Thursday, December 23

So this will likely be the last post for a few days. I may or may not post some days when E's out of school and I'm home from work. We'll see! In the meantime, here's today's lunch, which E will be eating while wearing PJs -- some sort of "school spirit" idea that the kids seem to love. (We never got to do this when I was in school!) I just realized that the photo quality is terrible. I snapped it just as I was running out the door to catch my train. Ah, the life of a commuter.

• hummus on whole wheat
• Israeli couscous with soy butter
• clementine
• coconut date roll
• water
• morning snack: water, cheese crackers

Tuesday, December 21

We got snow! Ok, that makes it sound like I'm excited, right? I'm not. I'm excited for E because he loves snow, but I am already sick of it. A few more months of this cold? Maybe I should move out of New England.

Tuesday, Dec. 21

• a wrap (smashed kidney beans, lettuce, brown rice)
• hummus
• celery sticks and cucumbers
• apricot dried fruit strip from Trader Joe's
• water

Monday, December 20

Not a lot of posts last week. I was out sick for part of the week and just super busy trying to get out magazine out the door so the postings took a back seat. Anyhow, here's today's lunch:

• brown rice sauteed with celery, chickpeas, and peas with sesame oil and soy sauce (leftovers!)
• pesto tortellini
• carrots
• clementine
• water
• morning snack: water, rice crackers, a couple of yogurt-covered pretzels

Monday, December 13 & Tuesday, December 14

Ooops, forgot to post yesterday's photo. I blame it on too-much-to-do-this-time-of-year-brain, although I'm often forgetful, so it could just be that. So today's post is for both yesterday and today. Tomorrow is pizza day (hot lunch) so no posting.

MONDAY

TUESDAY

• over-cooked gnocchi
• broccoli with soy butter
• tomato skewers
• grapes and clementines
• water
• morning snack: water, cheese crackers













• mini wheat bagel
• hummus with carrots and celery to dip

• blueberries
• water
• morning snack: water, watermelon

Friday, December 10

I'm going to call today's lunch the LIAR'S SPECIAL, in honor of Senator Scott Brown, who said he would support a repeal of Don't Ask/Don't Tell (he even sent me an e-mail message last night saying he supported the repeal), but then last night was one of the final votes that crushed the repeal. SNAKE and a LIAR.

Ok. Liar's Special:

• Egg-axtly The Opposite of What I Said I Was Going to Do Animal-Shaped Egg
• I've Made Everyone Blue Berries
• Pesto TorteLIE-nini
• Red-Faced Lie Tomatoes

(Close-up, although the smaller photo is actually better, I think. It's a cheap little camera and I'm taking the photos at 6:30 a.m. in my fairly dark kitchen.)

Thursday, December 9

I realized, as I was typing the list of today's lunch, that it's heavy on soy. We were in Trader Joe's once and two young boys were with their father near the ice cream section. One of the boys was pointing toward a box of Tofutti Cuties, these little vegan "ice cream" sandwiches that are awesomely yummy. The father went a little nutty, pulling the kids away and saying, in a too-loud voice, "Boys don't eat soy." I was a little put off by this (probably because I was holding a quart of soy ice cream and E was next to me). I suspect he had read some article about how the isoflavones in soy have an impact on male hormones. (Research shows this not to be true.) What bothered me wasn't that the guy felt strongly about the health of his sons, but that he was so loud and obnoxious about it.

Anyhow, here's today's soy-packed lunch!

• veggie burger (Dr. Praeger's California veggie)
• tofu
• edemame and corn with soy butter
• clementine
• water
• morning snack: water, cereal bar (fig)

Tuesday, December 7

Not the most inspiring lunch today, but pretty good from a nutritional standpoint, I guess. Tomorrow is hot lunch -- pizza day. I have to admit, as much as I prefer making lunch and having control over the ingredients, I do look forward to having one day where I don't have to scramble to get the bento box washed or worry over what I'm going to make.

• whole wheat shells with shakey cheese (parmesan)
• broccoli
• whole wheat bread with soy butter
• blueberries
• water
• morning snack: water, strawberry cereal bar**

** I realized recently that a lot of these cereal/granola bars have nuts, which they don't allow in E's classroom for morning snack. (Lunch is OK since they have designated "nut-free" tables.) Any suggestions for high-quality cereal/granola bars without nuts? Today I gave him a cereal bar from Whole Foods, their 365 brand, which are good and not expensive, but it would be nice to have other options.

Monday, December 6

It's cooooold out there today, which has me thinking about cold-weather lunches. (And sadly, it's not actually that cold -- high 30s, with wind.) I may try to find some kind of small thermos for hot soup. Not sure how easy that will be for a five-year-old, but it's worth a try.

Ok, today's lunch!

• grilled cheese on whole wheat
• homefries!
• carrot sticks
• Pirate's Booty
• water
• morning snack: water, apple

Friday, December 3

Latkes and over-cooked peas!

• pb&j on whole wheat
• overcooked peas, white kidney beans, and a tomato
• homemade vegan latkes
• clementime
• water
• morning snack: water, apple

Thursday, December 2

Today's lunch is basically leftovers from dinner last night, plus rice crackers, which E loves. That's it, nothing more inspiring today.

• pesto tortellini with side of tomato sauce for dipping

• broccoli with soy butter

• garlic bread

• rice crackers

• water

• morning snack: clementine, water

Tuesday, November 30

Ok, so today's lunch has a little story behind it. Rob (E's dad) has been dying for Chinese take out for a long time. So last night -- his one day off from work -- we stop and get two dishes for Rob and E: veggie lo mein and veggie mu shu. He was especially craving the mu shu. By the time we got home, it was late and so I was frantically running around trying to finish E's bath, feed the five cats, and get my head around today's school lunch while Rob made a salad and heated up the homemade veggie soup that I made on Sunday. Finally, as I was dishing out some of the mu shu so that E could start eating, the Christmas tree fell over on top of me, bulbs flying, cats flying, E crying because he got scared and because he was worried about the ornaments, and Rob freaking out because the mu shu fell on floor. Everyone was fine and only one ornament was broken so all in all not too bad, but the mu shu had to be thrown out and it took awhile to pull it all back together again. Needlesstosay, I had no energy for thinking about today's lunch so I made it easy on myself and saved some of the lo mein, threw in a few baby tomatoes, and brown rice that I had made on Sunday night. Oh, and a homemade vegan cookie to make up for the lost ornament.

• veggie lo mein
• brown rice
• tomatoes
• vegan chocolate chip cookie
• water
• morning snack: water, apple

Monday, November 29

Back to school! With all of the days off last week, it feels like forever since I made lunch for school. Nothing too exciting today, although we've totally been grooving on sauteed green beans with thinly sliced almonds. After a minute or so in the hot pan, the almonds get soft and very tasty. Yum.

• wheat pasta with shakey cheese and soy butter
• sauteed green beans with sliced almonds
• chickpeas
• tangerine
• water
• morning snack: green grapes, apple cider

Tuesday, November 23

Red and White

I realized last night, as I was cooking dinner and pulling things aside for today's lunch, that everything was red and white. This is not intentional. I remember all the buzz a few years ago about eating the rainbow -- the idea that you should eat foods every day from all of the colors of the rainbow in order to get in a variety of nutrients. Although I fall way short of this most days, I do think it's good advice. It makes sense that a meal like broccoli, blueberries, and pasta with tomato sauce and yellow peppers is better for you than pasta with cheese sauce, white bread and butter, and something else white.

Ok, on to today's far-from-the-rainbow lunch:

• pasta with homemade tomato sauce (Wait! It has GREEN parsley and basil! That counts, right?)
• smashed baby potatoes with soy butter
• white kidney beans
• strawberries
• water
• morning snack: water, fruit bar

Monday, November 22

Keeping Up With the Bentos
Back to the bento! (Eended up buying hot lunch on Friday so it feels like awhile since I've posted.) I just stumbled across an"anti-bento" blog written by a mother. She seems to hate all of the cutesy bento lunch sites out there. I get where she's coming from (see previous entries about not being able to keep up with the cute stuff), but I really do think parents are just trying to A) have fun and B) make school lunch appealing. How can you fault a parent for trying?

• hummus on whole wheat
• edemame with soy butter
• pineapple
• coconut-covered date log (soooooo good!)
• two mini vegan gingerbread cookies that we made yesterday **
• water
• morning snack: water, apple

Vegan Gingerbread Cut-Out Cookies (from: Vegan Cookies Invade Your Cookie Jar)

1/3 cup canola oil
3/4 cup sugar
1/4 cup molasses
1/4 cup plain soy milk
2 cups whole-wheat pastry flour or all-purpose flour (or a mix of both)
1/2 teaspoon baking soda
1/2 teaspoon baking powder
1/2 teaspoon salt

For the spice blend:
1/2 teaspoon each ground nutmeg, cloves, and cinnamon
1 1/2 teaspoons ground ginger

1. In a large bowl, whisk together the oil and sugar for about 3 minutes. Add the molasses and soy milk. The molasses and soy milk won’t really blend with the oil but that’s okay.
2. Sift in all the other dry ingredients, mixing about halfway through. When all of the dry ingredients are added, mix until a stiff dough is formed. Flatten the dough into a disc, wrap it in plastic wrap, and chill for an hour or up to 3 days in advance. If the dough chills longer than an hour you may want to let it sit for 10 minutes to warm up a bit before proceeding.
3. Preheat oven to 350ºF. Lightly grease two baking sheets or line them with parchment paper.
4. On a lightly floured surface, roll the dough out to a little less than 1/4 inch thick. Cut out your shapes with your cookie cutters and use a thin spatula to gently place the cookies on the sheets. If you are using the cookies to decorate a tree or something, remember to punch a hole in their heads (!) before baking. Bake for 8 minutes. (NOTE: My toaster oven -- yes, we don't have a a real oven -- cooks fast and my cookies were small so I only cooked them for 5 minutes.)
5. Remove the cookies from the oven and let them cook for 2 minutes on the baking sheet, then move them to a wire rack. If icing: wait until they are completely cool.

From the book Vegan Cookies Invade Your Cookie Jar by Isa Chandra Moskowitz and Terry Hope Romero.

Thursday, November 18

It's side dish day.
• tofu in various shapes, including an E
• cheese stick
• tangerine
• peas with soy butter
• black beans 
• water
• morning snack: water, granola bar
 

Tuesday, November 16

Today I gave in and put a sweet thing in E's lunch. Not that I'm against sweet stuff, or desserts in general, but he's been so distracted during lunch that he's not eating as well as he should. The teachers told me that it happens to all of the kindergarten kids, especially the chatty ones like E. With only 20 minutes for lunch -- 15, actually, once they sit down and get settled -- I suppose it would be hard for anyone to focus. Add to this the fact that E has become buddy-buddy with a group of fifth-graders (the fifth-graders and kindergarten kids eat lunch at the same time) and when he sits with them, he REALLY can't be bothered with lunch.

So I've been withholding dessert. But I caved this morning. We'll see....

• tortellini and ravioli
• dark kidney beans (yum!)
• bread with soy butter
• Annie's bunny fruit snacks
• water
• morning snack: water, fresh blueberries and raspberries

Monday, November 15

A little late in posting today. I thought I forgot the camera at home but just realized it was in my bag. Anyhow, so I flipped through a cookbook the other day that was all about bento boxes. Very cool stuff, but geez, the amount of time spent to make the food look cute! Wow. I keep thinking there's a market out there for a cookbook/idea book focused on bento lunches geared towards people without tons of extra time. Hum. But then again, there are so many blogs out there doing exactly this that I wonder if anyone would bother buying an actual book?

• hummus on cracked wheat (thanks to Chloe, who got it at Wilson's Farm)
• brown rice with soy butter
• steamed carrots and squash
• raspberries
• Kinder chocolate
• water
• morning snack: water, apple

Friday, November 12

Friday! That's all I have to say!

• PB&J on whole wheat
• home fries
• grapes
• sugar snap peas
• a pickle
• water
• morning snack: water, somefruit-sweetened fruit chews (yes, against my better judgment)

Tuesday, November 9

An easy lunch today. Still can't get myself inspired to cut out cute shapes and turn sandwiches into monster heads. Where do people find the time? I know I've blogged about this before, but I'm still in awe.

Last night, E asked why some kids get to have Twix bars and Doritos for morning snack. How to answer that? I miss his awesome preschool, which provided the same snack to all of the kids and it was something healthy, or fairly healthy: fruit, rice cakes with cream cheese, etc.

• hummus
• broccoli with soy butter
• chickpeas
• cucumbers
• blueberries
• water
• morning snack: water, an apple

Monday, November8

A little slow today. Must have been the crazy rain and wind this morning. (Luckily it has died down. The sun even made a brief debut.) A big thank you to Ms. Irene Pak for her daily interest in the blog!

NOTE: I was going to add a little piece of brownie to the lunch, but...well, looks like the Trader Joes chewy brownie mix CANNOT be veganized. I substituted soy butter for regular butter and Ener-G "egg" mix for the regular eggs. This works great for most recipes, but in this case, not so much. According to the box, the brownies were supposed to cook for 20 minutes. After about 10 minutes they looked like hot, scolding tar. Seriously, it looked like the surface of Venus. I took the pan out of the oven and the mixture sizzled and bubbled for another 5 minutes before cooling down to a hard rock formation. The middle part of the pan was slightly soft so I tried some. It actually tasted OK, but I didn't want to break any teeth, so the rest of the pan went into the trash. Oh well.

• whole wheat pasta with shakey cheese
• wheat bread with soy butter
• lima beans
• grapes
• water
• morning snack: water, crackers (multi-grain crackers and these gorgonzola cheese things from Trader Joes -- both new to us. We'll have to see how E likes them. LOVE Trader Joes!)

Friday, November 5

E is liking radishes again, as you'll see in today's lunch. It's one of those foods that he sometimes likes, sometimes says is "too spicy." Are there foods that your kids go back and forth with? The only food I can think of for me is bananas. Sometimes they just seem so gross, other times, super yummy. Weird.

• pesto tortellini with soy butter
• radishes
• kidney beans
• tiny apple
• water
• morning snack: water, a mix of crackers

Thursday, November 4

What a drag is was walking to the train this morning in near darkness! That is just not right. Ok, so today's lunch was chosen by E, except the blueberries. He likes blueberries, but we're low on fresh fruit right now, and I think he's had blueberries every day this week for lunch, so he's getting a little less than enthused about them.   :-)

• PB&J on whole wheat
• brown rice/bulgur wheat with spices and peas
• carrot sticks
• blueberries
• cheese crackers
• water
• morning snack: water, apple

Friday, October 28-Tuesday, November 2

Playing catch-up here with a few photos. These lunches are from last Friday (I was out for the day, busy with my little guy's classroom Halloween party), plus yesterday (forgot the camera at home), and today! Remember U.S.-based friends: GO VOTE TODAY!!!

friday

• Hummus with stuff to dip: carrots, snap peas, celery, wheat bread
• watermelon
• baby tomatoes
• water
• morning snack: I forgot

monday

• wheat gnocchi with soy butter
• purple tomatoes (I forgot the name of these... Ko...?)
• cheese stick
• blueberries
• water
• morning snack: water, pretzels

 

today

• roasted veggie lasagna from trader joes
• broccoli and peas with soy butter
• garlic bread
• blueberries
• water
• morning snack: water, apricot granola bar

Thursday, October 28

Normally I try not to put sweets in E's bento box too often, but since it's his favorite time of the year, and since we just made Halloween cookies, and because he's just an awesome, awesome kid, I put a bat cookie in today, plus a second one for his friend Jack, a fifth grader who is his"lunch buddy" and whom he adores!

• wheat pasta with broccoli and shredded carrots
• celery
• grapes
• homemade bat sugar cookie
• water
• morning snack: water, pita chips (which he forgot to eat yesterday)

Tuesday, October 26

Finally, an apple small enough to include in the bento box! E loves apples and so I often include them whole as his morning snack, but have also wanted the option to have them in the bento box. Unfortunately, regular-sized apples don't fit. I've tried cutting and drizzling with lemon juice (which he likes), but he's not crazy about the two things together for some reason. Anyhow, this morning I remembered that he brought home a few tiny apples from the apple picking field trip his class took to Smolak Farm. The apples are tiny and perfect. But what happens when they run out?!?

• grilled cheese on whole wheat (E wanted to eat this for breakfast this morning, but there was only one piece of cheese left....)
• veggie potstickers
• raw sugarsnap peas
• apple
• water
• morning snack: water and watermelon/strawberries

Monday, October 25

E had a play date yesterday with his best friend and so we made sugar cookies. It was a non-vegan recipe because the vegan recipe we usually use for sugar cookies doesn't roll out very well. It's super tasty, but not easy to work with. So this recipe has an egg, although we still used soy butter (that's all we have). I, obviously, didn't eat any, but I'm told they're good. Very easy to use this dough and they stay soft. The recipe, from a book called Ghoulish Goodies by Sharon Bowers, is posted below.

• home fries! (A fan favorite!)
• cannellini beans
• little tomatoes
• homemade tombstone sugar cookie
• water
• morning snack: water and an apple

Perfect Sugar Cookies (from Ghoulish Ghosts)

• 1 cup butter, room temp (I used Earth Balance soy butter)
• 1 1/2 cups confectioners' sugar
• 1 egg **
• 1 tablespoon vanilla extract
• 2 1/3 cups all-purpose flour
• 1/2 teaspoon baking powder

Cream butter and sugar. Add egg, beat until fluffy, add vanilla.

Add flour and baking powder in another bowl. Add, in batches, to the wet mixture until well combined. Divide dough in half. Form into balls. Wrap in plastic wrap and store in the 'fridge for at least 30-40 minutes. (Apparently you can skip this part but the dough won't be as easy to use.)

Preheat oven to 350. Lightly grease your baking sheets or use parchment paper (which I do). On lightly floured surface, roll dough. Cut into desired shapes and decorate. Bake 4-8 minutes, depending on your oven (I only had to do 4 minutes, believe it or not.) and how thick you roll the dough.

Let cool before moving them to a plate/container. Continue decorating (frosting, icing, etc.)

** Next time I make these, I'll substitute vegan "eggs" to see how it affects the recipe. I'll let you know!

Friday, October 22

It's Friday!

• black bean and tofu rollups on wheat tortilla
• celery logs (peanut butter and nutella "ants")
• pineapple
• peanuts
• water
• morning snack: water and pita chips

Thursday, October 21

Finally posting today! I was just looking at the photo and have to admit, the lunch does not look appetizing, but it really is good stuff. You have to remember that I take these photos at like 6:30 a.m., in a semi-dark kitchen with terrible lighting and using a small digital point-and-shoot. The picture really does not do this lunch, or any lunch, justice!

• wheat shells with shakey cheese
• raw tofu (some cut in oh-so-creative star and snowflake patterns!)
• corn with soy butter
• strawberries
• water
• morning snack: water and pita chips

Tuesday, October 19

Ok, so this has nothing to do with bento boxes or lunch, but I have to vent about one of my pet peeves. Today on the red line commuting in, the guy next to me had his legs spread so far that he was taking up half of my seat. And it wasn't crowded! And the worst part was that he was so blase about it. When it's crowded and everyone is jammed together, I don't have a problem with people bumping into each other and space being limited. But when it's not crowded? Come on — pull your legs together and be polite. Seriously.

Ok.

Lunch.

• pesto mini ravioli
• carrots
• garlic bread
• strawberries
• water
• morning snack: soymilk and fresh pineapple

Monday, October 18

Ok, no creativity today. I know, I had all of Sunday at home to think about it, but I just couldn't muster the energy needed. So again, a simple lunch. Speaking of simple, I saw a friend today on the train and we started talking about campaign signs. Every single one looks identical. It's too bad that pols have to stick to the red/white/blue theme. Not only does it not allow them to be individuals, but it also doesn't let their signs stand out in any way. Would it be so bad to throw in a little yellow or purple or something? Anyhow, just remember to vote in a couple of weeks.

And that brings us to lunch...

• hummus on wheat
• broccoli and peas
• brown rice with soy butter
• watermelon
• water
• morning snack: sesame sticks and soymilk

Friday, October 15

Not a completely inspired lunch, but a decent mix, I think.

• edemame with soy butter
• cucumber slices
• wheat toast with melted cheese
• pinto beans
• raspberries
• water
• morning snack: water and grapes

Thursday, October 14

We've been away: Columbus day, school closed for a professional development day, a sore throat. I can't believe we made it to Thursday! We made vegan chocolate chip cookies yesterday (recipe below) and I included one in E's lunch. I hope he eats the other stuff BEFORE the cookie. Hum....

• tortellini
• brown and wild rice
• steamed carrots with soy butter
• vegan chocolate chip cookie
• water
• morning snack: apple and water

Vegan Chocolate Chip Cookies

2 1/4 cup flour
1 teaspoon  salt
1 teaspoon baking soda
1 cup packed brown sugar
1/2 cup sugar
1 cup soy butter (I use the earth balance brand.)

1 teaspoon vanilla
2 vegan eggs (I use Ener-G mix.)
3/4 package of chocolate chips (I use the semi-sweet from Trader Joes. No dairy, of course.)

Preheat oven to 375

Combine flour, salt, and baking soda in a bowl and set aside. Combine sugars, butter, and vanilla and mix until creamy.  Add vegan eggs. Add dry ingredients, half at a time.  Stir in chocolate chips.

Bake 6-10 minutes depending on your oven. These cookies are awesome. Totally chewy and rich. And you can lick the spoon and eat the batter without worrying about egg issues! :-)

Friday, October 8

One of the good things about keeping this kind of daily blog is that you can look back at what you've made and get a sense of whether you're making too much or too little of something. I realize that I've been making a lot of sandwiches. Easy, good cold... but maybe I've gone too far? E did ask for a grilled cheese today, which I made. Not sure how good it will be sitting in his bento box for three hours, but hopefully he likes it.

Anyhow, it can't be worse than yesterday, when I completely blew lunch. I totally forgot that they were going on a field trip to an apple farm. We were told to leave the lunch box at home and brown bag it. And no nuts. So what did I do? I sent him to school with a bento box AND a peanut butter sandwich. Luckily, the teachers put most things in baggies for him, but he said it was too cold at the farm to eat so he pretty much didn't touch anything.

Of course he ate the apple cider donut that the farm gave to them... :-)

• grilled cheese on whole wheat
• hummos
• carrots and sugar snap peas to dip
• grapes, strawberries, and cantaloupe
• water
• morning snack: pretzels and soymilk

Thursday, October 7

A few people have told me they liked my post from a few days ago (see September 30 post) where I drew the lunch because I had forgotten to bring the camera to work. (Yes, my boss knows I do this at work!). Anyhow, I probably won't include a drawing every day, but from time to time, I'll give it a shot. Here's both:

 • pb& j on wheat

• broccoli

• couscous and peas

• grapes

• water

• morning snack: pretzels and soymilk

Tuesday, October 5

I did a lazy lunch today, nothing that required any heavy lifting, that's for sure. After my ultra-creative lunch yesterday (ha!), I needed a break. :-)

• vegan burger on whole wheat with mustard
• sliced baby cucumbers and grape tomatoes
• sesame sticks
• raisins
• water
• morning snack: soy milk and a fig cereal bar

Monday, October 4

I realized last night that I had not made any effort to create a lunch for today that was creative, as I said I would in Friday's post. I mostly have an excuse: We spent the day at a farm in Ipswich, trying to get through their elaborate corn maze, doing a hay ride, and picking pumpkins. By the time we got home, it was a quick dinner (thanks to the veggie stew I made on Saturday), bath, and books for E, leaving me little time to do much else. Needlesstosay, my first attempt at a creative lunch did not work so well. There's always next week.

Today's not creative lunch:

• pan fried potatoes
• broccoli with cheese stars (so creative!)
• an eyeball biscuit (ok, I had wanted to use a black olive for the eye but we didn't have any so I used half of a small tomato with a raisin stuck in the middle. They looked better last night...!)
• pineapple
• water
• morning snack: soymilk, apple

Friday, October 1

Ok, so I'm feeling like the lunches are dull. Not so much the content, but in the presentation. I happened upon (yes, can you tell I'm currently reading a Charlotte Bronte novel?) a similar website where the meals were like works of art. Buns shaped like bunnies with current eyes and sandwiches with animal faces carved into the bread. Every piece of raw vegetable cut into a flower shape, every hard-boiled egg topped with a some sort of design or shaped like a favorite animal. Where do people find the time on a daily basis? As creative as I am, or like to think I am, how in the world could I pull this off? Also, how much food is wasted in making cute decorations, I wonder? 

So here's what I'm going to try: Since I don't work on Sundays, I'll attempt, at least for the next few weeks, to make Monday's lunch a little more fun. If you have any ideas, send them my way!

Until then, here's what E got today!

• hummos on whole grain
• raw carrots and yellow beans
• apple slices (dunked in lemon juice first so that they wouldn't brown)
• cannellini beans
• yogurt-covered pretzels
• water
• morning snack: soymilk, fresh pineapple, raisins

Thursday, September 30

No photo today, just my very crude drawing. (Ok, so I'm not a graphic designer!) I took the picture this morning before I ran to catch the train, but left the camera in the kitchen. Too many things to think about these days! So here's my drawing, which makes everything look oh so yummy, and a list of what's in E's bento box today:

• Israeli couscous with peas (This is the big couscous, which is great, especially if you brown it (uncooked) a bit before cooking. Gives it a mild, nutty flavor.)
• veggie potstickers
• fresh pineapple
• cheese crackers
• water
• morning snack: soymilk and raisins

Wednesday, September 29

No photo again today -- it's pizza day. We learned that the school does offer a fruit and a salad on pizza day and that E must be saying "no" when they ask him if he wants these things. (This is what one school worker told me.) I'm not sure if I believe this answer, but it's possible. Anyhow, we talked this morning and, hopefully, he takes what is offered to him. We'll see! :-)

Tuesday, September 28

Busy day today so I will keep this short!

• wheat pasta with soy butter and shakey cheese
• pickles
• lentils (cooked in a little veggie broth)
• strawberries
• water
• morning snack: soymilk, a fruit strip, and a tiny box of raisins

Monday, September 27

I put home fries in E's lunch today. If only there was a way to serve them hot! I was e-mailing with a friend whose son (one of E's best friends) went to the same preschool and we were commiserating about the cold lunches. (At the preschool that they went to, one family cooked lunch for the class each day and it was served hot, family style. Not only did the kids get hot food, but everyone was eating the same lunch (snacks, too) so you didn't have to worry about one kid eating Doritos for morning snack (which, apparently is happening in E's class now). I suppose some people are thinking, "Than just buy the hot lunch every day," but honestly, for a vegetarian, the options seem pretty limited. (Peanut butter and fluff -- yes, FLUFF -- is one daily sandwich option! Actually, I don't even know if that's vegetarian, but it certainly should not be an option!) I have to say, before I completely trash the hot lunch program, which is leaps and bounds better than when I was in school, I was very happy to see that every hot lunch comes with a veggie and a fruit, but no dessert. (I guess this changes in middle and high school, but at least at the elementary school level, they leave it out.)

Ok, this rainy day has me being grumpy...  Here's lunch:

• black bean sandwich (black bean spread* on whole grain)
• home fries!
• baby tomatoes
• strawberries
• water
• morning snack: soymilk and an apple

* This doesn't really qualify as a recipe but in case anyone is wondering, I smash black beans in a bowl, add a small amount of canola oil to make it creamy, a little salt, pepper, and chopped garlic. You could add sliced cucumbers or lettuce, but I left it simple today. I prefer to toast the bread, but I wasn't sure how it would hold up with the wet bean spread.

Friday, September 24

A simple lunch today. One of the things that I'm finding the most challenging about making "cold" lunch is just that -- it's cold. I don't eat tortellini, but will it taste OK cold? I guess we'll find out today when I pick up E from the afterschool program.

Ok, so I took this photo the wrong way and can't figure out how to rotate. But you get the idea.

• pesto tortellini
• black eyed peas
• garlic bread
• watermelon
• water
• morning snack: soymilk and dried fruit mixture

Thursday, September 23

Another dippin' day. Hummos is easy so it makes a perfect lunch option. I sometimes make it, but today's hummos is store-bought.

• hummos
• stuff to dip into the hummos: carrots, celery, green beans, wheat bread slices
• watermelon
• water
• morning snack: pretzels and soymilk

Wednesday, September 22

No lunch to post today. E is buying the pizza again. I still can't figure out if they ONLY give him a slice of pizza and milk. No veggie? No fruit? Someone said they may count the tomatoes on the pizza as something. Really? I gave him an extra apple to bring to the cafeteria.

It's been hard to get much out of E about all of this. Normally he's very chatty, but when it comes to kindergarten, I think he's feeling a bit like I'm interrogating him all of the time. I just want to know! It's so different from preschool, where you have daily access to the teachers, to the other parents, and to the other kids.

Tuesday, September 21

Lately it's all about the potato. Home fries, fried potato slices, baked potatoes, more home fries... So last night I made a simple potato salad: potatoes, peas, and broccoli drizzled with yellow mustard, olive oil, and a little salt and pepper. Very unfancy, but tasty. I've also been reading Julie and Julia — yes, a bit behind considering the book came out in 2005 and the movie is long gone! I'm amazed at the work that the writer had to put into some of the recipes. (For those who have read the book, I'm at the point where she's trying various aspics. Ick. Even if I wasn't vegan, I would not attempt to cook or eat that. Seriously, they put that stuff in cat food.)

On that note, here's lunch (meow):

• pb& j on wheat
• mustard potato salad with peas and broccoli
• clementine
• a few peanuts (E's school allows nuts in the cafeteria, just not in the classrooms)
• water
• morning snack: applesauce and soymilk

Monday, September 20

Yesterday I made lasagna. It's one of E's new favorite things, so much so that this morning, as I was cutting a piece to put in his bento box, he asked if he could also have it for breakfast. Why not, right? So he had it for breakfast, he'll have it for lunch, and he'll have it tonight for dinner. It's a pretty simple recipe, copied down a few years ago while I was watching one of Lida Bastianich's cooking shows. I'll type up the recipe and post it tomorrow for anyone interested. Since I'm vegan, I can't try it, but both Rob and E like it so....

Anyhow, onto today's lunch:

• homemade vegetarian lasagna
• celery with extra marinara sauce for dipping or to pour on the lasagna
• cantelope
• sesame sticks
• water
• morning snack: apple and soymilk

Vegetarian lasagna:

(Modified from a recipe I saw Lida Bastianich cook on one of her shows)

noodles
• Add most of a box to boiling water with a dash of olive oil, cook according to the box's directions!

sauce
• saute chopped onions in olive oil
• add chopped garlic, don't burn (I add a lot)
• add sliced mushrooms if using them, add salt, cook until water is out of 'shrooms
• add a bay leaf (remember to take it out before using!), add crushed oregano
• add a few splashes of red wine if using (I didn't this time, but often do), cook until evaporated
• add peeled tomatoes (smash them up before you do). I used 3 large cans of Muir Glen, my favorite. This makes a lot of sauce. (You'll want extra for when you serve it, plus I use some on the side for myself since I don't eat the lasagna.)
• Add a little tomato paste. (Note: If one of your cans of peeled tomatoes is "crushed tomato," that already contains tomato paste so you can skip this step.)
• simmer for awhile — like an hour, stirring from time to time
• shut it off, let it "rest" before using

ricotta and other cheeses
• Lida's recipe says to drain the ricotta, whisk in two eggs, and add salt, but honestly, when I've tried to drain it, only a few drops come out, so to me it's not worth it. I also skip the eggs. I've tried it with eggs — they do make it creamier — but Rob says he can't tell the difference, so save a chicken.
• slice up a baseball-sized ball of fresh mozzarella
• have grated parmesan ready (use good stuff, not the stuff in the green container that has no shelf life)

assembling
• spread sauce on the bottom of your pan. Our oven has been out of order for more than a year so all baking is done in the toaster/convection oven, which means we can't use big pans. I use a glass pan that looks like it was meant for brownies or a small square cake?
• add a layer of noodles side-by-side, letting the extra hang over the side of the pan
• more sauce (be generous, you don't want this to be dry)
• add parmesan, then a layer of noodles going in the other direction
• add all of the ricotta, spread like frosting, sprinkle more parmesan
• another layer of noodles going another way
• add mozzarella (all of it)
• sauce, parmesan
• another layer of noodles going in the last direction
• sauce, parmesan
• flap over the noodles hanging over the sides, starting with the first layer that you did (I'm not sure the order is critical, but for some reason, it seems to make sense, right?)
• depending on the size of your pan, the center may be open — that's fine.
• more sauce (again, be generous so that the noodles on top stay softish)
• more parmesan

Cover with foil, bake for 15-20 minutes, uncover, bake for 15-20 more. Take out of oven and let it rest for awhile (or else it will fall apart).