Easy Peasy School Lunch ideas

Ok so in my community there has been lots of talk and work to improve our lacking school lunches. "The Boy" would get school lunch almost every day just because he just likes to get lunch at school but does not always eat it all. "The Girl" is the opposite but is liking the salad bar at her new school. Most days they bring lunch from home. Yes I do pack it for them in the morning but you could pack it the night before or do enough for the week on Sunday evening. Here are some ideas...

(EDIT January 2014)  Our School lunches have improved a lot since my original post. Is there still room for improvement? Yes, but now my kids eat school lunch more often than not. Partly because I am working part time now and also because it is a choice we have made. I am leaving these ides here in hopes to help other moms who are struggling with choices :)

Sandwiches... OK this is a no brainer but "think outside the bread" :)
Meat and cheese roll-ups... roll favorite lunch meat with cheese and secure with a toothpick
Meat and cheese cut into shapes... I don't have the time and patience for this but some kids love it and it helps them be more adventurous.
Crackers ... add with cheese and meat and you have home made Lunchables!
Leftovers... anything that can be eaten cold, IE: Pizza
Frozen grapes... My kids LOVE these. I buy lots when they are on sale wash take off the vine and freeze.
Home made muffins ... freeze them! they will be perfectly defrosted by lunch :)
Freeze yogurt cups  ... this was a revelation to me! My kids love it and it's like they get ice cream with lunch! You can freeze the individual cups from the store or buy the big tubs and make your own.
Apple sauce ... make your own and freeze like the yogurt! Or buy the super size jug at the store and portion it out into your own containers.
Cut / wedged Apples ...  There are a few ways to keep them from browning... drizzle any citrus soda you have over them. I have been using a lemon lime soda from Aldi it's about .89 for 1 liter. Or wedge then wrap tightly back into it's shape with a rubber band or plastic wrap. The surfaces won't be exposed so the sugar will not oxidize as fast turning it brown. Use less sweet varieties, they brown slower!

 I will be adding more to the list but this is a start.

I also want you to know that I used to only think I could put pre packaged snacks and goodies in my kids lunch. It is only over the last few years I have begun to get more creative with their lunches.

See my all about lunch page for some pics of my kids lunches

10 minute home made strawberry ice cream without an icream maker!

So I was reading one of my Favorite Blogs the other day and she had posted about this "5 minute berry ice cream without an ice cream maker". I thought "hmmm I'm going to have to try that one day." One of the ingredients was heavy cream which I almost never purchase so I just added it to my "to try someday" file and forgot about it.

 A few days later I went to a local food distribution program and got all this heavy cream as part of a package deal.

So I decided to give the ice cream recipe a whirl!

I hauled out my trusty food processor (thank you swagbucks for helping me purchase this awesome kitchen tool!) 
I adapted This recipe a bit to make it easier for me and accommodate what I had available.

10 minute Strawberry Ice cream
Here is the Printable recipe

Ingredients:
4 cups frozen Strawberries, sliced, halved or quartered
1/2 - 3/4 cup of white sugar (adjust to your personal taste)
1/2 pint heavy cream (the cute tiny container)

Directions:
Add strawberries to your food processor.
Pour sugar over the berries.

Disclaimer: My pictures are not great for this post as I was impatient and it was super hot outside and I wanted to get this done and in the freezer ASAP! Also please ignore the weird stains on my very old counter tops. I have tried everything to remove them and they will not come off.

Pulse until the sugar and berries are mixed well and crushed pretty fine.

Slowly add in cream through the opening in the food processor. 
This part can get a bit frustrating if your processor is a smaller model like mine (it's and 8 cup vs. 12)  but if you take off the top and carefully move things around a bit with a wooden spoon (if you use a spatula you may cut it on the blade and if you use a spoon you could damage your blade) you will be all set. Turn on again and let it run until everything comes together. It will look all nice and slushy.

At this point you can put it in a container and freeze it so it gets nice and hard or you can serve it right away to you salivating children. I did both :)

This is what it looked like served right away

This stuff is AMAZING! I will say that I much preferred it after it had frozen solid. It scoops just like ice cream should and had a much nicer flavor I think after it had been in the freezer for 24 hours.

After serving this your family will definitely think you are the awesomest (yes it's a word, well today it is anyway) person in the whole universe!

If you find that you are getting lots of ice crystals next time stir your freezer mixture every 1/2 hour for a couple hours. It will help break them up.

Delightfully sinful snack, well... maybee not so sinful :)

So most of my friends know that I am a big time Aldi shopper. Over the past few weeks they have had great strawberries at a great price ($1.19 per Pound). Now, strawberries are not my favorite to just eat by themselves due to their slightly tart nature but I found a solution! I made a few variations on a cream cheese dip for them.

Version 1 (not the healthiest)
2 ounces of 1/3 lees fat creme cheesed
2-3 Tablespoons of powdered sugar or to taste
1/4 Teaspoon vanilla

Warm Cream cheese for 10-20 seconds in Microwave or until spreadable but not hot. Mix in powdered sugar and vanilla.

Wash 5-6 strawberries, cut off tops and cube or slice berries.

Layer berries and cream cheese mixture into a bowl. Enjoy!

Version 2 (slightly healthier version)
1 ounce cream cheese
1/3 cup vanilla yogurt

Warm Cream cheese slightly and whisk with yogurt. Layer with washed berries.

Version 3 The healthiest way to go...
Layer washed berries with vanilla yogurt :)

want to make it even better?

Add some sliced banana and drizzle some warmed Nutella on top MMM....

I was amazed how full I was after eating this.
If you really love a cheesecake type flavor version 1 is for you. I like that and version 2 VERY much!

Considering I have a serious sweet tooth I was really happy with this snack. I tried not to "drown" the berries in the creme so I would not counteract all the strawberry goodness.

How will you treat yourself this week?