse as the original hosts of Disney On Ice in an unforgettable experience in your hometown! Buy tickets here.

Giveaway: TWO people will win a four pack of tickets to the show on February 17 at 7:00pm. To enter– like AND comment on our last two reels on Instagram and then comment on this blog post telling us you are entered! Winner will be contacted February 14, 2022. Hope to see you at the show!

Guide to 2022 summer camps in the Washington, DC Metro area


We are grateful to our 2022 summer camp partners; Camp Arena Stage, Red Panda Art Studio, Pedalheads and Imagination Stage. Registrations have started at most camps so enjoy finding the one best for your Bambino and register soon. We have noted if there are any camps that will be virtual or hybrid this summer.

Camp Arena Stage is the official sponsor of this 2022 summer camp guide.

Camp Arena Stage is where community and art make magic! This summer, Camp Arena Stage returns in person to the campus of Georgetown Visitation Preparatory School for 2- and 3-week sessions beginning in July. Campers ages 8 to 16 choose their own schedules from activities in theater, music, visual arts, dance, filmmaking, writing and more, such as acting for the camera, hip-hop dance, musical theater, publishing the Camp Arena Stage newspaper, filming movie trailers and painting – all taught by professional artists and educators.  

The skilled staff at Camp Arena Stage is dedicated to seeing, recognizing and appreciating each individual for who they are and the art only they can make. It’s the perfect place to try something for the first time or take current skills to the next level. 

At the daily Noontime Show, campers can share their art as an individual, group or class. Whether it’s a musical theater song, an original hip-hop dance, a trumpet solo, hula hooping or showing a Lego creation, campers can expect the most supportive audience ever! If your young artist doesn’t love the spotlight, that’s okay too. No one has to perform at Camp Arena Stage. There are many ways to be an artist. 

Campers and staff alike enjoy Camp Arena Stage because it brings together a diverse group of people who share a love of the arts to create a joyful community – hear what they have to say. Visit the Camp Arena Stage website to learn more and register today!

Building, coding, STEM & technology camps:

Apple Camp: Locations throughout DMV- TBD
ClubSciKidz: Montgomery County- In-person
Code Ninjas: Locations throughout DMV- In-person
Code WizardsHQ: Virtual
Digital Media Academy Tech Camp: Virtual
idTech: Hybrid
KID Museum: Bethesda, MD- In-person
Lavern Camp: George Washington University Foxhall Campus- In-person
Mad Science Summer Camp: Locations throughout DMV- In-person
Summer Institute for the Gifted: Bethesda, MD- In-person

Sports camps:

Don’t break your back – let the folks at Pedalheads help your kids learn to ride a bike! One of the more unique summer camps you will find, this week-long day camp specializes in helping kids as young as 3 get off training wheels and ride on their own – often within one week!

Helping even the most tentative of kids, Pedalheads will focus on safety, fun, and skills. More than anything, they want to build confidence and a love of biking within their campers! For those with kids already riding on two wheels, Pedalheads also offers advanced levels that focus on road riding skills and safety. Camp options include half-day, all-day, and 1.5-hr tots level programs.

In the time of COVID-19, try a camp that is inherently safer and lower risk as they operate outdoors with lots of open space. They also have various protocols in place to ensure the health and safety of all camp participants. Let Pedalheads take out the yelling and frustration of teaching a kid to ride a bike and enjoy the benefits of enjoyable family rides afterwards. With over 25+ years’ experience, put your trust in this popular, parent program staple.

Bethesda Big Train Baseball: Bethesda, MD- In-person
Boating is Fun Camp: Key Bridge Boathouse
Breathing Space Kids Yoga: Capitol Hill, DC- In-person
Brit-Am Soccer: Bethesda, MD- In-person
Camp Olympia: Rockville, MD- In-person
Circle Yoga: NW, DC- In-person
CP Basketball Academy: Olney & Colesville, MD- In-person
Dance & Gymnastics camps
DC Fencers Club: Silver Spring, MD- In-person
DC Way: SE & NE, DC- In-person
Flag Star Football: Locations throughout DMV- In-person
Home Run Baseball Camp: NW, DC- In-person
HoopEd: Locations throughout DMV- In-person
Kids Elite Sports Camp: NW, DC- In-person
Koa: Bethesda, MD- In-person
Nationals Baseball/Softball Day & Overnight Camp: Locations throughout DMV- In-person
Next Level Lacrosse: Bethesda, MD- In-person
Nike Tennis Camp: GW University- In-person
Pedalheads: Locations throughout DC- In-person
PPA: NW, DC & Bethesda, MD- In-person
Squash on Fire: NW, DC- In-person
The St. James: Northern, VA- In-person
TopGolf: National Harbor, MD & Gaithersburg, MD- In-person
Trapeze School: SE, DC- In-person
Urban Evolution: Alexandria, VA- In-person
Virginia Outside/Fishing Adventures: Alexandria, VA- In-person

Music & theatre camps:

Summers are cool and creative at Imagination Stage! Enroll your child in our 1-, 2-, 3-, or 4-week long camps in acting and musical theatre skills and performance, dance, or filmmaking. Trusted for over 41 years, our camps for ages 3.5-18 nurture and empower young people of all abilities in a fun and inclusive environment. Summer at Imagination Stage is a great time to make new friends, explore new interests and delve deeper into existing ones. Convenient locations in Bethesda, Rockville, and Northwest DC. Register and learn about our COVID safety protocols here.

Adventure Theatre Camps: Glen Echo, MD- In-person
Bach 2 Rock: Locations throughout DMV- Hybrid
Camp Arena Stage: NW, DC- In-person
Camp Levine: NW, DC, Bethesda, MD & Arlington, VA- In-person
Camp Shakespeare: NW, DC- In-person
Dance & Gymnastics camps
Encore Stage: Arlington, VA- In-person
Imagination Stage: Bethesda, MD- Hybrid
Keegan Theatre: NW, DC- In-person
The Theatre Lab School of the Dramatic Arts: NW, DC- In-person
Traveling Players Ensemble: Tysons, VA- In-person
Young Artists of America: Bethesda, MD- In-person

Art camps:

Red Panda Art Studio is back at the Little House at Westmoreland Hills Park for camp this summer! Join us for a week (or more) filled with art adventures! Each week includes a variety of projects inspired by the weekly theme. Projects are designed with a wide range of ages and interests in mind. We place the emphasis on open-ended exploration— and let our campers creativity run wild. We also take full advantage of the wonderful playground at the Westmoreland Hills Park! Please see our website for the full summer lineup and more information! Use code BELTWAY to take $25 off camp registration for your Bambino!

All Fired Up: Bethesda, MD & NW, DC- In-person
Anna Banana Arts & Crafts: NW, DC- In-person
Children’s Art Studio: NW, DC- Virtual
Creative Youth Sewing: Bethesda, MD- In-person
District Architecture Kids Camp: TBD
Red Panda Art Studio: Bethesda, MD- Bethesda, MD
Strathmore Art Camp: Bethesda, MD- In-person
The Loft Collective: Takoma Park, MD- In-person

Multi-interest camps:

Adventure Links Day & Overnight Camp: Northern VA- In-person
Adventures on the Hill: Capitol Hill, DC & Takoma Park, DC- In-person
Aiden’s Village of Choice Summer: NW, DC- In-person
Arcadia Farm Camp: Alexandra, VA- In-person
Audubon Naturalist Society: Chevy Chase, MD- In-person
Beauvoir Summer: NW, DC- In-person
Calleva Outdoor Adventure Camp: Poolesville, MD- In-person
Camp Aristotle at The Auburn School: Silver Spring, MD & Chantilly, VA- In-person
Camp Sonshine: Silver Spring & Germantown, MD- In-person
CASA at Sheridan School: NW, DC- In-person
CCBC (Camp starting at age 2): NW, DC- In-person
Clara Barton Center for Children (Camp for ages 2-5): Cabin John, MD- In-person
Cleveland Park Club: NW, DC- In-person
CommuniKids Language Immersion: (Camp starting at age 2.5)- NW, DC & Falls Church, VA- In-person
Concord Hill School Preschool Camp: Chevy Chase, MD, Hybrid
Confetti: NW, DC- In-person
Congressional Camp: Falls Church, VA- In-person
Creative Summer at Holtan Arms: Bethesda, MD- In-person
Edlavitch DCJCC Camp: NW, DC- In-person
Headfirst Summer Camp: NW & NE, DC, Bethesda, MD, & VA- In-person
Henry’s Sweet Retreat: Bethesda, MD – In-person
Landon Summer: Bethesda, MD- In-person
Little Burgundy Farm Horse Camp: Alexandria, VA- In-person
Lowell School Camp: NW, DC- In-person
Meadowbrook Stables: Chevy Chase, MD- In-person
Potomac School: McLean, VA- In-person
Rock Creek Park Horse Center: NW, DC- In-person
Sidwell Summer: NW, DC & Bethesda, MD- In-person
Smithsonian Summer Camp: Hybrid
Steve and Kates Camp: Capitol Hill, NW DC, Alexandria , VA & Arlington, VA- In-person
Summer at Burke (6th-12th grade): NW, DC- In-person
Summer at Georgetown Day School: NW DC- In-person
Summer at Norwood: Bethesda, MD- In-person
Summer at Sandy Spring: Sandy Spring, MD- In-person
Summer Horizons Day Camp at NPS: NW, DC- In-person
Summertimes: Alexandria, VA- In-person
Urban Adventure Squad: NW, DC- In-person
Valley Mill Camp: Germantown, MD- In-person
Washington Episcopal School: Bethesda, MD- In-person
Woodland Horse Center: Silver Spring, MD- In-person
YMCA Camps Day camp and overnight options: Locations throughout DMV- In-person

County camps:

Arlington County Summer Camps– In-person
Fairfax County Park Authority Summer Camps – In-person
Montgomery County Parks & Recreation Summer Camps – In-person
Washington, DC Parks & Recreation Summer Camps – In-person

Balloonacy will entertain kids this February at Imagination Stage

Did you know that Imagination Stage, a trusted community organization for over 41 years, has professional theatre performances, classes, and camps, for children as young as 1 year old?

We wanted to share with you one of the safe, indoor opportunities designed especially for families with small children. 

Balloonacy
February 5- 20, 2022
By Barry Kornhauser
Directed by Kathryn Chase Bryer

A beautiful, movement-based show that revisits the classic film “The Red Balloon.” Nothing can go right for the character of the old man, whose days are gray and dreary–until he is visited by a friendly red balloon. In the playful physical style of Charlie Chaplin and Buster Keaton, the old man–an adult version of the boy in the film–regains his youthful spirit, with the help of the red balloon! Best for ages 1-11. 

Click here to watch a short trailer of BALLOONACY.

Socially-distanced seating is available. Visit their website to learn more about their COVID safety precautions.

See the performance schedule and buy tickets here.

What It Means to Raise an “Orchid Kid”

This guest post is written by Jen Dryer who is a parenting coach for parents of neurodiverse children and mother to two neurodiverse children, and has previously written an informative piece for Beltway Bambinos which helps parents navigate early intervention resources. She will be co-leading a class again called Raising Orchid Kids: Practical Strategies for Parents of Neurodiverse Children beginning January 13. She will lead the class alongside Gabriele Nicolet, MA, CCC-SLP, a family communication specialist, speech therapist and parent coach and founder of SpeechKids Therapy.

My 9-year old son, Max, and I go for a hike every weekend in a section of Rock Creek Park that’s a 5 minute drive from our house. He puts on water shoes and a bathing suit when it’s warm and rain boots and a jacket in colder weather and we ford the shallow stream alongside the official trail. We started this tradition in the early, desperate days of the pandemic, as a much needed break from online school and from the anxiety produced by Covid life.

We took the exact same path every time. Every. Time. When his brother came along and would beg to try a different route, Max would hunker down and yell, “Noooo!!!” as if his brother were about to attack him with a baseball bat. It seems, for most of us with neurotypical brains, that this reaction to a simple route change request is absurd and unfounded. But Max is autistic, and deviating from his expected path without preparation or advance notice felt much like being attacked by a bat-wielding older brother. So, we stayed on the path that day. But it pushed me to think about the ways I could encourage flexibility. I advance planned with him to shift our route ever so slightly, joining the same path at a different entrance in the spirit of what well-known autism advocate and author Temple Grandin calls a “loving push.”

That loving push helped set the stage a few weeks ago, when Max, his brother and I went for a hike and found an entirely new path. We even lost the path at some point, forging our own route along the stream. Max had to scramble over branches, balance on fallen trees to cross the stream and find his literal and figurative footing in an unfamiliar path. He did not yell once, actually enjoyed many of the challenges before him, and felt proud of his accomplishment.  We were thrilled. Until his brother slipped on a rock in the stream, got wet and scraped his knee, and we had to abort the mission. We backtracked, and I tucked in a lesson on the fly on empathy when someone you care about gets hurt and feels frustrated about it. Now Max is much more open to trying new routes (as long as we sometimes go back to the familiar one!).

Raising Max has pushed me to work to understand and respect why and when his challenging behaviors arise, and to identify strategies that I keep in a mental toolbelt to best support him in working through challenges in a positive way. I share all this because I want others raising neurodiverse, or Orchid Kids (those challenging kids with behavioral, developmental or learning differences who, like the flower, can thrive and blossom given the right conditions and supports), to know that it’s easy to get stuck and, at the same time, there are real strategies to help them break free from patterns that can trigger meltdowns and cause stress for all.

These are exactly the supports and preparation tools that experienced speech and communication therapist Gabriele Nicolet and I teach in our Raising Orchid Kids: Practical Strategies for Parents of Neurodiverse Children class, with the goal of making life less stressful and more joyful for those families, and to help parents find effective avenues to help their neurodiverse child thrive.

Raising Orchid Kids participants have universally noted how incredibly helpful it is to find your “parenting tribe” who can relate to what you’re experiencing, while getting support from experts and others who are on that same path. The work that we have been doing to support parents of neurodiverse kids has been truly inspiring to witness, as we guide parents toward strategies and insights into how to better support their challenging child and help them thrive.

Our next 6-week session of the online livestream Raising Orchid Kids: Practical Strategies for Parents of Neurodiverse Children course starts Thursday, January 13, and runs for 6 consecutive Thursdays from 12-1:30pm. For more information and to register, click here.

By Jen Dryer, co-founder, Raising Orchid Kids

Time-Saving Hack for Busy Parents During the Holidays and Beyond

There’s overwhelming evidence that  the feeling of having enough time is at an all-time low, and the fast-paced, high-pressure DC area is no exception. Add in the holidays, and your schedule is probably feeling like a 1,000-piece jigsaw puzzle.

As you all know well, women and moms in particular – often strive to “do it all,” but pay a price in both mental and physical health. If you don’t already know about DC-based business Skip The Line, a woman-owned, modern-day time-saving service, you need to! Skip’s whole mission is to enable people to spend more of life on what they enjoy and less on what they don’t. Started by Jennifer Goff in 2017 as a line-sitting service, Skip expanded into delivery during the pandemic, and has now launched a new personal assistant service, Skip Assist – just in time to help you through the busy holiday season.

Skip The Line is hoping to change the way people view outsourcing everyday tasks – not as a once-in-a-while indulgence, but as a reliable tool for making life more manageable and more enjoyable. As we continue to weather the pandemic and the multi-tasking demands this has placed on parents – and as we enter the busy holiday season and approach the new year – a time management strategy that incorporates outsourcing where possible can be a game changer.

Unlike traditional concierge services that can feel old-fashioned or intimidating, Skip Assist offers modern, approachable assistance with everything from picking up dry cleaning to researching restaurants for a weekend away – all paired with excellent customer service. Through Skip Assist, a member of Skip The Line’s highly-vetted team will run errands like gift shopping and mailing packages; plan and schedule trips; research options for everything from the best local dog groomer to a kitchen remodel estimate; and more. Skip Assist pricing is based on clients’ individual needs and customized for those seeking more consistent, on-demand assistance.

Give Skip Assist a try today for 20% off your first service with Beltway Bambino’s exclusive code: BBSKIP21. You won’t regret it.

Happy time-saving!

Tribery brings families together, even when apart

Tribery is a mobile app that allows families to send monthly printed family journals to their loved ones.

This is not your typical photo album app. You, the user, subscribes to the service which will send an album to your loved ones, near or far (not to yourself) each month!

Easy steps to accessing Tribery:
1) Download the app and invite your spouse (or just do it yourself) to upload pictures & write captions
2) Upload pictures and add captions to explain or add context
3) Tribery prints out the journal and ships it to a chosen loved one directly at the end of each month

Your loved ones will love receiving monthly journals! It’s an opportunity for them to see what is going on in your life, share the album with their friends or use it to communicate and ask questions.

I love that Tribery is collaborative. My husband logged in on his phone and uploaded some of his favorite pictures in addition to the ones I had already chosen from the month to include in the journal. The journal is about telling the story about what happened during the month, so adding captions helps to tell the story of the picture.

Use code: ALLISON123 and get your first printed journal FOR FREE!

logo design courtesy of New Leaf Design