Goodness on the Go with Mott’s® & Two Kid Friendly Trail Mix Recipes

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The kids are back in school and most moms are sighing a breath of relief. Don’t lie, I know you are too. Sure, the lazy days of summer are hard to let go; there’s real beauty in sleeping in with no alarm in sight, staying up late after playing outside until almost 9 o’clock and following a spontaneous schedule that often involves riding bikes or going to the pool. But I have to say, I’m pretty darn tired after the summer break. With two little boys, we’re constantly on the go. And I mean constant. At least with the boys back in school our hectic schedule has more routine and let’s be totally real here, I now get a much welcome break during the day.

I think the toughest part of having young boys is finding the balance between keeping them busy (mine are very active) and not over committing ourselves so that our entire days are scheduled leaving little down time. If I’ve learned anything about being a mom it’s that without balance, no one’s happy. I’ve learned that balance for me comes in the form of planning. When I’m thinking ahead, things go smoother thus allowing me to be more so in the moment instead of rushing around, yelling and hurrying. I’m looking at you, morning routine. Never did I imagine how much work it would be to get two kids fed, dressed and out the door with homemade lunches.

A few things that have helped our morning routine go a little smoother are quite simple but make a huge impact. First off, the kids pick out their clothes the night before and lay them by their bed. It eliminates the I can’t find my socks tantrums and the but where’s my favorite Ninja Turtles t-shirt? We keep a extra set of toothpaste and toothbrushes in the bathroom off our kitchen so they can brush their teeth without going back upstairs to get sidetracked by one of their toys. Lastly, I make lunches as soon as I get up. In fact, it’s the first thing I do (once I’ve poured a cup of coffee, of course.) I don’t like to make lunches the night before because the kids complain of the sandwiches getting soggy but if I make them first thing, they’re out of the way and then I can enjoy my coffee and the kids for a half an hour before we have to leave for school.

Our lunches vary week to week but some things are constant: it’s always well rounded. I like to include some protein, good carbohydrates, and fruit and vegetables. Mott’s® makes it easy, peasy on moms with their 100% apple juice and Snack & Go Applesauce pouches. Because the applesauce pouches have are full of vitamin C, I feel good about adding them to the lunch boxes. They couldn’t be more convenient or easy! The kids often save 1/2 of their juice for after school since we ride our bikes to and fro. Another fun thing we’ve been doing lately is making our own trail mix. It’s something we did this summer to take on hikes or while riding our bikes. I’ve kept it going this fall and it’s been a welcome addition in the lunch box! I make it ahead and portion it out into ziplock snack size bags.

The trail mix and Mott’s® Snack & Go apple sauce pouches aren’t just for lunches either. I keep an old baking tin in the pantry with snacks that are good for grabbing on the go- it’s always filled with Mott’s®, some sort of trail mix, fruit leathers, granola bars etc. I can snag something to add to the kids lunch boxes just as easily as they can grab one for their backpacks or pockets before heading outside. It allows us to spend less time in the kitchen and more time doing the things we love!

If you have a minute, watch the fun video of I made of the boys enjoying their favorite Mott’s® apple sauce and juice!

Kid Friendly Trail Mix Recipes

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Ingredients

• white cheddar popcorn
• cheddar bunnies or goldfish
• chocolate covered candies (we used M&M’s)
• raisins
• cashews
• almonds
• mini pretzels
• whole grain cereal (we used Life)

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Instructions

1. There is no real recipe here. We simply add a handful of this and that until we get what we like.
2. For the cereal trail mix we mixed Life cereal, cashews, almonds, m&m’s and raisins.
3. For the popcorn trail mix we mixed white cheddar popcorn, cheddar bunnies, mini pretzels, raisins and m&m’s.
4. Portion the trail mix into snack size ziplock bags.

Thank you Mott’s® and Technorati for being sponsors of this article. All opinions expressed here are my own. Thank you for supporting partnerships like this that enable me to create new and special content.