Healthy Snacks: Grapes on a Stick
It is fun surprising the girls with healthy treats in their school lunch bags. The girls love it when I put grapes on a stick for their fruit snack. For an extra touch you can add eyes on the grapes and call them caterpillars. Every time we have grapes they request this simple treat to be added to their lunch bag.
What’s for Breakfast: Easy Breakfast Clowns
On this particular morning I was already up early and decided to do a little extra surprise for breakfast. Although, this doesn’t happen every morning in our house because some days it takes everything I have just to get through the necessary steps to get everyone out the door for work and school. Each girl got two blueberry pancakes, two sausages cut into half, and fresh grapes and strawberries for their main breakfast. They also got their normal milk, juice, and multivitamins. The girls are always excited to see something different at the breakfast table. Seriously, sometimes the silly and simple things like the Easy Breakfast Clowns are all it takes to brighten their day. It never hurts when you get the day off to a good start!
Tip: I like to make up a large batch of blueberry pancakes whenever we have them and freeze a bunch for future breakfasts. It is easy to pull out a few frozen pancakes and have breakfast ready in a few minutes (plus there’s less of a mess).
We are pretty consistent with our week day breakfast menu. For each day of the work and school week Monday to Friday we have the same main menu item from week to week the only thing that changes is the “extra item” we add each day such as an egg, sausage, fresh fruit, cottage cheese, bacon, smoothies, or other items that we have in the kitchen. During the school week the girls always have their main breakfast, at least one side (usually fruit, sausage, egg, etc…), vitamins, milk (one has non-dairy milk due to allergies), and small glass of juice. When I am ambitious, awake, and my creative juices are flowing I will add a little extra silliness to make breakfast more enjoyable for the kids.
Here is what our breakfast menu looks like this week (the items in parenthesis are examples of the extra items we will add and change from week to week):
- Monday – English Muffins (Egg)
- Tuesday – Toast (Cottage Cheese)
- Wednesday – Cereal (Smoothie)
- Thursday – Pancakes, Poptarts, or Oatmeal (Fresh Fruit)
- Friday – Bagel (Bacon)
- Saturday – Family Brunch (a lot of times we make Saturday breakfast together and it is whatever sounds good that morning or a new dish we want to try out. It is not always planned in advance and could be an egg or breakfast casserole, omelets, hashbrowns, waffles, pancakes, etc… this is our big family meal of the day since Saturdays are often spent with extended family, friends, or doing other afternoon and evening activities) Since we make more complicated breakfasts on Saturdays it is usually between 8 to 10 before we sit down to eat therefore they have become our Family Brunch.
- Sunday – Make Your Own Breakfast (everyone makes their own breakfast before church which is usually something easy like cereal, toast, poptarts, oatmeal, smoothie, etc….)
We first started doing a different main breakfast item everyday a few years ago because I have one child who if she eats the same thing too many times in a row she stops eating. Adding a little variety from day to day was enough to keep her motivated to eat breakfast. It wasn’t until several months later when the girls pointed it out that I realized that we do the same main item on the same day every week. “Mom, Tuesday is Toast Day…..” So now it has become our rotating breakfast menu which helps keep us on track because we know exactly what we need to prepare for the next breakfast. Plus the girls are sometimes still waking up when they come to breakfast and the morning menu helps them figure out the day of the week as well as prepares them for the upcoming activities they have that day.
There are times I will mix it up (just for fun) or Jake will get up first and make breakfast! The girls don’t hesitate to let him know if he makes a main food item on the wrong day….ha! Our breakfasts are not fancy, but it gets us up and started for the day. What do you make for your family breakfasts?
Healthy & Easy Way to Wash Produce
A sink full of fresh produceOur family eats a lot of fruits and vegetables so I love it when I find a great deal on produce. We have one large drawer full of vegetables, another one full of fruit, and we have a fresh fruit basket on the counter. One problem I had with produce in the past was it spoiling too fast. Also, the produce needs to be washed to remove any germs, sprays, mold, or other spores that that tend to spoil or contaminate the produce more quickly.
I have found the best way to rinse and clean the produce is to put everything in a clean sink, fill the sink with cold water, add approximately a half of cup of white vinegar, and let the produce soak for about 10 to 20 minutes. After the produce has soaked drain the water and rinse thoroughly before putting it away. You will be amazed at how much stuff comes off the produce (the sink is usually covered with a film, dirt, and little particles after I drain the water). Some of the items in the sink for this rinse – pineapple, mango, strawberries, kiwi, red delicious apples, granny smith apples, golden delicious apples, grapefruit, blackberries, oranges, clementines, cucumbers, tomatoes, celery, and a few other items.
One other way we have found that prolongs the life of our fruits and vegetables is the BluApple. The BluApple absorbs the ethylene gas is given off naturally by fruits and vegetables as a signaling mechanism in order to coordinate uniform ripening. We stick one BluApple in the vegetable drawer and another in the fruit drawer to prevent the produce from ripening as quickly. Between rinsing the produce with vinegar water and using the BluApples the life of the produce is extended 2 to 7 times the normal shelf life (at least for our family). A container of strawberries will last 2 to 4 weeks (if they last that long and are not eaten before that time) in our fridge. We have been doing this way for over a year now and it has worked very well for our family, hope these tips are a huge blessing to you too!
The clean sink starting to fill up with water (and three tomatoes).
Draining the dirty water
Up close picture of all the “stuff” floating in the water after washing the produce! Yikes!
After draining the water there is always a film around the sink with bits and pieces of produce, dirt, and other particles stuck to it. If you look closely you can even see the water line.
Lunch Box – Special Snack
Every once in awhile I will pack a special surprise snack in the girls lunch bags. Since they have the last lunch of the day their teachers allow them to have a snack mid-morning. I love hearing their comments after school about their surprise snack. Most of the time I am able to “sneak” the treat into their lunches so it is a surprise when they open up their bag at snack time! I picked up these goodie bags on clearance and filled them with homemade trail mix. Some of the items in the trail mix were cheerios, pretzels, dried bananas, cranberries, raisins, and nuts. They loved the beautiful bags and the delicious snack.
Birthday Celebrations
Happy Birthday to Brina & Karlie! We are so thrilled to be celebrating another great year with our sweet girls. Even though their birthday was a few days ago it has been a whirlwind of activities, fun, and celebrations so I am just now getting around to posting all the super fun stuff! The Happy Birthday banner was hung up in our kitchen over the sink the night before so they were greeted with it first thing in the morning as they went into the kitchen to eat breakfast!
Jake made the girls a delicious birthday breakfast treat to celebrate their birthday!!! He made them a yogurt cup topped with fresh blueberries, blackberries, and strawberries! Jake also made the girls ham and homemade hash browns.
The girls watching their sparkler candles while we sing “Happy Birthday” to them! We stuck the candles in their yogurt and fruit cups.
Brina very excited about her cool new bike!
Karlie ready to go for a ride on her new bike!
Karlie and Brina in their new birthday shirts ready to have a super fun birthday. First activity after breakfast…..a day at school.
Karlie’s entire school lunch and snack wrapped up and ready to go. She was so excited to unwrap all her food gifts for her lunch!
Brina’s birthday lunch all wrapped up in festive birthday wrapping, complete with a sweet card!
Birthday lunch packed and ready to go!
Birthday balloons always add a little fun to the big celebration day! They are still up and floating around in their rooms even though I picked them up before their birthdays!
Lunch Box Surprises: A Banana with a Name
Karlie & Brina’s bananas for lunch
When I make school lunches for the girls I try to put in something fun or interesting into their lunch boxes. Usually they don’t see what surprise I have added until they open their lunch box at school. I use a variety of different notes, treats, and special items for their lunches. One of the treats I have been doing this year is tattooing their bananas before sticking them into their lunches. They have gotten a real kick out of seeing tattooed bananas appear in their lunch boxes!
I love discovering new and easy ways to add a little spark to their meal! Both girls enjoy bananas and will take them in their lunches plus we typically have a variety of tattoos from random places around to put to use. These tattoos were from the girls last visit to the eye doctor.
One day as I was tattooing their bananas Jake suggested adding their names to the bananas too. I took a butter knife and lightly scratched their names into the bananas and drew a heart around their tattoos. As the scratched parts became exposed to the air the lettering began to darken and this is what it looked like a short while later. Our family usually packs lunches the night before so these went in the lunch boxes and fridge at night; the next morning when I added the ice packs the bananas looked the same as pictured above. The girls thought these were awesome!
Red, White, & Blue Smoothie
Are you ready for a smoothie now? Here’s a picture of the one the girls call our “red, white, and blue” smoothie. It is tasty, healthy, and easy to put together! Perfect for the July 4th Holiday.
Red, White & Blue Smoothie
- 1/4 cup Blueberries (fresh or frozen)
- 1 cup whole Strawberries (fresh or frozen)
- 1 Banana
- 1/4 cup Vanilla Yogurt
- 1 cup Milk
Blend all the ingredients together and enjoy. You can add more or less of the fruit or dairy if you prefer. This recipe is for a single serving so if you want it to serve more you will want to double or triple it.
Fun Edible Snacks
The girls love it when we put together a snack with a silly edible face. Usually after Awana on Sunday evening while they are taking their baths I will get a small snack for them to eat before heading to bed. I don’t want to give them something too heavy or unhealthy so there is usually a mix of fruits and veggies. On this particular silly face they had:
- Fresh Watermelon Slices
- Fresh Honeydew Slices
- Orange Pear Tomato
- Two Ritz Crackers
- Two Slices of Pepperoni
- Two Whole Cashews
Grape & Blueberry Fruit Smoothie
The warmer weather brings with it some great smoothies! Our family enjoys smoothies especially throughout the Spring and Summer Seasons. This is one we had recently. Most of our smoothies we make to order per person since all of us have a variety of tastes and preferences.
Grape & Blueberry Fruit Smoothie
- 1/4 cup fresh or frozen Blueberry
- 1/2 cup fresh or frozen Purple and/or White Grapes
- 1 cup Milk (dairy, soy, or coconut)
- 1/4 cup Yogurt (plain or flavored)
- 1 fresh or frozen Banana (optional)
Put all the ingredients together and blend until it is smooth. Enjoy!
A Side of Fresh Fruit
Fresh fruit is always a hit at our house. The girls love fruit and we try to have a variety in the fridge at all times. When there’s fruit as a side dish at dinner table we have to make sure the girls eat the rest of their meal before digging into the fruit because they love it so much.
Having a side of fresh fruit at the dinner table not only add color to the meal but a lot of great nutrition too. The best part about having a variety a fruit is everyone can pick what they like. I haven’t found a fruit that the girls didn’t like yet so they usually enjoy a little bit of each one. My favorite way to serve it is fresh washed (and sliced if needed) without anything on it. Although, we do have quite a few fruit salad recipes we enjoy too. What is your favorite fruit to serve at dinner?
