Somehow, it seems I’ve gotten myself into what appears to be a New Year’s resolution.  Since I’m not one to make resolutions, I guess it chose me by default.  In my attempt to use what we had on hand to cook and bake as much as possible this month, I decided to bake my son some treats to pack in his lunch for school.  My pantry is stuffed, so the possibilities are endless.

If you saw his lunch, you’d argue with me about whether it actually resembled what you or I might call a standard lunch, but it helps put calories in his tall lanky frame until he can come home in the early afternoon to eat another meal before dinner.

He’s fairly accommodating and knew I was going to be cutting back on my habitual trips to the grocery store, so readily agreed to go along with what looks like may become a Monday ritual.  Since I have absolutely no rituals, this should be interesting.

But I’m thinking about it, and like the idea:  1)  I can try many new recipes; 2) I know what ingredients are going into his treats since they’re coming out of my pantry; 3)  it will keep my pantry under control; and 4) I’d like to think it will save some money, but I truly wonder about it.  I’ll have to get out my calculator once in a while to figure it out.

With two weeks down and about 37 to go, I’m two for two, so can’t call my new practice a success yet, but I’ll keep you posted as the year unfolds.

Last week, the Resident Teen enjoyed a batch of Banana Chocolate Chip Bars.  I had some rather sad looking bananas sitting around and instead of putting them in the freezer for another day (and most likely trash day because months would go by before I used them…) I decided they’d go to good use as a lunch treat. 

Continue reading Banana Chocolate Chip Bars