peanut butter and jelly – Sprinkles in my Lunchbox

Tag: peanut butter and jelly

16
Dec
2016

Angel Themed School Lunch

⁸And there were shepherds living out in the fields nearby, keeping watch over their flocks at night. ⁹An angel of the Lord appeared to them, and the glory of the Lord shone around them, and they were terrified. ¹⁰But the angel said to them, “Do not be afraid. I bring you good news that will cause great joy for all the people. ¹¹Today in the town of David a Savior has been born to you; he is the Messiah, the Lord. ¹²This will be a sign to you: You will find a baby wrapped in cloths and lying in a manger.”

¹³Suddenly a great company of the heavenly host appeared with the angel, praising God and saying,

¹⁴“Glory to God in the highest heaven,
and on earth peace to those on whom his favor rests.” – Luke 2:8-14

Angels hold a special place, both on the Christmas tree and in the Bible. This passage in the Bible, above, tells us of the beautiful moment an angel came down to foretell of Jesus’ birth. I imagine that after the initial shock, this great news gave the people such hope.

Below, the angel Gabriel visited Mary to tell her that she would give birth to Jesus, the son of God. I can’t imagine the fear she must have had. She was so young. She had to trust in God and put all of her fears aside. As part of our nightly Bible study, this Advent season, my sons and I discuss how Mary might have felt that night when Gabriel came down. As fearful as she might have been, she knew she needed to put all of her trust in God. She knew she did not have an easy road ahead of her, literally, physically, and emotionally. But, she did it. It’s quite a lesson for us.

²⁶In the sixth month of Elizabeth’s pregnancy, God sent the angel Gabriel to Nazareth, a town in Galilee, ²⁷to a virgin pledged to be married to a man named Joseph, a descendant of David. The virgin’s name was Mary. ²⁸The angel went to her and said, “Greetings, you who are highly favored! The Lord is with you.”

²⁹Mary was greatly troubled at his words and wondered what kind of greeting this might be. ³⁰But the angel said to her, “Do not be afraid,Mary; you have found favor with God. ³¹You will conceive and give birth to a son, and you are to call him Jesus. ³²He will be great and will be called the Son of the Most High. The Lord God will give him the throne of his father David, ³³and he will reign over Jacob’s descendants forever; his kingdom will never end.”

³⁴“How will this be,” Mary asked the angel, “since I am a virgin?”

³⁵The angel answered, “The Holy Spirit will come on you, and the power of the Most High will overshadow you. So the holy one to be born will be called^[b] the Son of God. ³⁶Even Elizabeth your relative is going to have a child in her old age, and she who was said to be unable to conceive is in her sixth month. ³⁷For no word from God will ever fail.”

³⁸“I am the Lord’s servant,” Mary answered. “May your word to me be fulfilled.” Then the angel left her. – Luke 1:26-38

In both of these special times, God sent an angel to tell of His great news. I love the sweet image we associate with angels, here on Earth, too. For today’s lunch, I went with an angel theme. I made peanut butter and jelly angels. That silly image is not lost on me. I added some details with my food safe markers. I also packed Wheat Thins, some oatmeal raisin balls, red grapes, mandarin orange (Biggie), and some Trader Joe’s marshmallows for dessert.

May you feel the warmth of God’s truth this Season,

Kristin

14
Dec
2016

Christmas Wreath Themed School Lunches

categories: Kid Food, Lunchbox

For tomorrow’s lunches for my boys, I went with a Christmas wreath theme. In many churches, the Christmas wreath, circling five candles, is used as a way to celebrate the Advent season, which counts down the four Sundays in December leading up to Christmas (which is the symbolized by the fifth candle). This season is so important to many families as we gather together to celebrate the birth of Jesus Christ and to rejoice in His glory! I know my boys might just see a wreath (with red hots!)…at least I HOPE they can see that it’s a wreath HA!…but, it was fun for me to connect it to the precious and everlasting love of Jesus.

Back to those red hots…

I used food safe spray and markers to add color, and red hots as holly berries on the wreath. There’s PB&J inside. HA! I also packed Triscuits, yogurt raisins, mandarin orange (Bigs), red grapes, and a slice of spice cake with some fun sprinkles for dessert.

In His love,

Kristin

24
Oct
2016

Ghost Themed School Lunch

categories: Kid Food, Lunchbox

I’m just aGHOST that I’m blogging this close together! For today’s lunch, I went with a cutie ghost theme for my big first grader. I made a ghost shaped peanut butter and mango jam sandwich. I added some eyes and a mouth with my food safe markers. I also packed Trader Joe’s pumpkin crackers, dried coconut and orange slices, real oranges, green grapes, ghost meringues (recipe forthcoming!), and black and orange chocolate covered sesame seeds.

Boo!

Kristin

23
Feb
2016

Sailboat Themed Kindergarten & 3’s School Lunches

categories: Kid Food, Lunchbox

To reach a port we must set sail –
Sail, not tie at anchor
Sail, not drift.

-Franklin D. Roosevelt

Change is so hard. Not for everyone. Some people thrive in change; reach their full potential in it. Not me. I have to force myself to stretch, to grow, to change. And it’s hard. It’s so uncomfortable. It makes me so ridiculously nervous, giving my anxiety a chance to reach its full potential! But, it’s good for me. Growth is good. Necessary. To reach our port, we must set sail.

Even though it’s important that I grow and change, it’s so very comforting to me to know that Jesus does not change. He is the same today as He was yesterday, and will be the same tomorrow (Hebrews 13:8).

My precious boys don’t even know the reason I chose these sweet little sailboats for their lunches, but they will enjoy them! I made sailboat shaped PB&J (Smalls) and sunbutter and jam (Bigs) sandwiches. I added details with my new favorite food-safe pens. I also packed baby goldfish crackers, red grapes, a teeny mandarin orange (Bigs), cantaloupe (Smalls), and chocolate crinkle cookies.

Blessings!

Kristin

12
Dec
2014

Heavenly Host(ess) with the Mostess VPK School Lunch

categories: Kid Food, Lunchbox

⁹An angel of the Lord appeared to them, and the glory of the Lord shone around them, and they were terrified. ¹⁰But the angel said to them, “Do not be afraid. I bring you good news that will cause great joy for all the people. ¹¹Today in the town of David a Savior has been born to you; he is the Messiah, the Lord. ¹²This will be a sign to you: You will find a baby wrapped in cloths and lying in a manger.”

¹³Suddenly a great company of the heavenly host appeared with the angel, praising God and saying, ¹⁴“Glory to God in the highest heaven, and on earth peace to those on whom his favor rests.”

¹⁵When the angels had left them and gone into heaven, the shepherds said to one another, “Let’s go to Bethlehem and see this thing that has happened, which the Lord has told us about.”

¹⁶So they hurried off and found Mary and Joseph, and the baby, who was lying in the manger. ¹⁷When they had seen him, they spread the word concerning what had been told them about this child, ¹⁸and all who heard it were amazed at what the shepherds said to them. ¹⁹But Mary treasured up all these things and pondered them in her heart. ²⁰The shepherds returned, glorifying and praising God for all the things they had heard and seen, which were just as they had been told.

In continued celebration of our Savior’s birth story, I came up with this angel themed lunch for my Bigs. I used my angel cookie cutter on a PB&J, and added yellow details (halo, wings, dress) with my Food Writer and sprayed this most important angel gold. I packed goldfish crackers, raisins, red, white, and green chocolate covered sunflower seeds, apple slices, half a mandarin orange, some red grapes, and an organic yogurt squeezy.

This is my last Christmas themed school lunch for this year. I’ll be doing fun “home” lunches from here on out!

May you feel the warmth of this heavenly story,

Kristin

13
Nov
2014

It’s the end of the week as we know it (and I feel fiiiine)

categories: Breakfast, Dessert, Dinner, Kid Food, Lunchbox

It’s in your head now. Right? You’re welcome. R.E.M. rocks! Do people say “rocks” anymore? Do young people say “rocks” anymore? I wouldn’t know.

So, the end of the week is here (yay). It’s been such a crazy week. I haven’t even had a second. But now I do. So, I’m taking my second to show you food.

Bigs’ Wednesday lunch was a breakfast theme! I packed a pancake “sandwich”, made with two gluten and dairy free pancakes, peanut butter, and honey. I also packed one slice of turkey bacon, cut up, some assorted raisins (Trader Joe’s big bag of assorted raisins ROCKS [#cantstopwontstop #imold]), a colby jack cheese slice, an orange, and granola (Trader Joe’s again).

Bigs’ Thursday lunch was another turkey lunch (this time with ham and cheese!). I used my Food Writers and a turkey cookie cutter to make him so cute (if I can say so myself). His hay bale is crusts. I also packed grapes and applesauce. Bigs told me he was “staaaaarving” after eating this, so I made sure to pack more tonight for Friday’s lunch.

So. For Bigs’ lunch tomorrow (Friday), I was sure to pack more food. I went with a Fallish squirrel theme. I made a ham and cheese sandwich, shaped like a squirrel. I used my Food Writers for his eye detail and cut out a little piece of fruit leather in the shape of an acorn. I also packed pretzels, seasoned corn, grapes and pineapple, an organic yogurt squeezy thing, and Trader Joe’s ginger cookies for dessert.

He’s going to go nuts! Get it? I love a pun.

And for my Smalls’ lunch today, I packed a Mickey Mouse(ish) lunch. And to prove it, here’s a blurry picture:

Three baby Mickey Mouse shaped PB&J’s, some organic Trader Joe’s PB crackers, grapes, and TJ’s school house letter cookies. He ate all the grapes this time!

I also made Thanksgiving this week! I don’t think you can have it enough. I made a meal for a friend and doubled so my family could enjoy it too!

I can’t wait for the REAL Thanksgiving! It’s going to be the bomb! (Do they say “bomb” anymore? Or is that done-zo?) For us, I made gluten free Turkey and Sage Meatballs.

Turkey and Sage Meatballs

1 lb (ish) ground turkey

1/2 C gluten free breadcrumbs

1 egg

S&P

1 1/2 t of ground sage or poultry seasoning

Mix together, roll into balls, place on greased pan, bake for 30 – 45 minutes (depending on size of meatballs) at 350F.

I covered our meatballs with a homemade cranberry orange sauce.

Cranberry Orange Sauce

1 C fresh or frozen cranberries

1/4 C frozen orange concentrate

1/3 C water

1 T sugar

1 packet of plain (unflavored) gelatin

Place all ingredients, except for gelatin, in saucepan. Bring to a boil. Whisk in the gelatin and simmer until thick.

Roasted turkey breast for my friend. I seasoned it with S&P, garlic powder, onion powder, poultry seasoning, and olive oil. I roasted it according to directions.

I made green bean casserole, all of which I could have eaten by myself. I love it.

I made sweet potato casserole. I didn’t have marshmallows, but I DID have marshmallow fluff. And being the resourceful woman that I am, I swirled that ooey gooey fluffy goodness around in the sweet potatoes and it came out just fine.

I made cheesy corn and cornbread casserole.

http://jareskepinterestrecipes.wordpress.com/2012/12/29/corn-casserole/

I made my first ever pumpkin pie (weird that it’s my first!). I used a basic recipe. And I overdid it. But I love my friend, she didn’t even care.

And lastly, I made an old fashioned Cranberry Fluff Salad. I took a picture, but it looked awful. Like bad awful. But it was good. SO good. I am on the molded and gelatin based salad train. Doesn’t that sound like a gross train to be on? It’s not. It’s amazing. If you like that sort of stuff. Which I do. I DID have to change the recipe, due to my lack of marshmallows. Again, I used the fluff. I thought it might work since that IS one of the names in the recipe. And it DID work, maybe not as successfully as marshmallows would have, but it was still really good!

http://www.mybakingaddiction.com/cranberry-fluff/

Do it. That could be your Thanksgiving, right there.

Have a BLESSED end to your week! We are ending our week right with our church/school’s Fall Festival tomorrow night! It’s going to rock!!

Blessings,

Kristin

05
Nov
2014

The Three Little Lunches

categories: Kid Food, Lunchbox

Tomorrow is my Co-op day. I love those days where I get to be a Helper Parent in my Bigs’ class. It’s so fun. I love seeing him do his VPK thing, I love spending extra time with him, and I love sitting on the teeny chairs next to him and his friends while eating lunch.

Here is what I packed Bigs:

I made a vanilla bean cream cheese and apple cranberry butter (from Trader Joe’s) sandwich. I also packed some dried cranberries, a few banana chips, some freeze dried apples, assorted raisins, seasoned corn, a few mini sausage links, a few pretzels, a banana, and a couple of teeny chocolate pieces.

For me:

I made the same sandwich for me as I did for Bigs. That cranberry apple butter is to die for. I also packed the same dried fruit, and added a Gala apple (my favorite).

And for my Smalls, who has Mom’s Morning Out:

He has a PB&J, pretzels, banana chips, dried cranberries, assorted raisins, and three itty bitty chocolate pieces.

Hope you have a great night! I better rest up! Spending the day with a boatload of 4 and 5 year olds kicks my bum bum! Hats off to teachers!

Blessings,

Kristin

30
Oct
2014

Spooky Teeth Lunch

categories: Kid Food, Lunchbox, Snacks

For Bigs’ lunch today, I packed [yes, another] Mummy Hot Dog, seasoned corn, popcorn, cantaloupe and pineapple, an organic yogurt squeezy thing, and some spooky teeth for dessert. These were so easy and will (I hope) make a cute impression. I cut apples to look like lips (they will need some kind of citrus juice on them so they don’t brown), spread peanut butter, and place marshmallow “teeth” on them. Easy peasy. These would be a cute Halloween snack, too!

For my Smalls, I packed a PB&J, pretzels, dried fruit, and a banana.

The boys are ready for Halloween tomorrow and cannot wait to go trick or treating.

Have a blessed Thursday!

Kristin

22
Oct
2014

A Book Fair & Two Bitty Lunches

categories: Kid Food, Lunchbox

Books. Real live books. The crisp pages. The smell. The rows and rows of newly stacked adventures, waiting to be read. I love books! I am SO thankful that has passed down to my boys. They love books too. We love checking books out at the library and buying books too. This week, at my boys’ school, the Scholastic Book Fair is in town. That was my FAVORITE week growing up. I still have all my old books. Such treasures. I bought the boys some books for Christmas (while they weren’t looking) and we let them each pick out a book tonight. Bigs picked a book called, Creepy Carrots and Smalls picked out a book about a school bus (about which he’s obsessed). Such fun!

Here are their lunches for tomorrow – Smalls:

I packed a PB&J, cut into four squares. He’s also got some animal crackers, golden raisins, and a banana. I’d been packing him grapes for weeks now, just to open his lunchbox at the end of the day to find them still there. #Imslow #nomoregrapes

For my Bigs:

Bigs also has a PB&J, cut into four squares. I also packed pretzels, green grapes, an organic yogurt squeezy thing, and a Halloween cookie.

Blessings to you!

Kristin

15
Oct
2014

Thankful Thursday

categories: Dessert, Dinner, Kid Food, Lunchbox

Tomorrow is Thursday and it’s my turn to work in my son’s co-op! I’m so excited! I love his teacher and his classmates and absolutely adore spending the whole day with him in school. I am so thankful for his school and the experiences it has given us both. I am MOST thankful for the love of Jesus that the staff, parents, and children have at his school. Jesus is in every conversation, every lesson. I’m so thankful that my sons’ hearts are filled with His love, even while at school.

Here is the lunch I packed for my Bigs:

I made a chicken, cheese, and mayo wrap and sliced it in half. I used Halloween cupcake picks to keep them together. I packed peanut butter filled pretzels, seasoned corn, a yogurt squeezy thing, and a teeny slice of apple gingerbread (my Mom made it and sent it over), cut into sticks. Yum. I used other Halloween trinkets and cupcake picks to decorate (a Frankenstein [I just read that the SCIENTIST was named Frankenstein, not the monster] and a plastic spider ring. Good times.

For my Smalls:

I made a PB&J wrap, cut in half. I also packed a few peanut butter filled pretzels, freeze dried mango, red grapes cut in half, and some of that apple gingerbread cake.

And for me:

I packed cinnamon raisin quinoa (recipe below), fresh steamed green beans (with S&P and red pepper flakes), a mini plum, some green grapes, and a honeycomb candy. I can’t wait for that one. I bet you that my Bigs will be poaching my dessert. 😉

I made the quinoa and green beans for dinner. The leftovers are perfect for lunch and taste delicious cold.

Cinnamon Raisin Quinoa

1 C quinoa

1/2 C slivered almonds

salt

1 1/2 C boiling water

1/2 C raisins

Toast the almonds until they are brown, add the quinoa and do the same. Add the rest of the ingredients and bring to a boil. Turn the heat to low and simmer for 20 minutes. Fluff.

The original recipe called for a cinnamon stick and cranberries. I only had raisins and cinnamon was easier for me to use. Either would be delicious!

And for a sweet ending (not for me, sadly), COOKIES! I made gluten free peanut butter cookies (with chocolate chips) for my gluten free friend’s birthday.

I love how easy these babies come together…

…and how they make my house smell.

That’s another good time right there.

http://www.wholefoodsmarket.com/recipe/gluten-free-peanut-butter-cookies

I have made these before several times, and they always come out wonderful.

Have a WONDERFUL Thursday, blessings to you!

Kristin

“A gentle answer will calm a person’s anger. But an unkind answer will cause more anger.” – Proverbs 15:1

“As a tree gives us fruit, healing words give us life. But evil words crush the spirit.” – Proverbs 15:4

Proverbs 15 is FULL of wonderful Biblical truth!