Giveaway: Personalized Fruit Roll-Ups

I loooove making Chex Muddy Buddies! They are a sweet treat, but also fun to make with the kiddos.

Prep Time:15 min
Start to Finish:15 min
Makes:18 servings (1/2 cup each)

Ingredients:
9 cups Chex® cereal (any variety)
1 cup semisweet chocolate chips
1/2 cup peanut butter
1/4 cup butter or margarine
1 teaspoon vanilla
1 1/2 cups powdered sugar

Preparation Directions:
1. Into large bowl, measure cereal; set aside.
2. In 1-quart microwavable bowl, stir together chocolate chips, peanut butter and butter. Microwave uncovered on High 1 minute; stir. Microwave about 30 seconds longer or until mixture can be stirred smooth. Stir in vanilla. Pour mixture over cereal, stirring until evenly coated. Pour into 2-gallon resealable food-storage plastic bag.
3. Add powdered sugar. Seal bag; shake until well coated. Spread on waxed paper to cool. Store in airtight container in refrigerator.
Stove-Top Directions: Into large bowl, measure cereal; set aside. In 1-quart saucepan, heat chocolate chips, peanut butter and butter over low heat, stirring frequently, until melted. Remove from heat; stir in vanilla. Pour mixture over cereal, stirring until evenly coated. Pour into 2-gallon resealable food-storage plastic bag. Add powdered sugar. Seal bag; shake until well coated. Spread on waxed paper to cool. Store in airtight container in refrigerator.

Simple - a peanut butter and honey sandwich cut out with a heart cookie cutter for my daughter and a star for my son.

My kids love peanut butter and chocolate rice krispies.
1/2 cup corn syrup
1/4 cup sugar
1/4 cup packed brown sugar
1/2 cup peanut butter
2 1/2 cups rice krispies
Topping:
1/2 package of chocolate chips
1/2 package of butterscotch chips
1/4 cup of milk

Butter 8 in square backing pan. Combine corn syrup and sugars in medium sauce pan. Cook over medium heat until mixture just comes to a boil. Remove from heat, and stir in peanut butter until smooth. Quickly add cereal, stirring until all pieces are evenly coated. Press into prepared pan with back of buttered spoon. Cool.
Melt chocolate chips and butterscotch chips together. Add milk while melting the chips. Immediately pour on rice krispies and smooth out.

I like to stick Rice Krispie treats in!

Well no lunches to pack yet, DS is only 17 months. But I loved it when my mom packed her yummy chocolate chip cookies + a love note.

In my family, September = Apple Picking! A few days before school starts, we go to the local orchard and load up on apples. Every day in September, my kids will find some kind of apple in their lunchboxes: apple slices with caramel dip or peanut butter; an apple sandwich (peanut butter between two big slices of apple); a serving of homemade applesauce; a piece of homemade apple cake; or just a plain old apple! It is a healthy and fun tradition, and it gets them excited about going back to school.

I love to take tortillas and make rollups with them. I put in cheese, sandwich meat and whatever toppings my daughter chooses (mustard, mayo, etc.) We roll them up and make them into sandwich cigars.

I like to make people vegies-
Take a mini carrot(body) and poke a small hole through near the fourth and bottom fourth. cut a two thin pieces of celery and thread through the holes ( arms and legs) top with a cherry tomato threaded on a toothpick. I put in one for each member of the family.

This will be our FIRST year of “Back to School”, so this is our time to start new traditions and one I most look forward to will be the Homemade Carrot Chocolate Chip cookies that she and I make together on at least a bi-weekly basis.

My kids love pancake roll ups, pancake spread with jelly and/or peanutbutter or something extra yummy apple pie filling and crushed walnuts and rolled up, I also like to cut out comics from all those newspapers I get for the coupons and slip in a comic or sudoko.

My daughter is turning 4, so no school lunch yet. She does request a lunch reminiscent of the children’s book “Bread and jam for Francis” though. It’s a cream cheese and strawberry preserves sandwich with a hard boiled egg on the side. She also loves hummus spread on bagel chips!

My kids aren’t in school yet,but I am looking forward to sending little treats in their lunchboxes. My mother-in-law used to put poems in my husband’s lunchbox when he was a kid. It embarrassed him at the time, but now he thinks of it fondly. I think I might try it too!

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My favorite treat for lunches is a banana - just a plain banana, but it’s everyone’s favorite, around our house!

My sons really love eating apple slices dipped in carmel sauce just like you get at Mcdonalds. At least its somewhat healthy.

My daughter was just asking me to make her more of this today!

Kid Sushi

Ingredients

1/4 cup butter
4 cups mini marshmallows
6 cups crisped rice cereal
20 to 25 gummy worms
1 to 2 boxes fruit leather

Directions

Grease a 12- by 17-inch baking sheet. Melt butter in a 2-quart saucepan over medium heat. Add the marshmallows and stir until smooth.

Remove the mixture from the heat and stir in the rice cereal until it’s evenly coated. Turn the baking sheet so that the shorter ends are at the top and bottom. Then press the marshmallow mixture onto the sheet, distributing it evenly.

Starting at one side an inch up from the lower edge, place gummy worms atop the mixture end to end in a hortizontal line. Gently roll the lower edge of the marshmallow mixture over the gummy worms.

Then stop and cut the log away from the rest of the mixture. Use the same method to form 4 more logs. Slice each log into 1-inch-thick “sushi” rolls and wrap them individually with a strip of fruit leather.

Makes 4 to 5 dozen.

Oh! I forgot, “fruit leather”, we use fruit roll ups! Much easier to use and find!

My daughter says she loves the small vegetable platter I make and fruit. I use different shapes and dips. (Italian Dreesing is what she likes as a dip and peanut butter) We call them Kiki’s Dips Ha!!
cpullum@yahoo.com

I like to make snack mixes with things we have on hand. I just put a little of each into a snack baggie: cherrios (or any other cereal we might have- but we’re big cherrio fans), mini marshmallows, raisons, yogurt covered raisons, mini chocolate chips, kix, dried fruit, mini pretzals- anything small.

I also like to put in a piece of sugarfree gum. My daughter can’t brush her teeth at school, so the gum makes me feel a little bit better about that.

Home-made rice krispie treats–easy to make for all involved!

Apple cupcakes; slice an apple in half, remove the core, and top with peanut butter or cream cheese “frosting.” Then you top with nuts, seeds, raisins, etc. for “sprinkles.” We love them!

We homeschool, but a treat we’ve been enjoying the last couple days is smores. We break our grahams in half, cover them with marshmallow goop (not real ones), then place semi sweet mallows on them. Then cover them in foil and pop them in the oven. Wonderful

Can’t beat chocolate chip cookies. And I just use the Pillsbury break and bake. They are great. We also love brownies.

Well my children aren’t exactly school age and since we plan to homeschool, there won’t be any packed lunches. But, I didn’t think that would keep me from this neat giveaway! My boys are messy eaters and their favorite food is P.B. & J.’s (Yeah MESSY!) So early on I figured out a, well, less messy approach to the ole P.B.&J. they have come to love. That’s P.B.&J. Roll-ups. Hey kinda like the giveaway item! I take two pieces of bread (per child) cut off the crust and roll out each pice of bread very thin. Spread a thin amount of P.B. on each piece and a thin amount of the J. on each piece and leave a 1/2in. of one edge clean. Then roll-up tightly (being careful not to squeeze out the yumminess) towards the clean side. My boys love these and think it is a treat! It may also keep your sandwich from getting soggy in your lunch too!

Megan

my kids like peanut butter an fluff,its marshmellow fluff spread an peanut butter sandwich,my husband fault,but they love fruit roll ups too,thanks

I dont have back to school lunches to pack yet, but my daughter loves to pack her daddy’s lunch. Her favorite to put in it is cookies. Either the ones we made that day or store bought ones. And when I do pack her a lunch that we take to the zoo/park she loves her peanut butter, banana, and honey sandwich. And that cookies is a must too.

My kids don’t bring their lunch, but I’m a teacher and I can tell you something interesting that I’ve seen my students bring. Peeled apples, cored and cut up to look like french fries! And recently I’ve seen that even Burger King is making these!!! The kids so crazy for them and I’ve never seen them eat apples so eagerly!!

We homeschool so we don’t send them with the kids but some of our favorites is chocolate cookies as well as pudding. Thanks.

Anything homemade that both my kids will eat, cookies, cut vegs and dip, brownies etc

When my kids were younger, they loved personalized cookies.

RICE KRISPY TREATS of course!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

trisha

Ah, we homeschool, so my treats aren’t all that exciting. I have sent little notes with my kids when they have gone out somewhere, and they love that.

I find that the most fun comes from making stuff together, especially brownies.

My son loves homemade cookies, especially when he’s helped make them.

My kids aren’t school-age yet, but we love fruit roll-ups! I like putting notes or a fun size candy bar in my husbands lunch for a little surprise.

This summer I discovered Annie’s Homegrown snacks. They are delicious! I love the bunny grahams and so does my daughter. They’re 75% organic so I feel good letting her snack on these.

My favorite is home made rice krispie treats - I follow the recipe on the box but I add an extra 2 Tablespoons of butter to make them extra yummy and keep them soft and chewy!

We love no bake cookies, full of oatmeal, cocoa and peanut butter, yummy!

Well, I like to send one sweet treat each day - it could be something as simple as a couple of tootsie rolls or a homemade cookie. I also include with that cookie a little note or sticker, something to let my daughter know her Mommy is thinking of her during the day.

Since summer is still waning, I like to sneak in a smore! Just a reminder that ALL of the fun isn’t over!

For treats, I like to mimic the Two Bite Brownies that Sam’s Club sells by making my own brownies (Betty Crocker recipe) and either cutting them into bite-sized pieces or baking them in mini muffin pans. I also like to put a graham cracker, a few mini marshmallows and some small bit of chocolate (bite-sized candy bar, chocolate chips - whatever I have) into a zip bag so they can make s’mores. Even though they can’t melt the marshmallows, they still really like it. One of the main dish items that I make is pizza kabobs. I saw this idea at a kid’s cooking class at Whole Foods. I thread turkey pepperoni and mozerella cubes or balls on toothpicks, and then include a container of maranara sauce to dip them in. Yummy! It’s kind of fun to go with a kabob theme: pizza kabobs and fuit kabobs, for instance. I look forward to seeing all the other ideas! I constantly ask my kids if they have seen anything in anyone else’s lunch that looks good. I love coming up with new ideas to surprise them with.

My daughters both love carrots with creamy Italian dressing.

My favorite treats to pack for my daughter are notes and gift certificates. I always write a little note on her napkin or a pretty piece of paper. And some days I tuck in a gift certificate for an activity or treat (like a “Movie Night” when she gets to pick what we all watch, or “Game Night”, or even just for an ice cream come). My husband never really gets into this, so I find that she looks forward to me packing her lunch (even if it’s just a day when she gets a note).

My sons like the bread that “Jimmy John’s” make their sub sandwiches on. We buy their bread and make their lunch sandwiches on them! Thanks, Cindi

We’ve been getting those fruit slices in the produce department. Just recently discovered those and they are great. Some have apple slices with a cinnamon sauce. Those are really good.

No bake cookies are our favorite, so is oatmeal, sugar, chococate chip, peanut butter, ….ok, COOKIES are the favorite treat for lunches….lol

Lunchables!

chocolate pudding, thanks!

My little one is only 2, but he does have to take breakfast to his “school.” He loves it when I give him fruit to dip into his yogurt, or graham cracker sticks.

You know those little plastic swords that skewer cherries and/or olives in mommy and daddy’s drinks? I like to use them for “kabob” sticks. You can do meat and cheese squares, or veggies like carrot slices, bell peppers, cucumbers, or fruits (grapes, apples, orange pieces, etc.). It’s a fun and different way for the kids to have healthy foods and so long as you don’t have a kiddo who is going to use the sword as a weapon (you can easily cut off the tips if the school is going to get upset).

Simple, but definitely diced up or whole fruit.

Alot of the special treats that I make for the kids at home can’t be sent to school because we have a peanut-free school, which means that the product can not have even been made in the same factory that peanut products are made in. I always write a special note on my son’s napkin and he loves when I make mini waffle sandwiches. Just toast mini frozen waffles in the toaster, then make a mixture of cream cheese with cinnamon and a little sugar. Spread the mixture on one side of all waffles and add a slice of strawberry or banana to one side of the sandwich. Place the other waffles on the tops and there you go!

I make homemade peanutbutter cookes. I sometimes put a thumbprint in the center and fill them with jelly! She knows she is special when I put those cookies in her lunchbox. Sometimes I put a little note in her lunchbox, I have done this since she was in Kindgergarten, just a note telling her “smile, someone loves you” Or “Did I tell you I love you today?” otherwise she gets a banana with a tablespoon of peanutbutter. what can I say? The kid just loves the stuff!LOL

Our favorite treat is fudge which is so easy to make in the microwave even though it isn’t very healthy!A bag of semi sweet chips one stick of butter and one 14 oz can of sweetened condensed milk put it all in microwave for 3 min. take it out and let it get cool in fridge. It’s good.

my favorite thing to pack is the motts applesauce. She absolutely loves this

I think Rice Crispy squares are a nice back to school treat…

carrot sticks, they’re fun to crunch!

apple slices!

Banana bread — using overripe bananas that have gone into the freezer until I’m ready to bake. I substitute applesauce for half the oil in the recipe, and whole wheat flour for half the flour. An easy way to sneak a little better nutrition into a treat!

My kids loved and still do cheese and crackers for the healthy and devil dogs for going the other way

No kids in school yet, but my husband loves when 1) I pack him cute little notes 2) when his lunch looks like a kindergarteners and his co-workers give him crap b/c he can say to them that his wife packed it with love 3) when I give him a special treat like these chewy treats I pick up from the German butcher. With 2 kids and me working part-time, he understands that special treats don’t necessarily have to be homemade.

I love making and sending my homemade granola bars in lunches. I don’t have my recipe handy, but it is very easy and you can add whatever you favor.

A treat I like to “make” for the babes is PB&J sushi.
I flatten a slice of bread with a roller, very thin.
I thin spread PB on half and jelly on the other half. I roll it up and cut it into 6 slices with a serrated knife and voila it’s PB&J sushi!

See:http://jasonbethandfamily.blogspot.com/2008/05/pb-j-sushi-lunch.html

Applesauce! All three of my kids love it. They did fruit or cheese cubes into it.

Little notes and a couple of fun stickers is what my child would really like more then food. But fruit snacks are a favorite and including those would bring a big smile

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