Easy DIY Potato Chips

Healthy Food Idea for your Lunchboxes

I have always wanted to prepare foods from scratch.  But I'm not a kitchen pro, so it only happens when it does.  And for the most part, I'm a chicken when it comes to trying new stuffs.  I read food magazines, recipe books, and watch the Food Channel.  When I found an idea, I would bookmark, print, and imprint it in my memory.  But it all stops there.  I need a little push to try it. Simple inspiration like kids' request.

To make story short, last year I met someone who taught me how to make potato chips from scratch. With a tip to make it crisp and light.  And of course, with lots of kids' request, which made me push myself to make it a family's snack retreat on movie nights and play dates.

So what's the secret?

Make sure you cut it as paper thin as possible.  But don't worry if you can't.  They still taste good, but not as cripsy when their thinner.  My secret is to make use of a grater or peeler.  It takes a lot of practice, but worth the effort and time.

Look for a grater that has an elongated slot like shown above.  They will make your life easier.  It will help you cut potatoes in half the time.

Brine it.  The salt water solution draws the starch away from the potatoes, making it lighter and crisper to fry or bake.  Honestly, I haven't really tried baking it since we love potato chips fried and drained.  Plus, since it's already brined, it's not bland at all. They're as yummy as the pouched snacks.

Deep fry or Bake it. We do option 1, which is deep frying with vegetable oil.  I will try to bake them next time.  But first let me find out the right oven temp and correct length of time to bake it just right.

 

Drain and Serve. Drain excess oil well with paper towels, then serve.

 

I hope you enjoyed this little tutorial.  I have found this pretty easy to make and it's nice to know my family devour it on snack time, without the worries of any added MSG or preservatives to it.

Here are the lunches I packed with potato chips. Kids and adults love them just as much.

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Water Play & Butterfly Picnic Lunch

Today is the last day of my daughter's preschool after their formal graduation rites last Friday. They had 2 extra non-academic school days for Father's Day Craft, water play and picnic lunch.  It was unusual you might think, but they had 2 TV shooting day in the middle of the school year that interrupted instructional school days.  So to make up for that, they extended 2 extra fun days this week: Tuesday and Thursday.

Ms. A brought in butterfly PB&J sandwich and mini oreos on the pink silicone cups and Super V Berry juice pouch. School is providing fruits and veggies that's why you're not seeing anything packed here.

I also baked and brought in some treats that I forgot to make on the night of their graduation. Ms A and I made mini Double Chocolate Brownies, 2/kid for 12 kids. It's what the preschoolers wished for so I gave in. Pretty fortunate here that none of them have food allergies, so there's nothing to worry about.

Here they are having a picnic lunch. All sharing their lunch stories to each other. Pretty amazing how they hold their lunches.  These kids have grown so much that I am just so confident to send her to the big school this Fall.

Water play was more like a swim day. And for the protection of the children, I chose not to post any pictures of those wonderful memories on my blog. I'd forward them to their respective parents instead, so they have memories to cherish for a lifetime.

It's formally the end of the school year. This would be the last day you'd see me packing lunches for my kids unless I'm participating on a blog hop.  I'll see you next Fall!

Minnie Mouse

Sandwich Onigiris

Lunch & Snack: Feverish Little Sissy

My little girl is sick today and missed school. She's been complaining of right ear pain for a while. I was thinking of an ear infection, so we're seeing a doctor this afternoon.

Sad but she managed to fix her own lunch. Blame it all on the lunch picks. She was so excited to make use of our newest picks, and was encouraging me to get more animal sets, preferably those horses, zebras and ponies. Her first love :)

Her choice for lunch was gyoza and crackers, which she never finished. Well, she finished the crackers, and left the gyoza, which made it to my grumbling tummy.

For snack, I fixed her strawberry-kiwi jello, apple slices and chocolate rice krispies. And loads of cold water to keep the fever down.  I also offer a lot of popsicles to keep them hydrated and cool, especially when they don't feel like drinking. Jellos & yogurts are good when they're out of appetite.

We saw the doctor today and found out that she only has a cough with a fever. Her ears and throat are still okay, but advised us to return when fever and ear pain worsens, or she generally worsens. We're hoping she gets better though without the need for any antibiotics. She's not big on medicines. So it's never okay when there's frequent weather changes.  It will sure hit her.

Children's Museum

Today was my daughter's preschool fieldtrip to the La Habra Children's Museum. Two things were required: school shirt = CHECK and a sack lunch = UNDECIDED. I prepared 2 types of bentos enough for both of us. I made sure to pack all of her favorite foods so she would have choices in case her appetite won't cooperate.

I packed chicken nuggets with tangerine oranges and BBQ sauce on my little smidget. On my other bento box, I packed her favorite pineapple bread, strawberries and kiwi. I showed it her and she gave me 2 signs of approval. Her thumbs up and her huge smile. Perfect I thought! All set.

The kids were all lined up at the entrance of the museum as we purchased all the tickets for all the preschoolers, aides, and parents.  Parents paid for their own tickets.

 We were awed as we get in the museum. It was filled of wonderful stuffs that kids would love to touch and play with.  Full of stuff toys and motorized trains that run underneath it.  Very catchy indeed. Everyone got so excited.

Guitars, violins, pianos and other musical instruments are either hanged on the wall or laid down the ground for the kids to try and take pictures with. These are all working instruments. And the preschoolers had so much fun playing their own little music.  Everyone waited for their turns nicely as I watched and captured the moments. All pictures went to the school's page for parents to see.  Everything that went to my blog has the minimal exposure of kids for privacy-sake.

Here's one picture of a fellow parent who actually tried her feet on the incredible piano mat. It was fun, and everyone had their turns.

Above is a huge table of a train village that train lovers dreamed of. There were huge selections of cultural dress ups from some parts of the world too for girls  everyone to enjoy.

 

There is a wild exhibit of animals as well. This was when the kids got scared and hesitant to get in the room.  The animals looked so real.  It took time for them to warm up and pose for the camera. Everyone took the time out to explore and observe the animals very carefully.

We love the dance workshop.  It's the best ever. The preschoolers were divided into 2 different activities to try. This was one of the two, the other was the art activity. I'm so glad my daughter chose this coz it was fun to see them groove along the music. The instructor was spectacular.  I could see parents strut a move too. I was able to take a video of this coz it's quite impossible to capture this on a still image without a blur. Everyone's grooving like a pro. A definite awesome-ness!

The treehouse that connects to the stairs behind it. This is one of my favorite spots here. I'm glad that they haven't put it down since 3 years ago I was here. It's still beautiful and well-kept :) I have pictures of my kids on this treehouse.

 The picnic lunch where everyone brought in a sack lunch.  Most brought Lunchables and store-packed lunches. My girl was distracted to see that she's the only one who had a home-packed meal. She was a bit hesitant to eat her lunch. I told her that it's not what the other kids brought. It's about what mom packed for her and sealed it with love. I had to remind her that home-made meals are healthier because we know how it was prepared, and what it was made of. I should have been more creative with my lunches to her next time. If I created it with shapes, she could have been prouder to eat it with friends. 

An Afternoon Tea Party Playdate

Every little girl's dream is to become a princess and dine in royal parties and waltz all night long.  So why not give them a chance to be princesses for a day to celebrate their big dream and imagination all together.  Tea parties are for girls who love dress-ups and teas.  We threw a tea party playdate for our little girls and their preschool friends at another's mom's place last Saturday afternoon. It was not just any ordinary tea party.  We had them dressed-up with Sunday clothes and shoes.  Invitations were sent. Place cards were placed on a table of 8 with mantels and napkins.  Teas were served on hand-painted porcelain tea-pots.  Each girl had their own porcelain tea cups and saucers.  Fancy, isn't it?

Tea table set-up for our 8 little girls.  Complete with porcelain tea-cups and saucers, napkin wrapped utensils on porcelain plates, place cards and a flower bouquet centerpiece.