Day 474

Day 474 - Tuna, soft pretzels, clementine, chocolate covered Craisins, raisins and pistachios.   For D's tuna I just add a small amount of mayonnaise and a hefty spoon full of dill pickle relish.

My lunch is similar except instead of tuna I have Italian Sub cheese ball.  I am obsessed with Italian cold cuts and pepperonici lately.  I didn't have enough cold cuts to make a calzone so in my food processor I pulsed a couple slices of ham, salami, pepperoni and provolone until it was finely chopped.  I moved that to a mixing bowl.  Then I put in about 5 pepperonicini with stems removed and finely chopped those.  I mixed all of that in with just enough cream cheese to hold it all together.  It still wasn't spicy enough for me so I added a heaping spoonful of crushed red pepper (sub sandwich style not dried).  I used a knife to spread it on my pretzel....AMAZING!! I think I would make this for a party...You could form it into a ball and roll it in crushed garlic croutons or maybe parmesan ones!

Day 345

Day 345 - It is such a dark rainy day here I couldn't find any light to take my picture!  For lunch today D has grilled cheese sticks, clementines, homemade yogurt and watermelon.  I found the recipe for the grilled cheese sticks on Pinterest.  D loves them!

Day 343

Day 343 - School vacation is over!! D spent the bulk of her vacation with her grandparents.  She had a great time!  We are back to the grind today though.  She has blueberry french toast sticks, Al Fresco chicken/blueberry sausage, watermelon and a mini dipper of syrup.

French Toast Sticks

I used the Archer Farms Blueberry bread that I had mentioned before. I cut the crust off and cut each piece into thirds.  I mixed some cream cheese (maybe 3oz) with 1 Tbs of sugar free vanilla syrup (for flavoring coffee).  I spread a thin layer of the cream cheese mixture onto the bread and made rectangle sandwiches.  I rolled those in a couple of beaten eggs, then I rolled them in crushed Kashi Blueberry Cluster Cereal.  I put them on a sprayed cookie sheet and baked them at 350 until they were golden brown.

Day 219

Day 219 - I'm still waiting for the sun to come out but we really do need the rain.  For lunch today D has chicken tortelini with a cheese, red pepper, black sesame seed hello kitty, rolled up turkey on HK picks, string cheese, pineapple and a HK container with some coconut dip that I made.

Twice a week I get one of the neighbor's kids off the bus and her and D do their homework together.  I call it "Homework Club" just to make it sound more fun than it actually is.  I always try to make them a special snack to have while they do their homework.  Yesterday I had the fresh pineapple that needed to be cut and eaten before it went too far.  I'm sure the pineapple alone would have been enough for the girls but I always like to have something for dipping.  I was going to try to come up with something with a few things I had on hand cream cheese, s/f cool whip, coconut butter and whatever else I came up with.  Well I went to the fridge and discovered that my cream cheese was expired.  So I went with greek yogurt.

I am guessing at the amounts but this is what I did...

1 C greek yogurt
1/4 C coconut butter (I later found this to be completely unnecessary but it's in there anyway)
2 T cream of coconut (like for pina coladas)

I mixed all of this together in my magic bullet.  It tasted ok but was kind of runny so I decided to add 1 T coconut flour.  This really thickend it up and improved the coconut flavor.  I put it in the fridge for about 1/2 hour to set up.  Then I folded in a small container of s/f cool whip.  It is really delicious and tastes great with the pineapple!

Day 215

Day 215 - Make your own pizza day!!  D has 3 fish pizza crust cut outs, starfish kiwi, a striped cheese starfish, starfish pepperoni and a small container of sauce under the cheese starfish, there is shredded cheese in the Hello Kitty container.  Hello Kitty really didn't go with the ocean theme but D wanted it and it made her happy so who am I to question it?  LOL

Remember the other day when I told you about my homemade yogurt?  Well when I strain it I save the yellow liquid (whey) that drains from it.  I use this whey to make bread and/or pizza dough.  I like that it gives the bread a slight sourdough flavor.  I especially like to use it in pizza dough that I am going to cook on the grill.  I roll out the dough, brush it with olive oil and sprinkle it with sea salt....it's the perfect combination of sour, smokey and salty.  I could eat it just like that, never mind as pizza!

The pizza dough recipe I use is a variation on the King Arthur Flour pizza dough recipe from the back of their specialty pizza flour mixture.

Here is what I use:
3 1/4C Flour (I use a mix of AP flour and bread flour most often, but all AP flour works just fine)
2 healthy pinches of kosher salt
2 T olive oil
1 1/4 C whey (room temp to slightly warm) you can use water instead.
1 T instant yeast

Day 213

Day 213 - D's lunch today is ham/salami, cucumber flowers, watermelon/cherry flowers, milk and chocolate and vanilla yogurt.

I have been making my own yogurt for a while now.  I had found some recipes online for crockpot yogurt then sort of tweaked and morphed them into something that works well for me...consistantly.

I pour a gallon of milk (I usually use 2%) into a large pot and heat it on medium heat until the milk reaches 185 degrees.  I pour it into my crockpot from there and stir in about 1 c of nonfat dry milk (this is optional).  I leave it uncovered until the milk reaches 110 degrees.  At this point I stir in 1 single serve container of plain greek yogurt (make sure whatever brand you are using has active live cultures).  Then I cover it and wrap the crockpot in a blanket and leave it undisturbed over night.  The next moring I have a crockpot full of yogurt!  At this point I strain mine because I like a thicker greek yogurt consistancy but again this is optional.  Store in the refridgerator. 

For the chocolate yogurt that I made today, I didn't measure anything so bear with me.  I took out one of my cereal bowls.  I filled the bottom with dark chocolate chips and microwaved it at 30 second intervals until is was melted.  I took about 2 C of plain yogurt and flavored it with Torani s/f vanilla syrup.  I mixed about 1 C of the flavored yogurt into the melted chocolate until it was all well combined. I did a half and half in the bento and then took the rest and layered it into push pop molds for the rest of the week.

Day 190

Day 190 - Eating the rainbow!!  Top left is rainbow fruit salad (pineapple, strawberry and green grape), squeezeable applesauce, "pot o' gold" rollos, cubes of chicken meatloaf topped with hearts cut out of roasted beets, rainbows and butterflies salad..this time I made it with an Asian twist instead of the usual italian flavors.  It is carrot/squash pasta with cucumbers, broccoli, peas, carrots and tomatoes then I made a quick dressing of mirin, tamari, rice wine vinegar, toasted sesame oil and then I put maybe 2 tsp of toasted sesame seeds in it also.

Day 189 Happy Birthday to little D!

No lunch picture to post today.  It is D's birthday today and she requested to buy lunch at school. :(  I had a grand plan in mind to make her some kind of cute/fun birthday inspired lunch but I certainly couldn't refuse such a simple request from the Birthday Girl!  Instead I'll post about the cupcakes that I made for her class.  Another D request...Rootbeer Float cupcakes!

I'm not sure why my kids don't like "cake" flavored cake.  Well that's not entirely true...I think they just like to challenge me!  LOL  So to fulfill D's request, I started with a boxed white cake...I don't know why I went with that and not chocolate...chocolate probably would have made more sense.  I followed the box directions but added 1Tbs of Watkins Rootbeer flavoring.  Cooked them according to the box and then frosted them with my favorite vanilla frosting.

UPDATE: D has come home from school and the cupcakes were a big hit!  I was a little worried since I had not tried them before I sent them in.  I'm not much of a cake eater.  She did bring a couple home.  I had sent in a few extra just in case of dropping/accidents and what not...I tried a bite and it seriously tasted like rootbeer float!  One student said to my daughter "I hope we are in the same class in second grade.  If we are will you bring these in again?"  so I guess that means he liked them!  LOL

UPDATE 2: We tried it with chocolate cake mix and they were equally delicious!

Day 184

Day 184 - Dinner left overs!!  Last night for dinner we had Bacon, Ranch Chicken subs and D only ate 1/2 of hers (which is more than enough for her).  So she has the other 1/2 of that some strawberries, tangelo slices and red and orange tomatoes.

Ranch Chicken
1 (6lb) whole chicken
1 stick butter softened
1 T buttermilk ranch seasoning

Preheat the oven to 325.  Line a baking sheet with parchment paper or foil, set aside.  I like to butterfly the chicken so it cooks quicker.   So using very sharp kitchen scissors I remove the back bone and press the chicken flat.  Combine the softened butter and ranch seasoning.  Loosen the skin on the chicken.  I spread about a tablespoon of the seasoned butter per side so it would be for the breast and thigh/leg, under the skin.  Bake for approx 1 hour, check for doneness with a meat thermometer.  Remove from oven and let cool a bit.  You can eat this how ever you want.  Last night I shredded the meat with 2 forks and used it in sandwiches.  I cooked some bacon till crispy.  Some mayo, cheddar cheese, bacon and shredded chicken in a sub roll then cooked on my George Foreman type grill.

Day 183

Day 183 is one of D's all time favorites.  Corndog muffin, cucumber slices, baby carrots, string cheese and vanilla yogurt with sour cherries on top.

For the corn dog muffins, just use your favorite cornbread recipe and add chopped hotdogs to it.  I used mini hot dogs and put 3 in each muffin cup.

Days 178 & 179

Day 178 D has Macaroni and cheese ravioli with fresh tomatoes and cheese pearls, fruit salad.

Day 179 From the top left D has tomato/cheese salad, wheat thin crackers, strawberries, chicken parmesean meatloaf and some cucumbers.

Chicken Parmesean Meatloaf

1 lb ground chicken
1/2 c seasoned bread crumbs
1/2 c parmesean cheese (I used shredded but grated would be fine)
1 tsp Penzey's pizza seasoning (or 1 tsp italian seasoning and salt and pepper to taste)
1/4 of a small onion finely chopped
2 eggs
1 c marinara sauce
1 c shredded italian cheese blend

In a large bowl lightly beat the eggs,  add the bread crumbs, parmesean cheese, onion and seasonings.  Mix well to combine.  I then spread this around the outer edges of the bowl and put the ground chicken in the middle.  For me it just makes it easier to combine it all without a lot of mixing.  You don't want to work the chicken too much because it can become tough.  Once it is all combined put into a lightly greased loaf pan.  Top with sauce and bake in a preheated 350 oven for 45-50 minutes. Top it with the italian cheese blend and return it to the oven for another 10 minutes, until the cheese is melted.  Let sit out of the oven for 10 minutes or so before you cut into it.

Day 166

166 - Today D is using her fancy new Laptop Lunch Box.  Thanks again Whole Foods!!  She has Rainbows and Butterflies pasta salad, carrot chips, blueberries, 2 mini banana cream pies and strawberry fruit twist.

Day 164

164, I only have a pic of the snack that goes along with D's lunch.  I put it together last night knowing that I was going to give her left over baked macaroni and cheese in her thermos.  So really nothing to see there.  Her snack is honey wheat sticks, cookie dough dip and apple slices.

I got an amazing deal today!  I have been wanting to get D a Laptop Lunch box for the longest time.  I just couldn't bring myself to spend the money on one.  They are just sooooo expensive!  Today I was at Whole Foods and I saw they had one marked for $21.99.  I figured I'd never get a better price than that so I talked myself into buying it.  When I got to the register is rung up at $24.99.  I usually don't pay attention but you can be sure I will now.  I mentioned it to the cashier that it had rung up at $3 more than it was marked.  Well imagine my surprise when she said "I'm so sorry about that, but now I need to tell you that you get this item for free.  It is Whole Food's policy that if the item rings up at the wrong price, you get it for free."  She totally made my day!  I would have been happy to just have been credited the $3!

Days 159 and 160





Day 159 D had grilled chicken, hawaiian roll, cheddar cheese cubes, grapes, gingerbread pudding with whipped cream and a few Hello Kitty sprinkles.

Day 160.  Today D has Thanksgiving roll ups.  It is a Stella Doro bread stick, cream cheese, a few craisins all wrapped in turkey.  I topped it with hearts cut out of fruit leather.  She also has sugar snap peas, yogurt covered raisins and a clementine.



Day 151

Today D has pepperoni pizza bread, pizza sauce for dipping and a clementine.  Not pictured was some dried fruit trail mix.

Pizza Bread
1 batch pizza dough
1 ( 2C bag) shredded mozzarella cheese
1/2 c slice pepperoni (give or take)
2T grated parmesean cheese
1 tsp pizza seasoning (divided)
1 egg white

Cut the dough in 1/2.  Roll each half into a rectangle shape...about 1/4 inch thick.  Going the long way, put a row of cheese and pepperoni right down the middle.  Fold the right third of the dough over the filling, make another layer of cheese/pepperoni.  Fold the left third of dough over that filling and tuck the ends under the roll and tuck the short ends under.  Brush with egg wash (egg white and water) sprinkle with 1 T parmesean cheese and 1/2 tsp pizza seasoning. Repeat with remaining 1/2 of dough.  Bake in a preheated 350 degree oven for about 35-40 minutes.  Until golden brown and fully cooked.

I baked it on a parchment paper lined baking sheet, but you could just sprinkle some cornmeal on the baking sheet or a pizza stone.  Also let cool for 10 minutes or so before slicing.

Days 149 and 150

Day 149...so weird I could have sworn I posted yesterday....Old age is setting in I think!

Nothing special yesterday she had lunch meat sushi, cheddar cheese cubes, wheat thin crackers and some strawberries.  For snack I just threw together a quick snack mix of cheerios, dried fruit, a couple mini chocolate chips and a few mini marshmallows.

Day 150

Today D has homemade chicken and stars soup, grapes,  grape tomatoes and mini energy balls.

Energy Balls
1 C rolled oats
1 C unsweetened flaked coconut
1/2 C ground flax seeds
1/2 C Almond butter
2 T peanut butter
1/3 C agave syrup
1/2 C mini chocolate chips

I just mixed it all together and then used a small (I think it's like a teaspoon) icecream scoop to make the small balls then I rolled them in conf. sugar...they are not very sweet but you could leave the sugar off.  I store them in the fridge.

Days 119, 120 & 121

Day 119

Slider burger (burger has shredded carrots and zuchini in it), peas, brownie, under the blue cap is some applesauce and a purple potato/cheese flower.

Day 120

By request D had lunch meat "sushi" again, pretzel crisps, raisins, grape heart, milk, sliced apples with some Biscoff for dipping.

Day 121

Pizza strip/turkey pepperoni sprinkled on top, cheese stick, grapes and mini "caramel" apples that D, A and I made using this recipe from Family Fun.

Recipe

I adapted this recipe from Vocalpoint for Breakfast Cookies.

1 1/2 cups whole wheat flour or whole grain pastry flour
1 teaspoon baking soda
1 teaspoon salt
3/4 cup Apple sauce
1/2 cup sugar
1/2 cup agave syrup
 2 medium eggs, lightly beaten
2 tablespoons fat-free milk
1 1/2 tablespoons vanilla extract
2 T boiled cider
 2 1/4 cups quick-cooking oats
1/2 cup  raisins
2T Chia Seeds
 2 scoops chocolate Whey Crisps

Preheat the oven to 350.  Lightly grease a 9x13 inch pan.

Combine all dry ingredients in a large bowl.  In a seperate bowl mix all the wet ingredients until combined.  Pour the wet ingredients into the dry and stir until well combined.  Pour into pan and spread into an even layer.  Bake for 19-23 minutes or until a tooth pick insterted in the center comes out clean.  Allow to cool and cut into granola bar sized pieces.

Day 116

For lunch today D has peas/carrots, muffaletta bean salad in the butterfly, chicken/apple sausage, chocolate soy milk, and 3 mini pumpkin muffins with cream cheese and hello kitty candies.

The Muffaletta Salad was adapted from a recipe by Shelly over at The World According To Eggface.

112 & 113

Crazy busy day on Friday.  We are all having trouble adjusting to our new schedule, but we'll get there!  D had a pizza "lunchable".  She had an angel fish and dolphin pizza crust, red container of sauce, cheese, mini turkey pepperoni and olives to put on top.  She also had some clementines.

Today she has a deli meat lunchable.  Ham and turkey flowers, cheese stars with little purple potato stars to decorate it, Kashi sesame crackers, 2 mixed berry protein/energy bar bites that we buy at our local health food store, milk, next to her milk is a Cliff bar for her snack and there is a squeezable banana/applesauce.

Also today I made some pumpkin muffins that will probably show up in the lunch box this week.

I started off with mini icecream cones.

I took a box of white cake mix added a can of pumpkin puree, 3 eggs and about 1/3 C water.  I also added 1 tsp cinnamon, 1/4 t cloves, 1/2 tsp nutmeg.  I put about 1 1/2 tsp of cake batter into the mini cones and baked them for 15 minutes.  I put a little bit of lightly sweetened cream cheese on top.

Cute right??  I think D will like them!