Lunches: 11.4.13 - PLUS Weelicious Lunches Review and Giveaway!

This is the start of what I hope to make into a week or so of giveaways.  Stay tuned - I have a lot of great things to share with you.

I don't know if you have seen Weelicious, but I sure have.  She has some really great ideas on her blog, and wen I saw she was releasing a lunch cookbook, Weelicious Lunches, I jumped at the chance to review it.  Overall, I am very pleased and can recommend this book.

Her introduction is great and lines up with how I like to feed my kids - with plenty of choices and variety, including interesting fruits and veggies.  In the beginning of the cookbook, there are a couple of gorgeous full-color spreads of different fruits and vegetables, as well as protein and grain options.

I am a bit disappointed that my favorite, Easylunchboxes, are not included in the book, but you can't have everything.

When it comes to the recipes in the book, there are a lot of them that I have marked to try.  The Boy really wanted me to make the melon mint salad, but then said that he didn't like the lemon juice, and he didn't particularly like the mint.  He's more of a melon purist.  I thought it was yummy.  I think Weelicious' children (and yes, I know her name is Catherine) really must enjoy sour flavors, because she uses a lot of pickles, and includes pickle juice and lemon juice in many recipes.  My kiddos are sadly anti-pickle at this point, though I do keep offering.

Some other recipes that looked worth trying are her beet & carrot salad (wonder if I could get the kids to eat raw beets?), ooey gooey mozzarella pesto melt (what's not to like in this picture?), avocado honey dip (sounds interesting), caramelized onion dip (because... caramelized onions), whole grain fruit-filled bars (seriously need to make these!), and more.

For my Weelicious inspired lunches, I made her couscous-carrot-raisin salad, along with my own version of her cinnamon roll "sushi" = I used some cream cheese that I whipped a little pureed pumpkin and maple syrup into, because we were out of honey, and I wanted to use pumpkin, as I had opened a can for dinner yesterday.  I tried an extra roll, and they are delicious.  I think the lunches will go over well.

Couscous-carrot-raisin salad: 15g, apple slices: 4g, cinnamon roll "sushi" - 30g, yogurt raisins: 16g, Cheez-its: 10g

The Boy also has apple slices, Scrabble Cheez-its, and yogurt raisins in his lunch.  His snack is applesauce  (not pictured, 15g)

The Girl also has Beet crisps from the store, yogurt raisins, and apple slices.  Her snack is a banana (not pictured)

A really nice feature about the Weelicious Lunches book is that there is a whole section with ideas of things to put in various lunches - from non-themed lunches, to things like Valentine's Day, Spring Fling, Retro Lunch, and Halloween Happiness, as well as a great chart about which recipes are safe for allergies and sensitivities.

Weelicious has generously offered to send a copy of Weelicious Lunches to one lucky reader.  Enter on the Rafflecopter below, and good luck!
a Rafflecopter giveaway
Be sure to check back on the blog for the rest of the week for more reviews and giveaways!