Thrive & School Lunch

When my daughter was itty bitty and headed off to her first year of all-day school, I was so excited to pack her a lunch. I'll give you two guesses as to how quickly that excitement wore off. Now we're into her third year of all day school and I have finally gotten lunch down to a science. In an effort to save you from lunch packing boredom, I will share my method with you :)

Make a spreadsheet with the following information: Morning Snack, Lunch Entree, Lunch Side Dish, Drink. Of course you'll want to adjust this to fit your child's needs - for example, maybe your middle schooler doesn't have morning snack but would like a dessert option or an extra snack to eat before an after school activity. Under each chosen heading, list all of the choices you would like to give your child. Here is what is listed under "Morning Snack" for my daughter:

Banana Bread
Pumpkin Spice Muffins
Kix
Homemade Granola Bar
Apple Slices
Banana
Grapes
Strawberries
Granola Bites
Bagel with Cream Cheese
Mini Blueberry Muffins
Banana Nut Muffins
Animal Crackers
Wheat Thins with Cheese
Zucchini Muffins

Once you have completed the spreadsheet, print out a copy and have your child make her choices by writing the initial for each day of the week next to the item she would like. So, if she would like grapes for her morning snack on Monday, she would put a "M" next to the word grapes on the list. Granola bites would have a "Th" next to it for Thursday. Repeat for all remaining categories.

I have my daughter complete her "lunch order" on Saturday for the upcoming week. This allows me to prepare anything that can be made ahead of time like muffins or granola, pick up the produce needed at the store, and also plan our family dinners accordingly. Last week she wanted to have homemade pizza for lunch on Thursday, so we had homemade pizza as a family for dinner on Wednesday night and I just made extra for her to have at school the next day.

Thrive foods can play an integral part in preparing quick, healthy lunches for your kids. My daughter loves  Thrive Freeze Dried Strawberries mixed with Vanilla Yogurt Bites, freeze dried corn mixed with freeze dried peas, and especially blueberries. For quick muffins, use Thrive 6 Grain Pancake Mix as a base, add sugar, vanilla extract, milk and Thrive berries (you don't have to rehydrate them!). Freeze leftover muffins and just pop a frozen one in your child's lunch bag - it will be thawed by snack time. Mix up some homemade granola bars on a Sunday afternoon for a great snack all week long. A hot thermos full of creamy chicken soup with wild rice will warm up a cold kid on a wintery day, especially with a hearty sandwich on a homemade bagel.

I love knowing that I'm sending my daughter to school with wholesome, nutritious meals that will fuel her brain and body for the afternoon. Best of all, I love knowing that I have sent food that  she will actually eat!

Tropical Morning Muffins & A Giveaway!

Start your morning right with a hefty dose of vitamins, minerals and deliciousness! These muffins are great with a hot cup of coffee or tea, or even a tall glass of ice cold milk. I like to add a couple of tablespoons of ground flax seed to my muffin recipes - it adds a nice, nutty flavor, as well as all those good essential oils, fiber and omega-3s. If ground flax isn't your thing, feel free to leave it out.

1c Thrive White or Whole Wheat Flour
1/4c Thrive White Sugar
1T Thrive Whole Egg Powder
1t Thrive Baking Powder
1/4t Thrive Baking Soda
1/4t Thrive Salt
2T Ground Flax Seed (optional)
1/3c Applesauce
1c Water
1/2c Thrive Pineapple Chunks
1/4c Thrive Mangoes
1/4c Thrive Banana Slices
1/4c Thrive Maroon Cookie Mix
Shredded Coconut (for garnish)

Preheat oven to 350 and grease a 12 cup muffin tin. Combine flour, sugar, egg powder, baking powder, baking soda and salt. Stir well to combine. Add water and applesauce and mix well. Gently fold in fruits and cookie mix. Pour 1/4c of the batter into each of 12 greased muffin cups. Sprinkle with shredded coconut, lightly pressing the coconut into the batter to help it stick. Bake the muffins at 350 for 18-22 minutes or until lightly browned.

Ready for my first ever giveaway? I am! All you have to do to enter is: 1) either follow my blog or "Like" it on Facebook, and 2) leave a comment on this recipe telling me what your favorite Thrive product is, or if you aren't yet a Thrive customer, what product you most want to try. One lucky person will win a cute little package with the ingredients needed to make their very own batch of Tropical Morning Muffins, premeasured and everything!

One entry per person please, and the winner must live within the 48 contiguous United States. A winner will be chosen at random at 9am Mountain Standard time on Monday, September 19th. All entries received up until that time will be eligible. Best of luck to everyone!