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Back to School Lunch Ideas: First Day of School Snack Lunch

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What time is it???

It’s Back to School time! I can’t believe that our 6 year old will be starting First Grade tomorrow! Where did the time go?

I don’t know about you other moms out there, but I was sure enjoying the last few months of not having to make my daughter lunches to take to school! There is a special kind of stress involved with not only making a healthy lunch for a kid, but one that they would actually eat! I’ve had so many lunches come back partially eaten or not eaten at all because my daughter thought something was gross. I swear the lunch did not look gross when I packed it! There’s something about the jostling of lunch in a backpack that can make lunch look a little worse for wear…

How I’m Tackling School Lunches

So this year, I decided to make a couple changes to how I’m making my daughter’s lunch. First, I invested in a Yum Box. My lovely friend Sabrina told me about them because she swore that it helped her daughter eat more at lunch. You may have seen Yum Box or something like them before. They are a bento box style lunchbox where there are compartments to separate the food. The lid fits snugly over the compartments to prevent the food from getting jumbled up during transportation. I am not sponsored by Yum Box – I just really think it helps the food look better to the kids so that they eat more. Second, I’m investing in help from a professional on what kids eat…. My daughter! I’m letting her get more hands on and decisive about what to put in her lunch box.

So if you’re looking for some lunch box inspiration, get ready for 3 different lunch box ideas! I’ll be posting a new one every day to hopefully give you some inspiration for your own lunch box.

Lunchbox Idea #1

The first lunch box idea is this First Day of School Snack Lunch. It might sound counter-intuitive to give a kid snacks for lunch, but my daughter is a mega fan of a fruit and cheese board. So why not take this concept and make it into a lunch box.

Back to School Lunchbox

Here’s the ingredients for this super simple lunch that you and your child can make together:

  • Cheese Slices: we chose cheddar cheese. Other good options are colby jack or mozzarella.
  • Crackers or Popcorn: we opted for plain popcorn, but any of your kid’s favorite crackers would work here.
  • Fruit of choice: we love raspberries and blueberries. Apples, grapes or oranges would be good too.
  • Veggies of choice: carrot sticks are always a good crunchy choice, but my daughter also loves snap peas, green beans or tomatoes.
  • A sweet treat since it is the first day of school: we chose M&Ms.
  • OPTIONAL Dip for veggies: the little compartment where the M&Ms are could be used for a favorite dip such as ranch.

Back to School Lunchbox

In addition to this lunch box, I will also give her a reusable bottle of cold water and napkins. That’s it! Couldn’t be easier! On the first day of school, I think that the best thing is to give your kid something familiar that they love and will be more than happy to eat.

Head over to Instagram to show me what you packed in your kids lunch. Also, don’t just think of these ideas as kid-only. You could also use these ideas for what you can bring to work for snacks!

Stay tuned for tomorrow’s post with a second idea for your kid’s lunch box!

Hometown Food Heroes: Merry Muffins – Healthy Treats with Heart

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Merry Muffins!

It’s a very rare and magical thing to find someone you connect with, especially about food! But I think I may have found my healthy food soulmate in Laura Grinstead at Merry Muffins!

Laura Grinstead, Merry Muffins

I had the great privilege of sitting down with Laura to talk about our love of healthy food, inspiration, business and how this health muffin mogul got her start.

Why Muffins?

Like most parents, Laura wanted her kids to eat more vegetables. I know I have been there with my own kids.. And my husband, to be honest! So Laura started making healthy alternatives for common comfort foods. Not all her healthy endeavors paid off (spinach brownies anyone?) but the one food that was requested over and over again by her kids, were her healthy muffins.

Merry Muffins

Soon, healthy muffin mania was taking over Laura’s house. She started selling her healthy muffins from her home to a community of loyal customers. She even had a muffin special every week. Not only were the muffins good and good for you, they could also be kept in the freezer, then heated up for a quick and easy meal or snack. I love it when healthy food is not only delicious, but also convenient!

Laura decided it was time to expand her business to a store front. The process of building her business to a brick and mortar store was greatly helped by her business advisor. “I felt like I was in class every time we met”, shared Laura. There were also many hurdles during this journey. “Permits. So many permits!” In addition, the latest regulations from the City of Houston had to be studied and complied with. But after many months of work, build outs and delays, the Merry Muffins store opened in August 2017.

Merry Muffins logo

Laura’s Favorite Healthy Ingredients

Merry Muffins specialize in healthier versions of your favorite muffins. This is done by swapping some ingredients to more nutritious alternatives. Here are a few of Laura’s favorite ingredients:

  • Monkfruit: Eating a low sugar diet is important for not only diabetics, but all people. High sugar intake has been linked to many ailments and diseases. To lower the sugar content, Laura uses monkfruit, a small sub-tropical melon first found in the mountainous regions of South China. It was first cultivated by monks, hence the name. Monkfruit is actually 20 times sweeter than sugar, but it stabilizes blood sugar. It’s also high in antioxidants and tastes the most like sugar, versus other sugar substitutes.
  • Vitafiber: is a plant based, prebiotic sweetener. It tastes sweet and syrupy and since it’s a prebiotic, it helps with gut help too! Not only used in the muffins, Vitafiber is used in their granola too.
  • Gluten Free flour: Laura and I have a favorite gluten free flour…  Bob’s Red Mill 1:1 Gluten Free flour. It can be hard to have a non-gummy texture in GF treats but this brand is excellent.
  • Kerry Gold Butter: high quality, healthy fats are a must for Laura. Great tasting butter and nutrient rich.
  • And of course, fresh fruits and vegetables!

All the Flavors

The muffin flavors that Laura offers come from food that she wants to eat. There are healthier versions of pizza, tacos, and even lasagna, made into muffins! “All the flavors are really things that I want or my family really wanted”. Laura and her family taste test each muffin flavor and tweak the recipe until it is perfect.

Merry Muffins

But what is Laura’s favorite flavor? Well that depends on the day! Right now, their newest muffin, the GF Mac and Cheese with Jalapenos, is her favorite. This muffin is not only cheesy and spicy from the jalapenos, it is also packed with cauliflower! I love the idea of secretly amping up the nutritional content of muffins but not having it interfere with the flavor.

Laura’s Philosophy for Food and Business

This ties in perfectly with Laura’s food philosophy: where healthy meets delicious. She believes that healthy food should be fun and enjoyable; not boring or bland. I agree completely!!!

The benefit of Merry Muffins is that it takes the guesswork out of healthy eating. There are so many people that get overwhelmed when trying to eat healthier. It can be especially daunting trying to find quick and healthy meal options. It is so much easier to visit Merry Muffins and know that you are getting good food, that is also good for you.

I really appreciate this socially conscious and responsible approach to food. I think that more restaurants and companies should approach food in this way and it would really have an positive effect on the health of our communities.

Most of all, Laura believes in treating her employees and customers like family. She always wants people to feel better when they leave the store, even if they don’t buy anything. I could tell that Laura and her employees have great relationships since they would laugh and chat to each other freely. There are even customers that come into the store to say hi and catch up with the Merry Muffins employees!

Merry Muffins

I absolutely loved getting to know Laura. It was amazing to learn that these healthy muffins started because of her desire to help her kids and has now blossomed into a business that helps her customers be healthier without sacrificing taste.

Muffins at Home

I was so happy to take home a few different muffin flavors including a chocolate peanut butter muffin. This muffin is incredible on its own, but if you’re in the mood to gild the lily, I used it to make a fun parfait!

This parfait is made up of several layers of pieces of the Chocolate Peanut Butter muffin, Fage greek yogurt, fresh cherries, peanut butter and, of course, Lily’s chocolate chips! I made a few parfaits in mason jars, so I could take them to work as a healthy sweet snack.

Merry Muffins Parfait

This parfait is so delicious, with the combination of this tart greek yogurt, sweet fresh cherries, and the crunch of the chocolate chips. So good! It keeps well in the fridge for a few days, so it is also a great meal prep item.

I hope you go to Merry Muffins or order some of their muffins online. Their 1 year anniversary is coming up next week so it would be great if you can show them some love! Check them out on Instagram at @merrymuffins or online at Merrymuffins.com. I really believe in their products and I love that they are making muffins healthy and delicious.

And for an extra special treat, you can follow the recipe for making the parfait below. Let me know if you try it! I would love to see what you made. Take a photo and tag me on Instagram at @nourish_with_renata and #nourishwithrenata on Instagram! I would love to see what you make!

Merry Muffins Parfait
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Merry Muffins Parfait
Prep Time
10 mins
 

A fun parfait is the ultimate way to highlight the incredible muffins at Merry Muffins!

Course: Dessert, Snack
Keyword: parfait
Servings: 2
Author: Renata
Ingredients
  • 1 Merry Muffin of choice, crumbled into large pieces such as Chocolate Peanut Butter
  • 1 cup fresh cherries washed, dried and pitted
  • 1 6 oz container of greek yogurt, such as Fage 2%
  • 6 tsp natural peanut butter
  • 1/4 cup stevia sweetened chocolate such as Lily's Chocolate
Instructions

  1. In a small mason jar, layer 1 tbsp of yogurt, 1 tbsp cherries, 1 tbsp muffin pieces and drizzle on 1 tsp of peanut butter.

  2. Repeat these layers until the mason jar is full. You should have 2-3 layers. 

  3. Make another parfait by repeating steps 1 and 2.

  4. On the top of the parfaits, sprinkle on some chocolate chips.

  5. Eat immediately, or seal the mason jars and store in the fridge till ready to eat. 

Recipe Notes

Keep the parfaits in the fridge for up to 1 week. 

 

My First Cooking Demo! + Avocado Corn Salsa

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Big News!

Last week, something incredible happened…. I had my very first cooking demo! This was a wonderful  opportunity set up by some amazing friends, Yolanda and Marissa. Both ladies had done a personalized cooking class with me and they graciously asked if I would come to their work to do a cooking demo. I was so honored that they asked me!

My First Cooking Demo

Easy, healthy and delicious

For the menu, I wanted to come up with some easy and healthy recipes that didn’t require fancy tools or long cooking times. Since we’re in the height of the BBQ season, I wanted to share some easy sides that could be brought to any BBQ, plus one healthy yet indulgent dessert: Avocado Corn salsa, Sweet Potato Salad and Vanilla Protein Ice Cream.

The Avocado Corn salsa is one of my family’s favorite sides. It is a totally versatile recipe and can be used as a dip or as a topping for everything from tacos to hot dogs (yes, I said it, HOT DOGS!). It’s also versatile in the sense that you can add your favorite ingredients to it. Maybe you like really spicy food, so you could add some diced jalapenos or even habaneros to the salsa. Or maybe you want to add some sweetness with diced pineapple or mango. I’ve even added some finely chopped kale to the salsa. The possibilities are endless!

Avocado Corn Salsa

The Sweet Potato salad was a dish I came up with when I wanted a twist on the typical white potato salad. Sweet potatoes are a complex carbohydrate, meaning that the body converts it to blood sugar more slowly. And that means that you don’t get the blood sugar crash after you eat it! There is also a top secret special ingredient in the salad: celery seed. Celery seed is a spice that gives so much flavor to the dish. It actually tastes a little bit like a peppery celery and makes you want to eat another spoonful to figure out what the flavor is!

Who doesn’t like ice cream?! Especially if you can make it a little healthier! This super simple dessert is always a crowd pleaser because it is not only creamy, it also has extra protein in it. You can serve it with berries for a burst of summery color and flavor. I posted this protein ice cream recipe on the blog before if you want to check it out.

 

The Big Day

The executive chef, Chef Daniel, helped me to organize the ingredients and set up the space for the cooking demo. He couldn’t have been a more helpful host! Chef Daniel was completely understanding and even helped to prep the ingredients while I was doing the talking during the cooking demo. He was so selfless and caring and made me feel completely at ease for the event. Thank you, Chef Daniel!

My First Cooking Demo

I was so thrilled with the turn out for the event! Everyone really jumped right in and helped make the recipes, which I love! The best part was when everyone got to try the food and went back for seconds! Or thirds! I even heard some people say that the recipes were so easy! That is really music to my ears! I can’t wait to do more cooking demos and share more easy and healthy recipes.

My First Cooking Demo

I honestly could not have done this event without Chef Daniel, Yolanda and Marissa. They were integral to making this dream a reality and I cannot thank them enough! Yolanda also captured these photos from the event and Marissa did a bunch of Insta-stories too! It’s moments like these that make you feel really thankful for the amazing people in your life.

 

Exclusive Recipe

To keep sharing the love, I am sharing the recipe for the Avocado Corn Salsa that we made during the cooking demo. This is such an easy recipe and a fun twist on the typical guacamole. One of my favorite ways to have this dish is to grill the corn cobs to get a slightly charred edge to the kernels. This charred flavor pairs so nicely with the sweet freshness of the corn and the creaminess of the avocado.

Avocado Corn Salsa

I hope you give this recipe a try! It will be a hit at your next BBQ or even your next meal at home. If you do make the recipe, take a photo and tag me on Instagram at @nourish_with_renata and #nourishwithrenata on Instagram! I would love to see what you make!

Avocado Corn Salsa
Print
Avocado Corn Salsa
Prep Time
10 mins
 
Inspired by a Bobby Flay recipe, this salsa is the perfect summer-y dip or topping for almost any dish!
Course: Side Dish
Keyword: Avocado corn salsa
Servings: 4
Author: Renata
Ingredients
Ingredients:
  • 2 large ripe avocados
  • 2 ears of corn shucked
  • ¼ cup fresh cilantro roughly chopped
  • 1 lime
  • 1 tsp ancho chile powder optional
  • 1 tsp garlic powder
  • Salt and Pepper to taste
Instructions
Instructions:
  1. Clean the ears of corn and steam till cooked. Allow to cool, then cut kernels off the corn.
  2. Halve the avocados, remove the seed, and carefully score the avocado flesh in a crosshatch design. Ensure you do not cut through the avocado skin and cut your hand!
  3. Scoop out the avocado flesh with a spoon and place in a large bowl.
  4. To the same bowl, add in the corn, cilantro, juice of 1 lime, ancho chile powder (if using), garlic powder. Stir gently together till well combined.
  5. Taste and season with salt and pepper as desired.
Recipe Notes

Tips: Serve this as a dip with crudite or chips, or as a topping for tacos, burgers or even, hot dogs!

Instead of steaming the corn, charring the corn on the grill is another great way to add flavor and depth to the dish.

Store any leftovers in an airtight container in the fridge, for up to 1 week.