Dining with Dylan: Cookies for Santa

Good Morning and Merry Christmas!

Today is Christmas Eve and Dylan is super excited about Santa's visit tonight!  We've conjured a yummy and healthy sampling of cookies for the Jolly Man and stuffed our Itzy Ritzy Lunch Happens™ Bento Lunch Box with enough to fill his "bowl full of jelly"!

Included in the sampling of cookies for Santa are homemade Graham Cracker Gingerbread Men Shaped Cookies (recipe courtesy of Catherine McCord's Weelicious Cookbook), three Carrot Cake Cookies (also of the Weelicious Cookbook, only modification is the substitution of raisins for nuts), two Honey Banana Greek Yogurt Cookies (recipe from Epicurious.com - called for plain nonfat yogurt, but I substituted Chobani Champions Honey Nana Yogurt), and one Apricot Oat Bar (from the Williams Sonoma Cookbook for Kids).

Because these cookies were made with mostly organic ingredients, including whole wheat flour, these cookies should provide a sweet and healthy burst of protein and fiber for Santa to carry on his worldwide flight! 

All ingredients, with the exception of the Chobani, are courtesy of Mommy's fave grocery store - Trader Joe's!  Dylan wishes everyone a very Merry Christmas and hopes Santa leaves you all something special under the tree tonight!

Warm Wishes!

-Kristine

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Happy Holidays to all!

Dining with Dylan: Elf on the Shelf Edition

"Our Elf, Little Red, has been busy creating a meal for Dylan with some of his leftover Christmas decorations and some of his North Pole friends’ favorites.  Little Red got crafty and made Dylan a Sunflower Butter Sandwich Christmas Tree on Ezekiel Bread with just a few pieces of a "not so" guilty pleasure – Unreal™ Candy Coated Chocolate Pieces. The fact that they are "unjunked" with nothing artificial, no hydrogenateds, no corn syrups, no preservatives, and no GMOs makes it a Mommy approved treat, in moderation.  The presents under the tree are bite-sized pieces of the sandwiches wrapped in fruit leather ribbon. Little Red the Elf also had some leftover popcorn from making strings for our tree in our living room, and thought he would introduce Dylan to some healthier snacks to leave for Santa on Christmas Eve.  Little Red even labeled those items - CLIF Kid ZBar Iced Oatmeal Cookie for Santa, and Rolled Spinach Balls (made from Dr. Praeger's Spinach Patties) for Rudolph and friends.  

 

All items that are not labeled above are Trader Joe’s brand items."

-Kristine

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Dining with Dylan: A Very Mickey 2nd Birthday

"Dylan turns 2 Years Old Today! Hooray!  To celebrate we are going to spend the morning at the Happiest Place on Earth, Disneyland, with Grandma!  In honor of Little Man's Big Day, his super totable Itzy Ritzy Rock Star Lunch Happens™ Bento Lunch Box is packed with some of his favorites, all suited for lunch at the Magic Kingdom with his favorite Disney character - Mickey Mouse!  And, as a special surprise, a Mickey Mouse shaped Pizookie! A yummy treat to celebrate turning 2.  Of course it is packed in the Rock Star bento box because my 2 year old is a rock star today, and every day!"

-Kristine

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What is a pizookie, you might ask? 

It is a warm, gooey pizza cookie often topped with ice cream that is supposed to have originated at BJ's Restaurant in Chicago. How delicious does that sound? Kristine's recipe was adapted from Catherine McCord's Weelicious.com Chocolate Chip Cookie Recipe.

 Find a full pizookie recipe here.

Dining with Dylan: Date Night

“Dylan has a date with his "girlfriend" tonight! He decided to use Itzy Ritzy's Hoot Lunch Happens™ Bento Lunch Box to create a picnic dinner for his favorite little lady, because what girl wouldn't love this adorably, girly bento box?

We worked together to create a Pumpkin Waffle Sandwich, stuffed with Pumpkin Butter and Organic Cream Cheese / Sliced Clementines (a cute, teeny orange which is perfect for little, chubby fingers) / Raisins / and Deviled Eggs for added protein!

Dylan sat on the kitchen counter, wearing his Spiderman apron (courtesy of Williams-Sonoma) over a diaper. He looked like a tiny version of the Naked Chef! He had such fun pressing the button on our Ninja to mix the waffle batter. After each ingredient was added, he would pause and then look at me at ask, "push 1 Mama?" and then I would nod yes and he would happily push the 1 button to mix the batter. Dylan also mixed the deviled egg yolk himself! Not even 2 years old and into impressing girls, what am I going to do when he's 13?”

 - Kristine

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(all Trader Joe’s unless otherwise noted)

Dining with Dylan: Thanksgiving Edition

"I was totally inspired this week by the cooler weather, Turkey Day and flavors of those Thanksgiving comfort foods. Dylan loved pressing the oat bar mixture into the pan for baking, and we both sat in front of the oven watching them bake, enjoying the hint of cinnamon wafting through the kitchen. This meal very well might be our pre-Thanksgiving fun feast! This Autumn inspired lunch is served up in the fun Itzy Ritzy Monkey Bento Box (my personal favorite, and Dylan's too)!" 

-Kristine

Menu:

• Turkey Swirls made with Whole Wheat Lavash, Maple Roasted Sliced Turkey, Honey Infused Goat Cheese and Fresh Spinach (all from Trader Joe's)
• Turkey Shaped Pasta (from Cost Plus World Market, Seasonal Item), Olive Oil, Garlic and Parmesan Cheese
• Homemade Oat Bars with Dried Cranberries (adapted from a Snack Recipe featured in Williams Sonoma Kids Cookbook) - ingredients: butter, steel cut oats, ground cinnamon, brown sugar, dried cranberries, salt
• Organic Apple Slices dusted with Ground Cinnamon

Introducing...Dining with Dylan!

Introducing Itzy Ritzy's newest feature...Dining with Dylan! 

Lunch happens every day and Itzy Ritzy has your meal planning inspiration from mom (and lunch muse!) Kristine of Club MomMe. Pick up fun, easy-to-implement tips as Kristine packs creative and yummy lunches for her son Dylan in the Lunch Happens™ 
Bento Lunch Box. 

Stay tuned for Dining with Dylan features in the coming weeks!

Get your Lunch Happens box here: http://itzyritzy.com/lunch-boxes