5 on Friday | The First of 2019

One of my favorite "regular" posts I used to keep up with is the 5 on Friday! I'd like to continue that into the new age of blogging that I'm looking at! :)

1. I still love to bake, and even though I quit for so many years (life, kids, over committing to too many activities, committees, boards, leagues, etc), since we sold our house and moved into a rental with the world's tiniest kitchen-- I have found myself baking again!

50th birthday tarte I made, double layer, with sugar cookies, snickers, cookies & creme bars, meringue candies, sprinkles, strawberry wafers, and fresh flowers. I had so much fun making this!!

My first batch of macarons! They're just vanilla flavored, don't let the bright purple color fool you!

strawberry cheesecake macarons! 

My first attempt at meringue candies/cookies

I mastered the French macaron (my favorite!), and I'm getting better at the art part of royal icing. I can make it each time, but my hand is NOT steady while decorating! I spend a lot of time watching cookie and cake icing videos on instagram (they're so soothing to watch while I fall asleep, haha!)

2. This summer, I started the process of becoming a non-traditionally licensed elementary teacher! This just means that I have a bachelors degree, but not in education. So, I had a month of summer classes and I'm eligible to teach as the teacher of record with a provisional license until I complete the program next year! School starts next week and I'm still job hunting, which is disheartening to be totally truthful, but I'm trying to stay positive that I'll end up in a position where the kids truly need someone like me, where I can serve them and teach them and be exactly what they need during this time in their lives.

On my way to orientation for the APPEL program :) 

I never in my life thought that this would be the career path I chose to pursue. I mean, I did major in education for a hot minute but when I had to do observations, I ended up in an 8th grade classroom and I didn't enjoy that one single bit. However, when Sophia was in 1st grade, I got to spend a lot of time in her classroom and I enjoyed it so much. It was like a light bulb went off, or maybe, I finally woke up to my calling. Either way. I am ready to land a job and start making an impact.

It might be silly, but I'm super proud of this little piece of feel-good paper!

3. In 2018 I finally got my personal training certification through NASM, something that had been on my "goal list" since 2011. It isn't any kind of secret that from 2014-2018 I just let myself goooooo. I let my emotions and fear around our life transitions take hold of me, and I guess I felt like drowning my emotions in food was the answer. Anyway, in December of last year I finally got my life together and got myself back. I have taken the last few weeks not off entirely, but I have been off my routine, which I think I needed! I hit the gym yesterday for only the 2nd time this week and today I am on FIRE. I did back and shoulders and ran a mile (the worst 12 minutes of my life, I hate running! SO WHY DID I SIGN UP FOR A 5K TOMORROW?!). My favorite on back/shoulder day: military press and parallel grip cable rows.

2017 | 2019 - Although I didn't lose a pound until December 2018.

At the beginning of summer I decided I wanted to do 2 leg days per week, Mondays and Thursdays, so I combined back and shoulders. All summer I've been in a 5 day split, but when I get a job (soon, hopefully!) I'll move to a 4 day split. Although some weeks it will still be 5 because you know sometimes... those extra long Saturday workouts are much needed. There isn't anything better than a nice, loooooong Saturday lifting session with my husband or bestie Michelle!

4. Since it has been sooooo long since I've actually posted anything, I decided that today I would share one super fun thing we did this summer. But then.... there were so many super fun things we did! Last week my niece came to stay with us and we did a tour of Arkansas Alpacas, which was SO MUCH FUN and SO SPECIAL (seriously, all caps kinda great). Sophia is obsessed with alpacas and llamas so her entire life was perfect in that instant! She got to feed and pet so many alpacas!

It was raining the entire time we were visiting, which is lucky since that meant cooler temperatures (mid 70s)... Sophia was very adamant about wearing her alpaca jacket to visit the alpacas!

Other big milestones this summer: Olivia got her drivers license (she can't drive without an adult in the car until she's 16 next June, so I guess it is still a permit but its the official hard plastic license so)! Sophia decided that this would be the summer she lost all her fear about the water and she put her whole head under water in the pool, opened her eyes, jumped off the side of the pool one billion times until she perfected her cannonball, and then she took on the diving board in the 11 feet deep water! SO PROUD of both my girls! Time is just flying by and I'm so proud of these kids but I'm also so sad about them not really needing me so much anymore.

5. We are big eaters in our house (no surprise there), but we are, as a family, attempting to eat a little healthier since summer is winding down (no more 8 pop-ices a day, sorry kids husband). Right now my favorite meal to eat (and prepare) is a southwest chicken and rice bowl. It is super easy and inexpensive (win/win!).

• Jasmine Rice
• 1 pound boneless skinless chicken breasts
• Frozen honey roasted corn and bell peppers
• optional: diced cucumber, salsa, hot sauce, lettuce 

This meal is so so easy and quick! I cook the chicken in a skillet with a smidge of olive oil and cajun seasoning mixed with asada seasoning I picked up at our Super Mercado. I love spicy food so I use a LOT of seasoning! I like to dice the chicken in the pan as it is cooking so every single bite is covered with spicy deliciousness! 

Annnnd that is all for today's 5 on Friday! I go back and forth from really wanting to write and share our lives somewhere besides facebook to feeling like an idiot for thinking about it. So, I'll be back next Friday for sure... maybe. If not before! We will see. :) First day of school is next week so I'll at least come post some lunches!

3 Years Later

It has been three years since I last posted on this blog! Time has flown by and while life has been so busy and full of moments I have shared over facebook or instagram, I haven't had the motivation to post here. I tried to write another blog using wordpress but I eventually quit writing there, too. Honestly I was writing #sponsored posts there and after a few it felt very inauthentic, but there was so much going on in life and I was working full time in insurance and just so miserable!

I'm here today just to begin the process of sharing our lives again, Andy, the kids, and me. Over the last three years we have grown and changed so much as a family. We sold our house in Fort Smith and moved to a smaller town outside the city limits. We are only renting right now, our house hunting adventure so far has been not much of an adventure-- we are trying to take our time and find something with everything on our wish list in the school district we like. Olivia is entering her Sophomore year and Sophia is going in to 3rd grade. Olivia has a drivers permit and that is kind of scary! I got my NASM CPT, entered in to a non-traditional teaching licensure program for the state of Arkansas to become an elementary teacher (still job hunting!). Andy is recruiting for the Army National Guard full time now, and things are just moving right along!

That's the TL:DR of the last three years!

I'd like to use this space going forward for bento posts, family updates, fitness, crafts, trips/vacation planning, etc.! School starts next week so I'm pre-planning some bento themes right now and I'm going to purchase some sprinkles and edible glitter later today! SO EXCITING!

Cute Little Pre-K Bento

Sophia loves to stay after school for her "lunch bunch" program. Since I don't really work outside the home during the day, its not really a common occurrence. Earlier this week we took a mini day trip so we let her stay late so that we would have more time to travel.

This little bento came from BentoUSA.com about 3 years ago. In it Sophia has jasmine rice and little animal soy sauce bottles, a hot dog, black olives, goldfish, kiwi with pink sprinkles and little candy letters. 

Sophia's favorite food ever is rice and soy sauce. Lately she's been eating a wider variety of foods but not without a struggle. It is a constant work in progress! I'm sad to say that the kiwi came back home in the lunchbox. Boo!

Bentos [2.14-2.19]

As a family, we eat way too much processed junk.

I used to be so, so good at keeping my kids shielded from kid-focused marketing when it comes to franken-food, and keeping it out of our home.

Then, life happened and I just kind of stopped. I feel so bad! So, the past couple of weeks I have been making an effort to get us back on that healthy eating wagon as a family. Not banning candy or chips, but definitely cutting way, way back. The kids do not NEED cookies every week to survive (and lets face it, I don't, either). 

Here are a couple of lunches from the week. I don't think I'll ever not have pepperonis in the house for Sophia. Those are her all time favorite. But we are cutting back on them. Olivia is much easier since she LOVES all fruits and most vegetables. 

Olivia's got the Lunchbots Uno container, full of veggies and a trail mix that I got at Aldi. It has peanut butter chips, chocolate chips, almonds, craisins, golden raisins, peanuts, and cashews in it. She's got a side of fruit and a side of ranch for dipping her veggies in.

Olivia is always saying "derp" and things are "derpy," so I used letter picks to spell out DERP in her pineapple. :)

Sophia's lunch is super simple but it still was "too much" for her-- she refused to eat the cheddar stars (she currently only likes babybel and laughing cow wedges as far as cheese goes). She also LIKES kiwi but she's super weird about when she will eat it. This time, she didn't want to eat it. So she asked for seconds on the clementine (which she got, and last month she wouldn't even eat clementines at all). 

What are you doing to entice your children to eat healthier? Or are you? Do you focus on that for your kids, or are you just happy they eat at all? When I was growing up there was not a real focus on fruits or vegetables. My sister and I both love them, and our brothers not so much. Its amazing how the tastebuds work!

Aloha, Monday

Good morning!

I know I haven't posted in about two weeks. I don't want the internet lunch fan club to think I dropped the bento ball this early in the school year!

I haven't.

We had this family vacation scheduled

Then we had a family emergency. My youngest brother was hit by a car while he was riding his motorcycle home from work. Without going into all the details, it was a very close call and his helmet probably saved his life. He has a very long road to recovery ahead. I haven't even gotten to see him yet because Andy's been out of town for most of the days I've been able to go, and I think having the kids around would cause more stress than recovery for him.

But we are home now and things are getting back to normal (for us, but I would appreciate any extra healing vibes and prayers for my brother that you've got). I did pack a bento this morning, but I didn't photograph it because well, I'm not the best at Monday's and I had to leave rush rush early to go pick up my first Zaycon Fresh order, which I will blog about later! Great experience!

I hope you're all off to a wonderful start this week! I'll be back tomorrow! xo

Minion Morning

Good morning! I know it is Wednesday but today feels shiny and new like a Monday. I think its because my husband came home last night after being gone for 9 days!! We missed him!

My girls are huge daddy's girls, so they were glued to him yesterday from the time he walked in the door until bedtime. :) I love my little family!

So far each kid has been enjoying school! Sophia has cried and didn't want to come home from school both days this week so far! She's not feeling very well this morning unfortunately. 

In Olivia's Lunchbot Uno today she has banana chips, babybel, trail mix, tiny grapes, broccoli, carrots, gummy minions, and sixlets. Its a smaller lunch because she hasn't been eating all of her food the last few days. I don't want to over pack and waste. 

Hope everyone is having a great week!

Glorious 55

This morning it is 55 degrees, y'all. FIFTY FIVE. In August. I think I'm in Heaven!

Since its the first week of school, I've been pretty on top of things, excited for a new year of bento blogging, waking up early. Olivia has been up by 0630 every morning so she can have time to straighten her hair (I mean, stop growing already please, miniature adult. Tweenager that she is!) I've actually been putting her lunches together in the evenings as I  put away dinner leftovers and clean the kitchen back up. Its easier to do it in the evenings when she's taking something left over from dinner; it saves me the trouble of putting it away and then getting it back out in the morning to pack her lunch.

Well, on Wednesday nights I take a yoga class, so there isn't any good light leftover to photograph the lunch when I get back home. So this morning I made her lunch and photographed it in the gorgeous, cool misty 55 degree morning. It was quite nice!

In the lunchbot we have peanut butter sushi, marshmallow twists, a babybel, dehydrated raspberries, and trail mix (almonds, cashews, dried cranberries). She also has an apple sauce and some blueberry crackers packed separately.

Yubo Wednesday

Good morning! Today it was so hard to get up and get moving! It is pouring rain, thundering, and lightening.. perfect sleeping weather! I'm so, so excited because the low tonight is 54 degrees. In August. Beyond giddy, actually! 

Today's lunch is packed in one of our three Yubo boxes! Yubo is probably my favorite. Ok, its a tie between Yubo and Lunchbots. They're my favorites for different reasons! :)

Olivia has 2 BBQ Chicken Rolls (same as yesterday, and recipe from 2 days ago), a couple of marshmallow ropes (found those at TJ Maxx the other day), banana bread from our so so sweet neighbor, gummies, strawberries and mini chocolate chips, and metallic sixlets, and a grapefruit. Those containers might LOOK small, but that is almost an entire grapefruit! Only one slice wouldn't fit. And, if I'd squished really hard, it probably would have.

The only thing I don't really love about the Yubo is there isn't a place to put a drink. I think they make an attachment drink carrier for the box now, but we don't have one and for the life of me I never think to order one until I'm sending the kids off to school with their drinks in their backpacks. Which is a lot, since we have 3 of these cute boxes!

Easy LunchBoxes Bento

Here we have in the Easy Lunchboxes container, our BBQ Chicken Rolls from yesterday, chocolate chip stuffed strawberries, 3 mini cookies, cheez-its, and spicy cheetohs. Not pictured Olivia has an apple sauce. I need to go buy more fruit! ;) 

Have a fab day! xo

Garlic BBQ Chicken Rolls

Hello there!

Its #MealPrepMonday and since school is back on, I did a little meal prepping for the kids', too. I'm always looking for fun recipes and creative, easy ways to get them to eat. Especially Sophia, she's so, so incredibly picky- like pretzels are her main food group kind of picky! I was going to make pizza rolls (again), but I had chicken in the crockpot for my meal prep and decided to go a different route.

You will need:
Your favorite BBQ sauce
Shredded chicken (or beef, or pork)
Mozzarella cheese
Crescent rolls
Garlic Powder

Super super simple.

My chicken breasts were already seasoned- they'd been in the crockpot all day with green enchilada sauce and green chiles.

These are pretty self explanatory, add the BBQ sauce to the roll, then cheese, then chicken. Roll up and place on a non stick baking pan.

I put a bit of mozzarella on the tops of the rolls and then sprinkled them all with garlic powder.

Easy for packing in lunches, and easy for a quick dinner, too. I wish I had put more cheese on the tops, they would look prettier with crispy cheese sprinkles! 

Check back tomorrow for our cute lunch!

Facebook | Instagram #PoiriersPlantRoots

Back To School :: BENTO!

Well, its here, and I can hardly believe it. It is the end of summer, "officially" officially. Ok, I know the calendar year doesn't declare the end of summer until later, but the start of school for the kids really does signify the end. I can't say I'm sad about it… with the beginning of school we welcome cooler weather (almost, anyway), a buzz of autumn activities like ballet and vino league, football (I'm just here for the food, y'all), and so much more!

So, you probably know by now, but….
TOMORROW IS THE FIRST DAY OF SCHOOL!

Both my kids are excited for school and bentos. I am, too!

For the first day of SIXTH GRADE, Miss O has a cute lunch in a LunchBots container.

In the Lunchbot Uno we have a leftover BBQ rib with cheese letters (my husband is the GRILL MASTER, and these ribs were so good!), ritz crackers and a babybel cheese, strawberries with edible glitter, and a trail mix I threw together of sixlets, almonds, sprinkles, and mini chocolate chips. There are also tiny m&m's cookies our sweet neighbors brought over for us earlier today. In the "fit & fresh" tupperware container, there are sliced peaches. This lunch is a little heavy on the sweets, although I didn't really think about that when I was packing it. We'll just say its a special treat for the first day of school. I will send along a bottle of water with fresh lime slices as well. I wrote a cute little first day of school note on a blank note card from LunchboxLove.

Olivia chose a new lunch bag last week at TJ Maxx, and it is so cute. 

That's our first day of school bento. If you created a bento style lunch, post the link in the comments! Make sure you like my page on Facebook, /PoiriersPlantRoots

xo
kP

2014-2015 School Lunch Re-Cap (and other bits of life)

Well hello there!

It has been a million years (ok, just two).

I can not believe the last time I posted over here was in 2013. So, So sorry for that. Except I did kinda keep up a tiny bit over on the Facebook page.

So much happened, I don't even know where to begin. Maybe a bullet list will work best. :)

• We worked super hard renovating our historic home in our adorable but not entirely safe historic neighborhood
• We got right up to the buying point for the home and discovered that there was asbestos and lead paint on the outside of the home and in the structure (window frames, inside and out)
• We snatched up a realtor (who so happens to be my BFF #CALLCASSIE) and started seeing houses like, that day
• After a couple of weeks of searching frantically, we found a home we loved in a neighborhood we loved that is so, so safe and lovely
• WE BOUGHT A HOUSE!
• We skipped Thanksgiving with our families to move (2014)
• We are PROFESH at moving and were 100% unpacked in our new home by the end of the holiday weekend (like, 2 days and BOOM! we were home!)
• Best Christmas ever in our forever home
• Lots of entertaining in our new home, Vino Leagues, friends for dinner, more friends for dinner :)

Now it is SUMMER VACATION and I'm just sitting here on my couch, in my home, and I'm so thankful. I'm so thankful that this is ours. 

So with all the crazy moving and crazy life going on.. we didn't bento as much as usual. But we still DID bento.. next year there will be more of it. :) 

DIY BBQ!

Fall is...

a zillion things. Leaves falling, jumping in leaf piles, pumpkin spice lattes, crisp morning runs, hot cocoa, decorating for halloween, apples, pumpkin EVERYTHING...

and crockpot meals!

ANDDDD crockpot LEFTOVERS!!!

Which means, lunch making is about to get even easier.

this lunch is packed in our Laptop Lunchbox container!

You only need 3 ingredients for the sauce!

- organic, high fructose corn syrup-FREE ketchup

- bragg's liquid aminos or some coconut aminos (or whats-his-shire (hobbits, anyone!?) sauce, but make sure you read the ingredients!)

- low sodium soy sauce (also make sure you read the ingredients)

Don't even worry about mixing these in a bowl, first. Shred your meat and then just put the 3 sauces in the bowl with it and mix together. If you like spicier stuff, toss in some red pepper flakes.

The BBQ wraps pictured above are on a spinach tortilla. Olivia also had hummus and carrots, kiwi berries, and banana bread (recipe here) with PB Crave Cookie Nookie for dipping, that I topped with a few Enjoy Life Foods gluten/dairy free chocolate chips. 

Oh Emm Geeeee

wow.
just. wow. It has been far, far too long!

We have been so so so oooooo very busy here in the Poirier household! I mean.. I haven't blogged in nearly two months!!!
Sorry!

Besides just making fabulous lunches, we've been working on our house, re-arranging our lives, trying to spend as much time together as possible! For what reason? Just.. that we love each other. My family is thriving. This is something I'm very proud of!

Ok, ok.. enough talking... time for some LUNCHES!

I'm going to post my favorite ones first, in my favorite boxes- our brand spanking new YUBO tall boxes!

When you see them and love them (and you will) you can grab your own right here: http://www.getyubo.com

Tell them Kandice Poirier sent you.... I don't get a reward or anything, but I want them to know how much I appreciate and love them! You will, too.

I love the Yubo so much, with its ice pack. Love love love. We're going to the pumpkin patch in a couple of weeks and our Yubos will be going along, too. But, not in lunchbox form. Well, in lunchbox form, but not in the traditional form. More like.. coolers. SO COOL. Get it... because I love the ice pack? :P hahaha

A couple of other lunches since the last time I blogged:

*whew* That is a LOT of lunches! 

Look out tomorrow for an easy-peasy BBQ recipe!! And if you're in Arkansas, make sure you check ArkansasPTA.org in a couple of days for the latest newsletter- and an article written by yours truly about healthy lunches for our kiddos!

xoxo

kP