Pinwheels at the Playscape

 I woke up Saturday morning with a hankering for lunch meat "pinwheels"- that's what I've always called them, anyway.  Meat, cheese, and veggies wrapped up in a soft tortilla- yum! See, I eat healthy sometimes and even have a health food hankering!  Told ya.

My sister and I have a standing Saturday evening night out with our boys.  Her son, Matthew, is 18 months old; my son is not even two and a half.  She lives just a few minutes away, my mom often babysits the two while we are at work, and my sister and I are really close.  So our boys are BFFs, to put it mildly.  Whenever they see each other they start squealing and laughing and then they yell and grunt at each other.  Boys are weird.

This past Saturday, the Saturday upon which I had a hankering for health food, we planned to take the boys to a nearby natural playscape after their naps.  It is at Rowe Woods, part of the Cincinnati Nature Center.  My sister is a pass-holder and I had never been to the PlayScape.  Well, I take that back.  I went once but my car broke down on the way and so I made it there (rolling in) and had to call someone to come get me.  So that doesn't count.

My sweet sister, Jess, and her little guy, Matt

Ok- so the pinwheels.  These little things are so yummy and perfect for a picnic at the park.  I placed Reed on his usual spot on the counter-top and made these babies in just a couple of minutes.  Super fun, easy, and healthy!

The ingredients are pretty simple, and you could definitely add or take away according to your tastes.  I chose plain flour tortillas, thinly sliced ham, thinly sliced swiss cheese, lettuce, tomato, and this nifty chive-flavored cream cheese.  

This stuff is soooo good!  I saw garden vegetable flavored as well, maybe I'll try that next time to compare.  The chive was really yummy and flavorful and saved me the work of chopping up herbs to mix into cream cheese.

Start by dicing a tomato and cutting the lettuce.  I chose to slice the lettuce in long strips to make it easier to lay on the tortilla.

Next, scoop about about 2 tablespoons of cream cheese and spread it evenly across the tortilla.

Well thanks, Reed.

Told you this cream cheese is good!  And, yes, he used the same spoon to continue spreading the cheese.  We faithfully double dip in this household, too.

Okay!  Next, lay out the lunch meat on the tortilla.  I left about an inch on the edges because the meat will shift when you roll it.  I really loved how Reed could make this with me.  I try to get him involved in the kitchen as much as possible.  It never fails- if he makes it, he will try it and probably like it.

Then layer on the cheese. I chose Swiss because I am obsessed with Swiss cheese above all other cheeses, and that is a very high compliment. I think cheddar would be great, too. You really can't go wrong with cheese in my world.

See how there is a space along this edge?  That is so important to have or you will have lunch meat and cheese hanging out of the roll up. 

Go ahead and add your other ingredients.  I laid out the lettuce in a single layer and sprinkled the lettuce with tomato.  Delish!  Time to roll up!

Make sure you roll as tightly as possible. Then, if you have time, wrap the rolled tortilla in plastic wrap and refrigerate it for an hour or so. This makes everything stick together and helps the tortilla get nice and soft from the cream cheese.

When you are ready to slice, cut off the ends first so all of your pinwheels are even and pretty.  Slice along the roll-up around every inch or so.

Ta-da!  Beautiful pinwheels!  I made some veggie-free ones in case the boys decided to be picky on our picnic.  Toddlers...

We packed them up and headed to the natural PlayScape!  We ate as soon as we arrived so the boys would be able to play uninterrupted.  As you can see by Reed's trademark stuffed face, these were successful.  That face gives me such satisfaction.

Once we finished eating, we set the boys loose in the PlayScape.  It was creatively designed and I think Matt and Reed felt like they were on an adventure or quest or something.  There were tunnels, bridges, rocks, sticks, and little hidden play areas everywhere.

Little explorers!

After they played for a while, we went outside of the PlayScape to Matt's pond, a boardwalk/nature area where you can see all kinds of animals.  On the way there are little nature education stops that I found really interesting.  I know Reed will love these kinds of things too once he gets older.  They had everything from leaves, to fossils, to composting, and everything in between.  But for now, the boys ran past the educational parts screaming as loud as they could, chasing each other and disturbing all nearby wildlife.  What else do adventurers do in the wild?

The pond was definitely my favorite part.  We saw a turtle and a goose.  It took Reed a while to figure out what we were doing because he really wanted to swim.  But once he realized I was not going to let him swim in the cold, muddy pond and disturb all of the wildlife and break all of the rules, he was cool and was really excited about all of the things he saw.  The boardwalk is literally right on the water and it is so serene and beautiful.  This goose kind of freaked him out though- they literally swim right along the boardwalk!  Boy won't forget what a goose looks like now!  Ha.

Our pinwheets and playscape outing was a big success.  The boys were not only completely worn out by the time we got home (mission accomplished) but I really think they learned a lot, too!  You can check out the Rowe Woods playscape and other information about the Cincinnati Nature Center here.


Easy Ham and Cheese Pinwheels
Makes 4 servings

Ingredients
- 4 flour tortillas
- 8 slices of Swiss cheese
- 12 slices of deli ham
- Chive or Garden Veggie cream cheese
- Lettuce
- Tomato

Spread about 2 tablespoons of cream cheese evenly over each tortilla.  Layer ham, cheese, lettuce, and tomato.  Roll tightly.  Wrap in plastic wrap and refrigerate for 1-2 hours.
Remove plastic wrap and slice rolls every inch.  Refrigerate until you are ready to eat.  Enjoy!