Can You Spot the Nugget?

Okay so I know what your thinking. What's that chicken nugget doing in there? Well in defense of the nugget, I believe it is an actual chicken piece breaded and fried from a small local restaurant here in town and no I don't mean Mickey D's. Not that it's a big deal to have a nugget every now and again, but in light of current events nuggets have become an issue. Sometimes my kids ask for junk food/ fast food as if it's a treat. I wish they didn't view it as some kind of reward but they kind of do. I like for them to eat real food made by me most of the time but certain times call for junk food such as driving on long trips, visiting grandparents, friend's house. Maybe it's those mentioned special occasions that have caused them to make the connection between special times and junk food. Hmmm... just something to think about. Well anyways, hopefully all that other stuff in the lunch will counter those big bad chicken nuggets.

Star Cutters

In an effort to make the boring not so boring I am once again drawn to simple tools such as the star cookie cutter. Everyone hits that day of the week where there isn't much to choose from for lunch. Today we have cheddar cheese sandwich, cottage cheese, pineapple rings with complimentary maraschino cherry and Dad brought home a little donut treat(thanks Dad). So not the greatest but not the worst right?

Taste of Summer Party

I recently found out about
House Party. This is a website that offers the opportunity to try some new products by offering to host a party with their particular product in mind. It was very easy, I applied to host a party and was selected as a host and the next thing I knew I received a big box of party favors and freebies to host a party for Kraft. I decided to make it a lunch for some of the moms I know and make it very kid friendly. Kraft supplied their new home style deluxe mac-n-cheese along with pizza, breadsticks, crackers, drinks and some turkey pastrami that I made into small sandwiches. The best part was I was able to give all the moms coupons for the products and some fun free stuff which they loved! This is a very fun thing to do and I would definitely host again. Besides it's a great excuse to get together for some food sampling and playtime with friends.

Pie and Star Wars

One of the things I look forward to when Easter rolls around in the stores is finding candy containers to use in lunches. These Star Wars candy holders work great as a small container to fill with whatever and they're really cheap too! So we have some wavy ham picks, pita bread and cheese, homemade sweet potato pie and a few small pickles.

Lunch Slump

I started taking pictures of the lunches I made to keep a photo record of lunch ideas and also remember what works and what doesn't. Sometimes I still feel like I could get a little more creative with lunch. This is an example of that. Ham and cheese cubes on picks, strawberries with yogurt dip and ants on a log. An advantage of putting food on picks for kids is that it is easy and accessible to them. When your kids only get about 15 minutes to eat(sometimes less) they need all the help they can get. I'm glad my kids can sit down, open up and start eating rather than stand in a long lunch line and be left with only 5 minutes to eat!