After School Energizing Smoothie & Lunch Tips

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This after school energizing smoothie is a healthy and delicious snack. It will replenish your child’s mind and body for after school activities and even homework!

Max is starting middle school and I can’t believe it. Where does the time go? <sigh> Since he has to get up an hour earlier, I’m a bit worried that it’s going to be a long time between breakfast and lunch. As a result I want to make sure to give him a good breakfast and pack a big lunch. He will also be coming home earlier from school so an after school energizing smoothie just seems like the perfect snack to keep him going until dinner. My son loves a good smoothie. 

Lunch Packing Tips

In the past, lunches were something that I’d just throw together in the morning if Max didn’t like what the school was offering. He no longer likes school lunches therefore it’s a packed lunch everyday. Since we are losing that hour in the morning I am trying to be more organized by making 5 to 10 lunches at a time on Sunday night. 

Max is a growing boy with a growing appetite so I want to make sure his big lunch is something he’s going to eat. That’s why I took him shopping with me to our local Giant Eagle to buy all his lunch favorites. It was nice to grab everything we needed all in one place, to make up to 2 weeks worth of lunches. And that included the plastic containers!

This is how I pack my week’s worth of lunches.

1. Lay the plastic containers out in an assembly line.
2. Pack all the nonperishable items in the plastic containers and store in the cupboard.
3. Put all the refrigerated items (string cheese, carrots) in an easily accessible bin in the refrigerator. 
4. Lastly make peanut butter & jelly sushi (see below) and store in the freezer. 

So come Monday morning, I grab a container, grab a few pb&j sushi from the freezer, a cheese stick or carrots from the fridge and I’m ready to go. It’s also nice to have a variety on hand to switch it up a bit. 

Peanut Butter & Jelly Sushi

Now let me show you a fun and freezer friendly way to up your peanut butter and jelly sandwich. It’s PB&J sushi.

1. Cut the crusts off a piece of bread.
2. Take a rolling pin and flatten it.
3. Spread peanut butter and jelly all over.
4. Roll it up and slice. Freeze it for about 10 minutes before slicing so it’s easier to cut.
5. Make many of them and place on a cookie sheet and freeze for an hour.
6. Store in a ziplock bag in the freezer.

Grab a few in the morning and they will be thawed by lunch. These are lots of fun to eat!

After School Energizing smoothie

Now when Max gets home from school he gets a delicious, energizing smoothie. The best thing about smoothies is that there are so many good things you can put in one that will give anyone an energy boost (myself included). For example, here are the ingredients that I used in this smoothie:

• Bolthouse carrot juice – for it’s high beta-carotene, used as the base
• vanilla Greek yogurt – for protein, thickening and probiotics
• chia seeds – for protein, thickening and fiber
• pineapple and clemetines -for vitamin C, bromelain (enzymes), fiber 
• grass-fed gelatin (optional) – for gut health and digestion, protein and other health benefits
• matcha green tea (optional) – for antioxidants and a bit of a caffeine lift (this is optional but the amount I used is approximately 17mg of caffeine and there are so many health benefits of green tea)

I also made a great berry smoothie using the same ingredients but used berries for the fruit and a Bolthouse Berries & Green Veggies for the base. Another great snack to make with this recipe is a smoothie bowl that you can garnish with fruit, nuts and seeds. Just serve it in a bowl instead of a glass. 

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After School Energizing Smoothie

This after school energizing smoothie is a healthy and delicious snack. It will replenish your child’s mind and body for after school activities and even homework!

Prep Time 5 minutes

Total Time 5 minutes

Servings 1

Author Denise Wright (MyLifeCookbook.com)

Ingredients

• ½ cup Bolthouse juice
• ½ cup vanilla Greek yogurt
• 1 Tablespoon chia seeds
• ½ cup fresh pineapple
• 1 clementine peeled
• ¼ teaspoon matcha green tea optional
• 1 Tablespoon grass-fed gelatin optional

Instructions

1. Add everything to a high speed blender.
2. Blend on high to pulverize the chia seeds.
3. Pour and enjoy!
4. Note* The basic recipes is ½ cup juice, ½ cup yogurt, 1 Tablespoon chia seeds, ½ cup fresh fruit. Mix and match fruit with different juices.

So those are my back to school lunch and snack tips that I hope will help Max have a successful year at his new school. Do you have any lunch tips to start the school year off right? What’s your favorite smoothie ingredients? Drop me a comment and let me know.

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