Lunch box Round Up #4

Here are the lunches from the 2nd back-to-school week!

Quinoa & Rice Balls w/cheesy center, & a squirt of Braggs,
edamame, raspberry-banana puree cups, salad, dressing, tortilla strips

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The raspberry-banana puree cups may look like some kind of sugary sherbet, but it is literally just raspberries and bananas....pureed! It melts into a cool and refreshing smoothie-like consistency by lunch time. (Shhh..... don't tell the kids it's actually homemade baby food! :O) I just poured the blended puree into a mini muffin pan,* allowed them to freeze overnight, then transferred them to a freezer bag, and stored in the freezer, of course! It actually tastes a lot like sherbet. My kids love that they're allowed to have these when they ask for a snack and I say "Choose something healthy." I discovered this yummy recipe on weelicious.com.

*I used my mini muffin pan because it happens to be one of those silicone ones, making it easy to pop out the frozen fruit chunks, but you could also use an ice cube tray or silicone cupcake liners in a regular-sized muffin pan.

mini burgers & fixings, mini buns, pretzel crisps, triple-berry smoothie

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Buffalo Chicken Bites, ranch dip, watermelon, homemade chocolate chip cookies

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 I just tried these Buffalo Chicken Bites for the first time this week. I cooked them for dinner and saved enough for everyone to have for lunch the next day. They are so yummy! Thank you, Nikki at Pennies on a Platter for the recipe! I fell in love with the photo while browsing Pinterest.

Pasta Primevera, Parmesan cheese, mozzarella cheese, mixed veggies,
fruit-on-the-bottom raspberry yogurt with a drizzle of honey

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Banana Wraps w/pb&j, fruit sauce crusher, cucumbers, Annie's graham bunnies

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Here is one of the lunches I packed for Mr. Right, using last night's leftovers:

Stuffed Zucchini Cups, Annie's Organic White Shells & Cheddar,
 cucumbers, trail mix

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The cucumbers and trail mix can easily be removed to heat up the remaining food. Mr. Right loves Easy Lunch Boxes too! ;) I just made these Stuffed Zucchini cups for the first time this week. They were great! Thanks to Kalyn over at Kalyn's Kitchen for the recipe, and whoever pinned it on Pinterest!

Happy packing!

These containers are made by EasyLunchBoxes. <--- Go there to get YOURS!

Be sure to check out other lunch box ideas:

Lunch box Round Up #1

Lunch box Round Up #2

Lunch box Round Up #3

I'm linking up to the following blog parties: Click on over for more inspiring ideas! 

Easy Chalkboard Message Board {A Momsense Tutorial}

There's nothing I love more in home decorating than items that are versatile. That is especially true with this chalkboard sign. It can be used to welcome friends into your home, display Bible passages, inspirational or funny quotes, a birthday message to a member of the family, a joke or riddle, a reminder....... the list goes on and on. You can change it once a year, once a month, or once a DAY, if you so choose. And the fact that it's cheap and easy to make just adds to it's appeal. So I will tell you how you can make your very own. 

First, I went to Hobby Lobby during one of their 50% off sales and bought a metal sign. They come in several different shapes and sizes. I chose a square one. If you look at the tag closely, its brand name is actually "Square One." Clever. This sign was 1/2 price for $7.50. I already had the can of chalkboard spray paint which I had used for previous projects. I bought this can at Michael's for some astronomical price, due to my unusual love for chalkboards, but it has lasted me quite a while so I don't worry about it too much. 

Next, I took the paint and the metal sign outside, and gave the sign 3 light coats of chalkboard paint, 10 minutes apart. I then brought the sign inside and set it in a safe place to cure for 24 hours. Once dry, the chalkboard needs to be "primed" in order to be used. (Think of seasoning a new pan.) Using the side edge of the chalk, you just rub it all over to cover the entire surface, then simply erase it. That's it! The sign is done! Easy Peasy, right?  

And just when I thought my love for chalkboards was unusual, I discovered these:

                                                                         

and then shouted "Where have you been all my life?" Love. These. Markers. I do have a white one but I loaned it to one of my son's teachers to try it out since I heard she is allergic to chalk dust. (Oh, the irony!) So I didn't have the white one when I made the message board. They don't erase exactly like chalk. You'll need to use something wet, like a damp paper towel. But they sure are fun. They remind me of my teen years, working at the smoothie shop. Oh, how I loved to decorate our black dry erase board for the daily specials. [nerd alert] =)

So I hope you enjoyed this short tutorial and will consider making your very own chalkboard message board. 

But WAIT! There's MORE!  

It's also magnetic! That means you can display your pictures on it! Oh, the possibilities! Here's an example:

You can use it as a brag board. The photo on the left is my son (second from left) and his boy band, Sync or Swim. Just 3 weeks after forming the band, they performed for the school talent show and won 1st place! My son had been saying for a while that he wanted to form a band and actually perform for "real" people. He did it!  If you're interested in watching the live performance from the talent show, just click here. He's the second guy from the left with the black guitar.

The photo on the right is from one of my daughter's gymnastics meets where she won several awards, including 2nd place "All Around" in her age division. My husband and I were very proud of them for these accomplishments, I thought this board would be a great way to share it, and also remind them of how proud we are.

I'm thinking this versatile message board would also go great in a tween or teen's room.

How will you use your message board?





I'm linking up to the following blog parties: Check them out for more great ideas!

This one is just a pic.
Click here to get to the party

Lunch box Round Up #3

The lunches were a hit! They did vary slightly from the menu I posted at the beginning of the week based on what I was able to get from the store, and what I ended up having time to make. There were a gazillion things going on this week! So, without further ado, here they are:

Egg & Cheese Quesadilla, "fruit-on-the-bottom" yogurt,
baby pickles, Vanilla-Almond granola, homemade smoothie

I did add more yogurt but just wanted to show the cooked apples underneath. I peeled and chopped them, then cooked them in a pan on low-med. heat for about 6 minutes, along with a little butter, cinnamon, and maple syrup. The yogurt is organic french vanilla. 

This is a high protein lunch, perfect for the first day of school. 

All packed up! It's amazing what you can fit into the Easylunchboxes coolers!

Underneath the easylunchboxes container is an ice sheet (see this post for a pic of the ice sheets). On top, is the cup of frozen homemade smoothie, drink bottle and spork. And there is still plenty of room for extra snacks! What's amazing is that these coolers actually seem pretty small from the outside, but then when you start loading it up, you realize that they can hold a ton of stuff!

Ham & Cheese Roll-ups, cucumber slices,
oriental rice crackers, grapes, ranch dip, carrot bran muffin



Lots of different textures going on in this lunch. 

Blue corn chips, cheddar cheese, salsa,
refried beans, prunes, homemade smoothie

The prunes and the smoothie give a sweet ending to this otherwise salty lunch.

Mini Pita pizzas, zucchini & eggplant coins,
marinara sauce, black olives, kiwi, yogurt tube

Annie's Mac & Cheese, edamame,
steamed cauliflower, raspberries, pureed fruit pouch

I know that looks like a lot of mac & cheese, but it is actually just a 1-cup serving.

Soft foods for the tween who got her braces yesterday:
Cottage cheese, pureed raspberries (courtesy of Magic Bullet,)
pureed mixed fruit pouch, yogurt tube

So there you have it! 1 week down, 39 to go! They both said they liked all of their lunches. Of course, they did hear a lot of "What's that?" from their friends, but they've gotten used to it. Usually, it's because their friends don't recognize a particular food, or something looks gross and they want to know what it is. Eventually, their friends will be asking to try things from their lunches. This is NOT a bad thing. It's easier for a child to be open about trying a new food if their friend is constantly eating it.

I have a feeling that today's lunch will be a favorite for both (last 2 pics.) Stay tuned for next week's lunches. In the meantime, if you need more ideas be sure and check out

Lunch box Round Up #1
Lunch box Round Up #2 

For easy homemade smoothie recipes click here. These can be frozen in 1-cup servings and perfectly thawed by lunchtime. My kids don't even think of these as a serving of fruit; (there's actually 2-3 servings per smoothie, plus yogurt.) They think of it more as a healthy, refreshing dessert.

What were your kids' favorite lunches this week?

Serving Size Marinara Sauce

Use an ice cube tray (specifically dedicated for this purpose) to create individual servings of marinara sauce for the lunchbox. Once frozen, pop out the cubes and store in a Ziploc freezer bag. These are perfect for packing lunches with mini pizzas, mini meatballs, pasta, or breaded cheese sticks/vegetables (for dipping), when you just need a few spoonfuls.

Lunch Time!!!! Back-to-School Lunch Menu plus My Stash

It's back to school tomorrow which means we're back in business for packing healthy school lunches! The first week is always crazy and I know I'll be lacking serious sleep, so I've planned out the first 2 weeks' lunch menus, and tonight I'll be doing a little prep work to save time during the morning rush to get out the door. I drive the kids to school, which also means allowing enough time to 1.) Fully wake up via 2 cups of java. 2.) Wash face, brush hair and teeth in case I get pulled over for speeding  see other fellow moms in the car pool line. ; )
So there will be little time for lunch prep or trying to think of what to pack.

I thought I would share a pic of my lunch packing arsenal. I've added a few new items this year. The kids both got new lunchboxes.....I know there are actually 3 pictured. The purple one is my tween daughter's, the black one below it is my teen son's, and each of the kids have a spare lunchbox for when they get left at school (sometimes for several days/weeks at a time!) When that happens, I still want to be able to use all of the containers instead of having to prepare a completely disposable lunch in paper bags. The black lunchbox  on the left is my daughter's (she will probably alternate between the 2,) and my son's 2nd lunchbox is exactly the same as his other one. The 2 on the right are both EasyLunchBoxes. I couldn't believe how well they are made and for such a great price! Go here to order yours!

Here's my stash:

I also got some reusable spoon/fork/knife combos since many of their lunches require the use of utensils and I'm trying to be as "green" as possible. I've also changed ice-packs this year and I've switched to these reusable "ice-cube" style ice sheets. They are filled with purified water so if they bust there's no weird blue, gooey gel to deal with. Plus you can cut them to customize the size and also wrap them around items like drinks, yogurt cups, etc. I mainly like them because they take up less space in the lunchbox and fit perfectly underneath the Easy Lunchbox containers.

a little bling for the tween

So how do I store all of this stuff, you ask?

Most of it fits into this dishpan and is stored in the "plastics" cabinet. This makes it easy since I can pull out the entire bin while I'm packing the lunches and take what I need. The sporks are stored in the silverware drawer, and the lunchboxes are actually stored in the freezer! There is no room in my kitchen to store the lunchboxes and they definitely wouldn't fit in my tiny pantry, and since they all fold flat, I can easily stash them in the freezer! I can also toss them into the chest freezer (without folding them) and just leave the ice packs in them to refreeze! Freezing the lunchboxes also helps them to stay chilled longer throughout the school day!

Here is the Lunch Menu for Week 1:

Monday:
Egg and Cheese Quesadilla
apple "fruit on the bottom" yogurt
strawberry/banana smoothie
baby pickles

Tuesday:
Ham and Cheese Roll-ups
crackers and hummus sammies
fruit/veggie
carrot-bran muffin

Wednesday:
Refried Beans
tortilla chips
cheese
salsa or guac
fruit

Thursday:
Mini Pita Pizzas (here's a tip for having small amounts of marinara/pizza sauce at the ready)
fruit/veggie
homemade fig newtons

Friday:
Annie's Mac and Cheese
edamame
veggies
fruit
dessert

Prep work for today:

• Make egg and cheese quesadilla
• Make smoothies and freeze
• Cook apples for fruit on the bottom yogurt
• Blend pinto beans for "refried beans"
• Make homemade fig newtons

(Carrot Bran muffins and salsa were made last week and frozen)

Lunch pics coming at the end of the week! 

What are YOU packing for the first day of school? Do you have any favorite containers or gadgets you like to use?

Happy Packing!

For previous lunch ideas be sure to check out:

Lunch box Round Up 1
Lunch box Round Up 2