Fridge Clean Out Lunch

We're feeling a lot better today, thank goodness!  Our goal is to make sure that we eat what is in the refrigerator since there were a few days of take out.  The less we throw out, the more money we save and the less waste we create.

Our main entree is a peanut and butter sandwich.  We are out of some things so we decided that an old fashioned pb&j would work just fine.

Our vegetable entree is canned green beans.  These were part of our dinner so it was easy to just toss them in Molly's lunch.  She will eat these warm, cold or just out of the can.  (Just like her mother!)

Our fruit side is sliced strawberries.  These only have a few days left so we needed to use them before they were a lost cause and sent to the compost bin.

Finally, our dairy/dessert is Chobani Champions orange vanilla Greek yogurt.  We also added a small container of mini chocolate chips in the strawberry box.  Molly really enjoys mixing these into her yogurt.

Merry Monday

We are in the thick of it people!  Christmas is less than a week away and the excitement is hardly containable.  We have wrapped a plethora of presents, baked dozens of dozens of cookies and decorated to our heart's content.

We have a tradition at our house when it comes to presents that we started with Molly's 1st Christmas.  Santa brings only three gifts for each child plus a few stocking stuffers.  Why, you might ask?  Because that is the amount of presents Baby Jesus got for Christmas.  This tradition has proven to be a tremendous help to us.  First, our house doesn't have a thousand plastic toys sitting and collecting dust a week after Christmas.  Second, friends and family members that wish to purchase a gift for our children can do so and we have ideas for them because Santa hasn't used all of them.  Third, it really saves a lot of money.  Fourth, the children seem to appreciate their gifts even more because there aren't too many of them.  Fifth and the most important thing, it teaches the story of Christ's birth and how people from all over the land followed a star to come to see this amazing babe and bring him gifts.

We have only three full days of school this week before the kids have their Christmas vacation.  We will be doing our best to make this week's lunches as fun as possible for Molly.

Our main entrée is a cold tortellini pasta salad.  These are Trader Joe's Fresh Cheese Tortellini.  We've added light Italian dressing to coat.  (Notice the red and green flecks of color that keep with our Christmas theme.)

Our vegetable side is canned green beans with no salt added.  These are an all time favorite of Molly's.  She's just like her Mother. ☺

Our fruit side is pomegranate arils or seeds.  These are sweet and mildly bitter with a juicy pop to them.  The health benefits of this "super fruit" are too numerous to list.
*We removed the seeds from the pomegranate by slicing a cone around the top at about 1/2 inch down.  We then scored the pom with 1/4 inch deep slices going from top to bottom in four sections.  We then submerged the pomegranate in a bowl of water and started to tear it apart.  (This keeps your hands and kitchen counter from turning pink.) The seeds sink to the bottom of the bowl while the pulp floats to the top.  We removed the pulp then strained the contents of the bowl, and were left with the seeds...YUM!

Finally, our dessert is Chewy Egg Nog Cookies from Trader Joe's that according to Trader Joe himself, "exude egg nogginess from the moment you open the box."  They are INCREDIBLE!  Plus, they are a nice way to finish up a festive lunch.

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.

Another Monday

This weekend was pretty relaxed and fun.  I'm guessing it's the calm before the storm known as the holiday season.  I just feel like the next few weeks are going to absolutely fly by and before we know it, it's going to be Christmas.  This year, we are trying to prepare early, not sweat the little things and just enjoy each day watching the wonderment in our children's eyes.

But, we still have a few more weeks of school which means that there are lunches to make.

Our main entrée is a good old pb&j on whole wheat.  This has been the requested entrée for the last several lunches and we completely understand.  It always tastes good and is filling enough to get us through the rest of the day.  We cut this sandwich out with a shooting star cookie cutter and a tiny star micro cookie cutter.  Molly's been doing really well in school and we think that she deserves a star!

Our vegetable side is canned green beans.  Molly is just like her Mother, we could eat canned green beans everyday and straight from the can.

Our fruit side is a honey crisp apple cut into slices.  This is served with some Tastefully Simple Creamy Caramel Sauce for dipping.

Finally, our dessert is a small square of Tastefully Simple Blue Ribbon Blueberry Bar.  So delicious.  It is one of the best oatmeal "cookies" that we have ever tasted!