February "Leftovers"

Friday, 2/15/13 - I can't remember where we were headed, but I remember throwing these together pretty quickly... a doctor's appointment for me?

Little Z's Lunch

Cheese quesadilla, apples, frozen peas, leftover baked pumpkin chocolate chip pancake

Baby E's Lunch

Leftover biscuit pizza, frozen peas, peeled apple slices

I attempted to make biscuit meatballs as seen at What's For Lunch at Our House? but apparently you want to use the smaller canned biscuits. Since pretty much all the Pillsbury (and store-brand) canned doughs have artificial colors, I went with some from Immaculate Baking that I'd found on super-sale at Fred Meyer for being short-dated. Woot!  But they're ginormous. 

My biscuits took 153 years to cook and I had to bloob them around out of the muffin pan and onto a baking sheet to try and get all the sides to cook. They were not pretty. Delicious, but uuuuugly! I had a few more biscuits than meatballs, so I flattened the last few and made little pizzas.

Thursday, 2/21/13 - I'm pretty sure this was during Midwinter Break, so no school. Not sure where we were headed here either.

Little Z's Lunch

Carrot, PBJ sandwich, leftover baked pancakes, white cheddar cubes, apples

A quickie lunch, made fun with a little purple monkey pick to help skewer the cheese!

Baby E's Lunch

1/2 PB sandwich, leftover baked pancakes, Colby Jack cheese, diced peaches (mostly drained)

I included a little baby fork from Dollar Tree (BPA-free!) so E could practice her utensil skills. Plus we opted for the extra warranty on our new car's interior...

Baby hated the peaches. Which is fine, since they were from Gerber, whose products I will no longer buy because the blue trays the diced fruits and little toddler meals come in are made from a toxic plastic (#7 in the recycling symbol) that is technically classified as "food safe" by the FDA, but is the one that releases BPA when exposed to heat... like when you microwave these for 30-seconds to warm them up! The BPA-free rules only apply to feeding tools for BABIES. Toddlers can suck it, apparently.

The girls enjoyed eating their EasyLunchboxes lunches in the car on the way to wherever we were going...

Tools of the Trade

   

Crunch A Color - B.L.T. Kabobs

You see those cards there around the outside of my lunch? Those are from Crunch a Color The Healthy Eating Game! What a fun way to motivate kids to eat a healthy variety of foods, as well as try new things! You earn "points" for eating various "colors" of fruits and vegetables, healthy proteins, and whole grains. And you can earn bonus points just for trying something new!
If you have a competitive kid who likes to win, one who likes playing games, or one who likes to achieve goals for the sake of accomplishment, this is a great game for you!

I packed this Crunch a Color lunch in our EasyLunchboxes. Be sure to check out my Crunch a Color Conversation Starters lunch too!

GF toasted bread, lettuce, uncured bacon, red and yellow cherry tomatoes, hummus, strawberries, broccoli and carrots

Whole Grain: It looks pasty white and processed, but my gluten-free Udi's bread is actually made with whole grains! But I didn't use quite a whole slice, so I brought along some gluten-free whole grain corn chips (not shown) in a separate container as well, to dip in the hummus.

Protein: I used one and a half slices of uncured bacon to make these two skewers, and packed some hummus as well for an additional healthy protein and to dip tortilla chips and the veggies in.

3 or More Colors of Fruits and Vegetables: I have red tomatoes and strawberries, orange/yellow tomatoes and carrots, and green broccoli and romaine lettuce. Orange/yellow and blue/purple each count as one color group, nutritionally. And while there aren't any in this lunch, white fruits and veggies should be represented in a healthy diet as well! (Apples, potatoes, cauliflower, eggplant, etc.)

Studies show that kids prefer meals with 6 or more different items and 7 or more colors - so packing a variety is even more important!

Also not shown, I packed a Mini Dipper with just enough guacamole to dip the kabobs. Yum!


*disclaimer: I received The Healthy Eating Game from Crunch a Color to showcase with a healthy lunch!

Tools of the Trade

    

Crunch a Color Lunch!

Crunch a Color Conversation Starters are a fun way to promote discussion and interaction at the table during meals. Whether you're sitting down for a family dinner, eating in the car on a road trip, or take a few along on a picnic, these cards are sure to get everyone opening up and talking!

From easy questions like "What is your favorite food to eat?" to more thought provoking ones, such as "Which color best describes your personality?" you're sure to share a positive bond as you learn more about each other!

Uncured ham and string cheese "sushi," GF Van's crackers, guacamole, edamame, carrots, Chioggia beets, strawberries

In her EasyLunchbox, my preschooler has:

Whole Grain: These whole grain gluten-free crackers from Van's are a big hit with the girls and I - Z loves the "Everything" flavor the best. Me too! It's hard to incorporate a lot of whole grains in a picky-kid-friendly lunch, since my 4-year-old won't really eat cold rice! And many of the whole grain baked goods have a lot of starch in them, to make them more like the wheat-based items. So I've had to be creative with tasty whole-grain gluten bread and crackers in Z's lunches, and then serve a heaping bowl of cooked brown rice and quinoa with dinner!

Protein: Both the uncured ham and the cheese count as protein in this case. I got this idea from the MOMables 8-week Gluten and Nut Free Menu subscription. I wrapped two slices of ham around a stick of string cheese and used short food picks to secure the ham, and cut the stick into little "sushi rolls."

3 or More Colors: She has red strawberries (and technically beets,) orange/yellow carrot flowers, green edamame, and white beets. (The avocado in the guacamole is classified as an "other" in the USDA My Plate vegetables group.)


*Disclaimer: I received a copy of Crunch a Color Conversation Starters to feature with a healthy lunch!

Tools of the Trade

     

MOMables Monday - A Love-ly Chicken Salad

Tuesday, 2/5/13 - After being inspired by MOMables last time to make chicken salad for Z, I was crushed that she didn't like my recipe. So I tried again, this time using only canned chicken, finely grated carrot, and mayonnaise. Nothing sweet! Nothing crunchy! So should be perfect!

I even "stacked the deck" so to speak, by packing it in our new EasyLunchboxes Brights with the *pink* lid! I've found that if she likes the dish or is charmed by the cute utensil, that she is more inclined to try something new, and is subconsciously predisposed to like it! So I save the pink and new purple dishes from the IKEA kiddie rainbow sets for when I really want her to eat something! Muahahaha! Manipulating kids to choose to eat healthy foods is fun!

Cheddar and almond "cheddar" hearts, broccoli w/carrot hearts, Ranch, Kashi crackers, strawberries, chicken salad

After a mostly successful attempt to trick her into trying some dairy-free almond-based cheese by hiding it in a grilled cheese sandwich, I decided to be a little more obvious about it, and mixed some hearts using a mini heart cutter in with her regular cheddar hearts.
It was a no-go. She took a nibble out of one of them, and successfully weeded the others out of the pile (I'd mixed them in. Muahaha!) Oh well. Since I don't like the "cheese" either, I'll stop bothering with this one. Plus we can't send it to a nut-free school or classroom, which will be a problem next year, as I'll be sending her to the Kindergarten program at her current private preschool, which is nut-free.

I put the cheese hearts and broccoli into round silicone cups because they keep everything separate, but also look pretty and add colors. The regular-sized silicone baking cups don't fit flush to the lid of the EasyLunchbox, so small or thin items, like the cheese and carrot shapes, can slip out at the top and tumble around. A folded up cloth napkin works nicely to fill that space and keep everything in place. Plus they're an eco-friendly way to keep their hands clean at lunch!
Ranch in a Mini Dipper... for dipping.

I put the Kashi crackers in a square silicone cup because they fit better than in the round ones. And I can fit four silicone baking cups into the large section of an Easylunchbox in pretty much any combination of shapes. Wheee! This was from before we went gluten-free, but we both liked these crackers pretty well.

I cut the strawberries into heart shapes since Valentines Day was still looming, and it's a quick and easy way to cut the tops off the strawberries, which I'm doing anyways! Just cut the stem off with a V-shaped cut rather than flat across the top. Then slice in half down the sides to make two flat hearts. You can fit more into a lunchbox compartment this way too, versus whole.
I stuck in a heart pick just for fun.

And finally, to the main event! I put the chicken salad into a silicone heart cup, again for the heart theme. And I included a cupcake topper spoon/spreader to help scoop it onto the crackers.

Still no love for my chicken salad. I can't remember what her complaint was this time, but I think she's just upset that it looks so much like her favored tuna salad (tuna and mayo,) that she's disappointed in the flavor being so different. Maybe I'll try chopped olives or pickles next time. She's a sucker for olives and pickles!

Tools of the Trade