Hello there, friends!
We started a new Friday lunch tradition in our home recently. It’s something I like to call “choose your own adventure” platter… which is basically a buffet of leftovers. A little bit of this and that served up in a tray and suddenly lunch becomes far more interesting for my girls.
I typically pre-fill my kids’ plates for breakfast and lunch throughout the week so giving them an empty plate (essentially a blank slate, really) to fill with whatever they’d like is a nice change. It’s good for me because I get to clear the fridge of leftovers and good for them because I think it makes them feel grown-up. They love being able to pick and choose.
If you haven’t tried something like this with your kids, I highly recommend. Anything goes, folks. As you’ll see here, I had some leftover pesto pasta, the last bit of hummus, and some steamed carrots. I added a few vegan cheese quesadillas, raisins, veg cheese slices, sweet potato chips, apples, and peanut butter. I know… it is quite a hodge podge but they really do get a kick out of it.
Make leftovers the star and then fill in with whatever fruit or vegetables you have on hand. Some ideas might be chips, pretzels, popcorn, dried fruit, crackers, nuts, yogurt cups. I like to add the bit of peanut butter to dip the fruit for a protein. Same with the hummus, which goes well with the veg and chips to dip. You can honestly do whatever. If you don’t have enough leftovers, you can quickly make a fast sandwich and cut into small triangles (like I did with the quesadilla) for finger food. PB&J, peanut butter and banana, vegan cream cheese and cucumber, cream cheese and jam, vegan deli meat and cheese, white bean salad sandwich… whatever your kid(s) like(s) the best.
The fun part is to just arrange it all on a tray/table and let them have at it. Have fun with it, mama. x
