Friday, August 29, 2008

One of the things that I don't like about the Laptop lunch boxes is the lack of a thermal option. I know that they sell thermal jars with a strap, and I actually really like the idea of a strap, but I've heard over and over again that their jars leak and can easily get water trapped into the inside. So unfortunately there are some days when we have to leave the inner case at home and send the Thermos FUNtainer jar similar to this. These work really well if you fill them with hot water and let them warm for at least 10 minutes before you put the food in. I've also found that food reheated on the stove retains it's heat longer than food reheated in the microwave. I have no idea why, and I have no scientific facts to back that up, it's just been my observation. For dinner on Thursday I made a huge pot of Mexican Beef & Bean soup. They had leftovers with quesadillas, and organic yogurt.

Lunches for the boys last week Thursday. I made chicken with a tomato, basil, cream sauce served over bowtie pasta for dinner Wednesday night and these are the leftovers for lunch. I added steamed green beans with butter and salt, and colby-jack cheese with crackers.

Wednesday, August 27, 2008

Making Breakfast Easier

I was talking with some other mom's the other day about the price of milk. It came up that they assumed that our family must go through quite a lot. We actually don't (we use 1-1.5 gallons a week) in comparison to their families and I said that the reason is because the boys only drink it with lunch and dinner. They can have a glass of juice with breakfast and they have water bottles for the rest of the day. One of the other moms said that it wasn't the drinking milk that makes their family go through it so fast, it's cereal. The other moms all nodded emphatically yes, and I bit my tongue and said nothing because, well, we don't eat cereal. My husband still buys it to snack on, but I stopped getting cereal for breakfast a long time ago. There were a couple of reasons; The only kinds that the boys wanted were the sugar filled kind. There aren't many healthy choices to begin with and the ones that are available are insanely expensive. The boys would eat a huge bowl for breakfast and 1/2 an hour later they'd be starving and I would have to make them a "real" breakfast anyway.

Most mornings our boys eat oatmeal. We'll add cinnamon to it, brown sugar, maple syrup, or apple juice. Some times we make something called Amish Baked Oatmeal. I'm going to admit right now that I'm a huge hypocrite because I hate oatmeal and don't eat it myself, but I didn't grow up with it. We've been giving it to the boys since my oldest was a toddler so it's always been a part of their diet. I get it for around $1.70/lb at our health food store. A few mornings a week we do have other choices for them though, things like pancakes, waffles, eggs & sausage, breakfast sandwiches or breakfast burritos.

Breakfast burritos have been a huge hit here since I started making them and I've become a fan as well because I can make up a big batch, freeze them, and just take out what I need the night before. The only downside to them is that I've found that they have to be wrapped in something or else everything falls out while they're in the freezer. I use aluminum foil and toss it in the recycling bin after the burritos have defrosted. To make my breakfast burritos I use;

2 packs whole grain tortillas (8 to a pack)
1 lb breakfast sausage
1 dozen eggs (I like to use free range organic)
4-6 cups shredded cheese

First I cook the scrambled eggs and cook the sausage. Then I open 1 pack of tortillas and lay them out on the counter. I divide the eggs and sausage in half in the pan, then fill the first 8 tortillas with them. Then I sprinkle half of the cheese over the eggs and sausage on each tortilla. Then I wrap each tortilla and roll in a small piece of aluminum foil. Repeat with the 2nd pack of tortillas. Then I freeze all of them in freezer bags.

These last about a month for us. I used to add hash browns, but my boys just weren't too crazy about them so I've been leaving them out.

Monday, August 25, 2008

New week, new lunches. :-) Ground turkey with gravy, mashed potatoes, peas, unsweetened applesauce.

This is a favorite of the boys; BBQ chicken, tomato ranch chips, pumpkin cake with cream cheese frosting, mashed potatoes.

Yum! Jambalaya! Rice, jambalaya, a pumpkin cake with cream cheese frosting, crackers.

For this lunch we went "old school" ;-) BP & honey on whole grain bread, blue corn chips with cheese dipping sauce, blueberry cobbler, and unsweetened applesauce.

We're back at school! :-D Unfortunately, my dishwasher is broken and hand washing dishes for a family of 6 means that I'm making things as simply as possible until it's fixed. Here is their lunch from the first day of school. At their request; A hamburger, macaroni casserole, tomato ranch chips, oatmeal, chocolate, butterscotch chip cookie, and unsweetened applesauce.