Day 4: The Only Thing Better Than Making Homemade Chicken Noodle Soup...

...is feeding it to your family and having them ask for second and thirds and gobble, gobble, gobble it all up! In fact, the leftovers were supposed to be for lunch today but there were none. They got pb&j instead. LOL!  I used the leftover juices and bones from the crockpot chicken on Tuesday to create the broth. I put it in a pan with regular organic chicken broth and simmered them for a while and then strained the broth into another pot. Then I added the noodles (I did gluten free although the recipe calls for whole wheat) and added more than was in the recipe. The end result was that there was more noodles than broth but it worked out great for the kids who aren't huge soup fans. The chicken was also leftover from Tuesday night's dinner. To go with the soup I made some whole wheat biscuits and I was told those were pretty good, too.

Chicken Noodle Soup

Whole Wheat Biscuits

Being the end of the week we are low on food. Without the soup and biscuits for lunch as planned, I did a little scrambling this morning. I could have fancied it up with my punches and what not but, honestly, I didn't have time since I had to do Halloween make up and all that before school.  Here it is, nothing special but it works and it's healthy!

Peanut Butter* and Plum Jam (made by a neighbor) on Honey Whole Wheat (Great Harvest),  peaches*, apples*, carrots*

Day 3: Dinner Makes a great Lunch

Last night for dinner we had quesadillas on homemade corn tortillas* and crockpot refried beans*. The kids ate everything on their plate and then some. Since it was such a hit I decided to make some more fresh tortillas this morning and use some leftover beans and cheese for the main entree of their lunch.

The tortillas were crazy simple to make. It was my first time and I had no idea! 2C of Masa Harina and 1 1/2 cups hot water (this could vary depending upon which brand you have), and a big ole pinch of salt. Mix it all well, kneed it, let it sit for a few minutes and then take out about a golf ball sized piece. Then roll it into a ball and place it between 2 sheets of wax paper on your tortilla press, peel off the paper and toss it into a dry frying pan to cook. It's about 30seconds-1 minute on each side. I preferred the tortillas to be a little thicker so they took a little longer to cook but they peeled off the wax paper in one piece easier. It took me about half a batch to get the hang of it but now it's easy.

Lunch: fresh corn tortillas* rolled up with refried beans* and cheese* (in the tin foil),  leftover zucchini muffin*, apples, carrots* and cucumbers*

For Breakfast today the kids had Honey Whole Wheat toast (from Great Harvest) w/ peanut butter* and a smoothie made with milk*, banana*, cocoa*, maple syrup and ice. 

Dinner tonight will be homemade chicken noodle soup* w/ whole wheat biscuits*

Here are some recipes from yesterday and today:

Crockpot Refried Beans

Chicken Noodle Soup

Happy Eating!

Kim

*organic

Clean Eating Challenge

Years ago we learned how dye affects our eldest kiddo and eliminated it from his diet. Since then we have also seen it affect our middle child as well. We are well aware of how food effect our kids behavior so it was only natural that when our oldest started having behavioral issues again we take a look at our diet. In doing some research, I came across a fabulous blog called "100 Days Of Real Food".  Looking at this blog, and knowing what I do about the effects of food, I decided to put our family on a diet of "real food" for 2 weeks to see what would happen. Will A's behavior be better? Will N sleep better? Will Z's cradle cap clear up? Will I lose weight? Ok, that last one wasn't really one of the reasons but it would be awesome anyway!

So what is the challenge? To eat only fresh and natural food. Anything that may come in a package should be in it's natural state (like dried beans or oats) or have fewer than 5 natural ingredients (and no artificial ones).  I made my menu for the week and my shopping list and hit Vitamin Cottage, a local natural store.  I got organic for most things and, surprisingly, my total was WAY less than my usual shopping trip. I'm sure I will have to go to the store for fruit and a couple of other things partway through the week but it is certainly still less than I was spending.

I will try and keep up with our daily menu, with recipes and how things are going.

This morning for breakfast the kids had smoothies (organic milk, organic frozen peaches, banana, a couple of dates for sweetening), honey whole wheat toast from Great Harvest Bread Co. w/ fresh peanut butter made from organic peanuts.  The bread is thinner than usual sandwich bread but it is so much more dense. The boys were fine with just one piece and the peanut butter. They had a little of the smoothie but weren't overly thrilled with this one as much as they have been with others.

Lunch for the boys at school was supposed to be egg salad sandwiches but I ran out of time. Instead it's more finger food; hard boiled eggs (organic), walnuts, Babybell cheese (using up what I had), cucumbers (organic), carrots (organic), hummus, strawberries (organic) and an organic Halawi Date as a sweet treat. Snack at school was sliced apple and after school will be popcorn w/ Bragg's Amino Acids and Olive Oil.

Dinner tonight is crockpot chicken (organic fed...most expensive thing I bought!), veggie pancakes, and brown rice.

Munch Munch

I haven't been updating because I keep having things scheduled first thing in the morning and that seems to be my main time to post. Busy busy me also means a certain lack of creativity in the lunch department. I did, however, feed my children (most of the time) so here's a glimpse at lunches past;

Octodogs w/ ketchup for dipping, Mac 'n Cheese, sauteed purple cabbage, mango applesauce squeezer, red licorice for a treat. 

Tuna salad on hot dog bun, multigrain crackers, grapes, celery w/ cream cheese, homemade snack bars, mini chocolate chips.

Yogurt with blueberries, peanut butter and jelly roll-ups, cucumbers and red peppers, grapes and more blueberries, fruit ''nuggets' as a treat.

Not a school lunch but a picnic lunch for our day at the Botanical Gardens; pizza w/ dipping sauce,  hot dogs, cheese sticks, crackers and almonds, sour cream and onion goldfish, watermelon, pear and raisins. 

Yogurt w/ raspberries (frozen to keep the yogurt cold longer), almonds, cream cheese and peach jam roll ups, grapes, carrots, goldfish, and fruit nuggets.

Watch Out... Them Some Angry Birds

Yeah, I know the title is grammatically incorrect, so sue me, okay?

The boys LOVE Angry Birds and have gotten to levels I can only hope (or not) to reach some day. In honor of their accomplishments, I put together an Angry Bird themed lunch today.

Ham sandwich on whole wheat bagel, Asian pear & blueberries, carrots, Angry Bird babybell, graham crackers, Pig cucumber, and mini chocolate chips.

The bird is made out of babybel cheese with the red wax cut away, hard boiled egg whites for the eyes, carrot for the nose, nori for all the eyebrows and pupils and a little cream cheese to hold it all together. The pig is made from cucumber with egg white for eyes and nori for the pupils and nostrils.

Snips and Snails

Yesterday my oldest, Alex (7), decided that he didn't like what was on the menu for that evening. Apparently, pancakes and eggs were not to his liking. So he decided to share his commentary in a place that was sure to be noticed.

Needless to say, I stuck with the original plan for dinner.

I'm hoping he's a little more pleased with today's lunch, to say the least. 

Snails, watermelon balls, mini pepperoni, pizza sauce for dipping the snails, red ants on a log, mini chocolate chips.

The snails are made with Pilsbury breadstick dough. Just pull them apart (after that dreaded POP!) and roll up one end and tuck the other end under for the head. Brush with melted butter and bake according to the package. Things not to do: turn your back on your puppy so he eats 1 or 2 of them off the stove, get sidetracked making your husband's lunch and overcook the snails.

Snips and snails and puppy dog tails; that's what little boys are made of!


It is Wednesday so pop on over to see Shannon!!

Ole!

I woke this morning wishing I were in laying on the beach in Mexico. Just me, the warm sand, blue water, a trashy novel and Raul the cabana boy. Alas, back to life, back to reality (tell me you don't have that song in your head now...liar!).  With Mexico on the mind I made lunch for the boys;

Quesadillas and beef taquitos with guacamole, carrot sticks, watermelon stars, mini chocolate chips.

It's a Two-fer

What a hectic and crazy morning I had! Got up extra early to get their lunches ready and still have enough time to take a shower, find someone to watch little Miss and rush off to take my oldest to the dentist even earlier than we normally leave for school. Lack of sleep, caffeine, and brain cells leave me with nothing witty or pithy to say so enjoy the 2 days of grub....

Corn-dog muffins, cheese stick, cucumber flowers and carrot sticks, watermelon balls and mini chocolate chips.

PB&J star sandwich surrounded by bunny grahams, 1/2 banana and almonds, celery and cream cheese, cantelope stars and craisins, mini chocolate chips.