Monday, December 24, 2012

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!

Thursday, December 13, 2012

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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Thursday, December 6, 2012

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.

Tuesday, December 4, 2012

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)