“Mo-om, I’m hungry.” “You just ate 5 minutes ago.” Now that the kids are home full-time and have been for a few months, I’m wondering how they didn’t waste away to nothing during the school year with two or three hours between meals and snacks.
We’re still not sure what back-to-school is going to look like. We don’t know how many more changes will be coming our way, but one thing we can count on our kids will be hungry. Wouldn’t it be great if the kids could fix just one meal on their own, with minimal help from us?
With the help of Kraft Heinz and Walmart, we can let the kids do it. Normally in my house, those words (No, Mom, Let me do it!) strike immediate fear and cause me to go running. But, I promise, in this case, it’s a very good thing! I have a few very picky eaters, but with Kraft Heinz’s huge selection of lunch choices, I was able to easily choose items that the kids could make on their own.
To gather what I needed, I decided to try the Walmart Grocery Pick-up for the first time. It was quite handy. I was able to do my grocery shopping from the comfort of my couch and specify what items could be substituted and which ones couldn’t, in case of an out-of-stock issue. Pick-up has the same low-price guarantee that we have come to love with Walmart. It was a completely seamless transaction. I clicked that I was on my way in the app, and called when I arrived. I requested that I put my own groceries in my truck and when they brought out my groceries, we were still able to maintain the “contactless” transaction.
So what did we decide to let the kids make themselves? We opted to try the Easy-Mac Three-Cheese Mac and Cheese and Velveeta Shells & Cheese cups paired with some sliced apples, some fresh cucumbers and carrots for a well-balanced meal. For dessert, the girls were given a choice of Hershey’s Chocolate Pudding, Jello-O Strawberry Cheesecake or Strawberry Jell-O. To wash it all down, we gave them the choice of 100% Fruit Juice Capri-Sun or Capri-Sun Lemonade pouches.
How did they do? My girls are six and nine-years old. I was a little concerned about my six-year-old making her own lunch, but once we walked her through the directions, she knew how to read the cup so she knew how much water to add. Luckily, with our microwave, she only had to push two buttons. (The 3 and the “add 30 seconds”). She needed a little bit of help getting her food out of the microwave and opening the cheese pouch. Once it was open, it was all her again. There was a definite sense of pride that she can make her own lunch. Next up, teaching her to add “Easy Mac” or “Easy Shells” to the grocery list. But, I guess for now, I’ll take the “Mom, can you get more Easy Mac the next time you go shopping?”
I love that the kids can make a complete balanced lunch with just a few items and minimal help from me. If it turns out that the girls will be back in school full time, then this will solve the after-school snack problem!
I received compensation from Kraft Heinz in exchange for my review. All opinions are my own.
