Enjoyed the royal wedding? I did. I really needed a little escapism. The April 11th issue of Newsweek said it the best with the headline, “In a world gone to hell — thank God, a wedding.”
I just needed a some happy news. It sounds super cheesy, but a love story with a prince was a perfect ending to a tough week.
Lunches after the break…
My son’s lunches
Monday
Turkey sandwiches (Rudi’s gf bread) over spinach,
“soup,” peas, applesauce, apple slices
My son likes soup, but usually just sips the broth from his spoon. My revelation was to just send chicken broth, unadorned. Day care menu: American cheese sandwich, chicken noodle soup, applesauce, peas with fruit and yogurt as snacks.
Tuesday
Bacon, mac and chreese, crunchy green beans,
yogurt, cranberry muffin, orange slices
My son was begging for mac and cheese. Also, one of you commented on our love of bacon. Yes, I do love it. It’s easy to fry up in the morning and while it sits in the fridge, it doesn’t spoil as fast as the cold cuts I buy do. Day care menu: diced ham, rice, orange wedges, green beans with fruit and blueberry muffins as snacks.
Wednesday
Mashed potatoes, broccoli, salami roll-ups,
apple slices, bar
Another request from the little guy: mashed potatoes. So I made them the night before and packed leftovers. I used ghee (the lastose and casein free butter) in them. I haven’t eaten butter in four months and it tasted greasy. But the ghee seemed to sit well with me and the little one. Day care menu: chicken nuggets, mashed potatoes, peaches, carrots with fruit and yogurt as snacks.
Thursday
Chocolate chip pancake (Bob’s Red Mill Gf), syrup, peas,
apple slices, papaya slices, gf crackers with goat brie
I don’t know what to say about this lunch. The papaya was from a glass jar, which I opened for the pork tenderloin crockpot meal I threw together. Day care menu: cheese ravioli, brea, pears, peas with fruit and cheese and crackers as snacks.
Friday
Mac and alfredo “chreese” with pork and green beans,
orange, apple slices, gf chocolate marshmallow bar
Mac and cheese again. I threw in some of the pork tenderloin. Day care menu: pasta with meat sauce, mandarin oranges, green beans with fruit and ice cream as snacks.
***
My lunches
Monday
Turkey sandwich with a “mini” salad,
two mandarin oranges, KIND bar
I find salads to be too big sometimes. So on Monday, I packed a mini-salad with micro-greens, dried cranberries, and apple slices. It was good. I had to eat it with my fingers because I forgot a fork!
Tuesday
Chocolate chip pancakes with syrup, bacon,
mandarin oranges, crunchy green beans, KIND bar
I love pancakes for any meal.
Wednesday
Mac and “chreese” mashed potatoes, broccoli,
mandarin oranges, apple, KIND bar
Can you tell I was super rushed that morning?
Thursday
Pork tenderloin crockpot meal, mandarin oranges, go raw bar
I used Make it Fast, Cook it Slow‘s pork tenderloin recipe as a guide. I liked how she used pineapple, but I don’t have any canned pineapple so instead I used jarred papaya. I also added brown rice because I want to have the whole meal done when I walk in the door. I don’t want to have to cook rice on the stove. My recipe on-the-fly was one cup brown rice, one pork tenderloin, half a box of chicken broth, half a jar of papaya, sea salt, gf worchester sauce drizzled liberally over pork, a ton of green beans on top. Cook eight hours. It was on the bland side, but it was wonderfully comforting in a casserole way. The pork was so tender — gotta love the crockpot.
Friday
Repeat! (upside down)
By the way, The Whole Family Cookbook giveaway winners to be announced next week! I haven’t forgotten!
By the way, I've written a very nice letter to the daycare about the food they serve the kids. Finally found time to draft one that I liked. I'll keep you posted.
A few tips:
1) Bland casseroles: I always, ALWAYS add minced garlic, salt, and pepper to anything that cooks low and slow (soups, casseroles, etc). Onions too (you can even shake in some dried onions from your spice cupboard if you don't have time to chop). It adds a tremendous flavor boost, it works with pretty much any cuisine, and it's not spicy.
2) Your son is a soup sipper: Buy an immersion blender! You can blend all of the broth, meat and veggies into one smooth puree, so while he's enjoying sipping his soup, he's getting all the benefits of protein and fiber. I don't consider this "hiding" or being sneaky. I also prefer soups pureed. I know what's in them. I just happen to prefer sipping over slurping. 🙂 This is especially awesome for things like potato leek soup, pea soup, and lentil soup. It makes them soooo smooth and delicious! Very gourmet!
+1 on the immersion blender idea!! Creamy soups are super tasty!!
Have you made any meatless recipes in your crock pot? I'm curious because I have always wanted a crock pot but I don't eat meat so I wasn't sure if it would be very useful.
Oh there are lots of vegetarian slow cooker recipes! I use mine to simmer beans all the time! I also like to make lentil and split pea soup with my crock pot. 🙂 If you google "vegetarian slow cooker" you'll find more recipes than you know what to do with!
Mrs Q, have you seen Beyonce's new video in support of Let's Move? It's so cute! I love that she features dancers of all different body types (really drives home the message that everyone should exercise, no matter what they look like on the outside), and that it's just her and a bunch of kids having fun dancing in a school cafeteria. Check it out!
http://new.music.yahoo.com/blogs/thatsreallyweek/134440/apr-25-may-1-beyonc-says-move-your-body-to-fight-child-obesity/
Love the immersion blender idea! I am getting into Weston Price/GAPS broth additions to heal the gut & I need ideas…
BTW, Mrs. Q- Do you DIY your ghee?
I read your blog every once in awhile, I was a health teacher for a very brief time and now I am a nurse. Wondering if you have ever seen this video? http://www.wimp.com/schoollunches/ It is about school lunches in France. I went to France in high school and had the school lunch with my host family and I was very impressed.
I love reviewing your lunch wrap ups each week…it's obvious how much thought you put into providing good, healthy food for your son that still has some similarity to what the rest of the kids are eating. It's a shame that the other kiddos can't eat so well!
those lunches look soooo good, esp. your son's Tuesday lunch. And I loved the royal wedding. It was such a feast for the senses. Great post!
I don't always agree with your opinions, Mrs. Q, but for the most part, I really love your weekly lunch roundups. It inspires me to get more creative with my packed lunches!
We are bacon lovers too, but I hate the mess it makes when cooking. I've found that I can cook the whole package and just put the leftover cooked in the 'fridge to save for a later meal. That way I only have to wash the frying pan once! I also don't think it would spoil quite as quickly as the raw would…but ours never hangs around very long.
I hear that bacon can be baked in the over and it's less messy in terms of clean up. I've never tried it though. We fry our bacon and then pour the grease over the dog's kibble. That's one happy pouch! 🙂
After reading these posts every weekend, I finally broke down and purchased my own bento set from Laptop Lunches. I'm so excited. 😀
Oh I ALWAYS bake my bacon! It's soooo much easier! If you foil-line a sheet pan, cleanup is a breeze! Just foil-line, preheat your oven to 400, lay out your bacon, pop it in, and walk away for about 15-20 mins (depending on how crisp you like your bacon). You still get grease you can pour over kibble, but then you scrunch up your foil, toss it in the trash, and bam. Done. Bacon cooked while you do get dressed for work.
Plus it doesn't get all scrunchy on you, which is great if you're making BLTs.
I highly, highly encourage you to give it a try one weekend. I guarantee you will never, ever go back to pan frying.