An Aussie Apple.

Here lately, I've been on the hunt for healthier school snacks and lunches that I can send with the kids. I like the same old things and tend to get in a rut. A peanut butter & jelly sandwich will work most any day, but who wants to eat that EVERY day? I'm sure my son wouldn't mind, but that's beside the point. I need to mix it up and I found a neat trick for apples in my search process. It's called an Aussie Apple. Quite simple really, but I've never thought about preparing one quite like this. In the past, I always felt that pre-slicing the apples was the way to go. Problem is they turn brown and appear unappetizing to children. I usually cut a lemon and squeeze juice over my slices to prevent this, but sometimes I don't have lemons lying around. This might be a good time to point out that I live approx. 10 miles away from the nearest grocery store too. I guess people have the same problem in parts of Australia too because this is where the idea for this apple originated (or so I'm told). Take your apple and slice off the four "cheeks" into four parts. You'll be left with the core intact and kind of square shaped. Next, put the apple back together, like a puzzle, and take a clean rubber band and secure around the apple. Your child can remove the rubber band at snack time and the apple will already be sliced. Keeping it together like that also prevents it from turning brown. Isn't that a neat idea? And the core can be easily discarded into the trash. No seeds! I can't believe I haven't heard of this before now. I got this idea off of anotherlunch.com. It's a neat site that is dedicated to kids lunch menus. If you know of more sites like that, then leave me a comment and give me the address. Have a great night!