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First Finger Foods...

My local Mothers's of Multiples Club had a question come up recently about ideas for first finger foods. While, I am past that stage now, I thought it would be a good compilation for at least a few readers of this blog. Here are the responses...please comment with your own additions.

• bananas or avocado coated in crushed cheerios or wheat germ for easier handling
• cheerios
• diced fruit
• Baby puffs
• toasted bread and bagels
• spiral pasta
• cooked veggies
• cheese
• Pirates Booty
• lunch meats
• black beans cut in half
• Baby Mum Mums
• tofu
• sweet potato fries
• waffles

Touchdown

This was actually Sunday's lunch:

• Wheat Thins & Celery
• Spinach Dip
• Turkey & Cheese (cut with letters from Wilton 101-Piece Cookie Cutter Set...I'm not sure where the little flower cutter was from)
• Grapes
• Grilled Cheese with Fruit Leather laces (the boys LOVED this)

Up, Up & Away!

Today's lunch is the first I am really proud of :)

We've got an airplane between 2 layers of clouds

On the top, 1/2 a small orange makes the sun with some mini marshmallows & banana slice clouds

Then, on the bottom, Pirates Booty clouds with a grilled cheese airplane (cut with the plane from the Wilton 101-Piece Cookie Cutter Set) and a stand alone cheese star complete the lunch

The boys loved it & ate it up...maybe because we ran late at the grocery store and they were starving, or maybe because it was adorable.  I'm going to choose to believe the 2nd!

(I've shared this post with bentolunch.blogspot.com you can see more lunch ideas on their blog)

Muffin Tin: Orange You Glad

Top Row

• orange bell pepper
• ranch
• carrot sticks

Bottom Row

• orange slices (1/2 a small orange)
• black bean & cheese burrito with their initial out of cheese using the Wilton 101-Piece Cookie Cutter Set
• other 1/2 of the orange

If you'd like to see more muffin tin meals, you can click on over to the home of Muffin Tin Monday to check them out!

English Toffee Oatmeal Crisps

From Elizabeth Kenney

1 cup of butter or margarine, softened
2 eggs
2 cups packed light brown sugar
2 teaspoons vanilla extract
1 ¾ cups all purpose flour
1 teaspoon baking soda
1 teaspoon ground cinnamon
½ teaspoon salt
3 cups quick cooking oats
1 8 oz. pkg of HEATH Toffee Bits
1 cup sweetened coconut flakes (optional)

1. Heat oven to 375 degrees. Lightly grease cookie sheet or use the silicon mats for baking
2. Beat butter, eggs, brown sugar and vanilla in large bowl until well blended. Add flour, baking soda, cinnamon and salt; beat until blended. Stir in oats, toffee bits, and coconut, if desired, with spoon.
3. Drop dough by rounded teaspoons about two inches apart onto prepared sheet. Bake 8 to 10 minutes or until edges are lightly browned. Cool on the cookie sheet for a minute or more; remove to wire rack. Cool completely.

Makes about 4 dozen cookies.

Confession...

So, I've been trying my hand at consistent, somewhat creative lunches this entire week.  I took daily photos and everyday when I had time to upload them, some form of embarrassment or insecurity came over me, so I just didn't.  It just so happened that a dear friend of mine placed a post on her blog about the very thing I was dealing with.  The title was 'Inspired or Overwhelmed?'  In the post she laid out her feelings in regards to blogs similar to this (blogs intended to inspire ideas and creativity) and the way that as an observer, it's so easy to take yourself from being inspired to feeling like what you're doing is not good enough in any given aspect of life.

As I mentioned before, I wanted to add the creative lunch element to this blog after being inspired by others and really thinking I could easily do the same thing.  However, once I began, I started to second guess myself, my meals, my creativity, etc.  As I snapped pictures and thought of placing them up for the world to see, I began to question what I was feeding my kids.  This may be a good thing (as in motivating me to add more healthy choices) and it may just be my insecurities of having the world judge what is on the plate and in the tummies of my 2 year olds.  

I began to wonder if it was ok that my kids eat the same basic food repeatedly and if I should continue to give in when they continually request the same item day in and day out.  And, I began to question the level of 'professionalism' in the photos...were the plates clean of water spots and when I slid the bananas into place they left smudges...can I really post it? I began to feel insecure that what I had to present was not perfect.

Not perfect...that's really what it comes down to.  I started this recipe blog originally for all of us moms who are not perfect.  I snapped photos of food I had made sitting on paper plates rather than perfectly staged with the right background and perfect lighting.  So, I have decided that is what I am going to continue to do.  This blog is all about not being perfect. 

There are days when my pantry is lacking vegetable options...and that's ok!  There are days where we run late at the grocery store and get home an hour past lunch time as I scrounge to make a meal in record time for 2 hungry toddlers.  It's barely creative...and that's ok!

So without shame, I lay out what we ate this week with no long explanations or excuses.

• Cucumber & carrot slices
• Strwaberrys
• Bisquick garlic cheese biscuit (the recipe is on the box, but not on this blog...it was not a family favorite :)
• Dinosaur chicken

• Grilled cheese (cut with DynoBytes Sandwich Crust Cutter)
• Turkey lunch meat roll
• Grapes
• Mini Marshmallows

• Apple slices
• Hard boiled egg
• Girlled cheese (cut with the Lunch Punch Puzzle Shape Sandwich Cutters (Set of 4)
• Pirates Booty

• Pirates Booty
• Nilla Waffers Mini
• Peanut Butter Snadwich (cut with Lunch Punch Animal Shape Sandwich Cutters (Set of 4)
• Banana smiley face with mini chocolate chip eyeballs

By the way...I found the divided plates at our local grocery store this week for $1!!  I only got 4 and they are out now :(  I'm hoping some more come in soon because they are great!