Happy Friday Guys! I am so excited to have my very first guest poster today. The extremely talented Jen from Domesticated Nomad is in the house today to share her DIY Lunchables. Technically, we are doing a blog swap. I'm posting a new recipe over at her blog, and she is posting over here at Jam Hands. Be sure to drop by her site and say hi. Take it away Jen! -Ali
Hi Jam Hands readers! I adore Ali's blog and I'm so excited she let me take over today. I'm Jen from Domesticated Nomad. I typically blog about home DIY stuff and kids' art lessons, but today I'm going to talk to you well, write about DIY Lunchables.
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 tomato 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. I think this will be great for packed lunches for school too.
If you want the PDF of the menu, send me an email and I'll send it to you.
