2nd Day of School

The girls had a FANTASTIC first day of school.  They absolutely love their new schools, teachers and friends.  We're hopeful that this positive trend will keep going for the rest of the year!

The school is having breakfast for lunch tomorrow so we went with it.  Our lunches today are in Laptop Lunch Boxes using the large insert.  Link below.

Our main entree is a waffle sandwich.  We added whipped cream cheese to 2 waffles (chocolate chip for Molly and whole grain for Bean) and then added thinly sliced peaches.

Our fruit side is champagne grapes (known as baby grapes in our house).

Our protein side is two slices of bacon.

Finally, our dairy/dessert is a Chobani Champions Greek yogurt tube.

The Return of a Favorite

We did a special MOMables week a few months ago and made little strawberry waffle sandwiches per MOMables suggested menu.  We've made them before but it's nice to be reminded of some old favorites.

Our main entree is a waffle sandwich.  We toasted two whole grain waffles, spread whipped cream cheese on them, put sliced strawberries on it and then sandwiched it together.

Our fruit side is clementines and pomegranate arils.

Finally, our dairy/dessert is peach yogurt.

Spooky Spider Lunch

We were inspired by something that we saw by our friend Michelle at Creative Food.  This is an easy way to bring some Halloween fun to lunch.

Our main entree is a waffle sandwich.  We used two whole grain waffles, toasted them, added whipped cream cheese and thinly sliced strawberries.  Then, we added eight pretzel sticks for the legs and some candy eyeballs.

Our vegetable side is a couple of spider carrots.

Our fruit side is a spider kiwi.

Finally, our dairy dessert is vanilla yogurt with a couple of chocolate spider webs on them.  We the spider webs made by melting a small amount of chocolate chips (probably around 1/8 of a cup) in a ziploc freezer bag in the microwave at half power for about a minute and a half in 30 second increments. At each increment we mixed the chocolate and made sure that it wasn't getting too runny.  *Microwaves vary so check your manufacturer's instructions.  We then snipped the corner off of the bag and piped the webs onto a piece of parchment paper, let them harden and peeled them off for our decoration.  *If you do not want to use a plastic bag in the microwave, simply melt the chocolate the same way in a microwave safe glass (Pyrex) container and use a parchment piping bag.

 

New Breakfast

We like to have breakfast for dinner about once a week.  It's one of the easier meals to make yet usually creates the most dishes since several pans are involved.  We also like to have breakfast for one of Molly's lunches because it's easy for us and she loves it.

Our main entree is a whole grain waffle sandwich.  We used freshly ground peanut butter on one side and Biscoff Spread (this is the new thing) on the other.  Holy delicious, Batman!  We added a few crayon picks in Molly's favorite colors for fun.

Our fruit side is fresh kiwi slices.  We think that the tangy taste will be a nice contrast to the peanut butter.

Our fun side is a little homemade trail mix.  We combined lightly salted mixed nuts with Plum Amazins.  

Finally, our dairy/dessert is vanilla yogurt with Trader Joe's Elegant Cocoa Pears.

Breakfast on Fun Friday!

We were trying to come up with ideas and looking in the fridge and pantry then we found a few things and breakfast was the winner.  This may not be our most nutritious lunch but it's still better than what the school is serving.

Our main entree is a waffle sandwich.  We toasted two whole grain waffles and added Nutella and peanut butter to them and sandwiched them together.

Our fruit side is a banana.  Something about a banana with peanut butter and Nutella.  YUM!

Our dairy side is vanilla yogurt with chocolate pearls for fun.  Molly really likes the chocolate pearls because they "stay crunchy" even when they have been in the yogurt over night.

Finally, our Fun Friday treat is two white chocolate Lindt truffles.  Molly got these in her stocking and they are the last two left.

3rd Lunch of Christmas

Family traditions are a big part of our Christmas.  Daddy makes fantastic cookies, the kids make special decorations, we light the advent candles and Santa falls down the chimney little by little every day until Christmas.  We also started a new tradition, The Elf on the Shelf, last year.  We didn't realize what hard work it is to keep up with the elf every single night.  There aren't that many places to put him in our house so we had to get very creative.  It's a really fun activity and it keeps the kids on their toes.  New traditions can be just as special as old traditions because all of them make the holidays so wonderful.

Our main entree is a waffle sandwich.  We spread peanut butter on two waffles, added a little honey, then sandwiched them together.  We used a big snowflake cookie cutter to cut it out and added a Christmas tree pick to the top.

Our protein side is turkey bacon.  We rolled it up a little bit so that it looks like Christmas ornament balls, or at least that was the thought. ☺

Our fruit side is red and green grapes.  These may not be the regular bright red and green of Christmas but they work for us.

Finally, our dessert is strawberry cheesecake yogurt.  We wanted to give Molly something extra special and we think that this will fit the bill.  We added a few sprinkles because they have gotten rave reviews lately.

*We had to share a fun Christmas themed dessert that Molly's little sister is bringing to preschool tomorrow.  We arranged cupcakes into a Christmas tree shape, then decorated them with frosting and cute little Christmas light bulb rings.

ps - Molly's Daddy came up with a great way to get these to school since the lid to the cupcake holder would've squished a few of the cupcakes.  He created a cardboard "border" and covered it with foil.  Just call him MacGuyver!

Breakfast for Lunch!

When in doubt, look at the school lunch menu.  They are having breakfast for lunch tomorrow so we decided to follow suit and make breakfast for lunch.  We also borrowed some inspiration from a friend who lamented about how his kids only eat peanut butter and honey sandwiches.

Our main entree is a waffle sandwich.  We added some peanut butter and honey to two waffles that were toasted a little extra toasty.  We also added two pieces of turkey bacon to bump up the protein factor.  Plus, everything is better with bacon. ☺

Our fruit side is strawberries.  Molly really enjoys strawberries and we try to keep them on hand as often as possible because she's not alone in her preference.  Her siblings enjoy them too.

Finally, our dairy/dessert is vanilla yogurt.  We were going to add some sprinkles to it again but decided that there is enough color and fun in this lunch, so we'll save them for another time.

Breakfast!

As a family on a budget, we often turn to breakfast for dinner.  It is simple, inexpensive, healthy and the kids just love it.  We make pancakes or waffles with some sort of turkey bacon or turkey sausage.  Then we add eggs on the side and a fruit smoothie or fresh fruit.  Molly's little brother could a plate pancakes and he's only two years old.  The other thing about breakfast is that it is usually pretty fast when you're limited on time.  This lunch was done in no time at all.

Our main entree is a waffle sandwich.  We toasted two toaster waffles until they were extra crisp and then let them cool completely.  We added Trader Joe's Organic Maple Agave Syrup to some light cream cheese, stirred it together and then spread it on both waffles.  We then thinly sliced several strawberries, spread them out on the waffles, sandwiched them together and there you have it!

Our vegetable side is, well, non-existent.  When we add vegetables to our "breakfast for dinner" it usually consists of something like spinach, zucchini and peppers added to our scrambled eggs or fritata.  Since we know that Molly does not like cold eggs, we don't have them in this lunch.  So, we'll make sure that Molly gets extra veggies in her dinner.

Our fruit side is green grapes and of course the strawberries in the sandwich.  These grapes are very large and extra sweet.

Finally, our dairy/dessert is Molly's new favorite, Chobani Champions Greek yogurt in the Very Berry variety.  Molly told us that it definitely keeps her more full and that she's requesting it for every lunch from now on.  Funny how she says that now.  But then again, she was a big fan of Dannon Light and Fit Vanilla last year. ☺

Red, White and Blueberry Lunch

I went through several of Molly's lunches and picked out some of her favorites for these last few lunches of this school year.  Breakfast for lunch is always a favorite of any of my kids.  We mixed this up a little bit to pay tribute to the good old U.S. of A!!!

Our main entrée is a waffle sandwich.  We toasted two waffles, extra crispy so that they don't get soggy, then added light cream cheese, flavored with maple syrup, to each waffle.  We then added slices of strawberry to enhance to the sweetness.

As usual, there is no veggie side but we do have a two little sides in the box with the waffle sandwich.  We added slivered almonds to one small container for extra protein.  Then, we put some mini M&M's in the other container as a dessert or a yogurt topping.

Our fruit side, aside from the strawberries, is blueberries.  We had a few of these beauties left over after making a bunch of fruit salads this past week.  They are so sweet and juicy.

Our dairy/dessert is Molly's favorite Dannon Light and Fit vanilla yogurt.  She can add the blueberries, almonds or M&M's or just eat it plain.

Breakfast!

Molly asked to buy lunch tomorrow because they are serving breakfast for lunch.  At first I figured, why not?  I have one sick kid and one teething kid so if she bought lunch, I'd have one less thing to worry about.  Then I get a letter home from the school saying that her lunch account has a negative balance.  WHAT?  Molly's school has started using an electronic system for lunch where parents put money on an account and the kids put in their pin to buy lunch and snacks.  This is a great idea as far as I'm concerned, but we still have a bunch of lunch tickets that we were told to use until they run out.  If you read my blog on a regular basis, you know that Molly rarely buys lunch so we still have lunch tickets and use them when she buys lunch.  Molly has told me that the lunch ladies give her a little grief when she uses the tickets but that they will take them if she puts her pin in, which she is fine with.  Then last Friday she said that I need to call them because she isn't allowed to use lunch tickets anymore.  So, since I have the sick kids at home I didn't have a chance to call during school hours.  I left a message and I'm waiting for a call back so that they can tell me what they've been doing with the tickets that I've been sending in and what they want me to do with the tickets that I still have.  I would've expected a note or something that says that the tickets aren't allowed anymore.  Oh well, we'll see how this pans out.  Until then, we'll be making our lunches no matter what.

Our main entrée is a waffle sandwich.  We toasted two waffles, a little extra crispy so that they won't get soggy, and spread peanut butter on one waffle and maple flavored cream cheese on the other.  We then layered thinly sliced apples on top of the peanut butter and added the cream cheese waffle on top.  YUM!

Our fruit side is sliced strawberries.  These are very sweet, yet a little bit tart.  Absolutely delicious!

Finally our dairy/dessert side is Dannon Light and Fit Vanilla Yogurt.  A great end to a great lunch.

Breakfast Request

As I said in yesterday's post, I usually sit down with Molly and we discuss what she might want for lunch.  Today was no exception.  As we finished our dinner, Molly chimed in with, "Mom, I know what I want for lunch tomorrow."  I was thrilled.  I didn't have to think of anything to make.  Sometimes she'll say, "anything but peanut butter and jelly."  Sometimes she'll only say that she wants apples as her side.  But today, she told me everything that she wanted and a few extra things just in case we didn't have something.  Most days I kind of guide some of her decisions so that we can include all of the food groups and I had to remind her to include a vegetable today.  Other than that, this is all Molly.

Our main entrée is a waffle sandwich.  We toasted two whole grain waffles; a little more than usual so that they don't get soggy.  To that, we spread whipped cream cheese, that we flavored with maple syrup, on both of the waffles. We then added very thinly sliced apples and sandwiched it all together.

Our vegetable side is cucumber sticks.  Molly agrees that cucumbers don't have an overpowering flavor and that they will go well with our breakfast for lunch.  Plus, cucumbers are crunchy so they add a great texture to our lunch.

Finally, our dairy/dessert side is Dannon Light and Fit Vanilla yogurt.  Molly really likes this yogurt at just about any meal.  We added some fresh raspberries at Molly's request.  They are so flavorful and the crunchy seeds add a different texture to the creamy yogurt.