Something New

We are trying something new in Molly's lunch tomorrow.  We purchased some chicken burgers a few weeks ago on a trip to Sam's Club.  They are really delicious plus, they aren't breaded and fried like the average chicken nugget.  We've ended up buying a lot more of them.  I've been eating them like a regular piece of grilled chicken during a meal or on a salad...YUM!  I've also had them cold and I think that they are so good that way too.  I'm hoping that Molly feels the same because she gobbles them up at dinner.

Our main entree is an Old World Kitchen Caramelized Onion and Swiss Chicken Burger.  We cut it into strips, like we do for dinner.  There is so much flavor in these that they don't need any kind of dip or spread.

Our vegetable side is sugar snap peas.  Molly went through a period of time when she wasn't a fan of these but luckily, she's gotten over it.  They are juicy and crunchy with such a yummy flavor.

Our fruit side is a MacIntosh apple.  We sliced it up to make it faster to eat.  Elementary kids don't have a lot of time at lunch so anything to help make it easier is great.

Finally, our dairy/dessert is vanilla yogurt with a few Trader Joe's Elegant Cocoa Pearls.  They are a little crunchy and sweet.

All Better!

Molly is feeling much better.  She made it to school today, had a great day and lived to tell about it.  No call from the school nurse made me a very happy Mom.  Molly was pretty happy too and even had a fantastic night because she finally lost one of her top teeth.  We've been waiting on it for weeks and finally, the tooth fairy will be stopping at our house. ☺

Our main entree is a peanut butter and Nutella sandwich on whole grain bread.  Our cupboards are a bit bare because Mom hasn't had time to run to the store with two sick kids.  This is a great standby sandwich when there isn't much left in the pantry.

Our vegetable side is canned green beans.  Again, not much left on the fresh vegetable front aside from salad.  Besides, canned green beans are so yummy.

Our fruit side is a Macintosh apple that has been sectioned and sliced.  We've had several questions about how to keep the apples from browning.  The long and short of it is the type of apple.  We usually choose Macintosh and Empire apples because they naturally don't brown as much.  There may be a small bit of browning but nothing like a Red Delicious.  If you aren't a fan of these types, try fresh squeezed orange or lemon juice to prevent browning.

Finally, our dairy/dessert is plain vanilla yogurt.  We have no Cho!  We definitely have to make it to the store very soon to stock back up on Chobani Champions.

Pizza Pasta Salad

Molly's school serves pizza every Monday.  Usually, we try to make some sort of pizza over the weekend and the leftovers are part of Monday's lunch.  That didn't happen this weekend.  Molly and her sister were treated to a fantastic weekend, courtesy of their Grammy and Papa.  They did their nails, got all dressed up and went to see Beauty and the Beast at our (Mommy and Daddy's) high school alma mater.  The reviews were spectacular.  Gaston, in particular, was a huge hit.  Though, the girls chose the roles of Belle and Mrs. Potts as future characters that they'd like to play.  Thank you, Grammy and Papa, the girls had a blast.

Now, on to Molly's lunch and our pizza alternative.

Our main entree is pizza pasta salad.  We mixed together some extra whole grain rotini, mozzarella cheese and mini turkey pepperoni.  We then added some light Italian dressing to make everything taste extra good.

Our vegetable side is slices of pepper.  Molly's little sister and little brother went to a birthday party today and they had a huge veggie tray.  We were asked if we wanted to take any of the leftovers (there weren't many, good choices Johnson family!) and we were happy to take some of the small peppers to put in Molly's lunch.

Our fruit side is a small "kid sized" Macintosh apple.  We picked these up at Sam's Club and they are the delicious.  Molly's Daddy and I will grab one before or after a run and they are the perfect size.  Also, they really are great for the kids.  No half eaten apples in our fridge anymore.

Finally, our dairy/dessert is a Chobani Champions orange vanilla Greek yogurt.  Molly again requested that we put a few (maybe a Tablespoon at best) mini chocolate chips in a small container so that she can add them to the yogurt.  We can't blame her.  Orange and chocolate are so delicious together.