Sandwich on a Stick

September 1, 2014 Amanda Plott

Sometimes... my little one gets tired of eating a sandwich in it's usual form, and who could blame her? So sometimes I just have to get creative with what I already have on hand and planned out for the week.

One helpful tip I have recently fallen in love with, is to use dry spaghetti noodles in place of skewers for little ones. I know, right...? Super clever and a lot safer! This helps to keep from anyone getting hurt in the midst of lunchtime. Plus, they're edible. Who doesn't take a bite or two of a dry noodle when available?...

Lily's Lunch Box (Week 5) - Tex-Mex

August 25, 2014 Amanda Plott

There's two things I can always count on getting my little one to eat. Beans and rice! In fact, she takes her beans and rice plain. No salt. No 'spice'... just a sprinkle of cheese and she's done. She has been that way with beans and rice for her entire life.

Though it's not my way of eating them, I'm more than happy to oblige her with this small request. Thankfully, corn and mandarine oranges are two more things that are on the top of her 'will always eat' list. What does that give you? A fun tex-mex lunch idea!...

Homemade Whole Wheat 'Easy Mac'

August 18, 2014 Amanda Plott

My little love was under the weather a for a few days this week, so we didn't exactly have the need for a 'lunch box' today, but... this is what I served her at home for lunch. After all, what's more of a comfort food than macaroni and cheese?

Well, not much! I pretty much put everything into this lunch that would be considered her favorite things. And they all tend to be things that most kids enjoy eating. It was a little bit of a happy accident that it happened to be just what she needed on her sick days! Grapes. Mac-n-cheese. Hot dog. And peas and carrots...

Garlicky Parmesan & Rosemary Roasted Chickpeas

July 21, 2014 Amanda Plott

I was turned on to roasting chickpeas several years back when seeking out healthier snack alternatives. Roasted garbanzo beans are seriously so easy to do that my four year old could almost pull it off all on her own. Well, almost. Plus, they taste absolutely amazing!

If you are a fan of hummus or chickpeas in general, then you will love toasted garbazo beans. I've been on a bit of a chickpea kick lately, if you hadn't noticed already. So... I thought what better time than now to roast some up for a grazing snack to have on hand...

Skinny Italian Stuffed Peppers (Crock Pot)

June 18, 2014 Amanda Plott

I've had a few stuffed peppers in the past. When I was younger, I remember my mom making some spanish style stuffed peppers that I thought were pretty good even though at the time I wasn't a huge pepper fan.

Oh, how times have changed.

These stuffed peppers are pretty amazing and ridiculously easy to do. With around 10-15 minutes of preparation, you can have these babies set to cook through the day in your crock pot with hardly any fuss at all!...

Skinny Tomato Pie

May 31, 2014 Amanda Plott

A couple of weeks ago my grandma and I were out running errands when we decided to stop at this well known place here in Austin called Kerbey Lane. They are famous for their unique twists on classic foods. As an added perk, they generally pride themselves on using organic and locally grown items in their kitchen.

As luck would have it, we happened to go in the middle of tomato season! While paroosing the ‘Tomato Menu’ I came across an interesting looking item that was marked as ‘Limited Quantity due to Popularity’… so of course that’s what I had to order. Tomato Pie!...