As a Mother of three young kids, I am beyond grateful for
every little win of every day. Whether
it is the successful reading of a book, a play date without drama or even a
good potty day while potty training, they are all little smiles on my face that
I am thankful for.
I think that it is important to give those little wins back
too. In my blog, Molly’s Lunch Box, I
strive to make a fun healthy lunch for my daughter, and soon her sister
too. Molly had a very difficult time
with separation anxiety in Kindergarten and making these little boxes of love
from home helped her tremendously. That
sprung into an almost daily routine for us.
*pit cherries for
young children.
*my kids love their
Chobani Champions frozen in silicon molds for fun shapes.
I am often asked how I have the time to make these cute
lunches daily. Many of my readers think
that it is beyond time consuming.
Honestly, making the lunches rarely takes a long time. If you have a plan and the right tools, it usually
doesn’t take more than 10 minutes to put a smile on your child’s face and give
them a win for the day.
I divide our lunches into a main entrée (sandwich, salad,
wrap, etc.), a vegetable, a fruit and a dairy/dessert (that’s where Chobani
Champions fits in perfectly!). I usually
have an idea of what to make, based on what is in the refrigerator. I get out my cookie cutters and cute little
cupcake picks to jazz it up a bit and BOOM, fun healthy lunch and a happy kid. Plus, my kids will eat more if something is
cut into a fun shape. There is something
about finger foods and kids that works together so well.
Here is a great “for instance” back to school lunch. A classic peanut butter (or sunflower seed
butter if there are restrictions at your child’s school) and jelly
sandwich. I used a cookie cutter to make
a cute shape. (10 extra seconds) I chopped a carrot and used a Japanese
vegetable cutter to cut that into a fun shape.
(30 extra seconds) An apple
seemed like a great choice for back to school so I used a small cookie cutter
to cute a heart out of the skin. (15 extra seconds) I then added Chobani Champions Verry Berry,
which is a great source of protein and calcium.
(I probably saved a few seconds there.J) Finally, I added a few back to school themed
picks just for fun. (30 extra seconds) All told, it took just over a minute more
than if I were to make just a pb&j, cut up a carrot, halve and core an
apple and add some Chobani Champions.
The smiles that come home after school are COMPLETELY worth it. My kids may have lots of other little wins
for the day but I know that even if their day is bad, their lunch is a win. J
If you want to try this and start out small, try making an
after school snack. That too will put a
smile on your child’s face.
*There are some lunches on my blog that did take more than
10 minutes but those are mostly for special occasions.
*I make most of the lunches after the kids go to bed.
Chobani Champions makes making lunches a lot easier. If you'd like to try them right away, they have coupons on their website. Or if you want to try them for free, we are giving away a variety pack (all 4 flavors) of Chobani Champions to 3 of our lucky readers. To enter...
