3 Lunches for Wednesday

Yesterday, I was so wrapped up in Picky Eater's project that I didn't get around to packing lunches until this morning! That was hectic and NOT something I care to do again! Here are lunches for Army man & the girls for Wednesday:

(My apologies for the poor lighting. I have to remember that it's getting darker earlier and I need to get back to packing lunch at 4 like I used to!)

These 3 lunches will show you that you really don't need to make changes from adult to kids lunches if you plan carefully. Army Man has four mini bagel pizzas (Two whole mini bagels topped with spaghetti sauce, mozzarella, and mini turkey pepperonis, baked at 375 for less than 10 minutes); a handful of muscadines (grapes), and a mini cupcake. He's taking Crystal Light to drink. I'm so glad he's off the Atkins diet.

 

Bayberry has two mini bagel pizzas, a Campari tomato, a few cucumber slices, some muscadines, two mini cupcakes, and a few pretzels. She's taking orange juice to drink.

Picky Eater needs a new nickname. Something less negative. I'll be thinking on it. Anyway, she has two mini pizzas, a few cucumber slices, 4 muscadines, a few pretzels, and a mini cupcake. She's taking milk to drink in her brand new, smaller Sigg brand stainless steel bottle that I got for NINETY-SEVEN CENTS at Dick's Sporting Goods today. What a steal! To give you an idea of how much of a bargain that is, I paid nearly $20.00 for her Hello Kitty Sigg before school started.

Monday's Lunch

Here's Monday's Lunch. Tuesday is grocery day, so we're using up little bits of this and that for lunch. Army Man's lunch, though not pictured: Leftover pork chop, steamed broccoli, peach crisp, and baked beans. Here are the kids' lunches for Monday:

Bayberry: Polenta cut into cute shapes (pizza sauce to dip, not pictured); steamed broccoli, peach crisp; apple slices (dipped in Fruit Fresh to keep them from browning); baked beans. Juice to drink.

Picky Eater: Popcorn; polenta with pizza sauce to dip; cucumber slices, apple slices, and baby carrots: peach crisp. Baked beans in a Thermos. Juice to drink.

One Hot Lunch & One Cold Lunch

We had Open House at Picky Eater's school this evening, which threw my whole schedule (Home at 3:45, homework, chores, and lunches done before dinner, dinner at 7) off. It was nice to see her new teacher, though, and talk with her gifted class teacher, and see the principal and the rest of the staff. I love her school and all of its teachers. We're lucky to have such a supportive, nurturing learning environment for our little girl. I do wish they'd wake up and smell the lunches, though. It's time for fresh, whole foods for our children.  

It's almost grocery shopping day so the pickings are getting slim, but we're still bringing tasty lunches! Here's what the girls are having for Friday:


I've noticed that Picky Eater has been coming home with lots of leftover food from lunch, so I'm cutting back on what I send. Bayberry, on the other hand, almost always comes home with a clean lunch box. I asked her if she was getting enough to eat and she assures me that she is. Today, her lunch looks small, but it's a standard lunch menu.

Bayberry: An Almond Grain burger from Earth Fare with a Homemade Soft Sandwich Roll. Condiments in the little container. Orange segments and some homemade crackers  round out the offerings. Juice to drink.

Picky Eater: She has a sandwich on a homemade roll -- it's fruit spread and peanuts! Also, some carrots, crackers, grapes, and dates. Juice to drink.

Lunch for Thursday

I love that Bayberry gets to use a microwave. That really opens up lots of possible lunches for her. Picky Eater can't use a microwave (imagine the chaos and dangers of letting elementary school students as young as four years of age use a microwave unsupervised!). However, I do live right across the street from her school. It's occurred to me to deliver her some hot lunches throughout the year. I think that would be fun, and parents are encouraged to eat lunch with their children when they can.

But for today...

For Bayberry: In her large main compartment, she has Coconut Black Beans & Rice and Steamed Broccoli, which she'll heat up at school. She has a corn muffin, grapes, and a small sweet potato/butternut squash pie (More about that in a minute). She's taking water to drink.

Picky Eater is taking a corn muffin, some grapes, a mini pie, carrots, cucumbers, orange segments, and a small bit of salad dressing for dipping her veggies. She's taking lemonade to drink.

For the mini pies, here's what I did (Shhh...the kids think it's pumpkin pie!)

For the crust:

Combine 1 1/3 cups flour (1/2 whole wheat and 1/2 unbleached all purpose is great!), 1/2 tsp sea salt in your food processor. Add 8 Tbsp butter (or coconut oil, which is wonderful in baked goods) and pulse 12 times. Slowly pulse in 2 to 3 Tbsp ice cold water. Remove to a lightly floured surface and form a ball.

Divide your dough into 16 equal pieces. Roll each piece into a ball. Flatten each ball into a round miniature pie crust.

Place each crust into a mini muffin cup. Set crusts aside so you can prepare the filling.

For the filling:

Steam 2 cups of peeled & diced orange vegetables. Sweet potatoes, butternut squash, pumpkin, even carrots are fair game! Drain any water away from the cooked vegetables.

Process until smooth, then stir in 1/4 cup maple syrup, 2 Tbsp flour, 2 tsp ground nutmeg or cinnamon, and 1 beaten egg (I used Ener-G egg replacer, though).

Fill mini pies to 3/4 full. Bake at 400 degrees until puffed up and cooked through, about 20 minutes. Watch carefully to make sure they don't overcook.

Another Breakfast for Lunch

The first breakfast for lunch was a hit with the kids, so I did it again, a little differently.

The girls are taking identical lunches Wednesday. Bayberry's getting more food, obviously, but the items are identical. We have green grapes, baked apple oatmeal (in muffin cups), boiled eggs, and silver dollar pancakes with maple syrup. They're taking lemonade to drink.

Flower Garden Lunch for Kids

I thought I'd try my hand at something a bit fancier than I have been doing. A flower, with grass, butterflies, and smaller flowers. What do you think? :)

Picky Eater's big flower is an egg salad sandwich. The white center is a small round bit of fondant. The grass is made from strips of unpeeled cucumber. The flowers and butterflies are cucumbers and apples. There are green peas underneath it all. The grapes & orange are meant to resemble a sun. And lastly, there are two homemade coconut macaroons and a few grapes thrown in so they stay still. She's taking milk to drink.

Bayberry's lunch is only a bit fancy. I needed to add more calories to her lunch. She has pasta salad, and lots of extra fruit and veggies. She's taking milk to drink, too.

This post is linked to What's for Lunch Wednesday.

Hello, Monday

Tomorrow's lunches for the kids are full of variety and color. I love that. I've even arranged for part of their lunches to be served warm.

Bayberry has noodles with carrots, parsnips, and peas tossed with butter, which she'll heat up at school; 2 Thumbprint Cookies; Strawberries, grapes, and orange segments; 1/2 of a toasted cheese sandwich, and 1/2 of a cinnamon roll. She has water to drink.

Picky Eater has 2 Thumbprint cookies; 1/2 of a toasted cheese sandwich; 1/2 of a cinnamon roll (cut into bites); orange segments, grapes, and strawberries. In the morning, I'll heat her up some soup that she's taking in her Thermos. The soup is noodles in broth with the same veggies as Bayberry's. She's taking orange juice to drink. I'll update with a picture of the soup tomorrow.