Innovation is an integral part of our school design at Zeta and is woven into our day-to-day practice—in the classroom, in the Network office, and everywhere in between, including all the kitchens and teacher workrooms. While I, for one, am definitely missing the constant supply of new ingredients and snacks, home kitchens are also places for innovation.

I would wager that two out of every three people who read this list have pretzel sticks somewhere in their cabinets/pantry/etc. I would also wager that every person who reads this is not utilizing those pretzel sticks to their fullest potential. Read on to hear some additional suggested uses:

PB&J Addition
For me, no peanut butter and (strawberry) jelly sandwich is complete unless it has a good crunch. Pretzel sticks can do that with the addition of just a few. Obviously, they should be placed on the peanut butter side of the sandwich rather than the jelly side, but I can guarantee this little trick will elevate your PB&J game to the next level.

Mac and Cheese
Similar to PB&Js, I am a major proponent of adding a crunch to my Mac and Cheese. Especially a salty crunch. While there are definitely arguments to be had over which out-of-the-box brand is best (Annie’s white cheddar shells is the answer) and whether or not bread crumbs should be added on top if it’s baked (duh), I am always going to add some pretzel sticks at the end to finish it off.

Chicken Crust
Making some breaded chicken but don’t have any bread crumbs in the cabinet? Pretzel sticks have your back! Put them into a plastic baggie, break out a hammer (or other hard object), and get to smashing. Don’t smash too hard or you’ll break the baggie and your entire kitchen will have a perma-dusting of pretzel dust, but grind them up until you have itty bitty bits that you can then coat some chicken (or whatever you want) with. Also consider dipping in some egg or cream mixture to get them to stick.

Sauce Mop
Pretzel sticks can go with anything. Do you have any sauces that are close to empty but have managed to stick around in your refrigerator door for a few months past their expiration date? The answer is yes. Grab some pretzel sticks to enjoy the last few globs of sauce.

Items 5-7 are great for those you trying to entertain little ones in the house right now!

Building Houses
I’m not really a fan of gingerbread houses during the winter months. Too easy. Pretzel stick structures on the other hand, those require some real technique! You can build log cabins, entire forts and castles, and maybe even a mini (or not?) Eiffel Tower. And the best part? At the end, when you get hungry, you can actually enjoy eating this structure instead of the no-so-delicious pre-made “gingerbread.”

Walrus Selfies
A walrus is a large aquatic mammal with two tusks. Enough said.

Math Practice
Pretzel sticks actually make for great math manipulatives! Whether you’re working on counting, fractions (breaking them apart into halves, thirds, fourths, etc.), measurement (how many pretzel sticks long is your foot?), or geometry, pretzel sticks can have many uses before being consumed, as long as they aren’t consumed during the lesson.

How do you use pretzel sticks? Let me know via email (Andrew.Utter@zetaschools.org) or by tagging @zetaschools on your Instagram stories!

Signing off from my living room,

Andrew Utter