Guest Posting: Cookie's Chronicles

Late last week, I got the honor of working with Sue from Cookie's Chronicles. For those of you that don't know her yet, she is a hard working momma with a sense of humor and a passion for the written word.

I got to guest post on her site last week. Since the summer is now over, and the school year has started, we thought a post about packing lunches would be on point! Sue is one of those mommas who candidly shares her life on her blog - she talks about everything (even, sometimes, the difficulties of her life), has fun polls, and even manages a second blog Cookie's Book Club. But, it's really the Cookie's Chronicles blog that is moving, touching, and uplifting. Check her out - - you will not be disappointed!

Check out the post that I got to write for her blog here and here.

Thanks again, Sue!
More Later! :)

Guest Post for Cookie's Chronicles

When Sue of Cookie's Chronicles asked me to write a guest post, I was flattered and excited! (Thanks Sue!!) Let me start by introducing myself (for those of you who don't know me that well yet): My blog is really a mish-mash of what my every day life is like - so I end up writing about something fun we did the day before, or the week before, I write about crafts and sewing, and I write about my little Miss No-No - but mostly I write about the food!! I love good food and I know that you don't need to "break the bank" or bust your budget to have it. I believe that you can eat well on a budget and you can feed your family well (and healthy!) without resorting to processed foods or being in the kitchen all day long. We don't have time to make a meal that takes 3 hours (who has 3 HOURS to cook??? I don't and I'm guessing that you don't either). But, I don't think that your family's taste buds or health should suffer because of that. For those reasons, I write about awesome, healthy food that can be made, in about 30 minutes or less! Doing this for your family makes your life richer and your family's life better - and, really, what could be more awesome?

Since it's September and that means the start of school for most of us mommas, let's talk about lunches.

My pre-K toddler has a program at her school where they provide lunch, for an extra fee. I'm in the "business" of running my house, our finances, and taking care of everyone - that $4 lunch doesn't work so well in my business plan. And while corn dogs, small kids' sized pizzas, and chicken nuggets for lunch everyday would be her dream come true (I think!), it really doesn't seem like the most healthy of diets...and since I am actually doing some grocery shopping every week, and have food in my house, it seems like it's only a small stretch for me to make her lunch for her.

There are many benefits to me making her lunch, including:

• it costs less for me to take something from my fridge (that I have already bought) than for me to send her to school with $4 every day for someone else to make her something
• I know WHAT exactly is going into her lunch
• I have the assurance that (even if she doesn't eat the vegetables) there are vegetables in her lunch
• and, I get to send a little surprise for her every day!

Making a to-go lunch for a little one every day can take some planning, but it's really easy when you get down to it. Even when I start from scratch, I can get her lunch together in no more than 10 minutes (I've timed it!). Even though I feel like I have a lot of things to do every day, I can squeeze out another quick 10 minutes, even if it's just barely! ;)

So here are some quick and easy tips to help you with your toddler or school-age kids' lunches. I use these ideas weekly and I know once you start using them, you will keep up with them. Not just because of the good feeling that you will have sending your little ones off with the nutrition that they need to fuel them for the day, not because it will take about as much time to make lunch as it does for you to hunt through your bag for another $4 or $5 to give them each morning, but you will be able to stick with this because it works!

Plan ahead. Sounds easy, right? I've read this everywhere: plan ahead, be prepared, make lunches daily, and on and on.... But, we have all been there.....It's not THAT easy to plan ahead these fabulous lunches each and every day. My little one, honestly, is happy with a PB and jelly sandwich daily. And, really, PB and jelly is healthy, full of protein and good carbs that will keep her full until her afternoon snack. So my first real tip is this:

1. Find something that your kids LOVE. For mine it's those PB and jelly sandwiches. So, I pre-make them for her! I will make 3 or 4 instead of just making one, pop the extras in Tupperware, and put them in the freezer. On those days that I just can.not.find.the.time to make her lunch, I have a back-up. I can put one of the frozen sandwiches in her lunch in the morning and by lunch time, it's defrosted and ready to go. And I do that with a lot of things - if I cut up carrots or red peppers for dinner, I will grab an extra one or two and cut those up as well, divide them into good portion sizes in Tupperware and save them in the refrigerator for lunches. When I need a veggie for lunch, they are there and ready to go. I also do this with fruit, applesauce, rice or any other grain, beans, whole wheat pasta, and especially leftovers. Once you have a little arsenal of Tupperware containers in your fridge, you grab a couple (one from each food group) and have a complete lunch ready to go.
2. Make it fun. If I send my little one with a sandwich, I use a cookie cutter to make it into something special. It might be a heart, a flower, or something seasonal. She never knows what she is going to get, and it's different each day. It's nothing elaborate, and it only takes another couple of seconds, but it sets her lunch apart from the other kids' lunches.
3. Give them something to pick at. I send edamame, beans, raisins, and other small pieces of fruit in her lunch. Kids love to pick and munch, talk for awhile, and then come back to their lunch. A little one with a burrito might not eat a lot of it, but a little one with carrot sticks or cucumber "chips" can grab some and talk and eat at the same time, they can share with friends, and then can eat what they want or how much they want without being overwhelmed by having to eat a BIG piece of something. So, basically, cut everything up!! :)
4. Add an element of surprise. I think this makes my little one look forward to what could possibly be in her lunch each day (I put the thought that she may be sneaking a peek into her lunch bag early completely out of my mind!!). Anything, really, is appropriate - it's just a little "I'm thinking of you" surprise. Sometimes, I use silly bands or bracelets, stickers, a handwritten note that says "I love you", or I will just draw her a silly picture. It doesn't have to be elaborate - and that's the beauty of it - you can do something simple, but it will have a big impact on your kids.

I believe these are the basic "building blocks" of a healthy lunch. And I think as long as you get something from each food group into that bag, kids will eat! They might not eat as many veggies as you would like, but in the end they are getting good food, healthy food, and you are saving money (and now time) making lunch for them...it's an easier way for you to help your kids live a richer, fuller life. So go ahead and pack those lunch bags, mommas - there's nothing to worry about, you've got the tools to get it under control!!

Here are some example pictures of lunches I have made for my little one (just so you can see the creative cookie cutting I do!!)

A word of warning: If you have older kids, like teenagers, all bets may be off here!!! 

Have questions or comments? Come on by my blog, my FB page, or even Twitter and ask away!!! If you need help packing lunches, I'm here for you.

More later!
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Halloween Meals Round 3

I got this idea for a great dinner from Parents Magazine or BHG....lol - I can't remember where I found it. But, as soon as I saw it, I KNEW it would be just perfect for Miss No-No!!!
...and you know it worked out well for a weeknight meal - quick and easy - just my style! This was supposed to be a monster face, but my creative side (and girly side!) took over and it ended up being a crazy little (scary?) girl monster.

Monster Face Tostada

1 corn tortilla

refried beans

shredded carrots and lettuce
tops of trimmed lettuce leaves
tomato slices
black beans

Toast tortilla in a dry skillet and set aside to cool while you cut up the veggies. I cut everything by hand except for the carrots - I used a mandoline for those so they would all be the same.
Cut tomato slices in half. Use left over carrot piece to make a bow.
Spread a little bit of beans on to the plate and place the tortilla on top (the beans will hold the tortilla to the plate). Add halved tomato slices for ears and two halved slices for the mouth. Put black beans (standing up) into the "mouth" and add a little mound for "eyes". Trim a small piece of carrot into a triangle for the nose. Add trimmed, curling pieces of tops of lettuce leaves for hair then add shredded lettuce and carrots on top of curled pieces to make hair standing up. Put a small bundle of shredded lettuce off to one side of the "hair" and put the trimmed carrot "bow" on top of that so it stands out from the hair.
Serve to hungry little girls.  :)

For Miss No-No's lunch, I made an almond butter and jelly sandwich on homemade bread, a cup of raisins and dried cranberries, raw tofu cubes, and a silly face with sliced cucumbers (3 or 4 each) stacked for the eyes, black beans for the "pupils", one small carrot trimmed down for the nose, and a slim strip of celery bent to make the smile. I held the carrot and celery in place using (cashew) cheese (left over from the last two nights) so that it wouldn't move around during the day!

More later!! :)

More Halloween Treats

It was another night of Halloween festivities at the No-No house!
Last night for dinner, I made Pumpkin Polenta with Swiss Chard and White Beans. It was a recipe that I adapted from something I found on Rachael Ray's website. She used frozen spinach instead of swiss chard, but I think that any greens would work well. Her recipe also called for cannelli beans, but I used 1/2 garbanzo beans and 1/2 white navy beans (because that's what I had). I wasn't able to take a picture of this, as I was STARVING!!! I ate about half before I thought of the pictures....lol. Next time I make it, I will make sure to take a picture BEFORE I dig in!

Pumpkin Polenta

1/2 onion, diced
1 clove garlic, minced
1 bunch swiss chard, cleaned, rinsed and sliced into large ribbons
1 cup of white beans
1 cup of broth
1/2 cup polenta
1/2 cup pumpkin puree
1/4 cup of Cashew Cheese (left over from the previous night)
salt and pepper
diced Italian parsley, for topping

Saute onions and garlic in oil in a large skillet over medium for approx. 5 minutes. Add swiss chard, saute slightly, add 1/4 cup of broth and cook, covered over low, until wilted, approx. 10 minutes. When greens are done, add beans and cook, uncovered, until beans are warmed through.
While greens are cooking, cook polenta: add broth to a saucepan and bring to a boil. Lower heat slightly and whisk in polenta until incorporated, add pumpkin puree and continue to cook over low heat, stirring occasionally, until cooked (according to package directions). Add salt, if needed. Stir in cashew cheese until incorporated.
To serve, pile polenta into a bowl or pasta plate, creating a well in the center. Pile swiss chard mixture into the well until it's overflowing.
Add parsley and pepper, to finish.

Afterwards, I made Miss No-No's lunch for the next day:   
I rolled the cooled polenta into balls, added small pieces of celery for the pumpkin stalks and sliced black beans for the pumpkin's eyes. I put leftover garbanzo beans on the side with frozen peas. And sliced kiwi for a sweet treat.
I must admit, I have been totally inspired by the mom over at BentoLunch.net - she has great ideas and I have been trying to come up with some of my own so that I can surprise Miss No-No daily when she opens up her lunch!
I think this would be fun even for SAHMs with kids that are picky eaters!! I know it works for my little one.

I will be naming the winner of the $45 CSN e-gift card giveaway tomorrow night!! Hang on tight! Good luck to everyone who entered!

More later!!! :)