Packing Hot Lunches For The First Cool Fall Days  

After a long, hot summer, we all look forward to those first crisp fall days. And with it our menus change. Why not change the lunch you pack for your kids as well. Salads, wraps, and cold sandwiches are great late summer options, but when the temperatures start to drop, your little ones will appreciate a hot dish in their lunch box.

Soup And A Hot Sandwich

One of my favourite school lunches as a kid was tomato soup and a grilled cheese sandwich. Who doesn’t love soup and a hot sandwich for lunch on a cool, crisp, fall day? If you thought those were outside your packed lunch capabilities, think again. All it takes is a small thermos, some aluminium foil and ideally an insulated lunch box.

Make the soup the day before from scratch, or heat up some canned soup in the morning, right before school. Get it piping hot, and if possible, run some hot or even boiling water in the thermos first to get everything as warm as possible. Pour the soup in the thermos and sit it in the insulated lunch box. Don’t forget to pack a spoon. Lastly, make the hot sandwich. Grilled cheese, or grilled ham and cheese are always a favourite around here, as are any type of Panini. Fix the sandwich as usual and then wrap it in several layers of aluminium foil. If you’re worried about the bread getting soggy, wrap it in a paper towel first, then the foil. Keep the sandwich in the insulated lunch box and everything should be staying toasty warm for hours. Mix and match the soup and sandwich combos for endless portable lunch possibilities.

Chili and Stew

Of course you’re not limited to just soup. A nice hardy stew or a bowl of chili with some corn chips or a side of fresh cornbread make a nice addition to any lunch box. Make a batch of your favourite chili or stew and put it in your kids’ lunch boxes for the following days.

Another great option is to freeze it in smaller portions and take them out as needed to add to lunch boxes. This is also a great time for you to take lunch to work or keep a bowl at home to reheat at lunch time. As with the soup we talked about earlier, you can get a short thermos, run hot water in it, and then fill it with the piping hot chili or stew. That will keep the lunch warm until well past lunch time.

Leftovers Galore

Last but not least, don’t forget about leftovers. They make for great lunch box additions. There are wide mouthed thermos out there that can hold a variety of leftover food from pasta

dishes, to things like fried rice, or anything you can think of that would work well put in a bowl.

If your child has access to a microwave, you can pack just about any leftover that can then be heated at school. Find a few microwave-safe plastic containers that work well and fit your child’s lunch box and you’re good to go.  

 

Simple Tips To Get Organized And Make Fixing Lunches Easier

There is nothing worse than running late in the morning and then desperately trying to figure out something you can put in your children’s lunch boxes. If you find yourself flustered, or end up buying school lunch because packing it seems like too much of a hassle, take a look at the tips below. They will help you get organized so fixing lunches becomes quick and easy.

Start With A List And Go Shopping

Start by sitting down with your kids and come up with a list of lunches they like. This could include sandwiches and wraps, or even homemade lunch-able, but it doesn’t have to stop there. If you add a thermos to the mix, you can suddenly pack reheated leftovers, homemade soup and the likes. The key is to find lunch foods and snacks that your kids will eat that are also easy to pack.

Make sure you have appropriate containers, and then head to the grocery store to pick up everything you need for the week. Don’t forget about snacks and drinks as needed. The list should make this much easier. Once you have several different lunch ideas your kids like and will actually eat, you can simply rotate through them and make the ingredients part of your weekly shopping trips.

Prep What You Can As Soon As You Get Home

When you get home from the store, keep lunch foods out and see what you can do to prep things ahead of time. Instead of putting that bag of grapes away, go ahead and wash and store them in little bags you can grab and toss in the lunch box. The same goes for things like carrots and even salads. Slice cheese as needed and just thing about what you can prep as soon as you get home.

Pack Lunches The Night Before

Mornings are busy and not always the perfect time to have to worry about packing lunches. Try making them the night before. Try packing them after dinner at night. Get the kids involved and have them help with lunch prep and clean-up after. You can store cold items in the fridge and have everything else sitting in the lunch box ready to go. It won’t take you long to get into a rhythm of preparing lunches while you’re cleaning up after dinner. You’ll appreciate this new habit in the mornings when all you need to do is grab a couple of things from the fridge and toss them in the lunch boxes.

Get In The Habit Of Cleaning Lunch Boxes As Soon As The Kids Get Home

To make lunch prep even easier, get the kids into the habit of cleaning out their lunch box as soon as they get back from school. Even the youngest can help with

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How To Pack School Lunches That Your Kids Will Actually Eat

Summer is coming to an end and school is about to start. That of course means it’s time to get back into a school year routine. Part of that routine in many households is packing school lunches. Packed lunches are a great option when your child isn’t too fond of what the school has to offer or you want a little more control over what your child is eating.

Of course if your child has dietary restrictions or food allergies, packing lunches is a must. Frankly, packing a lunch allows you to include healthy foods your child will actually eat and it doesn’t have to cost any more than what you would be paying for lunch at school.

Of course packing a lunch every day doesn’t do any good if your child doesn’t eat it or ends up trading most of it away for junk food. The key then is to find things that your child loves and enjoys eating.

The best place to start is to get your child involved. Depending on the age of your kids, you could even put them in charge of making their own lunches. Not only do you know that they’ll pack something they will eat, being in charge of packing lunch will teach them responsibility.

Start by talking to your kids about what they want in their lunch box. Make a list of options and then head to the store so you have everything you need for the first week of school. Getting the kids as involved as possible will make sure that they end up with lunches they will eat. For older kids that may mean making their own lunches (under your supervision of course).

Younger children can help. Even your kindergartener can wash grapes and put them into a container, or pick a snack for his lunch box. Get in the habit of making lunches together the night before. Over time you can give the kids more and more responsibility for their lunches. This alone will help make sure they eat what they’ve packed. After all, it’s the lunch they made. Along the way you’re teaching them independence and important life skills.

Of course you want to encourage your kids to pack and eat healthy foods. Insisting on all healthy, organic food options all the time may not be your best strategy though. Strike a balance and make compromises. If your kids pack and eat a healthy wrap or salad for example, let them have some cookies for dessert. Teach them to make good choices, but don’t freak out if they decide to pack some Cheetos or a pack of Oreo cookies. Your goal is to get them to eat fairly healthy and make smart food choices, not restrict all access to junk food, causing them to trade with friends for forbidden Twinkies.

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March 2023 Birthday Week

 So this week is our Birthday Week mine is the 29th and the kiddo's is the 31st.  Best I ever got we have a suprise Chuck E. Cheese Day and we will celebrate for the week.  Should be fun!  

So how do you celebrate your Birthday!!  This year is my 50th year!  We went to the Casino  in Lemoore  it was a blast my mother in law and me!    

I am excited so much this year!  I am not really sure what it is.  I just know I am going to be making changes for this year! 

Like more exercise, getting out and having fun and doing more with my kid!! 

Easy Keto Egg Roll in a Bowl

 

Easy Keto Egg Roll in a Bowl

Check out this easy Keto Egg Roll dish!  

 

Prep time: 15 minutes

Cook time: 10-15 minutes

Serves: 6

Ingredients:

1¼ lb. spicy bulk pork sausage

¼ c. water

3 c. green cabbage, shredded

1 medium carrot, shredded

½ t. garlic powder

2 T. toasted sesame oil

½ T. fresh ginger, finely minced

2 T. green onions, chopped

1 T. rice vinegar

2 T. coconut aminos or tamari

Sea salt and black pepper, to taste

Optional garnish:

1 T. toasted sesame seeds

Directions:

Heat a large high-sided skillet over medium-high heat. Add sausage and cook, breaking the meat into small pieces as it cooks, for approximately 5-6 minutes. Once sausage is no longer pink, remove from heat and carefully drain excess grease from pan.
Safety Tip: Wipe off any excess fat that drips down the side of the pan before returning to burner.

Return skillet to heat. Add water and scrape up brown bits from the bottom of the pan with a spatula. Reduce heat to medium and add shredded cabbage, carrots, garlic powder, sesame oil, ginger, and green onions. Season with salt and black pepper, to taste, and cook, stirring frequently, until the cabbage wilts and the carrot softens, approximately 4-5 minutes.

Add rice vinegar and coconut aminos and stir to combine. Cook another 1-2 minutes or until heated through. Remove from heat and transfer to a serving platter or bowl. Sprinkle with toasted sesame seeds, if using, and serve immediately. Enjoy!

Nutritional Information: *

Carbs/Serving:

Total Carbs: 8.38g

Fiber: 2.2g

Net Carbs: 6.18g

Calorie Breakdown:

Protein: 19%

Fat: 73%

Carbohydrates: 8%

*Source: HappyForks.com recipe analyzer.

Nutritional information provided for entertainment purposes only and is not to be construed as medical advice.

A Parent’s Guide to Helping Children Succeed at Online Learning

A Parent’s Guide to Helping Children Succeed at Online Learning

School is out for most children nationwide .  For many school is shifting from the classroom to the internet. While many school districts are giving their teachers crash courses in online learning, parents also play a major role in ensuring that kids get a first-rate education.   I have been doing my research and talking trying to figure these things out as well!  

If your struggling to balance your day with supervising your child’s coursework? 

Hopefully, these suggestions will help you provide the parental guidance and input your child needs. 

Planning and Preparing 

Your school may have sent your child home with devices and materials for completing their assignments. You’ll still need to provide structure and motivation. 

Follow these strategies to develop an effective structure:

1.  Schedule your days. Stick to your usual routines as much as possible, including bedtimes and mealtimes. Let your child know you expect them to log in on time for classes each morning.
2.  Arrange your space. Designate an area just for school. It may be a room or a section of the dining room table as long as it’s quiet and comfortable. Stock up on supplies like notebooks, pens, and calculators. 
3.  Limit distractions. Ban games and movies during class time. Keep in mind that some children may learn better with a little background music.
4.  Enjoy recess. Breaks and lunch hours are essential. Serve healthy food and provide lots of fun options for physical exercise. 
5. Be social. How can your child maintain their friendships? Use technology for group study sessions, video chats, and virtual play dates.
6. Contact your school. Ask school officials and teachers about the most effective way to communicate with them and stay in touch regularly. Find out what resources are available for collaborating with other parents.

Basic Study Skills 

Teach your child to learn effectively. Strong study skills will be a valuable asset online, offline, and in their future careers. 

Strengthen study skills with these techniques:

1.  Give practice tests. Many studies show that testing yourself is one of the most productive ways to learn. Design questions together. Treat quizzes like a game to reduce anxiety. 
2. Conduct reviews. Prepare for tests by going over past material on a regular basis. Your child is more likely to forget their lessons if they cram at the last minute. 
3. Create outlines. Identify key facts and major themes. Building a framework increases reading comprehension and strengthens writing skills. It also encourages critical thinking. 
4. Proofread and edit. Review your child’s completed assignments before they’re submitted. Make revisions together until they’re comfortable doing it on their own. 
5. Evaluate your progress. Give your child constructive feedback. Discuss teacher comments and test results. Ask your child to describe their strengths and weaknesses. Set specific goals like reading a certain number of pages each day or looking up unfamiliar vocabulary words. 

Passion Projects 

Take advantage of the opportunity to spend more time with your child. Create happy memories and nurture their personal interests. 

Consider these ideas:

1. Browse for resources. Even if field trips are on hold, there are vast collections online for any subject your child loves. Delve deeper into dinosaurs or sports nutrition. 
2. Be selective. At the same time, it’s easy to become overwhelmed by your choices. Start out with a few reliable sources or ask your child’s teacher for recommendations. For example, you might want to explore the PBS Parents Play and Learn App for younger kids and Great Courses for their older siblings. 
3.  Show enthusiasm. Make learning a fun activity that draws you closer together. Reward your child’s efforts with prizes like stickers or baking their favorite dessert. Hang their artwork on your refrigerator door and applaud when they read you their book reports. 

While circumstances may change, the importance of education remains the same. 

Help your child to gain knowledge and skills that will enable them to have a 3 positive impact on the world.

Be patient with yourself and stay connected as you make the transition to online learning

Walking Is The Perfect Low Impact Exercise

If you haven’t exercised in a while, or are looking for something easy you can do every single day give walking a try. It’s the perfect low impact way to exercise. It’s easy to do, you don’t need any special equipment and you can start at the fitness level you’re at.

If you’re not in the best of shape, start by going for a 10 or 15 minute walk around the neighborhood and work your way up from there. If you’re already in great shape, walking can still provide an effective workout. Walk fast and incorporate some hills and even stairs.

But, let’s not get ahead of ourselves here. If you’re like most of us, chances are you haven’t exercised much since you got out of college and need to start small. Maybe your doctor suggested that you move around more, or maybe you just want to be proactive about your health and well-being. In either case, walking is the perfect way to start.

Find a pair of comfortable shoes, put them on and go for a stroll through your neighborhood. You could also find a local park with a nice path you can walk on. If the weather doesn’t permit walking outside, head to your local mall and walk or hop on a treadmill.

You can even walk in place at home in front of your TV. Here’s a simple little idea to get you moving more. As you're sitting on the couch at night watching TV, get up during commercial breaks and march in place until your favorite TV show comes back on. If you’re using a service like Netflix, make yourself walk in place for 10 minutes in between episodes. Or turn on the TV and challenge yourself to march in place during the entire show. Time will fly while you’re having fun watching TV and moving.

Speaking of having fun, going for a walk outside can be a lot of fun too. Mix up your route and walk in different areas of town, or visit different parks. Invite a friend to come along with you to walk. It’s always nice to have someone to talk to and having a walking buddy keeps you accountable. Last but not least, grab your phone or MP3 player and listen to music or audio books as you walk to make the time go by faster.

The main thing is that you get out there, move around, and get some exercise in a way that’s gentle on your joints, your heart, and the rest of your body and that’s what walking will do for you. Just give it a try and see if you don’t start to feel better, happier, and stronger after a few weeks of regular walks.