All Better Now

After a week of passing illness back and forth, I can happily report that we are all better now!  Woo Hoo!  We are back on track and slowly incorporating our regular routine back into life.  I didn't realize how dirty the house gets or how few groceries there are when the whole house gets sick at once.  I can also report that the house is mostly clean and Sam's Club has gotten a visit so we should be good for a while. ☺ Thanks again for all of your thoughts and prayers.  I will pray that none of your houses are afflicted with that horrible sickness because it was pretty rough there for a while.

Our main entrée is a typical Monday lunch offering.  Left over pizza from the weekend.  We got some good old Sir Pizza to celebrate everyone's wellness.  Cold pizza can always put a smile on Molly's face.  (and her sister's too.  She actually prefers it cold....kids!)

Our vegetable side is a baby spinach salad with Trader Joe's Balsamic dressing on the side.  We figure that if we can indulge in pizza, our sides should be pretty healthy to balance it out.

Our fruit side is blackberries and blueberries.  Molly's Grammy purchased these before she left for a nice vacation to a warm destination.  We are enjoying them as much as Grammy is enjoying the sunshine!

Finally, our dairy/dessert is Dannon Light and Fit Vanilla Yogurt.  We buy this in large containers because everyone in our family really likes it.  Also, this yogurt can be used as a healthy alternative to oils when baking so it's nice to keep on hand.

Same as the School Lunch

One of my secret weapons is looking at the school lunch menu.  What kid wants to eat cold peanut butter and jelly when everyone else is sitting there with a nice hot piece of pizza?  If there is something that Molly likes to eat and it's on the school lunch menu, I try to incorporate it into her lunch if possible.  For example, Molly's school is serving Papa John's pizza tomorrow and luckily for us, Molly's Grammy invited us for pizza dinner tonight and had left overs. ☺  Left over pizza is a HUGE favorite of Molly's so we are in luck.  The big difference between the school lunch and Molly's lunch is that we can control the portion size, add healthier sides and we know that she will eat the things that we serve but we aren't so sure about the school lunch.

Our main entrée is left over pepperoni pizza.  This is from our favorite pizza place near us, Sir Pizza. I've said it before and I'll say it again, it's not the best crust, sauce or cheese but the combination of whatever it is that they use is just spot on.  Plus, the pepperoni is the best!

Our vegetable side is a plain baby spinach salad, by request.  This is served with Trader Joe's Balsamic Vinaigrette.

Our fruit side is kiwi and pomegranate.  This too is by request.  I purchased a big papaya from the store the other day and balled it up with a melon baller, but Molly wasn't interested in it.  Here's another tip, if they won't eat it, don't send it.  Try little bits at home and see if they change their mind, if not, it's not worth the headache.  Don't sweat the small stuff.

Finally, our dessert/dairy side is Dannon Light & Fit vanilla yogurt.  We added some fresh raspberries for flavor, texture and color.

I Almost Forgot!

Short post tonight because I almost forgot to make Molly's lunch.  I'm no longer up for the Mother of the Year Award.  hahaha!  After an incredible and delicious Thanksgiving, black Friday shopping, trimming the tree, decorating the house and wrapping presents, Molly's lunch was the last thing on my mind.  I was kind of hoping that this holiday would continue through tomorrow.  Guess not, so on to lunch.

Our main entrée is cold pepperoni pizza.  We have a tradition to have pizza in one of the days following Thanksgiving because eventually, the turkey does run out.  This is left over from our dinner tonight.

Our veggie side is a baby spinach salad with Trader Joe's Balsamic Vinaigrette on the side.  Molly really likes these salads lately and we are happy to help her get her leafy greens in.

Our fruit side is a Gala apple that has been cut into large slices.  This apple isn't as sweet or tart as some of our other favorites but it's still a tasty and juicy fruit.

Finally, for dessert we have a chocolate chip granola bar.  This is not one of our usual staples but we wanted to make sure that Molly had a filling lunch and the granola bar is chock full of oats so it will solve that issue in a hurry.

Hope everyone had a nice break.  Back to the daily grind and getting ready for the next holiday!

Cold Pizza

We had a great night at our house tonight.  We decided to order a pizza and some wings for a special mid-week surprise, since we usually reserve these treats for the weekend.  My Dad came for dinner while my Mom is at my brother's house awaiting the arrival of his daughter or son on Friday.  (Which we are Super excited about!)  We sat down, served our pizza and plugged in Toy Story 3.  About 20 minutes into it, Andy (the toys' owner) opens up a big black garbage bag to throw away some old toys.  At this, Molly's younger sister flips out and starts screaming and crying.  "I don't wanna throw away my toys...ever!  Mama, turn this movie off PLEASE!"  So, we ended up watching A Charlie Brown Thanksgiving instead.  It ended up being a fun night after all.  And we have leftovers for lunch!

Our main entrée is left over pepperoni pizza from Sir Pizza.  This pizza doesn't have the best sauce or the best crust but the pepperoni is incredible, plus "there is just something about the combined mediocrity that makes it spectacular."  So says Molly's Dad.  And it's even better cold!

Our veggie side is a baby spinach salad.  We've put some Trader Joe's Balsamic Vinaigrette in a small container so that Molly can add as much or as little as she would like.  

Our fruit side is a Honey Crisp apple cut into slices.  The crunch on these apples is incredible and the sweetness is awesome.

Our dessert is Pfeffernusse Cookies from Aldi.  These are a traditional German gingerbread cookie with a hard icing on top.  Very light and sweet and the perfect end to a great lunch.