Muffin Tin Meals FAQ

This photo is property of MuffinTinMom.com

Re-posting this for all of the new email and RSS subscribers. Welcome!
(Originally posted on June 11, 2009)

I'll be adding to this as the questions keep coming in, so bookmark it so if you ever need to know a little more about Muffin Tin Monday or Muffin Tin Meals

*Muffin Tin Mom is the Official home of Muffin Tin Monday and the Muffin Tin Meal.

What is a exactly is a Muffin Tin Meal?
Pretty simple here. It's a meal, snack, or dessert served in a muffin tin. For Muffin Tin Mondays we make them for our kids, but anyone can have a muffin tin meal! A muffin tin is also known as a muffin pan, cupcake tin or cupcan pan and for our purposes here, we also use silicone and paper baking cups, pans and tins.

What is Muffin Tin Monday?
A weekly blog link up, every Monday here at the Official Home of Muffin Tin Monday, Muffin Tin Mom, where we get together and link up posts about the Muffin Tin Meal we make for our kids. Sometimes there is a theme, and sometime there isn't.

Gimme the basics. How do I get started? A muffin tin + food is a you really need.
To get ideas you can browse other blogger's MTM submissions and browse the archives here at Muffin Tin Mom. A wonderful reader put together a post on squidoo about Muffin Tin Monday that shares product ideas and much more. Not sure if her links are affiliates, but I loved what she put together.

Did you come up with this idea? I've seen this on a lot of blogs
This blog carnival originated (the summer of '08) with Katy over at Sycamore Stirrings. When she moved to Luxembourg, she passed it on to me (an avid participant at the time and now 4 year host). Katy originated Muffin Tin Meals on the Internet, and they have gained increasing recognition since this blog carnival has increased in popularity over the last 4 years. I hear that Dr. Sears has something similar, like a "nibble tray". That's awesome. He encourages "grazing" as a way to get picky eaters to eat more food. We don't use muffin tins for grazing, but respect Dr. Sears. I've also seen some blogs showcase an icecube tray. That's super cute too. I would love for you to participate in Muffin Tin Monday! I host it every Monday, here at Muffin Tin Mom. "Muffin Tin Monday" is the property of this blog and if you decide to participate and post about it, I would greatly appreciate a link back to Muffin Tin Mom. If you've seen it on another blog, then that person most likely saw it here, from Katy, or from someone who saw it from someone who saw it from...you get the idea. 


How old you children have to be? 
If they are eating finger foods, then they are ready for Muffin Tin Meals. However, I would advise to always cut the food up into toddler sized pieces and to wait until they can eat from a plate. Follow your pediatrician's guidelines in making your meal age appropriate for you kids. Many moms of toddlers say that their child loved it, but would turn over the muffin tin and dump all the contents out. As for an age maximum...My children are 8 and 7 and still love them, I give them bigger portion sizes. They are great for adults too for portion control, baked potato toppings and fondue toppings, etc.

How often are there themes?
We no longer do official themes, however, I am considering bringing them back. However, in the meantime, feel free to do your own theme for Muffin Tin Monday. All are welcome. For a list of theme ideas: be sure to visit the Muffin Tin Meals Themes page.

What is the purpose for Muffin Tin Meals? Serving a meal in a muffin tin to kids has many benefits including: breaking up the lunchtime routine, serving foods in smaller more manageable portions for little mouths and introducing them to new foods in a fun and interesting way! It's a win for you: They eat. It's a win for them: It's fun.

Why did you do themes? 
Making the Muffin Tin Meals "themed" gradually became a mainstay of Muffin Tin Monday. Over the summer months a few years ago, we took a break from themes and currently no longer do themed weeks You are always welcome to make up your own themed MTM and submit it to the blog carnival on Mondays. But, making a themed muffin tin meal is not necessary to participating each week. To see my thoughts on this be sure to watch my Muffin Tin Monday vlog

I want to do a themed muffin tin, do you have a list of ideas?
Sure do.  The Muffin Tin Meal Theme Idea page and How to create your own themed muffin tin meal.


Are there any official rules?

Please include a link back to Muffin Tin Mom, so that your viewers can see other muffin tin meals. This is considered good blog etiquette. The post must include a Muffin Tin Meal, but doesn't necessarily have to be theme related. And lastly...and this is important...please include your direct post's link (the url, also called the permalink) and not the link of your blog/homepage, as this greatly inhibits your visitors from finding your muffin tin meal post after Monday is over. If you are unsure of how to do this, just email me and I'll explain it! Divided plates and bento boxes are wonderful, but for our purposes please stick to muffin tins, cups and liners. Thanks!

Where can I find those super cute shaped tins,food picks, silicone pans and muffin cups? I must have them. Now.
I shop for mine many places:

• Michael's Arts and Crafts has a great supply of Wilton brand baking tins and cups. Wilton brand is a favorite of mine. They have quality products at affordable prices and they are available in stores. Ia lso love the Martha Stewart line of treat wrappers.
• Japanese Bento Box Supplies work great for Muffin Tin Meals. Google "bento supplies" or you can search Amazon. 
• Bake It Pretty is an online retailer of baking supplies that has adorable paper cups.
• allthingsforsale.com
• Pick On Us has a wide variety of food picks and skewers that are great for Muffin Tin Monday
• Can't afford those options? I check local thrift stores all the time.

What if I want to make my own food picks, cookie cutters, etc? Here are a few great tutorials you can try:

How to make food picks from perler beads

How to make food picks from polymer clay

How to make flag picks (with free MTM printable)

How do I store it all? 

Here is a great post on storage for all your MTM supplies 

Do I have to have a blog to participate? Not at all! But in order for us to see your submission, it must be uploaded somewhere on the web. So if you don't have a blog, then uploading it to a photo-sharing site like flickr.com works best. Then, come back to MTM, and link it up by clicking on the blue "add your link" button in the current weeks Muffin Tin Monday post. If you post via Facebook, be sure to set that photo to "public".

Submissions are accepted all week long via the most recent Muffin Tin Monday post.

 If you have any FAQ's you think should be included or want answered, leave me a comment!

Citrus Almond Champagne Cake Recipe

This is one of those simple cake recipes that will surely leave the tummies of all who eat it happy and satisfied. Easy cake recipes that are both easy and delicious can be hard to find. This Citrus Almond Champagne Cake is both. Serve it a baby shower, birthday or dinner party or like I did: Just because.



After reading about the Country Cook’s yummy 7-Up Cake, I was truly inspired. Her cake looks and sounds delicious. I was mulling over what I could do to add a “twist”. Not that it needed anything, but I wanted to make it my own. Enter champagne. We have had plenty of strawberries in the house lately (Thank you early strawberry season in California). So I thought “Ohh! Strawberries and Champagne Cake.”
Only one problem: It’s been done. A LOT.
But I still wanted to bake a cake with champagne in it. It sounded fun and I wanted to see how it would taste...What to do...I decided to blend the cake recipes together and create my own version. One with less ingredients. Because I had never made it before I wasn’t quite sure how it was going to turn out.

Here’s the recipe:


Citrus Almond Champagne Cake
Ingredients:

• 1 box white cake mix
• 1 cup/8oz. Orange Almond Champagne (or Sparkling Wine) The brand I got is made by Wilson Creek, called “Orange Mimosa”.
• 3 eggs

Directions:

• Preheat the oven to 350 degrees
• Mix Ingredients in a stand mixer or bowl and pour into a greased bundt pan
• Bake at 350 according to the box directions (our oven is finicky and ended up being done at 30 mintues)

Allow to cool, before you add the frosting. If you don’t the heat from the cake will absorb the frosting (not necessarily bad I guess).


Citrus Champagne Frosting

• 1/4 cup of orange juice
• 1/4 cup champagne (can omit and sub in more orange juice)
• 1 lb of powdered sugar (I made mine with about 3/4 of a lb.)

**In a bowl, pour in champagne and OJ, slowly add in the powdered sugar and whisk as you go, mixing it to the desired consistency.
**Pour frosting over cooled bundt cake. Top with chopped almonds if desired.

Tips:

• If you have any frosting left over, serve in a small bowl along side the champagne cake (warmed perhaps?), so you can pour on more if desired. (I love frosting).
• The alcohol is not necessary for this simple cake recipe, so if you want to make a more kid-friendly version you can make the 7-Up cake I linked to above, or substitute sparkling cider for the champagne (Cream soda might be yummy).

Baked Spinach and Herb Tortilla Chips Recipe

I am guest posting today over at San Diego Deals and Steals with my recipe for healthy shamrock-shaped homemade tortilla chips (We made good use of those spinach and herb tortillas! ). Hope you enjoy!

***If you decide to pin this recipe, PLEASE click over and pin from San Diego Deals and Steals, and not this post out of courtesy to that site. Thank you!

Spring Salad Recipe with Strawberries Goat Cheese and Balsamic Dressing

One of the many ways to get your kids excited about eating fresh local foods is to take them along on shopping trips. Take them to local fruit stands or farmer’s market. Seeing fresh fruit and vegetables outside the grocery store breaks the mystery about where food comes from.

 In an intimate setting like a farm, fruit stand, or farmer’s market, you can get up close and personal with local sellers. It becomes and enriching experience for the whole family.

We went to our local farmer’s market last weekend and enjoyed some delicious strawberries, snap peas, and blood oranges. If you are low on funds. Bring with you a small amount of cash and sample only a few items. Many booths will let you “try before you buy”. You can see my daughter sampling a strawberry in the photo above.

(strawberries and blood oranges)

The more you go to farmer's markets, the more you will know how certain booths price their fruit; which ones are certified organic and which ones have organic practices, but don’t have the certification.
If you can’t make it to the farmer’s market, your local grocery store may carry organic and local alternatives (and don’t forget to to check what’s on the clean 15/dirty dozen list). but, be sure to do your research.

I made a delicious spring salad (recipe below) with the strawberries we bought.


Spring Salad with Strawberries, Goat Cheese and Balsamic Dressing





Ingredients
Organic salad greens with spinach
Fresh sliced local organic strawberries (about 1 basket full)
Goat Cheese (4-8 oz, crumbled)
Favorite Balsamic dressing

**Toss together and serve!

Muffin Tin Monday: Green!

Welcome to Muffin Tin Monday! Today’s unofficial theme is “Green Foods” in celebration of St. Patrick’s Day coming up. Green foods is one of my favorite themes because there are so many healthy options out there! Healthy and creative = Win!

Here’s what I made for the kids this week:

This “Green” Muffin Tin Lunch includes: Ham and mozzarella tortilla roll ups, green grapes, green granny smith apples, raw organic spinach leaves (thanks Organic Girl!), broccoli florets.


We also have been making good use of the Spinach and Herb Tortillas!




Ham and Mozzarella Tortilla Roll Ups (in Spinach and Herb Tortillas)
Recipe:

• Shred mozzarella cheese onto an open spinach and herb tortilla.
• Add some deli sliced ham
• Roll up and pop in the microwave for 30 seconds (microwave cooking times may vary).
• Slice into fourths and serve as a snack by it’s self or in a muffin tin.
• This recipe might also work with the Shamrock Quesadilla I made last week.

And in case you missed yesterday’s post, I made Rainbow Cupcake Liner paper dolls



Now it’s your turn! Want to participate in this week’s Muffin Tin Monday link up? Submit your photo of a muffin tin meal by clicking the blue “add your link” button.

Cupcake Liner Paper Dolls

This weekend, I made little paper dolls from cupcake liners. You know how I love cupcake liner crafts. Because sometimes I am just a little girl at heart, I made up little back stories for each of them. This one likes strawberries and likes to help mom in the kitchen, that one likes pancakes and plays make believe.

Meet the Muffin Cup Cuties:
Zoe, Joy, Kayla, Kya, Monica and Paige, Abby and Cindy



I made the rainbow cupcake liner paper dolls out of Martha Stewart cupcake liner treat wrappers and heavy weight cardtock. Muffin Tin Girl named a few, I named a few.

How to:

• Fold the cupcake liner in half and in half again until it forms a triangle for the dress, making sure to leave it as untouched and poofed out as possible (the more you touch it, the more it will wrinkle).
• Using a circle punch, or circle cutter, cut out a small circle for the head.
• Draw on some eyes and a mouth.
• Cut a circle for the hair the same size as the head. Cut it in half. Trim and play around with it to make a hairstyle. use your imagination.
• Using adhesive, glue the hair to the head.
• Freehand scissor cut some arms, angling the ends.
• Glue the arms to the cupcake liner dress, inserting them into the folds of the liner (I cut a slit in one side).
• Glue the head to the very tippy top of the liner (as shown). I used a liquid quick dry adhesive.
• Add embellishments as desired.
• They should stand up on their own. If they don’t, add a dab of glue to a small square of cardsock and set her on top.

It was hard to choose a favorite, I love them all. But Joy holds a special place in my heart. Cancer may be ugly, but bald is beautiful.

Toddler Muffin Tin Lunch

 This simple meal served in a muffin tin is perfect for the little toddler in your life or anyone who wants to nibble on little bites. Muffin Tin Meals are a great way to get toddlers, preschoolers, and children to try new foods in a  fun and engaging way. To learn more, visit the Muffin Tin Meal FAQ page



In this Muffin Tin Meal for a toddler: 

• Puzzle piece mini ham sandwiches
• Sliced green grape pieces
• Mini orange slices
• Slices string cheese circles 
• Fresh spinach leaves (A stretch I know, but my kids love them)

Creating little-ish foods was fun!

I love The Lunch Punch brand sandwich cutters. They are easy to use and come in a variety of fun and engaging shapes for toddlers, preschoolers, and children.

For today's muffin tin lunch, I used the puzzle piece cutter. It's part of a 4 pack. The cutters are also dishwasher safe, which is a huge bonus for me. Find out more at TheLunchPunch.com



Disclosure: I was not compensated by The Lunch Punch to write about them. 


I would love to know what your toddler's favorite food is!

Green Shamrock Kids Lunch Snack

St. Patrick’s Day is coming up and I thought I would share this simple and fun St. Patrick’s Day Shamrock lunch for kids.  Being that I have a good amount of Irish blood in me, I thought it would be fun to feed the kids a shamrock-shaped treat.

To make this easy and festive St. Patrick’s Day lunchtime treat for kids,
you will need a few things:

• Spinach & Herb Flour Tortillas (We used Mission Brand)
• Cheese of your choice, shredded or thinly sliced
• Heart-shaped mini food cutter
• Knife/or Pizza cutter

  
  

  Here’s the “How to”

• Lay the tortilla flat on a plate
• Add shredded cheese or your choice (We used Swiss) and fold in half.
• Cook it in a pan on medium heat flipping halfway through until the cheese is melted.
• Or just pop in the microwave for a about 30-45 seconds
• Using a heart shaped cutter, cut out 3 hearts and
• Using a pizza roller, cut a thin triangulated edge for the stem

Arrange the mini green quesadilla hearts in a shamrock shape and serve with fresh fruit muffin cups.

There you have it, a green shamrock quesadilla lunch perfect for the kids on St. Patrick's Day

Muffin Tin Monday: Rainbow Muffin Tin Snack

We are nursing some serious sickness over here in the Muffin Tin Household. Definitely on the mend, but the last week has been crazy.

As St. Patrick’s Day and spring approaches, I though it would be fun to celebrate with a rainbow fruits and veggies themed Muffin Tin Snack. Oh how we love fresh fruit!




In this muffin tin snack: Red Strawberries, Orange Carrot sticks, Yellow Banana slices, Green Cucumbers, Blue Blueberries, and Purple Plums


I used Martha Stewart’s delightful rainbow colored paper treat wrappers from Michael’s.




Get your Rainbow on with these fun activities and products:
-Inspire kids to eat from the Rainbow every day with fun Today I Ate The Rainbow Chart
-Play the Crunch-a-Color game
-Make a finger print rainbow
-Paint a water color rainbow craft with Make and Takes