Her lunch is a mini bagel sandwich with cheese and turkey, half a kiwi, strawberries, a couple Girl Scout cookies, and some pumpkin seeds from our NatureBox.
Monday, April 30, 2012
Lunch: 5.1.12
The Girl's Tuesday snack is some dried berries (not pictured).
Her lunch is a mini bagel sandwich with cheese and turkey, half a kiwi, strawberries, a couple Girl Scout cookies, and some pumpkin seeds from our NatureBox.
Her lunch is a mini bagel sandwich with cheese and turkey, half a kiwi, strawberries, a couple Girl Scout cookies, and some pumpkin seeds from our NatureBox.
Lunch for The Boy: 5.1.12
Happy May!
The Boy has some dried berries for snack (not pictured, 17g)
His lunch is a mini bagel with Colby-Jack cheese and salami, strawberries, dried pears from the NatureBox, watermelon, and a couple Girl Scout cookies.
The Boy has some dried berries for snack (not pictured, 17g)
 |
| Strawberries: 7g, watermelon: 4g, mini bagel sandwich: 25g, dried pears: 13g, cookies: 18g |
Recipe: Spinach Spaetzle with Sausage
Sometimes, a recipe is delicious, and is only made better by the fact that it is so incredibly fun to say.
Spinach Spaetzle is one such recipe.
I found the recipe on Pinterest. It is originally a recipe from Whole Foods.
I modified it slightly, and served it with some turkey kielbasa. It was such an incredible win that everyone practically begged me to make it again, and soon! I think I can comply with that request! I used my spaetzle maker, but you could also push the dough through a colander... I personally prefer the shape of the noodles when made with the spaetzle maker...
Try this! It's yummy, and super easy to boot!
Spinach Spaetzle with Sausage
1/2 c frozen spinach, thawed and drained (final volume will be 1/2 c)
1 c skim milk
1 egg
1 Tbsp olive oil
1/8 tsp nutmeg
2 1/2 c flour
2-4 Tbsp butter
1/4 c parmesan cheese
1/4 c cream cheese
1 link kielbasa (I used turkey kielbasa), diced
Combine the spinach, milk, egg, and oil in a blender or in an immersion blender cup.
Blend until the spinach is pureed and the other ingredients are all mixed in. Pour into a bowl and gradually whisk in the nutmeg and the flour. This will form a sticky dough.
Meanwhile, boil a large pot of water. Once it begins boiling, press the dough through a spaetzle maker or a colander. Cook in two batches, for about a minute, or until the spaetzle is floating. When it is done cooking, drain and transfer to a frying pan.
Over medium-high heat, melt the butter into the spaetzle noodles and fry until well coated.
Stir in the cheese and cream cheese to make a sauce. Cook the kielbasa in a separate pan, and then stir into the spaetzle and serve.
Spinach Spaetzle is one such recipe.
 |
| Green and delicious! |
I modified it slightly, and served it with some turkey kielbasa. It was such an incredible win that everyone practically begged me to make it again, and soon! I think I can comply with that request! I used my spaetzle maker, but you could also push the dough through a colander... I personally prefer the shape of the noodles when made with the spaetzle maker...
Try this! It's yummy, and super easy to boot!
Spinach Spaetzle with Sausage
1/2 c frozen spinach, thawed and drained (final volume will be 1/2 c)
1 c skim milk
1 egg
1 Tbsp olive oil
1/8 tsp nutmeg
2 1/2 c flour
2-4 Tbsp butter
1/4 c parmesan cheese
1/4 c cream cheese
1 link kielbasa (I used turkey kielbasa), diced
Combine the spinach, milk, egg, and oil in a blender or in an immersion blender cup.
Blend until the spinach is pureed and the other ingredients are all mixed in. Pour into a bowl and gradually whisk in the nutmeg and the flour. This will form a sticky dough.
Meanwhile, boil a large pot of water. Once it begins boiling, press the dough through a spaetzle maker or a colander. Cook in two batches, for about a minute, or until the spaetzle is floating. When it is done cooking, drain and transfer to a frying pan.
Over medium-high heat, melt the butter into the spaetzle noodles and fry until well coated.
Stir in the cheese and cream cheese to make a sauce. Cook the kielbasa in a separate pan, and then stir into the spaetzle and serve.
Sunday, April 29, 2012
Lunch: 4.30.12
Back from break, and The Girl has a field trip right off the bat.
Her snack is some Angry Birds fruit snacks (a gift from a friend), and apple slices.
Her lunch is half a bagel with Miracle Whip and cheese (her idea), applesauce, half a kiwi, dried pears and some pumpkin seeds (both from my NatureBox)
Her snack is some Angry Birds fruit snacks (a gift from a friend), and apple slices.
Her lunch is half a bagel with Miracle Whip and cheese (her idea), applesauce, half a kiwi, dried pears and some pumpkin seeds (both from my NatureBox)
Lunch for The Boy: 4.30.12
Back from April break!
The Boy's snack for Monday is some Angry Birds fruit snacks (bought for the kids by a friend, a special treat!) and some Cranberry Jubilee from my NatureBox.
His lunch is half a bagel with hummus and cheese, apple slices, watermelon, and dried pears from the NatureBox.
 |
| Fruit snacks: 14g, Cranberry Jubilee: 13g |
 |
| Bagel sandwich: 30g, apple slices: 8g. dried pears: 12.5g, watermelon: 5g |
Review: NatureBox
Sometimes, it's hard to find healthy snacks, and there's a new company that makes it easier.
NatureBox is a subscription service that offers the ability to discover and enjoy healthy snacks on a monthly basis. Think Book of the Month club, but instead, delicious and nutritious treats. They have No High Fructose Corn Syrup, No Partially Hydrogenated Oils, No Trans Fats, No Artificial Sweeteners, No Artificial Flavors, and No Artificial Colors.
That's pretty cool, huh?
Also neat - they donate a meal to feed hungry children in America for every box they send out.
The complete nutrition information is available for all of their products on their website. This is important for people like me, who are providing snacks for kids and need to know exact nutrition information (i.e. carb counts for The Boy, to give him the right amount of insulin).
Currently, they are available as a monthly subscription only, in one size. They are working on making different sized boxes for different family sizes and needs, and they are also working on NatureBoxes for different dietary needs, like gluten free, nut free, low sugar, and the like.
Each box contains 4-5 different snacks, enough for 12-15 servings.
The wonderful people at Naturebox sent me the April box to try out. It's full of snacks to fill you up.
This box has dried pears, peppery pistachios, smokey pumpkin seeds, zingy currants, and a nut-seed-fruit mix called cranberry jubilee.
I'd say that's a pretty good mix for the price ($19.95/month - Disclaimer: though the people at NatureBox provided my with this box free of charge for the review - I was in no other way compensated)
If anyone is interested in signing up for a NatureBox subscription, you can use the promo code HEALTHY for 25% off your first month of subscription (please note that the 25% discount is only applicable to the month-to-month subscription. 6 month subscriptions receive 1 month free and 12 month subscriptions receive 3 months free). I am considering signing up myself... it's hard to find a good variety of snacks like this around here, since we don't have any Trader Joe's or Whole Foods in Vermont (yet). I also really like the idea of getting different selection each month.
That's just fun.
While there is no giveaway at this time from NatureBox, I'd love to hear your thoughts. What kind of boxes would you like to see?
NatureBox is a subscription service that offers the ability to discover and enjoy healthy snacks on a monthly basis. Think Book of the Month club, but instead, delicious and nutritious treats. They have No High Fructose Corn Syrup, No Partially Hydrogenated Oils, No Trans Fats, No Artificial Sweeteners, No Artificial Flavors, and No Artificial Colors.
That's pretty cool, huh?
Also neat - they donate a meal to feed hungry children in America for every box they send out.
The complete nutrition information is available for all of their products on their website. This is important for people like me, who are providing snacks for kids and need to know exact nutrition information (i.e. carb counts for The Boy, to give him the right amount of insulin).
Currently, they are available as a monthly subscription only, in one size. They are working on making different sized boxes for different family sizes and needs, and they are also working on NatureBoxes for different dietary needs, like gluten free, nut free, low sugar, and the like.
Each box contains 4-5 different snacks, enough for 12-15 servings.
The wonderful people at Naturebox sent me the April box to try out. It's full of snacks to fill you up.
 |
| Cranberry Jubilee! |
I'd say that's a pretty good mix for the price ($19.95/month - Disclaimer: though the people at NatureBox provided my with this box free of charge for the review - I was in no other way compensated)
If anyone is interested in signing up for a NatureBox subscription, you can use the promo code HEALTHY for 25% off your first month of subscription (please note that the 25% discount is only applicable to the month-to-month subscription. 6 month subscriptions receive 1 month free and 12 month subscriptions receive 3 months free). I am considering signing up myself... it's hard to find a good variety of snacks like this around here, since we don't have any Trader Joe's or Whole Foods in Vermont (yet). I also really like the idea of getting different selection each month.
That's just fun.
While there is no giveaway at this time from NatureBox, I'd love to hear your thoughts. What kind of boxes would you like to see?
Recipe: Tea Shortbread Cookies
I saw this recipe on Sprinkle Bakes, using Hibiscus Tea and poppy seeds, and I knew that it was something I wanted to try with some of my multitudes of tea. Super fun, and very versatile - though I really want to try the Hibiscus tea, because the cookies on Sprinklebakes are such a lovely color!
I made a half recipe, and it made plenty of cookies.
I used my Black Currant & Cardamom Raw Green Tea form Republic of Tea. These were delicious and
customers who ate them loved them. I can't wait to try them with some other teas!
Tea Shortbread Cookies
(Adapted from Sprinklebakes)
Tea Butter:
1 c butter
10 tea bags of your choice (emptied)
Dough:
1 c tea butter
1/4 cup sugar
1/2 cup confectioners’ sugar
1/2 tsp vanilla extract
2 cups all-purpose flour
a pinch salt
2-4 Tbsp water
To make the tea butter, melt the butter in a small saucepan. When nearly melted, stir in the tea (emptied from the tea bags). Allow to finish melting, and then remove from heat and steep for several minutes.
Strain through a cheesecloth or through a fine sieve, like a yogurt strainer. Place in a bowl or a jar in the fridge and let solidify, stirring to make sure that all the flavor is well incorporated.
Combine the solidified butter and the rest of the dough ingredients, being careful not to over-mix. The dough should hold together in a ball, but should not be sticky. Add more or less water as needed. Wrap in saran wrap in a flat disk, and refrigerate for about half an hour.
Preheat oven to 325 F. Roll the chilled dough out to about 1/4" thick and cut with small cookie cutters. Place on baking sheets lined with parchment paper. To keep the cookies from spreading, place the cookie sheets with the cut out dough in the freezer for 5-10 minutes before baking. For small cookies, bake for 7-9 minutes. Cool on wire racks and enjoy.
I made a half recipe, and it made plenty of cookies.
 |
| Cell phone picture, taken at Kiss the Cook, where I brought the cookies in for customers. |
customers who ate them loved them. I can't wait to try them with some other teas!
Tea Shortbread Cookies
(Adapted from Sprinklebakes)
Tea Butter:
1 c butter
10 tea bags of your choice (emptied)
Dough:
1 c tea butter
1/4 cup sugar
1/2 cup confectioners’ sugar
1/2 tsp vanilla extract
2 cups all-purpose flour
a pinch salt
2-4 Tbsp water
To make the tea butter, melt the butter in a small saucepan. When nearly melted, stir in the tea (emptied from the tea bags). Allow to finish melting, and then remove from heat and steep for several minutes.
Combine the solidified butter and the rest of the dough ingredients, being careful not to over-mix. The dough should hold together in a ball, but should not be sticky. Add more or less water as needed. Wrap in saran wrap in a flat disk, and refrigerate for about half an hour.
Preheat oven to 325 F. Roll the chilled dough out to about 1/4" thick and cut with small cookie cutters. Place on baking sheets lined with parchment paper. To keep the cookies from spreading, place the cookie sheets with the cut out dough in the freezer for 5-10 minutes before baking. For small cookies, bake for 7-9 minutes. Cool on wire racks and enjoy.
Monday, April 23, 2012
Recipe: Bean, Potato, Greens, and Sausage Soup
The children both surprised my by loving this soup! My father said it is very similar to Portuguese Kale & Bean Soup. They both slurped it right up, as did I. What a fun and healthy soup... you could make it vegetarian by simply leaving out the kielbasa, but we all loved it as is.
Bean, Potato, Greens, and Sausage Soup
1/2 lb kielbasa, sliced into rounds
4 Tbsp olive oil
1 onion, diced
1 lb potatoes, peeled and diced
4 c vegetable stock
4 c water
1 can dark red kidney beans, drained and rinsed
1 can light red kidney beans, drained and rinsed
~4-6 c kale and/or chard, shredded
salt & pepper to taste
In a 5-6 qt soup pot, heat a tablespoon of the oil. Brown the kielbasa slices lightly, then remove them from the pan and set aside. Add the rest of the oil and the onion, and cook until softened. Put the potatoes, stock, and water into the pan, and boil until the potatoes are cooked through. Stir in the beans and the greens and cook until the greens are wilted. Add salt and pepper to taste and enjoy!
Bean, Potato, Greens, and Sausage Soup
1/2 lb kielbasa, sliced into rounds
4 Tbsp olive oil
1 onion, diced
1 lb potatoes, peeled and diced
4 c vegetable stock
4 c water
1 can dark red kidney beans, drained and rinsed
1 can light red kidney beans, drained and rinsed
~4-6 c kale and/or chard, shredded
salt & pepper to taste
In a 5-6 qt soup pot, heat a tablespoon of the oil. Brown the kielbasa slices lightly, then remove them from the pan and set aside. Add the rest of the oil and the onion, and cook until softened. Put the potatoes, stock, and water into the pan, and boil until the potatoes are cooked through. Stir in the beans and the greens and cook until the greens are wilted. Add salt and pepper to taste and enjoy!
Friday, April 20, 2012
Lunch: 4.20.12
The Girl's snack is applesauce (not pictured).
Her lunch is two cutie clementines, apple slices, dried plums, and an English muffin with Biscoff.
Her lunch is two cutie clementines, apple slices, dried plums, and an English muffin with Biscoff.
Lunch for The Boy: 4.20.12
It's the last day before April vacation!
The Boy's snack is some applesauce (not pictured - 15g)
His lunch is raisins, Scrabble Cheez-its, apple slices, and a whole grain English muffin with Biscoff.
The Boy's snack is some applesauce (not pictured - 15g)
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| Sandwich: 32g, Apple slices: 8g, raisins: 16g, Cheez-its; 12g |
Wednesday, April 18, 2012
Lunch: 4.19.12
The Girl has applesauce for lunch (not pictured)
Her lunch is a ham & cheese sandwich on a flat bread, apple slices, grapes, and two cutie clementines.
Her lunch is a ham & cheese sandwich on a flat bread, apple slices, grapes, and two cutie clementines.
Lunch for The Boy: 4.19.12
The Boy's snack for Thursday is applesauce (not pictured, 15g).
His lunch is a ham & cheese sandwich on a flat bread, apple slices, grapes, and some melon balls.
 |
| Sandwich: 23g, grapes: 5g, apple slices: 8g, melon: 4g |
Lunch: 4.18.12 - Earth Day Blog Hop!
Today, I'm taking part in an Earth Day Blog Hop with the Bento Bloggers & Friends. I hope that you will hop on through and check out the other fun Earth Day lunches around the blogosphere!
The Girl's snack is applesauce (no picture).
Her Earth Day lunch is a some grapes (with a grape tulip on top), a cheese sandwich sun on flat bread, over some sugar snap pea "grass" and a bed of sliced apples, and a couple cutie clementines.
I had a friend (who is a far better artist than I am) draw the Earth onto one of the clementines.
She was very detailed.
Earth Day is April 22nd.
Now, hop on over and see what Michelle at Creative Food has to offer up for this Earth Day Blog Hop.
The Girl's snack is applesauce (no picture).
Her Earth Day lunch is a some grapes (with a grape tulip on top), a cheese sandwich sun on flat bread, over some sugar snap pea "grass" and a bed of sliced apples, and a couple cutie clementines.
 |
| I've got the whole world in my hand. |
 |
| Hello, Europe and Africa |
 |
| Australia, et. al. |
Now, hop on over and see what Michelle at Creative Food has to offer up for this Earth Day Blog Hop.
Lunch for The Boy: 4.18.12
The Boy's snack is some applesauce (not pictured, 15g).
His lunch is grapes, apple slices, a munster cheese sandwich on honey wheat flat bread, sugar snap peas, and some yogurt covered raisins.
 |
| Grapes: 5g, apple slices: 4g, sandwich: 22g, peas: 1g, yogurt raisins: 27g |
Monday, April 16, 2012
Lunch: 4.17.12
The Girl's snack is applesauce (not pictured).
Her lunch is some roasted cauliflower, two cutie clementines, a ham & cheese sandwich on flat bread, goldfish crackers, sugar snap peas, and some yogurt raisins.
Her lunch is some roasted cauliflower, two cutie clementines, a ham & cheese sandwich on flat bread, goldfish crackers, sugar snap peas, and some yogurt raisins.
Lunch for The Boy: 4.17.12
The Boy's snack is some applesauce (not pictured - 15g).
His lunch is some apple slices, roasted cauliflower, a flat bread sandwich with hummus, cheese, and ham, goldfish crackers, sugar snap peas, and some yogurt covered raisins.
 |
| Cauliflower: 3g, apple slices: 4g, sandwich: 25g, goldfish crackers: 10g, yogurt raisins: 27g, peas: 2g |
His lunch is some apple slices, roasted cauliflower, a flat bread sandwich with hummus, cheese, and ham, goldfish crackers, sugar snap peas, and some yogurt covered raisins.
Sunday, April 15, 2012
Lunch: 4.16.12
The Girl's snack is some blueberry applesauce - no picture.
Her lunch is some roasted yellow cauliflower, two cutie clementines, grapes, sugar snap peas with dressing to dip in, goldfish crackers, and some cheddar cheese.
Her lunch is some roasted yellow cauliflower, two cutie clementines, grapes, sugar snap peas with dressing to dip in, goldfish crackers, and some cheddar cheese.
Lunch for The Boy: 4.16.12
Happy Monday!
The Boy's snack is a blueberry applesauce - not pictured (15g)
His lunch is some roasted yellow cauliflower, sliced strawberries, grapes, sugar snap peas with some dressing to dip them in, goldfish crackers, and some swiss cheese.
The Boy's snack is a blueberry applesauce - not pictured (15g)
 |
| Strawberries: 6g, cauliflower: 2g, grapes; 4g, sugar snap peas + dressing: 3g, Goldfish crackers: 10g, cheese: 1g |
Thursday, April 12, 2012
Rainbow Week 2012 - Recap!
I started out with Red Day, for The Boy and for The Girl.
Next came Orange & Yellow Day, for The Boy and for The Girl
Wednesday was White Day, for The Boy and for The Girl.
Thursday was Green Day, for The Boy and for The Girl.
And finally, Blue & Purple Day, for The Boy and for The Girl.
 |
| Rainbow Week Snacks 2012 |
 |
| Rainbow Week Smoothies 2012 |
I hope that you have enjoyed Rainbow Week for this year - looking forward to next year!
Lunch: 4.13.12 - Rainbow Week: Blue & Purple Day
The Girl's Blue & Purple Day snack is blueberry applesauce and a purple smoothie - see The Boy's lunch for more info on the smoothie.
Her lunch is roasted purple cauliflower, prunes, half a plum, a purple dyed hard boiled egg, and some blueberry mini muffins.
Lunch for The Boy: 4.13.12 - Rainbow Week: Blue & Purple Day
It's the final day for this year's Rainbow week, Blue & Purple Day... it's a bit of a challenge for blue and purple food, but I've managed to pull it together, I think!
His snack is blueberry applesauce, and a purple smoothie.
Today's smoothie is plum, strawberries, blueberries, kale, and yogurt.
His lunch is roasted purple cauliflower, raisins, purple colored Goldfish crackers, a purple dyed hard boiled egg, and some blueberry mini muffins.
 |
| Applesauce: 15g, purple smoothie: 20g |
Today's smoothie is plum, strawberries, blueberries, kale, and yogurt.
 |
| Purple cauliflower: 3g, raisins: 16g, Goldfish crackers: 10g, egg: 0g, mini muffins: 24g |
His lunch is roasted purple cauliflower, raisins, purple colored Goldfish crackers, a purple dyed hard boiled egg, and some blueberry mini muffins.
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