Last Monday, my daughter and I were on a morning TV program together.  We both were pretty excited.  She just thought it would be fun to be on TV, I thought it would be good exposure for my blog and a great chance to advertise my new book.  We were going to make a Despicable Me 2 lunch live, along with talking about some lunch boxes for back to school time.

It took a bunch of prep and travel time, but we did it.  It went by fast and overall I was happy with it.  Except for one thing.  We were supposed to talk about my book and we never did.  First I was frustrated with the interviewer, then I was irritated with myself for not bringing it up.  By the afternoon, my attitude had started to cloud the whole experience.

Then I talked to my daughter.  She was very excited.  She told me how much fun she had with me.  She didn’t care about book sales or advertising my blog.  All she was thinking about was the experience she had with her dad.  It was a great reminder that sometimes we as parents make memories with our kids too complicated.  Most times, all they want to do is to hangout with their dad.

As it turns out, it was a “despicable” time with my daughter, but only because we made some Despicable Me minions for lunch.  Do you want to have a despicable time with your kids too?  Follow the recipe below, it looks detailed but it is pretty easy—and really fun!

Despicable Me 2 Minion Lunch

Despicable Me 2 Minion Lunch

Ingredients:
–1 banana cut in half with the ends cut off
–Blue and black markers
–2 pieces of Nori (dried seaweed) cut in the shape of goggles as shown
–3 small circles of white cheese for eyes
–3 small pieces of raisins for eyes
–1 piece of lettuce for the background
–1 slice of whole wheat bread cut in four squares
–1 handful of trail mix
–1 serving of grilled chicken cut into strips
–1 slice of cheese cut into squares
–Cheese cut into “ME 2” as shown
–Tool shaped stickers for decoration, if desired
Directions:
1.  Draw blue overalls on the bananas.  They are shaped like an “H”.  Wrap nori goggles around them first, then place white cheese on top, with the raisin pieces put on after that.  Moisten the nori on the back to get it to stay on the banana.  You may use a piece of toothpick to hold each eye in place if you choose.  Finish the bananas by drawing black hair with a marker and mouths as shown.
2.  Place lettuce in your container.  Put the banana minions on top and place the pieces of bread above them.
3.  Use a side dish for the trail mix (I used almonds and dried cranberries).  Arrange the cheese letters and number to spell out “ME 2.”  For simplicity you may use tool stickers in the place of these letters.
4.  In another side dish alternative chicken strips and cheese.  Stick tool stickers to toothpicks and insert in lunch wherever you want to decorate.