Adding Hot Pockets to My List of After School Snack Ideas (#CBias #SocialFabric #HotPocketSnacks)

For the first time ever, all three of our children are in school full time.  By the time they get home around 4pm or so, they are starving.  I always give them a small snack to help carry them over until dinner.  Now that all three children are taking taekwondo two days a week, our afternoons are pretty hectic on those days.

Today, for example, the bus was 10 minutes late.  We had 20 minutes to get to taekwondo, have all three children change into their uniforms, use the potty (if needed), and have a small bite to eat.  Since they would need energy for taekwondo, I wanted to give them something more than pretzels or raisins.  I was able to do that with the help of Hot Pockets.

Over the weekend, we had picked up some Hot Pockets in the freezer section at Walmart.  They were priced at about what our supermarket usually sells them for during a sale.  We usually buy the Pepperoni Pizza variety, but I wanted our children to try some of the others, so I bought one Philly Steak & Cheese and one Ham & Cheese, as well.  They all agreed that they wanted to try the steak and cheese first.

Before I left the house to meet the children at the school bus stop this afternoon, I heated two Philly Steak & Cheese Hot Pockets in the microwave.  Then I cut each one in half to make them more manageable for little hands and packed them in a food container, which then went inside an insulated snack cube.

I was pleased to find that the Hot Pockets were still warm by the time we got to taekwondo.  Our 5-1/2 year old twins were in the first class, so they only were able to take one bite of theirs before class started.  They then grabbed another bite halfway through the class during their water break and were able to finish the rest after their class ended and our 8-1/2 year old son's class began.  He was lucky in that he got to eat his Hot Pocket right away before he started on his homework during the twins' class.  2 out of 3 of the children loved the Philly Steak & Cheese.  Our 5-1/2 year old son is still loyal to his Pepperoni Pizza Hot Pockets.

It was nice to be able to give our children a hot snack to eat, especially on a damp and rainy day such as today.  I will have the children try the Ham & Cheese Hot Pockets next and will need to stock up on the steak and cheese variety.  As you can see, we still have plenty of the Pepperoni Pizza . . .

To learn more about Hot Pockets and other back-to-school snack ideas, visit Walmart.com, Hot Pockets on Facebook, and follow Nestlé Kitchens and #HotPocketSnacks on Twitter.


I am a member of the Collective Bias™ Social Fabric® Community. This shop has been compensated as part of a social shopper insights study for Collective Bias™ and Nestle #CBias #SocialFabric.  All opinions are solely my own.

Snyder’s of Hanover and Lance Sandwich Crackers Crunch Time

Our twin kindergartners and our 3rd grader all go back to school at the end of August.  Needless to say, this has been a crazy busy week between making sure we have all the requested supplies, the all-important first day outfits, enough food to pack for morning snacks and lunches, and much more.  Some of our 8 year old's favorite snacks to take to school are pretzels and sandwich crackers.  We much prefer to pack these items for him over things we normally consider to be treats, like chips and cookies.  We intend to continue this tradition with our 5 year old twins.

In the past, I have heard the "againnnnnnn?" question from our oldest regarding his lunch and snack options more than once.  I must say that variety is key.  That is something that both Snyder's of Hanover and Lance Sandwich Crackers offer our children in their handy snack-size packs.  Snyder's of Hanover even offers gluten-free pretzels and 100-calorie packs.  Also, not all the Lance products have peanut butter in them, so you have snack options even if your child's classroom is peanut-free.

(Click any photo to enlarge)

Snyder's of Hanover Pretzels are not limited to just morning time or lunchtime snacks.  They are also perfect for after school snacks, as well as desserts.  For some unique ideas and recipes, checkout the pretzel recipes on their website and on their Facebook page.


Look at these adorable Owl Minis made with Snyder's of Hanover pretzel minis and pretzel sticks . . .

Also checkout this Sea Salt Almond Caramel Pretzel Bites recipe I recently shared, which uses Snyder's of Hanover pretzel snaps . . . 

Thank you to Snyder's of Hanover and Lance Sandwich Crackers for providing complimentary product samples for us to base this review upon and for providing additional product for our contest prize.

The Crunch Time Prize Pack includes:

• 2 Boxes of 100-Calorie Packs Pretzel Minis
• 2 Boxes of 100-Calorie Packs Pretzel Sticks
• 2 Boxes of 100-Calorie Packs Pretzel Snaps
• 2 Boxes of Whole Grain Peanut Butter Sandwich Crackers
• 2 Boxes of Toast Chee Peanut Butter Sandwich Crackers
• 2 Variety Boxes of Sandwich Crackers
• 2 Bags of 8 Gluten-free Pretzel Stick 100 Calorie Snack Packs

a Rafflecopter giveaway

Good luck in the drawing!

Review: Sargento FridgePack String Cheese . . . a New Staple Food at Our House

Our first grader has three snacks a day . . . one during class mid-morning, one with his school lunch (unless he buys that day), and one when he gets home from school.  It has become more and more difficult to offer him variety and still give him relatively healthy snacks 3 times per day 5 days a week.  One of his classmates has a peanut allergy, so anything with peanut butter is out.  My son use to love Smartfood cheese popcorn, but now he has grown tired of it from having it so often.  My other usual go-to snacks are granola bars and cheese with crackers.

I recently added another food to my go-to snack list . . . Sargento String Cheese.  All three of my children and my husband unanimously agree that it is their favorite out of all the Sargento FridgePacks we tried.  My husband puts them in his lunch cooler and I can pack them with an ice pack in my son's lunch bag.  I'm so happy to have another healthy snack option to help me steer clear from serving chips and cookies so often.

These new cheese FridgePacks from Sargento fit perfectly on the bottom shelf of our refrigerator.  I usually keep juice boxes and small bottles of spring water in the bottom right drawer so that the children can help themselves.  These FridgePacks helped to grow my little kid-friendly section of the refrigerator.  Anything that will promote our three children become more independent is a plus in my book.

Sargento FridgePack cheeses currently come in four varieties . . . String Cheese, Light String Cheese, Mild Cheddar, and Colby-Jack.  Each one comes with 18 individually wrapped units of cheese.  They retail for approximately $6.99 each and you should be able to find them at your local grocery store or most places where Sargento products are sold.


I wrote this review while participating in a blog tour by Mom Central Consulting on behalf of Sargento and received product samples and a promotional item to thank me for taking the time to participate.

Rice Krispies Treats Recipe Challenge

I was invited to take part in a Rice Krispies Treat Recipe Box Challenge! Along with 9 other moms, I received a mystery package in the mail, which included a clue. My clue was "rice". After all 10 moms collaborated, we came up with the clue . . . "Make your Rice Krispies Treats Recipe an after school conversation starter." So this was my challenge. I already had it in my head to make Rice Krispies Treats with crumbled chocolate-covered pretzels. Doesn't that sound good? Well, then I found out that, for this particular challenge, I was required to use a fruit or a nut, so I altered my plans and swapped my pretzels for chocolate-covered peanuts instead, so that I could keep that salty sweet taste combination. Perhaps I will try the chocolate-covered pretzels as a party favor for my Kellogg's Mom's Breakfast I am planning for later this September?

Recipe: Salty Sweet "Interrogative" Rice Krispies Treats

INGREDIENTS:

3 Tbsp butter or margarine

10oz package of white mini marshmallows

6 cups of Kellogg's Rice Krispies cereal

(2) 3.5oz boxes of Goobers (chocolate-covered peanuts)

2 or 3 colors decorating gel

Step 1. In a large saucepan or skillet, melt the butter or margarine over low heat.

Step 2. Add mini marshmallows and stir continuously until completely melted and blended with butter.

Step 3. Add 2 cups of Rice Krispies cereal and then 1/3 of the chocolate-covered peanuts. Repeat this 2 more times.

Step 4. Remove the pan from heat. Then stir until the cereal and chocolate-covered peanuts are completely coated with the melted marshmallow.

Step 5. Transfer entire mixture into a 13" x 9" baking pan, casserole dish, or plastic storage container coated with nonstick cooking or baking spray.

Step 6. Using a folded piece of wax paper, press the mixture into the pan, packing it as evenly and tightly as possible.

(Click on any image to enlarge)

Step 7. Allow the pan of Rice Krispies Treats to cool completely before cutting into rectangles approximately 3" x 2".

Step 8. With your decorating gel, write one interrogative word on each rectangle, using only words that can be used to begin an open-ended question (a question that cannot be answered with a "yes" or a "no").

Store your treats in an airtight container. It is best if they are consumed within 2 days or so. (Please do not serve these treats around any child that may have a nut allergy.)

When serving these Salty Sweet "Interrogative" Rice Krispies Treats to your child, have your child select the treat they like. Then you are allowed to pose one question about their day starting with the word on their treat. Invite your child to have seconds so you can ask another question. To make it fair, choose a treat for yourself so that your child can ask you about your day too.

I was inspired to create these treats because getting details about my own children's days are like trying to extract military secrets. If this is true with your children, I hope this tactic will help get your after school conversations going.

Our treats were served while still slightly warm because I crumbled under the pressure of 3 adorable children asking, "Are they ready now?" Even though my oldest was skeptical about peanuts in his Rice Krispies Treats, there was a general consensus among all 3 children that the treats were "Yummy!"

To find more fun recipes, visit the Kellogg's Recipe Box. If you end up trying this recipe, I would love to know how both the treats and the conversation turned out.

This has been a paid campaign led by TheMotherhood on behalf of Kellogg's Rice Krispies brand cereal, who also provided product for us to create this recipe and for our contest prize.

What you can win:
One lucky reader will receive a pair of Kellogg's cereal bowls.

Limitations:

This giveaway is open to U.S. entries only. You do not need to be a blogger to enter, but you must have a valid email address and be age 18 years or older. If you enter anonymously and do not include a valid email address in your comment entries, I will not be able to notify you should you win this random drawing. If you have won this prize on another site during this campaign, you are not eligible to enter. Please click here for official contest rules.

How to Gain Entries:

Leave a comment telling me a question you would ask a child to learn more about his or her day at school. You MUST do this to be eligible to win this contest.

Extra Entries:

1) For 5 extra entries, leave a relevant comment on one of my non-giveaway posts. Then leave FIVE separate comments with the name of the post on which you commented. You will earn 5 extra entries for each different non-contest post you comment on.

2)

For 5 extra entries, enter one of my other contests. Leave FIVE separate comments here telling me which contest you entered. You will earn 5 extra entries for each contest you enter.

3) For 10 extra entries, blog about this contest linking back to this post AND Rice Krispies Recipe Box Challenge . Then come back here and leave TEN separate comments with the link to your blog post.

4)

For 1 extra entry each, if you are a Friend of mine on Facebook and/or if you have "liked" the 3 Garnets & 2 Sapphires Facebook page, then leave a separate comment here telling me so with the link to your Facebook profile.

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(All entries will be verified prior to awarding this prize.)


Random Drawing:

This contest will be closed on Thursday, September 2nd, 2010 at 11:59pm EST. A random number drawing will be held shortly after. The winner will be announced here and will be contact via email or through their blog. If the winner does not respond within 48 hours, a new number will be drawn.

Good luck in the drawing!