Indulge in a Snack Meal

My children have always enjoyed snacks and would gladly eat them for a meal if I would allow it. Occasionally I do indulge them in a snack lunch or dinner and they think they are really getting a big treat!

I use a 6 cup muffin tin. I place different food items in each of the holes. This is a good way to use up small amounts of food that are not enough to actually feed one person. I often include sandwiches cut into quarters or eights or some exotic shape (star, circle, etc.), cubed cheese from the left over end of a block of cheese, grapes, cut up apples, mandarin oranges, mini-carrots and (maybe) dip, chips and salsa, cheez its, "trail mix" made up of the leftovers at the bottom of the bag (cereal mix or salty snacks combined). pretzels, lunch meat rolled up and skewered with pretzels, M and M snack mix (M and M's, raisins, pretzels, mini-marshmallows), popcorn and the like. You can tailor it to each child's individual preference and it also allows portion control (after all - you can only fit so many chips in the muffin tin!)

My kids think they have hit the jackpot, it allows me to use up small volumes of food that might otherwise go to waste and it is a fun, nutritious meal. My children are 17 and 10 and they still ask for a snack lunch from time to time. This is also a great treat for sleepovers!

By Diana from Prospect, KY