One for Easter

And I mean it...ONE. I feel so guilty about feeding the big chic lunch this week, but we've had a bad week. First, I got sick, then the little chic got sick. It's been one big sickly mess of a week. I bought big chic a Central Market kid's lunch for Monday, she took a pb&j on Tuesday for a field trip and she bought lunch today. There's no school on Friday, so tomorrow is my one and only chance for an Easter lunch. And although I was SOOOOO tempted to tell her to just buy hot lunch again tomorrow, my mom guilt got the best of me and I made a lunch.
.
Mashed potatoes with meatloaf bunny (carrot whiskers and ears, cucumber nose and teeth, potato eyes with caraway seeds), Strawberry slices with cheesecake dip, Babybel cheese.

Hopefully I'll be a better mom next week! ;)

Orange Beef

My love for Weight Watchers recipes is no secret. I did Weight Watchers for a while after the little chic was born and found that the hubs and I really enjoyed many of the recipes. One of their books, Take Out Tonight, has a ton of great recipes and, although I'm not on Weight Watchers anymore, I still make many of the recipes. This orange beef recipe is from that book. I serve it with quinoa instead of rice.

Orange beef on quinoa, Blackberries, Sesame crunch

Banana Hot Dog

I still haven't been to the grocery store and as I was complaining about our lack of food, the hubs opens the freezer and says, "do you even know what's in here?" I swear that I do, but I have to admit that between our three freezers, we have a lot of food. He swears that I come up with our best meals when I go into it without a plan, but I think he just wants me to clean out the freezers. Whatever the case, I agree to "be creative" and use the food we already have. Of course, this includes the chic's lunches. She is one tough customer, but I do love a challenge!

Little chic's banana hot dog

I know I'm probably not the first person to ever turn a banana into a hot dog, but I thought it was a pretty neat idea. I tested it on the little chic and she loved it! I left the banana whole so that it doesn't get brown and gross before tomorrow. The big chic can add it to the bun when she gets ready to eat.

Peanut butter and honey on a hot dog bun, Babybel cheese and green beans, Granola bar, Banana

Now...what can I make for dinner with frozen green beans, an Amish bread starter, and chipotle chilis...hmmm...this could be an interesting week!

We're back!

I'm so sad that Spring Break is over. We had so much fun on our vacation, but I guess this is one step closer to summer and we are REALLY looking forward to the summer. Unfortunately, because we've been gone, lunch options are very limited. We haven't been to the store since we've been back. Between digging through the pantry and things that we brought back with us, here's what we came up with:

Tuna salad, Carrots, Cucumber slices, Whole grain crackers, Fruit leather, New York style crumb cake.

The Colorado Lunch

Spring break is next week! We are going to Colorado for Spring Break this year and the girls are brimming with excitement. The chic has woken up every day this week and asked me how many more days till we leave. She's buying lunch on Friday so tomorrow is her last homemade lunch before the break. I thought it would be fun to do a lunch based on our trip.

Van - quesadilla with whole wheat and blueberry tires and blueberry headlight (We're driving)

Girl's face - Monterrey jack cheese, carrot hair and nori eyes and mouth

Snow capped mountains - strawberries with a bit of honey on the end and rolled in unsweetened coconut

S'more - crackers with marshmallows and chocolate chips with a little peanut butter to hold it all together (Making s'mores is one of their favorite Colorado activities)

Edamame (Nothing to do with Colorado, but she had to have some green in her lunch! :) )

I hope everyone has a safe and fun Spring Break!

Mac and Cheese

Mac and cheese, Stawberries and blueberries, Dark chocolate cookies, Cucumber and carrots with ranch dip

We enjoy the occasional "blue box" of macaroni and cheese. I've tried the organic, whole wheat, healthy varieties, but none come close to the comfort food satisfaction of the original blue box mac and cheese. We probably have it once every couple months and everyone is always very excited when they see the box. When I was at the store the other day, I saw a new variety of the blue box that was half whole grain. We gave it a try, and really, there was very little difference in that and the original, and the half whole grain variety has 5 grams of fiber per serving. That's better than some granola bars. Yea, sodium is still pretty high, but I'm pretty vigilant about sodium in other things, so one box of mac and cheese probably isn't going to send any of my kids to the cardiologist.

Sandwich Rolls

These little sandwich rolls are always popular! Just roll out a piece of bread, top with fillings, roll up and cut. Easy and cute. Love it!

Sandwich rolls with turkey, spinach, and nectarines, Green beans, Cheese flowers, Strawberries and cream topped with chocolate disk.

It's Finally Friday!

Wow! It feels like this week has gone on forever. Chic had a field trip today where lunch was provided so I got a day off. Tomorrow though, she's back to normal. Turkey and cheese is always popular, so I figured it would be a good way to end the week.

Turkey and cheese on whole wheat, Cucumber slices, Ranch dip, Baby carrots, Babybel cheese, Nectarine slices with almonds

Wordless FOR Wednesday