MOMables Week Lunch 2 The Airport Sandwich

The next lunch in this week's MOMables menu is called The Airport Sandwich.  Laura, of MOMables, explains how she was stuck at the airport with her kids and this ended up being the mix of odds and ends available to her in a pinch.  *note - The original recipe called for cheese to be added to the sandwich but my girls weren't sure about it.  A tip, don't send in a main entree that the kids might not eat.  Save something new for when they are home and have the option of something else.  You don't want them to not eat and have a cloudy brain for the rest of the school day.

Our main entree is The Airport Sandwich.  This is a peanut butter and apple sandwich on whole grain white bread.  We used Peanut Butter and Company's Cinnamon Raisin Swirl (OMGOODNESS!) and very thinly sliced apples.  It's like fall inside of a sandwich.  We used our Wonder Bread Sandwich press to make our own "uncrustable" sandwich.

Our vegetable side is red and yellow bell peppers slices and purple cauliflower.  The girls were very excited to try this new vegetable tonight (I think the purple sold them) and said it would be great in their lunches.  We added a small container of ranch salad dressing for dipping.

Our fruit side is the apples in the sandwich and De Anjou pear slices.

Finally, our dairy/dessert is Chobani Champions orange vanilla Greek yogurt.  We added some mini chocolate chips.  This is Molly's favorite way to eat this flavor.  Orange and chocolate = yum!

This is what the MOMables menu for today looked like.

ps - Easy Lunchboxes are available again!  They are great for the WHOLE family.  Proof: here's Daddy's lunch for tomorrow.  Pork steak, sweet potato, edamame and grilled peppers.

2nd Lunch of Christmas

It's the little things that count.  The smile on the garbage man's face this morning when I handed him a Christmas card said it all.  The grateful thank you of the Salvation Army red kettle bell ringer as a stranger handed her a cup of coffee to keep her warm.  The look on my son's face as he opened a new book from a family friend.  The shear giddiness of the girls as they hand their dance teachers the gifts that we picked out for them.  It's these little things that make Christmas so magical.  Hopefully the little things that we do for Molly's lunch will create a great Christmas memory for her.

Our main entree is Christmas pasta salad.  We used just the pasta the Kraft Winter Shapes Macaroni & Cheese.  Next we added some shredded mozzarella, pepperoni, red and green peppers (for our Christmas colors) and light Italian dressing.

Our vegetable side is the peppers in the salad.

Our fruit side is the Kiwi Elf!  We were feeling creative and channeled Frankenkiwi from Halloween.  First, we carved our kiwi into what started out looking like Yoda or Shreck. But then when we added the Santa hat and a few mini chocolate chips and sprinkles and our Kiwi Elf came to life.

Our dairy side is a colby jack cheese stick.  Molly asks for this "just in case" she needs a little extra something in her lunch.

Finally, our dessert is vanilla yogurt.  We added some sprinkles and a candy cane pick to keep the theme going.  

Finally Friday?

I usually lament on how the weeks seem to drag on but this was one of those weeks that flew by for me.  It really feels like Tuesday, maybe.  We've been doing our normal routine this week but it has been moving at lightning speed.  I think that the thrill of Thanksgiving may be pushing time.  Next week, there are only two days of school but they will be filled with feasts and fun.  Then, Molly's Dad, some friends and I are going to run in a Turkey Trot on Thanksgiving morning.  After that, we will be hosting Thanksgiving dinner for our family.  We have so much to be thankful for this year and it's nice to have one day dedicated to giving thanks.

Our main entree is a turkey sandwich.  We are paying homage to one of our favorite holidays of the year.  We have an asiago roll from Sam's Club with turkey breast, pepper cheese and mustard.

Our vegetable side is peppers.  We used our crinkle knife to cut these peppers into fun shapes.

Our fruit side is a replay of today's fruit, pears and pomegranate arils.  Molly said that the pear was super sweet and requested them again.

Our dairy side is a colby jack cheese stick.  Molly hasn't have one of these in a while so we decided that it would be a good way to bulk up her lunch a little bit.

Finally, our Fun Friday treat is peanut M&Ms.  This is the last of the Halloween candy.  We tossed a lot of it and divided a lot out.  It was nice that only one of the three kids actually went Trick or Treating and that it was one of the little ones, so we didn't end up with a lot of candy.

Special Treat

We are so excited to have a beautiful couple of days ahead of us.  As I have mentioned before, fall is my absolute favorite time of year.  There are cool and breezy days, warm and sunny days and gray and rainy days.  Each of them has their own pluses.  The cool and breezy days are fantastic to spend time outside, running around and playing in piles of leaves.  The warm and sunny days remind us of the wonderful summer that is slowly finishing its long good-bye.  Finally, the gray and rainy days are perfect for cuddling up under a warm blanket and snuggling into a good book with a cup of hot apple cider.  The next few days are promising to be warm and sunny but not too hot.  We have great plans with family and friends and we just can't wait!

Molly will be buying lunch on Friday (per her request) so we gave her a special treat one day early.

Our main entree is a salami sandwich.  We used Genoa salami, pepper-jack cheese and mustard on whole grain white bread.  We cut the crusts off and then cut the sandwich into quarters and served it point side up.

Our vegetable side is red and orange peppers.  They are cool, juicy and refreshing.  The crunch on these is perfect too.

Our fruit side is more honey crisp apples.  Molly liked the way that we prepared them for today's lunch so we did the exact same thing.

Our dairy side is a cheddar-mozzarella cheese stick.  Molly keeps requesting that these be added to her lunch so that she can keep from being hungry at the end of the day.

Finally, our Fun Friday (a day early) treat is Fit and Active S'mores Mini Drizzled Crisps.  They are light, crunchy and sweet and do not taste like something that would be considered healthy.  Molly and her siblings are huge fans of these.

Picture Day!

Tomorrow is picture day at Molly's school.  She is so excited.  We made sure to put lots of products in her hair after her shower this evening.  (Her hair is naturally curly so the more products, the better.)  Her outfit is all picked out and will be ironed shortly.  The perfect little corduroy skirt and a matching sweater twin set, plus pink tights and adorable brown shoes.  She's got it all taken care of from head to toe.  I confess that I did help her out a little bit with the wardrobe choice but she had it all put together for me to look at.  Gosh, it is nice to have her be able to help herself a little bit when it comes to picking out clothes.  Granted, some of her choices make quite interesting ensembles from time to time. ☺

Our main entree is a turkey wrap.  We started with a flour tortilla, added some whipped cream cheese to help everything stick, then layered smoked turkey slices and "salad" for crunch.  We rolled it up and then cut it into 4 pieces after cutting the ends off.  (The dog was very grateful for the ends that were thrown to him during preparation.)

Our vegetable side is red and orange peppers.  We are falling for fall right now in Western Pennsylvania and the season is in full swing.  The weather is cool, damp and crisp and the leaves are just starting to change color.  We used a small set of leaf shaped cookie cutters to make our peppers look like they are ready for autumn.

Our fruit side is green and red grapes.  We decided to mix it up a little bit so that Molly had some extra color in her lunch.  We think it's fun to see variety when eating a meal.

Our dairy side is a colby-jack cheese stick, just in case Molly is hungry after eating her wrap.  She has a very healthy appetite for a 7 year old and we don't want her to lose steam before the end of the school day.

Finally, our dessert is vanilla yogurt.  We tossed on a few leaf sprinkles to keep with our theme and to make her lunch that much more colorful.

In a Pinch Lunch

My day started very early this morning.  Molly's brother was up before the sun but that allowed extra snuggle time with him.  Tonight, I went to see The Help with my Mom.  WOW!  It was incredible and I would recommend it to anyone.  I got home late and just made Molly's lunch.  I grabbed the things that I had already prepped and threw it all together.  Now, I'm writing this post and then going straight to bed because I'm sure tomorrow morning will be here before I know it.

Our main entree is a salami sandwich.  We used our Wonder Smart White Bread and added Genoa Salami, Pepper-Jack Cheese and mustard.  Then we used our fluted cookie cutter and Molly has finger sandwiches for lunch.

Our vegetable side is a rainbow of bell peppers.  They were a hit on pizza day so we were excited to have them already prepped so that we could quickly add them.

Our fruit side is a peach.  We cut it in half, removed the pit and then sliced it.  I think Molly might dip it in her yogurt.

Finally our dairy/dessert is another Chobani Champions in the Very Berry variety.  It's still on the favorite list so that's what we're putting in her lunch box.

Pizza Lunch

This summer, Molly's Grammy and Papa had a pool put in their back yard.  It is gorgeous!  The weather today was so nice that Grammy called up to see if we wanted to visit her for a swim after school...and that's exactly what we did.  All three kids were in their glory and enjoyed every minute of it.  Also, all three of them ate huge dinners afterward since they had been swimming so hard.  By the time we got home, they were all ready for bed and now it's time for Mommy and Daddy to get things ready for tomorrow.

Our main entree is a pepperoni pizza.  We usually do this on a Monday but since we had the leftovers that Molly liked, we put it off till Tuesday.  We used our favorite Trader Joe's Middle Eastern Flat Bread as our crust, added sauce, mozzarella made from 2% milk and turkey pepperoni, baked it up and sliced it into pieces that would fit into Molly's lunch box.

Our vegetable side is a rainbow of bell peppers.  We talked about these in yesterday's post.  We got them from Joe at the new produce stand down the road from us.  They are very crunchy and sweet.

Our fruit side is a prune plum, also purchased from Joe.  These things are huge.  Their flavor is sweet and tart with tons of juiciness.

Finally, our dairy/dessert is Chobani Champions Honey 'Nana.  Molly requested this because she enjoyed the other one so much today. We think it might keep her fuller as well.