Kids' Lunches + 2 Recipe Links

What's For Lunch Wednesday

Today, I made some Vanilla Wafer cookies and some stuffed biscuits for the girls' Wednesday lunches. They both came out delicious and have already been taste-tested and pre-approved by the kids.

Vanilla Wafers

Stuffed Biscuits

To draw on the cookies, I used Wilton Food Writer Edible Color Markers. To cut the cucumbers into shapes, I used Stainless Steel Vegetable Cutters.

Clockwise from top right: grapes & melon; cucumber stars; ham & cheese stuffed biscuits; Nilla Wafers & granola bars. Chocolate Almond Milk to drink.

Same lunch, just different proportions and no granola bars. Juice for Picky Eater.

And here are a couple of my cookie drawings. As you can tell, I'm quite an artist. ;)

Kids' Lunches for Tuesday, August 17th

Again, nothing fancy. Just lots of brightly colored, fresh foods, with different textures and tastes.

For Bayberry: From top right, clockwise: Cucumber sticks and tomato rounds; Fruit salad made with strawberries, grapes, cantaloupe, and kiwi; More grapes, a granola bar, and a sugar cookie cut in half to fit; Bread sticks and Nutella. Juice to drink.

For Picky Eater: Cucumber sticks and Baby Carrots (in a cupcake liner to keep flavors separate) and a Sugar Cookie; Bread sticks & Nutella; Hard-Boiled Egg; Fruit Salad. Juice to drink.

Lunch for Everyone (Except Me)

Three lunches to show you today. Nothing fancy in them, except for some colored eggs. To color the eggs, peel them, rinse them off, then add them to a bowl of colored water (10 drops to 2 cups of water for brilliant colors). You can also color them naturally with tea, spinach water, and beet water...but they will impart a bit of flavor as well, so make sure the recipient likes those flavors. I let my eggs sit in the colored water for 10 minutes while I assembled the lunches, then I drained them and patted them dry before placing them in their lunchbox spots.

For the Army Man (aka Husband): Low-Carb Ants on a Log (Peanuts on Peanut Butter on Celery); Turkey Pastrami & Cheese on a Low-Carb Tortilla; Salted Peanuts, 2 Bright Pink Hard-Boiled Eggs; Crystal Light to drink.

For Bayberry: Peanut Butter & Guava Preserves on a Plain Bagel; Green Grapes; 2 Vanilla Cookies; a Bright Pink Hard-Boiled Egg; Cut up Cantaloupe. Nu-Vim Strawberry-Vanilla Smoothie to drink.

For Picky Eater: Peanut Butter & Guava Preserves on a Cinnamon-Raisin Bagel; salted Peanuts; a Vanilla Cookie; Cut up Cantaloupe; Green & Purple Grapes. Berry Punch to drink.

Lunchtime Comparison: the School Cafeteria vs Me

Tomorrow's Friday -- the last lunch of the school week. I'll be back on Sunday with a new lunch for Monday. For now, let's compare. Friday's school lunch for my daughters' schools is as follows:

Pepperoni Pizza

Tossed Salad, dressing

Corn on cob

Chilled fruit

Choice of milk

 

Pretty standard school lunchroom fare, wouldn't you say? It's not even that bad of a menu, and would even be a GREAT menu if the items were freshly prepared, instead of highly processed, frozen, thawed, and reheated, heavily salted and peppered, and drenched in sugar, artificial flavorings, colorings, and preservatives. I would love to see schools required to list nutritional content and ingredients on their menus for parents to see.

 

That lunch costs $2.00 per child per day, for one serving. I do better, both financially, and nutritionally, to pack my children's lunches.

 

We'll pass on school lunches, thanks. I'm not bitter about this, please don't think I am. I'm just vehemently against giving my children junk like that. Junk in = junk out. I also stand for healthier lunches for all children, and am working on ways to campaign for this cause.

 

For now, I'm starting with my own children and this blog. Changes start small, one lunchbox at a time.

 

Lunch for Friday:

Red & Green Grapes and Dragon Fruit; Pocky; Fig Newmans; Sweet Peas & Rice Shapes (Onigiri); Cubes of Cheddar Cheese, Edamame & Nutella.

The rice is simply seasoned with tamari and toasted sesame seeds. The peas & edamame were both frozen. This lunch went together so easily!

In case you're curious, here's what the outside of the dragon fruit looks like:

Kids' Lunches - Day 5

I went hiking with my sister today in Franklin D. Roosevelt State Park.

 It was lots of fun, but it was a really busy day. When we got back to my house, it was nearly dinner time, and I hadn't given lunches any thought. I threw this together in about 90 minutes, spaced throughout the evening. I need to get some lunch items stashed in the freezer so that I can mix and match items on busy days. Maybe I'll have some time to do that next week. This week, I'm full of visitors, so I have little spare time. Anyway, here are the girls' lunches for Thursday.

Clockwise from top right: Apple slices (rubbed on a lemon wedge to keep them fresh); homemade granola; salad: lettuce, cucumber, sweet pepper, carrot, shredded cheese; sweet potato biscuits baked in a muffin tin & a small container of French dressing. Juice to drink.

Same lunch, just without salad dressing.

Breakfast For Lunch: Kids, Day 4

What's For Lunch Wednesday

At some point, they'll have ordinary lunches, with sandwiches and that sort of thing. Maybe. For now, I'm having fun straying from the norm. First it was pizza, then nachos. Now: breakfast.

For Picky Eater:

Clockwise from top right: Heart-Shaped hard-Boiled Egg; Amish Friendship Bread; Blueberry Corn Muffin, Orange Wedge, & Babybel cheese; Orange slices. Juice to drink.

For Bayberry:

Same stuff, just more of it. Hard to tell but those eggs are in bunny and star shapes. :)

Lunch for Kids - Day 3

Most days, my girls will take very similar lunches. It's just easier on me that way. The only things that change are their individual needs and preferences. For example, Tuesday's lunch for Bayberry includes lettuce and salsa, which Picky Eater didn't want. Also, there will be times when I notice one of them is lacking in a certain nutrient and will use lunchtime to correct that imbalance. Mostly, though, they're going to be very similar.

Here's Tuesday's lunch for Picky Eater:

From top right, clockwise: Homemade Cream Cheese Fudge Brownie (recipe follows!); Apple slices (rubbed on a lemon wedge to keep them from browning); Homemade Refried Beans, Sour Cream, and shredded cheddar cheese; Homemade Pink & Purple Tortilla Chips, which were a blast to make. Juice to drink.

And Bayberry's Lunch:

Same thing, only with shredded lettuce. :) She also gets a small container of salsa, and a bottle of juice.

Cream Cheese Brownies

What You Need:

• 1/2 cup melted butter
• 1/2 cup oil
• 1 cup brown sugar
• 1 cup granulated sugar
• 4 large eggs
• 2 tsp vanilla extract
• 1 tsp sea salt
• 3/4 cup unsweetened cocoa powder
• 1 cup all-purpose flour
• 1 cup mini chocolate chips
• 6 oz softened cream cheese
• 1/4 cup softened butter
• 1 tsp vanilla extract
• 1 large egg
• 1/2 cup granulated sugar
• 2 Tbsp all-purpose flour

How it's Done:

1. Preheat the oven to 350 degrees. Grease a 9x11" baking dish.
2. Stir together the 1/2 cup melted butter, oil, and sugars until smooth. Beat in the eggs, one at a time. Add the 2 tsp vanilla extract and sea salt. Stir in the cocoa powder and flour until everything is smooth and combined. Pour the batter into the prepared pan.
3. Sprinkle the batter with the chocolate chips.
4. Beat together the cream cheese, 1/4 cup butter, 1 tsp vanilla, one egg, 1/2 cup sugar, and 2 Tbsp flour. Dot the batter with the cream cheese mixture and use a knife to swirl it together.
5. Bake 45 minutes or so, until center is set. Let cool completely before slicing. I sliced mine into circles with a biscuit cutter.