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.