The Return of an Old Favorite

When we went to Trader Joe's the other day, we picked up a bunch of things and a few old favorites made it into the cart.  Molly used to request pimento cheese sandwiches all of the time.  I introduced pimento cheese spread to my kids one day on the way home from the zoo.  Trader Joe's is very close to the Pittsburgh Zoo so on our way home, we stopped for a snack.  I bought mini whole wheat pitas and the pimento cheese spread as a way to introduce it in a small way, just in case they didn't like it.  Well, they are truly my kids and it showed with their new found love of pimento cheese spread.  We haven't had it for a while so Molly's eyes lit up when she saw it.

Our main entree is mini pimento cheese sandwiches.  We split 5 (there are 6 in a serving according to the nutritional information) Trader Joe's mini whole wheat pitas and filled them with Trader Joe's pimento cheese spread.  Molly is going to go crazy over this blast from the past.

Our vegetable side is mini cucumbers.  We used our crinkle knife to cut these up to make them look more like a pickle.  They are really crunchy and refreshing.

Our fruit side is a peach and some raspberries.  We found these peaches very inexpensively at a huge sale at  a local super market.  We like the combination for both aesthetic appeal and flavor.  

Finally, our dairy/dessert is plain vanilla yogurt.  Molly will more than likely add her raspberries to this yogurt.  She has been loving this combination of vanilla yogurt and fresh berries.

Fun Fruity Froggies!

Whoa, what a crazy night here.  We have been super busy but we keep on going.  Tomorrow, Molly's little sister is the snack person at preschool.  It is the letter "F,f" day so we decided to make fruity frogs.  We were right in the middle of making them when we realized that there would be no way to bring them to school all in one piece.  So, now we are doing fruity frog faces.  The feet just didn't fit.  But, Molly is the lucky recipient of two fruity frogs since she has a perfect container for them.

Our main entree is a Trader Joe's pimento cheese sandwich.  Yes, the return of one of Molly's favorite lunches of all time!  We used Trader Joe's flat bread, spread some Trader Joe's Pimento Cheese Spread on it and cut it into triangles.  Molly's Daddy was nice enough to make this for us since we were still working on the preschool treat.

Our vegetable side is carrot sticks.  Daddy chopped these up for us too.  He's so awesome to help out and put extra love in Molly's lunch.

Our fruit side is the fruity frogs. They are quartered Granny Smith apples (core removed) with a slit cut out for the mouth.  Then we halved green grapes, notched out toes, and set them in front.  Next, we rolled a few little cream cheese balls and put mini chocolate chips in the center for the eyes and pushed them onto the faces.  Finally, we cut a little bit of a fruit by the foot fruit roll up into a long tongue.  Never know when there might be a fly hanging around at lunch time.

Finally, our dairy/dessert is low fat strawberry yogurt.  This will be a nice creamy end to a super fun lunch.

Un-Birthday Lunch

Tomorrow, is Molly's Un-Birthday at school.  Her real birthday is in the summer.  She is so excited to be the special birthday girl tomorrow.  She gets to have a special sticker, a crown and other fun special things.  She is bringing in a snack and drink too.  Our school district has implemented a healthy snack policy so she is bringing in frozen grapes and little Hug drinks.  It is going to be in the 90's tomorrow and her school doesn't have air conditioning so we think that it will be a nice refreshing snack.  PS - little Hug drinks are only 10 calories and don't have nearly as much sugar as Kool-Aid or Capri Sun.

 

A friend of mine recommended the new Thomas' Pretz-A-Bagels so that is our main entrée.  We cut the Pretz-A-Bagel in half and put Trader Joe's pimento cheese spread on it.  Cheese and pretzels are such a great combinations.

Our vegetable side is sugar snap peas.  They will be cool and crispy on a hot day.

Our fruit side is mixed berries again.  We have strawberries, raspberries and blackberries as per her request.

Our dairy side is low fat cottage cheese.  Molly really likes cottage cheese and it will be a great source of protein and a cool and filling treat.

Finally, we added a fun size bag of Skittles because every kid deserves a special treat on their Un-Birthday! 

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.

Spring is Here!

Spring is finally here!  At least it finally feels like spring in Western PA since the winter lasted for what felt like an eternity.  It has been warm for the past few days, the flowers are in full bloom and we have been cooking on the grill just about every night.  The other things that spring promises are fresh fruits and vegetables from local farms and back yard gardens.  We were lucky enough to find some great fresh produce recently and enjoy the taste of spring via strawberries and peppers.  YUM!

Our main entrée is a pimento cheese sandwich "quesadilla".  We used Trader Joe's Middle Eastern Flat Bread and spread Trader Joe's pimento cheese spread on it.  Then we folded it and sliced it.  This is Molly's favorite sandwich.

Our vegetable side is a romaine lettuce salad with yellow and red peppers.  We added a small container of light Italian dressing at Molly's request.

Our fruit side is strawberries and blueberries.  The blueberries are a little bit tart and the strawberries are very sweet.  A great combination.

Finally, our dessert is vanilla wafers.  Molly requested these too.  I think we'll be seeing our favorite yogurt soon though.

Requested Lunch

Since this week is shorter, we've gone with our all request lunch for tomorrow.  As I stated yesterday, Molly really is a creature of habit.  When I asked her what she wanted, I could've guessed before she even opened her mouth.  Of course she asked for a pimento cheese sandwich "quesadilla" as her main entrée and a few other favorites for her sides.  I was surprised, however, that she asked for a special treat on a Tuesday.  Not that I'm not flexible about these things, but she usually doesn't stray from our normal routine.  I had to decline her request though, since tomorrow's lunch will definitely have a treat in it.

Our main entrée is a pimento cheese sandwich "quesadilla" made with Trader Joe's pimento cheese spread and middle eastern flat bread.  If Molly had her way, she'd probably eat one of these every day of the week.

Our vegetable side is sugar snap peas.  We figured that she'd request cucumbers but when she saw these in the crisper drawer of the refrigerator, her eyes lit up.

Our fruit side is sliced strawberries.  Her choices were kind of slim on fruit because we need to go to the grocery store; but she was very happy to have strawberries as an option.

Finally, we have our dairy/dessert staple, Dannon Light and Fit vanilla yogurt.  Molly must have probiotic proficiency because of the amount of yogurt that she consumes.  But, it tastes really good so we don't blame her for wanting it all of the time.

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.

Busy Week!

I, like most parents, keep a calendar in the house with everything written on it so that I don't forget an important event.  This week, we have NO empty spaces.  There is something going on every single day.  April has a lot of things on the calendar and May is filling up at a fast pace.  I can only imagine how much more full it will become when Molly's sister and brother get older.  Even though we are busy, we still have to make time for family time.  We had a great time walking to school today because the weather was so nice.  Then we had some cuddle time after we got home this evening.  Maybe tomorrow we'll have a dance party after school?  We might be busy and we might be tired but we always have fun.

Our main entrée is Molly's favorite quesadilla.  We spread Trader Joe's pimento cheese spread on Trader Joe's Middle Eastern flat bread, folded it in half and cut it into quarters.

Our vegetable side is sugar snap peas.  They are coming back into season and we couldn't be happier.  These taste great fresh out of the bag or steamed and even stir fried.

Our fruit side is sliced strawberries.  Molly's Grammy brought these over for us.  The smell so sweet and have such a deep red color, just the way a yummy strawberry should be.

Finally, our dairy/dessert is Dannon Light and Fit vanilla yogurt.  Molly said that sometimes she adds some of her berries to it because it tastes so good.

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.

Do Over With Help

Molly has recently expressed an interest in helping to make her lunches.  I've changed my schedule a bit lately and I'm home more often in the evening.  So, I figured that the more involved she is in the process, the more likely she'll eat it or try new things.  (Note: She doesn't eat all of her lunch all of the time and will sometimes turn her nose up to trying something new or very odd to her.)  Molly enjoyed her lunch so much today that we are repeating a few of the same things, and she helped to make them!

Our main entrée is Molly's favorite "quesadilla."  She spread Trader Joe's Pimento Cheese Spread on a Trader Joe's Middle Eastern Flat Bread, folded it in half and we cut it into quarters.

Our vegetable side is the same as yesterday's lunch as well.  We sliced up a few cucumbers and added a pinch of Trader Joe's Shredded Carrots for sweetness.

Our fruit side is a clementine with a handful of blueberries.  Molly peeled and divided the clementine and added the blueberries.

Finally, our dairy/dessert is Dannon Light and Fit Vanilla Yogurt with a special little twist for our helpful little chef.  We tossed a bit of teddy bear sprinkles on top for a splash of color and fun.

Trader Joe's Tuesday

We had our monthly trek to Trader Joe's today and purchased some awesome food.  In preparation for St. Patrick's Day, we got our baby cabbage, buttermilk, Irish cheeses and some Irish bangers.  (Our corned beef, potatoes, Irish butter, etc has already been purchased.)  We also purchased a lot of great produce, baked goods and some regular pantry staples.  This lunch was inspired by several of our purchases today.

Our main entrée is a unique take on a quesadilla.  We are using Trader Joe's Middle Eastern Flat Bread for our "tortilla."  Then our cheese is Trader Joe's Pimento Cheese Spread.  Molly goes GAGA over this cheese spread.  Although we aren't in the south, we do have some southern roots so it's not a surprise to us how much she likes this cheese.

Our vegetable side is seedless cucumbers and Trader Joe's shredded carrots.  The carrots make for a sweet and crunchy compliment to the cool and juicy cucumbers.

Our fruit side is Trader Joe's dried figs.  Kind of like the Newton, but without the cake around it.  We also added some Trader Joe's Vacuum Fried Banana Chips.  These taste so bananaie (is that a real word?) and the crunch is awesome.

Finally, Molly requested her favorite Dannon Light and Fit Vanilla Yogurt.  This was not purchased at Trader Joe's but they do have a lot of yummy yogurt varieties available.