Lunch Ideas

Lunch Ideas

       I know, I know...it has been a month!  As usual life has been crazy, my niece just got married and it was a huge celebration...(Congrats Mr. and Mrs. Diaz, we love you!)...but needless to say we had at least a dozen problems before it all came together.  In the end, however, it was beautiful.  This poor girl went through it all.  In the beginning they had hired a lady to be in charge of the decorations.  She was supposed to be in charge of basically everything, the candy and vases along with cake pops and rice krispies for a candy bar, linens and table skirts etc...you get the idea!  She was going to be setting everything up and taking everything down. I am sure you know where I am going with this.  A week before the wedding she calls my niece and tells her that she broke her hip and is in the hospital and will no longer be able to set up or take down decorations but that she will still rent them the decorations and they would need to hire somebody else to set them up.  Right off that sounds a little crazy but maybe believable.  My sister in-law is calling and calling this lady to get the decorations so that they can have everything ready and set to go and the lady will not answer her phone.  That is already stressful enough right?  Finally she drives over to her house and knocks on the door.  Her husband answers the door and my sister in-law asks to speak with his wife. He tells her she is not there and when she asks where she is he tells her she is out doing another wedding. Turns out she didn't break her hip, she just hadn't done a single thing for the wedding! She must have gotten in way over her head and then thought she could lie her way out of it.   She offered my sister in-law a melted bag of gummy bears in exchange for the deposit...no thank you!  So a week before the wedding we all pitched in and scrambled to get things ready for the big day...but truly the bride and her mom did a lot of the work.  This is where big families come in handy :)  We also have his brother's family staying with us which means we have 9 kids ages 9 and under at our house so menu planning has had to take a hold since there are so many different appetites going on! So refer back to my previous menu's and lists because there are plenty of delicious recipes and menu's to choose from.

       I have been wanting to post for a while on different lunch ideas that you can use to switch up your lunch and breakfast menu so today I am just posting lunch ideas and next week I will post breakfast ideas. So first off I would like to state that I have a picky eater but she still has to eat whatever I make.  If it were up to her she would eat turkey sandwiches or lunchables every single day for lunch.  Yes that would make my life easy, however that's not a great way of introducing her to different types of healthy foods.  I have also found that usually by the 3rd or 4th try of introducing a food, she ends up making her own decision on whether she really likes the food or not instead of just automatically hating it without even giving it a chance...and most of the time she ends up liking it.  She used to hate salad...now she asks for it all the time for lunch or dinner as well as sweet peas and carrots.  So if you have picky eaters, my advice is to keep introducing different foods to them and be consistent and eventually they make a good decision on whether they really like it or not.  There are still some foods I have her eat whether she likes them or not, like certain vegetables, but there are some foods she doesn't like such as shrimp.  I am an avid hater of mushrooms...yes, I said it...to me they are aweful!  It doesn't matter how they are prepared...I don't like them...even if they are battered and deep fried I am not a mushroom person so I understand there are some things that people just don't like.  But, like I said, our rule is that she at least has to try it 3 or 4 times before she makes up her mind that she doesn't like it :)

       Okay, phew!  Onto the menu ideas! I have attached an 8X10 that you can print out below.  If you have any questions or need more ideas or even if you have ideas you want to submit, feel free to email me at pieceofcakery@gmail.com.  Enjoy!

- Kristin

May Menu and Mother's Day Printable

May Menu and Mother's Day Printable

       Hey everyone!  I am still working on grouping all my lunch and breakfast ideas into easy recipes, I can't wait for them to be ready so I can share them with you!  Don't get me wrong, cereal is not bad...but eating the same thing over and over again for breakfast can get boring!  I can't believe that it is already May...the menu this month is excellent so you have got to check it out!  I have the Menu, Recipes, and Grocery Shopping List all ready so there is no excuse to slack of this month....right?? :)  Also, do you remember the Printable I offered here at the end of this post?  It would make a great Mother's Day present in a nice frame!  Right now I am willing to customize for those that want to but you need to e-mail me by the end of next week so I have enough time to get it in.  If you would like it, e-mail me any picture you would like to put in place of the one there and if you would like me to include a name on it.  It fits perfectly into an 8X10 frame and would be super cute with a picture of your mother and you or you and your baby :) Okay, you know the drill, the links are listed below and if you have any questions and are new, feel free to e-mail me and I will be more than happy to help you with any questions you may have!  Don't give up, you can do this, being organized will save you money and time and lots of "fun" extra trips to the grocery store.  Enjoy :)

- Kristin

May Menu

May Grocery Shopping List

May Recipe File

Green Smoothie Recipe

       Hey everyone!  I am so excited to post this recipe!  It is so delicious and an easy way to sneak some vegetables into your kids (or your) diet!  I had been seeing these smoothies all around the blog world and finally decided to give it a try and you would be surprised at how ridiculously delicious these things are with no added sugar!  When my daughter first saw me making these she gave me the funniest look and was so grossed out.  I tried to explain to her that Popeye ate his spinach and look at how strong it made him and she had no idea what I was talking about...yes, I am getting old!  Needless to say, after it was finished she drank 2 glasses of this! We drink these all the time just for their added benefits and I am so glad I gave it a whirl. So here is the recipe I came up with, super simple and really I just eyeball it but for those of you that enjoy measurements (and usually I do)...this is for you!

Green Smoothie

- 1 C. Greek non-fat vanilla yogurt

- 1/2 C. pineapple (fresh or chunks)

- 1 C. frozen strawberries

- 1 banana

- 1/2 mango

- 1 T. wheat germ

- 1 T. flax seed

- 2 C. spinach (I leave stems on and everything, but I have an awesome blender that purees it really well, if not, you might want to take the stems off)

- Almond Milk (with the almond milk I just pour it until it's right near the top of all the other ingredients, no real measure here)

Directions:

Place all ingredients in blender and then puree!  Like I noted with my blender above, it really purees everything well so I don't worry about the texture with the wheat germ and flax seed too much.  If you are worried about those, you can cut down the amount or cut it out all together, either way, the health benefits are still all there!

       You HAVE to give this a try!  It will change your life...literally...there is some great stuff in there!  Come back tomorrow for a bunch of recipes and ideas on how to change up your lunch and breakfast routines...they are kid friendly and a great way to steer away from eating cereal everyday and adding in some daily doses of fiber!  I promise you won't be disappointed!  Enjoy!

- Kristin

Spring Cleaning Free Printable

     
        I don't know about you but I usually need a little motivation to do certain projects...don't get me wrong, I do like a clean house but there are some projects that are just too tedious for me! Example: the junk drawer...you know you all have one!  It's filled with all sorts of odds and ends that I couldn't throw away yet have no place.  It gradually fills up until finally it's a complete disaster.  That's just one example to name a few.  So for my huge Spring Clean I like to make a list...why not make it cute if you can help it right??  I made a blank one for all of you as promised before so that you could go ahead and add your own chores on there since we all have different areas we want to focus on.  I am sticking mine in a glass frame and writing on it with a dry erase marker so that way I can use it again and again!  When you are finished you can take out the glass and add some paper flowers for a cute Spring decoration or print off an extra one.  I will post pictures when I am finished to give you an idea!  I hope you all enjoyed the last menu, it was one of my favorites!  The Reese's Popcorn and Macaroni Grill Bread recipes were included in there.  Let me know if you guys are using the recipe cards and I will make a quick batch for the last menu and keep them going for the rest of the menu's!  What Spring Cleaning Tips can you throw my way, I would love to hear them!  Enjoy!

Kristin

Did You Miss Me??

April Menu and Fun Recipes!

       I'm back!!  Did you miss me?? After a good 6 (and a half) week long break, I am finally getting back on my feet again and starting to get organized!  Phew...spring is here and my house is in definite need of some organization and spring cleaning...want to join me??  No?? Well at least I have some fun printables next week to share that will help aid you in organizing your life...okay, maybe not your life...but your house and that's the first step right?  So with the long awaited return comes some awesome new and fun recipes!  I have been especially trying to eat healthy right now, it just seems that with warmer weather it is so much easier to eat healthier....although with Easter comes Cadbury Eggs...hmmm.  I have been seeing these "Green" Smoothie recipes everywhere and decided to give it a go and make up my own.  I was pleasantly surprised and more than happy to board this train!  These are amazing and sound disgusting but you HAVE to try them!  It is an easy way to get your kids to eat veggies and fruit without taking away any of the nutrients and no added sugar....does it get any better than this? That's what I thought.  This smoothie is packed with Spinach, Bananas, Almond Milk, Yogurt, Strawberries, Pineapple, Mango, Wheat Germ and Flax Seed...you could even throw in some Avocado for added protein if you wanted and I am beyond sure that it would still taste amazing.  I also have a Macaroni Grill Bread recipe to share and if you have eaten there, you know that this stuff is addicting and oh so delicious.  I always add in a little wheat or all wheat to help boost the nutrients in it.  Last but not least I have an awesome popcorn recipe...I debate sharing this because it is ridiculously hard to put down...once you start you can't stop eating this stuff.  I will share those on some recipe cards throughout the week along with the fun Spring Cleaning printables which you will NOT want to miss out on so pass it along to your friends and enjoy your April Menu and Recipes!  Enjoy!

April Menu

April Recipes

New 3 Week Menu and Recipes

March 3 Week Menu and Recipes

       Hey everyone!  I know I am a little early in posting this but I just wanted to get it done early so you have it ready to go.  This time I haven't included a Grocery Shopping List but if you need one please leave a comment below and I can e-mail one to you :)  Here's some little tidbits of information for you to a question that I get asked most often.  "How do you stay so healthy and cook with butter and some of those heavy ingredients."  Here is my little secret...I love cooking because you can always change a recipe!  I use the mantra "Everything in moderation."  I think if you completely limit your body of something...fat, carbs, etc. then your body will go crazy.  I mean there are obvious things our bodies can do without but for the most part I think if you try to completely abolish one thing from your diet then sometimes it ends up having the opposite effect of what you desire.  This is just my belief and I know there are numerous out there.  For instance I already did a little shpill on butter.  I don't use margarine because it is hydrogenated.  Margarine and butter have the exact same fat and calorie content.  That doesn't mean I need a whole stick of butter every single time I cook though right?  If I am cooking, I usually cut my butter recipe in half.  You won't even miss it?  Now if you are baking, that's another story and can become a little bit trickier with substituting in other ingredients for moisture content but that's another post for another day :)  If a recipe calls for heavy whipping cream then I usually try half and half...again this is only with cooking.  Sometimes our experiments are going to fail...sometimes they will turn out amazing but you have to be willing to try!  I actually try not to use a whole lot of "fat free" items in our house other than milk.  My reasoning for this is that a lot of the stuff that they make "fat free" they add in other chemicals and such to do so.  Again, everything in moderation comes in to play here.  So when I am using full fat items I just cut down on them.  Now, not everyone probably uses this method and I am not saying that everyone should.  This is what works for me and my family.  I try to keep a lot of raw snacks around the house for the kids such as almonds, fruit, vegetables, walnuts...all these without sugar or added salt that way it is an easy snack for them to grab and healthy too!  My kids LOVE nuts!  I usually give my readers the recipes unchanged for the most part but if you would like me to add in my changes that I use to cut down the fat content to make them healthier let me know and I would be more than happy to put those in!  I hope you enjoy this next 3 week Menu Rotation!

- Kristin

Menu

Recipe File

Happy Valentine's Day!!

Happy Valentine's Day!!!

        Okay so first of all I have to apologize for being a complete and total slacker lately.  I kept meaning to wake up early so I could post these and I could not drag myself out of bed...mornings and pregnancy have not been my friend for the past couple of weeks!  I hope this post makes up for my absence even though you probably have all of your Valentine's written and sent off with your kids to school!  I finally finished my hubbie's Valentine's Day Present!  Total cost??  $1.69...literally...that's buying all the materials.  It did take a lot of time however but hey it was worth it because he totally and completely loved it!  First off go to the Dollar Store and pick up 2 white poster boards for $0.50 each.  If you have a monopoly board you can trace around it or make your square 24x24 inches.  Draw a square in the middle measuring up 3 inches from the sides.

       Next sketch out Lovopoly in the middle with a pencil. I recommend doing everything with a pencil first so that you can erase it and make sure you do it on the non-shiny side of the poster board that way it doesn't  leave smudges when you erase! I made each of my corner squares 3 inches, you know the ones that have Go, Jail, Free Parking and Go To Jail.  So you need to measure a 3x3 inch square on all 4 corners.  Next you need to make 9 rectangles in between each of those squares.  I made mine measuring 2 inches each to give you the right amount of space.  No from your top line measure 1/2 inch down and draw a straight line across, these you will color in with the colors of the properties.  This is where monopoly comes in handy.  I used it the whole time for colors.  Don't forget that Income Tax, Community Chest, Chance, Utilities and Railroads do not have that line across.

       Next I wrote up a list of all the places that had special meaning to us.  You will need 28 special places, preferrably ones that have special memories that you can incorporate into the game.  By the way, I did find the website for the game if you want to purchase it go to www.lovopoly.com. I did use some ideas from there but most of the stuff was fun to just create on my own!  Okay after you have all your memories decide what you want to go where.  Again the board comes in handy.  You will need 2 brown, 3 light blue, 3 purple, 3 orange, 3 red, 3 yellow, 3 green and 2 dark blue properties.  You will also need 4 railroads, I put 4 temples that were special to us.  Then last you will need 2 utilities, I put the hospital and Disneyland.  Now sketch those out and any pictures you would like.  I just tried to think of simple pictures since I am no artist as you can tell :)  I colored in the squares accordingly, wrote the properties and prices.  I also did a 1/2 inch outline of black marker all the way around the outside of the board to make it look more like the real thing.

       Dog House is used in place of Jail

Stop Sign is much easier to draw then that guy from Monopoly :)

Diaper Fund used in place of Income Tax.

       Next you will make your Property Cards.  I apologize that I didn't get pictures for the rest of the tutorial.  For the Property cards I measure them 2x3.  I just colored in a co-ordinating square on the top and wrote the name of each property in the colored square.  For pricing and house information I just used the exact same pricing as they had on Monopoly.  You are almost there!  Next you need to make your Community Chest and Chance cards (I used Feelin' Lucky and Family Treasure).  You will need 32 of these, 16 of each.  You can do more or less but that's what I did since that's what the game had.  This is where your "meaningful places" come in handy.  So for instance I said "Take a trip to Chicho and Cecy's house.  While you are there, steal your first kiss.  If you pass go, collect $200 Love Bucks!"  Or another one was "Head on over to TGI Friday's where you have an awkward run in with an ex.  Pay $50 Love Bucks for emotional distress."  Get creative!  Find ways to incorporate them in, it is well worth it and we all had a good laugh as we played!  The kids loved it too! 

       Okay here is your last part, phew...you are ALMOST done!  Find good pictures of you and your spouse's faces!  Develop them, laminate them and cut them out.  I used the little stands from our Chutes and Ladders game and set the faces in there and that's what we used for our playing pieces!  So fun!  Trust me, your whole family will have so much fun playing this game, especially when they read little things about themselves in the cards :)  I will put some links below to some fun last minute Valentine Printables from other fun websites in case you need a quick fix!  Good luck and enjoy!

- Kristin

Cute "Lovah" Gift Tags From Skip To My Lou

Matchboxes from Inchmark

Elephant Printable from Family Fun

Super Cute Lips from Paper Crafts

Valentine Candy Box (Printable) Family Fun

Valentine's S'mores from Tricia Rennea

Sneak Peek Valentine's Gift Tutorial For Hubby and Free Printable

Sneak Peek Valentine's Gift Tutorial For Hubby and Free Printable

       Hey everyone!  Can you believe it's almost Valentine's??  Seriously??  I feel like the first part of this year went by way too fast.  I know that there are many people out there who don't feel the "LOVE" on Valentine's.  Those who think it is just a way to get people to spend more money...in a way, I agree with those people.  In fact, my hubby and I don't go out and buy a bunch of teddy bears and chocolates or even go out to eat on Valentine's because there are so many people it is kind of hard to make your dinner feel special and private.  However, I do believe that Valentine's does have a great purpose...I won't go into the history of it all, I am sure you all are "google savvy" enough to be able to do that :)  But I will tell you that I seriously think Valentine's Day is a great excuse to do something ridiculously cheesy and over the top fun for your husband!  I love thinking of new and creative ways to do something for my husband without spending hardly any money at all.  We reserve the money spending for birthdays and Christmas so Valentine's Day is basically just an extra bonus :)  So here is my little sneak peek of what I have come up with this year for my husband!  I will be doing a tutorial on this within the next week but since it's not finished as you can see below, I cant quite get everything up yet.  I am sure you have all heard of Monopoly!  There is actually a website that you can go to that I saw a long time ago and they will make you your very own game of Lovopoly but I have searched everywhere and cannot find it for you!  But since this is our "extra" holiday I just decided to do it on my own!  Let me tell you, this is seriously going to cost you nothing if you do decide to do it on your own, but it does take a little time and thought.  Just to give you an example of how I am going to change it up...in the bottom left hand corner where it normally would say "GO" it says "Collect $200 Love Bucks As You Pass The BEDROOM" and I am going to put in different places that are special to us for the Properties.  I will give you some printables and exact dimensions as soon as I am done with everything!  Don't pretend like you're not excited ;) 

       My mom's birthday was recently and as I was brainstorming ideas of gifts to give her I came up with this idea of "A Mother's Prayer".  I often think about how grateful I am for my mom.  I think you can never fully comprehend the sacrifice and love your mother gives you until you become a mother as well.  This is true for me anyways.  In high school when my mom gave me curfews I thought she was just being over protective and silly.  Now as a mother, I realize the anxiety I am going to have when I have a 16 year old out on a school night that shows up 2 hours late without calling to let me know where she is.  The many fears that already run through my head when I only have little kids such as "Will they make the right choices when I'm not there?  Am I raising them to be all that they can be?"  There are so many more that I could list and go on and on and on. I feel so grateful for a Mother who taught me that being a mom was most important, even though it meant not always being popular with your kids.  That values are important and will essentially help you to grow into the person you want to be and help you realize what you really believe in.  I have included the printable with the Saying that I wrote. It is an 8X10 so keep that in mind as you print it out :)  I just sent mine over to Costco and framed it!  I hope you enjoy!  If you display it in your home, I would love to see it!  I am almost done with some fun Valentine's Printables so let me know if you are interested and I will get those up A.S.A.P. to use for your upcoming party :)  Enjoy!

- Kristin

New Menu!!

New Menu

       Here is your New Menu, Recipe File and Grocery Shopping List for the month of February!  Hopefully you all are as excited about this as I am :)  I will have a cute Valentine printable for tomorrow and some other fun recipes coming up for your kids and hopefully your March Menu by the end of this week and then I will take a short break to catch up on some much needed rest :)  Let me know if you have any problems.  Enjoy!

Recipe File

Menu

Grocery Shopping List

Sneak Preview Of Tomorrow's Menu and Monster Cookie Recipe!

Sneak Preview

       Okay, so I am literally so excited about this new menu I will post tomorrow!  It has a bunch of healthy recipes that are easy and definitely NOT lacking in taste.  My husband loved every single thing from this menu! But I will post a few of his favorites here before I post the menu tomorrow...so don't forget to come back! 

Baked Southwestern Egg Rolls With Creamy Chipotle Dipping Sauce

PF Chang's Lettuce Wraps

Ridiculously Healthy Blueberry Muffins With Lemon Glaze

       Those are just a few and I wasn't even able to get a picture of the Southwestern Cobb Salad with Green Goddess Dressing which was his absolute favorite, so come back tomorrow!  Also I have a fun Valentine's Meal planned and fun desserts to send with your kids for lunch, trust me, you will not want to miss :)

       Now for those of you who know me, you know I love a cookie that has everything in it!  Seriously I am a sucker for cookies with oatmeal, coconut, peanut butter.  For those of you who don't know me, now you know, I am an addict when it comes to these suckers.  My mom used to make us Monster Cookies growing up and I loved the fact that they had so many flavors to them.  I don't know why it took me so long to make them for my family, I get so caught up with experimenting that sometimes I forget the classics.  The recipe my mom has makes a TON of cookies!  Literally, so I toned it down and still ended up with 4 dozen...that is of course depending on how big you make them.  You can make them with 1/4 cupfuls, rolled into balls but I prefer to use T. and roll them into balls.  My kids are little and wouldn't be able to finish the whole thing if I made them bigger, although I can't say the same for myself ;)  So without further adieu I present the:

Monster Cookie Recipe

- 3 large eggs

- 1 T. corn syrup

- 1 C. sugar

- 1 1/4 C. brown sugar

- 1/2 tsp. salt

- 1 tsp. vanilla

- 1 1/2 C. creamy or crunchy peanut butter (I prefer creamy)

- 1/2 C. butter, softened

- 2 tsp. baking soda

- 4 1/2 C. oatmeal (you will want to use the quick cooking kind)

- 1 C. coconut

- 1 C. M&M's

- 1 C. white chocolate chips

Directions:

Preheat your oven to 350 degrees.  Lightly grease your cookie sheet with cooking spray.  In a large bowl, combine the eggs, corn syrup, brown sugar and granulated sugar until thoroughly mixed.  Add the salt, vanilla, peanut butter and butter and cream all those ingredients together.  In a separate bowl mix together the baking soda and oatmeal then add to your creamy mixture.  Stir in your coconut, M&M's and white chocolate chips.  Scoop your dough with a Tablespoon and roll into a ball.  Bake for about 8-10 minutes or until light golden!  Enjoy!

- Kristin

New Menu and Grocery Shopping List

New Menu and Grocery Shopping List

       Okay everyone!  It's that time of the week again that we get to have a new menu and Grocery Shopping List!  Hopefully you all are getting back into the swing of things with New Years and have begun your New Years Resolutions!  I am working on it...promise :)  One of my New Years Resolutions is to make this blog a little more organized for you guys!  Maybe feature new recipes on the days when I am not posting menu items, or crafts!  Let me know what you would like to see more of...I have a handful of kids clothes I am working on right now so I can get Easter Dresses done...yes you heard me right...Easter!  I need to be ahead of the game here because if not then I won't get anything done after this baby gets here.  Life basically comes to a stand-still for the first few months after a new baby gets here...as it should...so you can just squeeze and love and cuddle with your brand new baby and not worry about all the craziness that life hands you for a while.  You have complete permission to stay in your jammies all day everyday for a month and not clean your house...leave that up to your hubby...after all you, just spent 9 months, a.k.a. 40 weeks, a.k.a. 280 days creating a beautiful and wonderful little human being, you deserve as much of a break as you can!  I am working on my freezer and slow-cooker meals so I don't have to stress about dinner as much so prepare yourself for some fun, easy and delicious meals soon to be featured!  I also have some nice and healthy meals mixed in so that way all you who are working on your New Years Resolutions to lose weight will have something to look forward to.  If you know me, you know that I love healthy but I also don't like to sacrifice flavor so these recipes will definitely leave you feeling satisfied.  Leave me a comment letting me know what you would like to see more features of in between menu posts whether it be Recipe Tutorials, Mommy Moments or Home Decor Crafts and Sewing! As always, if you are new here and have any questions on how this works let me know, I am more than happy to help!  Enjoy!

- Kristin

Menu

Recipe File

Grocery Shopping List

Edited to add* Since I am getting my healthy meals and freezer meals I used a previous menu from October however it wouldn't update the changes to the menu for some reason but that has now been fixed and everything is current and up-to-date.  On the last Monday instead of being Halloween Rootbeer it should now list Breakfast Loaf!  Hopefully it is all straightened out!  Let me know if you have any questions :)

Wedding!

Wedding!!

       Sorry for the long absence, my brother's wedding was this past weekend and the planning has been crazy with last minute details that we have just done an No-Plan Menu...which basically means sandwiches every night :)  Although it was super crazy getting everything put together, it was so worth it and so exciting to see how happy the couple was!  I had a lot of help from my family and there is no way I could have gotten it all done without them there to help set up, make numerous flower decorations and even running to the store to pick up last minute items that we forgot.  I am so happy for my brother and my new sister in-law!  I hope you all have been enjoying your new year so far...I literally have no New Years Resolutions...does that make me a bad person??  There's definitely things I need to work on but this year my goal is going to be to take it all in stride and not try to fix everything at once...deal?  Here's a little something from the night...the pictures below are from a cell phone so they are not that great but you get the idea :)  I will have a new menu up next Wednesday...but for now I am going to clean my house and take a much needed nap while my kiddos are still sleeping.  Enjoy :)

- Kristin