Sour Apple Lunch Snack

As most of you know, I am not known for my cooking.  But I can be quite creative when packing my children's lunches.  There is just something about them being out of my direct control for that many hours in a row.  I often think about them during the day and wonder:

• are they using their manners?
• are they playing nicely?
• are others being nice to them?
• are they washing their hands?
• are they hot? or cold?
• did I dress them right today?
• and the BIGGEE... are they eating what I pack them for lunch?

My guess is, not always, but I seem to have hit the jackpot with a recent snack I "invented".  It is called the "swirled up sour apple" and both of my kids love it.  In fact, my daughter asked for a picture of the "machine" I use to cut the apples the way I do so she could show her friends.  She is getting a lot of attention at lunchtime because of her apples, and she loves it!  I told her I could do better than just a picture!  I promised to blog about it.  So here goes, (drum roll please!)  the secret recipe for the swirled up sour apple...

SWIRLED UP SOUR APPLE:

1. Wash a granny smith apple.
2. Place apple on the Pampered Chef Apple Slicer Corer.
3. Cut apple.
4. Put in a ziploc.
5. Squirt lemon or lime juice in the center of the apple (keeps apple from browning and it tastes great).
6. Pack in lunch.

There are a couple of variations of course.  Try with different types of apples, you can prepare with or without the apple skin, you can use natural lemon or lime juice rather than the bottled up version.  :)

I love how the simplest things can impress a child, while at the same time, they can be so unimpressed with the things we put such great effort into.  Forest Gump said it best with, "keep it simple stupid!"

Now pull out those apple, corer, slicers and start impressing your kids the simple way!  I hadn't used my "apple machine" in ages because it was shoved deep in the cupboard somewhere.  Now it sits on the counter and I use it everyday.

Let me know if you try it, and better yet, if your kids LOVE it!
~A