When I make my kids macaroni and cheese at lunchtime, they rarely finish the whole box. And since I’m working on losing post-baby weight, any more than a couple of bites isn’t great for me.
I usually save leftovers in the fridge, but I was finding they weren’t getting eaten until I tried a sneaky little-mom trick. I tell ya, sometimes getting them to eat is all about presentation for these little guys. And that’s how “macaroni muffins” were made.
Here’s how this works. After they’ve eaten their fill of macaroni (with fresh fruit or veggies or something else nutritious, of course), I fill my favorite silicone liners with the leftovers.
Then place in the freezer until macaroni is solid. Pop out of the liners and place in a freezer bag, then return to the freezer.
Now on those crazy days when it’s lunchtime and they’re “starving,” and I want something quick, I just pull a couple “macaroni muffins” from the freezer–reheat in the microwave about 45 seconds, cut up some apples, and lunch is ready in less than five minutes. And they think it’s silly and therefore cool to have macaroni and cheese “muffins” for lunch.
Another thing I really like about these individual serving sizes is that less food is wasted. Some days my girls eat seconds and thirds, and other days they nibble like a bird. So having the macaroni pre-portioned out allows me to just make a little instead of an entire box for which the’ll only eat of few bites of. And if they’re still hungry, it’s easy to reheat another “muffin.”
Do you have any creative tips for kiddo mealtime? I’d love to hear them!
What a great idea!! Caleb is usually pretty good about eating leftover mac’n cheese but i’ll have to try this for Lina 🙂