Grab-and-Go Lunch at the Zoo!

Some of you, dear readers, might be thinking "Grab-and-Go Lunches are great for school-age kids, but I have preschoolers" OR "We homeschool; we don't usually need to grab-and-go." Well, let me tell you ... grab-and-go came in really handy for our family this past week.

The big kids had a day off of school, and my husband was still on vacation. So on a whim, we decided to pack up our family and head to the zoo. We had been given some Christmas money, which covered the zoo admission, but not enough to cover expensive, non-nutritious lunches at the zoo. What to do?

We quickly microwaved the frozen chicken nuggets, grabbed the remaining food items to create a balanced lunch, and we were off ... after having everyone go potty, grab coats and put on shoes. After feeding and changing the baby, and putting her in her carseat. After making sure we had the stroller, diaper bag and water bottles. But after that .... we were off on our adventure, with our healthy, cheaper-than-zoo-food lunches.

SuperBoy wanted a left-over turkey hotdog as his protein component.

I told LoveBug to say "cheese". Here's her response. :)

My hot hubby holding the baby, so that I could eat with both hands. What a guy!

And me, the orchestrator of our Grab-and-Go Lunches. So grateful I implemented this idea. What a delicious, healthy life-saver it has been!

Grab-and-Go Lunch, example 2

Yesterday, I posted one example of how to create a Grab-and-Go Lunch using the ingredients that I had purchased at Costco. (You can make a Grab-and-Go with items from your local store. Just keep remember to keep the lunch nutritionally-balanced!)

Here's another example - mixing it up a bit, for variety sake.

* Tortilla chips - white and blue corn varieties (grain)
* Tyson chicken nuggets (protein)
* Clementine (fruit)
* Cooked, shelled edamame with a sprinkle of sea salt (veggie)
* String cheese (dairy)

What kind of Grab-and-Go Lunch could you create?

Grab-and-Go Lunch, example 1

First, let me apologize for the delay between my posts. Not only are we, as a family,cadjusting to life with a newborn, but LoveBug broke her ankle on the playground, and that is yet another life adjustment to our schedule! But everyone is back to school, with LoveBug on crutches, and we can find our "new normal" as a family of five.

Plus, I am looking forward to getting creative again and regularly (hopefully!) posting once again.

Here's a throw-back to my post on Grab-and-Go Lunches. I promised several examples - here is one!

This quickly packable lunch consists of:

* Whole-grain crackers (breads/grains)

* String cheese (dairy)

* Broccoli florets (veggie)

* An applesauce cup AND spoon (fruit and utensil with which to eat it)

* Healthy and delicious Tyson chicken nuggets (protein)

A quick way to pack a healthy lunch punch. :)

New Baby Arrival

You might have been wondering where I've been, why there's been no new posts lately. Just having a baby and adjusting to life at home with a newborn. Just small things like that. :)

Baby Girl (haven't come up with a cute-enough pseudonym for the blog yet) was born last Tuesday morning at 2:40am. 6# 6 oz. She and I are doing great.

So there might be a follow-up lunch post on Thursday, linking back to last Monday's post about "Grab-and-Go Lunches". I'll do my sleep-deprived best. And let's just say, I'm SO glad I grabbed those grab-and-go, healthy food items when I did, because they have come in SO handy!

But for now, enjoy these delicious pics of the new baby and our family.

LoveBug and SuperBoy are over-the-moon in love with New Baby.

Oh the cuteness!

Daddy is all mushy over his littlest girl.

Last picture for now, I promise. Soon enough, back to blogging about healthy, outside-of-the-lunchbox lunches, with an occasional baby picture thrown in.

Grab-and-Go Lunch

So the time is quickly approaching that time - time for Baby's arrival! Wahoo!

That got me to thinking ... umm, my big kiddos still need to eat lunch. Even if I'm in labor. And definitely once baby is home, even though I'll be super sleep-deprived.

So the kids and I went to Costco and loaded up on healthy food options that the kiddos can prepare by themselves (with minimal help and supervision).

Although there are many options out there, here's what I picked for this time.

Proteins:

* Tyson Panko Chicken Nuggets - absolutely delicious!

* Yogurt - I already some at home.

* Frigo String cheese - I also have on hand; bought big pack at Costco last trip.

Grains:

* Costco brand of Ancient Grains Crackers - at least 4 types of grains, with a touch of salt.

* Mission tortilla chips (not pictured)

Veggies:

* Baby Carrots - I divided these into snack baggies, for a quick grab-and-go veggie option.

* Madame Organic Edamame - 9 bags of frozen edamame. Microwave and package for lunchtime snacking.

Fruits:

* Clem N Tina's Clementines - sweet, juicy little clementines

* Tree Top Organic Applesauce cups - I love TreeTop products! Make sure to pack a spoon!

Later this week (or next week, if I have the baby soon), I'll be posting a few pics of some grab-and-go lunch combinations that you could make from this list.