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Guess what? My big kids start back to school ONE WEEK from today! Guess who’s excited?? THIS GIRL! You guys know how I am…I’m a happier mom when we’re on the school schedule and Jonah and I have our “alone” time. We’ve had a fun summer, but I. Am. READY.

So, when Kroger came to me asking if I’d like to be in on a back-to-school lunch-making challenge, I was all for it. My engine was already revved up! Now, I am not very creative with school lunches, but that’s pretty much because my kids are p-i-c-k-y, especially Sophie. So instead of designing my delicious, nutritious, affordable school lunch ideas around a cutesy theme, I designed them around FLAVOR. Flavors that I KNOW my kids will eat. And so, I present to you:

Of course I made all of these ideas with ingredients I bought at my local Kroger, at a price that’s nice! I’m still enjoying their fuel points I earn for purchasing and loading their easy-peasy digital coupons  (you can click right there to load some – you’re welcome!) to my Kroger Plus card to help me save too. Another thing I love about Kroger? My kids’ school receives 4% back on my purchases as part of the Kroger Community Rewards program. A BIG bonus!!

So anyway. You know I love Kroger. (Especially when there’s a mega-event, right?!?!) Here are the school lunch ideas I made for my kiddos based on their favorite flavors.

Berry Bonanza

My kids, they love the berries! Here’s what I used for this lunch.

Kroger Brand Yogurt & Berries rice cakes $1.39

Old El Paso flour tortillas $1.97

Kroger Brand creamy peanut butter $2.00

Polaner All-Fruit spreadable raspberry fruit $2.69

Driscoll’s blueberries $2

Driscoll’s strawberries $2.50

And here’s how it turned out:

I sliced the strawberries, left the blueberries whole, threw in some rice cakes, and made a peanut butter and raspberry wrap. Yum! A very fruity twist on the regular PB&J, with lots of sweet fruit and a crunchy flavored rice cake treat.

Next up? The kids’ very favorite flavor of all:

Peanut Butter Blitz

For this lunch I used:

Kroger Brand Round Top wheat bread $1.00

Kroger Brand bagged apples  $3.99

Kroger Brand peanut butter $2.00

Kroger Simple Truth brand lemon-yogurt covered almonds (sooo GOOD) $3.79

Kroger Brand celery hearts $1.49

Here’s how I created a Peanut Butter-themed lunch!

For this lunch I made a classic peanut butter sandwich (PB only is Sophie’s favorite!), added in some crunchy celery smothered in peanut butter, sliced apples, and a container of peanut butter for dipping. A sweet bonus? Simple Truth lemon yogurt-covered almonds – a different kind of nut flavor, but one that both my kids devour! I love the products from the Simple Truth line!

And now, for my last creative lunch idea:

The Cheeser Pleaser

I personally adore cheese and I am very suspicious of anyone who doesn’t! Here’s what I used to put this lunch together.

Cheez-it crackers $2.88 (only $1.88 after the mega-event, HOLLA!)

Hillshire Farm honey ham lunch meat $3.99

Kraft American cheese singles $2.99 ($1.99 after the mega-event!)

Old El Pasto flour tortillas $1.97

Kraft string cheese $3.49

Kroger Brand baby carrots $1.49

Here’s how I put together these cheesy treats:

This is pretty much as simple as it can be! I made a wrap sandwich out of the tortillas, ham, and cheese singles. The string cheese stands alone as do the Cheez-its (one of Sophie’s main food groups, by the way), and I added the carrots because they were orange and healthy. This is a very cheese, crunchy, satisfying lunch!

So, what do you think of my school lunch creations? I think they’re simple and tasty – just the way my kids like them! I hope you really like them and will re-pin them by clicking here (this goes directly to the pin) – because I’m in a contest with other bloggers to win a $250 Kroger gift card, and the blogger with the most re-pins wins! You have to re-pin the original pin I linked to. Pinning it yourself won’t count, so please re-pin and help a sister out! The contest ends August 16th so please re-pin me now! 🙂 Thank you!

To further entice you to visit Kroger for you school lunch needs, I’ve got a $25 Kroger gift card giveaway! Here’s how to enter:

1) Leave a comment on this post telling me what YOUR favorite school lunch was as a child

2) Re-pin my pin (click here to re-pin – don’t create a new pin!) and then come back to this post and leave a separate comment letting me know you did so.

It’s that easy! The giveaway will end August 16th as 5 pm –  happy entering and re-pinning!

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Raise your hand if you’ve ever had a stench emanating from your car, and after hours days of searching, you’ve found a sippy cup filled with sour milk.

I know I’m not alone here!

Sam’s a big milk drinker. The boy loves him some milk! It’s not always the most convenient choice, though, since we’re often on the go (Hence the sour sippy cups!) and don’t have access to refrigeration. Or, at least it didn’t used to be the most convenient choice.

Enter – shelf-safe milk. The same Grade A fluid milk your kids know and love, but in a package that requires no refrigeration.

I bet you’ve seen it, but didn’t realize exactly what it was. Shelf-safe milk is available in a variety of brands.

How does it work? Good question!

Shelf-safe milk has been pasteurized at a higher temperature, but for a shorter time, to preserve taste and nutrition. It’s then immediately put into a sterile Tetra Pak shelf-safe carton (consisting of layers of foil and paper, and is recyclable) that keeps out light, air and harmful contaminants.

The result?

Nutritious milk that lasts up to six months without refrigeration or preservatives.

It’s perfect for lunch boxes, car trips, sporting events – wherever you go, you can now take milk with you! It’s also great just to have on hand at home for times when you haven’t been to the grocery in a while.

Not that that, uh, ever happens to me.

Shelf-safe milk can be found at many grocery stores (not always in the refrigerated section!) and through Amazon.com.

For more information, visit Milk Unleashed on their website , Facebook, Pinterest, or Twitter!

We all know why our kids need healthy meals – it’s hugely important for their health and development – but many times our focus on that can slide during the summer. Crazy schedules with sports, camps and activities can get in the way of regular meals cooked at home, and, worse, millions of low-income kids who benefit from lunch programs during the school year just don’t have access to healthy meals during the summer. In fact, most kids don’t eat the recommended servings of fruits, vegetables, and whole grains – and they exceed the maximum daily intake of sodium.

Fortunately, the Walmart Foundation has made a commitment to providing 1.7 million children access to free meals and nutrition education this summer as part of their commitment to help fight hunger in America. They’re providing $14 million in grants to these five nonprofits:
o Alliance for a Healthier Generation: Increase access to healthy food and nutrition education for children and parents outside of school in eight U.S. cities.
o Food Research and Action Center: Increase access, participation and awareness of nutrition programs that provide meals to children across the country during the school year and summer months.
o National League of Cities Institute for Youth, Education and Families: Expand after-school and summer nutrition initiatives and implement yearlong feeding programs for more than 25,000 low-income children across the country.
o Texas Hunger Initiative: Expand sponsorship and locations for summer and after-school meal programs throughout Texas, while increasing participation by 583,000 children.
o YMCA of the USA: Expand the YMCA’s Summer Food Program at more than 2,300 sites to provide children with access to meals outside of school year-round.

I will be the first to admit that we’ve gotten off the home-cooking bandwagon in the last few months, but it’s time we get back on. Here are some tips from Dr. Michele Borba, a children’s health and development expert, to make meal time fun and healthy for everyone.

• Preparation: Kids Can Meal Plan Too
o Pick recipes for the week and talk to your kids about ingredients needed
o Ask kids to help with the grocery list
o Bring kids to the grocery store
o Visit a farmers market or local farm

• Storage: Color-Coded Foods
o Color coding cuts down on “nagging”
o Green: Eat all the time
o Yellow: Eat sometimes
o Red: Eat once a week
o Make healthy snacks visible and easy to grab on the way out the door

• Meal Time: Enjoying a Fun, Relaxed Time Together
o Make meal time “unplugged time”
o Introduce new foods in quarter-sized portions for picky eaters
o Connect with other moms and cook healthy meals together
o Start a family kindness box to open at each meal

How are you working on keeping your family healthy this summer?

This post was sponsored by TheMotherhood.com.