Week Review: Refrigerator Oatmeal, Homemade "Lunchables", Veggie Tostadas, & Yummy Veggie/Sausage/Potato dish

The kiddos went back to school last week so I have been crazy busy lately getting everything ready for them and making sure they have everything they need.  I made some AWESOME refrigerator oatmeal for my 9 year old as a quick and easy breakfast for her in the mornings.

  

I got the idea on The Yummy Life.  She has lots of ideas on there for flavor combinations but I started with peanut butter banana, apple cinnamon, and chocolate banana.  These are SO easy to make.  Just get out your jars (or other containers that hold about a cup or so of ingredients).  Here are some recipes:

Apple cinnamon (my daughter's favorite)

·  
 1/4 cup uncooked old fashioned rolled oats

· 1/3 cup skim milk

· 1/4 cup low-fat Greek yogurt

· 1-1/2 teaspoons dried chia seeds

· 1/2 teaspoon cinnamon

· 1 teaspoon honey, optional (or substitute any preferred sweetener)

· 1/4 cup unsweetened applesauce, or enough to fill jar

Directions In a half pint (1 cup) jar, add oats, milk, yogurt, chia seeds, cinnamon and honey. Put lid on jar and shake until well combined. Remove lid, add applesauce and stir until mixed throughout. Return lid to jar and refrigerate overnight or up to 2 days. Eat chilled.

PB Banana


· 1/4 cup uncooked old fashioned rolled oats

· 1/3 cup skim milk

· 1/4 cup low-fat Greek yogurt

· 1-1/2 teaspoons dried chia seeds

· 1 tablespoon peanut butter (may substitute PB2 powdered peanut butter)

· 1 teaspoon honey, optional (or substitute any preferred sweetener)

· 1/4 cup diced ripe banana, or enough to fill jar (approx. half of a small banana)

Directions In a half pint (1 cup) jar, add oats, milk, yogurt, chia seeds, peanut butter (or PB2), and honey. Put lid on jar and shake until well combined. Remove lid, add bananas and stir until mixed throughout. Return lid to jar and refrigerate overnight or up to 2 days. Eat chilled.


Chocolate Banana


· 1/4 cup uncooked old fashioned rolled oats

· 1/3 cup skim milk

· 1/4 cup low-fat Greek yogurt

· 1-1/2 teaspoons dried chia seeds

· 1 tablespoon cocoa powder

· 1 teaspoon honey, optional (or substitute any preferred sweetener)

· 1/4 cup diced ripe banana, or enough to fill jar (approx. half of a small banana)

Directions In a half pint (1 cup) jar, add oats, milk, yogurt, chia seeds, cocoa powder and honey. Put lid on jar and shake until well combined. Remove lid, add bananas and stir until mixed throughout. Return lid to jar and refrigerate overnight or up to 2 days. Eat chilled.

All of them have the same first 4 ingredients, and then the flavors go on top of those.  These just take a couple minutes to put together and my daughter can easily grab one out of the fridge in the morning for a quick breakfast before the bus comes!

I also have a week's worth of lunch boxes under my belt.  I ask them at night what they want me to put in their lunch box the next day (of the options we have on hand of course).  This way, they know what to expect the next day.  Also, they like to feel involved in this decision.  

Some of you may be familiar with the little company, "lunchables".  Kids love this stuff.  Did you know how easy it is to make your own lunchables?  And so much more filling and healthy!  Here is one I put together for my 9 year old a couple days ago:

There is 2 mini whole wheat pitas (Joseph's brand), 1/4 c shredded mozzarella (from the farmer's market) and 1/4 c homemade pasta/pizza sauce with some farmer's market grapes on the side!  She loved this so much, she asked for it again for school tomorrow!  

Today, I cut up some applegate (nitrite/nitrate free) turkey with little star cookie cutters I had on hand, sliced some farmer's market cheddar, and included some Ak-Mak crackers.  She also got some sliced navel oranges.  She said she was so satisfied she couldn't even finish all the turkey & cheese!  

And here is a twist on her classic PB&J:

I got these dolphin sandwich cutters at Walmart.  And I also sent her with a hard boiled egg to go along with this.  

My son is a little more picky, but here was one of his lunches this week:

Brown rice cake with a drizzle of honey, orange slices, and homemade trail mix.  Then he had my homemade protein bar for snack in the afternoon.  

So here is a recap of some of the meals, etc I made this week:

Veggie Tostadas (adapted from Fresh 20)

Ingredients:

1 Tablespoon olive oil
Clean corn tortillas (6”) (probably have to find at Whole Foods or other health food store)
14 oz black beans, drained and
rinsed to remove excess sodium (or 2 c of your own slow-cooked black beans)
½ teaspoon ground cumin
1/2 head green lettuce, shredded
½ lime, juiced (1 teaspoon)
¼ teaspoon Kosher salt
1 Tablespoon fresh parsley, finely chopped
¼ medium onion, finely chopped
2 Avocados
½ lime juiced (1/2 teaspoon)
1 tomato, finely chopped
2 zucchini, cut into small cubes
1/2 pkg organic Portabella mushroom caps, black
gills and stem removed, chopped
1 cup Organic/Farmer's Market Monterey Jack Cheese,
shredded


DIRECTIONS:
1. Preheat oven to 400°F. Coat tortillas with olive oil on both
sides. Arrange the tortillas on a large baking sheet. Bake,
turning once, for 6 minutes until slightly browned.
2. Combine cumin and black beans. In a microwave bowl, heat
beans on high for 2-3 minutes. Mash slightly with a fork. Set
aside.
3. Toss lettuce, 1 teaspoon lime juice, salt, and parsley. Set aside.
4. Peel and mash avocados. Mix with onion, ½ teaspoon limejuice
and chopped tomato. Salt and pepper to taste.
5. Combine mushroom and zucchini in a medium microwave safe
bowl. Heat on high for 2 minutes.
For this recipe, each person gets one tostada.
Pile on the toppings to make a filling meal!
Start with a layer of black beans, and then add a scoop of the avocado
mix. Next, add a layer of vegetable mix. Followed by the salad mix and
then topped with cheese!

This is a super easy recipe, other than all of the veggie chopping.  Try and do your veggie chopping some earlier day in the week so that you don't have to do all the prep and cooking in 1 day.  My kids LOVED this meal.  SUPER kid friendly!  

Summer Vegetables with Sausage & Potatoes (adapted from Skinnytaste)

Ingredients:


1 lb organic/Farmer's Market baby red potatoes, cut in half or quartered
2 tsp oil
1/2 tsp garlic powder
1 tsp kosher salt
fresh cracked pepper
14 oz farmer's market or Applegate Italian chicken sausage, sliced 1-inch thick (I used Applegate Chicken & Apple sausage)
1 large onion, chopped
4-5 cloves garlic, smashed with the side of the knife
1/2 organic/Farmer's Market orange bell pepper, diced 1-inch squares
1/2 organic/Farmer's Market yellow bell pepper, diced 1-inch squares
1 organic/Farmer's Market red bell pepper, diced 1-inch squares
2 tbsp fresh rosemary (or other fresh herb such as thyme)
2 cups zucchini, 1/2 inch thick and quartered
Directions:

Place oil and potatoes in a large, deep non-stick skillet with a tight fitting lid on high heat; season with garlic powder, salt and pepper. When the skillet gets hot and starts to sizzle, reduce heat to low and cook with a tight lid on for about 20-25 minutes,shaking the pan occasionally to prevent the potatoes from burning. Remove from heat and let them sit 5 minutes without removing the lid. Set potatoes aside on a dish.


Add the sausage to the skillet and saute on medium-low and cook, stirring occasionally until browned but not quite cooked through, about 10 minutes. Seasonchopped vegetables with salt and pepper. Add onions, peppers, garlic and rosemary to the skillet and mix. Continue cooking stirring occasionally until onions and peppers become slightly browned. Add zucchini and cook an additional 5 minutes, mixing as it cooks until cooked through.


Return the potatoes back to the skillet and mix well. Adjust salt and pepper as needed; cover and cook 5 more minutes.

There were NO leftovers this night!  The kids and my husband scarfed it down, YUM!  

Thanks for reading!