Another Lunch Post

There may be another snow day tomorrow.

*Insert sound of crazy person screaming.*

In denial, I packed their lunches anyway. I prefer to call it unbridled optimism.

Starting from the top left and going clockwise: organic potatoes, pan fried in some olive oil, seasoned with salt, pepper and a squeeze of lemon juice, ketchup, steak baked in the oven with some bbq rub seasoning on top, homemade cashew nut butter cookies, and fresh organic orange slices.

And, if school doesn't happen, then their lunches are ready for them. Once I break up whatever fight is inevitably going to happen when they get on each others nerves. Again. Just like last week.

Did I mention I hope there isn't another snow day? Why can't we have Mommy Goes to the Spa Day? How about one of those?

Thank God School is Back in Session Lunches

I was ever so grateful to be packing lunches tonight. Seriously. Like, really really thankful. I'm pretty sure I'll have to restrain myself in carpool tomorrow morning. I might just hop out and give the teachers a huge hug right before I jump back in my car and speed off. Just kidding. Sort of.

4 snow days in row? I'm done.

My son's is on top: Organic apple slices, a packet of Justin's honey and peanut butter, organic parmesan cheese from Texas Daily Harvest, some mixed nuts, organic apple sauce with cinnamon sprinkled on top, and a couple of mini chocolate peanut butter cups (non-organic, totally disgusting).

My daughter's: roll-ups made with Applegate Farms turkey and mustard on Whole Foods southwest tortillas, organic parmesan cheese, the mini peanut butter cups (she probably won't eat them, honestly), organic apples sauce with cinnamon, organic apple slices, and mixed nuts.

Brief Hiatus and Budget Observations

I will be out of town for work for most of this upcoming week, which means there will be little to no blogging. Unless I post pictures of my hotel room. Stephen is going to be home alone with the kids.

Which means he's da man.

Which translates into: Easy meals and lunches are mandatory.

The kids will eat lunch at school this week. *shudder* I'm throwing Stephen a bone on this one.

Dinners will be a crockpot stew I will make ahead of time, spaghetti with butter and parmesan, and one night will be broiled fish with steamed veggies. I'm sure there will be cereal for dinner one night.

I'm headed to the grocery store for a few staples in the morning, but we have pretty much everything we need. I went over budget last week, but didn't keep track (or blog about it, sorry). I've figured out, though, why I haven't been able to stick to my original budget.

There are two very logical explanations. First, the kids aren't eating lunch at school. I'm packing their lunches. I figure this adds an additional $20 a week to the budget.

Second, I'm back on the Mellman plan. Which means my diet consists of very specific and sometimes expensive items. Like buffalo. And cashews. And goat cheese. I'm going to have to figure out a way to either spend less on these items, or as I add new foods, hope that the ones I add aren't uber expensive.

I'm stumbling along the way regarding the budget, but I'll get there.

It's all a journey, right?

Laptop Lunches Times Three

I had fun packing lunches in the kids' new Laptop Lunches. If I'm being honest, though, the later in the week we got, the less creative their lunches got.

On Tuesday, we had homemade ramen noodles (I'll post the pictures of the lo mein I made to go with it later) with organic italian cheese blend, organic cage free hard boiled eggs with a Texas Daily Harvest colby cheese star, organic cheese crackers and organic fruit salad. The tiny container is trail mix with chocolate from the Whole Foods bulk bin.



The next day we had homemade french toast sticks using leftover homemade whole wheat bread, a clementine, organic sweet potatoes, popcorn and half of a Clif Organic Twisted Fruit. In the tiny container is maple syrup from the bulk bin at Whole Foods. Not much protein in this lunch, now that I look at it.

My son, the picky eater, doesn't like sweet potatoes, so I made some homemade organic french fries from the potatoes in my last Urban Acres share. We had these french fries with our dinner the next night.

For dinner on Wednesday night, we had baked pasture fed beef new york strip steaks and homemade organic french fries. I took some of the leftover beef and made steak fingers for the kids' lunches. I also packed a clementine, organic cheese crackers, organic vanilla cookies and decidedly non-organic ketchup (still leftover from my processed food days -- but it's almost gone).

The kids were pretty happen with their lunches this week and not a lot came home uneaten.

Making Lunch Fun and Practical

I have recently discovered some blogs that focus on bento box style lunches. While I seriously doubt my lunches will ever rival ones like this or this, I did discover a new lunch box system that will work great for the kids and the environment.

The kids are really excited about these. Making lunch fun will help, particularly with the picky eater, the transition from their eating hot lunch every day to eating healthier food from home.

I can't wait to get started!

Monday Lunch for the Kids, Organic Style

Instead of hot lunch tomorrow, my sweet kids are having homemade lunch with an organic flair.

The little girl is having tons of stuff from our Urban Acres share. She's having salad made with organic lettuce, carrots, and red and green bell peppers. She lu-uvs cherry tomatoes, so I threw in about 8 of those. (She ate the rest of the pint while sitting on the sofa watching cartoons. No, I'm not kidding. No seriously.)

I topped it with some chicken and shredded organic cheese. I packed a little ranch on the side and an apple.


My son, on the other hand, wants nothing to do with salad. So, in his lunch box is peanut butter and jelly on whole wheat organic bread (absolutely no crusts), homemade apple sauce, and some honey wheat pretzel sticks. Admittedly, his lunch isn't as rock awesome as hers, but it's baby steps with him.

It's got to be better than a barbeque sandwich on a bun, though.

Whole Foods Recipe for Apple Sandwiches

These look amazing and are courtesy of Whole Foods by way of Organic Deals & Coupons. The recipe can be found here. These would be awesome in the kids' lunch or for a healthy snack. The chocolate chips will entice the picky eater and the peanut butter and apples will be a draw for the girl.

Definitely putting this on the list for next week's lunches.