Leap day lunch

Tomorrow is leap day.  I thought about coming up with some sort of fun leap-themed lunch but Juju is 3 and a half which means she doesn't even know tomorrow is a Wednesday, let alone a day that only happens once every four years.  I think I'll just include a cute drawing in her lunch and call it a day.

Leaping off an idea from one of Leemore's lunches, I made star avocado and muenster cheese sandwiches.  They are joined by Persian cucumbers from the Hollywood Farmer's market that are among the best cucumbers I've ever had, HFM fresh peas, strawberries, kiwis, heirloom tomato slices and pomegranate seeds for dessert.  I also packed some Greek yogurt (not shown) for snack.

Today's lunch was leftover chicken and rice (the KOAM made a roast chicken again on Monday, I'm starting to feel like the Jeffrey to his Ina Garten. . .and I like it!), plums, strawberries, avocado, clementines, cucumber teddy bears and a caramel wafer cookie for dessert.  The cookies came to me from my friend Lynn, and not Leemore as previously reported (I can not credit Leemore with everything here!  Thanks Marisa for the heads up!).

Happy leap day everyone!

Lunch on February 24 - stepping up my game

I really enjoy this blog.  Forgetting that I love to pack lunches these days, I just really like the distraction.  I have a lot of work to do tonight and this is a great way to relax and procrastinate.

I was not relaxing in the kitchen on lunch duty tonight though.  I mentioned my friend Leemore in my last post who is also a PlanetBox fan.  She told me she has also photographed her lunches from time to time and yesterday she sent me a few.  They completely put mine to shame.  You'll notice I stepped up my game a bit for tomorrow's lunch and it's all because of Leemore.  More about her in a moment.

Tomorrow I am serving falafel chips with edamame hummus, strawberries and grapes, an egg salad sandwich with cucumber letters, and vegetable "flowers" with string beans as stems and cucumbers as the petals.  I put small circles of carrots and even smaller circles of strawberry pieces in the center for color.  Dessert is a granola bar cut into the shape of a heart.  In case you were wondering the letters are stuck on the sandwich using hummus as glue.  Perhaps I should have used the same method with the flowers.  I don't have any confidence that they will arrive to the lunch table in this condition. . .

I completely stole the flower idea from Leemore who did something similar using cucumbers as stems in this at home lunch to the left.  She told me she served: "cheese and avocado sandwiches in the shapes of airplanes and clouds, flowers made with cucumbers as stems, strawberries, carrots, and pomegranate seeds as flowers."  I took one look at this lunch and wondered how this is not yet a competitive sport.  Keep in mind that not only is Leemore a mom but she is a full-time fancy schmancy lawyer and she still found time to pull this off.

Her other lunches are equally amazing and she makes fantastic use of sandwich cutters.  I'm jealous of her tools but I'm trying to take a break from spending on my lunch stash these days so I will just have to live vicariously through her bread slicing.  Here are just some of the amazing lunches she has sent to school recently with her descriptions below:

"avocado and cheese sandwich in shape of a truck, homemade sweet potato chips, homemade kale chips, apples rubbed with lime (tastes like a green apple jolly rancher, and citrus keeps it from browning), and a sliver of date wrapped in coconut"

"turkey avocado sandwich in shape of whales or dolphins, strawberries and mango, green peas, carrots, and one choco chip for dessert"

"valentine inspired: almond butter and jelly sandwich in shape of a mommy elephant and baby elephant, strawberries and cherry tomatoes, apple with lime, red pepper (which r loves and i now force myself to eat), and tart dried cherries for dessert"

"an avocado crackerwich (i am out of bread and we all love ak-mak crackers), mango and strawberries, leftover potato medley from dinner last night (sweet potato/potato), carrots and cherry tomatoes, and homemade granola for dessert.  cant wait to see if the granola spills over into the other compartments, but i dont think it will."

Amazing, right?  I told you so.  I also have to thank Leemore for reminding me that my family loves kale chips.  We made some tonight and they were delicious!  A warning, watch the kale while it's roasting, I burned the first batch because I wasn't paying attention!

I already knew Leemore was gorgeous and smart, but now that I know she has such a talent at the lunch table, I'm expecting her to share more lunches and ideas with me and all of you.  Maybe we can even get her to guest blog.

Have a great weekend!

Lunch on 2/21/12 and 2/22/12

I am going with an old standby, egg salad, for lunch tomorrow.  My favorite part about making egg salad for Juju's lunch is having the leftovers for my own lunch.  My egg salad recipe is very simple.  Place 6-10 eggs (depending on how much egg salad you want to yield) in a pot and cover with water.  Bring to a boil. When the water is boiling, turn off the flame and cover the eggs for 10 minutes.  Give each egg a crack (you can spill out some of the water and smack the eggs against the side of a pot) then place them into an ice bath to cool them down so you can peel them (if you have time you can just let them sit to cool).  Chop celery into tiny cubes, mix with eggs, light mayo, salt and pepper.  I mix everything together with one of my favorite kitchen tools, the Kwik-Kut (it chops and mixes at the same time!)  Chill and serve with bread, crackers, or eat all by itself.  My husband also likes to add dill and/or mustard but I prefer my egg salad plain.

I served the egg salad as a sandwich along with cut up plums (Juju's current favorite fruit), Trader Joe's veggie sticks, carrots, and ranch dressing for dipping.  Dessert is a caramel wafer cookie.

Today's lunch was courtesy of leftovers from dinner the night before.  The KOAM roasted a chicken which was delicious and yielded a ton of leftovers for lunch for everyone in the family.  I also sent rice, plums, celery sticks, grapes, and a piece of a date covered in coconut.  The date dessert idea came from my friend Leemore who is also a Planet Box lover (she has promised to show me some of her lunches soon).  Leemore has great taste in food so I love her recommendations.  And, she was kind enough to bring me a box of her favorite dates!  If I'm not mistaken she also brought me the caramel cookies that Juju will be enjoying for lunch tomorrow.  Thanks Leemore!

I'm out of time to write more tonight but I promise an update on the Planet Box soon.  I wrote an email to the company's founder and I got a sweet and comprehensive note back with information on cleaning the carrybag, (one of my only complaints with the bag).  I promise to report soon.

Lunch on 2/16/12 - imitation crab and pasta

My friend Erica recently purchased a Planet Box and posted a photo of her lunch on Facebook and tagged me in it.  I'm flattered!  It's nice to know people are reading (and maybe getting some inspiration from) what I am posting,  And actually seeing it is even better.  Please continue to send me photos and reports of your lunchpacking (and if you do it in the comments field on this blog, everyone else can see it and enjoy it too!)

Tomorrow I am serving leftover pasta, edamame, grapes, imitation crab, peas, and a chocolate covered pretzel for dessert!

Lunch on February 14, 2012 - A hearty lunch for Valentines Day

You don't have to say anything, I know today's lunch is a little over the top but it's Valentines Day, and I have all of those cookie cutters, so, why not?  They don't celebrate Valentine's Day at Juju's school but since I love a holiday that is all about red and pink and hearts, I figured I'd send some love in her lunch.  I am serving heart plums and cucumbers, heart shaped challah bread spread with edamame hummus, heart shaped fruit leather and granola bars, and sushi since it's her favorite.  Oh, and of course, conversation hearts for dessert!  Happy Valentine's Day everyone!

Lunch on February 13 - pasta and proteins

As I mentioned in an earlier post, I'm trying to spend less this year.  But, while I'm not stocking up on lunchbox items, that doesn't mean you can't. . .especially when some great staple items go on sale.
I just noticed that my favorite hot/cold container from Pottery Barn Kids is now discounted from $16 to $7.99 and it ships free.  This is the only thermos-like container I have found that works for little kids.  Everything else on the market is really tall and meant to be poured into a bowl but toddlers can't be counted on to do that at the lunch table.  This container allows me to send soup or a hot pasta dish to school and know that she'll be able to stick her fork or spoon in and eat it like it's a regular bowl.  It works for adults as well; this way you don't have to source your own bowl if you pack yourself soup on the go.

Juju isn't really old enough to report back yet about the efficacy of the hot/cold features but even if the broth does arrive lukewarm, this is still the best way to send soup to school.

I'm not serving soup tomorrow (although the forecast calls for rain so perhaps I should be).  I packed leftover plain pasta, edamame, strawberries, avocado, a veggie medley of carrots, peas, and cucumbers, and some chocolate covered raisins for dessert.

If you have time to take further look at the Pottery Barn Kids website you'll notice they are expanding on their non-plastic lunch packing items.  They have just introduced reusable snack bags and are now offering the Kids Konserve stainless steel containers in turquoise and my absolute favorite Spencer utensil set in both turquoise and lavender.  Bravo PBK and keep it up, I'd love to see even more stainless steel and fabric options.  Lunch box fairy, take note!

Lunch on 2/10/12 - Veggie delight!

I have to go out later so I made tomorrow's lunch this evening.  That means this is my third post in about 7 hours.  Can you tell I'm procrastinating today?

The falafel chips and edamame hummus were a hit today so I am repeating them tomorrow along with peas, strawberries, plums, cucumbers (shaped like hearts - I broke out the cookie cutters which means I am really avoiding doing work today!), edamame, and for dessert - chocolate cheese!!  Trader Joe's managed to combine two of my favorite things in this delicious blend of white cheddar and dark chocolate.  It is pretty amazing.

Save for the dessert, this is actually a vegan meal.  I know some of my readers are vegan or veg.  I hope this lunch inspires you.  I'm always looking for new ideas on how to make kids food vegan or veg friendly so please send me yours!

Have a great weekend.

Menu planning

On paper you would think I am an organized person.  I'm always on time and often early, I think ahead about most things, and I rarely find myself in situations when I feel unprepared or like I've left something at home.  But as it turns out, I can be pretty scatterbrained too.  I often panic when I realize in the middle of the day that I have to make dinner that night and all we have is yogurt, ketchup, and baking soda in the fridge.  I wish I could be one of those people who sits down on Sunday night and makes a meal plan for the week.  At some point I will accept that I never will be.  In fact, I really don't know anyone who has the time to do that anymore.

But, many many years ago, lots of people did.  My grandmother was one of them.  One of the most exciting finds in her cookbook that included such delights as "Shrimp a la Harriet Ross" (her neighbor) and a recipe that called for "39 cent caviar" was a list of menus for the week.  She told me she wasn't sure whether she actually cooked everything on these lists, or whether it was just that my grandfather requested them, but she did make meals just like these, every night.  There was always an appetizer, (and sometimes soup too), a main, two sides and a dessert.  Imagine four courses of food, every night, in your own home.

This menu was for the week of "Feb. 17, 1947" and is written in my grandfather's handwriting.  If you can't read from the photos, I have typed out what he wanted below:

Menu
Week of Feb 17, 1947
Monday:
Grapefruit supreme
Soup du jour (vegetable)
2 double boned lambchops
Brussel (sic) sprouts
Mashed potato
Lettuce and tomato salad (Russian dressing)
Chocolate eclair
Beverage

Tuesday, Feb 18, 1947
Tomato juice cocktail
Celery and olive appetizer
Broiled liver with onions
Peas
Baked potato
Danish pastry
Beverage

Wednesday, Feb 19, 1947
Fruit Salad
Broiled Sirloin Steak
FF Pot (french fried potatoes)
String beans
Pound cake
Beverage

I don't have time to post more now but will continue to post the great finds from this cookbook soon.  If only I had spent the last 10 minutes menu planning and not blogging maybe I could get 4 courses on the table tonight. . .

Lunch on 2/9/12 - Homemade chicken fingers

Today's lunch is one I really want to eat myself.  I got in a rut (you'll see yesterday's boring lunch at the bottom of this post) so I went to Trader Joe's for some inspiration.  I realize my affinity for Trader Joe's could be classified by some as cult-like but I really am just so happy to shop there that I will try almost anything they produce.  So, while perusing the "new items" section I picked up a bag of new "falafel chips."  At first bite I wasn't that impressed but when I dipped them in some edamame hummus (also a Trader Joe's house label item) I was onboard.  They are made with garbanzo beans and falafel spices and really do smell like the real thing.  So, today I am serving falafel chips, edamame hummus, green peas (Juju is crazy about peas, I have to ration her each day so we don't run out), orange slices, an Andes candy for dessert, and homemade chicken fingers with marinara sauce for dipping.

Someone asked me why I don't post recipes on here anymore so here is how I made the chicken (by the way this blog is nearly a year old and I am still not sure what it is supposed to be; I started it to keep a record of the fun I was having with Juju's lunches when she first started to eat lunch at school - I guess some of you have looked to me as a resource for recipes too.  I'll try to keep up and post more!):

I took one pound of chicken breast cut into strips, (you can often buy chicken tenders already cut in the supermarket) dipped them in a bowl of one beaten egg, and then rolled them in breadcrumbs.  I lightly fried them in olive oil to get each side crispy and then transferred them to a cookie sheet to continue baking in the oven at 350 degrees for about 25 minutes.  If you want you can add spices or salt and pepper or even honey to your egg mixture but this time I made them plain.  The marinara sauce can spice them up.  You can also just fry them in a pan and skip the oven if you don't care about using a lot of oil.

Yesterday's lunch was pretty boring though I did make it in the morning so at least it was fresh.  I served an avocado, orange slices, peas, veggie stix, and a muenster cheese roll up on whole wheat lavash (and of course an Andes candy for dessert.

My friend Monica told me she was in the West Elm store in Chicago and while discussing the abundance of bento and other food storage containers with the manager, mentioned me and this blog and my conundrum about what to do with the dessert section of the Planet Box.  I'm so flattered!

Lunch on February 6: Orange and green and lox supreme!

I haven't posted in a while because I've been in Florida visiting friends and my grandparents.  I made an amazing find at my Grandmother's house: her cookbook!  It is filled with fantastic recipes, some for dozens of complicated appetizers she used to serve at dinner parties in the 60s, others for lots of ethnic food her mother used to make (chicken fat is always included as an ingredient).  It also included a week's worth of menu planning that is pretty incredible - I promise to post about it soon.  I also took her Settlement cookbook from the year she got married, 1944.  I'm really excited to go through everything and will post what I make here as much of it will inevitably end up in Juju's lunch.

Today is our first day back at school in about 10 days.  I am serving lots of orange and green.  I made a lox and cream cheese roll-up on whole wheat lavash bread and am pairing it with carrots, peas, orange slices, and muenster cheese with whole grain crackers.  There is an Andes candy mint for dessert.

Bento for Dinner

This post will be so jam packed it will not only include what's for lunch tomorrow but also what's for dinner tonight!  I made Juju's dinner right after I prepared tomorrow's lunch and I must be in a bento-ish mood because I served four items in four distinct places - no touching.  Usually we serve one meal for the whole family but today I was cleaning out the fridge and made Juju's dinner out of what I found plus the imitation crab I picked up today.  I try not to think too much about what imitation crab is, or how it gets that red color, I just focus on the fact that it's delicious.  And it's also really cheap (a 1/2lb was $3.00).  The dining room at my Grandparent's country club used to serve the best crabmeat salad ever.  It was on the salad bar (along with chocolate pudding!) and I loved going back for more.  It used to really gross me out but I grew to love it.  I also served leftover rice with veggies from the California Chicken Cafe, carrot sticks, and orange slices.

Tomorrow's lunch has some similarities to dinner.  I am serving carrot sticks, oranges, strawberries, grapes, turkey on whole wheat pita, and a chocolate covered pretzel for dessert.  I am still torn about whether I should be sending a dessert at all.  Some days I leave the middle space empty but it's really hard for me to see the potential for cuteness and do nothing about it.  Other days I slice up a strawberry so the smallest slot in the lunch tin does not feel left out.

Today's lunch was very basic but Juju seemed to like it, she left almost nothing in the box.  I served Trader Joe's Greek honey yogurt surrounded by Cheerios, avocado, strawberries, oranges, and a chocolate covered pretzel.

My friend Maggie sent me the coolest thing called "My Food Passport"which looks like an adorably useful tool to get your picky little eater to try new foods.  When they try something new they can write all about it in their passport and get a sticker to check it off their list.  I think this might really resonate with Juju when she is a little bit older.  Lunch box fairy, take note!

Thinking about lists reminds me that I also wanted to mention my friend/neighbor/fellow-nursery-school-parent Sarah just launched a blog called ChecklistMommy.  She has four kids so who knows how she has time to blog (though Caroline at Pregnant Fashionista has 4 kids and one on the way and she seems to handle it pretty well) but it's definitely a must-read for new moms and moms-to-be out there who are agonizing over which car seat to buy, what goes in a diaper bag, and I'm told there will soon be a post on how to color code your kids (yellow for an elevated risk of tantrums, orange for high, red for severe?).  Sarah has a fantastic voice and her blog is as funny as it is useful.

Before I go I wanted to ask why don't more kitchens have computers in them?  I don't mean those fancy fridges that order you more milk when you are out of it, but why don't we place our home computers in our kitchens?  The kitchen is where most of the action happens in my house and I'm tired of running to my office or to get my phone from my bag or my ipad from my bedroom (yes, I sleep right next to it) to look up a recipe or an ingredient or need help converting ounces to pounds.  When I get a new computer, I am putting my old one in the kitchen.  Have a good night

Lunch on January 20, 2012

It's been a busy week, so busy that the KOAM actually packed one of Juju's lunches.  Sorry, there is no photo but I assure you it was beautiful.

Tomorrow there are two big events going on in Juju's class (which of course mean lots of food) plus it's Shabbat so she'll be consuming massive amounts of challah.  I tried to counterbalance all of the carbs and sugar she'll be getting tomorrow with some whole foods.

Tomorrow I am serving fresh green peas, a clementine, grapes, carrots, edamame, blueberries, and whole grain crackers spread with goat cheese and fig butter.

I have sworn off online sample sale sites but I did sneak a peak at Zulily today and noticed the ReSnackIt bags are featured.  I still use mine and they have worn very well.  I want to write more but I'm  pooped.  Happy lunching everyone!

Lunch on 1/6/2012

I finally made it to Trader Joe's today!  That means a little diversity in tomorrow's lunch.  I have to go out tonight so lunch is actually already made.  Fortunately it's the kind of stuff that can sit overnight.  I wonder if I will ever be the type of person who can get up early enough and be organized enough to make lunch in the morning before school.

Tomorrow I am serving egg salad roll-ups which were super easy to make.  Trader Joe's sells lavash bread in both regular and whole wheat (this is the whole wheat and it tastes just as good as regular lavash) so I simply spooned some egg salad on the bread, rolled it up, and sliced it.  I'm serving grapes with blueberries (I love the blue and purple color combo) along with orange slices and cucumbers.  I was trying to find a colorful dessert to put in the middle but couldn't find anything so I gave her a mini brownie cut in half to fit in the small center square.

Look at that, I blogged every lunch this week!  Have a wonderful weekend!

Lunch on 1/5/2012 - The return of cucumber art!

It was another late night and I was in a rush to get lunch made.  And since I haven't been to the grocery store in a few days, once again Juju is eating whatever is in the fridge (which looks remarkably similar to everything else she ate this week).  I decided if I can't change up her food for tomorrow's lunch, I can at least attempt to make it more visually appealing.  So, once again, I pulled out my cookie cutters and went to town on a hot house cucumber.  Tomorrow I am serving cucumber stars and flowers along with orange slices, grapes, edamame, avocado, and macaroni and cheese and peas.  I made some cheddar cheese stars to decorate the top of the mac and cheese.  Incidentally this mac and cheese is not the homemade one I mentioned yesterday but something my great babysitter made for dinner for the two of them tonight.

Also captured in the photograph is a new Klean Kanteen kid's water bottle in the "Navy Bird" pattern that matches Juju's Pottery Barn Kids lunch box.  I was too cheap to buy the matching water bottle in the fall when it was around $20 but since it's now on sale for $9.99 and I had a PBK gift certificate, I couldn't resist.

Lunch on January 4, 2012

It's been a long day and I am just getting around to making lunch now.  I'm serving leftovers I have in the fridge, not very exciting.  I know some of you think I am totally crazy about what I feed to Juju but you really have no idea where I came from.  There was actually a time in her life when I felt it necessary to only feed her foods that were in season at the time.  (Can you believe I made time to know exactly what was in season and what wasn't?)  So, I look at this lunch and see how far I've come.

Tomorrow I am serving avocado, grapes, orange slices, leftover homemade macaroni and cheese (one day when I have more time I will share the recipe), edamame, and a few pieces of chocolate drizzled kettle corn for dessert.

Yes I still pack lunches

I saw my friend Julia today who inquired about whether I had given up on packing lunches.  My lunch packing has not stopped (I'm still too cheap and too much of a food snob to sign up for the hot lunch program!); I just took a little break from blogging about it.  I actually took photos of about a dozen lunches I packed and dinners I made over the last few months but never found the time to blog them.  My apologies to those who missed me.  I don't really make New Years resolutions but this year I "hope" to spend less, eat less, move more, and give more.  Maybe following those ideals will result in some new and interesting lunches.  Or maybe I'll just keep packing avocados and brown rice.  Stay tuned.

I continue to use and LOVE the Planet Box and I'm told I have convinced a few parents out there to purchase them.  FYI, I don't receive any sort of monetary compensation if you buy anything I recommend on here (though that would be nice!).  I try to use the Planet Box everyday (which means I have to clean it every night - slightly annoying).

Tomorrow's lunch includes: an avocado (natch), grapes, orange slices from an orange given to us by the Julia referenced above (thanks Julia!), leftover chicken cutlet with marinara dipping sauce, and corn and edamame from a Trader Joe's frozen vegetable blend called Soycatash.  I also included a few chocolate covered raisins since the kids who ordered hot lunch will get a dessert in their lunch tomorrow:

Happy New Year everyone!!

Lunch on October 13, 2011 - showing some restraint!

I continue to love the Planet Box lunchbox I blogged about yesterday.  It's so sleek and really well designed.  There are a few kinks to work out, or just accept.  For example I have just resigned myself to the fact that the once beautiful carrying case is going to get gross.  I spot clean it each time it comes home but there are always stains on it.  Either food has leaked onto it, or Juju touched it with dirty hands, or she dropped food on it (she eats from the stainless steel container while it's still in the carrying case).  But I'm still in the honeymoon phase with this lunch container so I'm sticking with it.  I looked at one of Juju's other lunchboxes on the counter today and felt sorry for it; it's not going to see the light of day for a while.  My friend Lirona mentioned in the comments in yesterday's post that her daughter's preschool likes the Planet Box because it's only one container for them to help her daughter open.  That's a good point.  And Lirona likes that it's only one thing to clean.  I agree but I don't like that the magnets need to be removed to clean the lunchbox because I clean it every day which means I am removing and then replacing them each time.  It gets a little annoying.  I wish they were washable stickers instead.

After a whole lot of today's lunch came home in the Planet Box, I came to terms with the fact that I am sending too much food for lunch.  So, for tomorrow's meal I tried to show a little restraint.  One of Juju's classmates who was playing with Juju's Planet Box during pick-up time showed me that Juju's fork set can fit perfectly into one of the compartments in the unit.  Brilliant!  You never know how much you can learn from a 3-year old.

I took the friend's advice and filled one of the compartments with a fork for tomorrow's lunch which kept me from filling that area with food.  Along with the fork I am serving mac and cheese with veggies, edamame, and orange slices.  I really tried hard to leave the center section empty but I had some dark chocolate covered sunflower seeds in my pantry and I couldn't resist adding a little bit of color to the lunch!

I happened to be at Target today when I stumbled upon a great sale on Thermos brand stainless steel straw water bottles.  Ok fine, I didn't exactly stumble upon it, I often check out the kid's lunch section for fun (call it research for this blog).  Anyway, these water bottles usually cost around $18-$20 dollars each and today they were on sale for about $13.  Unfortunately none of them are plain, they all have characters on them but at this price, I don't really mind Juju shilling for Hello Kitty at the lunch table.  I can't find a link on the website but you can find them in person.  While I was there I checked out the variety of lunch bags, boxes, and containers available for sale.  They didn't have any interesting stainless steel options but some of the lunch bags themselves were really cute and well priced.  If I were in the market for a lunch bag (I'm not, I'm not, I'm really not!) my choice would be the Rambler lunch bag or a super cute one that isn't online but is in the shape of a frog and comes with a frog ice pack.

The lunch box fairy delivers again - the Planet Box is here!

As you know I have fantasized about a number of stainless steel lunch containers on this website and have added a good number of them to my repertoire with mixed reviews.  You'll remember I swooned over the much ballyhooed Planet Box lunch box only to turn on it later because of it's price, low rating on the "cute" scale, and seeming inflexibility.  Well, as the proud new owner of a Planet Box, I have to say, I was wrong, it's pretty incredible, and Juju and I are in love.

First I have to explain how it came to be that I own a Planet Box lunchbox in the first place.  You'll recall I had vowed to stop purchasing lunch box accessories and focus on making the most of my current stash.  But, I have no control over the Lunch Fairy (who, it turns out, is alive and well and living in New York - after a brief sojourn in Los Angeles when she brought me these).

One of my oldest and dearest friends Erin told me she was coming to LA to visit her family and friends with her husband and ADORABLE 3 month old son, Freddy.  Erin has done so much for me over the years; she consistently goes above and beyond what normal good friends do for one another and I hope I she knows how much I appreciate all she has ever done for me.  Naturally I offered to loan Erin a bunch of Juju's old baby stuff to spare her the hassle of lugging a car seat or stroller across the country or wonder where her little guy would be able to nap comfortably.   Considering how many times Erin has helped me pack up and move dorm rooms and apartments, lug odd-sized things around Manhattan, fend off unwanted advances from cab drivers, and just been there for me as one of the most positive influences in my life for the last 15 or so years, it was the least I could do.  And since her sister lives so close by, I didn't really think I had done very much by dropping the stuff off before her her arrival.

Well, according to Erin, I had done her such a big favor that she deemed Juju and I (but let's be honest, it was mostly for me!) worthy of a visit from the Lunch Fairy.  I could hardly believe my eyes when I opened up a box left on my doorstep last week containing the Planet Box, a beautiful purple carrying case, and groovy magnet/stickers to go on top.  It was so unexpected and unnecessary yet absolutely the perfect gift.  Thank you Erin.  If only you knew getting to hang out with you and Scott and Freddy was gift enough!  You're amazing.

Juju played with the box (without food) all night long and I was so excited to pack her lunch in it the next day.  It has so far exceeded my expectations.  The box is really well designed and I love that the lunch is packed flat (it looks like a mini lap top in a case when packed) so it's easy to store in my crowded refrigerator.  My only problem is that I end up serving more food than I normally would because I try to fill each space with food for aesthetic reasons.  I either need to get over that or figure out ways to make less food look like more.

Here are the three lunches I have served so far with the Planet Box.  The first is shells and cheese with peas, cucumber, avocado, strawberries, and a few chocolate covered raisins.

Today I served cottage cheese, brown rice, tomatoes and cucumbers, strawberries and raspberries, and a mini brownie bite.  I am not sure how I feel about sending a dessert every day.  It was easy last year knowing that we couldn't send any dessert; I didn't have to decide.  I hadn't been sending dessert this year until I learned that on Mondays, the hot lunch served at school comes with a dessert.  I didn't want Juju to feel left out when sitting next to her hot lunch-eating friends so I sent a sweet with her lunch too.  Today's lunch experience also revealed that Juju is probably the first luncher to bring a Planet Box to school. . .nobody noticed that she didn't put the lid back on the cottage cheese container when she was packing up her lunch today and it leaked all over the beautiful new purple carrying case.  Fortunately, it washed pretty easily.  But it was really gross and I'm not sure how to prevent it from happening in the future.

And tomorrow I am serving homemade turkey meatballs, brown rice, green beans, a cut up plum, and ok, yes, another brownie bite.  We have a few small brownies in the freezer leftover from an event this weekend and I might just have to include them until they run out.  My lunch packing-induced OCD is kicking in and I'm just not content to leave any compartments empty.  The first step in healing is admitting you have a problem, right?

I still love Juju's new for school blue lunchbox and I am sure I will go back to it at some point when I decide to switch things up but for now the Planet Box is just too much fun!

Saved by the egg

I have been working really hard and have been a bit stressed but, blogging here really relaxes me so I'm excited to take a break and catch you up on a few lunches gone by.  One of the major stressors is actually something great - Milkstars nursing tops and dresses are now available at A Pea in the Pod stores on the East Coast and are expanding to more stores - maybe near you! - this holiday season.  It's been a lot of work on my end but I'm hopeful it will turn into something great.

Even though I haven't been writing, I have been documenting some of my lunches with photos.  About a week or two ago, it was Sunday night, and around 9PM I suddenly remembered I had to pack a lunch for the next day (and the next day, and the next day).  I kind of freaked since we didn't have much food in the house but then I remembered that my husband loves eggs and we always have a ton in the house.  And then I remembered my friend Annie H. once gave me a great recipe for mini-frittatas that I blogged about here.

Fortunately, I had most of the ingredients needed either fresh or frozen (in this case I used frozen spinach and a red onion since that was the only kind of onion we had around).  I played with the proportions a bit to make more frittatas without actually having to double the recipe and things came out really well.

Here is a photo of the frittatas when they came out of the oven.

And here is the lunch I put together with other things we had in the fridge.  The rice also came from the freezer.  Trader Joe's sells frozen bags of 3-minute rice which are good at the last minute when I realize I have not packed any sort of grain for my daughter and remind myself that my 3 year is not on an Atkins diet.  On the contrary, as you might remember she never met a carbohydrate she didn't like.

Our whole family ate the frittatas for lunch; they were great hot or cold.  I even sent them as snack another day that week.  The lunch that day was half a turkey sandwich, fruit, and homemade butternut squash soup that I hope arrived to the lunch table warm but I will never know. . .

Week of 9/19/11 - Kids Menus, Bread, and Lunch

I sometimes wish I had time to photograph every lunch I make as I imagine this blog would turn into a yearbook of sorts detailing everything Juju ever ate in preschool.  But as I type that it sounds a little disgusting. . .so I am glad my schedule prevents me from documenting every morsel to cross her lips.

While I may not be blogging a lot, I must be a copywriter at heart because I continue to think up blog titles (if not the entries themselves).  I considered writing a post called "Roast on Toast" about how I repurposed some prime rib from a dinner last weekend and another called "The (Hot) Dog Days Are Over" about the week we go vegan but alas, we haven't cut animal products out of our lives entirely just yet (though we have made an effort to consume fewer of them so we're on our way) so those posts never made it here.

I was also thinking about this blog when I went to dinner at Ca' Del Sole, a great Italian restaurant here in LA my family has been dining at for years.  I was so delighted by their children's menu that I asked for a second copy to take home (Juju had scribbled all over her copy while waiting for her food) so I could photograph it and include it here.  Wow, I'm a huge nerd.

One of the things that really bugs me about children's menus at restaurants is that they so rarely have any connection to the menu and flavor of the kitchen serving them.  I understand there are a lot of picky young eaters out there and I know why restaurants want to accomodate them but I don't understand why in addition to the chicken nuggets or buttered pasta on the menu they can not also include smaller versions of their regular dishes.  I sometimes order Juju an adult appetizer at a restaurant because the kids' menu is so unappealing (not to mention lacking in flavor or nutrition) and I would rather get her something that is designed for her.  And, let's not forget that ordering from the regular menu is a lot more expensive than ordering off the kid's one.  I've always thought that it would be easier for a restaurant to just make a smaller size of whatever they are already cooking anyway instead of pulling out special food just for kid diners.  And I think a lot of that could be appealing to young eaters if presented in the right way.  Am I wrong?

The folks at Ca' Del Sole don't think so and I was delighted to see that they put some real effort and imagination into their kid's menu.  Children can choose from a real Italian (well, American Italian at least) menu with sophisticated ingredients like fresh Heirloom tomatoes, twists on the standard pasta fare like pumpkin ravioli, and even their very own kid-sized Caeser salad appetizer.   Juju often feels left out when the adults get their appetizer course and she has to wait until the second course for her food.  I love that this menu offers an affordable option for a children's appetizer so they can participate in the whole restaurant experience.

In case you were curious, Juju had the Fritto Misto (I had some of it - it was delicious!) and the Chicken Milanese (don't you dare call it a chicken finger, it was way out of its league).  She of course had the flourless chocolate cake for dessert!  It was a ton of food for a 3-year old; she probably could have gotten by with just one entree but she enjoyed everything.  I will certainly be back to Ca' Del Sole with Juju.

Also last week I tried this bread recipe my friend Lirona gave to me.  The bread was ok, I think I either used the wrong kind of beer or too much vinegar but it was fun to pull it out of the oven and it made great croutons a few days later.  I took a picture since the way it looked was the most appealing part.  Lirona's tasted great.  I'll have to figure out what I did wrong and try again:

Lastly I have to include a photo of a lunch from last week as that's the whole point of this blog!  I mentioned in an earlier post that a chef in Michigan sends a hamburger in his son's lunch so inspired by that, I served hamburger, brown rice, and string beans with avocado and peas for snack.  I squeezed some ketchup for dipping into a mini heart-shaped cookie cutter so that it wouldn't get all over the lunch in our drive and walk to school.  The hamburger was made from the "burger blend" at McCall's Meat and Fish on Hillhurst in Los Feliz.  It's a fantastic butcher shop and their burger blend rivals any steakhouse burger.  Their salmon sashimi is also second to none.

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.

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!

Almost there

The lack of posting here hasn't been due to laziness; it's because we are probably the last people on the planet to start school.  We go back on Tuesday and I have no idea what I am going to pack.

The lunch program offered by the school doesn't start for the nursery school until October which means even if I wanted to sign up for it, I'm on my own for lunch this month.

I have mixed feelings about signing up for the program.  On the one hand, it would be nice to have a few days off from the burden of planning and packing a lunch.  On the other, it's kind of expensive and I don't love the options.  The menu for the nursery school isn't out yet but I did sneak a peak at what they are offering the kindergarteners and I have to say, I am not really impressed.  The program touts the fact that everything is really customizable, which basically means that almost everything comes "on the side."  I realize this is great for parents with picky kids who are afraid their kids would rather skip the meal entirely than eat something random served to them but I am concerned that this set-up will actually train Juju to become a picky eater.  For example, if I serve her a dish of pasta with a tomato-veggie sauce, she'll eat it.  But if I start serving her pasta with sauce on the side, she might skip the step of mixing everything together and just eat the straight pasta and ignore the sauce (this "on the side thing" isn't exclusive to pasta and applies to almost all of their offered dishes).  Since I haven't seen the nursery school menu I could be putting the cart before the horse, maybe they don't expect a 3 year old to mix up her own ingredients, but I just don't know yet.  I wish we could see photos of the actual lunches, maybe that would help?

My friend Lirona also pointed out that there is no way her daughter will eat $6.25 worth of food for lunch so she thinks it's a waste of money.  I realize some of that money goes toward the convenience of not having to pack a lunch but considering the program charges an additional $2 for sushi, I might as well run down the street to Gelson's to buy her sushi on days when I am lazy.  I can get her favorite rolls for less than $8.25 and they will be enough for at least two lunches.  But, I'm going to keep an open mind when the menu comes out and we'll see what happens.

I got some inspiration for what to make on Day One from the Wall Street Journal today in a small piece called "A Gourmet Lunchbox" where they interviewed 3 chefs about what they packed in their kids' school lunches.  Alex Young from Zingerman's Roadhouse in Ann Arbor, Michigan sends his son with a burger served cold (like a meatloaf sandwich).  It's so simple but I never thought to do it myself.

I can't promise daily updates of what I pack this year but I will try to document a whole bunch of them.  I do so love your comments about what I am making!

I'm still here

I haven't posted much lately because I haven't been packing too many lunches but, for several weeks I have been meaning to tell you all that some of my favorite stainless steel lunch containers are now on sale at Pottery Barn Kids.

The Kids Konserve containers I have are available for the same outrageous price as elsewhere ($26 for a set of 3) however you have a better choice of colors at Pottery Barn - no earth tones there, just pink, red, blue, and green.  Oh and I just checked the link, it looks like red is on sale for $19.99.  That's better than the Amazon price.

I seem to be on the same wavelength as Pottery Barn's buyers because they have also brought in the much coveted Planet Box lunch box I lusted about here.  However, I have to say that upon examining the Planet Box lunch box up close and personal, I'm really glad I didn't take the plunge and buy it online. {Insert audible gasp here} While I love how neat it is (the multiple containers I normally pack can get complicated) it just doesn't seem that exciting in person.  The areas for the food are smaller than I thought and it is simultaneously too limiting (what if I want to pack things that don't conform to it's shape?) and too suggestive (what if I only want to pack two items and can't fill up the rest of the lunchbox?).  It also seems like too much work for a toddler and not enough fun-looking either.  Maybe I'll buy it when it inevitably goes on sale.  I know Pottery Barn Kids shoppers generally have a lot of money to burn but my guess is they will opt for a cuter looking lunch box.

Speaking of cute looking lunch boxes, PBK also solved a problem for me.  I have a little girl who is obsessed with the color blue.  But almost every blue lunchbox out there screams BOY BOY BOY.  It's not that I am opposed to buying her a lunchbox that was clearly intended for a male lunch buncher, it's just that she isn't into Spider-Man or Thomas the Train, or any other images that seem to be plastered on every blue lunchbox out there.  But, lo and behold, in the store that on every other occasion has decided that pink is for girls and blue is for boys, I found a lunchbox that is both blue and girly enough that I won't have to deal with questions from other people who think my 3 year old needs to prove to the world that she is feminine.  Juju will be strolling up to her new school with this lunchbox in hand (only hers doesn't say Caden) and she's pretty excited about it:

August 22 - Mom and daughter lunch

I want to start off with a correction.  I mentioned an Ina Garten roasted eggplant spread in my last post.  I realized later that I did not post the recipe I used but instead another recipe from her trove of instructions on delicious dips and spreads.  The one I like is very similar to the one I posted but it calls for a few extra things like lemon juice and tahini.  I added the correct recipe to the post; you can also see the correct recipe here.

A number of friends and acquaintances have sent me really cute lunch ideas for the coming school year which I promise post about soon.

Today's lunch includes leftovers from last night.  Whenever I haven't planned for dinner, I make an old standby from the Moosewood cookbook, Spinach-Rice Casserole.  I usually have all the ingredients at home (I use frozen spinach if we don't have fresh spinach on hand) so it's pretty easy to make last minute (though you do have to cook the rice first and then back the dish for about 35 minutes so you can decide too last minute).  We had fresh spinach from our CSA box so it made sense to make this dish.  Incidentally if you live in LA and you have a baby, this is likely the dish I will bring to your house.  It's vegetarian and kosher friendly and it's a really big portion which you can eat for a few meals.  It's great food for sleep-deprived new moms and dads.

In addition to the spinach-rice dish I served avocado, cucumbers, carrots, and green and champagne grapes.

Last week I went somewhere that required me to pack a lunch for both me and Juju.  Our mother/daughter meal included leftover almond crusted chicken, string beans and mini heirloom tomatoes for me, and an egg salad sandwich, grapes, cucumbers, strawberries, and carrots for Juju.  I also gave her some sunflower seed butter for dipping the veggies (not shown).

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.