Warm Lunches are a Hit

This week I made two quick and easy options that we will have for dinner and Lola will have in her lunch the following day. The thermos is working great and Lola is eating it all.   On Sunday, I went to the grocery late so didn't have everything prepared for lunch Monday.  Therefore the kids ate frozen pizza for dinner.... organic frozen pizza, but still frozen pizza. I heated the left over pizza for her lunch Monday and just wrapped in foil and she loved it.  She had 2 pieces of pizza, apples, turkey and cheese.  I will make a homemade veggie and chicken pizza next week for dinner and school lunch.

Crock Pot Red Beans and Rice-

Ingredients

• 1 medium onion, diced
• 1 bell pepper, diced
• 3 celery stalks, chopped
• 3 garlic cloves, minced
• 1¼ pounds chicken sausage cut into tiny bite size pieces for toddlers
• 1 pound dry red beans
• 1 tsp salt, or more to taste
• ½ tsp black pepper
• Pinch of Tony's seasoning or Tabasco sauce
• 2 bay leaves

Instructions

1. Rinse the beans and drain
2. Add all the ingredients to the crock pot and set to low and cook for 8-9 hours
3. When there is one hour remaining, use a wooden spoon to mash some of the beans and continue cooking (my mom taught me this trick.  Seems totaly crazy, but it thickens the beans and makes for the perfect consistency)
4. Serve over rice, cauliflower rice or by itself

Lola's Lunch on Tuesday: Red beans and rice with turkey sausage, blueberry Greek yogurt muffin, carrots and grapes.  She ate all of the red beans and said they stayed warm:)  She ate a few carrots, all of the grapes and a few bites of the muffin. We had the beans for dinner Monday night with a kale salad for me and steamed broccoli for the kids.

Minestrone Soup with Ground Turkey 

Ingredients:

• 3 Tbs Olive Oil 
• 1 medium onion, chopped
• 2 cloves of garlic, chopped
• 3 Tbs fresh parsley, chopped
• 4 big carrots, chopped
• 4 zucchini, sliced in thin rounds
• 4 stalks of celery, chopped
• 6 cups of chicken stock
• 28 oz deiced tomato
• 1/2 cup tomato sauce
• 1 can chick peas
• 1 can red kidney beans
• Salt and pepper to taste
• Three cheese tortellini

Instructions:

1. Saute onion, garlic, and parsley in olive oil
2. Add Carrots, zuchinni, and celery and cook for 15 minutes
3. In a separate pan, brown the ground turkey.
4. Drain the ground turkey add to the vegetables. 
5. Add chicken stock, tomatoes, tomato sauce, beans and seasoning. 
6. Cover and reduce to simmer and allow to cook for 1.5 hours. 
7. Add tortellini and cook for 30 more minutes

We ate this for Dinner Tuesday night and Lola took to school Wednesday.  Lola's lunch Wednesday:  Minestrone soup with ground turkey, strawberries, cheese and pretzels. 

 Blueberry and Greek Yogurt muffins 

Ingredients

• 1 cup all-purpose flour
• 1 cup old fashioned rolled oats
• 1 1/2 tsp baking powder
• 1/2 tsp baking soda
• 1/2 tsp ground cinnamon
• 1/4 tsp salt
• 1 large egg
• 1 cup  plain, full fat Greek yogurt
• 1/4 cup  honey
• 2 Tbsp coconut palm sugar or coconut sugar
• 1/4 cup unsweetened almond milk
• 2 tsp vanilla extract
• 1 cup blueberries, frozen or fresh

Instructions:

1. Preheat your oven to 350F
2. In a large mixing bowl, combine the flour, oats, baking powder, baking soda, cinnamon, and salt. Set aside.
3. In a separate bowl, lightly beat the egg then stir in the yogurt, honey, sugar, almond milk, and vanilla, mixing until well combined.
4. Add the wet ingredients to the dry ingredients, mixing until just combined.
5. Divide the batter evenly among the 12 muffin cups, filling almost to the top. top with 4-6 blueberries.
6. Bake for 20-22 minutes, or until the tops of the muffins are firm to the touch and toothpick inserted into the center comes out clean. Allow the muffins to cool in the pan for 5 minutes before transferring them to a wire rack to cool completely. Store in an airtight container at room temperature for up to 5 days, or freeze for up to 3 months.

 Sweet helper

 Love using the silicon muffin liners.  No need for cooking spray, doesn't stick and easy to clean.

 Loving his muffins as an after nap snack.   I think he is still sleeping here:)

"I ate all of my fruit and ketchup"- Lola

While the kids rested on Saturday I planned my menu for the week.  I know that sounds crazy, but I enjoy planning and deciding what we will eat.  I made my grocery list and my sweet husband did the shopping Sunday while I took the kids to swim:) Typically I cook Sunday and my week is all set... but we had a family party Sunday and Monday night so I only made the energy bites, fruit roll ups, and spinach pancakes for the week.  I was able to cook everything else Tuesday and made the following for dinner and lunch for us for the rest of the week: rosemary and almond crusted chicken, beef and vegetable soup, creamy butternut squash and chicken casserole, fruit roll ups, spinach pancakes, and almond cranberry energy bites.  I used the thermos in Lola's lunch box this week for dinner left overs.

Lunch For Lola for the week:

Monday:
Turkey
Cheese
Strawberries
Mango Peach fruit roll up
Cranberry Almond energy bite

Tuesday:
Turkey
Cheese
Grapes
Pretzels
Energy bite

Wednesday:
Rosemary almond crusted chicken (cut small and used thermos) with ketchup
Apple
Grapes

Sooooo, Lola loved the chicken for dinner, but for lunch she said " I ate all of my fruit and ketchup!"  She forgot to check the thermos so she just ate ketchup with no chicken!  Hopefully she will get use to it:)

"Oh! I didn't know chicken was in there!"

Thursday:
Beef and vegetable soup
Cheese
Strawberries

Friday:
Creamy Chicken Casserole
Grapes
Strawberries


Rosemary Almond Crusted Chicken

Ingredients:

• 4 boneless, skinless chicken breasts
• 1 cup raw almonds
• 4 sprigs of fresh rosemary, stems removed
• 4 tablespoons butter
• 1 medium shallot, minced
• 1 cup panko bread crumbs
• 1 teaspoon salt
• 1 cup all purpose flour
• 3 large eggs, beaten

Instructions:

1. Preheat the oven to 400 degrees with the oven rack in the middle. Line a baking sheet with parchment paper. Season the chicken breasts generously with salt and pepper on both sides. Set aside.
2. In a food processor, chop the almonds and rosemary until they resemble course crumbs. Set aside.
3. Heat a medium size skillet over medium heat. Melt the butter, then cook the shallot until it begins to soften, about 3 minutes. Add the rosemary almond mixture, panko bread crumbs, and salt. Cook, stirring frequently, until golden brown. About 5-10 minutes. Remove from heat and transfer to a plate.
4. Set up your dredging station. Have 1 plate with the all purpose flour, another plate with the beaten eggs, and the 3rd plate with the toasted rosemary almond mixture. Dredge the chicken in the flour, then in the egg, then in the rosemary almond mixture. Press well to adhere the rosemary almond mixture to the chicken. Transfer the chicken to the parchment lined baking sheet, and repeat with the remaining chicken.
5. Bake the chicken in the oven until the internal temperature is 165 degrees, about 25 minutes. Serve warm.

http://www.tasteslovely.com/rosemary-almond-crusted-chicken/ 

CREAMY CHICKEN CASSEROLE

Ingredients:

• 3-4 cups of shredded cooked chicken
• 2 cups cooked and pureed butternut squash
• ¼ cup organic heavy cream or coconut cream
• ¼ cup butter
• 1 cup thawed green peas
• Pinch of salt and pepper to taste
• 1 - 2 Tbs. raw apple cider vinegar
• Optional: ½ cup unsweetened shredded coconut for the topping

Instructions:

1. Put everything in a saucepan and cook over medium heat until the peas are warmed through and everything is melty and creamy. Top with toasted coconut, if desired. (Coconut taste great it you toast lightly in a skillet before topping dish)

BEEF AND VEGETABLE SOUP

Ingredients

• 1 tablespoon olive oil
• 1 pound lean ground beef
• 2 whole carrots, diced
• 4 celery stalks, diced
• 1 medium onion, diced
• 28 ounce can crushed tomatoes
• 30 ounces beef broth
• 2 whole bay leaves
• 1 teaspoon dried oregano
• 1 teaspoon dried basil
• ½ teaspoon dried thyme
• salt and pepper to taste
• 15 ounces cannellini beans, drained and rinsed
• 15 ounces red kidney beans, drained and rinsed
• 1 cup ditalini pasta, uncooked (or any type of pasta or no pasta)

Instructions

1. Brown the ground beef
2. Place the beef in a slow cooker along with the rest of the ingredients except for the beans and pasta.
3. Cook on low for 7-8 hours or high for 3-4 hours. 30 minutes before serving stir in beans and pasta.
4. Season with salt and pepper to taste. Discard bay leaves before serving.

PEACH MANGO FRUIT ROLL UPS

Ingredients

• 1 mango
• 2 peaches
• 2-3 Tbs of honey
• parchment paper

Instructions 

• Blend fruit and honey until a smooth liquid
• Cover a cookie sheet with parchment paper and spread fruit liquid evenly.  Make sure the middle is not thicker than other areas.  
• Bake on 170 for 4-6 hours.
• Let cool then cut into strips using clean kitchen sheers. 

 CRANBERRY ALMOND ENERGY BITES

Ingredients:

• 1/3 cup dried Cranberries
• 1 cup Oatmeal
• 1/4 cup Honey 1/2 cup Nut butter
• 1/3 cup Almonds
• 1 tbsp Chia seeds
• 1/3 cup shredded Coconut
• 1 tbsp ground Flaxseed 

Instructions:

1. Bake oatmeal, almonds and coconut for 8-10 minutes at 350°, stirring after 5 minutes. Allow the mixture to cool.
2. Heat nut butter until runny add the baked mix along with flaxseed, honey, chia seeds and cranberries to the bowl. Form into 1.5" balls and refrigerate. Store in an airtight container refrigerated for up to one week or freezer for 3 months.

Exciting as New Workout Clothes

My little girl has gone to preschool two days a week for the last two years and now she is moving to five days a week for pre-k!  Which means 5 lunches a week to prepare for!  This week is orientation and easing into the school week so I am purchasing new, fun tools to get me excited about preparing a school lunch 5 days a week for a child that will not eat a sandwich.  New tools get me excited,  like getting new workout clothes to motivate me to workout harder. 

I have also been looking at pinterest, cookbooks and blogs for the last few weeks to have tons of options.  I have narrowed down the ones I think will work for my kids and feel totally organized.  Am I crazy?  I just think the more prepared I am, although it takes time, the easier it is throughout the week and month. 

TOOLS I WILL USE FOR LUNCH:

1.  Bento Box- I highly recommend because it is spill proof and easy to clean and pack anything.  I have wanted to try a stainless steal bento box but the reviews haven't been great (yogurt leaking, etc).  I have used the YumBox for 2 years and I love it.

 2.  Silicone Muffin Liners- This is great to use in the bento box to further separate wet and dry food, fruit, etc.  I ordered these from Amazon because of the different sizes and colors. 

 3.  Silicon Popsicle Molds- I ordered from Amazon to use for smoothies, yogurt, or anything you want to freeze and thaw out before lunch

 4.  Thermos- to keep food warm.  You boil water and pour into the thermos, screw on lid and let sit for 10 min.  Add hot food to thermos and close tight.  It will keep food warm until lunch (As long as lunch is early. no more than 4-5 hours after the time you put food in thermos).  I say 4 hours to be safe. 

 

HOT LUNCHES I WILL PREPARE:

- Breakfast for lunch

• Eggs and sasuage
• Mini pancake muffins
• Oatmeal

- Veggie Lasagna
- Tacos
- Taco Lasagna
- Homemade chicken and veggie pizza
-Hidden veggie Macaronnie and Cheese
-Spaghetti and meatballs
-Red Beans
- Ministrome Soup
- White Beans
- Grill cheese, turkey and black bean quesidillas
- Shrimp scampi with zuchinni noodles