Happy Parade Day!

As I said yesterday, we have a fantastic parade in our little town for Halloween.  All the kids get dressed up, parade down the main street for all to see, go to the judging area, then get a big bag of goodies.  This is the beauty of living in a small town...tradition.
Our whole family had a fantastic time dressing up as the characters from the Wizard of Oz and hopefully (fingers crossed) we'll win a prize!  Here's a picture from the festivities...

*You may notice the the Cowardly Lion is missing.  The dog had a wardrobe malfunction.  He just didn't want to keep his costume on so we were fine with letting him sit out the parade.

Our main entree is a Trader Joe's Pimento Cheese Sandwich.  Molly requested this and we were so pleased because it was nice and easy for us.  We used Trader Joe's pimento cheese spread on a Trader Joe's middle eastern flat bread and cut it into triangles.  This is always a hit!

Our fruit side is a Granny Smith apple.  We sliced most of these up and then cut out a jack o'lantern face on a quarter of it just to keep with the Halloween theme.

Our vegetable side is mini peppers.  Again, we sliced up most of these.  We used a yellow and an orange pepper.  Then, we cut out a jack o'lantern face in half of one of the orange ones.

Our dairy side is strawberry yogurt.  Molly lights up every time we tell her that this is in her lunch.

Finally, we added a little something from the goody bag.  Yes, we usually wait until Friday for a fun treat, but we decided that since she was a real trooper for the long parade, she deserved a mini Kit Kat. ☺

The Night Before...the Parade

Our small town has a fantastic Halloween parade every year.  All of the kids get dressed up and parade down the main street for everyone to see.  They have a judges station and give out awards for the best costumes.  I've seen some of the most creative costumes ever in this parade.

This year, we are going as a group.  The WHOLE family is in on this theme.  We are going as the cast from The Wizard of Oz.  Molly is going to be Dorothy, her sister is going as Glinda (the Good Witch), her brother is going as the Tin Man, Daddy is going as the Scarecrow, even our dog is going as the Cowardly Lion, and I am going as the Wicked Witch of the West.  Some would say that character isn't much of a stretch for me.  tee hee! ☺

I am writing this post very late because I am still doing some alterations on our costumes.  This also means that I haven't had time to make Molly's lunch.  So, she will be buying pizza tomorrow.  I have decided that I really need to organize my weekends better because it seems to me that Molly is buying on Monday an awful lot.  I'm confident that I will have more time tomorrow to make her lunch for Tuesday.  Wish me luck!

I can't wait to report on the parade.  It is always such a great time and the kids are beyond excited.

Tooth Fairy Tale

As most of you know, Molly lost her first tooth on Tuesday.  I promised a follow up but got sick so, here is the follow up a day later.

There it is!  The missing tooth!  Molly is a little late in losing her teeth (almost 7 1/2 years old) but then again, she was just shy of her first birthday when the first one came in.  She is so happy to be just like everyone else.    I think that she was mostly excited to have a visit from the Tooth Fairy.  She woke up the next morning and it was like Christmas.  She was so excited to show everyone what the Tooth Fairy brought.  Here it is....

She got a certificate from the Tooth Fairy, a new Hello Kitty toothbrush, a small bag of tooth flossers, a Camp Rock lip balm and a one dollar bill that was folded into an origami heart.  She understands that the plethora of "loot" only comes with the first tooth and it will be a dollar from now on, as per her friends and classmates.

Now on to her Fun Friday lunch!  We were part of a photo contest through Laptop Lunches on Facebook and got a ton of inspiration from the other contestants.  Thanks for the ideas!!!

Our main entree/fruit is apple sandwiches.  We sliced a large honey crisp apple into thick slices, used a cookie cutter to cut out the core, then spread peanut butter on one side, Trader Joe's Fleur De Sel Caramel Sauce on the other and sandwiched them together.  We added a little gold star pick so that Molly knows what a star she is.  She needs a little extra encouragement for her spelling test.

*side note - We think that the Trader Joe's Fleur De Sel Caramel Sauce would make a flip flop taste good.  All you need is a spoon!

Our vegetable side is missing!  We are planning on grilled vegetable salads for dinner tomorrow night, so she'll be fine with missing her veggies at lunch.

Our dairy side is blueberry yogurt.  We have several varieties and figured that blueberry would be nice change.

Our Fun Friday treats are Trader Joe's Ginger Cats cookies and two Frooties Tootsie Rolls.  Molly adores the Ginger Cat cookies because they are very delicious and they help her nervous stomach.  Also, we went for our annual trek to Baldinger's Candy Store this past weekend so we had to include a little something from there.  

Have a great weekend everyone!  

Grilled Cheese on a Cold Day

Sometimes, even Mom gets sick.  I was the lucky recipient of some sort of stomach flu and have been laying low all day.  Big thanks to a few friends who helped me out today!  Tomorrow, the weather in Pittsburgh is supposed to be cold, windy and rainy.  Since I'm still not feeling all that great and the weather sounds perfect for a warm lunch, Molly is buying.  When I looked the menu, it looks like something that we might serve on the weekend for lunch.  Grilled cheese, yogurt, salad or vegetable, fruit and a Rice Krispie Treat.  Not too bad for a school lunch.  Nothing deep fried or drowned in butter/oil.

Hoping that I am the only one in the house that has this icky sickness since illness is the only thing that our children are happy to share with each other.  ☺

Hello, Tooth Fairy!!!

Today was a very exciting day in our house.  Molly's little sister was the snack person and had a blast sharing her fruity froggie face snack at preschool.  (See Below)  Then, we had dance class for both of the girls.  Finally, Molly had a dentist appointment.  She had a fantastic report, no cavities, plus her smile is perfect.  The dentist said that Molly's tooth was really loose but we could leave it and let it fall out on it's own, which Molly seemed happy with.  But, when we got to the car, she started crying a little bit.  She said that she was having trouble eating and that her tooth hurt in school.  So, back into the dentist office we went and had the dentist take it out.  Now, we are pleased to report that the Tooth Fairy, herself, will be visiting our house.  A full report will be included in tomorrow's post.

Our main entree is peanut butter and jelly.  We cut these into fall fun shapes, including leaves and acorns. (The acorns look a little like bells to us)  We figured that these would be easy to eat for Molly with her missing tooth.

Our vegetable side is sliced cucumbers.  We used our crinkle knife to make Molly's favorite shapes.  She said that they taste better when they are cut like this.

Our fruit side is green grapes.  We added a few plastic cupcake picks in the shape of leaves to match our sandwiches.

Finally, our dairy/dessert is the return of Molly's favorite Chobani Champions Verry Berry.  She doesn't know that we picked these up at the store.  We think that she'll be very excited to see this.  Almost as excited as she will be with her visit from the Tooth Fairy!

*These are the Fruity Froggy Faces that we sent in for the Preschool Snack today for "F,f" day.  We try to keep our snacks healthy and fun.  These are apples, with cream cheese balls with an added mini-chocolate chip for eyes and a piece of fruit roll up for a tongue.  They were a big hit!  Nothing was sent home but the container. ☺

Though.....we did have one flattened frog........ Whoops!!!  No worries, we fixed it!  HAHA!

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.

Buying By Choice

Since we are trying out buying once a week (or less), we are putting the responsibility solely on Molly.  She can look at the school menu and choose which day to buy or decide that she'd rather not buy at all that week.  Well, this week, the pizza looked too good to pass up.  I can't say that I blame her.  Pizza is one of my favorites too.  Part of me is very excited because we had a long weekend that was jam-packed with fun and I am very tired because of it.  The other part of me was hoping that she'd want to buy on Tuesday because her sister is the snack person on Tuesday so that means that I have to make lunch for Molly and a snack for 18 preschoolers.  I am thankful for the break tonight and hopefully I'll have things in order early enough tomorrow that I won't be overwhelmed.
Hope that everyone out there had a great weekend too! ☺

I Want Candy....Corn!

Molly asked for candy corn for her Fun Friday treat and so a themed lunch started with that one little request.  I was doing my best to figure out foods that looked like candy corn and went with the yellow, orange and white color scheme.  Halloween is right around the corner so themes like this will be running rampant everywhere you look.

Our main entree is savory candy corn pizza!  We used refrigerated biscuits, flattened them (keeping them in circles) and then topped them with shredded mozzarella cheese in the middle for the white, next is very orange mozzarella courtesy of a cheese stick for the orange, then shredded cheddar for the yellow on the outside.  We baked them up and then cut the circles into six pieces to form candy corn triangles.

Our fruit side is a mix of orange, yellow and white fruit.  We mixed canned mandarin oranges, canned pineapple and canned pears to go along with our candy corn theme.

Our vegetable side is a mix of carrots, yellow corn and white corn.  These were all from frozen steam-fresh vegetable packages.  We had a lot left over that will probably end up in a pot pie this weekend.

Our dairy side is a mozzarella cheese stick.  As noted above, the orange part is still mozzarella, but is colored orange.  Yes, there is no yellow in this part, but to quote the song, ♪♫"two out of three ain't bad."♪♫

Finally, our Fun Friday treat is THE actual candy corn.  We flipped a cupcake liner inside out so that Molly can see the fun Halloween theme then added the candy corn.  We are all for a fun treat but candy corn is pure sugar, so we went with a small serving.  The theme will make up for the lack of candy. ☺

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.

Buying Lunch

Tomorrow, Molly's school is serving macaroni and cheese.  We think that this is an acceptable lunch for a little girl with a loose tooth.  Molly really likes the school's mac and cheese and especially enjoys the soft breadstick that is served with it.  We are going to try to let her buy lunch about once a week if she would like so that Mommy gets a break and Molly can enjoy a hot meal.

Stay tuned for a fun themed lunch on Friday!

Loose Tooth

Molly finally, (at 7 years old) has her first loose tooth.  She got her first tooth about a week before her first birthday so the dentist said not to be surprised if she gets her grown up teeth a little later too.  I was talking to her about her day and as I was looking at her, I noticed that there seemed to be a small gap between her bottom teeth that hadn't been there before.  I asked her if her tooth was wiggly and she showed me, with her chest puffed out in pride, that indeed it was.

We made sure to give her some softer foods so that she has an easy time eating.  Our only issue was finding a vegetable that she would eat cold that wasn't too crunchy.  I offered edamame or peas but she wasn't interested.  At this point in time we're fine with no vegetables as long as she eats.

Our main entree is a peanut butter and jelly sandwich.  We used whole grain white bread, peanut butter and cherry preserves.  We then cut out small leaf patterns with mini leaf cookie cutters.  We're loving fall and the beautiful leaves so we are paying homage to them.

Our fruit side is unsweetened applesauce and grapes.  Molly requested both of these since they are nice and soft but still taste good.

Our dairy side is a twisted cheese stick.  Molly said that she missed this in her lunch today so we ran out and got some for her.

Our extra crunch is baby goldfish.  We figured that there was enough mushy food in here so a little crunch was a nice touch.

Finally, our dessert is low fat strawberry yogurt.  Molly said that she still likes vanilla but that strawberry would be a nice change.  She's so sweet when she asks for things kind of shyly.

Pizza Monday is BACK!

What a weekend!  Weekends like this make me wish that there were no Mondays so that we could keep having fun without having to go to school or work.  We had a fantastic time with great friends and family.  My brother, sister-in-law and niece (who will be one year old next month) came for a visit from New Jersey.  A bunch of us met at Soergel's Orchard for pumpkin picking and hayrides. We head to Soergel's every year as part of our fall routine and it is always a wonderful time.

Next, everyone headed back to our house for snacks and dinner so that we could all sit down and catch up while the kids played.  My husband and I really enjoy hosting gatherings and this was no exception.  Granted, we did have to clean like crazy people but the bonus is that our house is still clean.  It was so nice to learn new things about old friends and to watch my family interact with each other.  My niece is growing by leaps and bounds and it is so awesome to see the milestones that she is reaching.  She sure is a gorgeous little girl!  ♥ you, Em!

Today, we all met for brunch and said our good-byes.  It was sad but we know that we'll see them in just over a month.  We can't wait!

Now, back at it.  We are bring back pizza Mondays.  Our dinner was pizza when everyone came over and we had some left so there we have it.

Our main entree is Little Caesar's pepperoni pizza.  Cold pizza has to be one of the best lunches ever.  Molly's school always serves pizza on Mondays so we like keeping her similar with this choice.

Our vegetable side is a green salad with light ranch dressing.  Molly really likes the pizza and salad combo.  She also likes to dip her pizza in the ranch so it is a great catalyst for one of her other favorite combinations.

Our fruit side is red grapes.  These are very firm and juicy with a nice sweet taste.  Grapes are really delicious frozen for a snack if the weather happens to be on the warmer side.

Finally, our dairy/dessert is vanilla yogurt.  We haven't gotten a chance to run to Sam's club over the past week or so and that means that we don't have anymore of Molly's new favorite yogurt, the Chobani Champions.  She likes regular old vanilla yogurt though, so she'll be fine until we can get to Sam's.

Special Treat

We are so excited to have a beautiful couple of days ahead of us.  As I have mentioned before, fall is my absolute favorite time of year.  There are cool and breezy days, warm and sunny days and gray and rainy days.  Each of them has their own pluses.  The cool and breezy days are fantastic to spend time outside, running around and playing in piles of leaves.  The warm and sunny days remind us of the wonderful summer that is slowly finishing its long good-bye.  Finally, the gray and rainy days are perfect for cuddling up under a warm blanket and snuggling into a good book with a cup of hot apple cider.  The next few days are promising to be warm and sunny but not too hot.  We have great plans with family and friends and we just can't wait!

Molly will be buying lunch on Friday (per her request) so we gave her a special treat one day early.

Our main entree is a salami sandwich.  We used Genoa salami, pepper-jack cheese and mustard on whole grain white bread.  We cut the crusts off and then cut the sandwich into quarters and served it point side up.

Our vegetable side is red and orange peppers.  They are cool, juicy and refreshing.  The crunch on these is perfect too.

Our fruit side is more honey crisp apples.  Molly liked the way that we prepared them for today's lunch so we did the exact same thing.

Our dairy side is a cheddar-mozzarella cheese stick.  Molly keeps requesting that these be added to her lunch so that she can keep from being hungry at the end of the day.

Finally, our Fun Friday (a day early) treat is Fit and Active S'mores Mini Drizzled Crisps.  They are light, crunchy and sweet and do not taste like something that would be considered healthy.  Molly and her siblings are huge fans of these.

Fall Breakfast

Fall is by far my favorite season.  The weather cools down and we get to play outside in sweaters and hoodies.  We can buy fresh apples from the orchard in town and pick pumpkins ourselves.  We get one of our favorite beverages, apple cider, from the same orchard.  Football is in full swing and Halloween is right around the corner.  Mums, scarecrows, haystacks, pumpkins and corn stalks adorn the neighborhood as if welcoming fall.  My absolute favorite part of fall though, is the smell.  I lived in Florida and I would have to come home to PA just to get a big breath of the fresh fall air.  There is nothing like it.  I'm convinced that heaven smells like fall in Western Pennsylvania.

Our main entree is a waffle sandwich.  Our waffles are the new Kellogg's Limited Edition Eggo Pumpkin Spice Waffles.  They are so delicious!  These have a true fall flavor with lots of cinnamon and pumpkin.  We added whipped cream cheese to the center and made a sandwich out of it. 


Our snack side is Pepperidge Farm Pretzel Goldfish.  We figured that a little crunch and salt would be a nice addition to this lunch.


Our fruit side is a Honey Crisp Apple.  These are such amazing apples.  They truly taste like apple cider and the sweetness is incredible.  We chopped these into chunks to make it easier for Molly to eat them.


Our dairy side is a cheddar mozzarella cheese stick.  Molly said that these really help her to stay full for the entire school day.


Finally, our dessert is vanilla yogurt.  We tossed a few sprinkles on top for fun.  These are fall themed sprinkles and even have little pumpkins in them.

All Request Lunch

It was a busy day at our house today.  Molly had her picture day so there was some extra primping in the morning.  Molly's sister had preschool.  Then, Molly's brother and I had Mommy & Me.  Molly's Daddy started his new position at work today too.  After all of that, there was Faith Formation (CCD) this evening for three of the five of us.  Plus, it's garbage night.  One last thing, dance classes start tomorrow for Molly and her sister so they are about to burst with excitement trying to plan everything.  Whew, that was a lot for one day.  Now off to make Molly's lunch.  The wonderful thing about her mind going crazy with lots of fun things is that she tries to incorporate her lunch into her thoughts.  This lunch was completely by request and I'm sure that Molly will enjoy every little bit of it.

Our main entree is a salami and cheese sandwich.  Molly asked that we use salami, pepper-jack cheese, mustard and our whole grain white bread.  We thought it was a great idea.  We used  pumpkin cookie cutters just for fun.

Our vegetable side is carrots.  Molly is going through a big carrot phase these days.

Our fruit side is a whole bunch of red and green grapes, again.  Molly said that they tasted so good today, that she can't wait to have them for lunch tomorrow.

Our dairy side is a colby-jack cheese stick.  We were told that these really help to complete the meal when Molly is feeling extra hungry...and apparently she has been lately.

Finally, our dessert is a Chobani Champions Verry Berry.  Molly has had one of these for a few days so she was craving the sweet and creamy flavor.

Picture Day!

Tomorrow is picture day at Molly's school.  She is so excited.  We made sure to put lots of products in her hair after her shower this evening.  (Her hair is naturally curly so the more products, the better.)  Her outfit is all picked out and will be ironed shortly.  The perfect little corduroy skirt and a matching sweater twin set, plus pink tights and adorable brown shoes.  She's got it all taken care of from head to toe.  I confess that I did help her out a little bit with the wardrobe choice but she had it all put together for me to look at.  Gosh, it is nice to have her be able to help herself a little bit when it comes to picking out clothes.  Granted, some of her choices make quite interesting ensembles from time to time. ☺

Our main entree is a turkey wrap.  We started with a flour tortilla, added some whipped cream cheese to help everything stick, then layered smoked turkey slices and "salad" for crunch.  We rolled it up and then cut it into 4 pieces after cutting the ends off.  (The dog was very grateful for the ends that were thrown to him during preparation.)

Our vegetable side is red and orange peppers.  We are falling for fall right now in Western Pennsylvania and the season is in full swing.  The weather is cool, damp and crisp and the leaves are just starting to change color.  We used a small set of leaf shaped cookie cutters to make our peppers look like they are ready for autumn.

Our fruit side is green and red grapes.  We decided to mix it up a little bit so that Molly had some extra color in her lunch.  We think it's fun to see variety when eating a meal.

Our dairy side is a colby-jack cheese stick, just in case Molly is hungry after eating her wrap.  She has a very healthy appetite for a 7 year old and we don't want her to lose steam before the end of the school day.

Finally, our dessert is vanilla yogurt.  We tossed on a few leaf sprinkles to keep with our theme and to make her lunch that much more colorful.

Sub Sandwich

We found a FANTASTIC two day sale at a local grocery store today.  It seems as if they will make no money on this sale since there are so many incredible deals.  We purchased so many staples (ie: bananas, pineapple, lunch meat, cheese, bread, eggs, etc) and paid less than half of the normal amount.  We even found deals on things that we don't normally buy but couldn't pass up.

Our main entree is a sub sandwich.  The store was selling loads of lunch meat for $2.98 a pound so we stocked up.  We also bought some soft fresh rolls.  I'm usually a whole grain type of Momma but these looked so delicious.  We split the roll, added salami, corned beef and pepper jack cheese for one yummy sub.

Our vegetable side is cucumber slices.  We figured that with the soft bread and fillings, the crisp, refreshing and juicy cucumbers would  be a great compliment.

Our fruit side is grapes.  Molly's Grammy purchased these for us at the same store yesterday when they were on sale for 88¢ a pound.  They are nice and meaty grapes that are super sweet.

Our fun Friday treat is a red velvet roll.  The store had these on sale for $1.44 for four of them.  It is red velvet cake with cream cheese frosting, all rolled up like a HoHo.

Have a great weekend!

Ladybug Lunch

I was looking for a healthy snack for Molly's little sister's preschool class and I found some really cute ideas, including the strawberry mice from today.  I also found some really cute ladybug strawberries.  Then, I started to look for some cute ideas for Molly's lunch and I found a whole lot more lady bug ideas.

Our main entree is ladybug sandwiches.  We used Arnold Sandwich Thins Mini's and added salami, provolone cheese and mustard.  We cut a small piece of provolone for the face and antenna and attached them with a little bit of mustard.  (We think that they look a little bunny rabbit-like, but still not too shabby for our first try.)We dipped the end of a toothpick in food coloring to add the face and dots. *Someday we'll buy those food safe markers.

Our vegetable is carrot sticks, again.  Molly requested these.  We were a bit shocked since she usually isn't much of a fan but we are happy that she has changed her mind.

Our dairy side is a Babybel cheese.  We cut out a small circle for the head and smaller circles (we used a straw) for the dots.  Then, we used our toothpick/food coloring trick for the face again.  

Our fruit side is strawberry ladybugs.  We sliced a small piece of the strawberry to create wings.  Next, we stuffed half of a grape into the end of the strawberry where we removed the hull.  Finally, we pushed in a few mini chocolate chips for the dots and eyes.

Finally, our dessert is plain old vanilla yogurt.  We added some "ladybug dots" a/k/a, mini chocolate chips for extra fun.

There Are Mice In My Lunchbox!

Molly has been having a few issues at school with the other kids.  She's the kind of kid that worries about everyone else.  She gets worried that if someone copies off of her paper, they might get the answer wrong on their page if she gets it wrong.  Molly worries if someone else in her class gets in trouble.  It's to the point that she is confusing small and simple things at school because she's so worried.  We had a long talk about focusing on the plethora of positive instead of dwelling on a few negatives.  Hopefully she will find a few positive things in her lunch tomorrow.   

Our main entree is a pumpkin bread sandwich.  Autumn is in full bloom here in Western PA.  The leaves are changing and the weather is cooling down.  Everyone has their scarecrows on display and the apple cider is filling the shelves of the local grocery store.  We made this pumpkin bread for breakfast this morning and the kids got to have a warm slice with a little butter.  We had three very big smiles this morning.  Molly requested that she have this bread made into a sandwich with cream cheese and we were happy to oblige.

Our vegetable side is sliced carrots.  Molly isn't a huge carrot fan but every once in a while, she enjoys them.  We sliced these up and keep them in a container with water in the fridge.  This keeps them nice and crisp and makes them very accessible to anyone walking past the fridge.

Our fruit side is our Strawberry Mice!  We cut the hull end off of the strawberry so that the mice can face up. We added sliced almonds for ears and mini white chocolate chips for the eyes and a nose.  The tiny strawberry mouse came from our very own strawberry plant in the front yard.  Homegrown strawberries are very sweet and they never grow to be that big but the flavor is deliciously intense.  Hopefully, these will put a smile on our Molly's face.  There is one to represent each person in our family. ♥

We added a Colby Jack cheese stick for some extra protein and in case the mice need a little snack because we all know how much mice like cheese.  ☺

Finally, our dairy/dessert is a Chobani Champions in Verry Berry.  We figured that it would be a good compliment to the rest of Molly's lunch.

Something New

Our local grocery store intrigued me today by offering new and exotic fruits.  I had seen some of them before and some, I hadn't.  Most of these were pretty expensive and if I'm going to dip deep into my budget, I want to make sure that I at least like it.  We went for the least expensive variety of "fruit" so that we could all try it without breaking the bank.

Our main entree is mini-ravioli pasta salad.  We cooked up a bunch of Trader Joe's dried mini cheese ravioli for dinner and saved some for Molly's lunch.  We added black olives, light shredded mozzarella, turkey pepperoni and light Italian dressing.

Our vegetable side is a garden salad.  Molly loves black olives so we added a few extra to her salad.  On the side is more of her favorite light Italian dressing.  We figured it would go nicely with the pasta salad.  We added a Babybel cheese on top for extra protein.

Our fruit side is our "something new".  We decided on a pepino melon.  These originate mostly in South America and are really neat looking.  The pepino melon is small, like a large lemon and the skin is a pale yellow with dark purple stripes.  Pepino translates into cucumber and it is a very good translation.  The flavor (minus the skin, which is edible but not very tasty) is a mix between cucumber, pear and banana.  Very interesting.  The texture is soft, like a cantaloupe so it was easy to cut with our crinkle knife.  We're excited to see what Molly's verdict it.

Finally, our dessert is unsweetened applesauce.  Molly has been asking for this lately and since the pepino melon isn't all that sweet, we figured that it would be a nice addition to her lunch.

Papa John's

I promise that this will not become the normal Monday lunch. Molly wanted to buy lunch last Monday and tonight, I am just too wiped out to put forth any effort to make her lunch. It was a super busy week last week and the weekend was just as busy. Mom needs a break tonight so Molly will be buying her lunch (Papa John's Pizza) tomorrow.

F-R-I-D-A-Y!

Final school day of the crazy week.  Molly is very excited to go to school tomorrow because she is so confident about her spelling test tomorrow.  She's been practicing all week and even the hard words aren't intimidating her.  Plus, it's Fun Friday!

Our main entree is a salami sandwich.  We used the new Sara Lee Iron Kids bread.  It has extra iron and calcium that are important for a kid's diet.  We added, salami, pepper-jack cheese and mustard then used a large heart cookie cutter and a micro heart cookie cutter to show our love for our girl.

Our vegetable side is a tossed salad.  Molly's Daddy helped out and made this for her.  There are black olives and light Italian dressing accompanying it.

Our fruit side is sliced strawberries.  We bought these today and the smell incredibly sweet and delicious.  Molly's Daddy also helped out with these by slicing them up just for his little girl.

Finally, our Fun Friday treat is a Little Debbie Pumpkin Delight cookie.  These are only around once a year so we have to take advantage of that awesome fall flavor.

Bacon and Eggs

Molly's Daddy and I had a fantastic date night tonight.  We had some great food and drinks at Olive or Twist and then went to the Benedum Center to see Wicked.  It was incredible.  I would highly recommend it to anyone!
Now that we are home, it's time to get cooking.  But, I prepared ahead of time so that all of the cooking was done and it would be easy to put together.  You may be asking...bacon and eggs for lunch?  We thing that this lunch is a "grand slam" of a lunch!

Our main entree is pancakes.  We cooked these up for lunch today for Molly's siblings and saved a few for her.  We cut them out with a small flower shaped cookie cutter.  They are being served with with maple flavored cream cheese (we included a small spreader to help with this) with a little extra maple syrup on top for good measure.

Our fruit side is no sugar added applesauce.  We figured that if Molly isn't too excited about the maple cream cheese, she can dip her pancakes in this.

Our protein side is bacon and eggs.  It is a hard boiled egg that has been cut into quarters with a crinkle knife.  Then, we tore two slices of turkey bacon into manageable pieces.  We'll see how this goes over and it may be something that is added again.

Finally, our dairy/dessert side is Chobani Champions Verry Berry.  A great end to a yummy lunch.

Blog Face Lift

A great friend of mine gave my blog a face lift!  We think it looks pretty awesome and we think that April is a design genius!  Let us know what you think.  Thanks again, April.

Molly's lunch today was planned way in advance today since our schedule is so packed this week.  I made some of our healthy banana bread, prepped the fruit and veggies for the week and relied on Molly's favorite yogurt and cheese sticks to round it out.

Our main entree is a banana bread sandwich.  We made our healthy banana bread recipe, sliced two pieces and spread cream cheese in the middle.  Then, we cut it into three manageable pieces to make it easier for Molly to handle.

Our vegetable side is sliced cucumbers.  We usually go for the seedless English cucumbers but out buddy Joe at the produce stand had regular cucumbers so that is what we're serving tomorrow.

Our fruit side is a large prune plum.  This particular plum is extra sweet.  We may have had a sample while slicing it up.

Our dairy side is a colby jack cheese stick.  We figured that Molly might need a little extra energy to get through the day.

Finally, our dessert is a Chobani Champions Honey-Nana Greek yogurt.  We figured that we'd stick with the banana theme when choosing this variety.

Classics Are Always Good

This is a very busy week at our house.  The girls started Faith Formation (a/k/a CCD) tonight and their Daddy is a Catechist (teacher) at the church so everyone was really excited to get things started.  This weekend is the semi-annual Consignment Sale at Molly's little sister's preschool so I will be busy helping there this week.  Also, Molly's Daddy and I are lucky enough to be seeing Wicked this week in downtown Pittsburgh.  It is one of my all time favorite Broadway musicals and the theaters here in Pittsburgh are amazing.  There is not a bad seat in either Heinz Hall or the Benedum Center.  We have something on the calendar everyday this week but, we will do our best take a breath and enjoy it.  ☺

Tomorrow's lunch started out with a general idea for sides but I didn't think of the main entree until I was almost done with everything else.  Then it hit me, nothing is better than a classic!

Our main entree is a peanut butter and grape jelly sandwich.  PB&J is good any day of the week.  We used whole grain white bread, added the peanut butter, Trader Joe's No Sugar Added Grape Jelly and used a large butterfly and a small butterfly cookie cutter to cut them out.

Our vegetable side is a green salad.  We added a few pieces of red and orange bell pepper and some black olives.  We are serving Ken's Steak House Light Italian Dressing on the side.  We've also added a Babybel Cheese to this container for some extra protein.  We used a micro cookie cutter to cut out a heart on the wax outer layer.

Our fruit side is a sliced McIntosh apple.  It's that time of year here in Western Pennsylvania.  There are apples and pumpkins galore!  These McIntosh apples are petite with a wonderful sweet and tart flavor.

Finally, our dairy/dessert is a Chobani Champions Greek Yogurt in Verry Berry.  Molly will be so excited when she sees this.  She has really taken a liking to these and isn't seeming to get bored with them.  This makes us very happy since they are so good for her.

Hamburgers and Hot Dogs

Over the summer, our church has their annual festival with great games, delicious food and fun raffles.  This year, Molly was the lucky winner of what we are referring to as "The Meat Basket."  It was a huge raffle basked filled with Heinz products, including ketchup, mustard, BBQ sauce, Heinz 57 sauce and several others.  It also came with a gift certificate for Tom Friday's freezer special with over 40 pounds of different meats including hamburgers and hot dogs.

Well, today we had a "meat party" at Grammy and Papa's house to commemorate their new pool and Molly's big win.  We had lots of friends over and enjoyed hamburgers and hot dogs, along with many other delicious sides, pulled pork and chicken.  I was in charge of the dessert so I stuck with the theme and made hamburger and hot dog cupcakes...but don't worry, there isn't any meat in them.

We made yellow cupcakes and put cream cheese canned frosting on top, plus a few black and gold sprinkles (or Jimmies, if you are from Pittsburgh) to help cheer on our Steelers.  Then the fun part....the hamburgers and hot dogs.

For the hamburgers, we used Nilla Wafers for the bun and a new Oreo Peanut Butter Fudge Creme for the hamburger. (these are delicious, by the way)  We softened a lemon Starburst and flattened it out for the cheese.  On top of the cheese, we used red piping gel for our "ketchup" and then some green frosting piped out with a leaf tip for lettuce.  We used frosting to stick our layers together then added the top Nilla Wafer bun and piped a few white "sesame seeds" on top with frosting.

For the hot dogs, we used caramel squares for the actual dog.  These are very pliable so we rolled them into little hot dogs with our hands.  We cut a circus peanut in half on the bottom and used these for our buns.  We added the hot dog to the bun and then piped some red piping gel on top for our "ketchup" topping.  

It was pretty simple and very well received.  The party was a hit and a good time was had by all.  So much so that everyone is tired and ready to head to bed early instead of making lunch tomorrow.  Therefore, Molly will be the lucky recipient of one of her favorite school lunches, Papa John's Pizza.  The first of several, but not many bought school lunches.

First Full Week Friday

It's finally Friday!  This week seems to have gone slowly because we are just getting back into our routine so there were plenty of  hiccups.  We are looking forward to a great weekend and some time off.  The great thing about Elementary School is that there usually isn't any homework on the weekend.  Happy Friday everyone!

Our main entree is a repeat of today, salami sandwiches.  Molly went nuts over these and asked for them again, plus she wanted more of them, so we added more.  She said that they were so good and that she could have eaten a "whole bunch more" of them.  So, again it is our Wonder Smart White Bread with Genoa Salami, Pepper-Jack Cheese and mustard, cut with a fun cookie cutter.

Our vegetable side is cucumbers.  This was requested by Molly since she hasn't had them in a while.  She always says how great they taste in her lunch.

Our fruit side is a clementine.  We had these for our dessert after dinner tonight and Molly made the request to have them in her lunch tomorrow.  She said that they are extra sweet.

Our dairy side is a Colby-Jack cheese stick.  This is just in case she's still hungry after everything else.  We think that Molly might be going through a little bit of a growth spurt.

Finally, our Fun Friday Treat is ThinAddictives Cranberry Almond Thins.  These are similar to biscotti but much more thin.  They have a wonderful crunch and a great flavor.  Molly's Grammy purchased these and Molly has been begging to have them in her lunch so we've been waiting for Friday and a nice treat.

In a Pinch Lunch

My day started very early this morning.  Molly's brother was up before the sun but that allowed extra snuggle time with him.  Tonight, I went to see The Help with my Mom.  WOW!  It was incredible and I would recommend it to anyone.  I got home late and just made Molly's lunch.  I grabbed the things that I had already prepped and threw it all together.  Now, I'm writing this post and then going straight to bed because I'm sure tomorrow morning will be here before I know it.

Our main entree is a salami sandwich.  We used our Wonder Smart White Bread and added Genoa Salami, Pepper-Jack Cheese and mustard.  Then we used our fluted cookie cutter and Molly has finger sandwiches for lunch.

Our vegetable side is a rainbow of bell peppers.  They were a hit on pizza day so we were excited to have them already prepped so that we could quickly add them.

Our fruit side is a peach.  We cut it in half, removed the pit and then sliced it.  I think Molly might dip it in her yogurt.

Finally our dairy/dessert is another Chobani Champions in the Very Berry variety.  It's still on the favorite list so that's what we're putting in her lunch box.

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. ☺

Pizza Lunch

This summer, Molly's Grammy and Papa had a pool put in their back yard.  It is gorgeous!  The weather today was so nice that Grammy called up to see if we wanted to visit her for a swim after school...and that's exactly what we did.  All three kids were in their glory and enjoyed every minute of it.  Also, all three of them ate huge dinners afterward since they had been swimming so hard.  By the time we got home, they were all ready for bed and now it's time for Mommy and Daddy to get things ready for tomorrow.

Our main entree is a pepperoni pizza.  We usually do this on a Monday but since we had the leftovers that Molly liked, we put it off till Tuesday.  We used our favorite Trader Joe's Middle Eastern Flat Bread as our crust, added sauce, mozzarella made from 2% milk and turkey pepperoni, baked it up and sliced it into pieces that would fit into Molly's lunch box.

Our vegetable side is a rainbow of bell peppers.  We talked about these in yesterday's post.  We got them from Joe at the new produce stand down the road from us.  They are very crunchy and sweet.

Our fruit side is a prune plum, also purchased from Joe.  These things are huge.  Their flavor is sweet and tart with tons of juiciness.

Finally, our dairy/dessert is Chobani Champions Honey 'Nana.  Molly requested this because she enjoyed the other one so much today. We think it might keep her fuller as well.

Leftover Lunch

We have an awesome new produce stand within walking distance to our house and we couldn't be happier.  Joe has a great variety of products and his prices are incredible.  I purchased a 3 pound bag of green grapes, 3 cucumbers, 4 large multi-colored peppers, a 2 pound bag of onions, 6 peaches, 4 large prune plums and a large eggplant, all for $12.  He even threw in a different type of red pepper so that we could try it.  We have been enjoying this new place for the past several weeks and we are very thankful that we can walk down the street, 7 days a week, and get fresh fruits and vegetables at a very reasonable cost.

After saying good-bye to Joe, I ran to Sam's Club to get the rest of the week's shopping finished.  When I arrived home, I started cleaning my fruits and vegetables, chopped them up and then put them in containers in the refrigerator.  This will make it so much easier when preparing meals or when the kids want a snack.  It made making dinner this evening much easier.  Which brings us to Molly's lunch...leftovers.

Our main entree is Curry Chicken Salad.  I put the recipe below in case anyone wants to try it.  (The photo doesn't do it justice) This is a very flavorful and nutritious alternative to a regular chicken salad.  It is loaded with fruit, protein and dairy so it keeps you full much longer than you might expect.  We are serving this with round butter crackers.  We offered Molly some smaller multi-grain crackers that she normally loves, but she chose these instead.

Our vegetable is a pickling cucumber sliced into spears.  This was the last one of these left because our refrigerator got a little too cold and froze two others.  We were still very happy to have this one though.  They are so crunchy and the flavor is very mild.  The skin is even less firm than a regular cucumber so it is easier for a child to bite through.

Our fruit, well, is in our chicken salad.  It's loaded with green grapes and honey gold apples.  It gives a great sweet but not too sweet taste, nice texture and fills the salad so that it feels like you are eating a lot.

Finally, our dairy/dessert is Chobani Greek yogurt.  We found these Chobani Champions in our run to Sam's Club today.  They are tailored to kids so they are a little smaller and they are premixed so that the kids can just dig right in.  This was our dessert with dinner tonight and all three kids really enjoyed them.  The flavors available to us were Very Berry and Honey-Nana.  Molly chose the Honey-Nana tonight and wanted the Very Berry for her lunch.

Curry Chicken Salad

4 c. shredded chicken (we used a rotisserie chicken and chunked it up but we've also used chicken breasts)
1 c. chopped apples
1 c. grapes (halved)
1/4 c. chopped celery
1/4 c. slivered almonds

Mix together in a large bowl.

In a small bowl, combine...
1 c. plain greek yogurt (we used Chobani)
1/4 c. light mayonnaise
2 TBSP curry powder
salt and pepper to taste

Mix chicken salad with dressing and serve on a bed of lettuce, with crackers or on flatbread.  Tasted great the next day if you have any leftovers.

1st Fun Friday

In our house, like many, we are trying to cut back on sugar.  We have yogurt or fruit for dessert.  (Grilled peaches were a huge hit this summer.)  We are trying to make our own recipes with less sugar and encouraging healthier snacks.  So far, we've been pretty successful.  That being said, we are realistic and understand that a special treat once in a while is a good thing...a really good thing.  So, we are carrying on our tradition of giving Molly a special "Fun Friday" treat.

Our main entree is a banana bread sandwich.  We tweaked our original healthy banana bread recipe by removing the brown sugar and using 2/3 cup of quick oats instead of the 2/3 cup whole wheat flour. (We kept 1 cup of whole wheat flour)  It isn't very sweet at all but the flavor is delicious.  It is much more dense and will keep Molly satisfied longer.  We spread light cream cheese and peanut butter (by request) on the banana bread then cut it into smaller sandwiches.

Our vegetable side is a pickling cucumber that has been cut with a crinkle knife.  These are incredibly crunchy and have such a fresh and clean flavor.

Our fruit side is two clementines.  These are much smaller than the varieties that we are used to, but the flavor is much sweeter.  Molly had some of these with her dinner tonight and requested them for her lunch tomorrow. We also added some dried cherries (in the tiny container) just to give her a little extra food.  She said that she ate her lunch today and was still a little hungry so we were happy to add a bit more for her.

Our dairy side is a colby-jack cheese stick.  We figured that Molly could use the extra protein to help fill her up and get her through the day.

Finally, our Fun Friday treat is a Little Debbie Fall Tree Cake.  Molly's Daddy loves the Christmas Tree Cakes by Little Debbie so he was very excited to see this new product. He even convinced me to purchase them by saying that they would make a great Fun Friday treat.  Daddy's a tricky one. ☺

Ham Sammy

Molly makes requests for her lunch on a regular basis and I am usually happy to oblige...if I have the ingredients on hand.  Molly requested a ham sandwich with pepper jack cheese, just like today's lunch.  Well, we are out of pepper jack so we are giving Swiss a try.  She has tasted it before but I can't remember whether she liked it or not.  I'm hoping that she does or she will be ready to eat everything in the refrigerator when she gets home.

Our main entree is a ham and cheese sandwich as requested.  We decided to use a flower shaped cookie cutter to make these smaller versions of one of Molly's favorite sandwiches.  Ham and Swiss with mustard is a good combination in our eyes, we hope that she thinks so too.

Our vegetable side is pickling cucumbers cut into sticks.  Molly had a little bit of a cucumber left over from her lunch today and decided to eat it when she got home.  Her sister wanted and bite and the crunch that came off of it was astounding.  Molly said that she just wanted the plain cucumbers in her lunch so that she can try and get the same crunch as her sister.

Our fruit side is a mix of strawberries and blueberries.  All three of our kids are berry-aholics.  They enjoy every variety and always ask for seconds.

Finally, our diary dessert is Dannon Light and Fit Vanilla yogurt.  We think that it may become strawberry and blueberry yogurt once Molly opens up her lunch.  She has always liked to mix things and make new recipes.

Snack Lunch

Molly's little sister started preschool today as well and tomorrow she is the snack person.  We had to add some of our extra snacks to Molly' lunch so that she can share in the fun.  Normally, we wait until Friday for a special treat but we feel like the first week of school is pretty special.

Our main entree is a ham and cheese sandwich.  It is in a different compartment than normal but we still managed to fit it all in.  We used Wonder Smart White bread, added some Virginia ham, Pepper Jack cheese and mustard.  Then, we used a new small apple cookie cutter and made four small sandwiches.

Our vegetable side is cucumber boats.  We bought some pickling cucumbers at the farmers' market and decided that they would be perfect to add a little something extra to.  We hollowed the cucumbers by removing the seeds then added some light cream cheese that has dill mixed in it.  Molly and her sister really enjoyed this combination all summer.

Our fruit side is a nectarine.  This one is especially juicy and sweet but still has that great tartness that nectarines always offer.

Finally, our dessert is edible crayons.  We found this recipe at a great blog... http://www.gourmetmomonthego.com/2008/08/runs-with-scissors-and-eats-crayons.html 
We decided to go with Trader Joe's Honey Wheat Pretzels, dipped each end with colored white chocolate and then added the labels available at the Gourmet Mom on the Go website. So fun and mostly healthy.

1st Day of School Lunch!

Tomorrow marks the 1st day of second grade for our girl, Molly.  She is excited and nervous all at the same time.  I remember not being able to sleep the night before the first day of school.  The adrenaline was enough to make me sick.  Molly can't wait to see her friends and meet her teacher even if there is some resistance on her part since she's such a homebody.  We are very excited to hear all of the stories that the day will bring.

We had a fantastic and busy summer but we are ready to get back at it.  We are ready for our scheduled days and the fun that weekends hold.  We are looking forward to an incredible year with lots of new adventures.

Our main entree is tortellini pasta salad.  Molly chose this for her first lunch because she wanted something that reminded her of the fun summer meals that we had.  The salad includes Trader Joe's Cheese Tortellini, turkey pepperoni, light pepper jack cheese, sliced olives and light Italian salad dressing.  This should keep her nice and full for the rest of the school day.

Our vegetable side may seem a little different.  They are called ground cherries.  They are actually tomatoes and a member of the tomatillo family, which is why they have a "wrapper" around them.  You just peel the wrapper off and pop the sweet little cherries out.  Ground cherries are very sweet and have an almost pineapple-like flavor.  We found these at a local farmers' market and we can't get enough of them.

Our fruit side is a sliced Granny Smith apple and blueberries.  Molly chose these and actually helped clean them and put them in her lunch box.  They are both tart in flavor and will offset the sweetness of the ground cherries.  It's kind of like opposite day. ☺

Finally, Molly chose Dannon Light and Fit vanilla yogurt for her dessert.  She said that she wanted to put a few blueberries in it and maybe even dip her apples in it.  After Molly left to get her backpack and outfit ready, we added a single Hershey's Kiss.  A simple reminder of the love that waits for her when she gets home. ♥

Have a blast in the 2nd Grade, Molly!  It's going to be an awesome year!

We purchased Molly's actual lunch box from www.laptoplunches.com

Final Lunch of the School Year!

WOW!  So, this is it, the final full day of school which means the final lunch of the school year.  What a year it has been.  We are so proud of Molly.  She has transitioned into an avid reader with some mad math skills.  She has grown about three inches in height and probably 5 pounds in weight. She is currently going through yet another growth spurt.  She seems like a different kid.  She has matured by leaps and bounds and doesn't seem so little anymore.

Each of her lunches have been a labor of love.  I've learned so much from her feedback and from suggestions of other Moms and Dads.  I feel so proud to have completed the blog for the year and I can't wait to see the fun and new things that next year hold.  A HUGE shout out to Laptop Lunches for making such an incredible lunch box that has allowed us to create these healthy and delicious lunches every single day.

For our final lunch, we are looking back at the very first lunch of this school year.  This is one of her ultimate favorite foods of all time. We LOVE YOU so much, Molly!  Congratulations on another successful school year!

Our main entrée is vegetable sushi!  Molly loves her sushi and we figured that we'd take Molly's Lunch Box full circle and end with what we started with.  We made some brown sushi rice, spread it on the nori and added light cream cheese, cucumber and carrots.  On the side we have the classic light soy sauce.

Our vegetable side is multi-colored peppers.  Molly would eat peppers everyday and she will as soon as they grow in our garden this summer.  We have little buds and the promise of some yummy goodies all summer long.

Our fruit side is a summer classic...watermelon.  We keep getting the mini watermelons because they are so sweet.  We think that watermelon is the perfect fruit to get Molly in the mood for summer.

Our final side is our dessert.  We found these Heath Chips Ahoy cookies and figured that they would be a fantastic Fun Final Day treat.  Molly really likes Heath toffee so she will be pleasantly surprised.

Finally, we gave Molly a special drink instead of her usual water.  Sushi is great with iced tea so we gave Molly some Snapple Mango and Papaya iced tea.  We think that she will be ecstatic with this choice.

*Thank you all for reading Molly's Lunch Box.  It has been so much fun to share my ideas and Molly's favorite foods with each of you.  Please tune in for some new ideas and delicious healthy lunches coming to your computer in September.

Last School Lunch

Molly begged to buy lunch tomorrow because they are serving popcorn chicken.  She has learned how to read so now she knows exactly what is on the lunch menu.  We agreed to let her buy lunch and then the final lunch of the school year (on Monday), she will pack.  She's going to be SO excited with her lunch on Monday!

Have a great weekend everyone!  Summer is almost here!

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! 

Pizza Wednesday

We can't have the end of school without an awesome pizza lunch.  So, even though it isn't our traditional Monday pizza, Wednesday is a good day for pizza.

Our main entrée is homemade pepperoni pizza.  We used our favorite Trader Joe's flatbread for our crust.  We added pizza sauce, shredded mozzarella and turkey pepperoni, then baked it in the toaster oven for a few minutes.  YUM!

Our vegetable side is cucumber sticks.  If you look back at Molly's Lunch Box, this is the most popular vegetable side because it truly is Molly's favorite.

Our fruit side is mixed berries.  We found some extra delicious strawberries, raspberries and blackberries at Sam's Club today.  Molly is going to be so excited to have these in her lunch tomorrow.

Our dairy side is a Colby Jack cheese stick.  Molly is going through a major growth spurt so the extra protein will keep her satisfied much longer.

Finally, our dessert is a very special Rice Krispie Treat that was "borrowed" from a larger batch.  Mommy made these for Daddy's co-worker's baby shower tomorrow.  She is expecting her baby boy in just a few weeks so we added some fun blue sprinkles.

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.

Pizza Monday School Lunch

Molly has just over a week of school left before summer vacation.  She asked if she could buy the regular Monday pizza lunch at school this week and that I make her a special lunch next Monday at the last school lunch of the year.  We were happy to let her get one of her favorite lunches for the last time as a 1st Grader.

Summery Lunch

Now that the weather has gotten much warmer, we're feeling the summer bug biting.  This means cool refreshing salads and simple sides.  We had a fantastic meal with wonderful friends tonight and one of our favorite things was eating outside.  Something about a great meal with great friends in the fresh air makes any stress of the day just melt away.

This made Molly decide that she wants to go summery for her lunch.  We were happy to oblige!

Our main entrée is a "big plain salad" per Molly's request.  She's so funny when she wants something.  Her eyes get wide and she can't come up with the words fast enough.  Our salad (romaine lettuce) is being served with light Catalina salad dressing.  We also added a few yellow tomatoes because Molly really likes them and she said it would be okay.

Our fruit side (since our main entrée is also our vegetable) is mixed berries.  We brought these to our friends' house as a topping to some vanilla pudding.  There were just enough left over to toss into Molly's lunch.

Our grain/dairy side is cheese toast.  We added some shredded cheddar cheese to a flat bread and melted it in the toaster oven.  When it cooled, we cut it into manageable pieces. We also added a string cheese on the side for some extra protein.

Finally, our fun Friday treat is two rolls of Smarties.  There wasn't enough room for anything else. ☺

School Lunch

Tomorrow, they are serving mac and cheese at school.  Molly really likes the mac and cheese at school and since it is the last time that they will be serving it this school year, she's buying tomorrow.  Not too many days left for our favorite first grader.  We're going to have to think of some fun things for our last few lunches. ☺