Product Review of TJ's August Fearless Flyer

On Monday, I made a nutritious, packed lunch using only 5 ingredients, all of which were from Trader Joe's August Fearless Flyer. And I promised kid-approved reviews of that lunch and its components. So here they are ...

(1) For the dairy component: TJ's Organic Lowfat Yogurt Squishers were a hit! LoveBug described them as "yummy", and SuperBoy cheerfully said that they were "great".

(2) The protein part: TJ's Gluten-Free Chicken Nuggets. You already know that I LOVED them, and my son agreed that they were "great!" My daughter said that the nuggies weren't her favorite, and I had to agree that they did taste much better hot and fresh from the oven. (Guess what I'm gonna eat for lunch today ... the last serving of nuggets!)

(3) Grains: TJ's Gluten-Free Blueberry Muffin. The kids raved over these, wanting another one for snack that afternoon! LoveBug described them as "moist, blueberry-filled, with a tiny taste of maple". That should give some hope for those that are GF; delicious muffin options await for you at Trader Joe's!

(4) Fruit: LoveBug kept telling me about the "granola bar in my lunch", by which she meant the TJ's two-ingredient Fruit Bar. I tried the Apple Mango, giving LoveBug and SuperBoy the Apple Strawberry and Apple Banana respectively. They were tasty and chockfull of fruit bits - two types of fruit, no preservatives, no yucky stuff. We can't wait to try the Apple Coconut Fruit Bar.

(5) Veggies - Lastly, the Inner Peas. I really wasn't sure what my kids would think of these. I taste-tested these along with my mom-in-love (who was visiting), and we adults agreed that they were "crunchy and salty at first, but left a weird aftertaste". On the other hand, My kids. Could. Not. Get. Enough. They LOVED those crunchy, baked pea snacks! Fortunately, there was enough leftover to pack another serving for the next day's lunches. Woohoo for pure veggies getting into my willing kids. I couldn't be happier!

Trader Joe's Lunchable

Today's lunch is brought to you by Trader Joe's and their August Fearless Flyer. We happen to be lucky enough to have a Trader Joe's down the road from us, but if you don't have one of these awesome stores, you can easily substitute foods from your local store.

The point of my Trader Joe's lunchables is two-fold: (1) a healthy lunch that is (2) easy to make. Therefore, if you grab an item from each food group (dairy, grains, protein, fruit, veggies), you can quickly and easily make a portable, healthy lunch. No matter what grocery stores are around you.

Plus, on Thursday, I will give you the kids' reviews of these products.

Today's lunch consists of:
(1) Dairy: TJ's Organic Lowfat Yogurt Squishers - these yogurt tubes come in a box of 8 for $3.19, which is about $0.40/tube. You have a choice of 8 Strawberry yogurts in a box, or a combo or Cherry and Berry yogurts, 4 each in a box.

(2) Grain: Gluten-Free Blueberry Muffins - my family is not gluten-free, but I know of several families that are GF. I figured we would give these blueberry-filled bakery treats a try, and on Thursday, we'll let you know the verdict. $3.99 for 4 muffins, making them each a dollar.

(3) Protein: Gluten Free Chicken Nuggets - Omg. I know that I said I was gonna give you our reviews on Thursday, but wow. After I baked these for the kiddos' lunches, I tried one. Wow. These might be the best store-bought, oven-baked chicken nuggets that I have ever eaten. $4.99/16 nuggets. 1 serving is 4 nuggets, making a serving $1.25 each. Not exactly cheap, but for GF and non-GF eaters alike, these nuggies (as my kids used to call them) are perfect.

(4) Fruit: Fruit Bars - these are relatively new to Trader Joe's. The thing I love most about this new product? There are only 2 ingredients, and both are fruit. No preservatives, no additives, nada. Four different flavors - Apple Banana, Apple Coconut, Apple Mango and Apple Strawberry. $0.99 each for pure fruit goodness.

(5) Veggies: Inner Peas - Baked green pea snackies with a touch of salt. On Thursday, I'll let you know what my kids thought of them. $1.49 for about 3 servings, making it a doable $0.50/serving for veggies!

To assemble, I baked the chicken nuggets ... and taste-tested them of course! While the nuggets cooled a bit, I cut the blueberry muffin to fit into the lunch container. Inner Peas go in one section, and chicken nuggets (so yummy!) plop into the other small section. Add a lid, and pack the Yogurt Squisher and Fruit Bar on the side. And presto - LUNCH!

For less than $4.25. More expensive than a school lunch, BUT much more healthy! And super easy to make.

By the way, if you are packing the lunches the night before like I do, I would wait to add the Inner Peas until morning. The refrigerator can add moisture to the baked pea snacks, making it less than desirable. Other than that, you're good to go!

Trader Joe's Lunchable

It's back-to-school time for some; however, in our state, we've still got 2 weeks. But I decided that this lunchable is packable for school (for those who have started) or for the park (for those of us who are struggling through the last few weeks of summer).

One of my favorite stores is Trader Joe's. Not only are the employees friendly and knowledgeable, but the store is clean, well laid-out, and full of yummy things. My kids enjoying tagging along to look for the Octavia puppet (our store's mascot), which the employees hide in different places all over the store. Once they find her, the kids are given a sugar-free lollipop or a piece of fruit in exchange for Octavia's location. Today, she was on top of the mini chocolate biscotti.

In order to keep this lunchable simple, I popped into Trader Joe's to pick up a few remaining items to add to the other TJ's items I already had at home.

Here's my basic ingredients for today's lunch: Sesame Honey Almonds (protein). Extra sharp cheddar cheese (dairy). Sesame Sticks (grain). Sugar Snap Peas (veggie). Dried Mandarin Oranges (fruit).

After I trimmed the snappeas and cubed the cheese, I placed 4 silicone baking cups into a small, plastic container.

Cheese cubes go in one silicone cup. For aesthetic purposes, I made sure to NOT place the orange foods in the yellow cup. Orange and yellow would blend together too much, and I wanted to make them pop visually.

Diagonally across from the cheese, goes the other orange food - dried mandarin oranges.

Sesame sticks - my current craving - fill up another baking cup.

Sesame honey almonds, the protein component, complete the fourth cup.

Lastly, the deliciously crunchy snappeas get tucked in between the baking cups.

And voila! A Trader Joe's Lunchable that was easy, relatively affordable and involves no cooking!

Homemade Lunchable: How-To

Today, I want to show you just how easy it is to make a homemade lunchable.

Here are the ingredients, most of which I just grabbed from my refrigerator and cupboards. Ritz veggie crackers, string cheese, sliced roast beef, black olives, broccoli, blueberries, raspberries and yellow bell pepper strips.

First, put the crackers into a small section or container of a lunchbox, to ensure that they will still fresh and crisp until lunchtime. For this lunch, I used an Easy Lunchbox.

Next, pour about a 1/2 cup of raspberries and a 1/2 cup of blueberries into another compartment. What a beautiful, tasty combo!

Roast beef and cheese roll-ups. Here's the part that looks complicated, but it really isn't!
(1) Lay out 6 roast beef slices (1 serving size). Cut 1 string cheese into 3 equal pieces.
(2) Cut each string cheese piece in half lengthwise, so that you have a total of 6 pieces.
(3) Fold each roast beef slice in half. Place 1 string cheese piece at the end of a roast beef half-circle. Roll up.
(4) Secure with a food pick or toothpick. Repeat until all roast beef roll-ups are finished.

Add your veggies. I put in broccoli florets and yellow pepper strips, because that is what I had in my refrigerator. Use whatever veggies you have on hand.

My kids LOVE black olives. When they were toddlers, my mom taught them how to put an olive on each finger, and then eat the olives off of their fingers. Talk about "finger food"!
My not-so-little kids still love to do that!

However, I do not like the taste of black olives. Guess what? I didn't put them in MY lunch. Talk about personalizing the lunches. That's the beauty of homemade lunchables. You can cater to each person's individual likes and dislikes.

Grab a lunchbox or a few small containers. Look around your cupboards and refrigerator for some foods to create a balanced lunch. See what kind of homemade lunchable you can come up with!

Homemade Lunchable

On Friday, I chaperoned my daughter's class field trip to a local museum. Everyone had to bring their own lunch. I think for most people the "go-to" brown bag lunch is a store-bought Oscar Mayer Lunchable, or the healthier meal kit option by Revolution Foods. I have a problem with both of these items.

(1) Oscar Mayer Lunchable - While there are numerous choices available, they are not good for you! And though the price is relatively low for a packaged lunch, the amount of food in that "lunch" - well, let's just say that would make a great after-school snack for my kids. In my opinion, that is not enough for lunch for a elementary-schooler. So Lunchables are a no-go in our household.

(2) Revolution Foods meal kits - I have not tried them yet; however, they do look rather tasty. I believe that these meal kits cost about $3.50 each. To me, that is cost-prohibitive. Not in our household.

So, what to do? Pack pbj sandwiches that will get squished during our travels around the museum. No thanks.

How about I just pack our own lunchables in Easy Lunchboxes? Perfect! On Thursday, I will walk you through HOW I made this one. It's seriously so easy!