Simple Spring Lunches

I love the colors and simple details that make these unconventional lunches so visually appealing.

Monday, 3/10/14 - Nuts to Popcorn!

Z's lunch: organic popcorn; organic strawberries, carrots, and raspberry; Naturebox Lemon Pucker Pistachios

 

I think we had a temporary bread shortage this week. Instead of a sandwich, I chose popcorn as her whole grains, and some Naturebox Lemon Pucker Pistachios for protein.
To fancy it up, I stuck a flower pick in the strawberries (in a butterfly cup available only at Christmas Tree Stores, as far as I can tell, although you can sometimes find them on eBay.) I put her baby carrots in a flower-shaped cup and stuck a raspberry on top of the middle one to make them look more flower-y.

[This post contains affiliate links.] 

E's lunch: organic popcorn, GF crackers w/organic PB; organic strawberries, carrots, and mushroom

I didn't want the internet trolls hassling me to worry about E choking on nuts, so she got PB Cracker Stackers instead. And a mushroom. She chose it herself from the farm store and was very excited about it.

Tuesday, 3/11/14 - Applesauce and Cracker Stackers

Z's lunch: organic applesauce, GF crackers, organic carrots and peas, goat milk cheddar

I put some organic applesauce in a Squooshi reusable pouch because I needed to get the last of the applesauce out of the fridge to make room!

I made cheese Cracker Stackers with some gluten-free Saltine-type crackers and a goat milk cheddar cut with a flower veggie cutter.

Z's lunch: organic carrots and peas, goat milk cheddar, organic applesauce, GF crackers

 

I couldn't find a second clean Squooshi pouch quickly, so grabbed a SquishySnakPak for E's applesauce. She got broken crackers because she just eats them separately anyway, while Big Sis prefers to stack them with the cheese. Gluten-free crackers tend to come with a lot of broken ones...

Thursday, 3/13/14 - Eggs and Rice

Z's lunch: dye-free jelly beans, organic peas, organic raspberries w/Enjoy Life dark chocolate chips,
organic HB egg, leftover organic brown rice w/quinoa

 

I fancied up this lunch with some colorful flower picks. And Z loves when I make her raspberries look more flower-y by stuffing them with chocolate chips. I buy Enjoy Life brand because they're not only free from the Top 8 Allergens and gluten, they're also GMO-free and free from all artificial and petroleum-derived ingredients. Mmm, yummy!

The dye-free jelly beans were on post-Valentines clearance from NaturalCandyStore.com. I love stocking up on seasonal petroleum-free candies from them throughout the year!

E's lunch: organic grapes, broccoli, and tomatoes; organic HB egg, leftover organic brown rice w/quinoa

I changed up the fruits and veggies, and skipped the candy for the toddler, but both girls had the same protein (egg) and grain (brown rice and quinoa.)

Tools of the Trade

     

MOMables Monday - "The One With the Smoothie!"

With back-to-school fast approaching, now is the perfect time to look into subscribing to the MOMables lunch menu planning service - recipes for dinner to turn into lunch, quick lunch recipes, and suggestions for leftovers, plus a weekly shopping list! Boom! MOMables practically does everything but pack your actual lunch! If you're still on the fence, go ahead and subscribe to the free weekly e-newsletter - you get links to great recipes and blog articles from clearly talented contributors (ahem) plus access to one free week from the MOMables menu!

I wanted to do a Lunch(able) with Smoothie post for MOMables both as a way to showcase these new reusable squeezy food pouches, but also because the boxed "ones with the smoothies!" are filled with so much fake junk my oldest one can't eat them, even if I was willing to overlook all the "natural" additives.

[This post contains affiliate links. However, I'd recommend MOMables even if I didn't get rewarded for referring new members. Just with fewer direct links... FYI, I pay for my own annual membership. That's how much I love the MOMables service!]

Uncured turkey, GF sub bun, organic cheddar, organic strawberries and sugar snap peas,
organic mustard, organic banana-strawberry-yogurt smoothie

 

The yellow boxed version comes with

• a "whole grain" sub bun (containing some whole wheat flour... as the third ingredient, after processed flour and water. Plus a bunch of chemical names I can't pronounce... and artificial flavor. Apparently bread no longer tastes bread-y enough!)
• turkey breast lunch meat with nitrites (the carcinogenic stuff nitrates turn into after you eat them,) smoke flavoring, and caramel color (made by burning sugar with an ammonia compound, which is now shown to be carcinogenic as well. Yay.)
• "prepared cheddar cheese product" - because legally they can't call it cheese. Colored with annatto though, a natural colorant. Though some kids react to annatto with behavioral issues just like the artificial dyes, as well as head-banging and pulling out their hair. Luckily not us!
• chocolate sandwich cookies (made by you-know-whO-reos. With vanillin, an "artificial flavor" created as a wood-pulp manufacturing byproduct. Yum. But also something my oldest happens to react to. Buh-bye!
• fruit smoothie - pretty much the only thing I'd feel remotely comfortable letting my kids eat. Even though instead of just pureed fruit, it contains a bunch of extra fruit juice, for added sugar without most of the nutritional benefits of eating whole fruits. But "natural flavors" and colors! But hey. At least there's finally some fruit in one of these!
• and my favorite... the packet of mayonnaise. With "natural flavors" and beta carotene as a natural colorant. Plus a mystery "artificial color," and Yellow 6 and Blue 1. /facepalm

*please don't think that I judge parents who let their kids eat these, though. I used to too, on occasion. Now with one who can't have fake stuff and the other who can't have gluten, these are no longer an option for us. Doesn't make the ingredients any less crummy though, either way.

So for my MOMables post, I made up a batch of banana-strawberry smoothies, found some gluten-free sub buns (Schar brand,) and put together all the elements of the lunch, to match the boxed version, with just one minor change. I subbed mustard for the "mayo," since Z prefers mustard, and ours has only vinegar, turmeric, and mustard seed - all good-for-you anytime ingredients!

Only I totally forgot the cookies! And didn't realize until I had already sent it off to school with a certain little someone! Doh!

So I had to make it again. With Kinnikinnick gluten-free (and junk-free) sandwich cookies. Only this one was "just for show," since I couldn't send the same thing two days in a row, and I didn't particularly want to eat it. Plus I had already packed myself a lunch. So I took my pics then put everything back in the fridge, and then re-used the bun for a different lunch for myself!

Take 2!

Organic mustard, GF sub bun,  uncured turkey, organic cheddar;
organic green beans, strawberries and blackberries, organic banana-strawberry-yogurt smoothie

Somehow the cookies didn't make it back... It's a mystery that will never be solved... *burp*

Check out all my other MOMables posts too!

Tools of the Trade

  

Easy Squeezy! Yummi Pouch Review

[I received a set of Yummi Pouches to review. This post contains affiliate links.]

The Yummi Pouch is a great way to reduce the waste and expense of store-bought disposable "squeezy fruit" pouches. And while you can choose to buy a big tub of yogurt or applesauce to fill the pouches, you could also choose to make your own baby food, applesauce or smoothies. Save money AND be in charge of all the ingredients!

 

I have a hard time filling these types of pouches, since my smoothies tend to be thicker, so funnels don't work. (Check out my DIY pouch smoothies post over at MOMables!) So I got myself an Infantino Squeeze Station. It is designed to work with pouches that have the spouts sticking out of the top, since you load them into the tray and lower it down onto the frame. So it took a little creative maneuvering to get these side-spout pouches in and out. I had to kind of fold the empty pouches to get them in, and then after they were filled, I had to put the lids on so that my smoothie didn't spill out when I bent and wiggled the pouches enough to lift the tray up. Then caps back off to slide the spouts off. It took a little trial-and-error the first time, but now I'm a pro! Laziness pays off!

Yummi Pouch also makes a fantastic addition to a packed lunch for school or camp! If you freeze one the night before, you can even use it as an ice pack to keep the rest of the lunch cool.

Uncured ham and organic cheddar on a GF bun with mustard, organic strawberries and peas,
Yummi Pouch with  blueberry-beet-kale-Greek yogurt smoothie

Pros

• Very affordable! Only $14.99/6 pouches and caps - best price I've seen for these!
• Nice wide opening across the top
• Dishwasher-safe
• Freezer-safe
• BPA and phthalate-free
• Re-usable, but recyclable if you manage to bust it or something.
• They have a space where you can write notes, like date or contents, or who they're for. And they sell dishwasher-safe stickers to help jazz them up. Fun!
• "Fill to" line so you don't accidentally over-fill and have it all sploot out the top when you try and close it. Not that I would know...
• Kid-friendly, and unlike many baby feeding items, they can "grow" with your child - start with baby mash, then move to fruit mash, yogurt, or smoothies for the older ones! Or Mamas!

Cons

• Says it holds 6 ounces, but it was tricky to close without making a mess.
• Same as any of them - lids can get easily lost, they can be annoying to clean if you don't rinse them soon after... that kind of thing.

E and Z Approved!

 

In fact, these were so popular, I have to fill them at night now. I can't pull them off the filling station faster than they can slorp them down!

Mama Tip: If you have any disposable squeezy pouches, save the lids. They are compatible. And make a fun way to color-code. You know. In case you forgot which ones had plain applesauce, and which ones had a cube of frozen blueberry baby mash added in for fun. That one child refuses to eat. Oops.

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