Farmer's Market Lunches

May is my favorite month. It's still generally a little bit cool and the Farmer's Markets begin to open! A trip to our local Wednesday night Farmer's Market was the perfect way to get ready for the second round of the Healthy Lunch Challenge put on by Crunch A Color!

The Crunch a Color cards are a fun game your kids can play! You earn points for the different foods you eat and even a 2x bonus if you try a new food! Pit siblings against each other and even mom and dad can join in! In the end, every wins because they are getting excited about eating nutritious foods! There is also a set of Conversation Starters which are fun to play at dinner time!

This first lunch is very simple to put together because everything is straight from the market! This lunch is worth 110 points in the Crunch a Color game!

Main Compartment: Garlic Cheese Curds, Ham, Rosemary and Olive Oil Bread made with whole wheat and rice flours, and cherries!

Large Side Compartment: Romaine, Endive, Radicchio, Radishes, and Orange Bell Pepper

Small Side Compartment: Strawberries and Blackberries

This lunch is just as fantastic but takes a little bit more work! Recipe for the Eggplant and Zucchini is below! This tasty lunch would earn you 90 points in the Crunch A Color game!

Main Compartment: Eggplant and Zucchini Sticks, Grilled Chicken Skewers, Tomato Sauce for dipping, Radish, Orange and Yellow Bell Peppers.

Large Side Compartment: Green Checkered Apple, Cherries, and Blackberries

Small Side Compartment: Rosemary and Olive Oil Bread made with Whole Wheat and Rice Flours

Eggplant and Zucchini sticks are one of Kidlet's favorite things! They are crispy and delicious!

Ingredients:

•  1 small zucchini
• 1 small eggplant
• 1/2 c. bread crumbs 
• 1/2 cup parmesan cheese
• 1 tsp Italian seasoning
• 1 tsp garlic powder
• 1 tsp salt
• 1 egg, beaten

Directions:

1. Pre-heat oven to 400 degrees
2. Mix the bread crumbs, cheese, and seasonings in a bowl. 
3. Slice the eggplant and zucchini in to strips about 1/2 inch thick
4. Dip sticks in to the beaten egg and then in to the bread crumb mixture
5. Place on a parchment lined baking sheet and mist lightly with olive oil
6. Bake for 10-15 minutes, flipping over halfway through, until golden brown

Two easy and tasty lunches with delicious Farmer's Market finds! Kidlet was very happy to munch on these!

Tools we used: 

Quick Thermos Lunch

Kidlet and I have been having a rough week so he requested some of his favorite comfort food! We had whole grain spaghetti with eggplant and ricotta for dinner the other night so leftovers went with Kidlet in the morning and he was very happy!

Kidlet has a thermos of spaghetti with eggplant and ricotta and a small container of cherries and animal cookies.

CuteZCute All Day Long!

If you've been following this blog for any amount of time you may have seen a lot of lunches made using the CuteZCute Food Deco Cutter Kit! We absolutely adore it! If you're not familiar with the product, it's an all-in-one bento tool kit that creates easy and adorable foods. Whether you are a bento pro or a beginner this tool is absolutely for you!

Just a few of the reasons we love our CuteZCute:

• One set includes everything you need to create an endless number of adorable foods!
•  The Panda Assistant Pick that is included pops out the small face pieces easily.
• Dishwasher Safe
• FDA certified by SGS
• BPA, Phthalate, PVC, and Lead Free
• 100% recyclable packaging
• Made from High Quality Food Grade Polypropylene (PP)
• 100% Food Safe
• Easy and safe for children to use! With no sharp edges, children can help! And despite no sharp edges the CuteZCute still cuts through food easily!

 And now, please join us for a day full of CuteZCute!

Good Morning, CuteZCute!

We used our CuteZCute cutter to make these simple and delicious donuts with an orange-almond glaze! Using the CuteZCute, cut out biscuit dough. Fry in hot oil flipping once until lighly browned.

Orange-Almond Doughnut Glaze

Ingredients:

3 TBSP cold water

3 TBSP orange juice

1 tsp vanilla

1 tsp almond extract

2-3 cups powdered sugar

Directions:
Mix all ingredients together until you have achieved a thick but still slightly runny glaze. Pour over food for deliciousness!

CuteZCute has two sides to every face plate. One cuts through foods to leave a blank space for the facial features. The other side is an imprint of the face that we used above for this adorable watermelon face! Perfect for a fun breakfast or even for potlucks and events! 

LunchTime, CuteZCute!

We have used our CuteZCute for many fun school lunches! Simple sandwiches are made adorable quickly and easily! Homemade tortilla chips are made by cutting out tortilla shapes with the CuteZCute, brush with olive oil and sprinkle with a bit of salt. Then bake in the oven until crisp! Yum!

Let's Have Dinner, CuteZCute!

Mini Pizzas are a fun and easy dinner option. We used refrigerated pizza dough, spread with tomato sauce, sprinkle on some cheese and bake as directed on your package. Add cheese facial features at the end!

Cute Little Piggie Pot Pies are warm and delicious at dinner time! Using store bought puff pastry dough, I lined small ramekins with dough and baked until puffy and golden. I then baked some pig shaped faces until golden brown. Fill the ramekin with chicken pot pie filling (or any kind of filling you like!) and top with a puff pastry piggie!

Sweet Dreams, CuteZCute!

Cherry Pie filling and pie crust cut out and stamped with the CuteZCute makes an adorable and delicious dessert! Serve warm with ice cream! Yum!

I hope you enjoyed our day full of delicious CuteZCute ideas! It really is an amazing and versatile tool! 

Meatless Monday: Week 16

It's another lovely Monday! Come link up your favorite completely Meat-Free posts! The linky runs for 7 days so you can add in at anytime! Yum!

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Star Trek Into Darkness

Today marks the release of Star Trek Into Darkness! Kidlet is extremely excited so of course he needed a themed lunch! I'm joining up with my Edible Geekery buddies to have a little blog hop! So after you check out my awesome lunch click the button at the bottom to go to the next!

Kidlet has a peanut butter sandwich shaped with our much loved ThinkGeek Star Trek Cookie Cutters and decorated with a tiny bit of dark chocolate, On the side he has star shaped cheese crackers, grapes, checkered apple, carrots, and radishes.

Now go see what my buddy Cristi has going on over at BentOnBetterLunches

Meatless Monday: Week 15

Meatless Monday is here again! Thanks to everyone who has been linking up with us so far. Link up your favorite completely meat-free post and share the veggie love!

Today Kidlet has a cowboy Morningstar Farms corndog with ketchup, mustard, and soy crackers. On the side are grapes, a checkered apple, and salad.

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Soft Pretzel Bites with Queso Dip

 Kidlet's Pretzel Bites lunch has pretzel bites, queso sauce, and Quorn Chik'n nuggets on a skewer. On the side he has carrots with dip, strawberries, and a checkered apple.

We love pretzels in all forms. I have made pretzels bites many times but this time I wanted to try and see if my FunBites cutter would make them easier. This has been on my to-do list for months! But finally I got it done! My buddy Jeana over at Tiny Princess LunchBox made some recently too!! Great minds think alike!

They turned out so well! And I decided to pair them with a delicious Queso sauce! Not too spicy but full of flavor.

Soft Pretzel Bites:
_______________

Ingredients:

• 1 1/2 cups warm water
• 2 1/4 teaspoons active dry yeast
• 3 ounces unsalted butter, melted
• 2 1/2 teaspoons kosher salt 
• 4 1/2 to 5 cups all-purpose flour
• 3/4 cup baking soda
• 1 whole egg, beaten with 1 tablespoon cold water
• Coarse sea salt

Directions:

1.) In the bowl of a stand mixer, combine water, sugar, yeast, and butter. Mix until combined and let sit for 5 minutes.
2.) Add salt and 4 1/2 cups of flour. Mix with a dough hook or paddle attachment until combined. Add more flour as necessary to achieve a dough that pulls away from the bowl. Once this happens turn the speed up and knead the dough for a few minutes.
3.) Spray your bowl with a bit of cooking spray or brush it with oil, add the dough, cover with a cloth, and let rise until it has doubled in size. This takes approximately an hour.
4.) Pre-heat oven to 425 degrees F. Put a large pot of water on the stove until boiling. Add the baking soda.
5.) While you're waiting for your water to boil, flour a cutting board and roll out the dough to 1/2 inch thickness. You can cut bites from the dough with a knife or make nice neat pieces by using your FunBites Squares cutter.
6.) Put the bites in to the boiling water about 20 at a time until they float to the top. Then place them on a greased or parchment papered baking sheet. Lightly salt the tops.
7.) Bake for 6-10 minutes until nicely browned on top.

 Queso Dip
____________
Ingredients:

• 1 1/4 lb block White American Cheese cut into 1-inch cubes
• 1/4 cup diced green chiles
• 2 pickled jalapenos 
• 1 ounce pickled jalapeno juice
• 2/3 cup whole milk
• 1/2 cup cold water

 Directions:

1.) Put the cheese cubes in a microwave safe dish.
2.) Chop the green chiles, jalapenos, and jalapeno juice in a blender or food processor until they are very small pieces. This keeps you from getting a giant mouth full of heat!
3.) Add the chile and jalapeno mixture to the cheese. Pour in the water and milk.
4.) Microwave on high for 7 minutes, stirring after each minute.
5.) Enjoy the deliciousness!

This lunch was made possible with the use of: