Typical Tuesday

Molly went GAGA over the sushi today.  The thing I love about her is that she knows how much time it takes to make the sushi and she is so appreciative.  She is also pretty logical and knows that she can't get sushi everyday so she requested peanut butter and jelly for Tuesday's lunch.

Our main entrée is a classic peanut butter and jelly.  We used Jif peanut butter and Trader Joe's strawberry jam and spread them on whole wheat bread.  We used a large flower cookie cutter for the main sandwich and a micro triangle cookie cutter for the smaller sandwiches.

Our vegetable side is cucumbers.  We sliced these and then notched out a few triangles around the sides to make them look like little flowers.

Our fruit side is some fresh strawberries.  Molly really likes just about any type of berry and we are very lucky to have them available to us.

Finally, our dessert/dairy side is Dannon Light and Fit strawberry yogurt.  Just a little something different from our normal vanilla to change things up a bit.

Sushi Monday!

Molly isn't what I'd call a picky kid when it comes to eating so my job as her Mom (and cook) is pretty easy...most of the time.  She will taste most anything that I make and she usually ends up liking it.  But, there are a few things that she REALLY likes and so I try to make an effort to serve them to her as often as possible.  One of her favorites is sushi, I can't say that I blame her because it's a favorite of mine as well.  If you have ever attempted to make sushi at home, you know that it can get pretty complicated.  For that reason, we don't make it too often but Molly has been begging for it recently.  So, here we go!

Our main entrée is a vegetable and cream cheese sushi roll.  Molly usually orders this with smoked salmon but ends up taking the salmon out after the first two pieces because it gets too salty for her.  So, we've taken the salmon away and opted for carrots and cucumbers instead.  This is served with a little bit of soy sauce on the side to help cut the richness of the cream cheese.

Our vegetable side is a romaine lettuce salad.  We added some extra cucumber and carrots that we had left from the sushi.  It is served with a light Asian dressing.

Our fruit side is a blood orange.  Molly's Daddy loves blood oranges but was nice enough to share one with Molly.  He even peeled it for her.

Finally, our extra side is Molly's favorite trail mix of pistachios and dried cherries, cranberries and blueberries. The protein in the pistachios will help keep her stomach satisfied until the end of the school day.

School Lunch

Molly is buying lunch at school tomorrow.  She doesn't know yet though.  They are having personal pan pizzas for lunch and that is one of Molly's favorite things.  Plus, she earned $1 doing some little chores and she is going to bring it to spend at the school store where she can buy some small trinket for herself.  This is going to be one of her favorite school days ever!

Have a great weekend everyone! ☺

A Touch of Orange

We were the lucky recipients of some awesome sunshine today in Pittsburgh and it puts us in the mood for spring.  All of the bright colors of the flowers and the green of the grass are something that we look forward to every year.  We are done with the gloomy winter and want to see the daffodils and tulips poking their beautiful petals out of the ground.  We may be waiting a little while before we see them but until then, we can always brighten up the colors inside of Molly's lunch! Orange-ya glad to see some beautiful colors?☺

Our main entrée is cheese and crackers with pepperoni.  The cheese is Kraft Colby-Jack cheese made with 2% milk.  The crackers are Trader Joe's 12 Grain mini snack crackers.  The pepperoni is Hormel mini pepperoni, so cute and yummy!

Our vegetable side is orange bell pepper slices.  The peppery bite will go nicely with the creaminess of the cheese.

Our fruit side is a clementine and strawberry slices.  The colors remind us of some of our favorite spring flowers.  Plus, they taste really good together.

Finally, our dessert/treat is a trail mix made with pistachios and dried berries.  We shelled the Wonderful Pistachios and added them to Peterson Farms Cherry Berry Blend of dried fruit that includes cherries, cranberries and blueberries.  A sweet, salty, chewy and crunchy mix that gets two thumbs up from everyone in our family.

Do-Over Lunch

Well, the weather was insane last night and they actually cancelled school for today.  Our school district very rarely cancels so it was a huge surprise.  Molly enjoyed a nice warm lunch at home before going out to sled ride and build a snowman.
Tomorrow's lunch is today's lunch, just one day older.  We've checked to make sure that everything is still fresh and we're good to go.

PB&J, cucumbers, berries and vanilla yogurt.

Holy Snow!

Living in Western PA, the weather is beyond unpredictable.  The weather man this morning said that we were supposed to get 2 to 4 inches of snow starting at 9pm tonight.  Well, when I left to pick Molly up from school this afternoon, we had just under an inch of snow already.  Now, we have at least 6 inches and the precipitation is still coming down heavily.  Molly's school already has a 2 hour delay and they may just cancel school altogether but we made lunch anyway, just in case.

Our main entrée is a peanut butter and jelly on white.  We purchased some "uncrustable" like sandwiches at the store just to have on hand and decided to try one for Molly's lunch.  These things are loaded with peanut butter, no wonder the kids like them so much. ☺

Our vegetable side is cucumber slices.  They will hopefully cut the peanut butter a little bit.

Our fruit side is a mix of fresh berries.  Strawberries, blackberries and blueberries.  Sam's Club is always good for fresh and delicious berries year round.

Finally, our dairy/dessert is Dannon Light and Fit vanilla yogurt.

All Better Now

After a week of passing illness back and forth, I can happily report that we are all better now!  Woo Hoo!  We are back on track and slowly incorporating our regular routine back into life.  I didn't realize how dirty the house gets or how few groceries there are when the whole house gets sick at once.  I can also report that the house is mostly clean and Sam's Club has gotten a visit so we should be good for a while. ☺ Thanks again for all of your thoughts and prayers.  I will pray that none of your houses are afflicted with that horrible sickness because it was pretty rough there for a while.

Our main entrée is a typical Monday lunch offering.  Left over pizza from the weekend.  We got some good old Sir Pizza to celebrate everyone's wellness.  Cold pizza can always put a smile on Molly's face.  (and her sister's too.  She actually prefers it cold....kids!)

Our vegetable side is a baby spinach salad with Trader Joe's Balsamic dressing on the side.  We figure that if we can indulge in pizza, our sides should be pretty healthy to balance it out.

Our fruit side is blackberries and blueberries.  Molly's Grammy purchased these before she left for a nice vacation to a warm destination.  We are enjoying them as much as Grammy is enjoying the sunshine!

Finally, our dairy/dessert is Dannon Light and Fit Vanilla Yogurt.  We buy this in large containers because everyone in our family really likes it.  Also, this yogurt can be used as a healthy alternative to oils when baking so it's nice to keep on hand.

No School Tomorrow!

They are having parent/teacher conferences tomorrow at Molly's school so there are no classes.  That means that I've had this whole week off.  It's like Christmas vacation only with illness instead of presents.  Good times, good times!
Molly did great at school today and is feeling fantastic and back to her old self.  Thanks to everyone for their well wishes and prayers, they certainly worked.  Our house is getting back to normal now.  Tomorrow, we are going to open all of the windows and let the house air out.  Then, we are going to clean all of the germs out in between playing with play-doh, coloring, reading and probably baking something.  I'm looking forward to a fun day at home with the kids. ☺

Giving it a try!

Looks like Molly will be headed back to school tomorrow.  (fingers crossed)  She was feeling much better today and really wants to get back to school.  We've decided to let her buy her lunch tomorrow, again just in case she ends up not going.  Thanks everyone for their well wishes! ☺

Maybe Lunch?

Molly is still not feeling 100% but she can't wait to get back to school.  It was very hard for her to miss the Valentine's Day party on Monday and free draw in art class today so she's ready to get back to it.  We still haven't decided if she will return tomorrow or Thursday so lunch is a mystery.  Luckily, tomorrow's school lunch includes chicken noodle soup, which is a favorite of Molly's and a great choice when you're not feeling the best.  Hopefully, she'll be feeling much better in the morning and will be able to enjoy the school lunch but if she isn't, then she'll be eating whatever Mom cooks up.  Feel better, Molly! ♥

Sick Day Again!

Did I mention how the only thing that my children are willing to share is illness?  Well, now Mom and Dad both aren't feeling too good.  Lucky us!  Molly will not be going to school again tomorrow unless there is some amazing recovery by tomorrow morning and by the looks of her, the chances are slim to none.  This stomach bug has hit our house pretty hard but luckily for us, the weather was nice enough that we could open the windows for a few minutes today to try and air the sickness out.  Hopefully, there will be a yummy lunch on display tomorrow night. ☺

ps - Happy Valentine's Day!

Sick Day for Molly

Why is it that when we ask our children to share something, there is always a mass resistance that can escalate into an old fashioned melt down?  Yet, when it comes to illness, they have no problem sharing at all.

Molly's little sister was the first one to have the stomach bug that is going through our house at the moment.  She started feeling better and I was hopefully that she would be the only victim.  Unfortunately, Molly started feeling sick last Friday.  I thought that it may have been something else but, she got the worst case of it.  Molly's little brother also started to get sick last Friday so we are a house of sickness at the moment.

Molly is really bummed because since tomorrow is Valentine's Day, she will miss the party at school.  But she also realizes that with her absence, she will not be passing this illness on to her classmates.  Good girl, Molly!

I had great plans for a fun Valentine's Day lunch, but it will have to wait until Molly is well enough to go back to school.  Stay tuned!

100th Day of School Lunch!

Tomorrow is the 100th day of school!!!  Molly is so excited because every year the teachers make a big deal about the 100th day.  We had our open house for school tonight and all of the talk was about what was going to happen for tomorrow and how they were going to mark the big day.  Molly wanted to make sure that she would wear something that represented the 100th day so we found the necklace that she made last year that has 100 beads on it.  She also asked for something in her lunch to follow the theme so, here we go!

Our main entrée is a peanut butter and jelly sandwich.  We do not have number cookie cutters so we freehanded the 100, which was pretty difficult on whole grain bread.  haha!

Our vegetable side is orange bell pepper slices.  These offer a color that is different from the normal green or red that we usually have for Molly's veggies.

Our fruit side is a clementine and some red grapes.  The grapes were a huge hit in today's lunch and she requested that they be part of tomorrows lunch.

Our dessert side is Trader Joe's Ginger Cat cookies.  Molly really likes these and hasn't had these in her lunch box for a while so we decided to add them.

Tomorrow isn't just the 100th day, it's FUN FRIDAY!  So, we added a few Hershey's Kisses as an extra bonus.  Molly has been working really hard and deserves this special little treat.

Hoagie Day

Isn't it funny how when someone you know is selling something, you often feel the need to buy it from them?  A friend was selling hoagies (sub sandwiches for anyone outside of the Pittsburgh area) and I felt almost obligated to buy some.  I do not regret this purchase because we will actually really enjoy these hoagies, the price was great and the proceeds helped a friend.  But, I just had to note the funny coincidence of buying things more often from people that you know, just because you know them.

Our main entrée is part of a turkey hoagie.  This sandwich has turkey, provolone cheese and a little bit of lettuce on it.  We also added some mustard because it's Molly's favorite condiment.

Our vegetable side is red bell pepper slices.  We figured that it would be a nice compliment to the sandwich.

Our fruit side is some red grapes.  These looked so delicious in the store and we couldn't pass them up.  They are extra small and very firm and sweet.

Finally, our dessert is Pepperidge Farm Cocoa Adventure Goldfish crackers.  These are chocolate graham crackers with mini marshmallows, just like those found in hot cocoa.

Wrapped Up

After a long day and little sleep I was trying to get my creative juices flowing about Molly's lunch and it hit me, a wrap.  Molly is one of those kids who would rather eat a grilled chicken wrap than a cheeseburger at McDonald's.  Her sister likes the wraps too but would rather have the burger in it.  HAHA!  Baby steps I guess.

Our main entrée is a turkey wrap.  We put turkey slices on a tortilla and added pepper jack cheese, a little mustard and some romaine lettuce.

Our vegetable side is sliced cucumbers.  A nice crunchy and refreshing side.

Our fruit side is strawberries and kiwi again.  Molly really enjoyed this so we figured, why not give her more of what she likes?

Our dairy/dessert is Dannon Light and Fit vanilla yogurt.  A sweet and creamy end to her meal.

Twos Day

Have you ever eaten something and craved it for every meal afterward?  Molly has eaten homemade pizza for 3 of her last 4 meals.  After dinner, she asked to have it again for lunch tomorrow...if there was any left.  Lucky for her, there were three pieces of a mini pizza left.

I really don't blame her for wanting the same thing over and over.  I remember being a peanut butter and jelly junkie when I was young and would eat it for every meal without deviation.  It just makes me wonder what the favorite foods will be for her brother and sister.

Our main entrée is homemade pizza...again.  This is the last little bit left over from our Super Bowl party on Sunday.  The mini pepperoni makes it extra fun.

Our vegetable side is cucumber slices.  This cucumber is extra crunchy.  It will be a great addition to this lunch.

Our fruit side is strawberries and kiwi.  This combination is great whether as whole fruits or juice.  Trader Joe's makes a delicious strawberry kiwi juice that our family really enjoys.

Finally, our dessert is some Annie's Homegrown Bunny Grahams in honey flavor.  A nice little change from the normal yogurt and an added sweetness and crunch.

Monday After a Super Bowl Loss

Our beloved Steelers fought a good fight but in the end, we lost the Super Bowl.  It was an awesome game and the better team won because they had less turnovers and scored a lot of points.  Great job black and gold, we are still SO proud to be members of the Steelers nation.

Some of the local schools have a delay in the morning so that everyone can recover from the game but unfortunately, Molly doesn't.  Just another Monday in Pittsburgh, which means that we have our Monday lunch.

Our main entrée is the typical Monday, pepperoni pizza.  Only, we made this pizza ourselves.  Trader Joe's makes some really yummy pizza dough and sells it in the refrigerated section.  We used this to make some mini pizzas.  We also used Trader Joe's pizza sauce, mozzarella cheese and mini pepperoni.

Our veggie side is a few slices of red pepper.  Crunchy and flavorful, these vegetables are loaded with vitamin C and beta carotene.

Our fruit side is strawberries and a clementine.  Strawberries and citrus complement each other so nicely because of the sweet/tart factor.

Finally, our dairy/dessert is Dannon Light and Fit vanilla yogurt.  Hopefully this will be enough sweetness after so many goodies from our super bowl party.  ☺

Steelers Super Bowl Lunch!

Well, this is it, the last school day before the Super Bowl!!  Our whole family is really big into football and has been for generations on end.  Being from Pittsburgh makes us bleed black and gold for our Steelers.  Tomorrow is Steelers Day at Molly's school and her lunch will going right along with the theme.  HERE WE GO STEELERS, HERE WE GO!!!

Our main entrée is a peanut butter and jelly sandwich on whole grain bread.  We used a football shaped cookie cutter for the main sandwich and a hypocycloid (yeah, I had to look that one up) micro cookie cutter to make the Steelers logo.  Please notice that there are *7* total hypocycloid sandwiches, for the Steelers 7th Super Bowl Win!


Our vegetable side is cucumber sticks.  A nice and refreshing side with a great crunch.


Our fruit side is fresh strawberries.  Molly really likes strawberries and their sweet and slightly tart flavor are a great compliment to her lunch.


Finally, IT'S FUN FRIDAY!!  Not just any Fun Friday...Steelers Fun Friday!  Molly's special dessert is 2 cookies that are Steelers themed.  The Terrible Towel is a huge Pittsburgh Steelers tradition so we had to make a cookie to represent the Steelers staple.  The other cookie is a chocolate football with three strategically colored and placed mini M&Ms that represent the hypocycloids on the Steelers logo.  


Happy Super Bowl Weekend!  GO STEELERS!!!!!!!!!

Peanut Butter and Jelly Roll Ups

I've been working on Molly's little sister's preschool snack tonight so I don't have much else to say but...wait until tomorrow's lunch for some Super Bowl inspired treats!

Our main entrée is peanut butter and jelly roll ups.  This is a simple and fun way to mix up a classic.  We made a regular pb&j and rolled it up.  Then we cut it into sushi-like slices.

Our vegetable side is cucumbers that have been sliced with a crinkle cutter knife.  They will be a nice crunch and refreshing taste.

Our fruit side is a clementine.  The citrus will be a great contrast to the peanut butter.

Finally, our dairy/dessert is Dannon Light and Fit vanilla yogurt.  One of Molly's favorite.

Weathered Wednesday

Well, the weather forecasters were WAY off.  We had a 2 hour delay because of some ice but we reached the mid-40's for our temperature by late morning.  I'm really glad that the forecast was wrong because it was a much safer day today as far as travel was concerned.  So, Molly ate the school lunch of chicken nuggets.  I was shocked though when she said that she only got the chicken nuggets, a bread stick and some chilled fruit.  They don't put the entire lunch on the plate anymore, the kids basically order what they want.  When did this happen? When I was in school, you were given everything and it all ran together.  I'm kind of happy in a sense that things don't have to run together anymore but I'm really disappointed that they let the kids order what they want.  No wonder she was starving when she got home.  What if you have a really picky kid and they only order the bread stick?  That doesn't seem like a good lunch or worth $1.75.  Thank goodness we don't buy lunch all that often.

Our main entrée is a turkey sandwich.  Molly requested this with pepper jack cheese and mustard on whole grain bread.  We added a few pea shoots for crunch and flavor.

Our vegetable side is a romaine lettuce salad with cucumber and carrots.  Our dressing is Trader Joe's balsamic dressing.

Our fruit side is blueberries and strawberries.  No, it's not the middle of the summer but thanks to Sam's Club, we can get these all year round.

Finally, our dairy/dessert is Dannon Light and Fit strawberry yogurt.  Most kids would rather something sweeter and more dessert-like, but Molly is just as happy with yogurt as she would be with a chocolate chip cookie.