Day 32 - Red Quinoa & Teriyaki Salmon Salad

I actually got really organized and made and packed this lunch last night!  First time I have successfully done this (and only 32 days into lunch making LOL).

I made some teriyaki salmon a couple of nights ago for a friend who was over for dinner with her kids (got all but one to eat it), and had leftovers - perfect for the lunch box.  So, looking through my cupboard of grains I found some red quinoa that I have yet to try out.  Cut up the leftover baby cucumbers, added some scallions, feta and olive oil - packed it in the thermos containers - all done.

The quinoa was really fast to make - 20 minutes - during which time I prepped the rest.

Full Menu:
- Red Quinoa & Teriyaki Salmon Salad
- Apple Sauce Cookies

The salad is pretty heavy, so I don't think the kids will need more to fill their bellies, and I'm fairly certain they'll have fruit for snack at school, so a fairly uncomplicated lunch.

Oh yes, and no blog for a week.  I'll be back blogging on November 8th.

Dried Red Quinoa

Cooked Red Quinoa

Red Quinoa & Salmon Teriyaki Salad

Apple Sauce Cookies

Day 31 - Caprese Salad

Picked up some lucious tomatoes at the farmer's market yesterday, combined them with the raw mozzarella from  our CSA, cold pressed organic olive oil, and some basil grown right on our deck - voila - fresh caprese salad.

Lunch:
- Caprese Salad
- Whole Wheat Pita
- Homemade Apple Sauce Cookies

Wish I could take credit for the homemade apple sauce cookies!  Filled with good stuff, hard to believe they were cookies. Thanks to a good friend for sharing those...

Caprese Salad

Whole Wheat Pita

Apple Sauce Cookies

Not even a crumb left of anything in the lunch bags today!

Day 30 - Knives

I once heard, "a great knife makes a great chef."  Well, I'll bet there are a few other things that make a great chef, but we'll focus on the knife for now.  We got all our knives sharpened recently, so I figured I'd become the chef extraordinaire overnight. 

Well, at 7:00 in the a.m., chopping up spinach to add to today's stir fry, I nearly sliced my finger off.  Luckily for me it was on the nail.  So, I made a very nice wedge in my nail (confirmation - our knife sharpener was very good).  Note to self - you are not the chef extraordinaire, you can't chop like you have a show on the Food Network, so BE CAREFUL and GO SLOWLY!  Ha (this was not my first accident since the knives were sharpened a week ago).

So, we ended up with:
- Hoppin' John (black-eyed peas and rice)
- Baby Cukes
- Kiwi

Hoppin' John is a vegan take on early African-American food, traditionally cooked with a ham bone or pork flavoring.  To get a similar taste, liquid smoke and salt are used.  I made it a couple of nights ago.  It was a little bland, so I added some extra tamari (soy sauce) for me.  For my husband, who I'm starting to convince to take his lunch, I added hot sauce. The kids preferred the original, more bland taste. I also had that tasty spinach that was about to go bad, so I added it (albeit way too quickly and early in the a.m.) to the dish.  In the photo below, you are also seeing peppers and tomatoes.

Hoppin' John

Baby Cukes

Kiwi

Day 29 - Mac 'n Cheese?

I got a little creative on the weekend with all the acorn squash from my CSA share.  I decided to roast it, puree it, then pour it over quinoa macaroni, add a bit of shredded cheese on top for a final disguise...voila...healthy mac 'n cheese.

With that baby cukes and dried fruit  medley (banana, apple, mango & pineapple).

The thermos containers are still working well.  To reheat the mac n' cheese I put about 1/8th of an inch of vegetable stock in a pan, heated up the stock, then added the mac n' cheese turned down the heat to warm and put a lid on for about 15 minutes.  This way the macaroni didn't toughen up and the cheese topping stayed as a topping, but all was heated well.

Quinoa Macaroni

Pureed Acorn Squash

Mac 'n Cheese

Baby Cukes

Dried Fruit Medley

Day 28 - Vietnamese Spring Rolls

We had a very productive weekend, from a cooking standpoint, so a few items ready to go into lunches.

Today:
- Vietnamese Spring Rolls
- Korean Chestnut/Coconut Bread
- Kiwi
- Dried fruit

The spring rolls are thanks to my husband - he seems to enjoy making these delicious "pockets" as my son calls them. Shrimp, scallion, mung sprouts and cilantro in a rice paper wrap.

Vietnamese Spring Rolls

Found this gorgeous bread in a Korean market we just discovered, thanks to a good friend.  It is full of coconut, dates and chestnuts.  "Gorgeous" I had never heard of as a food descriptor, but visiting friends from the UK a couple of years ago used it, and I find it quite fitting for this bread.  It is really more of a dessert than a bread per say, but on occasion, why not?!

Korean Bread

Sliced Korean Bread - See all the Yummies?

Kiwi

We tried mango, banana and apple this weekend.  Probably could have used a couple more hours in the dehydrator (a bit chewy for the mango and the banana), but tasty none-the-less.

Dried Fruit

Day 27 - Chicken, Feta & Spinach Sausage

Oops.  Somehow yesterday evaporated.  Let's see if I can remember what I put in their lunch yesterday...

Good thing I took pictures!  (My memory is not so great, a fact my husband usually loves...)

Menu:
- Chicken, Feta & Spinach Sausage in Whole Wheat Pita (with a dab of mustard)
- Goddess Kale Chips
- Black Licorice (for a treat)
- H2O

The sausages were a recent find.  I'm not a big fan of any meat processed, however, I did find these more natural ones without nitrites or nitrates added.  The licorice is an old favorite of mine - I found some at Whole Foods - the kids were intrigued so they tried a piece, and actually loved it!  I didn't expect them to like black licorice.  Now, this isn't a great food item - full of sugar, but in the form of molasses, so at least better than regular, processed white sugar.  So, as an occasional treat, I don't mind the licorice (for myself, too)!

Chicken, Feta & Spinach Sausages

Goddess Kale Chips

Black Licorice

Day 26 - Goddess Kale Chips

Today you'll see a little  bit of repetition.  Lots in fridge that needs to be used up!

Black Bean Burger
Coleslaw
Goddess Kale Chips

Invariably the kids bring home some lunch, which they get to eat as their after school snack!  So, I'm going to dial the amount back a bit.  We'll see how it goes.

Black Bean Burger

Coleslaw

Kale Chips

Day 25 - Corn Salsa Pizzettes

Goodness gracious.  What a morning.  Late, late, late.  Confession - I tend to get addicted to certain 'specialty shows' - Lost, The Tudors, Rome, etc.  The latest - Fringe.  Am of course seasons behind, so we get the shows through Netflix, but that means we can watch 4 episodes, commercial-free, into the wee hours of the morning.  Last night - fell asleep during the show.  To top it off, got adventurous with the new dehydrator - made raw goddess kale chips last night. Of course this morning on top of being late, had to get all the chips into air tight packages with a couple not quite done the dehydration process.  So, I was a bit of a crazy woman running around this morning and of course, the kids were late for school.  The good part about this morning - the kids stole a kale chip before I could pack some in their lunch - the LOVED it!  Yeah!  Kids loving kale.  From my nutrition persona - I couldn't be more delighted!

Today's Lunch
- Corn Salsa Pizzettes
- Baby Cukes
- Goddess Kale Chips
- Apple Chips
- Water (as always, I just don't always put it in the blog).

Here are the before and after dehydrator kale chips:

Kale Chips Mixed in Goddess Marinade

Raw Goddess Kale Chips - All Done!

Note - the kale chips are raw as they were dehydrated at 105 degrees (F).  Anything below 118 degrees is considered raw cooking.  Raw foodies, as they are called, believe that if you cook food higher than 118, that you kill off all the good nutrients and enzymes.  Dehydrators are a raw foodie's best friend!  (Along with raw cacao, but we'll save that for another conversation.)

Corn Salsa Pizzettes

Full disclosure here.  My husband put the corn salsa on the pita bread a couple of nights ago for us to snack on - we never did.  So, they were sitting in the fridge and with my lack of time this morning, I just sprinkled some cheese on top and broiled for a couple of minutes.

Baby Cukes

Apple Chips

Day 24 - Vegan Black Bean Burger

Menu
- Black Bean Burgers
- Coleslaw
- Babybel Cheese
- 1/2 slice whole wheat bread with butter
- Pear
- Apple Chips (dried apples)

Last night was trying to figure out how to use up all the cabbage I have from the CSA - I'm not a huge fan of cabbage, so it is usually the last veggie to go from the fridge!  I took some of the broccoli stems I saved from last week, shredded them, along with the cabbage and some carrots.  Toss in some homemade dressing, voila - coleslaw!  The only issue - we'll be eating that for a week...

Coleslaw

The Lunch Box

Day 23 - Black Bean & Sweet Pepper Stir Fry

I go away for a week, and my husband buys a dehydrator!!!  Now, some of you may not be too excited about that, but I was going to start dropping hints for next birthday (many months away) to get one.  Turns out, all you need is a daughter who is ga-ga over dried fruit and a Daddy who's daughter is the 'apple of his eye' (sorry, couldn't resist the pun).

So, we enter a new dimension.  Not only are we able to dehydrate a whack (that's a lot) of fresh, in-season fruit but we can now make raw crackers and breads, and a multitude of other great things.

Today, it's all about the fruit.

Menu:
Brown Rice, Black Bean & Sweet Pepper Stir Fry
Baby Cukes
Dried Apples & Pineapple
Banana

First, the EXCALIBUR!!!

Excalibur - Dehydrator Extraordinaire

Almost Done (Pineapple & Apple)

Dried Apples Ready to Go

Now the rest.  I sifted through the weekend's left-overs and found the brown rice and black beans.  Put some olive oil in a pan, with a shallot (caramelized), then sweet peppers.  Med-high heat until softened.  Then added in the rice and beans to reheat.  Simple, quick and tasty.

Brown Rice, Black Bean & Sweet Pepper Stirfry

Baby Cukes & Banana

Day 22 - Vegan Black Bean Burger

At last.  I actually planned the night before for lunch today.  I made two dinners last night.  One we ate, the other for today - black bean burgers.  (A little more energy than usual!)

Lunch:
- Vegan Black Bean Burgers
- Quinoa Bread
- Organic Red Grapes

Vegan Black Bean Burgers

These I've made before.  I didn't have any corn kernels this time, but they were still very tasty.  There is no egg to bind them together (being VEGAN burgers), so they are a little crumbly.

The quinoa bread is delicious.  Quinoa, a whole grain, is the first ingredient (meaning the most abundant ingredient) whereas most breads have wheat flour/enriched wheat flour/etc. as the first ingredient.  If the first ingredient isn't a whole grain, you likely are getting very little fiber and a lot of empty carbs (kinda like eating sugar, to your body that is).

All packed in for lunch (burger & quinoa bread)

Organic Red Grapes

Everything fits into the caterpillar bag!

Day 21 - Tuna & Veggie Pasta

Well, yesterday wasn't stellar.  Most of the veggies and blueberry-apple crumble made it back home!  The crumble, actually a cute story.  The kids wanted to sit at lunch with their friend who had a nut allergy.  The crumble had nuts.  So they chose the friend over the crumble.  A big decision for my daughter!  So, back into the lunch both go today.  My husband made a big batch of pasta last night, so I used that.  Whole wheat pasta, of course.

Lunch:
- Tuna & Veggie Pasta
- Carrots & Peppers
- Blueberry-Apple Crumble

Tuna & Veggie Pasta

Veggies

Blueberry-Apple Crumble

Day 20 - Blueberry-Apple Crumble

Last night I had a sinus infection.  Went to bed really early and wasn't able to make anything for dinner (or next day lunch).  And, I was out of town all last week so I really am less organized that usual.  That's my way of warning you that I was grasping at straws today for the kids' lunch.

Gourmet Meal:
- Carrots & Peppers with Hummus
- Cheese
- Crackers
- Apple
- Blueberry-Apple Crumble


The cheese my kids love, but I try to use it as a condiment more than a main ingredient.  Today had no choice.  Also, there were all these mini Baby-Bel cheeses in the fridge (kids love them so Dad got them, but I'm not a big fan - too much cheese leads to congestion in kids).  Everything else is pretty much explanatory.  The Blueberry-Apple Crumble actually started out as a pie, but given my lack of pie-making prowess, it ended up a crumble (still tasty)!

Hummus

Carrots & Peppers

Apple

Crackers

Cheese

Blueberry-Apple Crumble