Easter Dinner Leftovers

We brought home lots of leftovers from Easter dinner so I thought I'd try them on the girls one more time. I thought maybe they were just distracted at the real Easter dinner yesterday because they were eating with different people and at an odd time of day. Turns out that was not the case.

Hard boiled egg, fruit (from fruit salad and I washed the white dressing off of it because they thought it was weird), carrots, green bean casserole, macaroni & cheese, and ham

Guess what they had for dinner tonight... Carrots. That's it. OH WELL :(

Snack-Lunch

I was so busy spring cleaning this morning, and the girls were so busy keeping themselves occupied, that we completely forgot our morning snack. So... we had a big snack/small lunch instead. In a muffin tin...

(clockwise from top left) Craisins & almonds, graham crackers, organic honey crisp apple slices, organic peanut butter, homemade hummus, organic high protein pretzels

And while I'm on the subject of lunch, this is what I eat for lunch about 3 times a week. At least.

Mommy food: Baked sweet potato topped with about 2 T shredded cheddar, 1/2 an avocado, 1/4 C salsa, and a sprinkling of cilantro.       LOVE IT!

What's for Lunch?

clockwise from top left: mango, Stonyfield vanilla yogurt with Cascadian Farm granola, homemade cherry vanilla smoothie, Newman's Own High Protein Pretzels, organic peanut butter with honey drizzled on top, organic carrots

Halloween Fare

Whole Wheat Pumpkin Pancakes with pumpkin faces

Homemade Brownie Bites for Leyna's class

(clockwise from top left) "Baby pumpkins" (orange Zima tomatoes), "Bat wings" (organic blue corn tortilla chips), "Pumpkin toes" (mandarin oranges), pumpkin shaped quesadillas, "Monster eyes" (black olives), ghost shaped quesadillas

Spiderweb Pizza

Muffin Tin Breakfast

(clockwise from top left) Bananas, pure maple syrup, juice, vitamin, homemade heart shaped pancake bites, homemade applesauce from our neighbors

Fall-inspired muffin tin lunch

(clockwise from top left) Fresh local pears, organic blue corn tortilla chips, green beans, homemade applesauce from apples we picked, salsa, and cheddar cheese shaped like a leaf :)

What's for Lunch?

(clockwise from top left) Orange segments, Roma tomato slices from our garden, diced all-natural  ham, olives, leftover crockpot mac n cheese, and plums

I'd say someone enjoyed her lunch!

Too hot to cook

It was 101 degrees today. Way too hot to turn on the stove. Maybe even too hot to use the microwave. So, I decided not to cook and to clean out the fridge a bit at the same time. To make it a little more enticing, I gave the girls a muffin tin dinner. It was preceeded by a snack of carrots, pretzels, and individual hummus cups. I think they filled their little tummies quite nicely :)

$5.99 at Costco. Handy!

(clockwise from top left) watermelon, blueberries, milk, ham, peas, and a vitamin.

St. Patrick's Day Fare

I didn't quite live up to my own expectations today. I thought about green pancakes for breakfast but couldn't bring myself to put food coloring in their food. I made a yummy potato soup for dinner but the girls wouldn't touch it. So, the only festive hit of the day was a muffin tin lunch. That, they gobbled up!

(clockwise from top left) Green beans, shamrock-a-dillas, green pickles, shamrock cookies, chicken nuggets with shamrock flakes (italian seasoning), & green olives

And would you believe they really did save their cookies for last with no prompting from me? I hardly believe it myself but it's true!

A muffin tin lunch

(clockwise from top left) Red peppers, ranch dip, string cheese slices, grapes, Annie's organic spaghettios, Gummy Vites vitamin

A muffin tin lunch: Making up for the weekend

So after a birthday party, a Christmas celebration, a Nacho Cook-Off, and chocolate cake for breakfast this morning, we're all feeling like we need a little nutritive redemption. I made it my goal to get as many fruits and veggies into the girls as I could today and this muffin tin lunch made it much easier!

Clockwise from top left, Leyna's on top: Red peppers or tomatoes, carrots or oranges, whole milk vanilla yogurt, Double Delicious Banana Bread (it has cauliflower in it!), mango, broccoli

Another muffin tin lunch

Clockwise from top left, Leyna's on top: Homemade Parmesan & Basil Crackers (recipe below), Chicken & Rice soup, Mango Strawberry Smoothies, Cucumbers & Grape Tomatoes, Jarred Tropical Fruit Salad, and Olives

Cora LOVED drinking her soup!

Parmesan & Basil Crackers
Adapted from Barefoot Contessa, Back to Basics (Parmesan & Thyme Crackers)

These crackers and so simple and very addictive. Andy, Cora, and I LOVE them. Leyna has never been  a big fan of crackers so she ate one crumb and said she was full. I changed the recipe from the original based on what I had in the pantry.

1 stick room temperature butter
1 C Parmesan cheese (I used the Kraft kind in a can as opposed to freshly grated)
1/2 t dried basil
1/2 t sea salt
1/2 t fresh ground pepper
1 1/4 C unbleached flour

In the bowl of an electric mixer fitted with the paddle attachment, cream the butter. With the mixer on low speed add the cheese, basil, salt, and pepper. Next add the flour and combine until mixture is in large crumbles. If the dough is too dry (mine was) add a teaspoon of water.

Dump the dough onto a floured board or wax paper and press it into a ball. Next, roll the dough into a 9-inch log. Wrap it in wax paper or plastic wrap and refrigerate for at least 30 minutes, or for up to 4 days.
When ready to bake, preheat the oven to 350 degrees. Cut the log into 3/8-inch-thick rounds. Place on a parchment lined baking sheet and bake for 22 minutes, or until lightly browned, rotating the plan once during baking.

A muffin tin lunch: Secondary Colors

We had an extended art period today with fingerpainting, chalk, markers - you name it. Leyna was really into mixing the colors when she was painting so I thought I'd do a little lesson with our muffin tin lunch. I used secondary colors and quizzed her on what colors she would have to combine to make them. It was fun and the lunch was a hit. Muffin tin lunches always are!

Columns from left to right: Orange cheddar cheese & an Orange gummy vitamin, Green avocado with sea salt and Green beans, Purple Goldfish (they looked purpley in the bag? Love that they have these with all natural coloring now!) and Purple berries.

They cleaned up except for the avocado. I really, REALLY want them to like it but they just aren't buying it. Maybe I'll have to whip up some guacamole...

A muffin tin lunch: Over the Rainbow

I'm kinda proud of our little muffin tin lunch from today. It was beautiful! Our fridge is stocked with lots of colorful fruits and veggies so I decided we'd make a little rainbow. I served chicken nuggets along with the muffin tin (hence the ketcup for Leyna!).

(clockwise from top left, Leyna's on top) ketchup/grape tomato halves, orange peppers/clementines, mango, grape-flavored fruit leather cut into a star shape, blueberries, and cucumbers & grapes

Leyna completely cleaned hers out and Cora left only a few oranges, tomatoes, and cucumbers. I think it was a hit!!!

Another muffin tin lunch

I was working puzzles about shapes with Cora this morning so I decided it would be fun to do a lunch focused on shapes.

(clockwise from top left) triangle cheese, circle cucumber, square crackers with peanut butter, oval banana slides, circle tomato slices, and star-shaped salami (nobody went for the salami)

Another muffin tin lunch

Leyna had already gotten started on this by the time I took a picture. Here's what she had: Graham crackers, peanut butter, peaches, cranberries, broccoli, and Annie's organic bunny snack mix.

What's For Lunch Wednesday

Leyna has been begging for another muffin tin lunch so I granted her wish today. I love these muffin tin lunches because they're quick to throw together, they make me think creatively, and they provide the girls with a good variety and something a little different.
Anyway, here's what they ate:

(Clockwise from top left, Cora's on top & Leyna's on bottom) Chicken nuggets, ketchup for Leyna/cranberry relish for Cora, chicken nuggets, cauliflower, swiss cheese shaped like a leaf, and  broccoli.

And here's the finished product. Leyna cleaned up!

Another muffin tin lunch

We had another muffin tin lunch today. No theme really, just this and that that I could find in the fridge and pantry. Cora's is on top in both pictures, and Leyna's is on the bottom. You'll notice Cora got more tomatoes and Leyna got more cucumbers. Neither of them likes the other but I always give them at least one piece to try in hopes they'll change their minds!

Clockwise from top left: Garbanzo beans, baby carrots, mango, raisins & craisins, cucumbers & tomatoes, shredded monteray jack cheese

Cora had already eaten some beans before lunch so she mostly spent time just moving them from one well to another after lunch. Leyna wouldn't eat her craisins because they were touching the raisins. I'll remember that next time. And, no, she didn't eat her tomato, she gave it to me :)

This lunch brought to you by the letter P

I decided to change things up a bit today and do another muffin tin lunch. Leyna has really been working on her letters and sounds lately so I themed the lunch around the letter "P." Here it is:

Clockwise from top left: Peanut butter tortilla, Peas, Pomegranate, Pickles, Pear, Pumpkin candy

The girls pretty much demolished these except that Leyna didn't like the pomegranate and Cora threw her peanut butter tortilla on the floor.
During lunch we thought of all the words we could that start with the letter P. It was fun!

Pizza Friday - Pumpkin Pizzas (and a special Halloween lunch)

I tried out a new lunch idea today and it turned out really cute. I've been seeing "Muffin Tin" lunches on some other blogs so while I was out at the store today I picked up two new muffin tins and gave it a whirl. I went with a Halloween theme today. Here's what we had:

(clockwise from top left) pumpkin shaped turkey & cheese on multi grain bread, frog eyes (olives), goblin fingers (organic baby carrots), leaf shaped turkey & cheese on multi grain bread, ghost eyes (wagon wheel pasta with butter & parmesan cheese), and witch's fingers (english cucumber sticks)

Leyna ate every last bit and Cora did pretty well except for the cucumbers, which I'm still holding out hope that she'll develop a taste for :)

And for Pizza Friday I took the easy way out since we were planning to make pumpkin pie from scratch after dinner (we did, by the way, and it's fantastic!). I used Sandwich Thins and topped them with sauce, mozzarella, and orange pepper cut-outs. I baked them at 350 for about 10 minutes. They were really tasty and SO easy!!!