1st Day of School Lunch!

Tomorrow marks the 1st day of second grade for our girl, Molly.  She is excited and nervous all at the same time.  I remember not being able to sleep the night before the first day of school.  The adrenaline was enough to make me sick.  Molly can't wait to see her friends and meet her teacher even if there is some resistance on her part since she's such a homebody.  We are very excited to hear all of the stories that the day will bring.

We had a fantastic and busy summer but we are ready to get back at it.  We are ready for our scheduled days and the fun that weekends hold.  We are looking forward to an incredible year with lots of new adventures.

Our main entree is tortellini pasta salad.  Molly chose this for her first lunch because she wanted something that reminded her of the fun summer meals that we had.  The salad includes Trader Joe's Cheese Tortellini, turkey pepperoni, light pepper jack cheese, sliced olives and light Italian salad dressing.  This should keep her nice and full for the rest of the school day.

Our vegetable side may seem a little different.  They are called ground cherries.  They are actually tomatoes and a member of the tomatillo family, which is why they have a "wrapper" around them.  You just peel the wrapper off and pop the sweet little cherries out.  Ground cherries are very sweet and have an almost pineapple-like flavor.  We found these at a local farmers' market and we can't get enough of them.

Our fruit side is a sliced Granny Smith apple and blueberries.  Molly chose these and actually helped clean them and put them in her lunch box.  They are both tart in flavor and will offset the sweetness of the ground cherries.  It's kind of like opposite day. ☺

Finally, Molly chose Dannon Light and Fit vanilla yogurt for her dessert.  She said that she wanted to put a few blueberries in it and maybe even dip her apples in it.  After Molly left to get her backpack and outfit ready, we added a single Hershey's Kiss.  A simple reminder of the love that waits for her when she gets home. ♥

Have a blast in the 2nd Grade, Molly!  It's going to be an awesome year!

We purchased Molly's actual lunch box from www.laptoplunches.com

Red, White and Blueberry Lunch

I went through several of Molly's lunches and picked out some of her favorites for these last few lunches of this school year.  Breakfast for lunch is always a favorite of any of my kids.  We mixed this up a little bit to pay tribute to the good old U.S. of A!!!

Our main entrée is a waffle sandwich.  We toasted two waffles, extra crispy so that they don't get soggy, then added light cream cheese, flavored with maple syrup, to each waffle.  We then added slices of strawberry to enhance to the sweetness.

As usual, there is no veggie side but we do have a two little sides in the box with the waffle sandwich.  We added slivered almonds to one small container for extra protein.  Then, we put some mini M&M's in the other container as a dessert or a yogurt topping.

Our fruit side, aside from the strawberries, is blueberries.  We had a few of these beauties left over after making a bunch of fruit salads this past week.  They are so sweet and juicy.

Our dairy/dessert is Molly's favorite Dannon Light and Fit vanilla yogurt.  She can add the blueberries, almonds or M&M's or just eat it plain.

Good Grub

We are all excited for the Memorial Day weekend to arrive and the fun picnics that go with it.  Our family is having a get together with our neighbors and we can't wait.  We were all together this past weekend and talking about the dishes that we would contribute to the picnic.  Our mouths were watering just thinking about all of the yummy things that we'd be having.  Then, our minds were full of excitement with the prospect of summer being around the corner and impromptu picnics together on random days.

This got me thinking about things to make for Molly's lunch.  We're back into the time when cold salads and cool desserts are on the docket for just about every meal.

Our main entrée is cheese tortellini pasta salad.  We made this tortellini for Molly's brother and sister for lunch today and reserved some for Molly's lunch tomorrow.  We added some of Molly's "favorite sauce", light Italian dressing and just let the simplicity take over.

Our vegetable side is a repeat from today.  Cucumber sticks.  Molly requested theses because she said that she could dip them in any remaining dressing left in the tortellini dish.

Our fruit side is also a repeat from today.  Molly got the last of the blackberries and some strawberries.  She washed these herself and arranged them in the container.

Finally, our dairy/dessert is our favorite Dannon Light and Fit vanilla yogurt.  Molly requested this so that she can add some of the berries to it.  She also was the one who put it in the container.  She likes to help make her lunch. ☺

A Different Monday Lunch

We usually have pizza on Mondays but we've decided to mix it up a little bit for tomorrow's lunch.  Today for lunch, we made chicken nuggets and had several left over.  So, why not use the leftovers for lunch since Molly really likes these all white meat baked chicken nuggets?  This makes for a very easy lunch for Mom to make on Mother's Day.
Speaking of, I had a fantastic Mother's Day.  Molly's Daddy let me sleep in a little bit and then he made my breakfast.  The girls were beyond excited to give me their gifts that they made at school.  Both of them were so adorable and I will treasure them for years to come.  I got to spend a good amount of time outside since the weather was gorgeous.  I also got to cuddle with each of my kids today.  Life is SO good!  I hope that everyone had as special of a day as I did.

Our main entrée is chicken nuggets.  Molly doesn't mind eating these cold so we have a win win situation.  These are being served with a honey mustard dipping sauce.

Our vegetable side is pickles.  Molly and her siblings love these mini dill pickles as a side dish.  Plus, they are a nice compliment to the chicken nuggets and honey mustard.

Our fruit side is an empire apple that has been sliced.  Molly enjoyed these so much on Friday that she asked for them in tomorrow's lunch.

Finally, we have her favorite yogurt for our dairy/dessert.  Here's another twist, it's strawberry instead of vanilla.  This was not by request but we figured that a few little twists here and there make it fun.

Pizza Again

It was a very busy day at our house today.  Mommy was a baking fool, the kids had lots of things going on and Daddy had his last meeting at church for the RCIA program with Uncle Greg.  (Congrats again, Greg!)  Mommy made Rice Krispie Treats for Daddy's meeting and cupcakes for Molly's little sister's preschool snack.  Molly's little brother had his 2 year check up today and he's a very healthy little boy.  Tomorrow is Molly's little sister's un-Birthday at school. Molly is big time into reading and now we know more about elephants and sharks that we ever did.  So, with all of the chaos, we decided to get some Little Caesar's Pizza for dinner.

ps - I'm also including a picture (see below) of the cupcakes for Beach Day at Molly's little sister's preschool tomorrow.  They were really fun!

Our main entrée is left over pepperoni pizza from Little Caesars.  Molly is going to be very excited to have pizza twice in one week.

Our vegetable side is sugar snap peas.  We found a very large bag of these at Sam's Club and they are so delicious.

Our fruit side is red grapes.  A re-play of some of the fruit from today's lunch.  They are very juicy and sweet.

Finally, our dairy/dessert is Molly's favorite Dannon Light and Fit Vanilla yogurt.  But, we've added a spoonful of strawberry rhubarb compote.  We grow the rhubarb in our back yard and make this compote to go with anything from pancakes to yogurt.

As promised, here is a photo of the Beach Day cupcakes.  They are yellow cake with cream cheese frosting. The "sand" is crushed graham crackers.  The beach towels are Fruit By The Foot.  We did a little frosting accessorizing on some Teddy Grahams for some fun in the sun style.  Finally, we added a drink umbrella for extra SPF protection.

Something a Little Different

As I was sitting in a meeting tonight, I was pondering what to make for Molly's lunch.  I wanted to do something different since we all know that she'd eat a pimento cheese sandwich every day if possible.  I was thinking back to her Easter Lunch and what a hit the bunnies were.  So, I stopped at the store on the way home and picked up some refrigerated biscuits.  From there, the pepperoni pockets were born!

Our main entrée is pepperoni pockets.  We made these using refrigerated biscuit dough, added shredded cheddar and turkey pepperoni, sealed the top like a dumpling and baked.  A few of them unfolded but most of them stayed together.  This could be a go-to dinner for us in the future.

Our vegetable side is sliced multi-colored peppers.  They are small peppers so they look really neat when you cut them up.  Plus, the different colors add to the fun of it.

Our fruit side is strawberries and red grapes.  We found these grapes at Aldi during our grocery store run.  They have some great prices on very good produce.

Finally, our dairy/dessert side is our good old Dannon Light and Fit Vanilla yogurt...BUT, we added a few white chocolate chips, just for fun. ☺

PIZZA!

We had a very busy weekend with lots of fun adventures.  Molly did her first 1K run on Saturday morning and rocked it!  The run was for a wonderful foundation called The Superhero Foundation.  The Superhero Foundation helps children suffering from abuse and has done an amazing job helping countless kids who need a hero to help them.  We all dressed up like superheroes, with capes and everything.  It was such a fun event and we had an absolute blast!  Now, back to reality and school on Monday!

Our main entrée is our typical Monday lunch...pizza.  We used Trader Joe's flat bread for our crust, added sauce, a string cheese that had been pulled apart and turkey pepperoni.  Molly really likes these pizzas and they will probably be a staple on our summer menu, only cooked on the grill...yummy!

Our vegetable side is a plain romaine salad, as per Molly's request.  We have a light Italian salad dressing on the side, also per Molly's request.

Our fruit side is sliced strawberries.  After all, it is the "Merry Berry Month of May!"

Finally, our dairy/dessert is Dannon Light and Fit vanilla yogurt.  The perfect end to a great lunch!!!

Fun Friday...with chicken!

Now that Lent is over, we can eat fast food and we can eat meat on Friday.  We decided, why not both?  This evening, we indulged in Chick-Fil-A for dinner.  I just happens to be my favorite fast food. ☺  We always buy extra nuggets for the kids because you never know when they are going to be going through a growth spurt which makes them ravenous.  Luckily for Molly, the kids ate their normal amounts of nuggets and she gets leftovers.

Our main entrée is leftover Chick-Fil-A chicken nuggets.  We are serving these with a side of honey mustard for dipping.  Lucky girl!

Our vegetable side is a romaine lettuce salad, as per Molly's request.  We are serving this with light Italian dressing on the side.

Our fruit side is strawberries and blueberries.  Molly enjoyed these so much in today's lunch that she asked for them again for tomorrow's lunch.

Finally, we see the return of Molly's favorite Dannon Light and Fit vanilla yogurt.  She was very excited to hear that it would be back!

There isn't a Fun Friday extra treat because we have gone through enough Easter candy this week to make a dentist faint.  Next Friday will have a special treat.

Requested Lunch

Since this week is shorter, we've gone with our all request lunch for tomorrow.  As I stated yesterday, Molly really is a creature of habit.  When I asked her what she wanted, I could've guessed before she even opened her mouth.  Of course she asked for a pimento cheese sandwich "quesadilla" as her main entrée and a few other favorites for her sides.  I was surprised, however, that she asked for a special treat on a Tuesday.  Not that I'm not flexible about these things, but she usually doesn't stray from our normal routine.  I had to decline her request though, since tomorrow's lunch will definitely have a treat in it.

Our main entrée is a pimento cheese sandwich "quesadilla" made with Trader Joe's pimento cheese spread and middle eastern flat bread.  If Molly had her way, she'd probably eat one of these every day of the week.

Our vegetable side is sugar snap peas.  We figured that she'd request cucumbers but when she saw these in the crisper drawer of the refrigerator, her eyes lit up.

Our fruit side is sliced strawberries.  Her choices were kind of slim on fruit because we need to go to the grocery store; but she was very happy to have strawberries as an option.

Finally, we have our dairy/dessert staple, Dannon Light and Fit vanilla yogurt.  Molly must have probiotic proficiency because of the amount of yogurt that she consumes.  But, it tastes really good so we don't blame her for wanting it all of the time.

Short Week

We are lucky enough to have a spring break at the end of this week and the beginning of next week.  It will be so nice to spend time together as a family during the celebration of Easter.  We have so many traditions in our family for Easter and we look forward to them every year.  From dying Easter eggs to reading the stories of how Jesus gave his life so that we could live ours.  It is such a special time of year.

Only 3 lunches at school this week.  We will be sure to make something special on Wednesday that has an Easter theme.  Stay tuned. ☺

Our main entrée is pepperoni pizza.  Yep, a normal pizza Monday.  Molly's Papa brought this pizza for us all the way from Buffalo, NY.  Yes, we gave up fast food for Lent but we really didn't get fast food since Molly's Papa bought it half baked and we had to finish baking it at home.  A stretch?  Maybe.  But it is really delicious!

Our vegetable side is a romaine lettuce salad.  We've added light Italian dressing on the side that we feel will go well with the pizza.

Our fruit side is sliced strawberries. This batch is a bit sweeter than the last.  We're almost at those incredibly sweet "yes, summer is here" strawberries that we long for all year.

Finally, our dairy/dessert is our standard Dannon Light and Fit vanilla yogurt.  Again, it was by request.  Molly really is a creature of habit.

Whatever the Weather

I posted on Facebook today, that I felt like I was just going through the motions but I wasn't really there.  I think that the weather had a lot to do with my mood today.  We were very spoiled with two days of gorgeous sunshine and warmth.  Then, today we have nothing but gray skies, rain and cold chills in the air.  It has made me very sleepy and very unmotivated.  Luckily, I have three very active children who are constantly coming up to me and asking me to play or dance or sing and it quickly gets me out of my rut.  There is sunshine beaming through my kids and that can make my mood brighten in an instant.  They may drive me nuts sometimes but they also can put a smile on my face no matter what else is going on in my life.

Our main entrée may look familiar because it is a frequent request of Molly's.  A pimento cheese sandwich or as we call it, a quesadilla.  She just loves it and every time I go to Trader Joe's she requests that I get the pimento cheese spread and flat bread.

Our vegetable side is sliced cucumbers.  Molly enjoyed the sugar snap peas today but requested the cucumbers for tomorrow's lunch.  She says that she really likes the crunch and the juiciness.

Our fruit side is a sliced plum.  This batch has a great tartness that Molly really enjoys.  She and her siblings really like tart and sour things, like lemons and limes...and tart plums.

Our dairy/dessert side is the ever popular Dannon Light and Fit Vanilla yogurt.  The perfect end to a delicious and nutritious lunch.

Busy Week!

I, like most parents, keep a calendar in the house with everything written on it so that I don't forget an important event.  This week, we have NO empty spaces.  There is something going on every single day.  April has a lot of things on the calendar and May is filling up at a fast pace.  I can only imagine how much more full it will become when Molly's sister and brother get older.  Even though we are busy, we still have to make time for family time.  We had a great time walking to school today because the weather was so nice.  Then we had some cuddle time after we got home this evening.  Maybe tomorrow we'll have a dance party after school?  We might be busy and we might be tired but we always have fun.

Our main entrée is Molly's favorite quesadilla.  We spread Trader Joe's pimento cheese spread on Trader Joe's Middle Eastern flat bread, folded it in half and cut it into quarters.

Our vegetable side is sugar snap peas.  They are coming back into season and we couldn't be happier.  These taste great fresh out of the bag or steamed and even stir fried.

Our fruit side is sliced strawberries.  Molly's Grammy brought these over for us.  The smell so sweet and have such a deep red color, just the way a yummy strawberry should be.

Finally, our dairy/dessert is Dannon Light and Fit vanilla yogurt.  Molly said that sometimes she adds some of her berries to it because it tastes so good.

Lenten Lunch 4

YES!  Mommy is on the mend!  Which means that Molly will be packing her lunch and getting some good nutrition.

As I was thinking about Molly's lunch, I was trying to think of the meatless meals that we had during Lent when I was growing up.  Then, it hit me...breakfast!  At least two or three times during Lent, we had breakfast for dinner.  We would usually have pancakes or waffles or french toast; then some sort of potato, scrambled eggs and usually some fruit.  Today's lunch is a bit of a twist on the regular breakfast that is served for a Lenten meal.

Our main entrée is a cinnamon raisin bagel thin by Thomas' bagels.  These are wonderful because you still get the great bagel taste, the delicious flavor and the bagel "chew".  But, it's not nearly as filling and doughy as a regular bagel.  We've spread some light cream cheese on the bagel thin and created a sandwich with it.  We've also added a small container of roasted pepitas or pumpkin seeds.  These will add a nice crunch, a savory element and a little extra protein.

Our fruit side is a sliced plum.  This has a sweet and tart flavor and it's nice and juicy.

Our diary side is Dannon Light and Fit Vanilla Yogurt.  Molly's favorite!

Finally, we have our Fun Friday treat!  We added a roll of Smarties candy for her special treat.

Monday Tuesday

A long weekend is always welcome in our house.  We usually get a lot more done and still have the time to enjoy getting it done instead of rushing around.  Molly didn't have school today because it was an in-service day for the teachers.  So, we are doing our cold pizza Monday on Tuesday.

Our main entrée is cold pepperoni pizza.  We made the pizza on Sunday night and there were only a few pieces left over.  We are still sticking to our Lenten sacrifice of no fast food so we made this pizza using Trader Joe's pizza dough and sauce.  Then we added mozzarella cheese and mini pepperoni.

Our vegetable side is sliced cucumbers.  We decided to slice them in half just to mix it up since we usually just use whole slices.

Our fruit side is a clementine and strawberries.  Molly really enjoys this combination and it offers a great boost of vitamin C.  Hopefully this will keep her from catching all of the things going around since the weather can't make up it's mind.

Finally, we have our lunch staple of Dannon Light and Fit Vanilla Yogurt.  Dessert and dairy all in one.

Wednesday Already!

This week is going by pretty quickly.  We've been keeping ourselves busy with errands, cleaning, paperwork and everyday life.  Molly's little sister is feeling much better, she's driving us crazy so she's definitely getting back to normal.  Molly's little brother is a drool monster with his teeth but he's in much better spirits.  Molly is just her happy old self and working hard on her school work and some other fun projects like a writing contest through our local PBS affiliate.  This is the second year that she has entered.  She and her Daddy work very hard on this project and have a lot of fun being creative together.  I am still a little tired from the crazy week I had last week but I've managed to be pretty productive.  I straightened out the lunch ticket situation.  It was my fault because I was using tickets from last year and they don't take them anymore.  Now, her account is up to date and she can buy lunch whenever she wants.  But, she's packing tomorrow.

Our main entrée is a quesadilla of sorts made with Trader Joe's Middle Eastern Flat Bread and Pimento Cheese Spread.  Molly saw that we had this in the fridge and begged for it!

Our vegetable side is edamame.  Some people have told us that they've tried it and didn't like it.  We suggested that they try it both cold and hot to see if it might be a temperature thing.  All we know is that our whole family enjoys edamame whether it be hot or cold.

Our fruit side is an apple.  Molly requested this after she saw us give a nice cold apple to her brother to help his teething along.

Finally, our dairy/dessert is none other than our trusty Dannon Light and Fit Vanilla Yogurt.  Molly asked for a cookie but we said to wait until Friday for her treat.  She enjoys this yogurt so much that she didn't argue at all.

Breakfast!

Molly asked to buy lunch tomorrow because they are serving breakfast for lunch.  At first I figured, why not?  I have one sick kid and one teething kid so if she bought lunch, I'd have one less thing to worry about.  Then I get a letter home from the school saying that her lunch account has a negative balance.  WHAT?  Molly's school has started using an electronic system for lunch where parents put money on an account and the kids put in their pin to buy lunch and snacks.  This is a great idea as far as I'm concerned, but we still have a bunch of lunch tickets that we were told to use until they run out.  If you read my blog on a regular basis, you know that Molly rarely buys lunch so we still have lunch tickets and use them when she buys lunch.  Molly has told me that the lunch ladies give her a little grief when she uses the tickets but that they will take them if she puts her pin in, which she is fine with.  Then last Friday she said that I need to call them because she isn't allowed to use lunch tickets anymore.  So, since I have the sick kids at home I didn't have a chance to call during school hours.  I left a message and I'm waiting for a call back so that they can tell me what they've been doing with the tickets that I've been sending in and what they want me to do with the tickets that I still have.  I would've expected a note or something that says that the tickets aren't allowed anymore.  Oh well, we'll see how this pans out.  Until then, we'll be making our lunches no matter what.

Our main entrée is a waffle sandwich.  We toasted two waffles, a little extra crispy so that they won't get soggy, and spread peanut butter on one waffle and maple flavored cream cheese on the other.  We then layered thinly sliced apples on top of the peanut butter and added the cream cheese waffle on top.  YUM!

Our fruit side is sliced strawberries.  These are very sweet, yet a little bit tart.  Absolutely delicious!

Finally our dairy/dessert side is Dannon Light and Fit Vanilla Yogurt.  A great end to a great lunch.

Back to Normal

The consignment sale was a huge success and now life is getting back to normal, well at least our normal.  The week was busy and so was the weekend.  We had the consignment sale on Friday night and Saturday morning, then a birthday party on Saturday and another on Sunday and they were both a blast.  It's been quite a week.  Time to get back at it.

Our main entrée is a turkey pastrami and pepper jack cheese sandwich on multi grain bread.  We added mustard per Molly's request.  This box also contains a few pretzels for some extra crunch.

Our vegetable side is cucumber slices.  A cool and refreshing addition to Molly's lunch.

Our fruit side is green grapes and strawberry slices.  Molly requested the grapes but didn't know that we had strawberries so we added them as a nice surprise.

Finally, our dairy/dessert side is none other than Molly's favorite, Dannon Light and Fit Vanilla Yogurt.

Crazy Week - Lunch 2

Still working hard at the consignment sale and there are three days left to work.  I'm tired just thinking about it.  But the sale will be great and the preschool will benefit so much from it.  Luckily, Molly's Daddy is so incredible and really helps me keep the ball rolling at home too.  He helped me with Molly's lunch again tonight so, thanks again, Daddy!

Our main entrée is spaghetti salad.  Molly requested some type of pasta salad and we had leftover whole wheat spaghetti from dinner last night, so that made the request much easier to fulfill.  We added turkey pepperoni, Monterey Jack cheese and light Italian dressing.

Our vegetable side is cucumber slices.  Another request from Molly.  These cool and refreshing veggies are always a nice addition to Molly's lunch.

Our fruit side is a Clementine and some green grapes.  Molly really likes both of these fruits so we figured that we'd add two of her favorites.

Finally, our dairy/dessert is Dannon Light and Fit Strawberry yogurt.  We usually buy a large container of vanilla yogurt and several small yogurts in fruit flavors.  Today, Molly chose strawberry just to mix things up a little bit.

New Sandwich by Request

Molly is really open to trying new things, more than most kids her age.  She eats corned beef and cabbage, sushi and even gobbled up lamb for dinner tonight.  So, when we were talking about what she would like for tomorrow's lunch, she said that she wanted to try something new.  I bought peppered pastrami lunch meat for Molly's Dad and she got a glimpse of it so now she wants to try it.  She and her siblings really enjoy spicy things so I'm confident that she will enjoy the peppery goodness that the pastrami holds.

Our main entrée is a peppered pastrami sandwich.  We added provolone cheese and mustard and sandwiched it between two pieces of whole grain white bread.  YUM!

Our vegetable side is a leftover from our dinner.  It's a steamed vegetable blend of corn, carrots, green beans and peas.  Molly would eat this hot or cold any day of the week.

Our fruit side is an apple that has been cut up into bite-sized pieces.  Molly requested an apple since she hasn't had one in a while.

Finally, our dairy/dessert side is Dannon Light and Fit Vanilla Yogurt.  What would we do without this staple in our fridge?  Molly is always happy to have this side.

Lenten Lunch 2

For as much as Molly would love a leftover corned beef sandwich for lunch, it's a Friday during Lent which means that there is no meat.  We'll save our St. Paddy's Day leftovers for Saturday.  So, we've decided to take advantage of some other leftovers.  We served a variety of Irish Cheeses with crackers as an appetizer to our Irish dinners and we have some left.  They will make a delicious Lenten lunch.

Our main entrée is an assortment of Irish cheeses with pita crackers.  Molly really likes these sharp and creamy cheeses that can be compared to cheddar and gouda in flavor but they are still very unique.

Our vegetable side is green pepper slices.  We had a bit of green pepper leftover from Molly's St. Patrick's Day lunch and she likes them, so might as well chop it up and pack it for lunch.

Our fruit side is a clementine and some blueberries.  There is a distinct tart and sweet flavor that goes along with both of these fruits to they compliment each other very nicely.

Finally, Molly requested yogurt for her dairy/dessert side.  (Shocker!)  So we have her favorite Dannon Light and Fit vanilla yogurt all set for her.

But....it's Fun Friday so we added a special treat on the side.  We found a few Nestles Chocolate hearts for Molly's treat.