...and they helped make it!

The girls did not have school Monday or Tuesday because of parent/teacher conferences and the election. (Their school is a polling place.)  We had so much fun playing games, reading books and making some fun recipes.  One of the things that we made was soft pretzels.  We found them in the canned refrigerated section of ALDI and they were a blast to make.

Our main entree is a soft pretzel from ALDI.  We added a small container of pimento cheese spread for Molly and some Bee's Knees Peanut Butter and Company peanut butter to Bean's.

Our vegetable side is yellow and red peppers.

Our fruit side is mini Empire apples that have been cut into slices.

Finally, our dairy/dessert is Chobani Champions Vanilla Chocolate Chunk Greek Yogurt.

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!

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!

To Buy or Not to Buy?

We allow Molly to choose one day a week if she would like to buy school lunch.  Today, Molly realized that she hadn't chosen to buy at all this week.  She looked at what is on the menu for tomorrow and wasn't interested and she can't wait for her Dr. Seuss themed lunch on Friday.  This means that we have a full packing lunch week.  We are so proud that Molly chose to pick the healthy homemade lunches.  I guess that she is really learning the importance of good, healthy food.

Our main entree is a cold cheese tortellini salad.  We picked up these tortellini at Trader Joe's last week. We added some light Italian dressing and kept it simple.

Our vegetable side is celery.  Molly requested these because she wants to dip them in the peanut butter that we put in the apple container.

Our fruit side is an apple.  We sliced it so that Molly can dip them in a small container of natural peanut butter.

Finally, dairy/dessert is Chobani Champions orange vanilla Greek yogurt.  This will help Molly with her sweet tooth and to get her protein too.

Simple Lunch

We had a very full weekend, including a trip to the doctor for Mom.  Yep, I'm the one with the sinus infection, etc.  The good thing is that I feel alright (I sound a little bit like Kathleen Turner) and I'm not contagious, the bad thing is that it is wearing me out.  Hopefully the antibiotics will kick in and I'll be back to my normal self in a hurry.

All of this lead me to make a nice simple lunch.  We're hoping that pb&j will be okay on pizza day.

Our main entree is a peanut butter and jelly uncrustable.  We keep these on hand for those crazy busy days and for Molly's little brother who is a picky eater.  This is his alternative option when he doesn't want what were are having for lunch or dinner.  They aren't the most nutritious but in a pinch (or when Mom is feeling tired) they do provide a decent amount of protein.

Our vegetable side is seedless cucumber slices.  A little bit of green to welcome in the Christmas season.  These will be a good palate cleanser for after the peanut butter and jelly.

Our fruit side is a small Empire apple.  We found these at Sam's club and they are grown to stay small so that they are a better size for kids.  A little bit of red to welcome in the Christmas season.  We cut this apple into quarters to make it more manageable.

Finally, our dairy dessert is vanilla yogurt.  We added a few fun Christmas sprinkles for a special treat for Molly.

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.

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.

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!

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.

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.

Tuesday with a Treat

Molly is doing her best to feel better.  Poor thing still sounds like a dog barking when she coughs and she seems more sleepy than usual but she's powering through it.  What's really nice is that the teachers at her school are so open to help the kids that need to miss school.  The librarian told Molly to come in early and exchange her books so that she doesn't miss out on reading something new since Molly loves to read.  The art teacher told her that she could come in during recess if she wanted to get caught up on her art project.  I was also surprised that Molly only had a few extra papers in her folder to do as make up work.  I'm very thankful for such a spectacular array of teachers at Molly's school.

Our main entrée is a turkey sandwich with pepper jack cheese on whole grain bread.  We added Molly's favorite mustard and cut the sandwich into small triangles.

Our vegetable side is red pepper slices and cucumber halves.  We figured that this crunchy duo would be a nice accompaniment to her sandwich.

Our fruit side is apple slices and blueberries.  Molly has been asking for an apple in her lunch and blueberries are a favorite of everyone in our family.  They make a nice little mix.

We added a cheddar and mozzarella cheese stick for a little extra calcium and protein.

Finally, we added a little treat for our girl.  She is trying her hardest to feel better and keep up with her schooling so we added some Care Bear fruit snacks for a bonus to her lunch.

A Little Bit of Everything

Today, we decided to just toss together a few of Molly's favorites.  Molly, her brother and her sister would eat pasta everyday.  Whether it be macaroni and cheese or just about any other type of pasta with a little bit of butter and Parmesan, they would eat the stuff all day long.  Molly really likes pasta salad so hopefully today's lunch will indulge her pasta cravings.

Our main entrée is pasta salad.  This pasta salad is made with choo choo wheels pasta, pepperoni, string cheese and light Italian dressing.

Our vegetable side is a baby spinach salad with light Italian dressing on the side.  Molly might be getting back into a salad kick. ☺

Our fruit side is an Empire apple that has been cut into slices.  Molly asked for caramel dip to go with it but we didn't have any.  Time for a trip to the store.

Finally our dessert is a mix of some of Molly's favorite things.  We have mini marshmallows, dried cherries and peanuts.

Standard Lunch

Since starting this blog, a lot of my friends will tell me what they put in their children's lunch boxes.  Usually a sandwich, some chips, a piece of fruit and a dessert.  We all pretty much grew up with this kind of a lunch.  Well, that is exactly what I have done for today's lunch.  I have gone with some standards and jazzed them up a little bit to make them a little healthier but still tasty.  Plus, I've listened to Molly's requests and tried to include exactly what she wants.  We usually sit down after dinner and talk about what she would like and unless I have something up my sleeve, I am happy to comply.

Here we go...

Our main entrée is a turkey sandwich on white bread.  BUT, it's not the regular old turkey on white sandwich.  The bread is whole grain white bread and the turkey is a thin sliced smoked turkey breast (all white meat). We added provolone cheese which is nice and creamy, iceberg lettuce for crunch and yellow mustard to tie it all together.

Our "veggie" side is BBQ potato chips.  These are baked chips that were purchased from Aldi.  The flavor is delicious without causing your fingers to be covered in grease.

Our fruit side is apple slices, raspberries and kiwi.  This was all by request because Molly couldn't decide between the three and asked for all of them.

Finally, our dessert is Pepperidge Farm Baked Graham Cracker Goldfish in Vanilla.  Molly really likes these. They are sweet and light.  They are a perfect ending to a standard lunch.

Book It!

When I was in Elementary school, we used to have a program where if you read a certain amount of books, you would get a certificate for a free Pizza Hut personal pan pizza.  Well, low and behold, Book It! is still around 25 years later.  Molly's teacher participates in the program so today, Molly was the recipient of her first personal pan pizza.  (We let the last 2 expire...oops, there goes my Mother of the Year award.)  I decided that I would take just Molly for lunch today.  She really didn't know what was happening but she knew that it was something special.  Then, I whispered to her that I was taking her to Pizza Hut for her Book It! pizza and I thought that she was going to jump out of her skin.  When we got there, she was beaming because it is not often that she gets a one on one meal with just Mom or Dad.  She was so proud when she handed our waitress the coupon.  What made it even more wonderful is that Gayle, our waitress, made a big deal about it.  She kept asking how "our reader" was doing and if "our reader" needed a refill on her drink.  Molly also received a folder for school with the Pittsburgh Penguins on it.  It was as if she had hit the jackpot.  I don't think that she stopped smiling at all during our lunch.  It just goes to show that if you try hard at something (you may remember that she had some issues with reading earlier in the school year) the rewards can be amazing.

Back to school and back to lunch.  We are incorporating a little of her Book It! pizza to remind her of the awesome job that she did.

Our main entrée is the rest of Molly's personal pan pizza from Pizza Hut.  There is just enough left that it will make the perfect main dish.  She ordered her pizza with black olives on it.  This kid sure has a unique palate when it comes to her favorite foods.


Our vegetable side is a salad made with iceberg lettuce and shredded carrots.  This is accompanied by light Ranch dressing.  


Our fruit side is apples slices and raspberries.  This was by request.  Molly has been chowing down on raspberries while home on Christmas break and she hasn't gotten sick of them yet.  


Finally, our dessert/dairy side is Dannon Light & Fit Blueberry yogurt.  Molly has had enough cookies and candy to last her for a while (haven't we all?) so after talking about it, she decided that yogurt would be a nice dessert.  Smart girl!


Happy 2011 Everyone!  From Molly's Family to Yours!

Mother Hubbard?

This Mom really needs to go food shopping.  These past few weeks have been concentrated on Christmas shopping, family parties and sick kids so the grocery store has been the last thing on my mind.  There are a few staples that are always in our house but the refrigerator is looking like it did when I was in college.  There's milk, juice, a few condiments, some spinach, apples, eggs and a few other random things.  Luckily, I was able to make a nice lunch out of what was around.  We definitely need to make a run to the grocery store tomorrow.  We are in desperate need of fresh fruit and veggies!

Our main entrée is pasta salad.  The pasta is mini shells, they are really cute and pretty "meaty" for a mini pasta.  We added chunks of pepperoni and a string cheese stick that was cut into chunks plus some light Italian dressing.

Our veggie side is canned, no salt added, cut green beans.  Molly likes these warm and cold.  I just wish her siblings did too.

Our fruit side is apple slices.  Sometimes we leave the skin on because it adds a lot of nutrients.  Also, there are times when Molly asks to have the skin cut off.

Finally, we have Aldi Fit & Active strawberry yogurt covered raisins for dessert.  These are a delicious and healthy dessert.

Let It Snow!

December 1st came and so did the snow.  I knew that there was a possibility of snow today but I did not expect to look out the window this morning and see my van covered in the white stuff.  The chill in the air and the beautiful snowflakes falling are just another reminder of the Christmas season that is upon us.  This is my kind of winter.  Just enough snow to cover everything in a beautiful shimmer of white but still warm enough that you can stand outside and not freeze completely.  I did not care for "snowmageddon" last year with several feet of snow.  I'll take a little more so that we can make a snowman and that will do it for me.

Our main entrée is banana bread sandwiches with whipped cream cheese.  These are something that you might find at a tea party.  Molly has always loved to play tea party so we decided to pay homage to one of her favorite things during this lunch.

Our veggie side is sugar snap peas.  We are giving the salads a break for the day.  Molly really enjoys these sweet and crispy veggies.

Our fruit side is apple slices.  These will be a nice accompaniment to the banana bread sandwiches.

We also added a string cheese to add some protein and calcium.

Finally, we have Aldi Pfeffernusse Cookies for Molly's dessert.  These cookies are like gingerbread but lighter in texture and flavor.  They are chewy and yet have that little crunch from the white icing.  YUM!

Autumn Lunch

This whole weekend was awesome.  We had no other huge plans and declared it Family Fun Weekend!  (note: I had a meeting this afternoon but it was during nap time.)  We enjoyed the cool weather, the crisp autumn air and the gorgeous colors that the fall brings to Western Pennsylvania every year.  After an incredible autumn filled weekend, we're sticking with the theme for Molly's lunch.

Our main entrée is pumpkin pancakes.  These were made by using canned pumpkin in the place of eggs for a boxed pancake mix.  We also added some extra cinnamon, nutmeg and vanilla for spice and a little bit of Agave Nectar to make them sweeter and easier to eat while cold.  We cut these pancakes with leaf and pumpkin cookie cutters so there aren't 3 huge pancakes to eat, plus they go with our theme.  They are served with a side of light cream cheese that is flavored with a generous amount of Trader Joe's Pumpkin Butter.  Molly can spread this on her pancakes or just use it as a dip.


We have some Castle Wood Honey Ham as a protein side since the main entrée is carbohydrate based.  We cut the ham with a pumpkin shaped cookie cutter.  (Cook's note: It is very hard to make ham look appetizing by itself.  We tried skewering it, it looked like intestines and we're not going for a gory Halloween theme...yet.  Then we tried rolling it; very wormy looking.  So, we stuck with cookie cutters in the hopes that Molly will find it fun and delicious at the same time.)


Our fruit side is an Empire apple that is peeled and cut into slices.  We added a little bit of orange juice to help keep them from browning.  This was a request of Molly's.  She loves apples, especially crunchy ones.


The vegetable side for our Autumn Lunch is carrots because they represent one of the most gorgeous fall colors, orange.  We fancied them up a little bit to keep lunch interesting.


We've decided not to do a dessert.  This weekend included a trip to our favorite candy store on the planet, Baldinger's.  We feel that Molly has ingested enough sugar from her scrumptious selections that she can go without it in this Autumn Lunch.