Darn Food Allergies

So, the lastest restriction for one of my kids is no dairy and no chocolate for at least a month and then we'll go from there. Since I'd already done the meal planning and shopping for at least a week, it has forced me to re-think some things. Normally the boys have the same thing in their lunches but I had to make some substitutions today for the no cheese and no chocolate thing. 

On the left, egg and biscuit muffins, ham and pepperoni skewer, mini babybel, corn on the cob, watermelon flowers, baby carrots and a Barbara's chocolate chip snackimal for dessert. On the right, ham and pepperoni skewers, corn on the cob, watermelon flowers, baby carrots and a Barbara's vanilla snackimal.

P.S. The nice thing about the removable magnets on the PlanetBox is that I had originally put the wrong lunch in the wrong kids' box. I just popped the magnets off and swapped them.

Re-inventing Lunch

While I will admit to feeding my kids corn dogs on occasion, I'm not a super big fan of all the additives. One way I've gotten around that is to make "corndog muffins".  For these I've used different corn bread mixes but I do like the Bob's Redmil Gluten Free mix. To make, just follow the directions and spoon into muffin cups. Cut your hot dog into 4 pieces and insert one into the center of the batter so it stands up. I baked these for 15 minutes at 375*.

Corndog muffins, watermelon flowers, baby carrots, Barbara's vanilla animal cookies and in baked beans in the thermos. 

Lunch Boxes Galore

I forgot to take a picture of the boys' lunches today <gasp>. I know you all are shattered but I'm confident you'll be ok. I recently wrote up my ideas and reviews about different kinds of lunch box options for some friends and I'm thinking it might be good to post it here. It is by no means a comprehensive list but these are things that I've tried and I'm sure I'll add to it over time.

All of these are ones that I have personally used or a good friend has used and these are my reviews of them based on that :)

Metal options:

Planetbox. (http://www.planetbox.com/)

pros: super easy to pop into the dishwasher, tough, can swap out magnets to change the look, easy to pack a well balanced meal, comes with smaller containers that you can put dip or yogurt in (but not soup), super easy for kids to open and close.

cons: price, not leakproof (but that’s why you have the other little containers that go in it), the “main entree” section is kinda small for a full sandwich unless you cut off the crust.

Lunchbots: (http://www.lunchbots.com/)

pros: easy to open and close, easy to wash, not as expensive and you can find deals on

them. soggy if you put something moist like fruit in there.

cons: not good if you don’t like your food to touch, not leakproof, crunchy things can get

Plastic options:

Easy Lunchbox (http://www.easylunchboxes.com/)

pros: price! keeps food separate, easy to wash cons: not much flexibility

Laptop Lunches (http://www.laptoplunches.com/) pros: versatility depending upon what foods your child likes, food doesn’t touch, portion control cons: lots of pieces to wash and keep track of, higher end of the “middle” price point

Go Green Lunch Box (http://www.gogreenlunchbox.com/)

pros: food doesn’t touch, not a lot of pieces to wash or misplace, supposedly leakproof (each compartment separately), has a place for water bottle inside (where it could keep cold) 

cons: higher end of the “middle” price point

Goodbyn (http://www.goodbyn.com/) 

pros: separate compartments, deep, has waterbottle (great for freezing and using as the “ice pack), kids can decorate themselves, doesn’t require a separate bag to break or lose, washes easily. 

cons: lid might be hard to get on and off for a lot of kids. We had the original when it first came out. The lid sucked. I mentioned it on their FB page about 2 years later and they said that they’d had trouble with that but had made revisions and then sent me a free “Bynto” which is the smaller version. I actually like that for Zoe but I’m still not confident she could get the lid on properly. Maybe a 6 year old could?

Asian Flavor

I discovered a great thing at Costco awhile back. Pre-cooked organic Udon Noodles. I know it doesn't take long to cook these noodles but it's nice to have something you can just grab once in awhile. Since these noodles are most often served cold, they make great lunches. Both boys like them with tamari and parmesan but my oldest also likes some scallions and cilantro.  Another great "grab and go" options is frozen edamame. It will thaw by the time lunch rolls around and give a little protein to go with the noodles.

Udon noodles w/ tamari, scallions and cilantro, mango, edamame, and roasted almonds for a little extra protein. 

4th Day Of School

If you saw my post yesterday about the Taco Wontons you'll be thrilled to know the kids loved them. Ok, maybe you won't be thrilled, but I sure was. One devoured every little speck in his lunch and the other one ate everything but the condiments and informed me that the sour cream and guacamole were "not necessary".  Both agreed they were a "make again" item so I definitely will.

Today I broke out the sandwich shape cutter. I'm not sure how much longer my boys are going to let me get away with making their sandwiches in the shapes of hearts but, so far, no complaints. The skewers in the grapes are some sort of drink stirrer that I got awhile back at Target in their seasonal section. They go to show that you can find fun inspiration in different forms and different places. Things don't have to be made and marketed just for lunch and/or bento box making.

The sandwich cutter I probably got on Amazon a few years ago but am not sure. If you are local, a great shop called Teenie Greenies has sandwich cutters in different shapes (they also have Easy Lunchboxes and reusable snack and sandwich bags along with other great stuff!).

So, even if you don't feel creative or you think "I can't make that bento stuff!"you can use these easy tools and your kids will love the results.

Heart shaped ham and swiss on whole wheat, carrots and cucumber circles,  toasted nori sheets, grapes on a palm tree skewer and a Barbara's double chocolate snackimal cookie. 

My New Love

I'm in love with wonton wrappers. They aren't expensive for the amount that you get and I'm having so much fun with them! Yesterday I put half a cheese stick on the diagonal, wrapped it up and baked it at 350* for 10 minutes and the kids ate them with pizza sauce. A big hit for after school snack!

Today I made taco wonton bowls. We'd had tacos last night for dinner so I had a bunch of meat left over. I sprayed the muffin tin and placed a wonton sheet in the bottom and put a spoonful of meat in the middle. I baked those at 350* for 10 minutes and the put some shredded cheese on top.

Taco wonton bowls, cauliflower, mini red bell pepper and mango. The small container had salsa for one kid and Chalula for the other one. The big container holds sour cream and guacamole.

That Kind Of Day

It's been a morning, oh yes it has! Sadly, I did not take a picture of the boys' lunches today. They were beautiful, too! I suppose ya'll will forgive me and I'll share with you a simple breakfast that I made for the kids that was a big hit.

In the past I've made egg muffins and just baked them in the oven. They were fine and the kids ate them but I was never very happy with how flat and deflated they became as they cooled. Yesterday I had a thing of biscuit dough that needed to be used up so I decided to experiment with that. I popped that badboy (you remember my feelings about these things, right?) and separated the biscuits. I spread it out a little and lined a muffin tin that had been sprayed with oil. The dough covered the bottom and came up a little on the sides. I mixed up 6 eggs and added some shredded cheese, salt and pepper. Once mixed, I poured it into the cups over the dough. I used a measuring cup to scoop and pour it, it was easier and I had more control.

Bake at 350* for about 10 minutes and they will puff up nice! I just ran the knife around the edges and they popped right out and left hardly any mess. These were MUCH cleaner than making the plain egg ones. Next time I'll try getting some veggies in there or some ham would be good. For now, I'm just happy that the kids liked them and I got a decent amount of balanced protein and carb in them before school. Oh, and these still look great the next day so I bet you could make up a bunch in advance and have them in the fridge or even freeze them.  Yay for easy!

1st Day Of School

It's hard to believe that I now have a preschooler, 1st grader and 3rd grader. Classes started today for the older 2 and, while *they* might not have been excited about school, *I* was a little excited about getting back into making healthy school lunches for the kids. I've found that, especially for my 6 year old, variety is key. He really would rather have a little of a bunch of different things. My 8 year old can go either way so he's a little easier to please. Today instead of going for a theme, or anything cute, I went more for colorful sides to offset the blandness and monochromatic sandwich skewers.

To make the sandwiches more fun I put them on skewers and cut the (whole wheat) bread out with a star cutter. One kiddo has turkey and pepper jack, the other one has turkey and plain ole monterrey jack. I sure hope I got them the right box! Next to that are some kiwi and blueberries, baby carrots and a mini red bell pepper. Up above is some leftover chocolate muffin and dried cherries. 

Here they are all ready for an exciting day <cough>

The Upcycled Bento

So you know how I love to make Bento lunches for my kids, right? Well what do you do when it's fieldtrip day and you have no ziploc or brown bags or anything that traditionally goes into making that required "sack lunch"?  Last night or, rather, this morning, I had a massive case of insomnia. Some people may read, watch t.v., or count sheep but that would to, well, normal  for me. Those of you who know me know that I *sometimes* make things a *wee* bit harder than I need to (can you hear my husband laughing from there?).  Anyway, so I was laying in bed this morning wondering just what I was going to do for this "sack lunch" and the idea struck me like a bolt of lightening and...ok, not really. However, I did have an idea that managed to stick into my consciousness so when I got up for the day I was able to execute it.  I'll let the pictures explain it....

See how the Box Top is missing? Good Mama!

Cut off part of one of the sides, less than half. You can totally eyeball it.

Cut the along the edges to make the lid.

Fold down about 1.5 inches of the lid.

Cut the bottom edges/corners.

Fold the flaps in and the bottom up and then staple or tape (I stapled).

Viola!

I lined it with a big enough piece of tin foil that I could fold it back over the food .

Lunch: the tin packet in the middle is a tuna wrap, tortilla  chips , "car" hardboiled egg, grapes, carrots, and edamame.

Fold the foil over the food and close; slipping the top "flap" inside the box.

I didn't want the box to come undone, and I didn't have a paper bag to put it in anyway, so I used some craft paper and wrapped it like a present. My other son added the happy face :)

A Success And A Fail

Last night I made a Chipotle Black Bean soup and I actually followed the recipe <gasp!>.  After the mandatory hour of cooking, the beans were rock hard. So, after we picked up some food from a restaurant, carved the pumpkins, and went trick or treating, I set about doing something for the soup. I refused to throw it out. First thing was to just throw it into the crockpot and set it on low. I left it overnight and the beans were soft this morning. The soup was still blah, though. Boo. Last night I had baked a bunch of sweet potatoes and, since we got take out, I had them sitting in the fridge. I put the soup into my vitamix in batches and added a sweet potato to each one. Once it was all blended I threw it back in the crockpot with the scallions and cilantro that were supposed to be a finishing step of the soup. I added some more salt and am letting it sit on low for a bit. You know what? It's creamy, spicy and delicious!  So don't give up on those failed attempts, you never know what you may end up with.

The final product

One thing I made to go with the soup that we did manage to eat while we were waiting on other food, was the lightly steamed carrots and broccoli with a peanut dipping sauce. The sauce was something I made up so take the measurements with a grain of salt <snort...ok, that was bad...I apologize>

1/2 C smooth peanut butter

1/4-1/2 C lite coconut milk- the amount will depend upon how thick your peanut butter is

2 tsp fresh ginger, minced

1 TBL tamari

2 TBL cilantro, diced

Sriracha hot sauce to taste.

Mix the milk into the peanut butter until it's the consistency you want. Mix in the rest and enjoy!

Honey Gobblers

Today I introduced my kids to a treat that I used to have as a kid. I remember one of my sisters and I making them and enjoying them with with enthusiasm. They couldn't be simpler to make and a great way to get some great protein and some great vitamins, including vitamin E. I don't have exact measurements and I don't even know if we used any as kids.

Mix together peanut butter, honey and wheat germ. Taking a little (I find the amount to be bigger than a grape but smaller than a ping pong ball to be nice sized), roll it in the palm of your hands until you have a ball. If it sticks to your hand too much, add more wheat germ.

You can keep them in the fridge for quick addition to their snack or for a little treat.

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

Day 2: Leftover Creations

We woke up to snow this morning. The kids were so excited that the 2 year old had her boots, jacket, hat and mittens on and was out in the snow just after 6am. Her brothers joined her shortly after.

In between "fix my glove" "my hands are cold" and "my neck is wet" I managed to make their lunch and breakfast. Breakfast was Oatmeal* with peaches*.  For the main lunch entree I took leftover chicken and quinoa from dinner last night and added some peas and carrots as well as some shredded veggies (that I had leftover from making the pancakes last night) and sauteed it all together with some Bragg's Amino Acids. If you've never had Bragg's, it is a lot like soy sauce but 1/3 the sodium and has the added benefit of amino acids. The kids love it and even put it on their popcorn. 

Fried Quinoa w/ veggies and chicken*, edamame*, whole wheat zucchini muffins*, walnuts, apples and a date*

Dinner tonight will be refried beans in the crock pot and veggie quesadillas on homemade tortillas. I've never made tortillas so wish me luck!

*organic (I got tired of typing it each time!)

Hmm? I'm sorry, I couldn't hear you over all the face-stuffing.

Dinner was pretty darn tasty and it will go in the "make again" file for sure. I thought I'd stick with recipes for the beginning of the challenge even though I often go without. First up was a chicken in the crockpot. Seeing as this 4.5lb bird was more expensive than my diet coke habit from McD's I was a little nervous about flubbing it. Need not have worried. The recipe couldn't have been easier and the meat was fall off the bone tender. I even have enough left over for some fried rice for tomorrow's lunch and for some homemade chicken noodle soup later this week. Along with the Chicken (organic) we had Vegetable Pancakes (organic) . I would probably call them a fritter but, whatever they are called, they were g.o.o.d!  I ran out of time for the brown rice so I made up some quinoa (organic) in some chicken broth (organic).

The recipes are from 100 Days Of Real Food

Crockpot Whole Chicken

Vegetable Pancakes

I wish I had a photo for you but it was crazy before dinner and then all the veggie pancakes got eaten!

P.S. I've given up the McD's Diet Coke habit as of today. Be nice to me or you might inadvertently get hurt.

Gluten Free and/or Whole Wheat Zucchini Bread Muffins

I didn't want to be left out of the muffins today so I made a batch of gluten free muffins and a batch of whole wheat ones for the kids. The recipe I got from 100 Days Of Real Food and I just made a minor adjustment.

Ingredients:
3 Cups Whole Wheat flour (for GF I used Bob's Redmill all purpose baking mix)
1 TBL cinnamon
1 1/2 tsp baking soda
1/4 tsp baking powder
1 tsp salt
3 eggs
3/4 cup oil (she used coconut, I used canola)
3/4 cup honey (I ran out so for the WW ones I used half honey and half maple syrup and for the GF ones I used all maple syrup)
1 tsp vanilla
3 Cups grated zucchini
1 Cup chopped nuts (optional...I left these out since my kids aren't huge fans)

Directions:

1. Preheat oven to 300 degrees  for small loaf pans or 325 degrees for large loaf pan or muffins.
2. Blend dry ingredients.
3. Make a hole in the center and pour in the eggs, oil, honey and vanilla. Stir just until mixed- do not overmix.
4. Fold in the grated zucchini and chopped nuts if using. Pour batter into greased loaf pan(s) or muffin holders and bake until a toothpick comes clean in the top/center of the loaf or muffin.

*If using smaller pans bake for 30-40 minutes.
*For one larger loaf pan bake for 50-60 minutes.
*For muffins bake for 15-20 minutes.

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.

The Gateway Sport

You have this little baby (ok, so he was 10lbs and not so little but ya know...) and you swear to protect him from everything you can that may hurt him. You do your best for 5 years. You keep him relatively whole and unbroken and you pat yourself on the back for doing such a good job. Then, one day, your neighbor is out shooting hockey pucks with his kid and lets your son have a go at it. Dually impressed he tells your sweet baby that he's a natural. As much as you want your son to develop his own interests from his older brother you were kind of thinking maybe he'd get into erector sets instead of legos. Instead, he's decided it's ice hockey. Yup, that's what it is. Thinking that he'll get on ice skates and fall a few times and truly hate it, you go ahead and sign him up for beginning ice skating.  And then...he loves it. I mean, really, really, REALLY loves it.  So it begins....

Ice skating....the gateway sport...