Lunch on September 13 - First day of school!

Yay the day finally came!  Nursery school started today and things went pretty well considering Juju was at a new school and instead of 2 days a week she is now going all 5 days.  I couldn't ask for much more on the lunch front; her nervous energy must have helped her work up quite an appetite because she ate everything I packed.

Today I served hummus and carrots for snack, and sushi with edamame and fruit for lunch.  I probably should have made something special for the first day of school but she loves sushi and had fun picking it out herself at the market so we went with that.

In addition to now packing a lunch every day, I also have to pack a snack.  At her old school snack was provided which I definitely appreciated.  This year we were given a special snack bag just for snack.  I've included a photo below.  This is probably one of the more boring photos I have posted here but hey, you are reading a blog about one kid's school lunch so what do you expect?

And here is the first day of lunch all ready to go.  I am still not sure why I am bringing two bags with food to school since they eat lunch and snack in the same place and both sit in her cubby all day but I guess this makes it easier when it's time to eat?

Here's hoping for another great year!

Lunch on July 22 - Happy Birthday Lunch!

Happy Birthday Juju!  My little luncher is 3 years old today and has come a long way since her first meal on a sunny morning in Santa Monica.  So, today we'll celebrate with some favorite foods.

We greeted Juju this morning with the Happy Birthday song and a plate of favorites for breakfast - lox and cream cheese on a bagel.

Her lunchbox meal included some more favorites - orange slices, carrots, and sushi!  Also served but not shown is pasta in the shape of Arthur, (one of her favorite characters from the book and PBS show) and a smoothie made with Greek honey yogurt, milk, bananas, and strawberries.  I wanted to do something fun like write something with food or put a note in her lunchbox but since Juju can't read, I figured it was a wasted effort.

After lunch we'll join Juju in her classroom for a treat and a story.  Loyal readers are already familiar with the strict food rules at Juju's school so I opted for an inoffensive snack of fruit skewers.  Well I suppose the pointy ends of the skewers could be hazardous but we'll be careful.

A word of advice if you plan to make fruit skewers -- buy the fruit well in advance.  I bought a lot of it last night in a rush and didn't pay attention to what was ripe and what wasn't.  The result was a lot of hard fruit I couldn't serve to kids.  Oh well, at least the strawberries and oranges are sweet.

Dinner completes the day of favorites.  We'll have corn, broccoli, mahi mahi and lamb chops.  I'll try to post photos later.  Happy Birthday!

Lunch on June 9 - Middle East meets Far East

Lunch tomorrow is a little unusual.  I'm not sure I would like the flavor combinations but Juju doesn't really seem to mind if things don't exactly "go" together provided she likes both things separately.  This mentality spills over into her fashion sense too.  Since she's comfortable mixing so many colors and prints that she likes I've taken her lead and mixed a few dishes as well.

 

Tomorrow's lunch includes sushi, celery, carrots and hummus, and a side of cantaloupe.  It just hit me that this may not be the most filling lunch.  Perhaps I'll throw in a fabric snack bag filled with edamame.  The dog-pick is for color and unintentionally matches the pink silverware set.  The matchey-ness of the two proves there are no accidents.

My friend Amy brought over some delicious cookies this evening (she claims they are made with whole wheat flour but they taste just as good as regular cookies so I don't believe her).  I want to send one to school with Juju but alas I am afraid it will be confiscated.  Juju asked for peanut butter today when I handed her a celery stick but I was afraid to pack it in tomorrow's lunch (hence the hummus substitute).  I don't recall being told we can't send peanut products to school but these days I'm pretty sure they are a no-no anywhere.  When did packing a lunch get so hard?  There are so many rules to remember!

Lunch on May 10, 2011 - All American (and a little bit Japanese)

Ok, I'll admit it.  I am officially bored with packing lunches and now find them a chore.  I can't decide if my commitment to chronicle the lunches I pack motivates me to make them better or if it just guilts me into packing something that is halfway photogenic.

When I run out of ideas of what to pack, I go to my old standby: sushi.  It's always a pleaser and is very easy to procure from the market down the street.  I was going there anyway to pick up some fish for dinner (more on that in a minute) and I couldn't resist. 

So, I started with the sushi and built around it.  Though Juju enjoys it, I've never actually sent raw fish to school.  This is California roll made with imitation crab (cooked), avocado, and cucumber.  I am sure Juju will one day turn into a normal toddler and decide that raw fish and seaweed are an absolutely disgusting combination but for now, I am getting as much mileage out of it as I can.

Joining the sushi is half an ear of corn.  We had corn for dinner.  Juju LOVED it and insisted on more.  I told her I had none left even though this piece remained.  I think she will enjoy the surprise in her lunch tomorrow.  I also included some cantaloupe and grapes.

Back to the fish we had for dinner.  It was a really easy recipe and since some of you have told me you have tried other recipes I have posted, here goes.  Sorry there are no pictures.

Tonight we had mustard roasted fish using red snapper.  When I saw that red snapper was on sale at the fish counter I immediately remembered an Ina Garten recipe I've made before for an unusual and delicious meal using only a few ingredients, many of which I already have at home.  I had a really busy day (forgive the cross-promoting/shameless plug here but Milkstars has a new pajama set out called The Nancy, it's been a lot of work but is really exciting!) so I was glad that all I needed to pick up was some creme fraiche (Trader Joe's has a nice brand at a great price) and some shallots.

The recipe is below.  A warning, the red snapper had a lot of bones in it which I wasn't expecting.  I don't know much about fish so I am not sure if that is normal.  If you are making this for a toddler (or anyone else who doesn't like bones) ask your fish monger, (or in my friend Annie's case your husband!), to make sure there are no bones.  Otherwise give yourself some time to pull them out before cooking.  Enjoy!

Mustard-Roasted Fish

Ingredients

• 4 (8-ounce) fish fillets such as red snapper
• Kosher salt and freshly ground black pepper
• 8 ounces creme fraiche
• 3 tablespoons Dijon mustard
• 1 tablespoon whole-grain mustard
• 2 tablespoons minced shallots
• 2 teaspoons drained capers

Directions

Preheat the oven to 425 degrees F.
Line a sheet pan with parchment paper. (You can also use an ovenproof baking dish.) Place the fish fillets skin side down on the sheet pan. Sprinkle generously with salt and pepper.
Combine the creme fraiche, 2 mustards, shallots, capers, 1 teaspoon salt, and 1/2 teaspoon pepper in a small bowl. Spoon the sauce evenly over the fish fillets, making sure the fish is completely covered. Bake for 10 to 15 minutes, depending on the thickness of the fish, until it's barely done. (The fish will flake easily at the thickest part when it's done.) Be sure not to overcook it! Serve hot or at room temperature with the sauce from the pan spooned over the top.

Lunch on May 3 - Panda power

Tomorrow's lunch reminds me a lot of lunch on March 31 which was the photo that launched this blog.  It will also be eaten on my sister's birthday so, happy birthday Jolie!

Today I am serving California rolls with imitation crab (not homemade, these came from Gelson's), cucumber stars with pomegranate seeds, chopped up cremini mushrooms, and mango.  There is also a ReSnackIt filled with edamame pods that is not shown.

I used the piece of fake grass that came with the sushi to separate the mushrooms and mango and added a cute Panda-pic to the sushi for some fun.

One of you asked how I do the cucumber stars.  It's very easy.  I peel a cucumber, then cut both ends so I can stand the whole cucumber up on one end on a cutting board.  Then, I place a small star shaped cookie cutter on the top of the cucumber and press down to the bottom.  Then I chop up the cucumber into pieces and voila, stars.  You are left with five strands of cucumber (the white space from the star shape) which I either chop up and throw in or just eat myself.