Tuesday night I attended a Mini Enrichment Relief Society class at my friends Stephanie's house. She taught us some great fun and healthy ways to prepare lunches and snacks that the whole family can enjoy. I had a great time at this class. She is so talented and creative that I thought I would share with you the recipes that she gave us. I know all of you get into the same boat that we were in, our lunches for our kids can get boring and redundant and the kidlets and even the husbands don't like what we prepare. Thanks Stephanie for a wonderful class and all the taste test goodies..... p.s. (the fruit roll-up Sushi was my favorite) =D
Fun and Healthy Lunch Ideas
* Quesadilla Pizza’s-
Kids love anything that tastes like pizza. Take a tortilla, cover with pizza or spaghetti sauce, cheese, pepperoni, and any other topping that your kids would enjoy. Cover with another tortilla and cook it like a grilled cheese sandwich. Cut into wedges, and pack it in your kid’s lunch.* Bagel Face Sandwiches-Take a bagel and spread with cream cheese. Arrange any toppings that you like into a face shape on the bagel. Use toppings such as green peppers, olives, tomatoes, sprouts, and lunch meat. Wrap in plastic, and pack in kid’s lunch.* Frito Pie-Pack canned or homemade chili in a thermos. Send a bag of baked tortilla chips (store bought or homemade), and some shredded cheese. Have your child layer the chips and cheese in the bottom of the thermos cup, and top with the chili. Enjoy!*
Homemade Tortilla Chips-I use the Tortilla Land uncooked flour tortillas, you can also use regular flour tortillas. Cut into shapes with cookie cutters. Arrange on cookie sheet and toast in a 400 degree oven for 6-8 minutes. Try brushing a very small amount of olive oil or cooking spray on chips and then sprinkling cinnamon sugar or Parmesan cheese on top. If you try the cinnamon sugar, send the chips along with a container of applesauce for dipping in your child’s lunch.*
Deli Rolls-My kids love these! Take a slice of deli meat and wrap a slice of cheese and a pickle spear inside.*
Cookie Dippers-Kids love to dip! Send vanilla wafer cookies along with a container of their favorite yogurt to dip them in.*
Fruity Marshmallow Kabobs-You can use drinking straws for the skewers, by pinching the end of the straw together so that it will poke through the fruit. Alternate putting chunk fruit and large marshmallows on the skewer. I like to use the flavored marshmallows to add a little variety; they have chocolate, strawberry, and coconut coated ones. Wrap in plastic and send in your child’s lunch for a fruity treat.*
Protein Balls-1 cup peanut butter (creamy or crunchy)½ cup nonfat dry milk powder (you may also use vanilla protein powder)½ cup raisins, chocolate chips, carob chips, yogurt chips or whatever you think would be good.¼ cup Honey Graham cracker crumbs in large bowl, mix all ingredients except the graham cracker crumbs. Shape the mixture into 1 inch balls. Roll in graham cracker crumbs and refrigerate. Makes 24. YUMMY!*
Cookie Cutter Sandwiches-Any sandwich cut with a large cookie cutter; star, heart, dinosaur, animals, etc. will become an irresistible treat!* Pin Wheel Sandwiches-Spread your child’s favorite sandwich filling onto a tortilla. Roll it up and slice it into small pieces. Our favorite fillings are peanut butter with jelly or banana slices, or lunch meat with cream cheese, or scrambled eggs (made with salsa) with cheese and sour cream.*
Cheesy Stars-Use a small cookie cutter to cut cheddar cheese pieces. In a separate bag provide crackers or apple slices. You can also use the cookie cutter to cut bologna, ham or turkey.*
Bugs on a Log-An old favorite with kids- Fill celery with cream cheese or peanut butter and top with raisins or craisins. Stick two of them together to form a log.*
Bean and Cheese Roll-ups-Fill tortilla with refried beans and shredded cheese and roll.*
Ocean Yogurt-Buy a large container of yogurt and spoon it into smaller containers that fit into the lunchbox. To make it fun, add some blue food coloring and tell the kids that it is ocean yogurt. Pack with some fish-shaped crackers. (Also, try green food coloring to make the yogurt alien slime)*
PB & J Spiders-To make regular PB & J’s more exciting; turn the sandwich into a spider! Use a large glass to cut a circle shape from the already-made sandwich. Add eight pretzel-sticks for the legs and 2 chocolate chips for the eyes.*
Drinks-Fill small plastic water bottle about 1/3 full with water, and freeze overnight. Add fruit-juice concentrate to the bottle in the morning. It will mix with the water as it thaws. It will also keep the food that is in the lunch box cold, and it will be ready to drink by lunch time.*
Strawberry Cream Dip-1 Pkg. cream cheese, softened½ cup vanilla yogurt½ cup strawberry jam in a medium bowl, with an electric beater on medium speed, beat the cream cheese until creamy. Add the yogurt and jam, continue beating until smooth. Cover and chill for at least an hour before serving. Hint: Use reduced fat cream cheese and low-fat yogurt, and serve with fresh-cut chunks of cantaloupe, honeydew, or pineapple, and apple slices and whole strawberries. It all works!*
Pizza chips-These are similar to the homemade tortilla chips only with a different spin.½ cup (1 stick) butter, melted1 package (1 ¼ ounces) dry spaghetti sauce mix10 (8 inch) tortillas¼ cup grated Parmesan Cheese. Preheat the oven to 375 degrees. In a small bowl, combine the butter and spaghetti sauce; mix well. Spread evenly over on side of the tortillas then sprinkle with the Parmesan cheese. Cut each tortilla into 8 wedges and place on baking sheets. Bake for 8 to 10 minutes, or until the chips are golden and crispy. These are terrific as is or served with marinara sauce for dunking.*
Fruit Roll Sushi-1 tablespoon butter12 marshmallows2 cups crispy rice cereal4 (4 ½ inch0 square fruit roll-ups6 assorted licorice or fruit twist sticks, cut in half crosswise. In a medium saucepan, melt butter over low heat. Add the marshmallows and stir until completely melted. Remove from the heat and stir in the cereal until completely coated. On a flat surface, unroll the fruit roll-ups. Spread equal amounts of the cereal mixture over each roll-up, covering the entire surface and packing the mixture flat. Place 3 different –colored licorice or fruit twists in the center of each and roll tightly into a log, sealing where the edges meet. Squeeze the rolls gently to secure. Trim the ends and slice with a serrated knife into ½ inch pieces. Serve, or store in an airtight container until ready to serve.Preparation Tip: To give your snack the most variety and color, use different-colored and flavored fruit roll-ups and licorice or fruit twist snacks. And if you can’t find different- colored licorice, you can even use gummy worms or fruit snacks.
**Receipes stolen from Steph's Blog... =D**
Labels: Fun lunches
Last Tuesday as I was wrapping up our day I heard Sawyer start to cry. As I went to see what was happening upstairs Sawyer was upset and was holding her wrist. KyLee went on to explain that Sawyer was trying to climb up on my bed slipped on the bed skirt and fell. She tried to stop herself by putting her arm down. I felt bad and almost wanted to cry, but then I saw KyLee face and she was upset so I was the brave mom and checked Sawyer to make sure she was okay. I called Cody and it was off to the ER room to have her checked out.
The doctor was very nice and explained to us that nothing was broken. My little prayers on the way to the hospital were heard. She had dislocated her elbow and after 4 hours in the ER they popped it back into place for her. The doctor said she would be fine, but wanted to put her in a sling just to help with the pain. He advised us to follow up with an Ortho dr. in a couple of days.
We went and saw the ortho doctor on Friday. Since the x-ray of her elbow was taken after the popped it back into place (other x-rays were taken but of her wrist) she wanted to go ahead and cast it just to make sure that everything "glues" itself back together correctly.
I have to admit, my little spunky wild child is a trooper!! When the dr said he needed to "pop" the elbow back into place, I went a little white and I handed her to Cody. I have had elbows, fingers, and ankles popped back into place. Volleyball and softball can do wonders to a person body!! On me okay, on my baby, not so okay. She cried for a minute but after it was all done you could tell she felt a lot better. Two weeks in a cast. One week down one to go. As we were waiting, and waiting, and again waiting for the dr. KyLee asked us if she has ever had to go the emergency room. Not once has KyLee ever had to go. The experience with Sawyer was one time enough for me.
