It's LunchPossible!

Awhile back I shared this post at Jam Hands, a favorite food blog of mine. I thought I'd share it here today.

Out in blogland, I wish I could remember where, I saw the idea of making a menu for the kids to deal with the summer lunches. I thought this was a great idea. But I wanted to make the lunches "ready-to-go" so I created my own, much tastier and healthier, lunchables.

I made up my menu:

This is posted to the fridge so they can stand there and ponder it as long as they want, and I don't have to stand there and repeat their choices until they decide. I can go about my business.

So, what are their choices?

Pizza: homemade flatbreads, mozzarella, pepperoni, and pizza sauce with carrot sticks and jello. Just use your favorite recipes or brands.

For the Jello cups, it is a huge money saver to make your own. I bought 4 oz. mason jars. With one package of Jello, I was able to fill eight jars.

If the boys pick a lunch with a Jello cup, they can grab one and eat it right out of the jar. So easy.

Meat, Cheese and Crackers:

Um, it's what it sounds like. But if you do it yourself, you control the quality. And I include fresh fruit.

Boiled Egg Box:

My youngest doesn't eat much meat, so this box is about meatless protein. A boiled egg, celery with peanut butter, and a Jello cup.

Butter Noodles:

Butter noodles, peas, cheese and applesauce


After boiling the noodles and draining I add butter or margarine and a dash of garlic salt. Stir it up and add it to the box.

Also, add peas, sliced cheese and an applesauce cup. (Again, money saver, buy a large jar of applesauce and pour into small mason jars. Huge savings, little work.)

When you serve this box, take out the applesauce and cheese and add a tiny bit of water. Loosely cover with the lid and pop in the microwave to reheat. The tiny bit of water will steam things so the pasta isn't dry.

I will just make up several boxes on the weekends to stock up the fridge for the upcoming week.

I will probably have some other options on occasion too. It's not that I mind cooking; actually, I love to cook. It's that I hate the daily drama of deciding what to have for lunch. Now there is no guess work. 

After doing all this, I realized that these would work great for packed lunches for school too. I may have to add some ideas for variety throughout the year.

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Guest Post: Ali from Jam Hands

Today I am happy to welcome Ali from one of my favorite food blogs, . And I am guest posting over there today!

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Happy Friday everybody! My name is Ali and I am so happy to be guest hosting for you today. I am a huge fan of Jen so it is a real treat to be able to do a little blog swap with her today. If you were wondering, I write about food, DIY, and blogging at my site, Jam Hands. I am not a crafty girl whatsoever, so I envy Jen and her crafty skills.

I don't know about you, but lately I've been feeling the urge to clean, throw out, and start with a clean slate. My entire life seems out of whack lately, nutrition being part of that.

After rounding up a whole bunch of fruits and vegetables, I decided to create a juice recipe that had strawberry, orange and cucumber. The carrots, grapes and spring salad mix were also looking good, so I added those in as well. I juiced it on up and hoped for the best.

The result was incredible.This is a seriously delicious juice. My kids were giving me the puppy dog eyes, wanting to try it, so I poured them a drink and waited to see their reaction.
The toddler made a funny little face like he tasted a lemon - but only for a split second. He seemed to consider the drink for a few moments, and then he chugged it. Success! My daughter drank her juice down quickly as well, and bugged me all day long for more juice. I was so happy that they were digging the juice and getting more servings of fruits and vegetables in their diet. Ready for the recipe?

Strawberry, Orange & Cucumber Juice
Makes 1-2 servings

1 large cucumber, peeled and de-seeded
3-4 strawberries, tops removed
1 orange, rind removed (some pith is fine, it is nutritious)
handful of grapes
1 carrot, peeled and top & bottom cut off
handful of greens (I used a spring mix, you can use whatever you like)

1. Juice all ingredients and serve.

Source: Jamhands.net

Note: There seems to be a ton of varying opinions about if you should combine fruits and vegetables when you juice or blend. I have spent hours looking at the information out there, and you know what, I'm still confused. My advice is: Listen to your body. If you get an upset tummy after combining fruits and vegetables, next time try just fruit, or just veggies. All I know is the three of us drank this juice, loved it, and no one had any stomach discomfort.