Entree
Ok last back-to-school themed post. {Ok, not really, because I have yet to inundate you with photos and musings of my two-year old’s start of preschool.} Really the only thing that makes a difference for back to school at the non-homework, non-sports/clubs/activities age is that you have to pack lunch. A lunch that other people will see. It’s like opening up a little window into the private world of how you feed your kid. I can only imagine what teachers think when they see what I put in KB’s lunchbox. But I’m not really into worrying about other people’s judgements, so no pressure there. If you do have a homework-aged, tons of after-school-activities-aged kid, the other key factor is having easy, go-to dinners at the ready. 
I like to make those easy, go-to meals work for both dinner and a packed school lunch the next day. So here ya go: a dinner that myself, the husband, and the toddler scarfed down last night with just enough leftovers to pack a lunch. And yes, it used tuna, but no, it doesn’t make the whole room smell when you open the lunchbox like happens with tuna salad. 
Tuna Cakes with Jalapeno Mustard Dip
by with a Side of Sneakers
For the Tuna Cakes
- 2 5-oz Bumble Bee Tuna Pouches in Water – Premium Albacore Tuna or Light Tuna {available in cans too}
- 1 carrot
- 1/2 cup zucchini
- 1/4 cup red onion
- 1/4 red bell pepper
- 1 egg
- 2 Tbsp coconut flour
- 1/2 tsp salt-free seafood seasoning blend
For the Sauce
- 2 Tbsp mayo {paleo-friendly if necessary}
- 1 Tbsp spicy brown mustard
- 1 tsp honey
- 1/2 tsp red wine vinegar
- 1/2 Tbsp chopped jalapenos
- 1/2 Tbsp chopped cilantro
- splash hot sauce
For the Tuna Cakes
Shred carrots, onion, pepper, and zucchini in food processor or blender.
Mix all ingredients together.
Form into small patties, squeezing excess liquid out if necessary. {Add more flour if they won’t hold together.}
Place on saute pan over medium heat and cook for several minutes on each side.
Let cool slightly before serving to help patties stay intact.
For the Sauce
Stir all ingredients together and serve on top of zucchini cakes.
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For more Bumble Bee tuna recipes click here.
What’s your favorite double-duty, back-to-school meal that works for dinner and lunchboxes? Do you have a favorite tuna recipe?
I was selected for this opportunity as a member of Clever Girls Collective and the content and opinions expressed here are all my own.
Review
It’s really, really easy to get in a snack rut. Especially when you have three different allergies to deal with. I’m pretty ok with a little repetition, but for my toddler that snacks 4,503 times a day, it’s harder to be creative.
With back-to-school around the corner {Tuesday – eeee!} it’s even more important for me to start thinking outside the box since somebody will be judging what I pack him. I mean, er, noticing? Teachers would never judge. 
This year KB is in the two-year old class, meaning parents rotate bringing in snacks for the class. Since KB has allergies, that means I still need to make sure he has a safe snack everyday. That means something that can stay in his classroom in case the snack of the day is off limits for him. Meaning fresh fruits and veggies are off the table unless it’s the day KB is in charge of bringing snack.
I try to save granola bars and pouches for home since they can be $$, so that leaves things like raisins, veggie straws, and gluten-free crackers. That will get old pretttttty quick.
Enter NatureBox: a service that delivers a box of snacks to your door every month. Normally I shy away from subscription boxes that include food since you never know what you’re going to get {and what we’ll actually be able to eat}, but Nature Box not only has tons of allergy-friendly options, you also get a say in what you pick.
I was able to search the NatureBox snack catalog by allergy, so I could easily see what options would work for K. I was pretty surprised with the number of results that showed up. I selected 5, as well as reported his allergies in case they needed to pick an alternative snack.
Here’s what we got in our box:
- Sweet Blueberry Almonds
- Praline Pumpkin Seeds
- Pistachio Power Clusters
- Sunshine Chips {veggie chips}
- Mighty Mix
The blueberry almonds and praline pumpkin seeds are easily my two favorite. I mixed them together and stashed a couple resusable snack bags full in my car, purse, and computer bag. I had to hide them before KB ate them all.
Speaking of K, he loves them all. I had to put the bags out of reach so he wouldn’t devour them all in one sitting. The sunshine chips aren’t my favorite, but KB likes them at it’s a fun way to have him like eating veggies that actually look like veggies.
These snacks are a great way to get kids to try new foods – if open a surprise box to see what’s inside doesn’t get you excited about trying snacks, I don’t know what will – plus it’s a fun twist on snacks I wouldn’t think of to make or serve myself.
If you want to try NatureBox, they’re currently running a promo for half off your first box:
Click here to get 50% off your first month’s NatureBox delivery! ($10 value) using promo code: SNACKTOSCHOOL
Fine Crumbs: Promotion is good for 50% off your first month to month box or $10 off your first box in your first prepaid subscription. New and US subscribers only. Not valid on gift subscriptions and may not be combined with any other offers.
I was selected for this opportunity as a member of Clever Girls Collective and the content and opinions expressed here are all my own.
Have you tried Nature Box? What are your favorite back-to-school snacks?
Review
Do you have one? {A surprise talent.}
I don’t.
I’m kind of bummed about it.
I just received some of Green Giant’s new Veggie Chips to try out, along with a prompt asking to share a surprise talent. Odd quirks I have. Secret talents? Not so much.
Do you have a surprise talent?
Hey, at least I have some chips to munch on to make me feel better about not having one. I like Green Giant. I regularly buy their frozen veggie packs. I seriously stock up when they go on sale. They make for an easy, healthy snack or meal starter. {My favorites are the broccoli/pepper mix, the green beans with almonds, and the lima beans. I’m obsessed with the lima beans, I don’t know why.}
Anyways, now they have chips. Not just chips- chips made with veggies and whole grains.
I tried the Multigrain Sweet Potato Chips: Sea Salt and the Roasted Veggie Chips: Zesty Cheddar. Now, let’s fully disclose that I only ate one Zesty Cheddar chip. They contain dairy, which I don’t eat because of the little man’s allergy, but I had to eat one– in the name of research. 
I wish I could’ve had more because man, were they good. Packed full of flavor and super crunchy, like a chip should be.
Let’s talk about the sweet potato chips instead. Mmm. {They’re already gone, by the way.} I was expecting something like a traditional, plain Jane, potato chip, but sweet. Instead, they’re more like sweet potato tortilla chips, but not quite as hard. {Does that even make sense?} Surprisingly addictive.
The ingredient list gets fairly long on the Veggie Snack Chips, owing mostly to the flavoring. The Sweet Potato Chips’ ingredients list is shorter and sweeter {bad pun intended}.
These chips make me hesitate a little. Any time something not-so-healthy {like chips} masquerades as something healthy {like veggies}, it puts up a red flag. The Sweet Potato Chips don’t concern me so much here. The Roasted Veggie Chips are just a little imposterish though. It’s like they’re trying to be a popular brand of cheese-flavored chips, but made of veggies. That could get confusing to kids- why is one “healthy” and one isn’t? But regardless, anytime you can make a choice in a better direction is a bonus in my book.
Have you tried veggie chips before? What do you think? What do you think about the message they send? And of course: do you have a hidden talent?!
Psst… get a coupon for Green Giant’s Veggie Snack Chips on FB too!
Thank you to The Green Giant™ for being a sponsor. Show the Giant your surprise talent: Green Giant on Facebook
Ok last back-to-school themed post. {Ok, not really, because I have yet to inundate you with photos and musings of my two-year old’s start of preschool.} Really the only thing that makes a difference for back to school at the non-homework, non-sports/clubs/activities age is that you have to pack lunch. A lunch that other people will see. It’s like opening up a little window into the private world of how you feed your kid. I can only imagine what teachers think when they see what I put in KB’s lunchbox. But I’m not really into worrying about other people’s judgements, so no pressure there. If you do have a homework-aged, tons of after-school-activities-aged kid, the other key factor is having easy, go-to dinners at the ready. 
I like to make those easy, go-to meals work for both dinner and a packed school lunch the next day. So here ya go: a dinner that myself, the husband, and the toddler scarfed down last night with just enough leftovers to pack a lunch. And yes, it used tuna, but no, it doesn’t make the whole room smell when you open the lunchbox like happens with tuna salad. 
