There are some celebrities you look at and think, she could be my best friend. Mindy Kaling, every time she tweets about McDonald's. Meghan Markle, even though she went off and became a princess. And Busy Philipps, as she sweats her way through work-out classes and shares allll the details regarding her sinus issues. She's the straight-shooting best friend everyone needs.
So when I got the chance to speak to Busy for Delish about her partnership with Tropicana Kids, I cleared my schedule. And guess what — IRL, she's just as relatable. Case in point: She's just as happy to share lunch packing tips as she is where to get the best margarita. Our kinda lady. Read on for her best tips.
Her Summertime Lunchbox Trick
"For most parents, you’ve been packing lunch all summer. It doesn’t end ... your kids don’t stop eating lunch," Busy joked of all the back-to-school talk. Her daughters Birdie, 10, and Cricket, 5, went to summer camp, so packed lunches carried on, as usual.
But instead of using an ice pack to keep lunch cold, Busy freezes juice pouches (Tropicana's new organic kids drinks come in fruit punch, mixed berry, and watermelon flavors and have no added sweeteners or artificial flavors). "By lunch time it's kind of melted and then they have a slushie drink," Busy explains.
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Why She Started Meal Prepping
Busy is a reformed meal prep resister. Her kids' early wake-up calls convinced her to start making lunches the night before. "It actually saves you so much time and energy if you do it ahead of time," she says. "The kids have to be out of the house so early for the school bus that it's easier to pack the night before if we can."
Like most parents, she has to switch things up depending on the kid. "Cricket prefers hot foods so I'll heat her up whatever I've made the night before really fast in the morning and throw it in a Thermos and send her on her way."
The Cheap Way To Make Sandwiches More Fun
Turkey and ham roll-ups are big in Busy's household. To keep them in place, Busy orders animal-shaped toothpicks online (like these!). And when she makes sandwiches, she'll let the girls pick out a shape to cut them into, too. Her last pro tip? Adding a sweet note into the girls' lunchboxes so they know she's thinking about them.
Her Best Birthday Cake — And Her Worst
Busy has been making sculptural cakes since she was a teenager, and since having kids, she's upped her game with birthday confections for her girls. Earlier this year, she showed off Cricket's adorable unicorn cake on Instagram. Not all of them have turned out quite as cool though, largely because of her daughters' actual birth dates.
Both her girls were born during the summer, which in L.A. usually means a heat wave. Her biggest cake disaster happened on Birdie's fifth birthday, when a fairy house cake went terribly wrong. "I made this cake that totally melted, like truly melted," she says. "It was a spectacular fail."
And Of Course, Where To Get the Best Margs
If you follow Busy on Instagram, you have to know about her love of margs. So naturally, we needed to ask about her top picks: In Los Angeles, Petty Cash is her fave, and in New York, Soho's Atla has the best drink. In case you're wondering, she likes hers plain (as opposed to flavored), not too sweet, and with salt on half the rim. "I've been working at this for a long time," she joked.
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