Back from the break!

I think the first day back from a break is the worst. Even though the chics consistently got me up before sunrise during their Thanksgiving break, somehow the sound of the alarm this morning was just excruciating. After getting the big chic ready for school today I realized that I forgot to make her a lunch! Oops! We were so preoccupied with other things this weekend, that school kinda snuck up on me. Fortunately there's always the dining hall! Tomorrow, though, little chic has school, too and there is no dining hall at preschool.

Cucumber slices, Clementine with dried cherry, Wheat Chex, Cheddar cheese with ham twirls

Turkey Turkey

Thanksgiving is just around the corner and I haven't made any Thanksgiving lunches! I'm trying to come up with some fun crafts for the kids over the holidays and came across the cutest turkey shaped sandwiches on Family Fun's website so I thought tomorrow would be the perfect day for a Thanksgiving lunch. My turkey did not turn out as cute as I would have liked, but I think it will suffice (plus big chic is becoming more concerned with having a grown up lunch, rather than a cutesy one!)

Turkey turkey and cheese sandwich with mini pepper feathers, grapes, chocolate chunk cookie

Immaculate Baking Co. makes ready made cookie dough in all sorts of flavors. Recently the hubs was reading some review of the best ready made cookie doughs and their chocolate chunk was the winner. I had seen it at Central Market, but had never tried it and that article convinced me that I should. The cookies are really good, but what I like more is that all of the ingredients are natural...no weird stuff, no corn syrup. They're made from the same ingredients that I make cookies from. LOVE that!

Pumpkin Patch

Tomorrow little chic is visiting a pumpkin patch! Well, technically the pumpkin patch is coming to preschool, but still... so, the theme for the day is orange. When I saw some orange globe carrots at the store this weekend, I knew I had to buy them for her orange lunch.

Ghost marshmallows, Cheese skewers (yes, it's American cheese...don't judge!), Orange globe carrots, Fruit leather and Trail mix cookie.

Big chic eats too...

This is one of big chic's lunches this week. She's on an anti-bread kick lately. I don't know why, but she came home from school last week with a seemingly uneaten peanut butter and jelly. When I asked her why she didn't eat her sandwich, she said that she didn't like bread so she just licked the peanut butter and jelly off of the bread. Okay... so sandwiches are out. Not sure how long the no-bread kick will last. We'll see.

Cucumber chain, Ham cheese and carrot flowers, Fruit dip with strawberries and pineapple, bagel chips.

FIRE!!!

On Monday, after a very long day of activities, we finally returned home after 7:30pm. Here we were, already a half hour past bedtime and I had two chics that needed baths, one chic that needed to work on her homework packet and do her daily reading, and another chic that thinks she's the Lady Gaga of preschool fashion that had not yet picked out her outfit for the next day (believe me...this is NOT a simple decision for her!). Did I mention that I hadn't even packed lunches for the next day? Well, exhausted and in a hurry, I tell big chic that she can buy lunch the next day (YAY for the dining hall!) and ask the little chic if she will just take a normal lunch (meaning undecorated) cause mommy is tired and it's late. "Mommy, no!" she says, "I want a fire lunch cause we're having a fireman for preschool." UGH!!! The hubs just laughs and says, "You created this!' and I know he's right. Sooooooo while he gets the big chic ready for bed, I try to create the quickest, fastest and easiest fire themed lunch I can. Here it is...

PB&J house with baby bell pepper fire, Crust tree trunk with parsley leaves, Carrot sticks with Twizzler fire hoses (I was desperate, okay?), Grapes

Baked Lemon Pasta

Yesterday, I came across a recipe that I had never seen before. I thought that I knew all of Pioneer Woman's recipes, but I was mistaken. I was trying to find a recipe that I could add a random 1/2 pound of sea scallops left in the freezer. Some sort of pasta seemed like a good option and I thought that Pioneer Woman had a scampi recipe. Well, it turns out that she didn't have a scampi recipe, but she did have a recipe for Baked Lemon Pasta. Lemon...scallops...pasta...sounded like a winner to me! I've gotten pretty fast at making homemade pasta so I made a batch of fettuccine to go with the sauce. Her recipe doesn't use scallops (or any other meat) but I thought it would be a good pairing. I seared the scallops and then quartered them but I didn't add them until I baked the pasta (I had a sneaking suspicion that the big chic would want to take it in her lunch and didn't want her to worry about having a stinky seafood lunch!) Although the recipe sounds a little weird (sour cream?), it was really good...kinda like a lemony fettuccine alfredo. It was so popular with the chics and the hubs that we only had about 1/2 cup leftover! Just enough for big chic's lunch...

Lemon pasta, Watermelon, Cookie, Caesar salad

We are currently overhauling the chics' playroom and went to Ikea this weekend to get some storage ideas. We always leave Ikea not with boxes of furniture, but with bags of food. These cookies are from our last visit. They're called Kakor Chokladflarn. They're like the Swedish version of a Peppridge Farm Brussels cookie. But better...much, MUCH better!

Big chic gets to buy her lunch for the rest of the week. Because I don't want to leave a balance in her lunch account over the summer, I figured out that she needs to buy lunch two times a week for the next three weeks to use up the balance on her lunch account. After looking at the lunch calendar, she chose Thursday and Friday of this week. So I'm off of lunch duty for the week! Everyone enjoy your weekend!

White Trash Strawberry Shortcake

I know there are a lot more things in tomorrow's lunch than this one little dessert, but I just love the name of it, so that's what I'm focusing on. I'm not even going to try to deny the fact that I bought not one Twinkie, but an entire box. I was at the store last week and when I passed them on the end cap, the 10 year old in me had to have them. Now that I've eaten a couple, my craving has been satisfied. So, what do I do with all the leftover Twinkies? White Trash Strawberry Shortcake, of course. Twinkies are "cream" filled sponge cake, after all. All the work is done for you!

Peanut butter and jelly silly face sandwich with fruit leather tongue, Cucumbers and carrots, White Trash Strawberry Shortcake, Watermelon

Greek Yogurt....mmm!

Greek yogurt is awesome! Even the hubs, who's normally not a lover of yogurt, likes Greek yogurt. (likes it - still doesn't love it, but we're working on him!) It's thicker, creamier, and a lot less tangy than your usual yogurts. I like to make my own yogurt but can never get it as thick (or even close) as Greek yogurt. I used to spend way too much money on it at a specialty store, until finally the wonderful and most awesome Costco started selling it in a huge container at a great price! LOVE that Costco! Big chic loves her Greek yogurt two ways - 1. with a drizzle of honey or agave nectar and walnuts 2. with strawberries and granola. Tomorrow she's getting variety #2.

Natural Peanut Butter with Celery Sticks, Bakerella's Congo Bar, Granola, Greek Yogurt with Strawberries.

Summer's getting closer!

This is the time of year when I love going grocery shopping! All the summer fruits and veggies are starting to show up in the stores and we start focusing on eating more salads and grilled proteins. (It also helps to know that we will be having to put swimsuits on at any moment!) You can pretty much buy any food any time of year now, but the quality is usually poor and the price is usually high. We are finally starting to see some of the "in season" fruits at "in season" prices. YAY!! Tomorrow's lunch is include the first of our REAL summer berries.




Bagel Thin with strawberry yogurt spread, strawberries and blackberries, Jicama and sliced cucumbers, Babybel cheese

Thanks to everyone for the suggestions on my Laptop Lunchbox carrier issue. A few hours after I posted my review, the wonderful people at Obentec contacted me and offered to replace my carrier. YAY! There are so many companies that don't stand behind their products once it's out of their hands and I'm glad to know that they AREN'T one of them! It's that kind of customer service that makes me stick with a company!

The Laptop Lunchbox - My almost end of the year review

There are only three weeks of school left. WOW! Really?? Where did this year go? It seems like such a short time ago I was preparing the big chic's first lunch for her first day. Now our schedule is full of all of the "end of_____" events - graduations, recitals, parties, etc... And while it seems to me that the time has gone so quickly, many of our school items are starting to show that they have indeed seen the inside of a school for the past 9 months. Chic's burgandy and navy uniforms are fading, white uniforms are stained beyond hope, the backpack is scuffed and dirty, and our Laptop Lunchbox carrier is on it's last legs. When I discovered the tear on the carrier, I remembered that when we bought the lunchbox, the hubs and I both wondered how durable it would be. I decided that I'd write a little "year in review" for anyone that is considering the purchase and wonders the same thing.

When we first bought the Laptop Lunchbox, our main concern was that the chic would lose it. I mean, let's be honest...they are not the cheapest lunchbox option out there. And the hubs is notoriously "thrifty" and was, therefore, very hesitant about spending that much money. But I stood firm that the chic would take care of it and that we would be saving money in the long run because we wouldn't be buying all those plastic baggies. I can be very convincing (or annoying depending on whose version of the story you hear) so we bought it.

Looking back over the year, I have been very pleased with our purchase. The containers have been dishwashered, microwaved, and refrigerated and the lids are still leak proof. The water bottle, which I had reservations about, has never leaked, and the container keeps everything amazingly cold even hours later.

There are a few unadvertised benefits of the Laptop Lunchbox as well. It really stands out. Big chic was the only one with that lunchbox in Kindergarten and the teachers were interested in it so naturally everyone is looking out for it and recognizes it as the chic's. And because it was so unique, she was really proud of it and took great care of it. She never lost it or forgot it in the dining hall and our only "incident" was a day when she forgot to put it in her backpack and left it in her locker. THAT I can live with. Now before you think my chic must be some unusually responsible kindergartner, let me assure you that she is just as forgetful as the rest. We've lost a uniform sweater and a fleece jacket this year as well as other assorted hair bows and headbands. But the Laptop Lunchbox? Never forgets it!

So this brings me to the only somewhat disappointing aspect of the lunchbox - the carrier. I have loved the carrier for it's thermal properties. With a thin ice pack in the pocket, the food stays very cool. The lunchbox is still cold when I open it up to clean it out after school. And it seemed very durable. I really expected to be replacing containers before the carrier, but when she came home last week, I discovered a tear in the seam of the bag.

Granted, she's carried the thing to school all year, but it's in her backpack until lunch. Then she carries it to the dining hall, eats lunch, and carries it back to her backpack. The thing is only out of her backpack or locker to actually eat lunch. I don't know...I just expected it to be a bit more durable. I mean, her $10 backpack has been thrown in the car, on the pavement, in her room, in a locker, in the gym, in a dance studio, and dragged on the ground while she complained that it was too heavy and other than a few scuffs and stains, it's still perfectly fine. A replacement carrier is $19 or so and we'll end up having to buy another before next year, but then I gotta justify the fact that we are again spending more than we normally would on a lunchbox. I'm hoping that our next carrier will last longer, that maybe this was just a fluke. We'll see. If not, I may end up having to find another way to carry her container. I'm just not sure how many years I can convince the hubs that we need to spend more money.

So, would I buy the Laptop Lunchbox again? Yes. Overall we have loved the Laptop Lunchbox. We've had an unending variety of food to send to lunch and she has really enjoyed her lunches this year. We'll be taking out lunches in the Laptop Lunchbox again next year. And her sister, who will be starting Pre-K has already requested one.

Here's her lunch from yesterday:

Tomatoes (to put on her wrap), Baby cucumber, BLT wrap, Strawberries, Fruit Leather

I didn't take a pic of today's lunch. She was supposed to have a field trip, but it was canceled, but she went ahead and took the field trip friendly lunch. Didn't take pics of it though cause it was just too boring!

Nothing special

Big chic has been buying lunch more lately. Honestly, the dining hall has had some pretty healthy meals. Last week, I stopped in to eat lunch with her and they had roast beef and broccoli. Not even pressed, prepacked roast beef. Like REAL roast beef slices. I was impressed. So, anyway, she IS taking lunch tomorrow and told me what she wanted. Nothing special, but here it is...

PB&J on homemade white whole wheat bread, Frozen blackberries, Granola bar, Frozen green beans

I made the white whole wheat bread from King Arthur's website in my awesome pullman pan. It came out a little disappointing, but it was still good. I have to admit, though, that I didn't have any potato flakes for the recipe, and I'm a little disturbed by the thought of potato flakes anyway. So I'll live with my bread the way it is!

Three Amigos

This lunch didn't start out being faces, but when I put the ham and cheese in the container, they were just begging for a face. I'm gonna tell the big chic that the ham and cheese people are she and her two besties (one's a boy and one's a girl). She'll love that!

Natural applesauce, Whole grain sandwich thin, Frozen green beans, Ham, turkey, and cheese amigos.

Salad and Ricotta Stuffed Peppers

It seems like sometime around Winter Break the big chic's lunch turned away from the "cute" and towards the leftovers. Even when I try to send a decorated lunch, she ends up asking if she can take "some of this" while we're sitting at the dinner table. We are very lucky that she is able to heat things in the microwave in the dining hall. Otherwise, we'd probably be a lot more limited with the leftovers. Tonight's dinner was Italian salad with ricotta stuffed mini peppers.

Italian salad, red grapes, ricotta stuffed mini peppers

The mini peppers recipe came from my new Giada cookbook (it's also on Food Network) and the salad is the Olive Garden copycat salad dressing with banana peppers, Parmesan, and black olives. (Big chic LOVES banana peppers!)

Lasagna Soup

Lasagna is soooooo good, but I rarely make it because I feel so guilty eating it. The same things that make it great are the same things that make it bad for you...cheese, cheese, and more cheese! I came across a lasagna soup recipe that had all the flavor of lasagna with only a bit of cheese. It's Paula Deen's Tastes Like Lasagna Soup. I know that Paula Deen is not normally known for her healthy cooking, but this recipe is actually very healthy. I made a few modifications, though, to boost the nutritional value even more. I added a buncha spinach and omitted the mozzarella. I also added a small spoonful of ricotta cheese to the top. YUM!

I packed the soup in her lunch jar and then sent a few snacky type things in a little bento to eat with it.

Oreo, Goldfish crackers, Lasagna soup, Dried cranberries

Elvis Roll-Up

Tomorrow's lunch is a popular item with our family...okay, everyone except the hubs who insists that peanut butter and bacon is gross. But he is so SO wrong! They compliment each other perfectly! I think it's an even better combination that peanut butter and chocolate. Seriously! When I was pregnant I went through a grilled peanut butter, bacon, and honey sandwich phase. (No wonder I gained 53 pounds!) But I still love the sandwich post-pregnancy and this is a much lighter way to enjoy the sandwich.

Elvis roll-up, banana (to add to the rollup at lunch so it doesn't brown), carrot slices, Cottage cheese with strawberry.

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Elvis Roll-up

1 tortilla

2 Tbsp natural peanut butter

1 banana, sliced lengthwise

1 slice thick cut bacon, cooked till crisp

1 Tbsp honey

Spread peanut butter on the tortilla. Lay bacon and banana on one end of tortilla. Drizzle with honey and roll up. (If you're feeling adventurous, try it on buttered bread and grill it as you would a grilled cheese. You can thank me later ;) )

Food Revolution

I love Jamie Oliver! I've been a fan since he was a curly headed young bachelor whose show I could only watch on BBC. He's was so cute and British and his recipes were always good. Well now in addition to being cute, British, and a great chef, he is passionate about changing the school lunch system. How could I NOT love him? I don't know how many of you are watching the show "Food Revolution", but if you're not, you should be. He is trying to change the school lunch system in West Virginia and his journey and revelations are very frustrating and sad at times. I almost passed out when they informed Jamie that french fries were considered a vegetable option! His FIFTEEN vegetable noodle dish was not an acceptable lunch, but a hamburger and fries somehow met their lunch standards. Appalling! Anyway, he's made a stir fry on the show several times for the people in the community to demonstrate that food can be healthy AND taste good (shocking, I know!). I made the stir fry yesterday and big chic made sure that there was enough left to take in her lunch for tomorrow.

Sizzling Beef with Scallions and Black Bean Sauce, Bean sprouts, Fruit leather

You can find the stir fry recipe here. I used noodles instead of rice and added bean sprouts on the top after cooking. It was delish! Check out Jamie Oliver's Food Revolution by clicking the button on my sidebar. Sign his petition! And watch the show on Friday nights on ABC!

The Thrown Together Lunch

Somehow today just got away from me. It seemed like I woke up with a whole day of possibilities in front of me and somehow ended up exhausted standing in the kitchen at 9 pm with no lunch made for tomorrow. I thought about letting the big chic eat hot lunch for tomorrow, but I had already promised her that she could buy hot lunch on Thursday, so I had to stick to my guns and make a lunch.

Granola and Oreos (ya, she's gonna love me!), Ants on a log, Greek yogurt with frozen blueberries.

The Proud Mom Lunch

I let the big chic make this lunch. I didn't give her any guidance or suggestions like I normally would. I just let her go and gave her free reign of the kitchen to see what she came up with. She even picked which lunchbox she'd use. I gotta say, I'm pretty proud of her!

Spinach salad with chicken, Salad dressing and Babybel cheese, Strawberries on sugar free Hershey's syrup with Cool Whip.

The Giada Lunch

Giada DeLaurentiis has a new book out called Giada at Home. Last night, I was lucky enough to go to her book signing to get my copy signed by the one and only shiny, sparkly Giada. It was a lot like the Seinfeld Soup Nazi episode...have your ticket visible...move forward...open your book to the signing page...move to the right...hand Giada the book...move to the left.

Here's a photo that I took on my phone from the "photo opportunity spot" (which was NOT, btw, in the line or in any other location than that particular spot. Maybe she only likes to be photographed from her left side? I don't know.) I didn't take my camera cause I was trying to be all cool, ya know, so pardon the poor picture quality, but it's her...really, I swear! I wished I would have taken my camera cause everyone was snapping away. Anyway, my friend and I had a great time watching all the people in line and enjoying some time away from our kids!

So because I have a signed copy of the book now, I felt compelled to make something from the book tonight. The big chic flipped through it at breakfast and asked for the pea crostini, so that was one of our sides and then I decided on Chicken Milanese.

The big chic loved it all, so she is taking the leftovers for lunch tomorrow.

Seeded crackers, Pea crostini, Grapes, Chicken Milanese

I know the pea crostini looks a little questionable, but trust me...it is addicting. AND it's healthy. It's like hummus but with peas. The chics loved it so I think we'll be making it often! She's made the recipe on her show so the recipe is actually on the Food Network site. Here it is. Enjoy!

Field Trip #6

Another week and another field trip! This time I'm chaperoning and am bringing lunch for the beloved Kindergarten teacher as well, so I've got three lunches to prepare. Fortunately, they are all going to be the same.

We are having a picnic and tomato mozzarella sandwiches make great picnic food. They just get better the longer they sit. Okay, so eventually they would get moldy and gross, but an overnight rest makes them awesome!

Tomato mozzarella sandwich, Kettle bbq chips, Homemade granola bars, Green grapes

I try to make lunch for our teacher occasionally and you should too! When I was teaching, I felt so unappreciated about 90 percent of the time and small gestures from parents went a LONG way. As far as I'm concerned they could erect a statue of the beloved kindergarten teacher and throw a parade for her and it STILL wouldn't be enough. She's awesome!