Can you believe that my son will be starting school in 2 weeks?
I can’t.
My little 4 year old will be going to school every single day full time.
He’ll be working more than I do now.
The only similarity is that we aren’t getting paid for it.
I know, that was a lame joke.
We’ve been trying to cram in as much Mom and son time as we can before he heads off to Junior Kindergarten.
We’ve gone to the park. Watched boats motor by at the waterfront. Splash pads. Beaches. Eating our weight in ice cream.
Oh and one of my favourite things to do with him, baking.
We’ve been putzing around the kitchen our during rainy days.
You see, Chunky is in for quite the culture shock when he realizes that he won’t be allowed to bring peanut butter sandwiches to school.
Peanut butter and Jam sandwichs has been his lunch staple for 3 years.
His school is a peanut free environment.
YIKES!
So I’ve been on the hunt for fun, healthy tasty alternatives that he’ll enjoy eating.
I came across this recipe on Life Made Delicious and thought that I’d give it a try since it incorporated some of Chunky’s favourite things:
Bananas, Raisins and….
Run with me here…these are really good.
BANANA RAISIN MUFFINS
Ingredients:
-
1 cup (250 mL) mashed ripe bananas
- 2/3 cups (150 mL) milk
- 3 tbsp (45 mL) vegetable oil
- 1 egg
- 2 cups (500 mL) CHEERIOS* cereal, finely crushed
- 1 1/4 cups (300 mL) all-purpose or whole wheat flour
- 3/4 cups (175 mL) raisins
- 1/3 cup (75 mL) brown sugar
- 2 1/2 tsp (12 mL) baking powder
- (*I added a dash of cinnamon to the mixture)
The best part of this recipe is letting your child crush the CHEERIOS*
Method:
- Heat oven to 400°F (200°C).
- Spray bottoms of 12 regular size muffin cups with non-stick cooking spray. (*I used mini muffin tins so that the muffins would be small enough for packing in lunches and small enough for my 4 year old appetite.)
- Combine bananas, milk, oil and egg.
- Stir in remaining ingredients until just moistened.
- Divide batter evenly among muffin cups.
- Bake 15 to 18 minutes or until golden brown. Cool 5 minutes and remove from pan. (* For the mini muffins I cut down the cooking time to 10 minutes. You may need to play around with this time with your oven)
Ta Da!!!!
They fit perfectly in children’s lunches!
But the best part is….
The boy child loves them!
I doubt that he’s going to miss his peanut butter sandwiches! (But I’ll miss eating my lunch with him…sniff…hold me guys)
Not only are these a perfect healthy snack, they are a great “to-go breakfast”…even for us adults.
You can find more wonderfully tasty recipes at Life Made Delicious.
Disclosure: I am part of the Life Made Delicious Blogger program and I receive special perks as part of my affiliation with this group. The opinions on this blog are my own.
Yum! Can YOU make my lunch?
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That looks delicious and boy approved too, now that’s just awesome
Thanks for sharing the recipe might have to give it a try too as I’m always on the hunt for easy recipes for my boy.
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Fun! And yum! And SERIOUSLY? Junior kindergarten? *sniff*
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Yum! I love baking with the kids. Dylan loves crushing things. We should do this.
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I agree with Alison. I need you to come make my lunch. YUM! Oh and I go back to school next week and leave my babies all day every day. I haz the sad.
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He is such a dude! xx
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I have been experimenting with muffin/bread recipes to send to school in place of a regular sandwich.
Pumpkin was a hit, but Chocolate Zucchini bread was the clear winner. http://www.joyofbaking.com/breakfast/ChocolateZucchiniBread.html
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Awww, we read so much about him here, that I get a little emotional just thinking about him going off to school!
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These make me want to crush the Cheerios.
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Those look yummy! Good job.
Are all nuts disallowed or just peanuts? I’ve heard cashew butter or almond butter are good substitutes for peanut butter.
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This is an AWESOME recipe! Something my daughter will love doing.
Thank you for taking allergies into consideration.
xoxoxox
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Nice!
I can’t imagine sending Ava off FULL TIME!!!! I want to cry just thinking about it.
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I’ve heard of baking with Cheerios but never tried it…but perhaps I should!
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lovely post delicious muffins
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Those sweet muffins will make him feel like home.
Oh, mama…the days are gone by so fast.
xo
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What a great recipe but, school all day? So tough. You both will do great.
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Ooooh… I’m going to have to try that recipe. My kids would love smashing Cheerios to smithereens! My big guy is only going to be going to half-day JK (the school we’re zoned for isn’t slated for full-day kindergarten until 2015!), but he still needs to bring a snack. These would work.
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WOW, you can sure make a good healthy lunch, Mama. Xx
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Sounds delicious, even to a grandma!
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I wish more snacks were available in guaranteed nut free versions. I remember how difficult it was to find stuff for their lunch boxes.
On the one hand, you’re lucky that he’s at a school providing full day kindergarden but I know it will be a huge adjustment for both of you.
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Hooray for delicious and healthy and fun and together and le sigh for school already!
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Yummy! Go Chunky! Look out mom. With all that learning, he may end up smarter than you! Lol
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I am definitely going to make these. I can’t get Gia to eat anything breakfasty.These might do the trick!
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Those muffins sound great. That last picture is too funny!
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I felt the same way when my youngest went to full time school. Are you a stay at home mum? You know that if he doesn’t adjust well to full time school they can’t stop you from picking him up at noon every day. They will complain but you are allowed to do it.
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At least, you can in Ontario.
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