All Request Lunch

Most of the time, I ask the girls if they want anything in particular and tonight was no different.  This time, they both chose different things so Daddy helped to get things started while I was at run club.  Team work!

Molly's main entree is pasta salad.  It's whole grain penne pasta with a little bit of salami, mozzarella cheese, red peppers and light Italian dressing.  

Bean's main entree is peanut butter and jelly.  Molly's vegetable side is in her pasta, Bean's is an orange pepper on the side.  We also added a cheese stick to Bean's.

Our fruit side is strawberries.  We added a little sunflower pick to this container.

Finally, our dairy/dessert is vanilla yogurt.  We added some mini chocolate chips that have fun colors on them.

Our little notes are from Lunchbox Love.  They went through a lot with Hurricane Sandy and they are doing a wonderful thing by donating to victims.  Here's their story.  http://bit.ly/W6YqfG  When you order, use the code MOLLY to save 15%.

Butterfly Lunch

We were inspired by our friend Michelle at Creative Food.  She made an awesome butterfly lunch, two of them actually, and we realized that we had the same pasta that she used.  The wheels started turning and now we have a fun lunch for the girls.

Our main entree is a buggy pasta salad.  We cooked the pasta from a box of Back to Nature Crazy Bugs Macaroni and Cheese, drained it and cooled it.  (We are saving the cheese packet for our next movie night to jazz up our popcorn.)  Next, we added marinated mozzarella balls, tomatoes and some light Italian dressing.  YUM!

Our vegetable side is crinkle cut cucumbers.  (say that three times fast!)

Our fruit side is apple slices.

Finally, our dairy/dessert is Chobani Champions.  Molly chose Honey-Nana and Bean chose Vanilla Chocolate Chunk.

Pantry Raid Lunch

It was a late night for us so we did a sweep of the refrigerator for Molly's lunch tomorrow.  Sometimes, leftovers and those pantry/fridge staples are all you need to make a yummy lunch.

Our main entree is pasta salad.  We used some leftover whole grain thin spaghetti, turkey pepperoni, black olives, mozzarella cheese and some light Italian dressing to make one of Molly's favorite lunches.

Our vegetable side is a green salad with a couple of small yellow tomatoes.  We added a small side of light Italian dressing to keep with the flavors of the spaghetti salad.

Our fruit side is a clementine.  We like to keep these on hand at our house since they are such a big hit with all five of us.

Our dairy side is a cheddar/mozzarella cheese stick.  Since there isn't a lot of protein in the spaghetti salad, we added this so that Molly won't get too hungry by the time the final bell rings.

Finally, our dessert is a Chobani Champions Chocolate Chunk Greek Yogurt.  Another favorite because it tastes SO good!

Busy Week, Yummy Lunch

Our busy week continues.  Well, Mom's busy week, that is.  Between training for the half marathon, cross training and the consignment sale, this week is flying by.  Molly's lunch was thrown together quickly so that Mom can get to sleep.

Our main entree is a pasta salad.  We figured that this would be a nice cool lunch for a warm day.  We added turkey pepperoni, a little mozzarella and some light Italian dressing to precooked radiator pasta.

Our vegetable side is baby carrots.  We added a small container of roasted red pepper hummus so that Molly could dip her carrots into it.

Our fruit side is green grapes.  We picked up a bunch of produce at Aldi today and these were part of it.  They are firm, juicy and were inexpensive.  Win/Win!

Our dairy side is a string cheese.  There isn't a lot of protein in Molly's lunch so we added this so that she won't be starving by the time she gets home.

Finally, our dessert is plain vanilla yogurt.  A simple and sweet way to end a yummy lunch.

Our First Giveaway!!!

Just over a week ago, I was contacted by the awesome Emily from Chobani Champions because I featured one of their new flavors in Molly's Lunch Box.  The wonderful people at Chobani Champions sent me a fantastic box full of goodies, (the Blogger Box!!) including samples of the new Vanilla Chocolate Chunk and Orange Vanilla flavors for our whole family to enjoy.  It was like Christmas!

     

They also sent me some great magnets that show off all of the Chobani Champions flavors!

They also sent me a LUNCH BOX!!!  Yes, ladies and gentlemen, you heard it right, a LUNCH BOX!

Now, I'd like to share the new Chobani Champions experience with YOU, yes YOU!!  All that you have to do is comment on this blog post to be entered into our little contest.  We'll have Molly pick two lucky readers to receive samples from Chobani Champions!  (US residents only, please)

If you are on Facebook, Like Chobani Champions!  They have great contests and ideas for different ways to enjoy Chobani Champions.

 http://facebook.com/chobanichampions

THANK YOU CHOBANI CHAMPIONS!!!!

Now on to Molly's Lunch!

Our main entree is a yummy pasta salad.  We cooked a whole box of whole wheat rotini as part of our dinner last night but we saved some for leftovers.  To our whole wheat pasta, we added mini turkey pepperoni, black olives, a little bit of cheese and light Italian dressing.

Our vegetable side is a plain spinach salad.  Molly enjoyed her salad today so much that she requested another for her lunch tomorrow.  We have her recent favorite, French dressing on the side, but just a little bit.

Our fruit side is red grapes.  We had these for our dessert tonight and immediately Molly asked if there was enough left to put some in her lunch tomorrow. 

Finally, our dairy/dessert is Chobani Champions Vanilla Chocolate Chunk Greek Yogurt!!!  This is one of our samples from the incredible peeps at Chobani!  Molly asked for the chocolate since she had the vanilla orange today.  THANK YOU CHOBANI CHAMPIONS!

*At CCD tonight, Molly received a small Nestles Crunch Chocolate Heart and asked to add it to her lunch even though it is not Fun Friday.  We were happy to add it for her. ☺

Thursday, By Request

We are looking forward to a fun weekend with more Fall traditions.  We're hoping that the weather will cooperate so that we can see some great fall colors, picnic and play outside.  The kids know that something is going on but I'm not sure if they realize exactly where we are going or what we are doing.

But, we have to get through the rest of the week first.  Molly requested everything in this lunch and it made it much easier to prepare.  So, only one more lunch to prepare before the weekend!  Can you tell that I'm excited? ☺

Our main entree is pasta salad.  We made some choo choo wheel pasta, added turkey pepperoni, provolone cheese, tomatoes, black olives and light Italian dressing.  This is a go-to lunch for Molly because she really likes any type of pasta.

Our vegetable side is cucumbers.  We used our crinkle knife to cut these up.  Molly had a huge smile on her face when I showed her.

Our fruit side is a Valencia orange.  This variety of orange is super sweet and juicy.  When I was living in Florida, Valencia oranges and Valencia orange juice was a must have in the fall/winter season.

Our dairy side is a cheese stick.  Molly requested this because she said it would taste good with the pasta salad since there was already cheese in it.  Interesting deduction but we'll take it.

Finally, our dessert is strawberry yogurt.  She has this the other day and really enjoyed it, so on the request list it went.

Lenten Lunch 5

This is a Lenten Lunch by request.  Molly really enjoyed certain parts of her dinner tonight and requested that they be part of her lunch tomorrow.  She also requested a pimento cheese sandwich, but I had something else in mind.  Turning a favorite recipe into a meat-less recipe is pretty easy; we added extra vegetables to make up for the lack of meat.

Our main entrée is pasta salad.  Molly's Daddy was making some angel hair pasta to use for his lunch tomorrow and we asked him to add a little for Molly.  To the angel hair, we added chunks of colby-jack cheese, green pepper, zucchini, carrots, olives and light Italian salad dressing.  We don't think that Molly will miss the pepperoni that we normally add.

Our vegetable side is a plain romaine lettuce salad.  We figured that there was enough variety of vegetables in Molly's pasta salad, that a plain romaine salad would be nice.  This is served with Ken's Steakhouse light Italian salad dressing, Molly's favorite.

Our fruit side is sliced D'Anjou pears.  We found these Argentinian beauties very inexpensively at Aldi today.  They are very sweet and juicy.

Finally, our Fun Friday dessert is sugar free/fat free vanilla pudding.  We added a few white chocolate chips and bits of strawberry to the top as an extra added bonus.

Overwhelmed 1st Grader

Molly is falling into the normal overwhelming feeling that most kids her age get into.  Today I asked her why she didn't remember something that I remind her about almost daily, and she said, "Mom, there is just too much to remember."  As a parent, I forget that she is expected to remember so much more than I ever did at her age.  My biggest worries in the 1st grade were what color to use on my next picture or how to spell my name.  Molly is reading, writing in a journal, doing more math than I did in the 2nd grade and has to remember things for science, social studies and the arts.  She even has a PIN for her lunch.  She has to remember her address, telephone number, Mom's cell phone number, Dad's cell phone number, etc.  No wonder she can't remember to keep her elbows off of the table.  Poor kid.  I understand being overwhelmed so I'm hoping that with a little extra love and encouragement, we can help Molly get through this information overload.

Our main entrée is one of Molly's favorites, pasta salad.  We had some left over whole wheat rotini from dinner so we added a few pieces of mozzarella, mini pepperoni and Italian dressing.

Our vegetable side is cucumber slices.  They go very nicely with the pasta salad and she could even add them to the salad if she wants.

Our fruit side is kiwi and blueberries.  This batch of kiwi is on the tart side but Molly and her brother and sister pretty much prefer tart things, like lemons and limes.

Our dairy/dessert is another of Molly's favorites, vanilla yogurt.

Hang in there Molly!

A Little Bit of Everything

Today, we decided to just toss together a few of Molly's favorites.  Molly, her brother and her sister would eat pasta everyday.  Whether it be macaroni and cheese or just about any other type of pasta with a little bit of butter and Parmesan, they would eat the stuff all day long.  Molly really likes pasta salad so hopefully today's lunch will indulge her pasta cravings.

Our main entrée is pasta salad.  This pasta salad is made with choo choo wheels pasta, pepperoni, string cheese and light Italian dressing.

Our vegetable side is a baby spinach salad with light Italian dressing on the side.  Molly might be getting back into a salad kick. ☺

Our fruit side is an Empire apple that has been cut into slices.  Molly asked for caramel dip to go with it but we didn't have any.  Time for a trip to the store.

Finally our dessert is a mix of some of Molly's favorite things.  We have mini marshmallows, dried cherries and peanuts.

Mother Hubbard?

This Mom really needs to go food shopping.  These past few weeks have been concentrated on Christmas shopping, family parties and sick kids so the grocery store has been the last thing on my mind.  There are a few staples that are always in our house but the refrigerator is looking like it did when I was in college.  There's milk, juice, a few condiments, some spinach, apples, eggs and a few other random things.  Luckily, I was able to make a nice lunch out of what was around.  We definitely need to make a run to the grocery store tomorrow.  We are in desperate need of fresh fruit and veggies!

Our main entrée is pasta salad.  The pasta is mini shells, they are really cute and pretty "meaty" for a mini pasta.  We added chunks of pepperoni and a string cheese stick that was cut into chunks plus some light Italian dressing.

Our veggie side is canned, no salt added, cut green beans.  Molly likes these warm and cold.  I just wish her siblings did too.

Our fruit side is apple slices.  Sometimes we leave the skin on because it adds a lot of nutrients.  Also, there are times when Molly asks to have the skin cut off.

Finally, we have Aldi Fit & Active strawberry yogurt covered raisins for dessert.  These are a delicious and healthy dessert.

Fantastic Friday!

September is almost over and that means that life is starting to settle down a little bit.  We are getting into our routine and everyone is getting used to the daily grind.  All of the beginning of school hoopla is complete and the calendar has a few more open spots than before.  These past few weeks have been so busy that I'm glad for the break.  TGIF doesn't even begin to explain my love of Friday this week. ☺

Our main entrée is a cold cheese tortellini pasta salad with light Italian dressing.  Molly really likes pasta salad so we decided to switch it up a little bit and use tortellini.

We've chosen orange wedges as our fruit side.  There is just something about the smell of a fresh orange that helps to perk up just about anyone.

Sugar Snap Peas is our vegetable choice du jour.  As it has been so many times before.  What can I say?  We really like sugar snap peas.

For Fantastic Friday, our special treat is a Little Debbie Pumpkin Delight!  Yes, it is that time of year again and we couldn't be happier.  This is one of the little things that is only available once a year and it is one of our favorite parts of fall.  We've added a few whole almonds to this compartment for a little extra protein.

Happy Friday Everyone!  See you for the next installment on Sunday.