Muffin Tin Lunches

Looking for a festive way to serve lunch to your children or even to yourself?! Try the muffin tin lunch! It’s the perfect way to get a variety of healthful foods onto your plate, or muffin tin, and it’s a fun new way to eat the foods you love.

(Unfortunately, I can’t find the above pumpkin tin anymore in stores, but I found another one {pictured below} that would be perfect here!)

Also, muffin tins help moms monitor the variety and nutritional value of what’s being served and the children get to enjoy their lunch!

Try these easy steps for muffin tin lunches:

1. Set up different themes, colors or letter schemes for the muffin tin meals.

2. Think seasonally and use a fun pumpkin muffin tin, see example.

3. Fill it up with the flavors of fall, and maybe even add a piece or two of Halloween candy for a special treat.

4. Think letters, numbers and colors. Extend the learning that goes on at school or in your home school into mealtime.

5. Here are some fun tips:

– Make a “C” muffin tin lunch – Cut out the letter C in a sandwich or quesadilla. Add cantaloupe, carrots, cucumbers with ranch dip and cheese cubes.

– Make a red muffin tin lunch – Add red grapes, strawberries, watermelon, red pepper slices with ranch dip and a sliver of red velvet cake.

– Make a one to six muffin tin lunch – Fill the muffin wells with one string cheese, two sandwich halves, three steamed broccoli florets, four chunks of watermelon, five pretzels and six grapes.

Don’t just limit yourself to lunch, muffin tins work beautifully for snacks as well. Use a six cup muffin tin for two-three children, labeling each row with their initial, or giving different snacks to each child based on the first letter of their name (i.e.  Peter gets popcorn and Anna gets applesauce). If you have more children, or you serve snacks to all the neighborhood kids, invest in a 12 or 24 cup muffin tin.

Even adults who are looking for better portion control can benefit from the muffin tin concept!

So put on your thinking caps and come up with some clever meal and snack ideas because the possibilities are endless. Don’t forget to be on the lookout for new and fun types of muffin tins at the discount store or garage sales.

What are your creative ideas for your children’s meals or portion control?

Recipe originally posted on SCJohnson.com.