10/11

Lunches for today, Oct 11, 2011

7 yr old- Egg salad, GF rice crackers for dipping. Babybel cheese, 4 gluten free mini cookies, 2 dates. Strawberries and pear slices, celery with sunbutter and chocolate. Tiny dill pickles on a stick.  Yogurt and banana for afternoon snack.

She reports- "The yogurt was gross, I hated it! (tried a new brand, dairy free almond milk yogurt. Apparently NOT a keeper, LOL!)  also- "I loved the egg salad. and I like my bell cheese better when you make it cute" (ok, so noted- cute babybel cheese!)

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15 yr old- Tuna salad, GF rice crackers to dip. Strawberries, HB egg, celery with cream cheese. 5 mini GF cookies, 2 dates. Orange.

He reports- " I loved my lunch today, the tuna was really good, did you do something different? I also like those brown things, what are they called?" Dates. They're dates, lol. Also nothing different with the tuna. Just olive oil mayo, onion and relish.

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 17 yr old- Tuna salad, GF rice crackers for dipping, strawberries, babybel cheese, celery with cream cheese, mini GF cookies, 2 dates. Banana.

She reported- " I ate everything, so apparently I liked it" as she walked away texting her boyfriend. LOL!

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Todays pictures are very dark. My cell camera is not the best. If it wasn't such a PITA to use my digital camera and upload pics from it each time I'd take much better pictures. Hopefully they aren't so bad you can't get the general idea...

Also, a real life friend suggested I ask the kids to report on what they liked or didn't like in their lunches so I'll be doing that from now on :)

10/10

I realize I've skipped a week of lunches. It has been a hectic couple of weeks around here. My 17yr is a Senior in High School and we've been doing the College application thing, Senior pictures (taken by me) Homecoming Dance, AND parent teacher conferences for all 3 in one day. I haven't had time to post the pictures of their lunches. I did take pictures though! I've been so exhausted. I'm also an avid knitter and it is almost the Holiday season so around this time of year is when I am staying up way too late to finish gifts :)

I figured I would start fresh with this week!

Today my kiddos ate-

17 yr old- ham,turkey,salami rolls (all three rolled together) a babybel cheese, celery with cream cheese, colby cheese squares, strawberry, melon and gluten free chips. And a tangerine.

She reported- "My lunch was so good, I ate every single bite!"

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15 yo old- Ham, turkey and salami rolls, babybel cheese, celery with cream cheese, grumpy HB egg, strawberry, melon, GF chips and a tangerine.
He reported- "My food was really yummy today, but my chips were soggy" I asked how they could be soggy and he replied " I dunno, they had water in them" Since there was no water in his lunch box we concluded that some juice from his melon must have seeped over. We also concluded that he must not have kept his lunch box upright. He confessed to "tossing" it into his locker, and swinging it around on his way to lunch. Not my fault he had soggy chips! Maybe he will learn now, LOL!

7 yr old- 2 ham, turkey and salami rolls, babybel cheese, celery with cream cheese, flower painted HB egg, melon and GF chips. A pear for afternoon snack, which she switched out for a small apple and a cheese stick this morning.

She reports- "I liked my lunch today, the flower cut out was cute. I wanted more strawberries though. And I liked the flower on the HB egg." I asked her if she ate the egg (before I unpacked her lunchbox) and she replied " well.. I didn't really have much time, so I took one bite at least!" She did eat everything else, including her apple and cheese for snack.

9/30

For my 15 yo-

Egg salad, GF crackers, hummus and carrots. Grapes and orange slices, cheese skull (by my husband) with red eyes and a dagger in his mouth. GF animal crackers, yogurt, trail mix and an orange.

For my 17 yo-

Ham and salami, black olives, cheese,GF crackers. Flower carrots, grapes, GF animal crackers. Trail mix, yogurt, apple.

For my 7 yo-

Flower theme!
Flower hardboiled eggs. kiwi, babybel cheese, carrots, grapes, black olives, GF animal crackers. Yogurt, trail mix and an orange.
She will pick two things to have as afternoon snack. Usually its the yogurt and orange.

My 3yr old ate HB egg, black olives, apple and grapes, trail mix, flax crackers with cheese and banana with nutella. He ate everything except the egg yolks which he usually gives to me.

9/29

Todays lunches make me giggle. I know it is way too early to be doing Halloween stuff but I just couldn't help myself. It must be because I took my teenagers out shopping this evening for Halloween costume ideas and Halloween is one of my most favorite Holidays ever!

For my 17 yo- Pumpkin shaped rice onigiri. Nori faces cut by my husband. Grapes, pepperoni and cheese, orange slices, greek yogurt with local raw honey and dark chocolate swirls, home made trail mix.

 For my 7 yo- Pumpkin shaped rice onigiri. Nori faces cut by my husband. Grapes, pepperoni and cheese, orange slices. In the cat container she has homemade trail mix, in the monkey container she has greek yogurt with local raw honey and dark chocolate swirls, and a baby banana. She will choose one or two (depending on how hungry she is) of the side dishes for her afternoon snack.

The rice is colored with food coloring. I know it isn't natural or healthy but I was standing there cooking the rice and trying to figure out what shapes to make when I saw my pumpkin cookie cutters and inspiration hit me. If I had thought of this in advance I probably would have attempted a more natural coloring choice, but for now this will have to do. To make them I used two pumpkin shaped cutters, one of those solid ones with the lines and a thicker one thats just pumpkin shaped. I lined everything with saran wrap and pressed the rice through the thick cutter and onto the solid lined one. Then I gently removed the rice from the plastic wrap. I was SO giddy at how well these turned out! The smaller ones were made the same way but with my mini pumpkin cutter.
I ended up with enough rice to make 4 more mini pumpkins so I put those in the fridge for my 3yr old to have later.

You'll notice my 15yr old son does not have rice onigiri. He doesn't like "sticky rice" and prefers that I not send it in his lunch. So I whipped up a batch of chicken salad for him tonight.
Chicken salad, GF rice crackers for scooping, pepperoni and cheese, carrot sticks and a small container of hummus. Grapes. Homemade trail mix, greek yogurt with local raw honey and dark chocolate swirls.

9/28

15 yo- He requested ham and salami again. I also included jack-o-carrots (a big hit, he thought they were hilarious!) some cheese, half a pear, dried date. Olives and a bowl of greek yogurt with honey and chocolate swirls.

17yo- Spaghetti squash with home made sauce. Some cheese sprinkled on top. Half a pear, acorn shaped carrots and greek yogurt with honey and chocolate swirls.

7 yo- Cubed chicken breast, jack-o-carrots and carrot kittys. Flower and leaf cheese (found a new leaf cutter I didn't know I had!) olives, home made trail mix. greek yogurt with honey and chocolate swirls and a small apple for afternoon snack.

I also included an apple with the teenagers lunches but forgot to photo those.

My 3 yr old just finished his lunch "snack tray" as he calls it. He had-

Pepperoni and cheese on sticks, a kiwi fruit, grapes. Gluten free cookies, black olives, a dill pickle and some homemade trail mix.

9/27

I had something different planned for todays lunches, left overs from dinner. (Mini taco salads) But there was some miscommunication and the teenagers polished off the leftovers. So I had to come up with something else.

For my 15 yr old DS -

Ham and salami. Jack-o-carrots. Pepperoni and cheese circles. Bell pepper slices. GF muffin and some lemon bumble bar. Apple.

For my 17yo DD-

Ham and Salami flower (I tried to make it look like a flower anyway, I need more practice!) green bell pepper leaves. Pepperoni and cheese center. GF muffin, lemon bumble bar, bell pepper slices, heart and flower carrots. Apple.

For my 7yo DD-

Exactly the same as her big sister. Except she gets a pear for afternoon snack.

I know my leaves are more tree leaves than flower leaves, but its the only leaf cookie cutter I have. I need to wait for some after Holiday clearance sales to stock up on more themed cutters :)

9/26

Oh dear, I skipped a few days of lunches there huh? I promise that I fed my kids! LOL! I even took pictures, but I forgot to post them. I just finished prepping lunches for tomorrow so its on my mind right this moment to post these. I'll get around to uploading the 2 days I missed, maybe tomorrow.

For my 7yo (above)
Gluten free chicken nuggets. Locally made GF BBQ sauce (purchased at our farmers market), pear slices. Baby dill pickles, tomato, cheese and basil sticks. Cucumber flowers and some adorable tiny carrots that my DD picked from the ground herself :) Tiny banana for afternoon snack.

For my 17yo (above)
Grilled chicken breast, GF Locally made BBQ sauce, baby dill pickles, cucumber slices, cherry tomatoes, cherry flavored bumble bar and cheese. Apple.

For my 15 yo (above)
All the same things as my 17yo except he gets a pear.

Often times my meals will repeat. Because we don't do grains I am having to think outside of the "bread box". Also my kids will request repeats. I don't always like to prepare the same meal in a week but if they want something again I will oblige if its easier for me :) For example the other day my 15yo requested that I make egg salad for him. The other two don't like egg salad, so one got a deviled egg and the other got something totally different because she thinks HB eggs are "gross, ew!" heh. (One of the meals I need to upload later!)

9/21

Todays lunches are mostly the same. We had an unexpected over night guest last night and since he was going to school too I made an extra lunch. Can't let kids go hungry, even if they aren't mine!

Since I had an extra kid I didn't have enough food set aside for lunches and needed to think about something else instead.

While pondering what to make since I had an extra mouth to feed my teen son came into the kitchen and asked what was for lunch. I told him I had to ponder for a moment and come up with something and he said "hey, could you make that chicken salad again? That was really good!" So, they all get chicken salad. Easy!  How I make mine  at bottom of post.

For my 7yo-
Chicken salad, GF rice crackers for dipping, Purple sweet potato flowers, red bell pepper slices, white cheddar cheese slices. Cantaloupe and a dark chocolate square with a bumble bar. Pear for afternoon snack.

For my 15yo-
Chicken salad, GF rice crackers, hard boiled egg, red bell peppers, purple sweet potato stars, cantaloupe, dark chocolate square, bumble bar, and a peach.

For my 17yo-
Chicken salad, lettuce for wraps, red bell peppers, purple potato flowers, cantaloupe, dark chocolate square, bumble bar and an apple.

For our guest-
Chicken salad, lettuce for wraps, red bell pepper, purple potato stars, cantaloupe, dark chocolate square and bumble bar, pear.


For my chicken salad- Its really easy and apparently my kids think its the best ever, lol. Also I don't measure anything exactly but this is basically what I do...

I cook 2 boneless, skinless chicken breasts in the pressure cooker,  I then remove and shred into a bowl. I add half a small onion diced, half a small apple diced, run half a carrot over the shredder and plop in two spoonfuls of mayo made with olive oil. A little salt and pepper and call it done. Its fairly simple and quick to make if you cook the chicken in a pressure cooker! My chicken breasts went from frozen to cooked tender and shredded in about 35 min!

9/20

The first two lunches today are packed into our Easy Lunch Boxes  The one for my 7yo is packed into her little bento box she picked out.

17yo DD-
Ham rolls, cheese squares, red bell pepper, small plum.
Homemade trail mix, bumblebee bar, black olives, dark chocolate square. Apple.

 

15 yo DS-

Egg salad, rice crackers to dip, cheese squares, small plum, bumblebee bar, homemade trail mix, black olives, dark chocolate square. Nectarine.

7 yo DD-
2 hard boiled egg flowers, small golden plum, red bell pepper slices, 3 purple tomatoes, bumblebee bar, black olives, cheese, trail mix. greek yogurt with a drizzle of honey and some dark chocolate flakes, pear.

9/16

3 very similar lunches today.

17 yo DD- chicken breast, babybel cheese, cucumber slices, purple sweet potato hearts. bowl of grapes and 3 apple bunnies. Small bowl of homemade trail mix with a dried date.
Included but not pictured is a nectarine and 1/3 of a bumble bar.

15 yo DS- Same as above, except I'm following his "no flowers Mom, geez" rule :) So his purple sweet potatoes are just circles. (I planned to do star shapes but the 3 yr old ran off with my tiny star I think!)
Included but not pictured, also a nectarine and 1/3 of a bumble bar.

7 yr old DD- chicken breast, white cheddar squares, flower cucumbers, purple heart and flower sweet potato, homemade trail mix (no almonds) and grapes with 2 apple bunnies.
Included but not pictured- the last 1/3 of the bumble bar small bowl of yogurt and a container of grapes and cheese for afternoon snack.

Note about Bumble Bars- I found these in my local "discount grocery store" They were 4 bars for $1.00. I got a dozen of them. I didn't think the kids would like them very much since they're made with sesame and flax seeds and a bunch of other really good for you but sound weird ingredients, LOL!
So I planned to just give them to my husband in his lunches and keep a few in my purse for those moments where you just NEED to eat something right this minute or you might faint :) Turns out all of my kids really, really, REALLY like them!  I bought the Almond, Chocolate and Lemon. My favorite is the lemon flavor. I think they're sized pretty big for a kid so when I pack them into lunches I cut each one into thirds and split them among the boxes. My 3yr old really likes them too, he asks several times a day for a "bumble bee bar pweese?"

I included a link to their website for anyone who was curious about them. I did not receive any money or free food for this mention. Though if the people at Bumble Bars wanted to send me some more yummy Lemon bars, I wouldn't complain! :)

9/15

7 yo DD-
Bottom- Gluten Free sunbutter sandwich, black grapes. In the star container there is a homemade "trail mix" including raisins, craisins, sunflower seeds, fresh coconut flakes and some dark chocolate swirls.

Top- Purple sweet potato flowers, tomato, basil and mozzarella cheese on sticks, black olives on sticks. Flower shaped cucumbers and a babybel cheese made into a lady bug. I used a hole punch for the circles and cut the deco items out of a sheet of Nori. Attached them to the wax with a tiny dob of honey. Afternoon snack is full fat yogurt with a few dark chocolate swirls.

17 yo DD- Peanut butter and Nutella sandwich on Gluten Free bread, corn on the cob with a pat of organic butter, carrot sticks and black grapes. I wrote on her bread with an edible food marker. You can find those in any of your "big box" stores in the cake decorating isle.
Babybel cheese in a lady bug, nectarine slices and some home made "trail mix" containing all the same as the 7yo above, but with almonds. Not pictured is a bowl of full fat yogurt with dark chocolate swirls.

15 yo DS- Ham sandwich on Gluten Free bread, cherry tomatoes on a stick, carrot sticks, Babybel cheese made into a "monster". Nectarine slices, home made trail mix. Hummus for his carrots and of course full fat yogurt with dark chocolate swirls.

3 yo DS-
Pepperoni stick (he requested that I do not cut his "boomer stick" up, which means it will be used as a sword or gun before he eats it, LOL!) cheese squares, homemade trail mix and 3 purple tomatoes.
Grapes, peach slices, cucumber slices and avocado.

9/14

7 yo DD-
Pepperoni and cheese on sticks. A "monster" babybel cheese, tomatoes and black olives on sticks, escaping apple bunnies!, raisins and craisins, carrot flowers.
Not pictured- greek yogurt with a bit of honey and a few chocolate shavings, and a tiny banana.

Both teenagers got the same in their boxes today.
Small container of tuna salad, lettuce to wrap with tuna, cheese stick, GF chocolate chip muffin, bumble bee energy bar, black olives and cucumbers, raisins and  evil eyed apple bunnies. Look at their red eyes! Eek!
Not pictured a tiny banana and a chocolate square.

This one is for my sweet 3 yo DS-
Steamed broccoli, corn on cob, carrots with hummus, banana with Nutella
Pepperoni and cheese sticks, black olive sticks, unwrapped babybel cheese, and grapes on sticks.

9/13

7 yo DD-
Turkey rolls, cheese squares, cherry tomatoes on a stick. Black grapes with a flower fork and red bell pepper slices. Not pictured - small bowl of cottage cheese with a small dollop of organic jelly on top, baby banana and a small chocolate square.

This one is for my 3yo DS-
Bottom- Ham rolls, red bell pepper slices, black grapes and cherry tomatoes on sticks.
Top- tiny flower carrots and cucumbers, flower cheese, some raisins and craisins and a tiny purple plum.

 My 17yo DD informed me last night she didn't really like the hummus I included yesterday. Usually I make hummus at home, but I found some on sale that was organic and cost less than it would to make at home. My other kids loved it, she found it to be "kinda weird tasting" so noted! No more store hummus for my girl :)

Left side for my 17yo DD-
ham and turkey rolls, cheese squares, carrot sticks, baby banana, grapes, cucumber slices and red bell pepper. Chunk of a Lara bar, Cottage cheese and a chocolate square.


Right side for my 15yo DS- All the same except he loved the hummus so he got that for his veggies.

9/7

Today is our district wide "late start" day. Classes being 2.5 hrs later than normal. My 7yo wants to try and go to school today since it is a half day. Her Doctor said we could play it by ear and just go based on how she is feeling. She is ready to see her friends again.

Bottom layer- two flower onigiri, purple sweet potatoes (I've only found these in our local Asian Market, they're really tasty!) flower cucumbers and green olives on sticks.
Top layer has more flower shaped purple sweet potatoes, flower shaped carrots, red bell peppers, fresh mango, and half of a gluten free cookie.
Afternoon snack is green grapes and cheese.

17 yo DD and 15 yo DS both got-
2 triangle shaped rice onigiri, purple sweet potato flowers, turkey rolls, red bell pepper slices, mango slices and a kiwi. (my son requested "no flowers mom, geez" so his lunch did not include any flowers, haha!)

End note- my 7yo lasted 2 hours at school before I had to come get her due to a headache. Shes resting now. It was probably too soon to send her back to school after her concussion but the Dr did say to play it by ear and follow her lead. Thankfully kids heal fast so she should be back to normal soon :)

9/6

Yesterday my kids did not have school. My 7yo daughter had a pretty bad crash on her bike and suffered a concussion. So today she is home from school. She has a Doctor appt later to get checked out again and we will see how she is doing after. She is pretty banged up but doing well considering. Thank goodness for helmets!

I packed a bento for my 7yo and 3yo to eat at home before we leave. They enjoyed these picnic style eating on our patio outside :)

In the yellow box we have for my 3yo.
Hard boiled egg, cheese squares, turkey rolls. Fresh mango slices, green grapes, celery with peanut butter and half a gluten free cookie.

In the blue box for my 7yo. Exactly the same as the yellow box.

My 7yo attends a "nut free" classroom. And there is at least one child in her class who has a peanut allergy. So she only gets peanut butter items at home. If I am sending something like celery to school for her I will use a safer alternative such as "sun butter" or cream cheese.

Also, my kids got to pick out their boxes. My 3yo sons favorite color right now is yellow so thats what he picked. My 7yo really likes blue. I'm happy if they are happy :)

8/30

This lunch was packed by my 7 yo DD. She got to pick everything that went inside, and I must say that I think she did a darn good job!
2 Hard boiled eggs, celery with cream cheese, cherry tomatoes on a stick, cucumber slices, red grapes. In the tiger bowl she cut flower shaped cheese. Afternoon snack is a bowl of full fat yogurt and red plum.

Often times my teenagers will ask for dinner left overs in their lunches. I don't usually photograph those because they aren't very pretty :) So if you see just the 7yo lunch posted you can safely assume my teens picked left overs that day. Which is fine by me, because that tells me I must be doing something right with my dinners since they seem to want them again!

8/29

7 yo DD- Ham rolls, flower shaped cheese, cherry tomatoes and black olives on sticks, strawberries and kiwi, and a small Gluten free cookie.
 Not pictured is a bowl of full fat yogurt and sliced apples for afternoon snack.

8/26

For my 17yo DD-
Gluten Free/Nitrate Free polish sausage, lightly sauteed zucchini, black olives and cheese on sticks, red and green grapes, red bell pepper slices. Small bowl of blueberries and cantaloupe. Not pictured was a pear for snack.

15 yo DS- Gluten Free/ Nitrate Free polish sausages, lightly sauteed zucchini, cherry tomatoes and cheese on sticks, red and green grapes. Small bowl of blueberries and cantaloupe. Not pictured is an orange for snack.

7 yo DD- Gluten Free/ Nitrate Free polish sausages, sauteed zucchini, black olives and cheese on sticks, a bowl of berries, green bell peppers and cherry tomatoes, celery with cream cheese.
Not pictured is a bowl of full fat organic yogurt and a small clementine for afternoon snack.

You will probably notice that most if not all of my lunches will contain the same or similar ingredients each day. If your kids have similar tastes like mine do, packing the same things will make your lunch prep time go much faster.

Each lunch also contains a reusable water bottle, cloth napkin and silverware. I pack trash free lunches so I tell my kids "everything goes back into the lunch box and comes home" even if I happen to put something small in that has packaging.