Lunch on May 26, 2011 - Manamana doot doo doo doo doo

Today's lunch is a little uninspired because I had no time to plan it last night.  At the last minute our friends invited us to a Friends and Family screening of the new Muppets movie that will be released this coming winter.  As a lifelong Muppets fan, this was quite an offer, worth putting off lunch-packing for.  I'm not allowed to say anything about the movie but speaking generally, I hope they use the next few months of editing wisely. . .

Today's lunch is an egg salad sandwich, celery, half an avocado, and watermelon and cantaloupe:

 

I packed a lunch yesterday but I forgot to photograph it before I put everything in the lunchbox so I took this photo.  The lunch is striking similar to today's lunch.

 

As the days get warmer I think about keeping my packed lunches cold.  I noticed Pottery Barn Kids is having a sale on cute ice packs that are the perfect size for a child's lunch.  Pottery Barn Kids items are notoriously expensive so a sale isn't always that great of a deal but I have noticed that the lunchbox items we have from them (lunchbag and stainless steel utensils) have been holding up very well.  I saw these in person and picked up a green seashell and blue starfish.

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.

Lunch on April 12, 2011 - The spa meets the playground

Today is another day where I am forced to prepare lunch ahead of time.  Tonight I am doing a photo shoot for Milkstars (I'm so excited about our new styles coming soon!) and I'll be home way too late to make anything tonight and am hoping to get as much sleep as possible tomorrow morning.

So, today's lunch is a mishmash of things in my refrigerator.  Last night we had friends over for dinner and served salmon and spanikopita (this time we didn't use frozen spinach but we did use the pre-washed bag kind - sorry farmer's market!).  It actually came out better than last time.  We also used a French feta instead of the Greek one we used last week.  We don't normally eat the same thing every week; we just thought it would be a fun dish to serve at a dinner party.  It's really not that difficult to put together and it's an unexpected dish to present to guests.

I cooked some brown rice today (the quick way, in the microwave), let it cool, and cut up some leftover salmon on top.  I have to remember to throw in an extra ice pack tomorrow to make sure the lunch stays really cold.  Lukewarm fish at the lunch table sounds pretty gross.

I didn't intend to make today's lunch look like something you'd find on the menu at a spa or yoga retreat; it just sort of happened that way.  Fingers crossed it passes the kid test.  If all else fails I know she will eat the rice.

We also served large (delicious!) artichokes from the farmer's market for dinner last night and I saved a few baby ones to cook today.  Mini artichokes are really easy to cook up.  In this case I pulled off all the leaves and just sent the hearts to school.  I thought it would be too difficult and time consuming to expect Juju to rip off all the leaves herself.  Plus, when she eats artichokes at home, she insists on dipping each leaf in lots of butter and I would be nervous to send a container of clarified butter to school lest Juju be called out for bringing contraband on the premises.

Finally, I included some grapes and cantaloupe and a clementine.  Cute clementine accessory courtesy of the Tokyo Japanese Outlet I've mentioned in earlier posts.  I was downtown on Thursday and happened to find a parking spot in front of the Japanese Village Plaza.  I took it as a sign that I needed more cute lunch accessories (a treat for Juju and now readers of this blog too) and went in for a few things I didn't pick up last time.