Pita Pizza

The girls have always been cold pizza fans and asked for a pizza lunch.

This is one of my favorite things to make because it's so easy.

Tomorrow's lunch is in Easy Lunchboxes.

Our main entree is a pita pizza.  We spread a thin coat of tomato paste on a whole grain pita, topped with a sprinkle of Trader Joe's 21 Seasoning Salute, shredded mozzarella and some turkey pepperoni.  Bake and let cool, slice and then right into the lunch box. 

Our vegetable side is baby carrots.  There is a small container (Easy Lunchboxes Mini Dippers) of Ranch for them to dip their carrots in.

Our fruit side is fresh raspberries.

Finally, our dairy dessert is a new Gogurt Simple yogurt tube.

Day 5, FUN FRIDAY!!!

We've made it!!!!  We have survived the first week of school!!!

We've always had a tradition of having a dessert or something fun on Fridays as a way to celebrate making it through the week.  Well, this week is our first Fun Friday of the year in Laptop Lunch Boxes.  Link below.

 

Our main entree is a pepperoni roll from an awesome little bake shop near our new house.  We added a small container of Ranch for dipping.

Our vegetable side is baby carrots.

Our fruit is grapes and clementine segments.

Finally, our Fun Friday treat is two heart shaped cookies from the bakery.

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.

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!

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.

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.

Breakfast Lunch

Last night, Molly's Daddy made breakfast for dinner.  The kids were so hungry that there weren't any pancakes left for Molly's lunch today, so we decided to make a run to the store tonight to grab a few things for a breakfast lunch tomorrow.

Our main entree is a whole wheat waffle sandwich.  We spread natural peanut butter on one waffle and Nutella on the other, then sandwiched them together.  This combination is a huge hit in our house.

Our vegetable side is baby carrots.  We usually don't have a veggie with our breakfast lunches but these looked like they would fit in just perfectly.

Our fruit side is half of a banana.  We used a knife to lightly pierce a message to Molly on it.  It had a chance to oxidize while we were toasting the waffles.

Finally, our dairy/dessert is a Chocolate Chunk Chobani Champions Greek yogurt.  (Say that three times fast!) Molly requested this one because she thought it would go nicely with the Nutella.  Smart girl.  ☺

Busy Week, Yummy Lunch

Our busy week continues.  Well, Mom's busy week, that is.  Between training for the half marathon, cross training and the consignment sale, this week is flying by.  Molly's lunch was thrown together quickly so that Mom can get to sleep.

Our main entree is a pasta salad.  We figured that this would be a nice cool lunch for a warm day.  We added turkey pepperoni, a little mozzarella and some light Italian dressing to precooked radiator pasta.

Our vegetable side is baby carrots.  We added a small container of roasted red pepper hummus so that Molly could dip her carrots into it.

Our fruit side is green grapes.  We picked up a bunch of produce at Aldi today and these were part of it.  They are firm, juicy and were inexpensive.  Win/Win!

Our dairy side is a string cheese.  There isn't a lot of protein in Molly's lunch so we added this so that she won't be starving by the time she gets home.

Finally, our dessert is plain vanilla yogurt.  A simple and sweet way to end a yummy lunch.

All Request Lunch

Molly likes to make requests when it comes to her lunch and tomorrow's lunch is no exception.  She requested every item and knew exactly what she wanted.  You have to love the way that kids get excited about the small things in life.

Our main entree is a Buffalo chicken and smoked Gouda cheese sandwich.  Our bread is a 12 grain variety because we are trying to slowly merge into all whole grain instead of any white bread, pasta or rice.

Our vegetable is some baby carrots.  Molly saw these in the refrigerator and was quick to request them to be part of her lunch.

Our fruit side is sliced strawberries.  These only have a few days left before they end up in the compost bin so we are trying to use them quickly.  Molly agreed that they would be a nice addition to her lunch.

Finally, our dairy/dessert is Chobani Champions vanilla chocolate chunk.  Again, requested by Miss Molly herself.  ☺

Field Trip!!!

The 1st Grade class is going on a field trip tomorrow.  Normally, Molly would be excited at this, but this particular field trip is to a bug farm.  She is not too enthused with bugs at this age.  Hopefully she will see some butterflies and dragonflies so that it isn't all "icky" to her.

Field trip means that a packed lunch becomes a sack lunch.  Our normal Laptop Lunch Box gets the day off.

Our main entrée is a cheese sandwich, just like today.  Colby Jack cheese with mustard on white bread.  Simple and delicious.

Our vegetable side is baby carrots.  Mostly because we know that they won't be smashed into vegetable puree.

Our fruit side is apple slices.  Again, this choice was for texture purposes.  6 year olds don't like fruit that is baby food consistency.

Our dessert is a 100 calorie pack of Oreo crisps.  We've also added a small chocolate chip granola bar in case Molly is still hungry.  She's been going through a growth spurt so any extra food has been welcomed by a hungry tummy.

Finally, we added a Capri Sun drink pouch.  This is a special treat for a special day.

Fan Favorite

Molly is always very happy when we go to Trader Joe's to get some yummy things.  She always asks for the same things and usually they end up in her lunch box.  Tomorrow's lunch is no exception.  A few favorites and something new.  All delicious!

Our main entrée is a pimento cheese sandwich.  Yes, Molly's favorite is back.  Thank you, Trader Joe's!  We spread Trader Joe's pimento cheese spread on a Middle Eastern Flatbread, folded, sliced and there you have it.

Our vegetable side is baby carrots.  We haven't had these for a while.  Also, something happened and our cucumbers and they weren't too good anymore.

Our fruit side is a good old fashioned apple.  We left the skin on and just cut these into slices.

Finally, our dessert is Trader Joe's mini oatmeal raisin cookies.  These have a great crunch and a super sweet taste.  These are new to us and we absolutely love them.

Classic Lunch!

I was out for a run tonight, thanks to the gorgeous weather, and I was wondering what to make for Molly's lunch.  As I was running around my town, I was breathing in such great fresh air and reminiscing about fun picnics when I was a kid.  Even if we just threw a blanket on the lawn in the back yard and made a picnic there, it was always so much fun.  My Mom was always a fan of doing things outside so picnics were quite a regular occurrence.  She always made them fun too with little extra goodies or something different like a cool napkin.  My kids like to have picnics too, especially with my Mom.  What is their favorite picnic lunch?  Peanut butter and jelly of course.  They really like to help make it too.  We use little plastic spreaders and let them go to town and most of the time, they'll eat all of it.  So, I'm going to pay homage to a classic lunch, great memories and my incredible Mom.

Happy Mother's Day, Mom!

And Happy Mother's Day to all of the Moms, Grandmas, Aunts, Sisters, Friends, Helpers and those special Dads who have to be a Mom as well as being a Dad!

Our main entrée is a classic peanut butter and jelly sandwich.  No, Molly didn't help, but she would have if she would've been awake when I made it.  She just adores making her own things to eat.  We used a butterfly cookie cutter and a heart micro cookie cutter to cut these sandwiches out.

Our vegetable side is baby carrots.  This is such a simple and easy vegetable side that requires no prep work. Just open the bag, pull a handful out and put into the container.  A great way to get some veggies in without dirtying a knife and cutting board.

Our fruit side is Empire Apple slices.  Molly likes it when we leave the apple skin on.  She likens it to eating a whole apple.

Finally, our FUN Friday treat is exactly that...a treat, a Rice Krispie Treat!  Molly is the lucky recipient of a few leftovers.  Molly's Daddy had a few extra Rice Krispie Treats left over from his meeting last night and there were a few beach babe Teddy Grahams left over from Molly's sister's preschool treat.  A little bit of each makes for a super fun treat!

Lenten Lunch

Tomorrow is our first Lenten lunch because Molly bought her lunch on Wednesday.  When I was growing up we always had grilled cheese and tomato soup or fried fish on Fridays but now we have to be a little bit more creative since we serve a cold lunch.  Also, our family gave up fast food for Lent so any type of food that we serve is homemade.  If we give Molly her favorite cold pizza on Mondays, it will be made by us and not our favorite Sir Pizza.  Hopefully we will have some good ideas for our Lenten lunches and maybe break some traditions.

Our main entrée is a peanut butter and jelly sandwich on whole grain bread.  Yeah, not the most creative meatless meal but we have high hopes that there will be some more inspired entrées over the next few weeks.

Our vegetable side is cucumbers and baby carrots.  These will provide a nice crunchy texture and help to cleanse her palate from the peanut butter.

Our fruit side is a clementine and some fresh pineapple.  This tropical blend is a very refreshing and juicy.

Finally, our fun Friday dessert is a few Chewy Chips Ahoy cookies.  Molly's little brother hasn't been feeling well and he LOVES cookies so we splurged and got some for him.  But since he isn't quite 2 years old yet, he is more than happy to share his container of cookies since he can't eat them all.  Well, he probably could but Mom won't let him. ☺

Getting Better

Molly isn't 100% back to her normal self but she is doing much much better than she was.  We feel that she is ready to head back to school tomorrow.  She's not too pleased with our decision because she doesn't want to go back to school.  She'd rather stay home and play with her sister, color in her coloring books and do her school work here, with one on one help.  We can't blame her but we know that she needs to get back at it, so we made a yummy lunch to help get her through the day.

Our main entrée is left over cold pepperoni pizza.  Yes, that classic Monday lunch is back.  (You're welcome BFF!)  Molly's Papa imported this most excellent pizza from Buffalo, NY along with some classic wings for our Sunday dinner.  THANK YOU, PAPA!!!  It is such an incredible treat to get authentic pizza and wings from Imperial.

Our vegetable side is baby carrots.  These came with the wings and we decided that they would be a great addition to Molly's lunch.

Our fruit side is fresh pineapple and fresh strawberries.  We found an incredibly juicy pineapple at Sam's Club and the whole family has been devouring it all weekend.  We also added some strawberries for extra sweetness.

Finally, our dairy/dessert is Dannon Light and Fit vanilla yogurt.  This sweet and creamy treat will definitely be a great ending to Molly's lunch.