Back to School...Snacks

This final Back to School food post is all about those ever elusive snack ideas. Our kids are asked to bring a snack in addition to their lunch each day, not to mention they're always hungry right after school. We'll see if I can occasionally provide something a little more homemade for the sake of nutrition and these might just be some good options:

At School Snacks...

Homemade Granola Bars: We are granola bar fans in our house and for as much as we eat and buy them, I'm sorry to say I've never tried my hand at actually making them. Well this is the year! Chewy Granola Bars & Coconut Granola Bars are 2 options I plan to try.

Ham and Cheese Roll-Ups: As I've already mentioned numerous times, the kids aren't big sandwich fans. But if you take the bread out of the equation they've always really liked these. Although they are a good stand-in for lunch, I think they're an equally easy snack to pack along with lunch. Use your favorite thin-sliced lunch meat and favorite hard cheese (colby-jack, monterey jack, cheddar). Slice cheese into 3 inch or so long "sticks" and wrap lunch meat around each stick.

Sour Cream Fruit Dip: Fruit is an easy no-fuss at school snack and it's made all the better by sending along a little container of this dip. Cherries, strawberries, and sliced apples would all be good options for the fruit.

Jam Pockets, Etc.: I like that these are self-contained equaling low mess and that there are different flavor combos suggested both sweet and savory depending on your mood and kids likes.

Peanut Butter Power Balls: These are interesting and definitely something the kids could help make.

1 cup peanut butter
1/2 cup non-fat dry milk powder or soy protein powder
1/2 cup raisins or mini-chocolate chips
1/4 cup honey
Graham cracker crumbs

Mix all ingredients expect the graham cracker crumbs in a large bowl. Shape mixture into 1-inch balls. Roll in crumbs and refrigerate (or freeze; they will thaw by snack time)

After School Snacks...

Since we all know we're just about to make and eat dinner, an after school snack should be quick to make with minimal help from Mom and not a meal in and of itself. I think these might fit the bill.

Creamy Cheese Cinnamon Toast: These could easily be a great breakfast option too and I like that they take the idea of cinnamon toast a bit further with the addition of cream cheese.

Chocolate Banana Quesadillas: Umm, yes please! and use nutella instead of chocolate chips and you've got snack-time bliss, mom included!

Mini Tortilla Cheese Pizzas: Although I've already admitted my kids aren't pizza fans, they are mexican food fans so we'll see how these go over. And what a great at home lunch option for days off school or weekends.

And 3 drink/smoothie options:

The Purple Cow: My memories of this drink are vivid! When I was little (1st grade, kindergarten, and younger) I went to a lovely daycare and this drink was occasionally served during snack time and I kid you not it's the only thing I remember about the food there. It must have made quite an impression if I'm still remembering it over 25 years later! I will most definitely be making this for my kids and if we're feeling extra naughty we might just throw some vanilla ice cream in there!

Kiwi Grape Smoothie

Cherry Chocolate Smoothies:

Combine 1 cup low-fat milk, 1/2 cup vanilla low-fat yogurt, 1/2 cup frozen or fresh pitted cherries, and 2 tablespoons dark chocolate chips in a blender or food processor and mix until smooth.

And just a few extra no-explanation needed ideas that are possibly a bit out of the ordinary:

Mini muffins, mini bagels with cream cheese, chips and salsa, 100 calorie microwave popcorn, hard-boiled egg, carrot sticks & hummus, sugar snap peas & ranch

Happy Snacking!

Back to School...Lunches!

And now for school lunches. We can definitely use some help in that department. My children have some different tastes than most, they are not very excited about most kid foods aside from chicken nuggets and fries. Pizza doesn't float their boat, neither does mac and cheese, pb&j, sandwiches in general--in other words pretty much every easy child lunch out there. Don't get me wrong though, I'm glad they like the things they do because it's what I like it's just that it doesn't translate into easy brown bag lunch making or picnicking either for that matter.

Not only do I want lunches to be relatively simple in concept, they need to be easy prep too. Our kids will be making their lunches the night before as part of the homework routine, so it needs to be something they can put together on their own for the most part. That said, I think it will be fun to try our hands at some recipes for the sake of learning some age appropriate cooking skills. Here's a list of things I hope to try making together with my kids:

Lunch Ideas:

Stuffed Pita Pockets:Not very original, but may be just what my kids need to jump start regular sandwich eating. Neither school age child has ever been a big sandwich eater, which let me tell you can put a real wrench in lunch options, particularly brown bag lunch options. But maybe if we try some meat, cheese, veggies in a pita with ranch or some other sauce in separate container for dipping or pouring on just prior to eating we'll have success.

Sandwich on a Stick: I could not love this idea more! There again, it's an atypical sandwich option and I don't know any kid who doesn't love eating things off of sticks. Plus, what a fun thing to prepare thus encouraging children to help in their lunch making process and it can obviously and easily be personalized.

PB&J Blossoms: These are just too cute! My kids are not enticed by peanut butter and jelly but just might be if they're in a fun shape and especially if they helped me make them. We shall see!

Ham and Cheese Empanadas: At first glance I sort of balked at these, but only because I thought they look ridiculously time intensive for a kids school lunch. Upon closer inspection though I saw that they actually look pretty simple and relatively quick. Add to that the fact that they're kid-helper friendly and I think they'll be worth a try. And really the options for fillings are endless, the concept lends itself to all kinds of combos. Will let you know how they turn out.

Taco Roll-Ups: Oh boy do we have some mexican food fans in our house! So naturally these ought to be right up their alley. I can imagine cooking up a batch of the meat and beans and freezing what we don't use right away for easy assembly later on.

Best Tuna Salad: An easy variation on the old standby to hopefully mix up the sandwich rotation a bit as needed.

Pinwheel Bites: Who doesn't love pretty, bite size food? Who cares that it's nothing new, just seen in a new way and that might just be enough to make all the difference. Take virtually any sandwich combo you can think of and put on bread that you've rolled out a bit and then roll it all together and slice into pinwheels, definitely fun lunch material. Substitute tortillas for bread and you've got an even more unusually fun option. I'll be giving herbed cream cheese with sliced ham on a tortilla a try. So tricky!

Homemade Lunchables: Another genius idea for sure. My kids love lunchables, which not surprisingly I'm unwilling to provide them on any regular basis, but making our own? You betcha! There's no recipe or link to share for this because it's a pretty basic concept. We're thinking a small divided container (ziploc brand or something comparable), ritz crackers or something similiar, sliced cheese any thickness or shape you want, thicker sliced meat-ham steaks anyone?, all divided out just like lunchables and maybe some sort of fruit (cups or applesauce or fresh), and for fun a miniature candy bar because we all know the dessert is what makes the kids interested in those store bought special in the first place.

Bento Boxes: Love this idea! Although several of the items shown at this link are a bit out there as far as my kids tastes go, the idea is definitely usable. Heck, I want to eat all the boxes shown here! Our favorites are the Mexican Bento (cheese quesadillas? Who'da thought?!), Americanized Bento (liking the turkey bologna sandwich filling and boiled egg addition), All-American Bento (egg salad never looked so good!), and the Mediterranean Bento (pita and hummus, so appetizing and kids love dipping so it may just work). Mainly I just think opening a container with any number of those options diplayed in such a fun appetizing way is sure to be a hit!

Another link: Our Best Bites has a little post on kids lunches in their archive for even more ideas, some of which I've covered a version of already but check it out!

That's all I got and I think it's great start for us. Here's to hoping that we have happy school lunch-making and eating kids this year!

Back to School...Breakfasts!

I don't know about you, but our house has some serious issues come school time with getting a healthy, hearty breakfast into ourselves AND packing a lunch that kids are, if not excited, at least interested in eating. So I thought, in an effort to help motivate myself, that a short series dedicated to back-to-school food might be good. We'll start with breakfasts, followed by the always-dreaded school lunches, and finish up with snacks, the during school and after school kind. Sorry no pictures of food this time, just words and links most of which have pictures of their own so you'll get the idea.

Breakfasts...

My kids have always done well with breakfasts of all kinds, I just don't do so well making them anytime but the weekends. So my goal through this winter and school year is to make a hot breakfast for my 2 school age kids as often as possible. {notice I didn't say every day! that would be a recipe for failure on my part} And since we're also no whizzes at giving ourselves ample and leisurely amounts time in the mornings, we obviously need some quick and simple hot homemade breakfast options. Here's a list of my ideas, with explanation and recipe links where appropriate:

Before School Breakfast Ideas:

omelet: a go to and quicker than you think favorite of ours

baked oatmeal: my kids aren't such big fans of the easy make-it-yourself packets of oatmeal, I'm hoping this will be another way to get that hearty classic breakfast into them. Plus it doesn't hurt that I think it looks fabulous!

**Update (8/23/11)-This was as good as it promised to be! and my kids loved the idea that they were practically eating "cake" for breakfast. With strawberries and milk it was over the top good, we all had 2 helpings. I used old-fashioned oats and it was good, but I think texture-wise quick-cooking would be a bit better, that's what I'll be trying next and I'm pretty sure they'll be the way to go.

oatmeal pancake mix: Oh my goodness, we love this so much! The mix is easy to whip together. The batter is even easier to throw together. The pancakes seem relatively healthy to me. And we can't stop eating them! Just a note I recommend grinding the oatmeal as she suggests, and we use regular milk, rather than buttermilk, with much success...we like our pancakes a little thinner and more crepe-like anyhow.

refrigerator bran muffins: I have yet to try these but they're on the menu this week and I've seen more than one version of this concept floating around in numerous places. I love the idea of a batter that stays ready and waiting in the fridge for 30 days. 30 days people! Not to mention, you can make as few or as many at a time as your heart desires. I also imagine that first thing in the morning preheating the oven, scooping some batter into a few muffin liners, and popping it all in the oven while we move on to other morning rituals such as getting dressed and gathering school items, takes virtually no time and then to have hot muffins jam-packed with all kinds of healthy fiber waiting for you at the end might just be brilliant! i hope my kids like them, I'm sure I will.

**Update (8/20/11): We made, we baked, we LOVED! Both my older kids came back asking for more, they had 2 and 2 1/2 respectively. I opted for 1 cup dark brown sugar and 1 cup white, having not made them any other way I see no reason to not keep it that way! Also make a batch of this honey butter for slathering inside and out and you have breakfast or snack muffin perfection (who cares that it's slightly less healthy!)

Yogurt Fruit smoothies & cinnamon sugar toast: Yogurt smoothies are quite possibly the best breakfast option ever. My kids can't get enough and really how long does it take to throw a 1/2 a cup of your favorite yogurt, a fresh or frozen banana, a cup of some kind(s) of frozen fruit, a dash of juice or milk, and possibly some honey into the blender and press "blend"? Not long, I promise! And just FYI, I find that keeping a large container of vanilla yogurt in the fridge and a well-stocked with frozen fruit freezer is a sure-fire way to have smoothie success at the drop of a hat.

Breakfast Burritos: We've been making these for a full decade and still never tire of them. You basically just saute some onions in butter, add eggs and scramble. We usually add some kind of meat to ours once the eggs are mostly set, either bacon or kielbasa sausage that has been cooked and crumbled or browned and chopped. Top the whole yummy mess with grated cheese, slap it on a warmed flour or corn tortilla with some salsa, roll, and eat away. Delicious and potentially self-contained if you're on the run. Those tortillas are way better then plastic wrap!

Homemade Egg McMuffins: McDonald's is gross. There I said it. We occasionally eat at McDonald's. There I said that too. Despite it all a person has to admit that breakfast sandwiches are pretty ingenious. So why not make your own at home and skip the fast-food fat? Here again, this is a pretty basic and very flexible concept-eggs of some kind (scrambled, fried, poached), toasted bread of some kind (we stick with english muffins-and you can even get wheat these days), cheese (because it's yummy), and breakfast meat (sausage patty, bacon, sliced ham). Some spinach, sliced tomato, heck-grilled onions wouldn't hurt either and could easily take the place of meat. Also, we're fans of ketchup or salsa as a condiment. Layer it all together sandwich style and voile, your own homemade mcmuffin that maybe took you 15 minutes tops! Definitely doable before school and you can't tell me those aren't going to keep your kids nice and full till lunch.

And for the days we're just not on the ball and running late, the kids went to bed late, or we're all just too darn tired--there'll always be our well-stocked help yourself cold cereal cupboard and eggo's in the freezer!

Here's hoping we have a successful school year full of many hot and yummy breakfasts!

If you have favorite before school breakfast recipes/ideas, I'd love to hear about them...