Lunch on September 15 - Lox of luck for a great school year!

So we've been at school for two days.  It's an adjustment but for the most part things are going well.  I am trying to focus on the things I can control, like what to serve for lunch!

Tomorrow's lunch includes seaweed and crackers for snack, followed by tea sandwiches, cucumber and pomegranate salad, and watermelon for lunch.

The tea sandwiches started out as one big sandwich I cut up to make eating easier.  It is lox with cream cheese and cucumber on whole grain bread with the crusts cut off.  I realize bringing fish to school may not be the best way to make friends during the first week but I am trying to give Juju her own version of comfort foods while she eases her way into a new space and lox is one of her favorites.  Plus, she is now going to a Jewish school so I am assuming lox isn't so foreign to these folks.

I am including a photo of the snack bags because the King of All Media enjoyed that he was able to pack Juju seaweed in a sushi-themed snack bag.

Roasted eggplant spread

I promised the recipe for eggplant dip and I won't disappoint!  But, a few other things to get out of the way:

I'm sorry I didn't mention this earlier but SnackTaxi, the reusable snack bag company is offering a "back to school" sale of 20% off their snack and sandwich bags until tomorrow.  Use code SCHOOL20 at checkout.

Also, there was a great article in the New York Times yesterday about schools cooking from scratch (as opposed to reheating food and other edible food-like substances that were created elsewhere).  It's a great trend that I hope continues.

Onto my veggie dip.  Inspired by the eggplant and red peppers that showed up on my door yesterday, I looked up Ina Garten's roasted eggplant spread (I'm not sure how a spread differs from a dip - if you know please let me know, I'm assuming it has to do with texture).  I've made it before, following the recipe precisely but this time I made a few changes.  No matter how I make it, it always comes out delicious.  And, for what it's worth, it's totally vegan.  Ina's recipe is below but in a nutshell, you roast the veggies, then blend them in a food processor with some wet ingredients.

Here is a photo of my veggies while roasting:

I actually forgot to add the garlic while roasting so I threw it in during the the food processor phase and I don't think you can tell the difference.  Here is the finished product served with veggies for dipping.  It would also taste great spread on toasted pita (it is a spread after all and not really a dip. . .)

The problem with eating vegan meals all the time (or even vegetarian) is that there is a LOT of chopping involved.  It's really time consuming.  I'm still thinking about vegan week; I'll have to factor in a lot of time for prep work.

Lastly I should share that I purchased a set of Lunchbot containers in the recent Hautelook sale (yes, their shipping rocks and they are here already.  You could learn a lesson from them, Zulily!).  As you know I am not 100% satisfied with my current Lunchbot container (nor their customer service) but I can't find too many other stainless steel options.  I wonder what delicious lunches these will hold for the new school year!

  

Ingredients

• 2 medium eggplants, peeled
• 1 red bell pepper, seeded
• 1 red onion, peeled
• 2 garlic cloves, minced
• 3 tablespoons good olive oil
• 1/2 teaspoon cayenne pepper
• 1 1/2 teaspoons kosher salt
• 1/2 teaspoon freshly ground black pepper
• 2 tablespoons lemon juice
• 2 tablespoons tahini
• 3 tablespoons chopped parsley, plus extra for garnish

Directions

Preheat the oven to 400 degrees F.

Cut the eggplant, bell pepper, and onion into 1-inch cubes. Toss them in a large bowl with the garlic, olive oil, cayenne and salt and pepper. Spread them on a baking sheet. Roast for 45 minutes, until the vegetables are lightly browned and soft, tossing once during cooking. Cool slightly.

Place the vegetables in a food processor fitted with a steel blade, add the lemon juice and tahini, and pulse 3 or 4 times to blend. Taste for salt and pepper. Transfer to a bowl and add the chopped parsley. Garnish with extra parsley.

Everyone else's lunch

Today's lunch is almost identical to yesterday's lunch so I'm not going to repost it.

Instead, I wanted to highlight two things that were sent my way by some of you reading this blog (did I mention that it's really great hearing from you?!).

The first comes from my friend/former supervisor Robin in New York.  I don't think I've seen Robin in about 8 years or so but I absolutely love her Facebook status updates.  She is an incredibly talented observer and writer.  I often want to copy and paste her updates as my own to impress everyone I know but instead I just study her form and hope to create such brilliance myself.

Robin sent me a photo of a breakfast she made for her sons using these cute egg molds.  I think the result is fantastic (I also love her photography). 

Apparently only one son appreciated the breakfast fun (he got the star-shaped egg).  As for the heart shaped one, Robin explained "this valentine is headed to the doggie bowl:"

Too bad.  It looks both adorable and delicious!  Robin has inspired me to get more creative with breakfast.  Today's cereal and yogurt was pretty ordinary.

Another submission I received recently came from my friend Caroline who is also a former co-worker.  Caroline has four boys all under the age of four.  I am surprised she has any time to email, let alone write the best blog about Maternity Fashion you'll ever read.  But she did find the time to send me a photo of three of the 30 lunches (!!!) and snacks she packs a week.  Next fall that number will go up to 35 when her youngest son starts nursery school.  I feel the need to take a nap upon reading that, I can't imagine actually executing it.

 

Lastly, I wanted to respond to two comments I got asking questions about using snack bags.  Bren asked if any of the snack bags are insulated.  None of mine are but that is a really cool idea (no pun intended) to keep your sammies cold.  I just use a larger ice pack in the lunch to keep it cool.  And Bloom asked if the bags are hard to clean.  I don't find that they are, depending on what you use them for.  I usually turn each one inside out and wipe it clean with a cloth or paper towel.  If something particularly messy or wet went in them I will wash them in the washing machine but that's hardly ever necessary.  And if something like crackers went in one, you could probably just turn it inside out, shake out the crumbs and not need to clean it, it's up to you.  I don't find them particularly burdensome to clean but no, they do not match the ease of throwing them in the trash and grabbing a new one for the next time of plastic baggies.

Lunch on May 19, 2011 - eating out of fabric

Lunch today is housed in many fabric snack bags, all have been holding up pretty well since I purchased them not too long ago.

Today I am serving carrots, edamame, watermelon, and a pressed sandwich of egg salad.  Warning: if today's lunch bores you, you might not want to read what I pack tomorrow.  It will probably be much of the same!

Lunch on May 4, 2011 - I made a sandwich!!

I get teased by a few of you who chide me for never making anything basic for Juju's lunch.  While I do enjoy that her lunches are sui generis when compared to what most people pack, I have avoided sandwiches thus far only because Juju doesn't really know what to do with them.  She doesn't really get how to hold both pieces of bread plus the middle and take a bite out of everything at once.  So, she usually picks the sandwich apart, eats what she wants, and leaves a considerable mess.

Still, I realize that sandwiches are practical, convienent, and arguably as tasty as anything I've packed so far.  One of the ReSnackIt bags I ordered was sandwich size so here goes:

Lunch tomorrow includes a turkey sandwich on La Brea bakery whole grain bread, carrots and hummus, a container of cucumber stars, pomegranate seeds and crimini mushrooms all chopped together, and a bowl of trail mix made of peanuts, almonds, dried raspberries and semi sweet chocolate chips.  I wish someone would make me a lunch like this everyday. 

I think this is the first time I am sending meat in a lunch.  I am not opposed to Juju eating meat, I just don't always like the idea of meat served cold (plus Juju's lunches are only cooled by ice packs and I wouldn't want a luke-warm meat dish on a hot day either).  But a turkey sandwich seems ok.  Also, when I was younger I went to a Jewish day school for three years and we could only bring dairy lunches so I think I am conditioned to think of sack lunches are vegetarian (well, pescetarian really).  Perhaps I should broaden my horizons.

Lunch on April 29 - Go with what you know

Tomorrow's lunch was pulled together in the three minutes I had tonight to get it done.  I actually used one minute to make the lunch and am using the remaining two right now to blog it.  I have been doing a ton of cooking for an event tomorrow night and I haven't really had much time (or room in the fridge) to devote to lunchmaking.

All that combined with the fact that today's ravioli triangles were rejected (well, I think one was eaten but as I suspected, they were mostly pushed to the side in search of mushrooms) made me put together a very uninspired lunch of old favorites.

Cantaloupe and grapes are joined by TJ's Greek honey yogurt with pomegranate seeds, half an avocado, and the rest of the mushroom and leek saute from yesterday.  There are some edamame pods in the ReSnackIt bag (which I have grown to love a lot) and two more SnackTaxi sacks filled with other familiar snacks (English peas and pita chips) not shown.  Yes I realize that this lunch is almost identical to today's lunch and yes I realize most of you only read this space for cute lunch accessories etc.  I guess I'm in a lunch rut since I have no time.  Here's hoping I get a second wind next week and start getting creative again!

Lunch on April 28 - Trying triangles today

For tomorrow's lunch we are trying something new.  Whenever I try something new I also offer extra stand-by foods in case the newcomer is rejected.

The new items are these triangle ravioli stuffed with butternut squash and a hint of brown sugar.  I find them absolutely delicious and hope Juju does too (I got them in the fresh pasta section at Trader Joe's).  I sauteed leeks and mushrooms in a small amount of butter and oil and layered them with the 5 ravioli (I just boiled them in water).  I also threw in some steamed broccoli and sprinkled a little parmesan cheese on top.  My guess is Juju will pick around the ravioli and only eat the veggies but maybe she'll figure out ravioli is really just dressed up pasta and she'll gobble them up (she never has any trouble eating pasta).  I am also including grapes and cantaloupe plus a small bowl of Greek honey yogurt with pomegranate seeds in case she doesn't dig the ravioli triangles.  And, my ReSnackIt bags came in the mail today (finally!) so I stuffed a few edamame pods inside.  The ReSnackIt bags are different from the SnackTaxis in that they feel more laminated and ready for food (like I am not worried about getting them wet) but there is still something slightly "homemade" about them.  I can't make a final ruling on which one I like better until Juju has had some more time with these.

This lunch is pretty healthy but lest you think I am a super-organic-no-pesticides-no-spray-health-food-only mom, let me clue you in to lunch today.  We ate at Johnny Rockets and Juju's lunch consisted of a mini hamburger bun dipped in ketchup, half of a mini hamburger patty (also used for lots of dipping in ketchup), 3 french fries, 2 pickles, and about 6 ounces of her first ever (I think) chocolate shake.  Sorry, no photo.  I'm definitely not winning mom of the year in the food category but I do think it's fun to shake things up a little bit (no pun intended).  She can't eat mushrooms for every meal. . .

Lunch on April 26 - Riddle: Why can't we keep Juju in jail?

Today we have a lunch riddle.  Why can't we keep Juju in jail?  Answer at the bottom.

Today's lunch is the last Passover-friendly thing I have to pack this year.  Thank goodness.  If I had to make yet another frittata I think I would go crazy.  But alas there is one in this lunch.  I cut it with a heart shaped cookie cutter to make it more appealing and while I used the same recipe as last time I made sure to load this one with plenty of mushrooms.  I have no idea why Juju is so into mushrooms but I am not going to question it since I think they are a pretty good thing to eat.

Joining the frittata is lox with cream cheese on whole wheat matzah.  I am partial to egg matzah but we ran out and whole wheat was all we had left.  We got the smoked salmon this weekend at one of the fish stands at the Hollywood Farmer's Market.  They always have a really long line (and kind of high prices) so we usually skip it but this week there was no wait (ah the benefits of being a Jew on Easter) so we tried the lox people rave about.  It was pretty good.

Lastly we have farmers market strawberries and grapes and a Pucci-esque SnackTaxi filled with dark chocolate covered matzah.  I know I am not supposed to pack sweets for school but I'm hoping this classic Passover treat won't get us thrown out.

Two of the containers I am using came from the Thinkbaby set I mentioned in my last post.  I like the size of the rectangular container and you can't exactly tell from the photo but the bowl the fruit is in is a true bowl with low walls and easier for a toddler to eat from.

Ok, so back to my riddle: Why can't we keep Juju in jail?

Because she eats lox!  Yes, I know, super corny (yet kosher for Passover).  I apologize for the horrible jokes.  I should stick to packing lunches. . .

Snack Taxis

I can't sleep so I figured I'd do a follow-up post on the fabric snack bags I mentioned earlier.

Last week my new Snack Taxis arrived - no word on where my ReSnackIts from Zulily are.  According to my order history status they still have not shipped.  I hope I get them before the school year is over. . .

But back to the Snack Taxis (which arrived really quickly so are already ahead in my book) we have been breaking in since the weekend.

They are much stiffer than the one I already had from back when they were called Happy Sacks.  This is either because they have improved the product or, more likely, because they haven't been washed yet.  I'm digging the stiffer body and hope they don't get too soft with the first wash.

The folks at Snack Taxis make them available in a zillion designs but as you already know my credit cards are impervious to retail prices so naturally I picked from the ones that were on sale.  The sushi one is my favorite (Juju likes it too) and I wish I had also ordered it in red (sadly they are out of them now).

There is really no comparison with ziploc bags when it comes to the cute factor.  Plus, I love that when I hand Juju her snack bag she has no idea what's in it until she opens it up.  She seems to really enjoy the surprise each time (although lately, it's almost always granola).  I do too.

UPDATE: I just noticed on the Snack Taxi website that they are having an earth day sale and you can take 20% off your order (but not on sale merch) through April 22 with coupon code "earthday2011").  This could be your chance to try ditching ziplocs for a day.  Happy shopping!

Lunch on April 15 - pasta, avocado, fruit

Today is an example of a lunch packed the morning of.  No frills, no fun accessories, just something thrown together from what is in the fridge.  Today I am serving leftover pasta with cheese sauce.  Despite my efforts to serve fresh, wholesome foods most of the time, this dish came from a box.  It's apparently "organic" but it's basically Trader Joe's fancy version of mac and cheese.  Juju usually eats mac and cheese when she has a babysitter and this is leftover from earlier in the week when we went out.  The shells and cheese are paired with half an avocado and a fruit medley of strawberries, grapes, and cantaloupe.  I also threw some granola in one of my new SnackTaxi sacks that arrived the other day.

Speaking of granola, I wanted to post a fantastic kosher for Passover recipe for granola since Pesach starts on Monday night.  Even if you aren't Jewish you will find this recipe delish.  It is courtesy of my friend Marla (it's actually her mother's recipe) and is a great breakfast alternative to the all too common matzah and butter:

Matzah granola

Ingredients:
2 cups matzo farfel (or just crush up regular matzah to fill 2 cups)

1 cup almonds (I use slivered, unpeeled)

1/2 cup shredded coconut (I usually omit this)

1/2 cup honey

1/4 cup vegetable oil

1/2 cup raisins

1/2 cup diced, dried apricots

1/2 cup pitted dates, chopped

Preheat the oven to 350 degrees.
Line a baking sheet with foil and spray it lightly with cooking spray.

In a large bowl, combine farfel, almonds, coconut.
Add honey and oil to the bowl and mix well.

Spread the mixture onto the baking sheet and even it out.

Bake the granola for 20 minutes, stopping at 10 minutes to stir it up.
After 20 minutes, transfer the granola onto a platter, or just remove the foil from the baking sheet and allow it to cool to room temperature.

Pour the granola into bowl, add raisins, apricots, dates, mix well.

Enjoy!

Containerization - the first in a series

I have to say, the response I've gotten since I started this blog is absolutely amazing, especially considering I've never officially launched it other than highlighting a few of the posts on Facebook.  My friend Caroline sent me photos of her sons' lunches (can you believe she packs 30 snacks and lunches per week and when her 4th son goes to school next year that number will be 35?!?!), my friend Jesse told me she made my pasta salad plus recipe for her whole family and people I haven't seen in years (but love!) have been telling me about the lunches they are making, the containers they are buying, and the foods their kids are eating.  Who knew so many of us had so much to say about lunch?  Thank you so much for reading and interacting with me.  Keep it coming!  And feel free to comment on the posts so others can see the great ideas you all have.

One question I keep getting is about what kinds of lunch bags, bowls, cutlery, and containers I use.  This is something I've been spending a lot of time thinking about lately and I'm happy to share what I use, what I don't use, and what's on my wish list.  I've seen a lot so I will likely break this topic up into a few posts.  I don't know if I'll ever find the perfect kid-friendly food storage options but I'm working on it.


Let's start with the basics, the lunchbox.  We have two in our house but so far we've only used one (the other just looks too clean to take to school).  The one we have been using is affectionately called "the snailbox" by Juju as it's in the shape of a snail and is quite possibly one of the cutest things I've ever seen.  I got it at the Gap but unfortunately it's no longer listed on their website.  The inside is completely insulated which makes keeping things cold easy and it holds a whole lot for a snail.

We have a Pottery Barn Kids Mackenzie Retro lunchbox sitting on a shelf that will probably see the lunch table some time next fall when I have to pack a lunch daily and may need to relieve the snail.  The Pottery Barn lunchbox was a gift and came with some snazzy green containers (alas they are plastic) and best of all a green and white cutlery set (stainless steel utensils - hooray) complete with a case to take them back home in a sanitary manner.  I had been sending Juju with loose utensils to school and it's a lot more pleasant to unpack her sack now.  Despite the plastic cutlery holder, I really endorse these.  The plastic isn't ever really touching the food so from what little I know about the dangers of plastic leaching into food, this seems to be ok.

My friend Jesse (the one who made the pasta salad!) introduced me to the world of reusable fabric snack bags about two years ago.  I have to say, I was really reluctant at first.  It seemed like a weird idea to hold food in fabric, and I wasn't really sure how I could possibly get them clean.  Plastic bags sounded way more sanitary.  But I tried the Snack Taxi (then called Happy Sacks) Jesse gave me and I actually really liked it.  It was easier for Juju to hold and open when she was younger and it certainly was prettier.  The inside is lined with nylon which is really easy to wipe out and you can also throw them in the wash.  I haven't put anything like a sandwich in mine yet (somehow that still feels weird) but it's great for holding pretzels, crackers, granola, etc.

I've tried a few other kinds because above all, I really like that they are reusable.  The few I bought on Etsy where homemade looking and I didn't realize when I was buying them that that were unlined (big mistake).   The sample sale site Zulily featured a company called ReSnackIt last week and I bought two bags from them.  I'll let you know what they're like when I get them.  I just noticed on their website that they also have some snack bags with double pouches which look really cool.  I also bought some more Snack Taxis yesterday (there are some on sale and it's hard for me to resist a sale!) because I am not yet the kind of blogger who gets free things sent to her to try out. . .though of course I am always open to such a scenario.

I feel the need to point out that I am really not the greenest person around.  I do plenty of things that probably waste a lot of energy and resources.  If you met me for the first time you would not mistake me for Al Gore.  I just feel good knowing that I am in some way working to cut down on waste and sparing my family some exposure to plastic in our food.  But if I am being totally, totally honest, I will admit that I am a sucker for cute accessories and lunch is no exception.  Fabric snack bags really are way cuter than ziplocs.  It's really a win-win.

This is pretty much all the fabric I pack with lunch.  Next time I'll focus on some more of the stainless steel I send to school.