Autumn Rose Reo

Three Healthy Back-to-School Recipes in Three Minutes

August 25, 2014 By Autumn Rose Reo 1 Comment

Today is a big day for our family! We have a first grader! Isn’t he adorable?

Not only does that mean he’s getting older, but that mama has a whole new set of challenges to get a healthy breakfast on the table in the mornings, tasty lunches that my kid will want to eat and have nutritious dinner made for my family – and that’s EVERYDAY!

So I shared some of my shortcuts today on GOOD MORNING TEXAS that hopefully can make it a little bit easier for all of us, especially on this first day BACK-TO-SCHOOL!

Breakfast

Who doesn’t like donuts for breakfast?!? However, these are made with applesauce and tons of other healthy stuff that make it good to eat donuts! Did I also mention they are Paleo and Gluten-free, too!

Healthy Honey Donuts (Paleo & Gluten Free)

Print Recipe

Ingredients

Scale

2 ripe bananas
1 cup of applesauce (I prefer apple-cinnamon Go Go squeeZ)
1/ cup melted coconut oil
1 tsp vanilla
1 egg
2 tsp honey
1 cup quinoa flour
1 tsp baking soda
1 tsp cinnamon
1/2 tsp salt
1 Tbsp honey to dip or drizzle on donut

Instructions

Preheat oven to 350 degrees and coat donut pan with melted coconut oil.
Add bananas and applesauce to food processor and blend into smooth
Pour into a large mixing bowl and add coconut oil, vanilla, egg and honey and whisk until egg is combined.
In a separate bowl, combine flours, baking soda, cinnamon, salt and mix until incorporated.
Pour dry ingredients unto wet and mix thoroughly.
Pour batter into donut pan.
Bake for approx. 20-25 minutes, until dough bounces back after being pressed.
Cool for about 5 minutes in pan, then remove to a cooling rack.
When donuts have cooled slightly, add drizzled honey or dip donuts in honey while warm.

Lunch

Lunch doesn’t have to be that hard to make it fun to eat and healthy, too! Have fun making it and ask the kids to help you, too! Here’s a few recipe for ham & cheese sushi, make-your-own “lunchables” and a whole lot of mutitasking tips that will make you “Mom of the Year” without a lot of time, money or work!

3 Must-Do Tips to Get Back-to-School Ready

Easy & Quick Back-to-School COOL Lunch Ideas

Dinner

And last, but not least – it’s dinner time! Probably the hardest meal for any family since so much can happen to affect getting it done! So rather than resort to a drive-through or something frozen, consider the fabulous rotisserie chicken! Like the answer to my dreams, the rotisserie chicken is healthy, cheap and can be made into everything! Just check out this Pinterest Board and you can have rotisserie chicken on the menu weekly and never repeat a recipe!

Follow Autumn Reo {mamachallenge.com}’s board Rotisserie Chicken Recipes on Pinterest.

For all the other days? Emeals! (Affiliate link included.)

EMeals subscription-based service gives you a week’s worth of grocery shopping for your diet plan on a budget and the recipes so you aren’t busy figuring things out. Dave Ramsey recommends this and so do other budget savvy websites. Right now you can get 20% of any eMeals Meal Plan with the code SCHOOL!

Save 20% with code SCHOOL

Raisin Treats for All of Us to Eat {Giveaway}

August 23, 2014 By Autumn Rose Reo 2 Comments

With summer almost behind us, it was time to get back into “school” mode. Thankfully a visit from the was the perfect opportunity to talk back-to-school lunch ideas and innovative snacks using nature’s own sweet snack, raisins!

California Raisins are a natural, healthy and convenient food that is perfect for back-to-school/after-school snacking. With sweetness kissed-by-the-sun that is pure with zero fat, no cholesterol and packed with fiber, potassium and iron, raisins are some of the most economical and wholesome ways to enjoy fruit!

With a natural sweetness with no added sugar, their delicious taste is ideal for tons of recipes like this Honey Nut Raisin Snack Mix! And you’ll find tons more of great ideas on the

California Raisins’ Honey Nut Raisin Snack Mix

Print Recipe

Ingredients

Scale

2 tablespoons butter
1/2 cup honey
2 tablespoons almond butter
1/2 teaspoon cinnamon
1 1/2 cups brown crispy rice cereal
1 cup sliced almonds
1 cup rolled gluten-free oats
2 cups California raisins
1/2 cup California golden raisins

Instructions

Line a large baking sheet with parchment paper. Melt butter in a large pot over medium heat. Add honey, almond butter and cinnamon and bring to a full boil. Let boil for 5 minutes, stirring frequently. Remove from heat and stir in cereal, almonds and oats. Spread 1-inch thick on a baking sheet then separate into 1-inch clusters. Let cool completely then stir in raisins. Store in an airtight container.
For crunchy clusters, spread cooked mixture 1-inch thick on prepared baking sheet. Bake at 350°F for 5 to 7 minutes or until lightly browned. Stir to form clusters and let cool completely. Stir in raisins.
* Recipe courtesy of California Raisins on CaRaisins.org.

Just in time for back-to-school, you can win a prize pack from California Raisins with a plushie, lunch container, and other fun ways to enjoy raisins by answering this very easy question:

What’s your favorite way to eat raisins?

a Rafflecopter giveaway

This is a sponsored post written by me on behalf California Raisins.

Spa Light, Spa Bright: Spa on the Square is Answer To Your Beauty Wishes

August 22, 2014 By Autumn Rose Reo Leave a Comment

I was provided a unique opportunity to experience Spa on the Square and its amazing services and staff for a fun girls’ night out.

Most the time massages happen for me is either when one kid has knocked out a sciatic nerve and I can’t move it or some lovely sponsor has thanked me with a gift card. While I appreciate the later, they don’t happen near as much as I’d like to OR should have them. Actually when I met up with a few of my other writer friends at a fun “Girls Night Out” event at Spa on the Square in Southlake, I was kinda sad to hear how little most of them get massages or had even had a facial. Haircuts and highlights come pretty far in between too as exemplified by yours truly with her self-made “ombre” look that was nothing more than a faded highlight from over a year ago.

So needless to say, it was time. Way past time.

We spent the evening learning that there was a way to fit all the types of services – from facials, haircuts, massages, manicures and more with their EXPRESS SERVICES. We no longer could use the excuse we didn’t have the time to spend a half day treating ourselves, these services could be done over lunch in most cases (and with an Adventure Kids Daycare just down the street to drop-off a kiddo for a short time), there really were no excuses and there shouldn’t be guilt either.

My lovely gal pal blogger Arena of A Nerd’s Wife and Always Arena enjoys her microdermabrasion treatment.

It is important that mom feel good on the outside as she does the inside.

Remember a happy mom makes for a happy family, too!

And after a LONG conversation with this facial technician, I realized that there was so much that I do to get rid of my problem areas on my face (dark circles, freckles and leftover pregnancy face) that make me feel the need to slather on foundation (or spackle) as my husband likes to call it.) After just a few treatments, I could be actually shaving off time from my morning makeup routine and also regenerating my skin to help prevent wrinkles (those lovely things that have crept up on me after two kids.)

And massages, well those just aren’t for a little rubdown either! I actually found out they had a medical massage therapist on site who could help me get all those kinks, knots and leftover kid nerve issues back into shape. I have a feeling she’s going to be seeing a lot of me!

Jenn of Jenn’s RAQ takes a few minute to give her skin some attention.

However, that’s just the start of what a little time at Spa on the Square can do for you. (I mean you haven’t really seen Southlake women look bad, have you?)

Just take a look at their service list:

MedSpa

Spa

Salon

Spa on the Square
(817) 488.8848
1422 Main Street, Suite 263
Southlake, Texas 76092
http://www.spaonthesquaresouthlake.com

Chili’s® at Home Heats Up the Frozen Food Aisle

August 21, 2014 By Autumn Rose Reo 9 Comments

Many thanks to Bellisio Foods for sponsoring this post about Chili’s® Grill & Bar frozen meals at home.

There are days that seem I have meals handled and then the days that deserve going out to eat. And now there is a new option from Bellisio Foods when it’s just not in mom to make dinner or going out to eat, but the rest of the family is still hankering for some of their restaurant favorites (at home!) Thankfully, you now find Chili’s® Grill & Bar as single-serve entrees and multi-serve meals made for adventurous taste buds on a flavor mission in your freezer section.

Chili’s® Grill & Bar new line of frozen foods delivers the bold, southwestern flavors with entrées like Pepper Jack Mac ‘N’ Cheese and Chicken Fajita Rice Bowl. And with my kids, we couldn’t resist the Bacon Mac ‘N’ Cheese and Seasoned Chicken Bites with Honey Chipotle Sauce. For mom and dad the Chicken Fajita Rice Bowl and the Chicken Bacon Ranch caught our eye and taste buds.

And all mom had to do when take it out of the freezer, to the microwave and in about three minutes it was on our plates, straight to our bellies!

Available at major retailers nationwide, including Walmart, Kroger, Safeway, Food Lion, H-E-B, Meijer, Giant Eagle, Schnucks and more, I was able to score a coupon for a free Chili’s® Grill & Bar single entrée from Kroger on their smartphone app, so keep your eyes peeled for other possible offers.

SINGLE-SERVE ENTRÉES
1. Bacon Mac ‘N’ Cheese
2. Cajun-Style Chicken Alfredo
3. Cheesy Chicken Pasta Florentine
4. Chicken Bacon Ranch
5. Chicken Fajita Rice Bowl
6. Island Chicken & Rice
7. Mango Chicken with Rice
8. Pepper Jack Mac ‘N’ Cheese

MULTI-SERVE MEALS
1. Bacon Mac ‘N’ Cheese
2. Chicken Bacon Ranch
3. Chicken Fajita Rice
4. Nacho Potatoes with Beef & Bacon
5. Seasoned Chicken Bites with Honey Chipotle Sauce

Now you can have your favorite restaurant foods from at your fingertips with Chili’s® Grill & Bar frozen meals at home.

BABYBJÖRN Gives Us WE the Baby Carrier {Giveaway}

August 19, 2014 By Autumn Rose Reo 33 Comments

Affiliate link may be included.

If you’ve had a baby, then you know amount the struggles of holding a baby, keeping them happy and trying to do anything else with your hands – especially if you don’t have any help! Going to the grocery store, the mall or just even walking around become the most uncomfortable and complicated experiences of your life, all because of your bountiful baby of about 12 lbs.

Thankfully, someone has either shared with you that there is a way to survive without attempting to invent a second set of hands or boy, do I have a solution for you!

BABYBJÖRN, the family-owned Swedish company, which pioneered babywearing in the ‘60s just launched their newest baby-must have with their new BABYBJÖRN Baby Carrier We. Similar to the recently launched Baby Carrier One, the We is suitable for use from birth up to 3 years old, with options to carry your baby on your front close to your heart or switch to a back-carry position with one simple movement. The ergonomic carrier offers maximum comfort for you and baby, supporting the child’s head, back and hips and offering adjustable padded shoulder straps and waist belt.

Baby Carrier We was developed based on the results of hundreds of interviews conducted with families in several countries. BABYBJÖRN found that parents want a simple baby carrier that they can use for a long time and another big bonus: an affordable price.

BABYBJÖRN’s Baby Carrier We is made of high-quality cotton and polyester. The materials are certified for use in baby products in accordance with Oeko-Tex Standard 100, Class 1, which guarantees that they do not contain any health-hazardous or allergenic substances. The company will also launch Teething Pads for Baby Carrier, which will be compatible with Baby Carrier We and Baby Carrier One. Made from a soft, waterproof fabric with no harmful chemicals, these teething pads are easy to slip on and off and can be machine washed, keeping the carrier cleaner for longer.

BABYBJÖRN’s Baby Carrier We can be purchased for a suggested retail price of $139.95. The Teething Pads for Baby Carrier will be available in early Fall for a suggested retail price of $24.95. For more information, please visit www.babybjorn.com, and follow BABYBJÖRN on Facebook and Twitter.

ENTERING BY SHARING:

What’s the one baby item you can’t live without?

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Three Tips to Make Getting a Shot Easier for Kids

August 18, 2014 By Autumn Rose Reo 2 Comments

This shop has been compensated by Collective Bias, Inc. and its advertiser. All opinions are mine alone. #GiveaShot #CollectiveBias

Preparing for the new school year is much more than a new back pack and new pencils. With a first-grader now in the family, we had a long list of needs to get ready for school including making sure we had his required immunization records updated and a copy to complete his registration for his new school. Rather than competing for an appointment at the pediatrician, I wanted something close to home and didn’t require me sitting in the doctor’s office for a while.

Targeting kids ages 7-and up, the Get a Shot. Give a Shot (R), Shot@Life program at Walgreens is designed to make it easy and quick to get kids Back-to-School required immunizations! And best of all, when your child gets their immunizations, Walgreens pays it forward by providing a life-saving vaccine for a child in developing country through the United Nation Foundation’s Shot@Life Campaign. And you don’t even have to make an appointment to get your vaccinations and most insurances are accepted!

Just like the commercial says, Walgreens is at the corner of Happy & Healthy! I’m a happy camper and immunizations help to keep my family healthy!

While it’s as easy as dropping by your closest Walgreens to get your immunizations, it’s difficult to comprehend that 1 in 5 children around the globe still lacks access to the lifesaving immunizations. Since immunizations have become part of the public health recommendations and has shown that in some cases that it has completely eradicating or minimizing some of the worst health concerns , it’s hard to imagine that a simple pinprick can be the difference between life and death for some many children. Just take a look at the historical rundown of the history of the immunization schedule, including the recommended shots today. (The history of vaccines at historyofvaccines.org is a great resource of seeing how immunizations has impacted us since the 1700s!)

Graphic credit: http://www.historyofvaccines.org/content/history-immunization-schedule

Walgreens may make it easy to get the show, but there’s still the issue of not getting the shot to be as traumatic for the kids. So after a nice chat with my local pharmacists at Walgreens and a little of my own experience with shots and kiddos, here’s some helpful tips to make it even easier (or at least happier!)

THREE TIPS TO MAKE GETTING A SHOT EASIER

1. Just Cough

According to a study that appeared in Pediatrics in 2010 on Health.com, that when kids coughed before and after a shot, they experienced less pain. Making the same action of “blowing out candles” may do the same thing, too!

2. Diversion

I’m the first mom to admit that the iPhone has allowed me to get many things done with my kids when I hand it over. Too bad when I ask them to stop it’s a lot harder to get their attention when they are zoned in. However, when it comes to getting a shot, this is exactly what you want. Turn on their favorite show, app or even run through photos just long enough to get that shot over with and on without a crying fit.

3. Sugar

Since the day my son was born he’s undergone more needles than I ever have. Another hiccup was that he wasn’t supposed to get upset or do anything that would get his heart pumping overtime. So the first time the nurse popped up a little sugar water to give to him before a shot “to ease the pain” I was wowed how good it worked! Throughout his childhood, I’ve made sure to have a little “dum-dum” pop to lick right before the shot. It works like a dream and will for you too!

Once the shot is over, the Walgreens’ pharmacists will provide an update to your own primary care pediatrician! And for moms like me that have a problem maintaining records, Walgreens even has an Online Immunization Record you can update to keep up with all your immunization appointments.

From the Walgreens App

Don’t forget Walgreens is also the place for great deals for back-to-school supplies! Make sure to check out your Walgreens app to check this week’s ad and electronic coupons for all things you need – for you AND them. Supplies aren’t just for the kids; I picked up a few journals for my notes and as always, a new set of Sharpies ($ .49 when my coupon!) I also ordered a notebook with the kids’ photos at the Photo Center.

GET A SHOT, GIVE A SHOT with WALGREENS

“What Back-to-School tasks do you still have left to complete?”

3 Must-Do Tips to Get Back-to-School Ready {Giveaway}

August 16, 2014 By Autumn Rose Reo Leave a Comment

Summer’s been great, but I’ll admit part of me is excited for school to start. However, before that first bell rings, the kids (and you) need to get a jump start on getting ready for the school year. Here’s three tips I shared on Fox Good Day Saturday that every family needs to know to get your year off to a great start! (And a giveaway, too!)

Practice Makes Perfect

Practice and get back into a routine now until school starts with setting alarms for waking up and going to bed.

Here’s the adorable clock I got for my first-grader in efforts to making waking up fun (He loves to sleep!)

Get Organized

Get a way to organize your family! I use with my smartphone and Google Calendars to organize all of our schedules. Or you can use an app like Cozi if you prefer! But some prefer it to be written down, so make a central location where everyone can see the calendar.

Make a Family Book and keep it updated! This has all the things you need from menus, basic phone numbers, policies, baby sitter instructions, etc.

Follow Autumn Reo {mamachallenge.com}’s board Back to School on Pinterest.

Think Smarter (not harder) when it comes to Meals

Breakfast:

Try to make a few items in advance to make a healthy breakfast a cinch. I like muffins and pancakes because they freeze well and best of all you can “sneak” in extra nutrition like one of these Go Go squeeZ pouches give you almost a full serving of fruit and used instead of sugar.

Dallas News | myFOXdfw.com

Lunch:

Make them the night before! And make them fun & healthy without spending much time! My kids LOVE ready-made meals like Lunchables, but by making your own, you can make them healthy and save money. You can make your own pizza crusts in advance and with items that you have make a great and healthy meal your kid will want to eat.
Also you’ll want to multitask – use squeeze pouches for ice packs and then they’ll have them to eat in advance. Make sure you check out these other great tips on lunches from my recent visit to The Broadcast!

Click here to find out how!

Dinner:

A little planning will go a long way, but sometimes that doesn’t happen with all the other stuff! I use emeals and it’s a plan that emails you the meal plan, recipes and shopping list so it takes all the work in being advance. Recommended by Dave Ramsey, emeals subscription-based service gives you a week’s worth of grocery shopping for your diet plan on a budget and the recipes so you aren’t busy figuring things out. Right now you can get 20% of any eMeals Meal Plan with the code SCHOOL!

Also make sure you think about items that can make one night and then use the leftovers later like roast for tacos or BBQ sandwiches. Or a rotisserie chicken makes the world go round! From chicken, pizza, stirfry, tortilla soup and more! (Sounds like another blog post!)

Save 20% with code SCHOOL

Hatch Chile and Chorizo Breakfast Pie

August 15, 2014 By Autumn Rose Reo Leave a Comment

Want to spice up your brunch game? This Hatch Chile and Chorizo Breakfast Pie is the answer! And make it in advance for the win!

If you live in the south (especially in Texas or New Mexico), Hatch Chile time is like football season. It may not have a Hallmark card made in its honor, but by golly we celebrate it, give praise and make lots of food based in its honor.

If you’ve never had the privilege to partake in enjoying hatch chilies, I’m about to give you a reason to book a plane to your nearest Market Street to load up on this lovely little pepper that’s available for a short time in August/September. It’s got cheese, eggs, chorizo, tortillas and a whole lotta love. And it’s SOOO good you’ll make it for breakfast and still be craving more of it at dinner (although it won’t make it past lunch time!)

However, I thought we’d do things Alton Brown style (my ultimate foodie crush) and take a look at when, how and what made the hatch chile “hatch” into such a phenomenon.

Let’s take a trip to where it all started. In a most appropriately named town in New Mexico called Hatch. Similar to the fact you can only call champagne if it comes from the region of France otherwise you have to call it sparkling wine, Hatch chiles are technically only grow in the Hatch Valley of New Mexico. And while I can go on about how Christopher Columbus is also a part of the pepper story and how space ships enter the picture, we have some Hatch Chile & Chorizo Breakfast Pie to eat.

But first, other than taste, do peppers have any real nutritional value?

Photo from Market Street Facebook Page

According to the official Hatch Chile Festival website, there are a lot of “capsational” reasons to enjoy chiles:

One fresh medium-sized green chile pod has as much Vitamin C as six oranges.
One teaspoon of dried red chile powder has the daily requirements of Vitamin A.
Hot chile peppers burn calories by triggering a thermodynamic burn in the body, which speeds up the metabolism.
Teas & lozenges are made with chile peppers for the treatment of a sore throat.
Capsaicinoids, the chemical that make chile peppers hot, are used in muscle patches for sore and aching muscles.
Chile peppers are relatives of tomatoes, potatoes, and eggplants, all belonging to the nightshade family.
The color extracted from very red chile pepper pods, oleoresin, is used in everything from lipstick to processed meats.
There are 26 known species of chile pepper, five of which are domesticated.

Adapted from the New Mexico Chile Institutes’ “Chile Pepper Facts”

But you want to know the best reason to eat ’em? It’s because everything taste better with hatch peppers. And I’ve taken all the best parts of a Mexican breakfast along and added a little hatch for a perfect breakfast, brunch, lunch, dinner meal (we actually ate this as a snack and it didn’t make it to a meal it was so good!)

Hatch Chile & Chorizo Breakfast Pie

Print Recipe

Ingredients

Scale

5–6 Hatch chiles, roasted, peeled, seeded and chopped (you can get them roasted at Market Street)
1/2 tablespoon olive oil
1 onion, chopped
2 cloves garlic, minced
1 small tomato, diced
6 ounces pork chorizo, casing removed
4 eggs
1/2 cup milk
Salt and black pepper, to taste
1/2 teaspoon paprika
1/2 teaspoon chipotle chile powder
4–5 corn tortillas
1 cup shredded cheese, Mexican Style Cheese Mix

Instructions

Heat the oven to 350 degrees F.
Heat a skillet on medium heat and add oil.
Sauté onion and garlic, until softened.
Add tomatoes and chorizo and cook until completely cooked (chorizo doesn’t brown though so don’t overcook.) Now add the hatch peppers to saute just a little bit.
In a bowl whisk the eggs and then add the milk, salt, pepper, paprika, and chipotle powder.
Now taking an iron skillet, add a little butter or oil then cover the bottom of the skillet with the tortillas. I let them overlap a little to make a thin “crust” on the bottom of the pan. Next add the eggs, then the meat and last cover with cheese.
Bake uncovered for 25 to 30 minutes.

Once you have your first hatch experience, you’ll be ready to hatch everything! ST find more recipes on the Market Street Hatch Chile Fest Pinterest board! And if you do make anything, make sure to tag it #HatchChileFest and it might end up on the board too!

What do you think Hatch Chiles would be good with?

Save $ on B2S w/ JBF, Aug. 20 – Sept. 6 {Win a Gift card}

August 12, 2014 By Autumn Rose Reo Leave a Comment

Disclaimer: This post is sponsored by JBF Fort Worth.

If you know what the title says, then you are already a mom in the know.

If not and it looks more like some crazy stuff on a text message, then let me introduce you to your new best friend, JBF Fort Worth (that’s Just Between Friends!)

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Photo Credit: JBF FW Facebook

Considered Texas’ LARGEST children’s and maternity consignment sale, Saturday, Aug. 30, 2014 – Saturday, Sept. 6, 2014 at Fort Worth’s Will Rogers Memorial Center – Amon G. Carter Exhibit Hall. I’ve always been a big fan of these sales since you have the chance to get clothes at a huge discount, not to mention these items have already gotten a mom’s eye, so I’m able to find several outfits in my favorite styles!

My first time at JBF Fort Worth was when my daughter was born and I completely stocked her closet for winter and spring for less than $100. Now that I have a first-grader and my daughter just turned three, I have lots of clothes to sell, but no time to organize them for consignment.

So I found the next best thing: Drop-N-Go Tagging and they do all the work for you!

First time parents can sign-up to shop early (registration for the First Time Parent Sale ends on August 28), as well as volunteering & consigning will get you an early pre-sale pass! More information on early shopping, check the website!

Family Fun Fest
In addition to the amazing deals with 1/2 off everything on Saturday, Sept. 6, the whole family is invited for fun activities at the FREE Family Fun Fest, 10 am and 2 pm.

Wall of Wishes Beneficiary

Each year JBF Fort Worth partners with a local organization to create the Wall of Wishes. This year’s beneficiary is NewDay Services! Much like an Angel Tree that you see during the holiday season, you will see a display items that are needed by an area non-profit group. The items on the Wall will be items that you can purchase right at JBF. You will make your purchases and then leave the items at JBF where the charity group will come pick up your generous donations at the end of the sale. What an easy way to help families in need!

NEW Teacher Passes
Teachers, School Administrators, and Homeschoolers get Free Passes for JBF Fort Worth valid on Sunday, August 31, 2014 from 3 pm to 7 pm. Please email Joanie@JBFSale.com for more details.

They’ve also brought back the Frequent Shopper Card with savings when you come back and shop a 2nd day and spend the minimum amount!

And to make it an even better deal, one reader will will $15 Gift Card to JBF FW!

a Rafflecopter giveaway

Now be nice and make sure you share this with another mom!

Disclaimer: This post is sponsored by JBF Fort Worth.

Easy & Quick Back-to-School COOL Lunch Ideas

August 12, 2014 By Autumn Rose Reo Leave a Comment

Disclaimer: Affiliate links may be included.

I’m sure you’ve all seen Pinterest and these incredible lunch bento boxes. They’re cute, but let’s face it, most parents don’t have the time for that. No matter how cute it is. However, there is some science to making food attractive – it’s all about the presentation, right? I shared my tips with the gals at The Broadcast.

Must Haves for Fun Lunches

Muffin Tins: Make your own Bento boxes
Cookie Cutters: Easy way to make everything fun when it’s shaped!
Duct Tape: Make your own cool lunch box and then take it off for another one!
Note cards/jokes: Make them in advance or find premade ones on Pinterest to download and have ready

Meal Multitasking

Banana: Use them to write notes on the outside of the peel! Double-duty.
Bread: Use them for roll ups or “sushi” by using a rolling a pin to smash a slice of bread thin. Next add meat, cheese and carrots and pickles and then roll up. Using a knife you can cut them like sushi rolls.
Pretzels: Use stick pretzels like shish k-bobs and use your favorite meats, cheeses, etc.
Go Go squeeZ: Put the pouch in the freezer to use like an ice pack all day and then be ready to each at lunch!

My favorite timesaver is to MAKE YOUR KIDS HELP YOU! It’s a great time to be together, teach your kids about nutrition and get things done quicker!

And of course, lunch isn’t the only job that deserves a shortcut. Dinner can be crazy busy without planning, but I don’t even have the time for that! Thank goodness for eMeals.

Save 20% with code SCHOOL

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Three Healthy Back-to-School Recipes in Three Minutes

Healthy Honey Donuts (Paleo & Gluten Free)

Ingredients

Instructions

Raisin Treats for All of Us to Eat {Giveaway}

California Raisins’ Honey Nut Raisin Snack Mix

Ingredients

Instructions

Spa Light, Spa Bright: Spa on the Square is Answer To Your Beauty Wishes

Chili’s® at Home Heats Up the Frozen Food Aisle

BABYBJÖRN Gives Us WE the Baby Carrier {Giveaway}

Three Tips to Make Getting a Shot Easier for Kids

3 Must-Do Tips to Get Back-to-School Ready {Giveaway}

Hatch Chile and Chorizo Breakfast Pie

Hatch Chile & Chorizo Breakfast Pie

Ingredients

Instructions

Save $ on B2S w/ JBF, Aug. 20 – Sept. 6 {Win a Gift card}

Easy & Quick Back-to-School COOL Lunch Ideas

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