It's almost Valentine's Day so I decided to get a head start on putting a little extra love in my kids' lunches. We also spent part of the weekend experimenting with some recipes so I thought I would add one of our experiments into the lunch. It's the Twisted Peanut Butter and Jelly Snacks that you see. The recipe video is coming soon. I'll include it in this post when it is done. Until then, hopefully this lunch can inspire you with a few ideas for your own kids' lunches!

7 Ways Kids Can Take Care of the Family Dog

This is a sponsored post in partnership with Swiffer. All opinions are my own.

Every parent has heard that one line. You know the one, "I promise I will take care of it." But we know better. It doesn't matter with it's a dog, cat, bird, guinea pig, or alligator. Those words that our kids utter trying to get parents to say "yes" to a family pet are famous, or maybe infamous is a better word, because they are usually forgotten a week or two later. Thankfully, with a little gentle prodding (or threatening to shut off the wifi), there are a number of ways that kid can easily take care of a family pet.

In our house the family pet is a dog named Shasta. He's a twelve-year-old American Eskimo dog who likes to shed like it's going out of style. His white fur is magically magnetic to black clothes, but he is part of the family. Once our kids reached a certain age we decided that enlisting them to help take care of the dog would not only help out the family, but it would help teach them some responsibility. So we came up with some tasks that were age appropriate, and let's be honest, tasks that my wife and I would rather not do. Shhh don't tell my kids that though. Hopefully these ideas help you as well!

1. Feeding time, because animals need to eat for some reason.
If you've ever had a dog, and are late feeding it that day, you know the look it gives you. The dog sets it's chin on your leg and gives you that wide eye and droopy face, trying to make you feel as though you are the worst person in the world. If you look close enough, you might see a small tear roll down it's little doggy cheek. As a parent, you don't need that kind of guilt in your life. Pass this on to the kids who are six and older! If they can't fill up a bowl with water, and dump nuggets into a dish, then well, you might have bigger parenting problems.

Lemony Snicket's A Series of Unfortunate Events Lunch

Ever since Netflix released the new Lemony Snicket's A Series of Unfortunate Events series, my kids have been obsessed with the story. My daughter even checked the books out of the school library. I didn't know much about the series, but after watching the first few episodes I am pretty impressed with the series. The way it was shot is dark, and the story really draws you in. The humor is subtle but entertaining. However, if you are looking for a feel-good show, this probably isn't it. After all, it is called "A Series of Unfortunate Events."

I've come to learn that in this series, food is pretty much a supporting actor. Since it is so prominent, I thought I would make my kids a lunch based on the food from the first few epsiodes. I'm sure as we move along, there will be more lunches from this story, but almost everything in this lunch is symbolic of something from the series.

How to Make a Day at the Beach Lunch!

This is a sponsored post in partnership with Crispy Green and the Produce for Kids' Power Your Lunchbox program. All opinions are my own.

Currently it's winter time, with ice storms possible, and my family lives in Oklahoma. Let's just say that right now we are dreaming of a day at the beach. The last time we visited California we were able to spend some time there and it's one of my kids' favorite places. Because my kids needed a little break from winter, I made my children a day at the beach lunch! See how I did it below.

We also recently discovered some really great healthy snacks that I was able to incorporate into the lunch. The snacks are from Crispy Green and they are called Crispy Fruit which are freeze dried and 100% pure fruit--no added sugar or preservatives! My son (the picky eater) tried the tangerine sailboat and he described them as, "Sour at first but then they taste like sweet sugar!" Needless to say he ate the rest. I also found out that Crispy Green is one of the sponsors for Power Your Lunchbox Pledge. This program empowers families with tips, ideas, and recipes to make healthy lunchboxes. When you take the Power Your Lunchbox Pledge to eat a healthier lunch, you can get money saving coupons and money will be donated to Feeding America to provide meals to families in need. In August 21,674 families and classrooms pledged to eat a healthier lunchbox, helping to provide 238,414 meals for families in need through Feeding America. To take the pledge and help feed families, spend a minute or two and go to the Power Your Lunchbox website now!

How to Take Your Whole Family to a Steakhouse While on a Budget

I have partnered with Life of Dad and Idahoan® Foods for this campaign, but my opinions are my own.

Every parent has had those nights where you just want to eat great food in a steakhouse type atmosphere. However, either the budget was spent on diapers or the thought of loading the entire family into the car, and keeping the kids from throwing their meals against the restaurant wall, sounds way too exhausting to make the excursion worth the effort. We felt the same way the other night and decided to do something about it. We created our own steakhouse right at home. You can too with a little creativity, Idahoan® Premium Steakhouse® Potato Soup, and my tips below!

Harry Potter Hogwarts Express Lunch

To say that my daughter is addicted to Harry Potter is an understatement. This year she read all of the original books and is now on The Cursed Child. She hasn't seen all of the movies yet but we just watch The Prisoner of Azakaban last night. Can any of you relate? Are your kids into Harry Potter as much as mine are? I don't know a ton about it, but my daughter can talk for hours about the details of the books. Apparently The Goblet of Fire is her favorite.

Even though I don't know every minute detail of the stories, I have watched a few of the movies with my kids and we have read the first couple books together. We have our favorite scenes, but I think we can all agree that when Harry makes it onto Platform 9 3/4, and The Hogwarts Express train shows up, it is one of the most magical in the whole story. Since I have never made a Harry Potter lunch before, I thought I would start with the Hogwarts Express. Of course I also had to include Harry's wand and Hedwig, his owl. I made the lunch in an Easy Lunch Boxes container.