This arrived in my inbox overnight- This looks like a perfect opportunity for families with game-playing kiddos. We’ve had several Tryazon parties- They offer all kinds of opportunities from yummy foods to fun games and toys.
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Q-insights Parent/Child Cereal Survey Pays $125
Q-insights is another company that I do research groups, focus groups, and online surveys to earn extra money.
They have a lot of stuff in South Orange County, and less often San Diego County. These days they are doing most of their studies online via chat or online surveys.
Right now Q-Insights is currently recruiting for an online study on the topic of Breakfast Cereal.
Q-Insights is looking for males and females ages 30-49 nationwide that have a 6-12 year old child to participate in a 75-90 minute online focus group regarding breakfast cereal.
The survey pays $125 for participating. Your child would need to be present for about 45-60 minutes of the online focus group.
If you are interested, please fill out the Google Form here and one of their recruiters will call you.
Family Recipe: Fruit Salad
The other day I was chatting online with a group of friends and I mentioned making fruit salad. One of my younger friends asked, “Can you send me the recipe for that?”
I’ve never really thought about writing a recipe for fruit salad, since I’ve been making it since I was a kid. It was always a staple at family dinners with my maternal grandparents. My Grandma was known to make a literal punchbowl of fruit salad for parties.
This recipe does not make a punchbowl full. The nice thing about fruit salad is that you can put any kind of fruit into it, and if you don’t eat it all in one meal, it keeps in the fridge for a few days.
I change it up based on what comes in our CSA box each week, and based on which fruits are in season.
Grammie’s Fruit Salad
Ingredients:
- 2 Apples (any kind but red delicious, those are awful)
- 2 oranges
- 2 bananas (not overly ripe or they fall to mush)
- 3 cups berries, your choice (I recommend 2/1 ratio, sliced strawberries and blueberries)
- 1 ripe pineapple, cored and skinned. You can also use a can of pineapple tidbits in juice (juice drained off and fed to a kid) if fresh pineapple isn’t available.
Optional, but tasty when in season:
- 1 cup fresh peaches, skin removed
- 2 kiwis sliced, skin removed
- 1 mango, peeled and removed from the pit/core
Note: I don’t like melon in my fruit salad. If you do, add 1-2 cups of your favorite melon (Cantaloupe or Honey Dew hold up well in a fruit salad).
Directions:
- Clean, Chop/slice all of your fruit (not needed for blueberries). I try to make each kind of fruit bite-sized, but a different shape. That way it makes for a nice presentation.
- In a large mixing bowl, combine all of the fruit. If you omit the oranges, add 1 teaspoon of lemon juice and toss the fruit to coat. This keeps the apples from browning.
- Serve fruit salad cold as a side dish for any meal. If you like it spicy, serve it with Tajin on the side.
- Store any leftovers in the fridge for up to 3 days in a covered container.
Talk Back: What are your favorite fruits to include in Fruit Salad?
Santee School District Spring Break Meal Distribution
Like many other school districts, Santee School district will be handing out free lunches and breakfasts over the spring break.
On March 22, 2021 and March 29, 2021 at the district kitchen (9880 Riverwalk Drive, Santee, CA 92071) from 11:30-12:30, food for each week will be distributed. Please remember to mask up! The menu is listed below.
If you live outside Santee and know about other school districts distributing lunches/meals, please leave information or a link in the comments! Sharing is caring!
Free Food Resources for March 2021 (San Diego County)
I’m sorry this is a little late coming for March. Fear not, you haven’t missed out! There are still many free Neighborhood Distributions for this month!
You can still find resources here for Central and East County, and Here for North County.
Neighborhood Distributions for March 2021:
These Distributions are primarily produce/fruits & veg, however, some locations may also distribute canned goods, dairy, and bread.
Super Pantry Locations can be found here (this listing is countywide).
If you have a child attending public school in San Diego County, check to see if your school distributes free lunches daily.
In Eastern San Diego County, Grossmont Union High School District schools are distributing lunches to kids ages 2-18, Monday through Friday at various times (Check your closest school to find out exact times and locations within each school). They also do Pizza Fridays, where each kid receives a pizza, drink, salad, plus food to be eaten over the weekend. It is definitely more than enough food to keep kids fed over the weekend.
Forgive the blurriness of this picture, but Grossmont Union High School District will be giving out two family meals over their Spring Break. Monday, March 15, 2021 and Monday March 22, 2021. The offers vary by week, but it’s a great chance to pick up some extra food to feed the kiddos. Yes, I know it says March 2020, but it is for this year.
If you know of other resources, please leave a comment! And feel free to share this post with anyone you may know in need.
Looking for Fun, Free TV for Kids 2-11? Kartoon Channel is Here!
Kartoon Channel! is filled with wall-to-wall with Fun, Family-Friendly, and Free shows for kids from ages 2-11. Available for download wherever you get your apps.
- Kartoon Channel! shows will keep kids entertained.
- Kartoon Channel! shows are safe for everyone to watch.
- Kartoon Channel! has great shows for kids 0-11. Some favorites are Super Simple Songs, Rainbow Rangers, Llama Llama, Hatchimals, The Wubbulous World of Doctor Seuss.
- Kartoon Channel is great for family co-viewing.
- Viewers can download the app, absolutely free, on their smart TV, mobile device, or tablet.
I downloaded the Kartoon Channel! app this morning, I know the kids are eager to find something new to watch.
3/8/2021 Weekly Meal Plan!
Our second CSA Box is being delivered today! To learn more about Yasukochi Family Farms and our first box, click here. A lot of our meals this week are going to be veggie-heavy. We eat a lot of produce anyway, but now we’re eating more local produce!
I hit up the grocery store over the weekend for some much-needed bread, milk, and butter. I’m waiting for the grocery ads to come out for this week to see if I can find some deals on chicken or beef. I really would like to make a meatloaf to have for lunch this week (and meatloaf sandwiches for another lunch).
For those of you that are new to meal planning, I’ve got an easy 101 style post here with super easy tips and steps. After you get that down, here is info about batch or freezer cooking.
I’ve gotten a pretty good inventory of the pantry, freezer, and fridge done (I try to update it after every shopping trip), so I’m able to plan meals and use up what we’ve got with little waste. If you are looking for a kitchen inventory printable, I like the kitchen inventories here. They are great printables.
I only post our dinner plans for the week, because our other meals are usually the same each day.
Breakfast: Coffee with 1/2 and 1/2 for me, and pancakes or something along those lines for the kids. The kids are nuts about pancakes. The Big Kid has been on a protein shake kick in the AM.
Lunch: The little kiddo and I usually have something quick and filling (I’ve been prepping bean and rice bowls on Sundays for us to have during week) so we can get back to our adventures. Big kid takes his lunch to school.
Dinner: Usually, I do a crockpot meal on Mondays, but now that we are home all the time, we’ve been having an odd combination of fully home-cooked, scratch meals, and frozen entrees and veggies. I have been posting our meal plans on Instagram too- As well as pics of stuff we are doing to keep busy.
- Sunday: Badas Burgers (it’s an amazing food truck that’s taken up residence across the street from our house- so dangerous!)
- Monday: Salad, Nuggets, fries
- Tuesday: Entrees & Fruit Salad
- Wednesday: Breakfast for dinner: Pancakes, Eggs (scrambled with veggies and cheese), fruit
- Thursday: Skillet casserole, roasted veggies
- Friday: Pizza Night!
- Saturday: Leftover Fiesta
Please stay safe you guys! The sooner we flatten the curve, the sooner life can go back to normal- whatever that means.
Talk Back: What are you cooking for dinner this week?
New Recipe: Banana Bread in a Cake Pan!
I’ll admit: I don’t have a loaf pan. I did, but it died. It was metal, and after 10+ weeks of weekly use… ::Sad Trombone:: I know I should buy a glass one (I have my eye on this one), but until then, I’m making do with what I’ve got.
And what I’ve got is a glass cake pan. Specifically a 9×9 glass cake pan, like this one. I looked online for some ideas about baking times and temps and reworked my usual recipe. The best part of this recipe is that the bread is moist, fluffy/airy with a good crumb. It is not dense or heavy at all.
Banana Bread
Ingredients:
- 3 ripe/over ripe bananas, mashed (about 1 1/2 cups)
- 1 cup white sugar
- 1/2 cup room temp/softened butter or coconut oil
- 2 eggs
- 1 teaspoon vanilla
- 1 1/2 teaspoon baking soda
- 2 cups Kodiak Cakes Power Cakes Flapjack and Waffle Mix Whole Grain (Buttermilk variety)
Directions:
- Preheat oven to 350 degrees, spray 9×9 glass baking dish with spray release.
- In a small dish, mash up bananas, set aside.
- In a large mixing bowl, cream butter/coconut oil for about 30 seconds-1 minute until light and fluffy.
- Add sugar, beat until combined and fluffy.
- Beat in eggs one at a time.
- Add bananas and vanilla, and blend until the wet ingredients are all incorporated.
- Add baking soda and Kodiak Mix. Stir to combine.
- Pour into the prepared 9×9 glass baking dish.
- Bake for 35-40 minutes. Test with toothpick in the center of the bread for doneness.
This recipe makes 1 9×9 cake pan, which is approximately 9-12 servings, depending on how big you like the pieces.
My kids like this bread toasted with either butter or cream cheese. It never lasts long.
Tom & Jerry The Movie Drops Tomorrow (02/26/2021)
If you follow me on Instagram, you know I received a HUGE box of goodies from Warner Bros. and Tom & Jerry to celebrate the release of their movie. Tom & Jerry The Movie comes to Theaters and HBO Max tomorrow 2/26/2021.
I grew up watching Tom & Jerry Cartoons, and I’ve shown some to my kids too. They love the crazy antics and adventures. We are looking forward to watching the movie Friday night on HBO Max.
About the Movie:
One of the most beloved rivalries in history is reignited when Jerry moves into New York City’s finest hotel on the eve of “the wedding of the century,” forcing the event’s desperate planner, Kayla, to hire Tom to get rid of him, in director Tim Story’s “Tom and Jerry.” The ensuing cat and mouse battle threatens to destroy her career, the wedding, and possibly the hotel itself. But soon, an even bigger problem arises: a diabolically ambitious staffer conspiring against all three of them.
An eye-popping blend of classic animation and live-action, Tom and Jerry’s new adventure stakes new ground for the iconic characters and forces them to eventually do the unthinkable… work together to save the day.
If you want to get into some mayhem and mischief, check out these awesome goodies and activities to get your family ready for the movie!
AR Lens
Games
Activity Pack
“Tom and Jerry” stars Chloë Grace Moretz (“Neighbors 2: Sorority Rising,” “The Addams Family”), Michael Peña (“Cesar Chavez,” “American Hustle,” “Ant-Man”), Colin Jost (“How to be Single,” “Saturday Night Live”), Rob Delaney (“Deadpool 2,” “Fast & Furious Presents: Hobbs & Shaw”), Pallavi Sharda (“Lion”), Jordan Bolger (“Peaky Blinders”), Patsy Ferran (“Darkest Hour”), Nicky Jam (TV’s “Nicky Jam: El Ganador”), Bobby Cannavale (“The Irishman,” “Ant-Man and the Wasp”), Lil Rel Howery (“Judas and the Black Messiah,” “The Angry Birds Movie 2”), and Ken Jeong (“Crazy Rich Asians,” “The Hangover,” “Transformers: Dark of the Moon”).The film was directed by Tim Story (“Fantastic Four,” “Think Like a Man,” “Barbershop”) and produced by Chris DeFaria (“The LEGO Movie 2,” “Ready Player One,” “Gravity”).
Love Crafting? Dollar Tree’s Crafter’s Square is Bigger & Better than Ever!
** This post also contains affiliate links and I will be compensated if you make a purchase after clicking on my links.
All Dollar Tree locations now sport an expanded craft section!
Some of my favorite items include acrylic paint, staple-backed canvases, paintbrushes, pallets, watercolors, art paper, yarn, wood crafts, scrapbooking stickers, and more!
And if you need some inspiration, check out some of these great ideas:
Get Inspiration from Dollar Tree’s Crafts & Décor Blog!
Shop Holiday Craft Supplies!
Get Creative with Wood Crafts!
Reveal a World of Color with Dollar Tree’s affordable Paint Supplies!
Get Ready for Spring with Floral Crafts!
When you shop online, you can take advantage of FREE shipping when you choose to have your order shipped to your local Dollar Tree store for pickup! It’s easy, convenient, and saves you money on shipping costs. You can learn more about In-Store Pickup here!
We shop weekly at Dollar Tree, and a trip is never complete without cruising the craft section and picking up a few goodies!
Hewes Family Fun 