Thursday, May 29, 2014

Family Lunches: 5.30.14

Happy Friday!  It's a big day for the kids - they both have "Fly Up Day," where they will be going to their new schools (The Girl is off to Middle School next year, and the Boy is heading to the Grade 3-5 school that The Girl is at now), meeting new teachers and *gulp* new school nurses... that at least is a big deal for The Boy.  He has had an amazing school nurse for the past three years, whom I can trust with all of his daily diabetic care without worry, and we are going to be very sad indeed to be leaving her behind at his current school.  At least we can count her as a friend, and now she can come to all my parties.

And yes, I said Middle School for The Girl.  Unbelievable.

Anyhow, because I am not very creative of late, there are no cool Fly Up Day lunches planned, but they are still delicious, even undecorated.

Sandwich: 23g, apple slices: 4g, applesauce: 15g, Cinnamon Schoolbook cookies: 23g
The Boy has a sandwich with hummus, provolone, and turkey, along with an applesauce, apple slices (end of the week, fruit is getting low, and he didn't want grapes), and Cinnamon Schoolbook cookies.  His snack is a yogurt (not pictured, 19g).


The Girl has a sandwich with hummus, provolone, and turkey, along with grapes, apple slices, and Cinnamon Schoolbook cookies.  Her snack is a yogurt and a cheese stick (not pictured).


I have a sandwich with hummus, provolone, and turkey, with grapes and apple slices, and some Trader Joe's veggie and flax chips.

Happy Friday!

Disclaimer: I love Trader Joe's, but they do not sponsor this post or this blog. All opinions are my own (or that of the kids)


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Wednesday, May 28, 2014

Family Lunches: 5.29.14

Sandwich: 20g, apple slices: 4g, grapes: 6g, cinnamon schoolbook cookies: 23g
The Boy has a sandwich with hummus, cheese, and turkey, with apple slices, grapes, and Cinnamon Schoolbook cookies.  His snack is a yogurt (not pictured, 19g)


The Girl also has a hummus, cheese, and turkey sandwich, along with apple slices, grapes, and Cinnamon schoolbook cookies.  Her snack is a yogurt and an apple.


The Hubby and I have the same lunch - leftover meatballs with marinara sauce, provolone cheese, sub rolls, grapes, and apple slices.  We had meatball subs for dinner, and we both wanted leftovers.  The kids were offered some, but were not as enthusiastic.

Disclaimer: I love Trader Joe's, but they do not sponsor this post or this blog. All opinions are my own (or that of the kids)


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Family Lunches: 5.28.14

Sandwich: 22g, grapes: 6g, apple slices: 6g, letter cookies: 12g, gummy tummy penguins: 6g
For this Wednesday, The Boy has grapes, apple slices, a sandwich with Colby cheese, hummus, and herbed turkey breast, along with some Cinnamon schoolbook cookies and Gummy Tummy Penguins.
Image courtesy Tardis.Wikia.com
Gummy Tummy Adipose Penguins
Is it just me, or do these guys look like the Adipose from Doctor Who?

The Girl also has grapes, apple slices, and a Colby, hummus, and herbed turkey breast sandwich, with some Cinnamon schoolbook cookies and Gummy Tummy Penguins.


I have grapes, apple slices, and a sandwich with hummus, herbed turkey breast, and Trader Joe's Cinco Lanzas cheese with rosemary, along with a couple pickle slices, which I wrapped in plastic wrap.  Does anyone have any good ideas for keeping pickles from getting sandwiches soggy in lunches?  I would love to hear them.  The kids don't like pickles, but I do!

Disclaimer: I love Trader Joe's, but they do not sponsor this post or this blog. All opinions are my own (or that of the kids)


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Monday, May 26, 2014

Family Lunches: 5.27.14

Hope that you all had a really great Memorial Day weekend!  We were busy working on our bathroom renovation, but still managed to have a little cookout.

Lunches include leftovers from the weekend.
Hotdog: 18g, cheese: 1g, Gummy Penguins: 12g, letter cookies: 10g, veggie flax chips: 6g, apple slices: 6g
The Boy has half a hot dog (Trader Joe's uncured all beef dogs.. these things are delicious!) on half a bun, with some ketchup (we got these packets from a restaurant a while ago... I don't remember which restaurant, but I did sequester them to use in eventual lunches), a cheese stick, some veggie and flax chips, apple slices, a couple fun Gummy Tummy Penguins and some Cinnamon Schoolbook cookies, also from Trader Joe's.  His snack is an applesauce (not pictured: 15g).


The Girl has half a hot dog on half a bun, with a packet of ketchup, a cheeses tick, veggie flax chips, apple slices, Gummy Tummy Penguins, and Cinnamon Schoolbook Cookies.  Her snack is an applesauce and a granola bar (not pictured).


The Hubby has a leftover cheeseburger, with some ketchup, potato chips, and some leftover (storebought) potato and macaroni salad.

I have a leftover sausage on a bun, with some apple slices, macaroni salad, and some potato chips.

Disclaimer: I love Trader Joe's, but they do not sponsor this post or this blog. All opinions are my own (or that of the kids)


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Friday, May 23, 2014

Lunches: 5.23.14

Happy Friday!
Salad: 6g. pitas: 20g, strawberries: 5g, star cookies: 18g
The Boy has mini whole wheat pitas with hummus (from Trader Joe's hummus quartet - four hummus flavors in one package!), and herbed turkey, over a salad with little hunks of pesto gouda and croutons, served with a little container of ranch dressing.  He also has some strawberries and yogurt star cookies.  His snack is a yogurt (not pictured, 10g).


The Girl has mini whole wheat pitas with hummus, and herbed turkey, over a salad with pesto gouda and croutons, served with a little container of ranch dressing.  She also has some strawberries and yogurt star cookies.  Her snack is a yogurt and a banana (not pictured).

Disclaimer: I love Trader Joe's, but they do not sponsor this post or this blog. All opinions are my own (or that of the kids)


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Wednesday, May 21, 2014

Lunches: 5.22.14


Sandwich: 25g, grapes: 8g, apple slices: 6g, cookies: 12g
For Thursday lunch, The Boy has a sandwich with Trader Joe's Unexpected Cheddar (have you tried this?  So yummy!) and strawberry jelly, along with grapes, apple slices, and Trader Joe's yogurt star cookies.  His snack is a yogurt (not pictured, 10g).


The Girl has an Unexpected cheddar and jelly sandwich, grapes, apple slices, and yogurt star cookies.  Her snack is a banana and a yogurt (not pictured).

Happy Thursday!


Disclaimer: I love Trader Joe's, but they do not sponsor this post or this blog. All opinions are my own (or that of the kids)


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Tuesday, May 20, 2014

Family Lunches: 5.21.14

We all have essentially the same lunch for Wednesday.  The Girl has a field trip to a really cool place (Fort Ticonderoga!) She is looking forward to it with much excitement.  My brother has written several books about the American revolution (and more to come!), so we have a family tradition of being excited about history.
Sandwich: 30g, grapes: 5g, star cookies: 10g, apple slices: 8g, Inner Peas: 10g
The Boy has a sandwich with hummus, Trader Joe's pesto gouda, salami, and greens, along with grapes, Trader Joe's yogurt star cookies, apple slices, and Trader Joe's Inner Peas snacks.  His snack is a yogurt (not pictured, 10g).


The Girl has a sandwich with hummus, pesto gouda, salami, and greens, along with grapes, yogurt star cookies, orange slices, and Inner Peas snacks.  She has a banana and an apple for snack (not pictured).


I have a sandwich with hummus, pesto gouda, salami, and greens, along with with grapes, yogurt star cookies, orange slices, and Inner Peas snacks.

Disclaimer: I love Trader Joe's, but they do not sponsor this post or this blog. All opinions are my own (or that of the kids)


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Monday, May 19, 2014

Family Lunches: 5.20.14

The Boy had a fantastic birthday, and now I have a full-blown 8 year old to go along with my 11 year old. How fast time flies!
Wrap: 50g, fruit leather: 12g, strawberries: 5g, Inner peas: 6g
For Tuesday lunch, The Boy has hummus, greens, pesto gouda, and salami on a lavash wrap, along with a Trader Joe's fruit leather, Inner Peas Pea snacks, and strawberries. His snack is a yogurt (not pictured, 10g).


The Girl has a snacky lunch - Cranberry & Pumpkin seed pita chips, mini goat cheese, a little salami, yogurt star cookies, baby carrots. a cranberry oatmeal dunker cookie, Inner Peas snacks, and grapes. Her snack is a banana and some yogurt (not pictured)


I have a hummus, greens, cinco lanzos cheese, and salami wrap on lavash, cranberry pumpkin seed pita chips, Inner Peas snacks, and grapes.

Disclaimer: I love Trader Joe's, but they do not sponsor this post or this blog. All opinions are my own (or that of the kids)


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Lunches: 5.19.14 (including a Birthday Lunch for The Boy!)

Today is The Boy's 8th Birthday! He helped me make his birthday lunch, and we finally got a Trader Joe's to shop at!
Pita sandwiches: 15g, yogurt stars: 12g, strawberries: 5g, chips: 8g
The Boy's grand birthday lunch is some mini whole wheat pitas with hummus, Trader Joe's pesto gouda, and salami, on a bed of salad, with a little ranch dressing, some Trader Joe's yogurt star cookies, strawberries, and some Trader Joe's Vegetable & Flax chips. His snack is a Trader Joe's Squishers yogurt (not pictured, 10g).

The Girl has a wrap with hummus, mixed greens, Trader Joe's Unexpected cheddar, and salami, on Trader Joe's Lavash bread, along with strawberries and Trader Joe's Vegetable & Flax chips. Her snack is a yogurt (not pictured)

Disclaimer: I love Trader Joe's, but they do not sponsor this post or this blog. All opinions are my own (or that of the kids)


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Thursday, May 15, 2014

Lunches: 5.16.14

Happy Friday!
Sandwich: 45g, carrots & hummus: 2g, Goldfish: 12g, apple slices: 8g
The Boy has a homemade whole wheat pain de mie sandwich with hummus, salami, ham, lettuce, and Muenster cheese, along with carrots, hummus, apple slices, and rainbow Goldfish.  His snack is a yogurt (not pictured, 22g)

The Girl also has a homemade whole wheat pain de mie sandwich with hummus, salami, ham, lettuce, and Muenster cheese, along with carrots, hummus, orange slices, and rainbow Goldfish.  Her snack is yogurt (not pictured)

I hope that you have a fabulous weekend!!


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Wednesday, May 14, 2014

Family Lunches: 5.15.14

I love fresh bread. Sometimes, I get out of the habit of making it, and we have store bought bread for a while.  Then, I make it again and vow to never buy bread again.  I know the current homemade jag won't be likely to last forever, but I am certainly enjoying the bread right now.  I made King Arthur Flour's recipe for whole wheat pain de mie.  It is just the perfect texture for sandwiches, and we all love it so much.
Sandwich: 50g, carrots: 1g, babybell: 1g, apple slices: 8g, rainbow goldfish crackers: 12g
The Boy has a pesto, Muenster, salami, ham, and lettuce sandwich on whole wheat pain de mie, baby carrots, a baby bell, rainbow Goldfish crackers, and apple slices.  His snack is yogurt (not pictured, 24g).


The Girl has a pesto, Muenster, salami, ham, and lettuce sandwich on whole wheat pain de mie, baby carrots, a baby bell, rainbow Goldfish crackers, and orange slices.  Her snack is also a yogurt (not pictured).

I have a pesto, Muenster, salami, ham, and lettuce sandwich on whole wheat pain de mie, baby carrots, a baby bell, cherry tomatoes, and orange slices.


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Tuesday, May 13, 2014

Family Lunches: 5.14.14

I'm using the last of the sandwiches from The Boy's Calvin & Hobbes Birthday party this past weekend.

Sandwich: 45g, Goldfish: 10g, cheese: 1g, apple slices: 8g, carrots: 1g
The Boy has a pesto, mozzarella, salami, and ham sandwich on homemade wheat pain de mie, with a babybell cheese, rainbow Goldfish crackers, apple slices, and carrots.  His snack is a yogurt (not pictured, 23g)


The Girl has a pesto, mozzarella, salami, and ham sandwich on homemade wheat pain de mie, with a babybell cheese, rainbow Goldfish crackers, orange slices, and carrots.  Her snack is also a yogurt (not pictured).


I have a pesto, sundried tomato, muenster cheese, salami, and ham sandwich on some fresh homemade whole wheat pain de mie, the last of the phyllo wrapped asparagus, orange slices, and cherry tomatoes.




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Monday, May 12, 2014

Family Lunches: 5.13.14

I have more leftover sandwiches from The Boy's Calvin & Hobbes birthday party for our lunches!  There are only a few left, so tomorrow might be the last day of leftovers, but it is nice to be able to grab sandwiches out of the freezer and go.  I might have to make this kind of sandwich-in-bulk again, and freeze for the week.  I will let you know if I do it, and how we like it.

The Boy's - Sandwich: 45g, asparagus: 4g, grapes: 8g, Goldfish: 12g
The Girl's
My lunch
We all have the same lunches - leftover pesto, mozzarella, salami, and ham on whole wheat bread, with phyllo wrapped asparagus, grapes, and rainbow goldfish crackers.  The kids have yogurt for snacks (not pictured, 23g)

Happy Tuesday!


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Family Lunches: 5.12.14

We had lots of leftover sandwiches from The Boy's Calvin & Hobbes Birthday party, so our lunches were quick and easy to make! (I froze the leftover sandwiches that had no lettuce on them, except the tuna fish).

sandwich: 45g, phyllo wrapped asparagus: 2g, grapes and strawberries: 6g, carrots: 1g
The Boy has a pesto, mozzarella, salami, and ham sandwich, along with leftover phyllo wrapped asparagus, carrots, strawberries, and grapes.  His snack is an applesauce (not pictured, 15g)


The Girl has a tuna fish sandwich, phyllo wrapped asparagus, carrots, and pineapple.  Her snack is an applesauce (not pictured).


The Hubby has some tuna fish sandwiches, cucumber slices, and tortilla chips.


I have a BLT with phyllo wrapped asparagus, cherry tomatoes, and tortilla chips.


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Saturday, May 10, 2014

A Calvin & Hobbes Birthday Party

The Boy's birthday is next week, and we had his party today.  He requested Calvin & Hobbes, and I happily obliged.

First, there was the cake.  I made a carrot cake and yellow cake, in "tiger stripes," per the instructions in this zebra cake post.  I used box cake mix, but if I had more energy, I would have made it from scratch.

I made Italian Meringue Buttercream, which is actually quite easy and forgiving.  I used this recipe from Sweetapolita. I used some for frozen buttercream transfer, which I have done before.  Basically, you trace the desired design on wax paper (I have tried it with parchment, and it doesn't work nearly as well), with the colors needed of buttercream.  The easiest way is to start with the outlines and then fill in.  The technique is a lot like piped chocolate designs.  My designs were pretty small, so I used the smallest piping tip I could find.
Before piping
Starting the outlines

More outlines

Hobbes orange done

All done, waiting to freeze

What the design looks like from the "right side" of the wax paper

Transferred to the cake







After you are done all the layers of piping, you freeze for a while - I did about an hour or so - and then press the designs where you want them on a cake frosted in buttercream, then re-freeze the entire cake for about 20 minutes for the best transfer of the design.  I have tried to remove the wax paper before re-freezing, but the designs stick better if the cake is frozen first, in my opinion.  A note - I made the buttercream that was used to frost the cake into "cheesecake flavored" by folding in a package of softened cream cheese.  It was delicious.



It was fantastic.

For the other food, I pretty much made sandwiches.  I did not make the sandwiches that The Boy wanted me to, like Calvin made for his trip to the Yukon with Hobbes - marshmallow and honey, and chocolate syrup.  Nope.

I made three kinds of bread.  First, I made "Dutch Crunch Bread," which is supposed to crackle and looked a bit like tiger stripes.  It didn't crackle that well, but it was still fun and yummy.  I served this bread with Hobbes' favorite, tuna fish salad.

I also made pain de mie, and made BLT sandwiches, but used tomato bruschetta spread instead of sliced tomatoes.

On the pain de mie,, I also made cheddar, hummus, and lettuce sandwiches, to make sure that our vegetarian friends had enough options.

I made some whole wheat pain de mie, and on that bread made pesto, mozzarella, salami, and honey ham sandwiches.  I tossed some dried spent grains from beer brewing into this bread dough in place of some of the flour, and it was delightful.


The Boy requested a party favorite - Phyllo wrapped asparagus.  He said that Calvin hates green things, so I should make them.  That works for me.


Also on a theme of things Calvin hates, I made this Sunny Spinach Pie, using store bought pie crust.  The Boy said that I should make this because Calvin's mom always tries to sneak spinach into everything.


The Boy put together this nice vegetable platter.


The Girl arranged this fruit platter.

And finally, we had some deviled eggs.  Sorry about the fuzzy picture.


Overall, we had a lovely party, and The Boy had a great time.  I hope that you try the frozen buttercream transfer.  It's really fun and impressive looking.


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