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6 Alternatives to the Standard Sandwich for Your Kids’ Lunchboxes

October 7 by Kaley

packing your child's lunch is as easy as 1-2-3-4!

We are just over a month into the school year and lunches have already turned into a major chore. It seems that every morning, a few minutes before we are supposed to be leaving for the bus, I am frantically trying to throw together a nutritious lunch for my daughter- racking my brain as to what I should include. All the while, she is standing beside me telling me that she is bored with what I am packing for her. Does this sound familiar? If so, don't despair, I have a few tips for you to … [Read more...]

Filed Under: In the Kitchen, Kaley, Meal Planning Tagged With: healthy snacks, healthy snacks for kids, how to pack a school lunch, on-the-go snack ideas, on-the-go snacks for kids, packed lunch ideas, school lunch ideas, school lunches, sponsored

A Monster Cake Absolutely Anyone Can Make (I Promise)

September 26 by Steph (MPMK Founder)

A super impressive halloween monster cake ANYONE can make!

Isn't this little guy cute?  If you're a regular reader here than you know that my oldest is an October baby - this is the friendly monster cake I made to celebrate his 1st birthday and I think he'd make a fabulous addition to any Halloween parties you may have planned.   I know he looks fancy but he was actually very, very straight forward to make. In fact, this was only the third or fourth cake I've ever baked and those that came before were nothing fancy, straight-from-the-box Duncan … [Read more...]

Filed Under: In the Kitchen, Seasonal Fun, Tutorials Tagged With: halloween cake, halloween dessert halloween recipes, monster cake

Overnight Steel Cut Oats (and How to Get the Kids to Make Their Own Breakfast)

September 21 by Kristin

Best Ever Overnight Oats Recipe - My kids love this recipe and I love the tips on how to set up a serve-yourself breakfast bar they can use to make their own breakfast all week long!

With that first snap of cool fall weather, all I want to do is cozy up with a warm bowl of oatmeal in the morning. Oatmeal is such a great breakfast option because it helps keep you full until lunch. I also love that oatmeal offers endless flavor combinations, from sweet to savory. My favorite oatmeal company, The Quaker Oats Company, makes the most delicious steel cut oats.  Steel cut oats are simply chopped, while the regular rolled oats are steamed, rolled, steamed again and then … [Read more...]

Filed Under: In the Kitchen, Kristin Tagged With: breakfast station, easy breakfasts for kids, overnight oats recipe, Quaker, quaker oatmeal, Quaker steel cut oats, steel cut oats recipe, wholesome breakfasts

How to Set up a Healthy Pack-Yourself Lunch Station for Kids

September 8 by Kristin

How to Set Up Stations for Kids to Pack Their Own Lunches - So doing trying this out this year!!!

I'm all about making life easier when possible. As moms we are juggling a million things and making lunches for school is one of those things that seems like it should be an easy task, but ends up being one of the tasks that I avoid until the last minute.  So here's what I've discovered. Just like anything else, preparation is key.  You may have seen our serve-yourself snack station over the summer.  I decided to apply the concept to lunch. If I let the kids have make their own lunches … [Read more...]

Filed Under: In the Kitchen, Kristin, Meal Planning, Simple Ideas Tagged With: easy lunches, getting kids to pack their own lunches, helping kids pack their lunch, packed lunch ideas, packed lunch stations, school hacks, school lunch ideas, serve-yourself lunch station

Lunch Box Smoothies 101

September 1 by Natalie

The post tells you exactly how to pack healthy smoothies in your kids' lunches without making a mess. Love this idea!

Have you guys ever packed smoothies in your kids' lunches? I'm so intrigued by this idea - it seems like SUCH a good way to get some much needed veggies into my kiddos' lunches and I know they'd see it as an extra special treat. But I wonder about the mess factor - is this really do-able?!  Our food contributor, Natalie, assures me that it is and she's here today sharing everything we need to know, along with her favorite tools and recipes. Frozen smoothies are lunch box staples at my … [Read more...]

Filed Under: In the Kitchen, Natalie Tagged With: freezer cooking, freezer smoothies, kid lunches, pack lunches, school lunches, smoothies

The Best Ideas for Cooking Veggies in a Crockpot (and other ways to get kids to eat healthy)

August 25 by Steph (MPMK Founder)

EASY SLOW COOKER VEGETABLE DISHES - Such a great way to ensure we have some healthy vegetables at dinner every night. My kids esp. love the carrot recipe! #spon

*I’m a PediaSure SideKicks Partner and am a sponsored blog partner, but all opinions are my own. Please see below for additional disclosure. Did you know August is "Kids' Eat Right Month"? In celebration, I'm pulling together my favorite tips and tricks for helping kids to eat healthy. My #1 tip is to always, always have veggies on hand. A few of my favorite techniques for doing so include: Stocking the fridge with individual portions of cut veggies and hummus or yogurt cups for … [Read more...]

Filed Under: In the Kitchen Tagged With: crockpot side dishes, crockpot vegetables dishes, healthy crockpot dishes, healthy slow cooker recipes, slow cooker side dishes, slow cooker vegetable recipes

Ultimate Resource Guide: Healthy Back-to-School Eating

August 13 by Steph (MPMK Founder)

BACK-TO-SCHOOL FOOD GUIDE: power breakfasts for the kids, zillions of packed lunch ideas, healthy after school snack recipe, and easy weeknight dinner ideas - this is SUCH an amazing resource!!

Image Credit: © Melissa | found here | CC by 2.0 (edited & text added) I'm wrapping up a wonderful family vacation at the lake tomorrow. But even as I sit here watching the sunset over the water and sipping my Chocovine (dutch chocolate + fine red wine, who knew?!), even I can't deny that the new school year is just around the corner. I know folks back in the south who have been in school for a week or two already! In an effort to start the year off on the right foot, I'm doing a … [Read more...]

Filed Under: In the Kitchen Tagged With: easy dinners, energy boosting breakfast ideas for kids, healthy kid snacks. easy weeknight dinners, packed lunch ideas, school lunch ideas

20 Cook Once, Eat Twice Dinner Ideas

August 3 by Natalie

Cook Once Eat Twice Dinner Ideas - Such a great resource for busy weekdays, love cutting out one whole day of cooking!!

I recently took to our facebook page and asked what type of recipe posts you'd most like to see here.  MPMK reader Rebecca suggested a roundup of "cook once, eat twice kind of meals". I replied, "I want those too!" because how brilliant is it to have dinner ready with no cooking on the second night?! I put our resident food contributor, Natalie, on it and she didn't disappoint... Looking to save some time in the kitchen? Double-duty dinners are a great way to cut down on extra cooking. … [Read more...]

Filed Under: In the Kitchen, Natalie Tagged With: cook once eat twice, cook once eat twice dinners, dinner ideas, double duty dinners, easy dinner ideas, easy family dinners, left-over dinners

20 Family Meals Using Zucchini

July 2 by Natalie

20 Family-Friendly Dinners Using Zucchini - so many great ideas for our summer zucchini, #8 is my kids' favorite!

Zucchini season is in full swing! That means many of us have zucchini covering our kitchen counters, filling up our fridges, and mostly coming out of our ears. One can only eat so much zucchini bread, so why not branch out and serve your veggies for dinner instead? Here are twenty ideas for using up all that squash! … [Read more...]

Filed Under: In the Kitchen, Natalie Tagged With: family dinners, family dinners with zucchini, family meals, healthy dinners, healthy meals, summer zucchini recipes, zucchini, zucchini dinner, zucchini recipes

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