Daddy's Birthday!

Tomorrow is Molly's Daddy's Birthday!  HAPPY BIRTHDAY, DADDY!!!!  We had a great weekend of celebrations with friends and family that included some scrumptious goodies and lots of laughs.  Some of the best things in life are these little get togethers.  The worlds' problems stop for those few moments when you are doubled over with laughter after a funny story that  a friend tells.

Tomorrow we will have a small celebration since it is Daddy's real birthday but Mondays are usually pretty busy at our house.  Sundays are too and Daddy was at church for most of the day today at a class for catechists.  The good thing about that is that he picked up a couple of hoagies (or sub sandwiches) on his way out.  Our youth group does this as a fundraiser and they are hard to pass up because they are so delicious. You'll see just below.

Our main entree is part of an Italian hoagie.  It's freshly baked bread with fantastic meats and cheeses.  Molly can eat an entire foot long sub by herself on some days.  We're hoping that this fills her up enough.

Our vegetable side is yellow pepper slices with Trader Joe's sun-dried tomato hummus.  We would probably put the peppers on the sandwich but Molly really enjoys dipping them in hummus.  This sun-dried tomato hummus is a little sweet from the tomatoes and had a fantastic basil flavor.

Our fruit side is a fresh plum.  This is paying homage to the sugarplum fairies of the Nutcracker Suite.  We've been listening to as much Christmas music as we can and the girls are always twirling around to the Dance of the Sugarplum Fairies.

Finally, our dairy/dessert is strawberry yogurt.  Molly asked for a twist so we switched it up a little bit and went with the strawberry instead of the regular vanilla.

Blog Face Lift

A great friend of mine gave my blog a face lift!  We think it looks pretty awesome and we think that April is a design genius!  Let us know what you think.  Thanks again, April.

Molly's lunch today was planned way in advance today since our schedule is so packed this week.  I made some of our healthy banana bread, prepped the fruit and veggies for the week and relied on Molly's favorite yogurt and cheese sticks to round it out.

Our main entree is a banana bread sandwich.  We made our healthy banana bread recipe, sliced two pieces and spread cream cheese in the middle.  Then, we cut it into three manageable pieces to make it easier for Molly to handle.

Our vegetable side is sliced cucumbers.  We usually go for the seedless English cucumbers but out buddy Joe at the produce stand had regular cucumbers so that is what we're serving tomorrow.

Our fruit side is a large prune plum.  This particular plum is extra sweet.  We may have had a sample while slicing it up.

Our dairy side is a colby jack cheese stick.  We figured that Molly might need a little extra energy to get through the day.

Finally, our dessert is a Chobani Champions Honey-Nana Greek yogurt.  We figured that we'd stick with the banana theme when choosing this variety.

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.

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.

Lenten Lunch 3

This whole time, I'm thinking that a Lenten lunch is going to be hard thing to figure out.  Then, as I look back at Molly's Lunch Box, most of her lunches are vegetarian.  Very rarely is there any meat in her lunch at all.  So, if you are looking for a kid friendly Lenten meal idea, just look at just about any lunch on this blog and you'll be set through Easter.

Our main entrée is our take on a peanut butter and banana sandwich.  We split a banana in half and filled it with Nutella hazelnut spread.  Then we spread peanut butter on one slice of bread.  We then put the banana on the bread, wrapped it up, and cut it in half.

Our vegetable side is small slices of green pepper.  Molly has liked peppers since she was very young.  Plus, it gives her a nice crunch.

Our fruit side is a plum.  We found these at Sam's Club and they have a great sweet/tart flavor.

Finally, our Fun Friday treat is candy.  There are two mini Kit Kats and two mini Reese's Peanut Butter Cups.  This is not a regular treat but we decided to go a little crazy since Molly has been doing very well in her school work and hasn't complained much at all about her homework this week.