sure wish I'd thought of that...

Muffin Tin Monday, that is.  I suppose it doesn't matter who thought of it, just that I found it...and I wish I'd done that sooner.  The host blog, Her Cup Overfloweth (which inherited it from the originator, I believe), is darling, and there are all sorts of fun things to jazz things up--themes!--but I kept things simple for starters.

I bought a silicone 6-muffin "tin" at Joann (50% off!), and brainstormed.

Week one (last Monday), I came up with this:

And was received like this:

Carrots, apple slices, raisins & cashews, homemade tortilla chips, hot dog chunks (his favorite!), and a sliced string cheese.  He liked it, though that could have had something to do with this:

Today--I know, it's Tuesday!--I did this:

Happier still!  And no chocolate this week.  I already love how this forces me to think of foods I wouldn't otherwise have cooked, and since the focus is on the muffin tin and the novelty, it's off the "new" foods--which leads to some adventurousness I don't often see at mealtime. 

Today's selection (he counted them on his fingers as he named them--love that!): cheddar cheese cubes, blueberry yogurt (usually reserved for weekend breakfast with Daddy), cantaloupe, p b & j cut into tiny cubes (isn't it so true that kids love tiny things?), cucumber slices, and--the runaway winner--roasted chick peas.  Which were successful in that he liked them, but moreso in that he tried them--we've got a pretty picky eater here--with only a bit of crunching theatrics from mom.