Back to School Lunch Essentials List

It’s that time of year again.  The store shelves are lined with back packs, pencils, crayons, paper and tons of back to school accessories.  Let’s not forget about lunch though.  There are lots of things available to make your child’s (or your) lunch fun and healthy.  *I’ve included several links and some discount codes within this post.*

1.      The Lunch Box

We have been using the Laptop LunchesLunch Box for the last few years.  It is a great system and although it seems a bit pricey, this is our third year using the same one and we’re still going strong.

*I would recommend any of the 2.0 Kits or Systems by Laptop Lunches. 

*I would also recommend getting a set of Bento Buddies so that you would have the option of a large container and a couple of the smaller ones in case one was in use or dirty.

*I would recommend the Laptop Lunches plastic drink bottles.  We’ve never had any leak problems with them.

My Bento Blogger Friends also can’t say enough good things about Easy Lunch Boxes.  They are BPA free, light weight and dishwasher/microwave safe.  We can’t wait to try them.

*They also have a carrier that keeps lunches cold and it is easy to clean.

*There are 4 boxes in each set so you’ll have one ready without having to run the dishwasher every day.  (We pretty much do anyway though. J)

*They are now going to be carrying Mini Dippers so that you can have a leak proof small container to put in your Easy Lunch Box for dips and salad dressings. Plus, we’ve heard a rumor about another leak proof small container to hold things like applesauce, yogurt and cottage cheese.
****UPDATE****  We LOVE our Easy Lunch Boxes and use them so often that they are always in the dishwasher.  They are great for leftovers for grown ups and lunches for kids.

2.      The Drink Container/Thermos

As I mentioned above, we’ve had great luck with the Laptop Lunches plastic drink container and would highly recommend it.

We have a Thermos drink holder with a straw.  Molly takes that to use in the classroom when she has a cough or if it’s really hot.  (With the teacher’s permission, of course.)

We also have a Thermos food jar for warm foods like soups and pastas.  These stay warm from the time we load them in the morning until lunch time. (*note: we fill the Thermos container with hot water while microwaving the food that will go into it.  Then, we dump the water and fill the Thermos with the food.  It seems to help with keeping things warm.)

3.      Keeping It Cool

We’ve been asked by several readers how we keep Molly’s lunch cold during the hot months of school.  It’s pretty easy with the Laptop Lunch Box because there is a small pouch in the carrier that can hold an ice pack.  There is also room in the Easy Lunch Box carrier so that the ice pack is right on top of the lid and keeps the food cold.  We’ve used the blue gel kind and also ones that look like ice cubes.  The biggest thing is to get something that lies rather flat.  Molly is in charge of putting her ice pack in her lunch in the morning and putting it in the freezer when she gets home.

4.      The Fun Stuff

We are lucky enough to have an amazing bake shop very close to our house and they have a great supply of cookie cutters and cupcake picks.  Our kids will eat more of something if it is cut out in cute shapes and decorated.  If you don’t have a place like this near you, check out your local craft store or the internet.  We have purchased a lot of things from AllThings For Sale. 

Here’s a list of our recommendations:

            *Cookie cutters for sandwiches.

            *Mini or micro cookie cutters for fruits, vegetables and other produce or sandwiches.

            *Silicone cupcake liners. They are nice for separating foods.

            *Cupcake picks, food safe rings or bento utensils.

            *Food safe markers

            *Sprinkles (dye free if your child is sensitive)

            *Lunch notes (available at Lunch Box Love or you can hand write them) (ps - use coupon
              code MOLLY to save 15% off Lunch Box Love Notes)

            *Cloth napkins

            *A container to put everything in (it’s important to be organized so that you can make 

              your lunches quickly and easily)

5.      A Plan

We try to write out a weekly menu but sometimes that becomes difficult when we get busy.  We usually look at the grocery store ads and start there so that we know what is on sale and what we have on hand.  If that seems like too much, there is a website called MOMables that does it all for you and even includes recipes and a shopping list.  We’ve used it and have had wonderful results.  They even have sample menus on their site to see if it would suit you.  *Stay tuned for a MOMables giveaway within the next few days!*

Theme lunches can be fun too.  We will look at our cookie cutters or cupcake/bento picks and go from there or look at the school calendar for inspiration. (ie: yellow day or Dr. Seuss’s Birthday)  We also look at the school lunch calendar just to see if we can make something similar but healthier. (ie: pizza or chicken nuggets)

6.      The Food

Like I said, we usually have a plan but there are some staples that are always good to have on hand.

            *Natural peanut butter/Sunflower Seed Butter

            *Low sugar jam/jelly/preserves

            *Whole grain or gluten free bread

            *Hard Boiled Eggs

            *Applesauce

            *Yogurt/Greek Yogurt (We like Chobani Champions)

            *Cheese sticks or Babybel Cheese

            *Cooked whole grain pasta (for pasta salad or to heat up with sauce)

            *Bagged salad

            *Baby carrots

            *Frozen or canned vegetables

            *Apples (we like MacIntosh or Empire because they don’t brown as quickly)

            *Fresh fruits and vegetables that your kids like (we usually have berries, peppers and 

              cucumbers in our refrigerator at all times)


Feel free to ask any questions below and have a great new school year! ☺

Patriotic 4th of July Lunch

We're at it again!  The Bento Bloggers and Friends are doing a patriotic blog hop.  We all were talking and noticed that we are so proud of our countries and wanted to celebrate them with awesome lunches.  Canada celebrates their Independence Day on July 1st and the United States of America celebrates their Independence Day on July 4th.  We have friends in both countries that will hop with us and it made sense to hop a few days prior so that we could take the holiday off to celebrate.

Our main entree is an American flag open faced sandwich.  We cut the crusts off of our bread and created a rectangle for our flag.  Then, we spread some whipped cream cheese on the bread.  Finally, we added sliced strawberries and a few blueberries to create Old Glory.

Our vegetable side is zucchini and red peppers.  We used a small star cookie cutter to cut out the center of the zucchini to create white stars.  Then, we used our micro star cookie cutter to cut the red pepper into red stars.  We added an American Flag pick and a Captain America Shield ring to this section too.

Our dairy side is vanilla yogurt.  We added a few star sprinkles to the top to match our theme.  We also added a Statue of Liberty (one of our favorite symbols of freedom) to the bowl.

Finally, our fruit/dessert is a patriotic strawberry.  We dipped fresh strawberries in white chocolate and then just the tip in some blue sprinkles.  These were a HUGE hit with the kids.  Plus, they are much more healthy than most other holiday themed desserts.  There are two sparkly star picks below the strawberries.

Now it's time to HOP on over to see what incredible fun thing Bobbi has created for her kids at Bobbi's Bentos, then keep hopping to see what everyone else has imagined up to represent their patriotic side.

Camping Lunch

When the girls at Bento Bloggers and Friends came up with a summer lunch themed blog hop (see below), I jumped right in. *pun intended* This is a fantastic group of ladies that make incredible lunches for their kids and even some of them make lunches for their husbands.  They are all a great source of inspiration.

When given the theme of a summer lunch, I was torn between doing something like the summer lunch that I made for Molly at the end of the school year and something new.  I thought about some of our favorite summer activities and our theme was born.  Camping!

Our main entree is a peanut butter and jelly sandwich.  We cut our sandwich into a triangle and used our food safe markers to create our camping tent.

Our vegetable side is campfire peppers.  We cut pieces of yellow, orange and red peppers into flames, stacked them and put some kindling, a/k/a pretzel sticks, at the bottom.  These were a big hit.

Our fruit side is a banana, a sleeping bag banana.  We cut the banana in half and wrapped it with a fruit roll up.  Then, we added some chow mein noodles for crazy bed head hair.  Finally, we used our food safe markers to add a sleepy face.  *note: the moisture from the banana makes the fruit roll up very sticky and messy, but still yummy.

Our dairy side is a Babybel cheese.  We cut out a little tree shape in the red wax.  We are always surrounded by big beautiful trees when we go camping.

Finally, our dessert is roasted marshmallows.  We put mini marshmallows on pretzel sticks and used the burner from our gas stove to toast the marshmallows.  All three of the kids LOVED this, especially because they could eat the stick. ☺

*This tray is from Target and the cup filled with water is from Ikea.

Now, head on over to visit the incredibly talented Shannon at the awesome What's For Lunch At Our House by clicking on the blog hop link below and keep hopping for some great summer lunch inspiration.

Final Lunch of the Year - The Un-Birthday Lunch

WE DID IT!!!!!!!  2nd grade will be a thing of the past at 3:30 tomorrow afternoon.  This year was filled with lots of ups and downs but all in all it was a fantastic year.  Molly made huge strides in her reading and math, plus she formed a lot of great friendships.

Tomorrow, she will be celebrating her un-birthday since her real birthday is at the very end of this month.  We put together her goody bags to give to her classmates and included little squirt toys, bubbles, glow sticks and yo-yo's.  A GREAT way to start the summer off.

Tonight is the last time that we will be making just one lunch during the school year.  Next year, Molly's little sister will be joining the ranks at the elementary school.  We are SO excited for both of them.

Our main entree is a Molly sandwich.  This is Molly's favorite, a salami and colby jack cheese sandwich that we added some embellishments to. We used eyes that we picked up at the bake shop, our food safe markers for her face, and since Molly is known for her curly hair, we added some ramen noodles that are sprinkled with a tiny bit of the flavor packet to make her beautiful brown hair.  Finally, there is a little cheese bow in her "hair" just for fun.

Our vegetable side is a red pepper.  This is Molly's favorite vegetable.  We added a Happy Birthday pick and a few little candle picks to go along with the un-Birthday theme.

Our fruit side is Molly's favorite; strawberries and blueberries.  We had lots of fun with birthday picks in this container.  We have a "happy birthday" pick, a balloon and several of the little candles.  So much fun!

Finally, our Final Fun Friday treat is cake balls.  These are like cake pops without the stick.  They are chocolate cake mixed with cream cheese frosting then dipped in white chocolate with a few sprinkles added.  We put them in little cupcake wrappers and added another balloon pick and a candle pick.

Happy Un-Birthday, Molly!!! ☺☺☺☺☺☺☺☺

Have a FANTASTIC summer everyone.  We'll be posting a few random things here and there but otherwise, see you in August!!

Theme Week Lunch 4 - 3rd Grade!

We were going to save this lunch for the last day of school but Molly will be celebrating her un-birthday at school on Friday so we decided to switch up the last two days.  We can't believe that the 2nd grade is almost over and our big girl will be a 3rd grader in a few short months.  It is so exciting to think about all of the fun things that she has to look forward to next year.

Our main entree is a cheese quesadilla.  We melted cheese between two flour tortillas, cooled it down and then used a number 3 cookie cutter to cut out lots of 3s for our favorite soon to be third grader.  There is a side of Trader Joe's salsa verde for dipping because it is one of Molly's favorites.

Our vegetable side is cucumbers.  We have a small number 3 cookie cutter that we used to cut these out.

Our fruit side is green grapes, blueberries and apricots.  We used the same small number 3 cookie cutter to cut out the apricot to keep up with our theme.

Finally, our dairy/dessert is a Chobani Champions Chocolate Chunk Greek yogurt.  This is Molly's favorite yogurt so we had to include it.  We used some small Post-Its on the lid that say, "Look Out 3rd Grade, Here Comes Molly!"

One more lunch before summer vacation!!! ☺

Theme Lunch 3 - Summertime!

We can't wait until summer vacation begins.  We have grand plans of hanging out poolside at Grammy and Papa's house with fun in the sun, swimming, building sandcastles, hanging out at the neighbor's fire pit, eating great fresh fruits and vegetables and catching fireflies!

Our main entree is a salami and colby jack cheese sandwich.  We used a foot shaped cookie cutter to cut it out and then added a flip flop with our food safe markers.  Finally, we added a little sunglasses pick.

Our vegetable side is cucumber slices.  We used our crinkle knife to cut the cucumbers for extra fun.  We then added a beach ball pick to this container.

Our fruit side is watermelon.  Nothing says summer quite like fresh watermelon.  We used a small starfish cookie cutter to cut out a few pieces and then added some fun summer picks.  We have a sand pail and shovel, sunglasses and a beach umbrella.

Finally, our dessert is.....MONEY$$$$!  Summertime and ice cream go hand in hand.  We put a few quarters into a tiny container  form Molly to buy some ice cream.  We added it to a bigger container that we lined with a foil cupcake line and then added a cute ice cream cone ring.  Molly loves her rings!

Only a few days before it's summer all the time!!!  As Phineas and Ferb would sing, ♪♫ There's 104 days of summer vacation til school comes along just to end it.  So, the annual problem for our generation is finding a good way to spend it. ♫♪  This summer is going to be GREAT!

Theme Lunch 2 - Teddy Bear Picnic

Four days left in the count down to the last day of school.  Our theme week is going on strong and what better to remind us of summer than a teddy bear picnic?

Our main entree is a peanut butter and jelly sandwich.  We used potato bread, natural peanut butter and Trader Joe's Reduced Sugar Apricot Jam.  We then used a small teddy bear cookie cutter to cut out our little bear family.  Finally, we used our food safe markers to add details and a little picnic basket pick.

Our vegetable side is ants on a log.  What is a picnic without ants?  We used our natural peanut butter again on celery with currants because Molly really liked that last time.

Our fruit side is checkered apples.  We found this idea from Jenn at Bento for Kidlet.  She has a great little tutorial here.  Looks just like a checkered table cloth to us.  We also added a giant ant that we found at our local bake shop.  

Finally, our dairy/dessert is vanilla yogurt with fun colored sprinkles.  It reminds us of some fun desserts that we have had at our picnics.  Our kids are fans of funfetti cupcakes or cookies with sprinkles as a great picnic treat.

Purse Lunch

This is the last week of school this year and we've decided to make a theme lunch every day this week.  This is not an easy task but we're up for it and have the whole week planned out.  Hopefully it will all go off without a hitch. ☺
Monday is the purse theme.  We found some really cute picks at a local bake shop and decided to just go with it.  Plus, one of Molly's favorite entrees is purses.

Our main entree is Trader Joe's Perline Pasta and Prosciutto.  These are little purses of pasta hold yummy bits of prosciutto and cheese.  We added a little bit of light Italian dressing to keep the pasta from drying out.

Our vegetable side is carrot chunks.  These are manageable little pieces that Molly will be able eat easily and quickly during her short lunch period.  We added a little purple purse to this container.

Our fruit side is strawberries and blueberries.  The berries are in full bloom here in PA and taste so delicious this year.  We added a little blue purse to this container.

Finally, our dairy/dessert is vanilla yogurt.  A sweet and creamy end to a yummy lunch.  We added a little pink purse to this container.

Dance Recital Lunch

Molly and her sister will be performing tomorrow night in their dance recital.  They are both very excited.  Molly will be in a ballet number and a tap number.  She loves her tap costume (black and blue with little black sparkles) and her ballet costume looks like a beautiful pink and yellow flowing flower.  They both get to wear make-up...REAL make-up and Molly's little sister just loves make-up.  (Daddy's not a fan of the make-up but he agrees that they look beautiful.)

We've made a very special dance themed lunch for the special day, along with a very special Fun Friday treat.

Our main entree is a peanut butter and jelly sandwich.  We used our ballerina cookie cutter to cut it out and our food safe markers to decorate it.  (Not my best effort.  It's quite an odd shape.)

Our vegetable side is star shaped cucumbers.  We know that Molly will be a star tomorrow night!  We used our micro cookie cutter to cut these little stars out.

Our fruit side is strawberries.  We used a larger star cookie cutter to cut these out.  We also added a ballet slipper ring to this container.  Molly will be so excited because she is giddy about rings every single time we put one in her lunch.  (We have one for her sister too!)

Our dairy side is a Babybel cheese.  We used the same micro cookie cutter that we used for the cucumbers to cut out a tiny star from the wax.

Finally, our Fun Friday treat is ballet slipper cookies.  We dipped nutter butter cookies in pink chocolate, let them set and then added some white chocolate embellishments.  Cute and delicious!

Popcorn Chicken

Molly has chosen to have the hot school lunch tomorrow.  With only a little over a week of school left, this may be her last cafeteria lunch for this school year.  We're hoping! ☺

Picnic Lunch

While looking for inspiration for Molly's lunch, I channeled our weekend.  We had so many picnic-like meals, it was easy to figure out a great lunch.  *side note - has anyone else realized how many different "salads" there are at a picnic?  pasta salad, fruit salad, veggie salad, jello salad, etc.  I wonder if picnic is another word for salad somewhere?  haha!

Our main entree is a cheese tortellini salad.  We cooked up some Trader Joe's cheese tortellini for lunch today for Molly's siblings.  The rest were put in a container, light Italian dressing was added and there you have it. One of Molly's favorites.

Our vegetable side is mini cucumber slices.  We picked up another bag of these mini cucumbers at Sam's Club today.  They are crunchy and great by themselves or dipped into hummus or a yogurt dip.

Our fruit side is strawberries and blueberries.  We saw a lot of fun recipes for strawberries and blueberries incorporated into desserts for memorial day.  The idea of a vanilla yogurt parfait with strawberries and blueberries sounded really good.  This and the next container could be that, just deconstructed.

Our dairy/dessert is vanilla yogurt.  Molly is all about the vanilla yogurt right now.  Parfait or no parfait, it's a great end to a healthy lunch.

Swimming and Sea Creatures

Molly's Grammy and Papa have a beautiful pool in their back yard and we are so lucky to have access to it.  We've spent most of the past two weekends swimming and enjoying family time.  Molly has become quite a little fish.  Her swimming has gotten better and better over the past few summers.  Her new thing is a snorkel.  She just swims around looking underwater at all of the things that "coming up for air" wouldn't let her see before.  Only a few more days of school left before this becomes our full time activity.

Our main entree is a mini cinnamon raisin bagel sandwich.  We split it in half and added whipped cream cheese.  Molly had this last week and loved it.  We added a little sea turtle pick to represent great swimmer, just like Molly.

Our vegetable side is carrot chunks.  This will be a great crunchy addition to lunch.  We added a little shell pick to this container.

Our fruit side is strawberries.  So sweet and juicy with a delicious fragrance and flavor.  We added an octopus pick to this container because it is one of Molly's favorite sea creatures.

Finally, our dairy/dessert is blueberry yogurt.  Molly hasn't had this variety in a while so we figured that it would be a nice change.

Hat Day Lunch

Molly's school is having another Funky Friday$ day tomorrow.  They are collecting money for a new playground.  Each student that participates pays $1 to do what ever that funky thing is.  Tomorrow is hat day and every student is allowed to wear a hat, which is normally not allowed.  Molly is very excited to wear her Hello Kitty fedora.  She laid out her special matching Hello Kitty outfit and can't wait till morning for hat day.

Our main entree is a hat sandwich.  We cut out or whole grain white bread into the shape of a hat and used our food safe markers to decorate it.  Then, we filled it with salami and colby jack cheese, per Molly's request.

Our vegetable side is orange mini peppers.  We cut these peppers into rings and put a cute little purple hat on top of them.  We found these hats (this and the one on the fruit) at a local bake shop.  It's so much fun to find great little treasures, even if we don't quite know what we are going to do with them.

Our fruit side is a kiwi.  We cut the kiwi in half and then into slices so that it's easier to eat.  We also added a fun little pink hat on the top to keep with our theme.

Our dairy side is a cheddar and mozzarella cheese stick.  Since there is no yogurt, we're confident that Molly will be needing a little bit extra to eat.

Finally, our Fun Friday treat is dessert hats.  We used fudge stripe cookies for the base, added a mini Reese's peanut butter cup and attached them with some melted red chocolate.  Then we added a little decoration to them because hats are more fun with embellishments.

The Return of an Old Favorite

When we went to Trader Joe's the other day, we picked up a bunch of things and a few old favorites made it into the cart.  Molly used to request pimento cheese sandwiches all of the time.  I introduced pimento cheese spread to my kids one day on the way home from the zoo.  Trader Joe's is very close to the Pittsburgh Zoo so on our way home, we stopped for a snack.  I bought mini whole wheat pitas and the pimento cheese spread as a way to introduce it in a small way, just in case they didn't like it.  Well, they are truly my kids and it showed with their new found love of pimento cheese spread.  We haven't had it for a while so Molly's eyes lit up when she saw it.

Our main entree is mini pimento cheese sandwiches.  We split 5 (there are 6 in a serving according to the nutritional information) Trader Joe's mini whole wheat pitas and filled them with Trader Joe's pimento cheese spread.  Molly is going to go crazy over this blast from the past.

Our vegetable side is mini cucumbers.  We used our crinkle knife to cut these up to make them look more like a pickle.  They are really crunchy and refreshing.

Our fruit side is a peach and some raspberries.  We found these peaches very inexpensively at a huge sale at  a local super market.  We like the combination for both aesthetic appeal and flavor.  

Finally, our dairy/dessert is plain vanilla yogurt.  Molly will more than likely add her raspberries to this yogurt.  She has been loving this combination of vanilla yogurt and fresh berries.

Trader Joe's Inspired Lunch

We made a run out to Trader Joe's yesterday to pick up a few essentials and some other goodies.  We just love Trader Joe's and heard a rumor that there might be one opening much closer to where we live.  It's about a 20 minute drive from where we are right now, but totally worth it!

Our main entree is a Trader Joe's mini Cinnamon Raisin bagel sandwich.  What's better with a bagel than cream cheese?  We added some whipped cream cheese and sandwiched it together.  We also added a little bow pick for fun.

Our vegetable side is Snap Peas Crisps.  These are a fantastic alternative to potato chips.  They are crispy, crunchy and salty.  The best part is that they are made with peas and baked so they are very healthy.  We added a pink flower pick to this container for a reminder of spring.

Our fruit side is strawberries.  These are still from the fresh picked batch of strawberries that Grammy got for us.  All four quarts are almost gone.  To say that we like strawberries at our house would be an understatement.  We added a small dragonfly ring to this container because Molly really likes when we put rings in her lunch.

Our dairy side is a cheddar and mozzarella cheese stick.  We think that Molly might be a little hungry (she didn't eat a lot at dinner tonight) so this is the perfect add on.

Finally, our dessert is peach yogurt.  Molly really likes to put her strawberries into her yogurt and peaches and strawberries are a great pairing.

School Lunch

The temptation of the school lunch strikes again. Chicken Fryz. Ugh! But, we have an agreement and it isn't the worst lunch being served this week. We may be changing our agreement next year from once a week to once a month to buy school lunch. These things that they are feeding the kids are so gross. The nutritional information provided just makes my blood boil. 838 calories for a lunch at school. Might as well feed them Big Macs! I digress. Plus there are only a few more weeks of school and then any "buying" options will be up to us.

Dog Days of Summer

This past weekend, we went to Grammy and Papa's house for some fun in the sun and lots of swimming.  Thing 2 is done with school but Molly still has a few more weeks.  As we were getting ready to leave this evening, Molly was very jealous of Thing 2 because she got to stay another night and Molly had to come home because of school tomorrow.  But, the dog days of summer are right around the corner.

Our main entree is a doggie shaped sandwich.  We made a salami and colby jack cheese sandwich then used a dog shaped cookie cutter, a tiny bone cookie cutter and a small paw print cookie cutter to cut it out.  Then, we used our food safe markers to make it more fun.

Our vegetable side is mini peppers.  We sliced an orange and a red mini pepper into rings.  We think that they will taste great with the sandwich.

Our fruit side is fresh strawberries.  Grammy's friend got these for us.  They are fresh picked from a local farm and their flavor is incredible.

Finally, our dairy/dessert is vanilla yogurt.  Molly asked for plain vanilla yogurt because she like to put some of her strawberries in it.

Pizza Friday!

Thing 2 graduated from preschool today and it was awesome.  The four of us, along with Grammy and Papa, watched as she sang her songs and received her diploma on the stage.  (sniff...sniff...)  She will be joining the ranks at the Elementary School in Kindergarten next year!  That also means that she will be the lucky recipient of a new Laptop Lunchbox of her own and get fun lunches just like Molly.

For now, we're still sticking with lunch just for Molly.  A Fun Friday of yumminess!

Our main entree is cheese pizza.  We picked up a "take and bake" pizza at the grocery store today after graduation so that we'd have an easy dinner.  There were plenty of leftovers so Molly is getting a slice in her lunch tomorrow.

Our vegetable side is a mini cucumber.  We sliced these into little nickle slices so that Molly can just pop them in her mouth.  They are SUPER crunchy and delicious.

Our fruit side is sliced strawberries.  It's the merry berry month of May here in Pittsburgh so the strawberries are plentiful and amazingly scrumptious!

Our dairy side is a mozzarella and cheddar cheese stick.  We wanted to add a little extra protein so that Molly wasn't starving at the end of the day.

Finally, our Fun Friday treat is a soft and chewy chocolate chip cookie.  We picked these up as a special treat for Thing 2's special day.  The kids went gaga over them.

Sister's Graduation

Tomorrow, Molly's little sister will graduate from preschool!  We are allowing Molly to miss a few hours of school tomorrow to attend the ceremony.  This means that she will get to school just before lunch.  I had a hard time trying to decide what to do.  Do we let her buy lunch or do we pack something small?  See, there is going to be a "luncheon" at the graduation ceremony.  We don't want to waste food and we aren't sure how much Molly will eat at the preschool.  So, we decided that we are going to bring a brown paper bag with a few ziploc bags so that Molly can eat a little bit at the luncheon and bring some of her leftovers in for lunch.

I am also going to pack a few peanut butter crackers and an apple, just in case there aren't a lot of options for Molly.  Our last resort is to just let her buy lunch at school if she doesn't eat much at all.

I can't believe that Thing 2 is old enough to be graduating from preschool and heading to Kindergarten in the fall.  She is completely ready for the big step but my heart is a little bit sad knowing that she's no longer a baby. Yet, I'm so excited for all of the fun adventures that await her.

Congratulations to the Preschool Class of 2012!!!

Something New

We are trying something new in Molly's lunch tomorrow.  We purchased some chicken burgers a few weeks ago on a trip to Sam's Club.  They are really delicious plus, they aren't breaded and fried like the average chicken nugget.  We've ended up buying a lot more of them.  I've been eating them like a regular piece of grilled chicken during a meal or on a salad...YUM!  I've also had them cold and I think that they are so good that way too.  I'm hoping that Molly feels the same because she gobbles them up at dinner.

Our main entree is an Old World Kitchen Caramelized Onion and Swiss Chicken Burger.  We cut it into strips, like we do for dinner.  There is so much flavor in these that they don't need any kind of dip or spread.

Our vegetable side is sugar snap peas.  Molly went through a period of time when she wasn't a fan of these but luckily, she's gotten over it.  They are juicy and crunchy with such a yummy flavor.

Our fruit side is a MacIntosh apple.  We sliced it up to make it faster to eat.  Elementary kids don't have a lot of time at lunch so anything to help make it easier is great.

Finally, our dairy/dessert is vanilla yogurt with a few Trader Joe's Elegant Cocoa Pearls.  They are a little crunchy and sweet.

May Flowers Lunch

We have breakfast for dinner quite often at our house.  The kids just love it.  Last time I made breakfast for Molly's lunch, I had some fun with a squeeze bottle.  I recalled it tonight when I was making dinner.  I made more Hello Kitty pancakes, smiley faces, a few rocket ships for my son and a whole bunch of flowers.  Those flowers were the inspiration for Molly's lunch tomorrow.

Our main entree is pancakes.  These are honey wheat Krusteaz that we put into a squeeze bottle and created fun flowers with.  We added a side of Biscoff Spread for Molly to dip into.  (That stuff is so delicious that it would make even a plain rice cake taste spectacular!)

Our vegetable side is baby carrots.  Molly has said that they are the best option for a vegetable when breakfast is on the menu.

Our fruit side is a mix of fresh berries.  Raspberries, blueberries, blackberries and strawberries that have been cut into flower shapes to match our theme.

Finally, our dairy/dessert is vanilla yogurt.  We added a few berries to liven it up and add more fun flowers to Molly's lunch.

Mommy's Night Off

Happy Mother's Day to all of the Mommies, Grandmas, Great-Grandmas, Aunts, Sisters, Friends and Dads that are Dad and Mom.  Being a Mommy is the most special gift that I have ever been given.  I am truly blessed by the three little miracles that daily call me Mom.

In honor of this special day, Molly's Daddy was nice enough to make Molly's lunch for me.  Mommy got a night off!  Thanks so much Daddy! ♥

Our main entree is chili.  Molly and her siblings requested Wendy's for dinner (while Mom and Dad got take out from a different restaurant) and this chili was left over.  Molly asked for it to be in her lunch tomorrow...easy peasy!

Our vegetable side is a romaine lettuce salad.  We added a side of French dressing.

Our fruit side is strawberries and raspberries.  Molly has been all about berries lately and we are happy to fulfill her request.

Finally, our dairy/dessert is a Chobani Champions Vanilla Chocolate Chunk Greek yogurt.  Molly's favorite. 

Fun Friday Lunch

Molly had an absolute blast at "Yo Vikings!" today.  She loved how the book came to life and the fact that the main character had such a vivid imagination, kind of like our Molly.  I'm so happy that we live in a city where a short bus ride can offer awesome theater, music and world class museums plus an incredible zoo.  The "burgh" sure is a great place to live.

Our main entree is turkey pepperoni, crackers and cheese.  Molly requested this just before bed tonight.  Sometimes, she's all about the finger food.

Our vegetable side is sugar snap peas.  These looked so yummy at the store yesterday, that we had to pick them up.  They are sweet, crunchy and juicy.

Our fruit side is a mix of berries.  One of our local grocery stores has raspberries 2/$3 so we loaded up.  We added a few blueberries and blackberries too.

Our dairy is plain old vanilla yogurt....but we added some fun sprinkles to liven it up a bit.  The weekend is almost here so we're ready to celebrate!

Finally, our fun Friday treat is an Archer Farms Organic blueberry fruit strip.  We purchase these at Target all of the time and they usually serve as an after school snack or an accompaniment to yogurt at breakfast, which means that there aren't any left for lunch.  We held on to one just for Friday.

*Happy Mother's Day to all of you Mommies out there!  My plan is to sleep in and that is enough for me.  ☺

Field Trip Lunch!

Molly is going on a field trip tomorrow.  She and several other children in GATE/High-Achieving Students are heading to the Pittsburgh Playhouse to see, "Yo Vikings!"  Molly can't wait because she gets to dress up, ride a school bus (we live on the same street as the school so we walk) and seeing a fun play.  Yo Vikings! is about a girl named Emma who's world is transformed into an epic Viking adventure.  We used the flyer that came home as our inspiration for Molly's packed "brown bag" lunch.

Our main entree is a peanut butter and jelly sandwich.  We cut out a Viking shape and used our food safe markers to create a Viking.  We put this sandwich in a recyclable blueberry container so that it won't be squished.  We got this idea from our friend Keeley McGuire, who also blogs about her daughter's lunch.  Click here for the post that we got the idea from.

Our vegetable side is baby carrots.  Molly requested these because they tasted good to her today.

Our fruit side is an apple/strawberry squeeze applesauce on the go.  No bruising of the fruit and lots of yummy flavor.

We added pretzels, Annie's Snickerdoodle Bunnies and Annie's Organic Fruit Snacks and a mini bottle of water to round out Molly's lunch.

Molly's lunch bag is our take on the cover art for the book "Yo Vikings!", but we made Molly the main character, Emma.  We also changed the title to Yo Molly! so that she has her name on her lunch, as requested.  ☺

New Sandwich

During one of my weekly trips to Sam's Club, I purchased a new kind of lunch meat, Castle Wood Applewood Smoked Chicken Breast!  The Castlewood line is fantastic because they use real meat and don't overly process it like most lunch meats.  This particular one is just chicken breast (and you can tell by the way it looks) that has been smoked and seasoned.  Plus, it tastes REALLY good, like bacon...YUM!

Our main entree is a smokey sandwich.  We used the new Caste Wood applewood smoked chicken breast and the Castle Wood smoked Gouda cheese in between two slices of Wonder whole grain white bread.  

Our vegetable side is baby carrots.  Molly has been requesting these lately and they are an easy option because they are already ready for you to toss them right into the lunch box.

Our fruit side is an apple.  We sliced up this little Empire apple because without her two front teeth, biting into an apple is a bit more complicated for Molly. ☺

Finally, our dairy/dessert is a Chobani Champions Vanilla Chocolate Chunk Greek yogurt.  Another request from our girl.  We like it too!

Restaurant Leftovers

After our amazing half marathon, Daddy and I had a nice snack at the Hard Rock Cafe then went home, showered off and both fell asleep from shear exhaustion.  We woke up to a phone call from Molly asking us to join her, her siblings and her grandparents for dinner at Bravo! for dinner.  What runner could resist a pasta dinner after running 13.1 miles?

We had some great leftovers and Molly was able sneak some for her lunch tomorrow.

Our main entree is Bravo Mac and Cheese.  They use campanelle pasta and an amazing amount of cream and cheese to make a decadent and delicious entree.  The nice thing is that their portion is so big that it can serve as several meals.

Our vegetable side is a green salad.  Just some romaine lettuce with a side of light Italian dressing.

Our fruit side is a clementine.  We peeled and sectioned it for Molly to make it a little easier to eat.

Finally, our dairy/dessert is a Chobani Champions Verry Berry Greek yogurt.  Molly requested this variety since it is one of her favorites.

Post Marathon Lunch

Well, WE DID IT!!!  The 2012 Pittsburgh Half Marathon is now history!

The 3 H's were HORRIBLE but we persisted and made it to the finish line.
*Heat
*Humidity
*Hills

This was a tough race and it was amazing to be running along with 25,000 other people in the City of Bridges.  I am now a Runner of Steel!!!!

If you have ever done a half marathon, you know how tiring it is.  Because of this, I am going to let Molly buy her pizza lunch tomorrow.  I think that I've earned a night off. ☺

Congratulations to all who ran today.  What an amazing experience!  Thanks to my family and friends who helped me to accomplish this amazing goal!

Marathon Lunch

If you follow this blog, you may know that Molly's Daddy and I will be running the Pittsburgh Half Marathon this Sunday.  This is Daddy's second half marathon and Mommy's 1st.  I'm excited and terrified at the same time.  I trust in my training and the shape that my body is in so I'm confident that it will be an absolute blast.

In honor of this massively amazing event, we decided to theme Molly's lunch with fun little bits from our training as "Runners of Steel" in our awesome city.

Our main entree is a peanut butter and jelly sandwich.  We used whole grain white bread, spread on some natural peanut butter and low sugar strawberry jam.  Then, we used our food safe markers to create a running shoe.

Our vegetable side is frozen peas.  These will thaw down and be a great cool addition.  The peas remind us of the little sport jelly beans that we use to fuel during long runs.  They are also a great source natural carbohydrate, something that runners are always looking for.

Our fruit side is a banana with some Nutella inside of it.  Runners love bananas for potassium and a quick sugar boost with carbohydrate.  We also added the word RUN using a strawberry fruit leather and our alphabet micro cookie cutters.

Our dairy side is a cheddar and mozzarella cheese stick.  This is a great source of protein.  A runner needs a certain amount of protein to fuel their muscles and keep their appetite satisfied long after the carbohydrates have burned off.

Finally, our dessert is Mommy's favorite post race snack.  Pretzels with a few dark chocolate chips.  The salt helps to keep electrolytes in check and the chocolate, well, it's dark chocolate...enough said.

Best of luck to our fellow Runners of Steel as we all tackle the City of Bridges!

Leftover Breakfast!

There was a lot on the schedule again for tonight.  Mom had her final weigh in (and I was down another 2.3 pounds!  WOOT WOOT!), plus a final run before the weekend races.  Then there was an impromptu meeting that I attended.   I knew that the night was going to be busy so breakfast for dinner was on the menu.  Everyone loves it and and it's easy to make and clean up after.

Our main entree is mini pancakes.  We tried a new mix called Honey Wheat Krusteaz.  It got two thumbs up from all of us.  You don't need any syrup because the honey makes them sweet already.  YUM!

Our protein side is bacon and eggs.  Well, bacon and an egg.  There are 3 strips of turkey bacon ripped into smaller pieces and a hard boiled egg.  The shell did not want to be removed so it's not too pretty, but it will still taste great.

Our fruit side is pineapple and cantaloupe pieces.  Mom made fruit bouquets for her weight loss coaches and these are the yummy bits leftover.

Finally, our dairy/dessert is a Chobani Champions Verry Berry Greek yogurt.  Molly loves her Cho!

Pizzadilla!

This week has been and will be beyond crazy.  Monday night included a sneak preview of the new Whole Foods store that will be opening near us tomorrow (I am overly excited about this!) and a great dinner with friends.  Tonight was dance for both girls and a run for Daddy plus cross training for Mommy.  Tomorrow is the end of Mommy's weight loss challenge with the final weigh in, which makes me feel like I gained 5 pounds over the last week.  haha!  Tomorrow is also my final run before the Pittsburgh Marathon 5K on Saturday and Half Marathon on Sunday.  We have several other things lined up too and God willing, it will all go off swimmingly.  We are all so excited and next week may feel like the day after the prom but the excitement of this week is something to behold.

Part of my strategy was to plan ahead with a menu and schedule so that nothing is forgotten.  Hopefully this will really help with Molly's lunches.

Our main entree is a pizzadilla, a/k/a a pizza quesadilla.  We spread a small amount of pizza sauce on two flour tortillas, added turkey pepperoni and shredded mozzarella cheese on one, topped it with the other, then heated it on the stove until it was all melted and yummy.  We then cut it into "pizza slices" to make it more manageable for Molly.

Our vegetable side is a green salad.  We added a small container of light Ranch dressing and filled it a little fuller than normal because we know that Molly sometimes likes to dip her pizza in Ranch.

Our fruit side is a sliced apple.  These a very small Empire apples that are the perfect side for kids.  They are crunchy and sweet.

Finally, our dairy/dessert is Chobani Champions Vanilla Chocolate Chunk Greek Yogurt.  This is Molly's favorite variety and we can't blame her.  Chocolate is so yummy!

Odd Request

3 words.... Beef Teriyaki Nuggets

Um, yeah, I really don't know what to say about this one.  We give her the option to choose one lunch a week from the calendar and this is what she chose.  It doesn't sound all that appetizing to me but if I think of it as a stir fry with beef, vegetables and rice...it's much better.  It also comes with an egg roll, fruit and a fortune cookie.  Chinese food is one of Molly's favorites so I really shouldn't be all that surprised.

I honestly hope that it is super delicious and that Molly really enjoys it. ☺

Post Party Lunch

Today, we celebrated Molly's 1st Holy Communion.  She was aglow in her beautiful white dress and veil and had a smile about a mile wide.  She was so proud to be receiving this sacrament and sharing it with her family and friends.

After mass, we had a whole slew of people at our house for a party with lots of yummy food and great conversation.  Luckily, there were a couple of leftovers and that made Molly's lunch very easy for us.  The other great thing about having a party at home, my house is still relatively clean.  Bonus!

Our main entree is linguini salad.  Molly's Nana makes the yummiest linguini salad and we were very excited when she offered to bring some to the party.  Molly requested that there be only olives and cucumbers and not any of the tomatoes or onions that were in the salad.  That was not a problem since Nana put in whole grape tomatoes and larger chunks of onion.  Thanks, Nana!

Our vegetable side is ants on a log.  We used some of the leftover celery from our veggie tray and added natural peanut butter and some dried currants that we got from our NatureBox.  Such a delicious and wonderful way to enjoy new and healthy snacks delivered to your door every month.  Enter the code NATURE to get 25% off of your first order.

Our fruit side is a clementine.  We were going to give Molly some leftover pineapple and strawberries but she asked for this instead.  It works for us!

Our dairy side is a Babybel cheese.  We weren't sure if there was quite enough protein in Molly's lunch and one of these is always a great source.

Finally, our dessert is a Chobani Champions Verry Berry Greek yogurt, by request.  Molly just loves her Cho!

PJ Day!

Molly's school has been having these "Funky Friday$" to raise money for their new playground.  On these days, the students can wear something funky on the specified Friday for a $1 donation.  Molly wore her Cat in the Hat outfit for the Dr. Seuss day.  She had very poofy and tall hair for crazy hair day.

Tomorrow is PJ day.  Molly will be wearing her favorite fuzzy pink Hello Kitty pajama pants and a fun pink top.  Plus, we will be putting a few pink foam rollers in her hair just for fun.  PJ Day calls for breakfast for lunch.  We decided to go a little crazy with this one.  Pancakes can be very versatile. ☺

Our main entree is pancakes.  We put the batter into a squeeze bottle and created fun shapes.  We attempted to make some Hello Kitty pancakes (to match her PJs) and wrote Molly's name too.  Writing in cursive backwards with a squeeze bottle is more complicated than it seems.  We added a small container of Biscoff Spread (after we took the picture) in case Molly wants to spread it on any of the pancakes.

Our fruit side is cantaloupe and strawberries.  These are a nice accompaniment to the pancakes.

Our dairy/dessert is a Chobani Verry Berry Greek yogurt.  These were on sale at the store yesterday so we scarfed some up.  This will serve as a great source of protein too.

Finally, our Fun Friday treat is two mini candy bars from Easter.  One is a Krackle Bar and one is a Mr. Goodbar.  Nothing like a little chocolate to complete a yummy lunch.

Bring Your Child To Work Day

Molly is overjoyed with anticipation for a fantastic day tomorrow because her Daddy is bringing her to work with him.  She has waited patiently for the last few years to be old enough to go to work with him and finally, tomorrow is her day.

Daddy's company has an entire day planned with fun activities, a special lunch and even an ice cream social at the end of the work day.  Molly has no idea about any of the fun things planned but I'm sure her imagination is going wild with anticipation.  She even went to bed early tonight so that she can get up early with Daddy.

I can't wait to hear how incredible her day went.  It's days like these that make being a parent so exciting!

Orange-you Glad It's Wednesday?

Our crazy day went really well.  All things on the "to-do" list were checked off and completed nicely.  Molly had a great visit at the dentist and we all had a lot of fun today.

We were inspired by our lunch today when making our lunch for tomorrow.  Our orange inspired lunch.

Our main entree is a yummy pasta salad.  The pasta is Barilla Piccolini Mini Farfalle with tomatoes and carrots.  We had this for lunch today and it was a huge hit.  The flavors of the vegetables comes through but it isn't too overpowering.  We added a bit of light Italian dressing and some freshly grated Parmesan cheese.

Our vegetable side is baby carrots.  Molly and her sister had these with their lunch today (along with a few other vegetables) and both really enjoyed them.

Our fruit side is chunks of cantaloupe.  We were going to give Molly oranges but decided that they would be too obvious.  We added a cute little orange pic of a starfish to this container too.

Finally, our dairy/dessert is Chobani Champions Vanilla Orange Greek yogurt.  Here's our orange!  We flipped the container over so that you can see the orange ring to keep with our theme.

Election Day

Tomorrow is the primary election in Pennsylvania, thus, there is no school. We use a lot of the schools as polling arenas so there would be mass chaos, not to mention security issues, if there were classes going on at the same time. We have grand plans of staying in our pajamas and watching movies for the first part if the day. Then we will begin a big cleaning of the house because Molly will be celebrating her 1st Holy Communion this weekend and we will be having guests here. Next, we will be signing little sister up for Kindergarten (gasp!) and finally, Molly has a dentist appointment in the evening. A pretty busy day to say the least. Oh, and Mom and Dad have to go vote and both get a training run in there somewhere. Sigh, someday these will be the good old days!

Brother's Birthday!!!

Monday is Molly's little brother's 3rd birthday!!!  We are so excited to watch him hit this milestone.  The year that he starts preschool on his own.  The year that he really becomes a little boy in his actions and looks.  (Yes, I had a hard time typing that since he's my baby.)

We have a lot of fun things planned for the day from homemade doughnuts (baked with our Babycakes doughnut maker) to plans for breakfast for dinner.  He LOVES breakfast.

Molly can't wait for the school day to be over so that she can participate in the celebration.  She and her sister made some beautiful birthday cards and are giddy with anticipation to give them to their little brother.  School first, then the party!

Our main entree is a turkey and smoked Gouda sandwich on 12 Grain bread.  We used some fun cookie cutters to make these shapes, then put smiley faces on the circles and a heart on the diamond with our food safe markers.
*We recently won a contest by Chef Corey at Family Fresh Meals and will be trying FunBites with one of our sandwiches in the very near future.  Thanks Chef Corey!!!  (Be sure to click on the link to check out her blog.  She has some incredible recipes and ideas.  Lots of inspiration!)

Our vegetable side is sliced cucumbers and small golden tomatoes.  Molly had some cucumbers today and requested them in her lunch.  We decided to add the tomatoes because they looked so yummy.

Our fruit side is sliced strawberries.  The smell of these strawberries just reminds us of summer and all of the wonderful flavors that await us.  (After we get 6 inches of snow overnight.  Yep, the northeast is supposed to be blasted with a winter storm tonight.  booo!)

Our dairy side is a cheddar/mozzarella cheese stick.  This will hopefully help to keep Molly full.

Finally, our dessert is a Chobani Champions Chocolate Chunk Greek yogurt.  Some things are always perfect!

Pantry Raid Lunch

It was a late night for us so we did a sweep of the refrigerator for Molly's lunch tomorrow.  Sometimes, leftovers and those pantry/fridge staples are all you need to make a yummy lunch.

Our main entree is pasta salad.  We used some leftover whole grain thin spaghetti, turkey pepperoni, black olives, mozzarella cheese and some light Italian dressing to make one of Molly's favorite lunches.

Our vegetable side is a green salad with a couple of small yellow tomatoes.  We added a small side of light Italian dressing to keep with the flavors of the spaghetti salad.

Our fruit side is a clementine.  We like to keep these on hand at our house since they are such a big hit with all five of us.

Our dairy side is a cheddar/mozzarella cheese stick.  Since there isn't a lot of protein in the spaghetti salad, we added this so that Molly won't get too hungry by the time the final bell rings.

Finally, our dessert is a Chobani Champions Chocolate Chunk Greek Yogurt.  Another favorite because it tastes SO good!

Chicken...again

Yep, they are having a breaded chicken lunch tomorrow so Molly was quick to pick that one for her buy-lunch this week.  Chicken fries are on the menu and even though we don't find it to be the most nutritious, we're pretty sure that they are better than some of the other options that are given during the rest of the week...maybe?  We don't really consider corn to be a vegetable but the school does so we need to make sure that we have something with lots of vegetables for dinner. ☺

New Breakfast

We like to have breakfast for dinner about once a week.  It's one of the easier meals to make yet usually creates the most dishes since several pans are involved.  We also like to have breakfast for one of Molly's lunches because it's easy for us and she loves it.

Our main entree is a whole grain waffle sandwich.  We used freshly ground peanut butter on one side and Biscoff Spread (this is the new thing) on the other.  Holy delicious, Batman!  We added a few crayon picks in Molly's favorite colors for fun.

Our fruit side is fresh kiwi slices.  We think that the tangy taste will be a nice contrast to the peanut butter.

Our fun side is a little homemade trail mix.  We combined lightly salted mixed nuts with Plum Amazins.  

Finally, our dairy/dessert is vanilla yogurt with Trader Joe's Elegant Cocoa Pears.

Spring-like Monday

We're finally having nice weather again here in Pittsburgh.  The sun was shining and the temperature actually reached 80 degrees today.  I think that the flowers and the grass were very happy to be warm again after surviving a decent number of frosts last week.  We hope that it this beautiful weather stays for a while.  Playing outside is so much more fun than being stuck indoors.

Our main entree is turkey pepperoni, cheese and crackers.  Molly requested this as we were finishing our dinner tonight since she "hasn't had it in a really long time."  We cut a small flower out of a piece of pepperoni and put it on the cheese to match the cracker.  (It's kind of hard to see from the photo but there is a flower on the cracker.)  The crackers are Ritz spring crackers and each of them have a flower or butterfly on them.  So cute!

Our vegetable side is a few baby carrots.  Molly said that she'd be fine with them but not too many since she is missing a some teeth and it's hard to bite them.  We were just fine with keeping it to a small portion for her. ☺

Our fruit side is strawberries.  We sliced a few of them and then made a couple of mice with two others.  Just a couple of sliced almonds for ears, Trader Joe's cocoa pearls for the eyes and nose and a small piece of licorice for the tail.  Gotta keep Monday fun!

Finally, our dairy/dessert is a Chobani Champions Chocolate Chunk Greek yogurt.  Molly requested this as well.  She just loves the fact that she gets chocolate and it's good for her.

Pizza Friday!

When I was growing up, one of our traditions was to have pizza on Friday for dinner.  I don't know if it was payday or if it was just the easiest thing to do at the end of a long week, but we really enjoyed it.  We figured, why not give it a try for Molly's lunch?  Here you go...

Our main entree is turkey pepperoni pizza.  We purchased a pre-made crust and added sauce, cheese and turkey pepperoni.  We're so excited to hear Molly's reaction.

Our vegetable side is a garden salad.  Another one of our traditions was to have a big salad with our pizza nights.  It makes sense because that way, there was always a vegetable on the table.  We also added a side of light Italian dressing.  It looks like a lot from this angle, but it is less than a tablespoon.

Our fruit side is sliced strawberries.  They are on sale at the store right now and the sweetness and flavor keep getting better and better.  We can't wait to go pick our own this summer!

Our dairy side is a Babybel cheese.  We figured that Molly might need a little something extra and this is a perfect fit.

Finally, our Fun Friday Treat is a small package of M&M's and some Smarties.  Molly's Nana was the candy giver this year for Easter.  We were happy add some of these sweet confections for a special treat.

Chicken Sandwich

What is it with kids and breaded chicken?  My kids just love most any type of breaded chicken.  They go crazy for the chicken nuggets that we make or put on a salad, even a sandwich.  All three of them are funny about it though.  They don't really like fried fast food chicken but when it's baked, they're all about it.

Molly is keeping with her lunch buying trend and going for the breaded chicken meal of the week.  Not popcorn chicken, not chicken nuggets but the baked chicken patty on a whole grain bun.  I give the school props for trying to make it more nutritious.  Compared to what we were served when I was a kid, this is leaps and bounds better.

Back After Break

We had a fantastic Easter break.  Great traditions with our families and fun with friends.  We did our best to instill the real reason for Easter in our children.  They know that Jesus died for us.  They know that He Is Risen on Easter and that is why we celebrate.

All of the fun and celebrating has now become another chapter in our memory books and we are getting back to our routine.  This means we're heading back to school for the first time in five days.  YAHOO!

Our main entree is an alphabet pasta salad.  We figured that after five days off, a great reminder of Molly's ABC's would be alphabet pasta.  We added mini turkey pepperoni, black olives, mozzarella cheese and some light Italian dressing.

Our vegetable side is grape tomatoes.  Molly was never big on tomatoes but recently, she's starting to ask for them.  We're thrilled that her palate is changing enough to enjoy new things.

Our fruit side is cantaloupe chunks.  Molly keeps requesting this yummy melon.  We can't blame her.  The cantaloupes have been very sweet and delicious recently.

Our dairy/dessert is Chobani Champions Vanilla Orange Greek Yogurt.  This will also help to add protein to round out Molly's meal.

Easter Week Lunch 3

Tomorrow is the last day of school before Easter vacation.  Molly is so excited to have a few days off and enjoy some family time and traditions.  We have a lot of plans to celebrate the sacrifice that God made for us and the miracle of Jesus' resurrection.

We'll be back next Tuesday night for another installment of Molly's Lunch Box.  We're pretty sure that the rest of the year is going to fly from then on.

Happy Easter, Indeed He is Risen!!!

Our main entree is a salami and cheese basket.  We used our mini cookie cutters to cut out eggs and a "Peep" chick out of provolone and salami.  We also used our food safe markers to make our basket more fun.

Our fruit side is strawberry flowers.  We used more cookie cutters to cut out these cute flowers and added a few plastic stems.  We also have a few bunnies hiding in this container too.

Our fun side is Annie's Organic Pizza Snack Mix (shaped like bunnies).  We usually add crackers to any meat and cheese entree but this mix will work just fine.  Plus, it's really yummy!

Finally, our Easter dessert is a bed of Annie's Homegrown Bunny Graham Friends topped with a chocolate covered marshmallow Peep.  Molly remembered the Peep from last year and requested one this year too.  How could we not?  They are so cute and delicious!

Easter Week Lunch 2

We've cooked up something fun for lunch tomorrow.  We were reminiscing about last year's Easter lunch and decided to use it for our inspiration.

Our main entree is a bunny pizza.  We used Pillsbury Simply Biscuits for our crust.  It is a very simple biscuit recipe without any added anything.  We like that idea.  We added a mozzarella/provolone shredded mix, olives for eyes and turkey pepperoni for a nose and mouth.

Our vegetable side is a cucumber that we cut with a flower cookie cutter.  We think that Molly will really enjoy the new shape.

Our fruit side is sliced strawberries.  We added an Easter Bunny pick to keep with our theme.

Our dairy side is a Babybel cheese.  We used our star shaped micro cookie cutter to cut a star shape out of the wax.

Finally, our dessert is vanilla yogurt with some Easter egg sprinkles on top.

Taco Tuesday

I mentioned yesterday that Molly will be buying lunch tomorrow. We can't blame her. Tacos are a big favorite at our house. Speaking of Taco Tuesday, we are considering trying something like that at our house, creating a theme for our dinners each night. Meatless or meatloaf Monday, Taco or turkey Tuesday, Wildcard Wednesday, etc. Does anyone else do this? I think it would really help with our menu planning and keep us from hitting the drive thru due to lack of ideas. It would also be helpful when the summer starts and we are in the pool all day and don't want to think about dinner. Thoughts and suggestions are welcome. Thanks!

Easter Week Lunch 1

This is a short week at Molly's school because of the Easter break coming up.  Also, she has already decided that she would like to buy lunch on Tuesday (Taco Tuesday) so that only gives us three lunches for the week.  We like to go a little bit theme-y (word?) here at Molly's Lunch Box so this will be the first of three Easter lunches.

Our main entree is a salami and smoked pepper jack cheese sandwich on 12 grain bread.  We used some fun little cookie cutters to cut the sandwich into Easter themed shapes.  Then, we used our food safe markers to make them come to life.  (ps - the red one in the right upper corner is a tulip....looks kind of like Darth Maul to us though.  LOL!)

Our vegetable side is cucumber slices.  Molly requested these after having a few on her salad at dinner this evening.

Our fruit side is cantaloupe pieces.  Molly asked us to get a cantaloupe last week and we picked a winner.  This is so sweet and juicy.  We also added a cross pick so that she doesn't forget what we will be celebrating this weekend, the fact that Jesus gave his life for us.

Finally, our dairy/dessert is a Chobani Champions Vanilla Orange Greek yogurt.  This flavor reminds us of creamsicles.  Molly usually likes to put mini chocolate chips in it but we just didn't have room for them today.  She likes it just he way it is too.