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10 Takeout Ideas for Busy School Nights

By
Laurie Bertke
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“Shoutout to the chicken that didn’t defrost in time for dinner, allowing me to order takeout like I wanted to anyways. Not all heroes wear capes.”

Have you ever identified with this popular meme? Sometimes, despite the best intentions of cooking dinner, by the time you get home, help the kids with homework, manage the mundane tasks that keep a household running and get everyone ready to head off to activities, the idea of cooking and cleaning up seems insurmountable (or at least impractical). 

Fortunately, quick dinners need not be limited to pizza, Chinese takeout or fast food hamburgers. If you are looking to shake up your takeout shortlist, here’s our roundup of some area favorites. Keep it handy and don’t be afraid to use it often, especially on busy school nights.

Charlies Restaurants

Locations in Toledo, Maumee and Swanton

This local, family-owned chain offers an expansive menu of Greek and American favorites, as well as breakfast served all day. Complete kits are also available to make up to six gyros at home. Order online ahead of time and pick up at the convenient drive through window.

J’Mae’s Home Cooking

3312 Glendale Ave.| 419-720-8222

This soul food restaurant offers a menu full of hearty, comfort classics like fried or baked chicken, catfish, mashed potatoes, black-eye peas, fried okra and gumbo. Don’t miss the rotating menu of cakes, cheesecakes and pies for dessert.

La Fiesta

Locations in Toledo and Maumee

Tacos, fajitas, burritos, nachos, enchiladas…order all your favorite Mexican dishes online to pick up from one of two convenient locations. Perfect for Taco Tuesday – or any other night of the week.

Rudy’s Hot Dog

Locations in Toledo

Take home classic American food such as hamburgers, chicken wings and hot dogs. They also serve breakfast all day. This local business was established in 1920 and now has six locations scattered throughout Toledo. 

Sebastiano’s Italiano Restaurant

4448 Heatherdowns Blvd. | 419-382-0615

Family-style takeout meals on Tuesdays and Wednesdays include a pan of pasta, salad and fresh baked ciabatta bread. The menu changes monthly with half and full orders available. Visit the website for menu specifics and ordering instructions. 

Sidelines

Locations in Toledo, Maumee, Norwalk, Lambertville, Perrysburg and Sylvania

Order online at Sidelines and take home burgers, pizza, sandwiches, salads and more. They have a large variety of appetizers to start the meal. Check out their kids menu which has several entrees and sides for kids to choose from.

Shawn’s Irish Tavern

Locations in Toledo, Waterville and Sylvania

Known for good food, healthy portions and friendly service, Shawn’s offers online ordering and takeout with a menu that includes classic pub food, pizza, salads, baked ciabatta sandwiches and even a traditional shepherd’s pie.

Hot Sizzling Wok

Enjoy classic Chinese cuisine at this Toledo takeout spot that prides itself in its use of fresh ingredients. Start off with a crab rangoon appetizer followed by a warm plate of chicken fried rice.

2333 W Laskey Rd, Toledo | 419-475-0065

What the Fried Rice

2509 Oregon Rd., Northwood | 419-724-2370

WTF-R is a fast casual, Asian fusion restaurant offering fried rice, noodles, ramen and other stir fried dishes made to order. Gluten-free, vegetarian and vegan options are available. Finish off your meal with a boba tea or a smoothie.

Yama Japan Sushi & Hibachi

3330 W. Central Ave. Ste. A-3-C | 419-720-1180

With a mission to provide good, affordable Japanese food for all, Yama Japan offers takeout sushi and hibachi cooked foods with a variety of party platters to fit any budget.

Zane’s Lebanese Grill

4900 N. McCord Rd., Sylvania | 419-882-1796

A menu of Lebanese favorites includes bowls with rice, lettuce and protein and affordable platters that come with one or two meats, salad, grilled veggies, rice, hummus and pita bread. And don’t forget the baklava for dessert.

G&M’s Bracelet Shop: Helping The Unhoused One Bracelet at a Time

By
Molly Klima
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G&M's Bracelets are handmade and custom to order.

Gabby Hartsell and Mackenzie Weyer share a lot in common with kids their age. The pair of 9 year olds enjoy spending time with friends and coloring. Hartsell likes to play sports and Weyer likes to swim. They have been best friends since second grade at Garfield Elementary School. Hartsell has always enjoyed making bracelets and after teaching Weyer how to make them at a sleepover, the girls haven’t stopped. 

Bracelets with a purpose

They have added additional purpose to their bracelet making, other than just a fun way to express themselves; they are selling the bracelets to help those in need. These best friends have a keen eye for what is going on around them and they noticed an increase in the unhoused population in Toledo. As of March 2023, the Toledo Lucas County Homeless Board reported over 1600 people who are unhoused.

“We were just beginning to notice more and more people who were on the streets,” Hartsell said.

Hartsell and Weyer could opt to keep the money for themselves, but added, “We know that there are other people who don’t have as much as we do.” 

Gabby and Mackenzie handed out 75 Thanksgiving meals to those who are unhoused in Toledo.

They may be young, but the girls know that there’s no reason for anyone to go hungry. Hartsell shared that there is about 300 million pounds of food wasted every day, which, added Weyer, leads to billions of waste every year. According to Hunger in America, 44 million people face hunger. Children make up 20% of this group.

Let’s get down to business

So where do the profits go? About half of the profits go toward purchasing more supplies and the other half towards their monthly service project. For Thanksgiving, they cooked and served about 75 meals. After preparing the meals at home, they took them around town to hand out food to those living on the streets. The Tarta bus station downtown is often their destination, but they don’t hesitate to help those they see along the way. 

With the weather changing as we head into the New Year, the girls are purchasing blankets, hats, gloves and hygiene items to hand out. Diapers, toys, and children’s clothes are items they hope to donate as well. They are planning to feed 100 people for Christmas. G&M plan to continue their business even after the holidays are done.

G&M’s Bracelet Shop can be found on Facebook. This is the best way to know when they  do pop-up shops and what donations are needed. A link to their Amazon Wishlist can be found on their Facebook page. They accept donations of cash, items for the unhoused and bracelet making supplies.  At the time of this writing, G & M’s Bracelet Shop has received nearly $600 in donations in a matter of 4 weeks.

Donations can be made at the Gass & Express Mart on Starr Ave and White St or sent to Hartsell’s mom on Cashapp. 

G & M’s newest products are NFL sets to cheer on your team for the rest of the season. All teams and colors available.

The bracelets are made of plastic beads and can be custom ordered. They offer a wide variety of colors and charms to choose from. Their newest items are NFL bracelet sets that are sold for $6. Any team and their colors can be requested. Have something made for a loved one or friend. You are able to add charms, names or words to the bracelets. Single bracelets and earrings are $4.

People First of Toledo Supports Self-Advocates

By
Molly Klima
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Courageous Community Services has been serving Northwest Ohio since 1963. CCS was created by families with loved ones with disabilities to provide a safe and engaging outdoor recreation experience. CCS continues to operate Camp Courageous each summer and is also home to People First of Toledo. 

Since 1998, People First has been offering support, education and community building for individuals with disabilities who are self-advocates. They provide moral and practical support by assisting with applications and recommending resources.

 People First is an international organization with forty chapters in Ohio. The local chapter meets at the Ability Center on the third Thursday of every other month. Meetings run from 6-7:30pm.  The Ability Center and Manahan (formerly Josina Lott) have been longtime, instrumental partners with People First. 

Quinn Thomas, facilitator, publishes a monthly newsletter for CCS with an emphasis on People First. These newsletters focus on advocacy for adults and school aged children. People First meetings are for individuals 16 and older.

Self Advocacy

“The term ‘self-advocate’ can mean something different for each person,” Thomas explains. “For me it means making sure your own voice is heard while boosting the voice of others.” 

In 2020, meetings were held via Zoom. As the group transitioned back to in person meetings in 2021, they selected a hybrid option for all meetings. This allows those who may not be able to be present physically to still participate in meetings on a Zoom platform. Closed captioning is provided at all meetings, including for those attending in person. These meetings are open to everyone, whether they have a disability or not, as well as those who are self-diagnosed.  As the facilitator, Thomas works with CCS’s five elected board members to decide on topics for upcoming meetings and planning.

People First also hosts social events, such as holiday parties and Wednesday Walks. They collaborate with organizations such as SALUTE and MemoryLane Care Services. Each year, People First provides scholarships for individuals to attend Synergy-a conference for businesses to connect with Developmental Disability boards and organizations as well as individuals with disabilities. Synergy is a wonderful opportunity for all individuals, of all abilities, to learn about different topics, develop new skills and broaden their network.

In January and February, 2024, People First hosts a story-telling workshop, in collaboration with Toledo Lucas County Library-Waterville Branch,  for self-advocates to learn to tell their story with a purpose. Thomas looks forward to helping attendees learn to communicate their own lived experiences in a way that empowers others and demonstrates self-advocacy. This workshop will run January through February.

Attendance at each meeting costs $5, or $50 for a full year membership. For more information on People First of Lucas County,  find them on Facebook or on the CCS website at ccsohio.org/ohio-people-first.

Mindfulness in Parenting and Teaching 

By
Penny Tullis Meeker
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Jenn McCullough, a mother of two, aged 19 and 24, has been interested in yoga and mindfulness since before she had children. As a special education teacher, she had been incorporating yoga and mindfulness into lessons with her students. That teaching experience allowed her to realize the powerful tool of mindfulness to help kids learn to manage their feelings and behavior.  

Mindfulness benefits

Watching a sunset mindfully, for example, means putting your attention fully on enjoying the scene rather than making plans or being on the phone while you observe.

“Mindfulness is a practice of being present with yourself – how you’re feeling in your body, your mind, your energy level. [The practice includes] being aware of where you are and who you’re with so that you can enjoy things more fully,” McCullough explains.

McCullough began teaching yoga in Toledo to people of all ages and abilities when her children were young. Based on her growing knowledge of the benefits of mindfulness, around the same time she also began teaching mindfulness in a local elementary school. She developed and taught activities for children designed to lower stress, increase focus, develop compassion and deal with big emotions. 

The Mindfulness Deck

The idea for a deck of cards with a mindfulness activity on each card came from McCullough’s desire to encourage children, teachers and parents to practice mindfulness on their own. From her years of working with children, she had collected these wonderful mindfulness activities that were fun and useful and she wanted children to be encouraged to practice them at home and at school. 

She consulted with local yoga teacher and artist, Sarah Kear, who designed the deck using drawings of different animals to demonstrate the activities. Each card has a different animal and mindful activity. A butterfly doing a sleeping butterfly pose, a blowfish teaching a slow breathing exercise with a pinwheel and a turtle teaching mindful walking are a few examples of the 26 unique cards in the deck.

The cards are organized into 7 themes: breathe, focus, move, calm, relax, care and create.

McCullough loves that the illustrations “are visually very appealing and engaging, and . . . how parents, teachers and children can follow the instructions very easily.”

The back of each card contains questions to encourage discussing the activities and the benefits along with ideas for when to use the mindfulness activity.  

Order mindfulness decks and learn about Jenn’s yoga and mindfulness offerings including hike and yoga, kayak and yoga, and yoga with alpacas at integration.yoga

Q & A with Jenn McCullough

What do you love most about living in Toledo? I love our Metroparks and I use them all the time for hiking, kayaking, cross country skiing, connecting with friends and teaching yoga. 

What are you currently reading?  A Man Named Ove, by Frederik Backman, which is very heartwarming. 

What is one of your favorite memories of spending time with your kids in Toledo? Spending time in the museum, especially the family center where we could do art activities. 

What is one thing you like about being a mom of two young adults? I love that my kids enjoy doing outdoor adventures with me. 

What is one of your hobbies outside of yoga? I love the creative aspects of gardening, and literally enjoying the fruits of my labor — the flowers, veggies and many, many tomatoes.

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Preschoolers Donated Canned Goods to Toledo SeaGate Food Bank

By
Mary Genson
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A family posing for a picture at a food drive.
Photo provided by Primrose School of Perrysburg.
Primrose School of Perrysburg preschool students learned what it feels like to make a difference in their community through donating 960 canned goods to the Toledo SeaGate Food Bank.
 
Children carrying food products that will be donated.
Photo provided by Primrose School of Perrysburg.

These donations were a part of Primrose’s Caring & Giving Initiative which encourages children to complete age-appropriate household chores for allowance money to buy canned goods, fosters giving without expectation. The Primrose’s Caring & Giving Initiative was featured on NBC Nightly News .

 
Photo provided by Primrose School of Perrysburg.

“Nurturing generosity in young children is an investment in the future of our society,” Jo Kirchner, CEO of Primrose Schools, said in a press release. “At Primrose Schools, we believe that teaching children the value of giving, sharing and caring is a cornerstone of early education. And, by educating children to be service-minded and to give without expectation, we are working together toward a brighter future of caring, community-oriented citizens.”

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