Kid lunches: A muffin tin alternative

I started doing muffin tin lunches for my 3-year-old daughter (and now my 14-month-old son) for almost 1 1/2 years now. I love the fact that it challenges me to think outside the box with variety, but I've found a flaw. In order to save leftovers, I have to move them to a different container. The 6-cup muffin tins from Dollar Tree don't even fit into gallon-sized Ziplocs, so saving them in the tin isn't an option. Bummer.

Awhile back I was browsing Inchbug ordering some cup labels for the kids, and I saw these containers. There are a ton of different food storage options on that site, but these fit the bill for us perfectly. They have a snap-on lid for the dip portion and the whole thing making it perfect for lunches on-the-go and for storing leftovers. We use the middle portion for yogurt, peanut butter, hummus, ranch dressing, etc. Then I just fill the outside with a handful of other things - celery sticks, baby carrots, PB and honey sandwiches (cut into stars above), apple slices, cheese sticks, and the list goes on and on. My 3-year-old loves the containers (something about giving lunch to her in a compartmentalized tray appeals to her), and I love the convenience of not having to dirty yet another container for leftovers. These are also much easier to clean than the muffin tins which do not hold up well in the dishwasher.

Hope you find these as helpful as I have!

Cut Spaghetti

via

Both of my kids love pasta. I'm always looking for new and interesting shapes and styles. Tom Thumb has a line of organic whole wheat pasta in TONS of fun shapes that they'll gobble up. And there are a lot of really small options - ones that require no cutting for my 1-year-old. The last time I was searching Tom Thumb's pasta aisle, I saw that Barilla makes cut spaghetti. Spaghetti is a staple in our house - it's my go-to recipe when I have nothing else planned. And I always scoop a portion out to chop up for the kids. But Barilla sells it already cut.

Not one to pay for someone else to do work that I am perfectly capable of, I decided to just use the idea and to break regular spaghetti myself. Then, on the way home, I had an even better idea. I'd have my 3-year-old do the grunt work for me. And she LOVED it! So we now have a canister of broken spaghetti courtesy of my 3-year-old daughter. When I'm making pasta dishes using spaghetti noodles, I just boil a small pot of water for the kids and throw in a handful of the broken noodles. Then there's no cutting at all. I just mix it with the sauce, and it's ready to serve.
If you're looking for a way to keep your child busy for awhile, sit them at a table with a handful of uncooked spaghetti noodles and an empty canister for storage.

A Little Trick

Holy cow can 3-year-olds be fickle. One day mine LOVES yogurt, the next she says it's the "most worst thing in the whole wide world in my life." Drama. This goes for every single food in the history of the world (wherever does she get this drama?!). She actually eats a wide variety of foods, it's just a gamble as to what will please this princess from day-to-day. But I've found a trick that has yet to fail me. She will eat anything with sprinkles on it! Her problem is not that she doesn't actually like things, it's that she won't try them. But as soon as she gets a little taste, she always goes for it - almost no matter what. So if I can just get her to try something, we're golden. Another trick for the sprinkles: peruse the seasonal aisles of your grocery store after the holiday, and stock up on half-price sprinkles. I'm pretty sure they last forever without going bad, and this way you can have a fun stash at half the cost. I have a big container of Valentine's Day sprinkles with hearts and pink and red and yellow sprinkles - perfect for any day for a little girl. I also found a "Summer Fun" container last Fall that was filled with dinosaurs, sunshines, dolphins, etc. Hope this works for you!

Rainbow Cake on a Stick

One of our favorite boys turns two today. Since he got a baby brother as an early birthday gift, we offered to make a cake to deliver to free up her hands a little more. I've been wanting a reason to try out this Rainbow Cake, so we dove in. It was such a fun lesson for my daughter in color-mixing and measuring. We had a blast. I made the cake in loaf pans to cut down into a square, so I had lots of scraps. While my 2-year-old napped, I dreamt up a fun creation for her that was a HUGE hit. I just cut hearts out of each color of cake, put a dot of frosting as glue between each heart, then put it on a stick. To say she was thrilled would be a gross understatement.

Muffin Tin Meals

Anyone else have a finicky 2-year-old who LOVES cheese today but will despise it tomorrow? Me too. For some reason serving food in creative ways makes ALL the difference in my house. My daughter will try almost anything as long as it is artfully arranged. Lately I've been trying to hold myself accountable to offering a variety of foods at each meal (something I used to be good at doing but have fallen off the make with lately). Serving meals in muffin tins helps so much because there are six or twelve cups that need to be filled. Here are a few of the meals I've served lately.
This would be fun with themes too. For example, you could serve food of all one color or shape. My daughter loves fun-shaped foods. One of the things she requests the most often are "cumber fwies" (cucumber fries). I just cut veggies into matchsticks and call them fries, and it works! She's also pretty fond of moons (half circles), circles, squares, and calling things fun names. She calls broccoli "baby trees" and eats a ton.

Think outside of the box, too. You could fill one cup with peanut butter, hummus, nuts, raisins, yogurt, etc.

Hope this idea helps you get some food with nutritious value into your picky preschoolers!

Peepshi

(Photo courtesy of seriouseats.com)
This is awesome. Peeps are so cheap, and this is such a great idea!

Flower Quiche

(image courtesy of Gourmet Mom on the Go)

I LOVE this idea! How cute and fun! My daughter is at that age where she is starting to really appreciate fun and creative food serving ideas, so this is perfect for her.

Breakfast for Dinner

We've finally gotten rid of the stomach flu around our house, and it was time to celebrate with a huge meal. We all got our appetites back around the same time, and we were hungry!

When I was growing up we had breakfast for dinner every now and then. I hadn't actually done that with my own family yet, so we indulged. Oh my goodness, was it ever fun and delicious. My normally light-eating daughter ate her weight in breakfast food and slept very well for the first time in weeks. It was a huge success, and I'd highly recommend it for a tummy-pleasing, heart-warming evening.

I made: scrambled eggs, hashbrowns, decaf coffee, turkey sausage patties, and these delicious Cinnamon Bun Pancakes with Maple Icing. I'd suggest making these the very first opportunity you have. Delicious!

Thankful Hands

I saw this cute recipe this morning and thought I'd share. What a sweet project for Thanksgiving.

Silly Lunch

Every week or so I get the privilege of pulling out my pre-K teacher ideas with my nephews. Last week my two middle nephews (ages 3 and 5) came over for the afternoon. I had a picnic lunch planned and packed, but the weather was HOT, and the allergens were in full force. So we ate inside instead. I searched for some fun ways to dress up a regular picnic lunch, experimented, and here's the result. Please feel free to copy!

Peanut butter and jelly sandwich (flatten with a rolling pin, use a cup to cut into a circle, then add ears (the cut-off corners of the sandwich). I peeled a carrot with a vegetable peeler for hair, added strawberry and chocolate chip eyes, a blackberry nose, and an orange wedge mouth. Make sure to serve it with ranch to dip the "hair."
A side of applesauce topped with sliced strawberry stars, red raspberries, and sprinkles.

We had very little leftover. =)

How to make homemade play dough

Step 1: Invite your favorite 3-year-old nephew over for a visit.

Step 2: Put your very helpful 1-year-old down for a nap.

Step 3: Gather the ingredients: 1.5 cups flour, 3/4 cup salt, 3 tsp cream of tartar, 1/2 Tbsp oil, 1.5 cups water

Step 4: Let your 3-year-old help dump the salt into the water and stir to dissolve.

Step 5: Add the food coloring of your choice to the salt and water mixture (we chose blue), and stir.

Step 6: Combine the dry ingredients in a pot, and stir. Slowly add the water/salt/food coloring, and stir.

Step 7: Over medium heat, cook the play dough stirring constantly until it comes together in a ball in the middle of the pot. Meanwhile, make your helper do the dishes to keep him safely away from the hot stove. =)

Step 8: Knead the play dough on the counter 20-30 times until it comes together in a smooth consistency.

Step 9: Get out plastic spoons, knives, forks, and cookie cutters, and have a blast creating. Smiling until your cheeks hurt is optional.Finishing up: After you make 3,862 trains and name them all at the request of your nephew, make a stick figure person explaining as you go as so, "Look - see the eyes? I'm giving him a huge smile...and a button nose." Then hold it together when your nephew looks at your creation and says, "I like your frog, Aunt Alicia."Seriously, if you haven't played with play dough in years, grab a kid and make some. So much fun!

Great Resource

A couple days ago I saw a link to this parenting website on a blog I read. I thought I'd share it with you!

For those who are unaware, I taught pre-K for four years before I entered the corporate world then, ultimately became a stay-at-home mom. During my teaching years everything was very structured and planned out, obviously. But sometimes I get caught in a rut and find myself doing the same thing every day with my daughter. This website allows you to enter your child(ren)'s age(s) and e-mails age-appropriate activities you can do together as often as you'd like. I signed up for Monday-Friday. It's free, and the activities are easy and require very little prep. They also talk about which senses and skills the activities promote. Today's activity for Miss Priss is bubble popping. They even included a little song to sing while popping the bubbles. This is right up my alley, and I hope you find it helpful too!

Very cute pancake idea

I've been busy getting everything ready for my daughter's first birthday party, so my creative juices have been maxed out in that arena. I'm making a ton of things for her party which I am planning on sharing here. However, I'll wait until the party is over to share the how-to's.

In the meantime, go check out this tip for making pancakes fun and creative. Cute!

Jello Aquariums

Rachael Ray had the cutest idea, again using Jello. This would be perfect for an underwater-themed birthday party or even to go along with lessons about the sea in elementary school.
Click HERE for the recipe.

So Cute

This Jello idea is awesome! Can't wait to have a reason to make it.