An apple a day.....

I think I have mentioned before that I love fall.  Yes...in fact I mention that every year around this time.  I love fall!  I love the smells, the crisp air, the food!  EVERYTHING about fall is fantastic!  I love the ability to go and pick my own produce too.  Pumpkins and apples are at the top of the list this time of year because I make applesauce and Honey Crisp apples go into my kid's lunch boxes everyday.

So a couple of weekends ago Grace and I went apple picking.  I have had my craving for applesauce and have missed the farmers markets in our area lately.  We live by an apple orchard so it wasn't too hard to go and get 20 lbs.  Plus, Grace totally digs stuff like this still.  For those of you with teenagers, you are nodding your heads right now understanding aren't you?  Grace thinks that getting our own apples off of a tree was awesome and then we get to peel them!!  Wow, she said.  Oh so easily entertained is what I was thinking.

We picked our apples and brought them home.  Then Monday rolled around and I needed to make lunches for the kiddos.  I do actually make a lunch for all three of my kids and I will tell you why.  Our family has really been trying to get away from processed food when ever possible.  My kid's (especially my two older ones) are at the point they notice a difference in their thought processing and whole body when they eat processed food.  They are more tired for the last part of their school day and just plain feel yucky.  Grace is my somewhat picky eater and I am okay with that for now.  She will eat vegetables and fruit, just when I pack it for her.  When I have looked at school lunch menu's and asked the kids if they wanted to eat at school or at home, more often than not it would be a home lunch they would ask for.  Again, I am okay with that.  But that also meant having to invest in some containers that would accommodate what we like to eat.  So here we go on my latest finds and some cool little tidbits that I have found out lately:

1. Packing a sliced apple so it won't go brown by the time lunch rolls around: If you have an apple slicer/corer use it often.  #1 reason is we all know the nutrient value that an apple with skin on has.  It is amazing the amount of fiber you get in one apple.  I am probably the pickiest eater in my home so if I eat an apple it has to be crisp, cold and not mealy at all.  Fuji's, Gala's, Honey Crisp and Pink Lady apples have a really great crisp texture and don't go brown very quickly when you use this trick.  Take the "wedger" and go to the bottom of the apple but don't go through the bottom.  Then push the core back through so your apple will still look whole when you are done.  Then wrap the entire apple in tinfoil and make a twist on the top so that air can't get into it.  Also, a 1/4 teaspoon of lemon juice in a ziplock with sliced apples will do the trick too.  My oldest says she can taste the lemon juice so I do the tin foil method for her.

2. Kid's love Lunchable's.  It's just a fact:
After teaching preschool for 3 years I have seen Lunchable's morph into different variations of really expensive lunch products.  They now have a water bottle available in a type of Lunchable with a single serve Kool-Aid packet.  I won't discuss my aversion to Kool-Aid but, because I have witnessed lots of kid's throw away food and money I came to a realization.  It isn't what is in the Lunchable (because the dessert was always eaten first) it is the Lunchable container and the food not touching that kid's like the most!  Ah ha!  So I went on a quest to find compartmentalized containers to make my own lunchables.

My family loves what we call "carpet picnic's" and the kid's eat better when we have those.  We do this at least twice a month, usually on a Saturday night when we are watching a movie together.  It's just cracker's, our favorite cheeses, lunch meat, fresh fruit, fruit dip, lots of fresh veggies, cream cheese and a french baguette of bread sliced.  A couple of serving platers, paper plates and voila!  Dinner is served.  I took this idea and put it to use for lunch and I have to say it has been great!  My kid's actually tell me "Lunch was good Mom."  **insert surprised look here**

I found these Ziploc containers at my local Big Lots for $1.00.  There are two in a package with 3 compartments in the container.  Filling them with what the kids like is the easy part and putting a cookie in there for dessert is all they need.  I also found a storage container set with the little tiny dip containers at Gordman's.  Here's the cool thing.  All this is dishwasher safe and REUSABLE!!  I did put the cookie in a plastic bag, but at our school they have recycle bins for plastics.  The kid's bring all of it home and we are set!

3. Kid's don't drink enough water:

Think about the difference in the amount of water your child/children drink during summer vacation and when they are at school.  I know my kids don't drink NEARLY the amount that they should and even if they take a water bottle, which some schools won't allow, they don't like that because they have to leave class to use the restroom or any other myriad of reasons.  So I did a cost analysis on taking water bottles as opposed to a juice box or the V8 Fruit Fusions my two older kids were taking with their lunches.  On calories alone, water was a MUCH better choice.  The V8 has almost 180 calories in a 12 oz can and cost $4.00 for 6.   They are a really good option when you aren't packing any fruit or vegetables in the lunch though.  A juice box has almost 60 calories in them and for a case of 36 I was paying close to $10.00.  And there is always a flavor in the case that someone didn't like that I would have to throw out.  Enter, the little stubby water bottles.  Last week I purchased a case of 24 stubby water bottle for $2.50 at the local store and a case of 24 16 oz. water bottles for $1.97 at the same store.  Crystal Light has now come out with a brand called Pure that are in single serve packets for 16 oz. bottles and naturally sweetened.  This is what I have been sending with my older kids.  Then in the stubby bottles (8 oz.) for Grace, there is brand of raspberry lemonade called True that is sweetened with Stevia, a natural sweetener.  These are really good alternatives to regular Crystal Light because there is no aspartame in them and blow Kool-Aid out of the water!  (no pun intended)
The cost for juice per box is $0.27 the cost for water is $0.14 give or take 10 cents and the benefits are better.  Just a thought.

So there you go.  I hope some of my fun finds will benefit you.  Have fun with them.
Love from my home to yours,
Shelly