Practice for School

We make a few fun lunches over the summer but not every day.  Just before school starts, we make a couple of practice lunches. Mom can figure out what will and will not be eaten and we can be sure that the kids know how to open/close their lunch box goodies.

Molly and Bean had the same lunch in their Laptop Lunches Bento Ware Boxes.  

Our main entree is a turkey wrap.  We used a spinach and herb flour tortilla, spread some whipped cream cheese on it, added lettuce and honey roasted turkey breast slices.  We rolled it up and cut it into pieces for the girls.  We also added some cute little bunny picks.

Our vegetable side is fresh sugar snap peas.

Our fruit is a yellow watermelon.  We used our melon baller to make bite sized pieces.  We added a heart fork pick to this box.

Our dairy side is a Sargento Colby Jack cheese stick.

Finally, our dessert is a few Angry Birds graham crackers.  These were a big hit!

CJ is only 3 so he won't have a school lunch like the girls but we made something fun for him too.  

His main entree is a Pepperidge Farm Brown Sugar Goldfish Bread sandwich with Peanut Butter and Company's Dark Chocolate Dreams spread on it.

He has a clementine, yellow watermelon, sugar snap peas, pretzel sticks and Angry Bird graham crackers for his sides.  

School starts next week!  We can't wait!

Something New

We are trying something new in Molly's lunch tomorrow.  We purchased some chicken burgers a few weeks ago on a trip to Sam's Club.  They are really delicious plus, they aren't breaded and fried like the average chicken nugget.  We've ended up buying a lot more of them.  I've been eating them like a regular piece of grilled chicken during a meal or on a salad...YUM!  I've also had them cold and I think that they are so good that way too.  I'm hoping that Molly feels the same because she gobbles them up at dinner.

Our main entree is an Old World Kitchen Caramelized Onion and Swiss Chicken Burger.  We cut it into strips, like we do for dinner.  There is so much flavor in these that they don't need any kind of dip or spread.

Our vegetable side is sugar snap peas.  Molly went through a period of time when she wasn't a fan of these but luckily, she's gotten over it.  They are juicy and crunchy with such a yummy flavor.

Our fruit side is a MacIntosh apple.  We sliced it up to make it faster to eat.  Elementary kids don't have a lot of time at lunch so anything to help make it easier is great.

Finally, our dairy/dessert is vanilla yogurt with a few Trader Joe's Elegant Cocoa Pearls.  They are a little crunchy and sweet.

Fun Friday Lunch

Molly had an absolute blast at "Yo Vikings!" today.  She loved how the book came to life and the fact that the main character had such a vivid imagination, kind of like our Molly.  I'm so happy that we live in a city where a short bus ride can offer awesome theater, music and world class museums plus an incredible zoo.  The "burgh" sure is a great place to live.

Our main entree is turkey pepperoni, crackers and cheese.  Molly requested this just before bed tonight.  Sometimes, she's all about the finger food.

Our vegetable side is sugar snap peas.  These looked so yummy at the store yesterday, that we had to pick them up.  They are sweet, crunchy and juicy.

Our fruit side is a mix of berries.  One of our local grocery stores has raspberries 2/$3 so we loaded up.  We added a few blueberries and blackberries too.

Our dairy is plain old vanilla yogurt....but we added some fun sprinkles to liven it up a bit.  The weekend is almost here so we're ready to celebrate!

Finally, our fun Friday treat is an Archer Farms Organic blueberry fruit strip.  We purchase these at Target all of the time and they usually serve as an after school snack or an accompaniment to yogurt at breakfast, which means that there aren't any left for lunch.  We held on to one just for Friday.

*Happy Mother's Day to all of you Mommies out there!  My plan is to sleep in and that is enough for me.  ☺

Great Shopping = Great Lunch

Molly's little brother and I dropped the girls off at school this morning and headed to Sam's Club.  We picked up a bunch of fruits and vegetables as well as a few staples.  Everything is so fresh and delicious! The weather here was so wonderful that it felt like we were leaving the farmer's market in the spring instead of the store in the winter.

Our main entree is a salami and cheese sandwich.  We haven't had this for a while and the kids have been asking for it so in our cart it went.  We have Castle Wood salami and provolone cheese on our whole grain white bread cut into a heart.  (I can't believe tomorrow is February 1st already!)

Our vegetable side is sugar snap peas.  We saw a big bag of these and they are so tender and delicious.  They are a great alternative to potato chips because they are very crunchy and filling.

Our fruit side is a kiwi.  We just sliced this one up and fanned it out so that Molly can enjoy the beauty of God's creation.

Finally, our dairy/dessert is a new favorite, Chobani Champions vanilla chocolate chunk Greek yogurt.  The kids are saying that it's just like chocolate chip ice cream.  We say, BRAVO to Chobani for making a delicious and nutritious alternative to ice cream.

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! 

Trying something new!

Today was the last day of preschool for Molly's little sister.  Bittersweet and an absolutely incredible day.  The preschool has a carnival at the end of the year for their 3 year old program and today was the day.  We played games, painted faces, got tattoos (only temporary Grammy, don't worry), bounced around, fished for ducks and ate some yummy treats with incredible friends.

The fact that we went to the carnival meant that we didn't get a chance to do our normal Tuesday run to Sam's Club during the day.  So, when I picked Molly up from school, to Sam's Club we went.  Luckily for us, they were sampling the new Pepperidge Farm Goldfish Sandwich Bread.  I've seen these and have been wanting to try them so our timing was perfect.  Molly really liked them so in the cart they went and in the lunch box they are!

Our main entrée is a Pepperidge Farm Goldfish Sandwich.  We put a piece of colby jack cheese in between the sandwich slices and toasted it in the toaster oven.  Molly said that it will be like a grilled cheese and a quesadilla combined.  We think that she's right on!  We also tossed in a few baby Goldfish crackers because when a fish is in a school, he has to have company. (ba dum bum...cha!  haha!)

Our vegetable side is fresh sugar snap peas.  They are back in season and just as delicious as ever!

Our fruit side is a super sweet watermelon.  We found this at Sam's and we really picked a good one.  Very juicy and sweet with an amazing fragrance, this watermelon is a sign of summer and the wonderful things that it brings.

Finally, there wasn't much room for any dessert so we tucked a small package of Skittles in with Molly's silverware.  She might just jump out of her skin because she has gotten real desserts for two days in a row.  But she has been such a good girl that she deserves it.  Go Molly!

Pizza Again

It was a very busy day at our house today.  Mommy was a baking fool, the kids had lots of things going on and Daddy had his last meeting at church for the RCIA program with Uncle Greg.  (Congrats again, Greg!)  Mommy made Rice Krispie Treats for Daddy's meeting and cupcakes for Molly's little sister's preschool snack.  Molly's little brother had his 2 year check up today and he's a very healthy little boy.  Tomorrow is Molly's little sister's un-Birthday at school. Molly is big time into reading and now we know more about elephants and sharks that we ever did.  So, with all of the chaos, we decided to get some Little Caesar's Pizza for dinner.

ps - I'm also including a picture (see below) of the cupcakes for Beach Day at Molly's little sister's preschool tomorrow.  They were really fun!

Our main entrée is left over pepperoni pizza from Little Caesars.  Molly is going to be very excited to have pizza twice in one week.

Our vegetable side is sugar snap peas.  We found a very large bag of these at Sam's Club and they are so delicious.

Our fruit side is red grapes.  A re-play of some of the fruit from today's lunch.  They are very juicy and sweet.

Finally, our dairy/dessert is Molly's favorite Dannon Light and Fit Vanilla yogurt.  But, we've added a spoonful of strawberry rhubarb compote.  We grow the rhubarb in our back yard and make this compote to go with anything from pancakes to yogurt.

As promised, here is a photo of the Beach Day cupcakes.  They are yellow cake with cream cheese frosting. The "sand" is crushed graham crackers.  The beach towels are Fruit By The Foot.  We did a little frosting accessorizing on some Teddy Grahams for some fun in the sun style.  Finally, we added a drink umbrella for extra SPF protection.

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.

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.

Friday Already!

Did this week fly by or is it just me?  Don't get me wrong, I'm very happy that tomorrow is Friday.  This means that the weekend is close by and that Christmas will be here soon.  We drove around our neighborhood tonight to look at everyone's Christmas lights and decorations.  The kids were giddy with glee and squealed from one house to the next.  We are just enjoying every moment because it truly is amazing to experience Christmas when you have young children.  Their pure excitement is contagious!

Our main entrée is a whipped cream cheese and apple butter on whole wheat sandwich.  Molly has yet to try this combination but her brother and sister loved it today for their lunch.  She likes apple butter so I'm pretty confident that she will be requesting this sandwich again.  We used some star cookie cutters to make it fun.

Our veggie side is sugar snap peas and cucumbers.  These are both crunchy and juicy plus they're very tasty.

Our fruit side is a segmented Clementine.  These tiny oranges are seedless and sweeter than a regular orange. They are perfect for kids because they are small and easy to peel because their skin is very thin.  Plus, they are delicious and nutritious.

Finally, our Fun Friday treat is a homemade gingerbread cookie.  This was made by Molly's second cousin for our family Christmas party.  And WOW are they scrumptious!

Let It Snow!

December 1st came and so did the snow.  I knew that there was a possibility of snow today but I did not expect to look out the window this morning and see my van covered in the white stuff.  The chill in the air and the beautiful snowflakes falling are just another reminder of the Christmas season that is upon us.  This is my kind of winter.  Just enough snow to cover everything in a beautiful shimmer of white but still warm enough that you can stand outside and not freeze completely.  I did not care for "snowmageddon" last year with several feet of snow.  I'll take a little more so that we can make a snowman and that will do it for me.

Our main entrée is banana bread sandwiches with whipped cream cheese.  These are something that you might find at a tea party.  Molly has always loved to play tea party so we decided to pay homage to one of her favorite things during this lunch.

Our veggie side is sugar snap peas.  We are giving the salads a break for the day.  Molly really enjoys these sweet and crispy veggies.

Our fruit side is apple slices.  These will be a nice accompaniment to the banana bread sandwiches.

We also added a string cheese to add some protein and calcium.

Finally, we have Aldi Pfeffernusse Cookies for Molly's dessert.  These cookies are like gingerbread but lighter in texture and flavor.  They are chewy and yet have that little crunch from the white icing.  YUM!

Daddy's Going to School!

Shhhh!  Don't tell Molly but, Daddy's going to school tomorrow.  Last week, the student teacher sent out a note asking for parent volunteers to help with paper maché and Molly's Dad is jumping on that opportunity.  He had an extra vacation day that we usually save all year in case of emergency so he's going to use it tomorrow.  I know that Molly will be over the moon when she finds out.  I think it may just be her favorite school day ever!

To go along with this fun day, we've made a fun lunch!

Our main entrée is pizza!!!  We're channeling our Mummy Pizza and switching it up just a little bit without the olives.  We toasted a whole grain English Muffin (a little extra toasty since the sauce seems to make it a little soggy when cold.  But the extra toasting seems to do the trick), added some pizza sauce and then layered some pulled apart string cheese and toasted again.

Our veggie side is sugar snap peas.  Nice and crunchy plus a very refreshing flavor.

Our fruit side is mandarin oranges.  Very juicy and sweet, plus the added vitamin C that Molly will need now that the cold season is in full effect!

We tossed in a few flavored Frooties Tootsie Rolls for dessert.  Just a little extra something for our girl. ☺

Fun Friday Plus a Reward Lunch

Despite it being a shortened school week, it seems to have dragged on.  I think that Daylight Savings time is really catching up to us.  See, having a 3 year old basically cancels out that extra hour of sleep.  We still put her to bed at the same time but she keeps waking an hour early.  This has caused said 3 year old to get quite grumpy and defiant today which makes us even more exhausted.  Here's hoping that everything gets caught up this weekend!  At least Molly is pretty much back on schedule.  I guess that's the difference between 3 year olds and 6 year olds.

Now on to Fun Friday!  Molly just loves Fun Friday.  We are actually giving her some money in her lunch box for the school store.  She's been working so hard on her reading and sight words and she deserves a reward.  The school PTA has a store in the cafeteria on Friday where the kids can buy fun little things like pencils, notebooks and stickers.  I think it's a great way to help the kids understand how money works and the importance of rewards.

Our main entrée is a peanut butter and jelly with extra jelly, by request.  We were informed that the last few sandwiches were a little peanut butter heavy and more jelly would make them taste better.  Kids!  So, we have fulfilled this request.

Our fruit side is a honey crisp apple.  These apples taste so much like apple cider.  There is an extra sweetness and you can almost taste a little cinnamon.  Very delicious.

Our veggie side is sugar snap peas.  We're not sure how much longer these will be available so we are taking advantage of them while we can.

Finally, we have a special Fun Friday dessert.  We picked up some Oreo Cakesters earlier this week and we've been saving them for this lunch.  These are the peanut butter creme filled Oreo Cakesters.  A very yummy Fun Friday treat indeed!

Do Over Lunch, Sort Of!

Well, despite a few tears this morning because she wanted to stay home, Molly made it.  I didn't get a phone call or an e-mail from a teacher or nurse telling me that Molly was having a rough day.  When I picked her up from school it seemed like she had one of the best days ever.  She got every single one of her sight words correct on her quiz this morning and she is getting more and more eager to read.  Whew!  This is one of those parenting moments when I feel like I'm actually doing something right.  Yes, we still have a long way to go, but this little baby step is a pretty big leap in the right direction.  Way To Go Molly!!!!

Now, on to lunch.  Molly made another request for her lunch.  She wanted the exact same thing as today, not that I blame her, but we've decided to make a few healthier modifications.

Our main entree is a peanut butter and "jelly" on whole wheat.  Again, instead of jelly, we have the Trader Joe's Cranberry Apple Butter.  We chose a butterfly cookie cutter to cut out Molly's sandwich because she loves butterflies and it kind of symbolizes how much she is spreading her wings and learning to fly.

Molly suggested strawberry yogurt as one of her sides.  So, we put some Dannon Light and Fit Strawberry yogurt in for her dairy side.

The request of potato chips was made for a side but we've chosen sugar snap peas instead.  This delicious veggie is not as salty or greasy, just much healthier; plus they are just as crunchy.

Our fruit/dessert is some sliced Honey Crisp apples with a side of Tastefully Simple's Creamy Caramel Sauce.  

Whatta Weekend

Molly had an INCREDIBLE weekend.  First, she had two birthday parties on Saturday.  The first was a bowling party for our awesome neighbor.  Molly is a great bowler...on the Wii.  The real sport is a different story.  I think that they told me her score was 13.  But, she had a ton of fun nonetheless.  The second party was a girlie makeover, movie and sleepover party with her BFFs.  This was the most amazing thing to Molly because she had never had a true sleepover before.  They stayed up way past their bed time, partied like crazy and had an absolute blast.

When we picked her up this morning, we were off to another fun day with Grammy and Papa.  We met them for brunch at the Cheesecake Factory.  We had a great meal and scrumptious Reece's Peanut Butter Cheesecake to share between the seven of us.  After we finished eating our grub, we went to our perennial favorite place for pumpkins, Soergel's Orchards.  We picked a pumpkin, took a hay ride and enjoyed the yummiest apple cider.

After a long weekend, Molly was in bed by 7:15 tonight so that she will be well rested for a new week at school. Hopefully a nice lunch will help a little too.

Our main entrée is a plain old peanut butter and strawberry jam on whole wheat sandwich.  We used a butterfly shaped cookie cutter for our large sandwich and a heart shaped micro cookie cutter for the mini sandwiches.

The vegetable side is a mix of sugar snap peas and crinkle cut carrots.  Both of these are nice and crunchy with a sweet and refreshing flavor.

For our fruit, we are serving a fresh apple straight from the orchard.  Molly helped to pick these apples.  They were in a bin as opposed to on a tree but she can still say that she picked them.  We think that she will definitely be happy with this selection.

Dessert is a small amount of Tastefully Simple Twisty Grahams.  These are a nice sweet little treat.  They taste like cinnamon graham crackers but a little bit more solid and crunchy like a bread stick.

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.

Wheeling Wednesday

Molly requested just a mustard sandwich for lunch tomorrow.  Just mustard, maybe some pepper jack cheese, but just plain yellow mustard.  The sophisticated palate of a 6 year old never ceases to amaze me.  ☺  I said that I would be happy to make a plain yellow mustard sandwich, maybe with some pepper jack cheese, but I also had another suggestion up my sleeve.  I let her know that I had purchased some whole grain tortillas at Trader Joe's today and that I'd be happy to make a pinwheel sandwich for her instead.  This suggestion was greeted by a giant smile and a small amount of jumping.  Hence, "pin"wheeling Wednesday.

Our main entrée is a delicious and colorful pinwheel sandwich.  We flavored some light cream cheese with the Dried Tomato and Garlic Pesto mix from Tastefully Simple.  We spread some of this cream cheese on a Trader Joe's whole grain flour tortilla with flax seeds, then added some baby spinach and thinly sliced turkey.  We rolled up the tortilla and then sliced it into small pinwheels.

The veggie side is sugar snap peas.  This is such a versatile vegetable.  It can be eaten raw or steamed.  There is a very different flavor depending on how it is prepared.  The raw preparation yields a very sweet, crunchy and juicy flavor.  The steamed version makes the sugar snap pea nice and soft with just a little bit of crunch.  It is still sweet but a much more mild flavor.

Molly requested just pineapple for her fruit.  We skewered some fresh pineapple on reusable plastic lollipop sticks so that Molly could have her other "just" request.  (Hey, its yellow like mustard and its "just" pineapple, so I think she'll be pretty happy.)

For dessert, we added a few Cinnamon Schoolbook Cookies from Trader Joe's.  These cookies are not only cute, but very tasty.  We made sure to put the "M" right on top so that Molly could see her favorite letter.