What I know for sure...about school lunches & a Granola Bar recipe

Last year when my son entered Kindergarten I had 2 goals for his school lunch: the first was to send my son with a lunch that was as littlerless as possible, the second was to provide a lunch that was healthy and appealing. My goal of furnishing a littlerless lunch everyday was mostly realized (minus the granola bars I keep buying!?). I started by dropping a bit of cash on good quality reusable containers which turned out to be well worth it for several reasons:

1. Less waste
   
2. No chemicals leaching out of plastic and into food.
3. Financially: No need to keep buying plastic wrap or plastic self sealing bags.

I bought Greentainers online and they have held up well and will be used again this year and hopefully for many years to come. His stainless steel water bottle didn't make it through the year, and I really should have bought him a Klean Kanteen, as my husband's has survived construction work sites and some serious falls. These bottles can be ordered on-line from the Canadian site Mom Knows Best (listed below). They are also available at Indigo/Chapters Book Stores.

Litterless Lunch Product sites I liked best
(some product overlap):

• Mom Knows Best (Canadian site!)
• Nubius Organics
• Kids Konserve
• All things Bento
• le baby shop (Montreal store and site)
• life without plastic (Canadian site!)
• lavish and lime (Canadian site!)

My goal of providing a healthy and appealing lunch was more of a challenge. My son likes vegetables but wasn't eating them when I put them in his lunch. I started putting his vegetables: i.e.: carrot, celery, red pepper & cucumber sticks in the same container as his sandwich, and low an behold he started eating them. Having the sandwich container open in front of him meant that he would just absentmindedly munch on his veg while eating his sandwich. Fruit seems to be eaten only when processed in some way i.e.: cut up in small chunks or wedges. As for the tried and true sandwich, my then five year old couldn't eat a whole one so I started giving him half sandwiches or very small ones instead. How did I know he wasn't finishing them? I always asked him to bring back what he hadn't eaten. This enabled me, over time, to pack just the right amount.

Too many sweet things: I fell into the habit of providing too many sweet snacks for my son out of my wish to please him. However one sweet snack is enough (not including fruit.) Cubes of cheese, hard boiled eggs (get them in there while you can because by grade 2 or 3 kids refuse to bring them), and other protein sources are best to keep energy up.

My son did complain once in a while that he wanted some of the stuff other kids were eating like yogurt in a tube and other super sugary fare masquerading as healthy food. Lets' not kid ourselves granola bars and a lot of yogurts have a lot of sugar. I often buy Kashi brand granola bars as they have a lot of flavor and much less sugar than other bars. As for yogurt your best bet is plain probiotic yogurt with fruit and say a sweetener like honey or jam added. Then you are in charge of the sugar. My 3 year old daughter likes to mix in her own ingredients.

When buying prepared snacks for your kids be aware that :

Food manufacturers like to add sugar in several forms, so that no single sugar ingredient shows near the top of the ingredient list. It's likely you will spot multiple types of added sugars in an ingredient list.

Source Laura Dudley Ezinearticles.com

My son and I have been learning together what constitutes a treat and what constitutes a snack (it seems to be taking me a life time to learn). Snacks are needed in between meals to provide energy. The best is when a snack is a combination of both: delicious and nutritious. Smarties, chips and ice cream are not snacks!!

My 6 year old son's favorite lunch items:

• Sweet stuff: banana bread, cranberry orange muffins, blueberry muffins, granola bars, fruit leather, fresh fruit, apple sauce, yogurt, dried fruit & Nature's Path Crispy Rice bars.
  
• Sandwiches & other: brie, ham* and Dijon with sprouts, tuna salad (packed with small dice of veg.), tofu spread and seeded cucumber, sardine and salmon salad, macaroni and cheese, chicken noodle soup, cold chicken drum sticks, and of course cold left over homemade pizza.
  
• Savoury snacks: raw vegetable sticks with tzaziki or hummus, cheese and crackers, PC Mini Chefs' cheese alligator crackers, hard boiled egg.

* Nitrate free

Recipes Ideas for Lunches:

• Bento recipes
• Canadian Family
• Some recipes from this blog
• Martha Stewart & More

I have vowed since reading Slow Death by Rubber Duck recently to cut way back on the tuna in my son's lunch and up the salmon instead as he likes them both equally.

Canned salmon is generally considered safe for kids to eat daily. Due to its mercury content, Health Canada recommends only one serving a week of canned albacore tuna for children aged 1 to 4. Older children may have two servings a week.

Source:http://www.theglobeandmail.com/life/article705790.ece

Its' all about Biomagnification. Salmon is lower down on the food chain and contains a lot less mercury than tuna. It's my new favorite word and is a term that I came across in Slow Death by Rubber Duck, and I think that anyone who eats or happens to feeds others should be better acquainted with this term.

What always keeps me on track when making my son's lunch is a simple mantra that is easy to follow no matter how tired you are when you approach lunch making:

Vegetables, Fruit, and Protein.

Included these three things and the rest will fall in line. What about carbs? Well they seem to find themselves paired up with all of the above more often than not. Whole grain crackers or bread are good additions. Oh and don't forget the water bottle!

Here is a tasty recipe for a granola bar for a nut free environment. I am going to try and stop buying them and I will be testing out various granola bar recipes over the next few months.

Oats, Pumpkin Seed and Raisin bar

1 large egg
1 large egg white
125 ml / 1/2 cup honey
15 ml / 1 tablespoon canola oil
5 ml / 1 teaspoon ground cinnamon
1/4 teaspoon salt
5 ml / 1 teaspoon vanilla extract
375 ml / 1 1/2 cup toasted oats*
170 ml / 2/3 cup raisins, chopped
70ml/ 1/4 cup pumpkin seeds
15 ml / 1 tablespoon all purpose or spelt flour

Pre-heat oven to 160 C / 325 F. Line an 8 by 11 inch pan with parchment paper. Whisk egg, egg white, honey, oil, cinnamon, salt and vanilla in a large bowl. Stir in oats, raisins, pumpkin seeds and flour. Spread in pan. Bake until golden brown for 30 to 35 minutes. Cool completely and then divide with a knife as desired.

*Toast oats on a baking tray in oven until golden (about 15 minutes at 160 F / 325 F).

...just because

Lunch box ideas continued...Easy Spreads & a Muffin recipe

My husband and I share the task of making our son's lunch. Whomever is least tired or whomever is home with the kids and is not working late makes the lunch. Mayonnaise has been a strong participant. Avoiding nitrate laden cold cuts seems to demand it. Egg salad, tuna salad, salmon salad sandwiches have been in heavy rotation. Being home this month I decided to mix it up a bit before he becomes sick of salad sandwiches. Enter cream cheese and home made veggie pate (veggie pate recipe and pics are coming next week). I almost always include a homemade dessert such a cookies or muffin and am trying to mix it up a bit there too. Spring inspires us to eat a little better and I am trying to re-embrace baking flours other than All purpose. Spelt, whole wheat and kamut flour make satiating additions to quick breads and cookies.

Cream Cheese spreads
(For lactose intolerant or vegan diets there are good vegan
"cream cheese" spreads that would do the job)

Bring the desired amount of cream cheese to room temperature (figure about 2 to 3 tablespoons per sandwich). For Pesto Cream Cheese Spread: add the desired amount of cream cheese to a small mixing bowl and add a heaping tablespoon of pesto* (per 2-3 tablespoons of cream cheese). Blend together with the back of a fork. Generously spread over a piece of bread, plain or whole wheat tortilla and then add sprouts, lettuce, grated carrots, sliced meats etc. to build a delicious sandwich. For Roasted Red Pepper Spread: finely chop several pieces of well drained roasted red pepper and then fold into several heaping tablespoons of room temperature cream cheese until well blended. Use in the same way as Pesto spread. *Store bought pestos are convenient and better tasting than ever and the pine nuts that are traditionally found in pesto are actually seeds (although in rare cases they can elicit an allergic reaction). If you click on pesto above you will find a basic pesto recipe which uses walnuts or pine nuts.

Pesto Cream Cheese Spread

Roasted Red Pepper Spread

Banana Raspberry Spelt Muffins

625 ml / 2 1/2 cup spelt flour
10 ml /2 teaspoons baking powder
2.5 ml / 1/2 teaspoon salt
90 ml / 6 tablespoons unsalted butter, melted
180 ml / 3/4 cup demerara sugar or natural cane sugar
2 large eggs
10 ml / 2 teaspoons vanilla extract
250 ml / 1 cup plain yogurt
325 ml 1 /1/2 cups mashed ripe bananas
180 ml/ 3/4 cup fresh raspberries

Pre-heat oven to 180 C / 400 F.

Grease a muffin tin or pop in baking cups*.

In a large bowl blend together first 3 ingredients with a whisk. In another medium bowl whisk together butter and sugar then beat in eggs one at a time, then vanilla, yogurt and bananas. Add the wet to the dry and fold a few times with a spatula. Add berries and continue to fold until just blended.

You have the option of making 12 large muffins (muffin cups 3/4 full) or making smaller ones more suited to little eaters (muffin cups 1/2 full) which yields 14-16 muffins.

*If you care baking cups make the job of making muffins even easier.

Lunch Ideas : Pumpkin Cookies

Some of the food styling I have done recently was for a film with much of the action set in the 1970's. For this project I had to crack open the cookbooks from my early childhood to get some visuals. What I learned is that lemons and parsley were virtually the only garnish, and that maraschino cherries adorned the top of many a dessert. Cookies are cookies though, and a good cookie recipe is eternal.

It's pumpkin time again, and I love any dessert containing them. I know that pumpkin is a love it or hate ingredient, and that about half the people at any holiday gathering will not touch that pumpkin pie, while the other more evolved half will devour the pie, making up for those bizarre pumpkin haters.

Here is a great pumpkin cookie recipe from Better Homes and Gardens Homemade Cookies Cook Book, published in 1975. They are soft and cakey like molasses drops and full of spice and pumpkiny goodness.

Pumpkin Cookies

• 500 ml (2 cups) unsalted butter
• 500 ml (2 cups) granulated white sugar
• 500 ml (16 ounces) pumpkin puree
• 2 eggs
• 10 ml (2 teaspoons) vanilla
• 1 l (4 cups) all purpose flour
• 10 ml (2 teaspoons) baking powder
• 10 ml (2 teaspoons) ground cinnamon
• 5 ml (1 teaspoon) baking soda
• 5 ml (1 teaspoon) ground nutmeg
• 2,5 ml (1/2 teaspoon) ground all spice
• 5 ml (1 teaspoon) salt
• 500 ml (2 cups) raisin
• 250 ml (1 cup) chopped nuts

• Pre-heat oven to 175C (350F).

• Cream butter and sugar. Add pumpkin, eggs, and vanilla; beat well. In a large bowl whisk together  flour, baking powder, cinnamon, baking soda, nutmeg, all spice and salt. Add to batter: mix well. Stir in raisins and nuts. Drop rounded teaspoons 2 inches apart on greased cookie sheet. Bake cookies on middle rack of the oven for 12 to 15 minutes. Cool on rack. If desired, frost with vanilla frosting. Makes 7 dozen.

• I made my cookies larger (2 teaspoons of cookie dough each), and I used a small scoop for easy portioning. I also forgo the nuts because I am sending them in my sons' lunch box and nuts are not allowed (as is usually the case). This recipe turns out a lot of cookies so care packages may be in order.

Photo from Cookies Cook Book

Good times and big hair for mom....should she be near an oven with all that hairpsray?

Squash on the net:

Please check out the photo for this recipe. What an easy photogenic creation:

Gourmet's Parmesan Custard Tart With Butternut Squash

Try this soup...

Pumpkin soup (sorry not pics!)

Lunch Box Ideas:

Apple Cinnamon Muffins and a little info on Bento Boxes

My son informed me last week that his favorite things to do in life are eating, sleeping and snuggling. Then he quickly added laughing. I was a little taken aback by the lack of physical activity involved in his favorite things, unless you want to include chewing as a physical activity. I have decided to take comfort in my son's apparent evolving self awarness and not worry that sports are not included on his list. My ability to do so stems from the fact that he is a thin as a rail and bouncing off the walls with energy most of the time. I am trying to push out of my mind what will take the place of a good snuggle for my son as a favorite thing when he reaches manhood...Yes I am a worrier, but I do not want to be a grandmother before 60 please! I can certainely relate to all his favorites (most anyone can), especially eating.

I have been whipping together some satisfactory lunches for my little guy. Muffins are such an easy addtion to a lunch. I make a batch, let them cool, then individually freeze them wrapped in plastic wrap. This can be done with slices of quick breads (such as banana), as well. I throw them in his lunch box and they are always defrosted by the time he eats them. Although my little weirdo likes them frozen at home so I have finally stopped insisting I warm them up for him. The recipe I am offering here was made twice because the first time they were not a hit...not terrible but kinda blah. And who wants to create dirty dishes for those kind of results? The taste of baking powder was evident and they needed more cinnamon and more apples. The second batch are very good with only a slight hint of lemon. They are moist and packed full of apples.

Apple Cinnamon Muffins

250 ml / 1 cup Sugar

500 ml / 2 cups All purpose flour

10 ml / 2 t Baking soda

10 ml / 2 t Lemon zest

15 ml / 1 T ground Cinamon

2.5 ml / 1/2 t Salt
750 ml / 3 cups peeled, cored Apples, in small cubes (can be very rough or even through them in food processor)
2 large Eggs

125 ml / 1/2 cup plain Yogourt

125 ml / 1/2 cup whole Milk

125 ml / 1/2 cup melted Butter
1/2 apple, cored, peel on

demerara sugar to sprinkle on top*optional

For Bento Box inspired muffins:
Make a face on the muffins with raisins for eyes, an apple piece for the nose or raisins again. Currants can also be used

• Pre-heat the oven to 400F. Line muffin tin with baking cups.
• Whisk together in a bowl sugar, flour, baking soda, lemon zest, cinnamon, and salt. Pour in apples and toss to coat.
• In a seperate bowl whisk together eggs, yogourt, milk and butter.
• Fold wet ingredients into dry ingredients gently with a spatula until just blended. Scoop batter into muffin tray using 2 spoons or a ice cream scoop. I used a 47ml scoop that yielded 24 muffins. The perfect size for little guys. If you do not have a scoop fill the baking cups half way.
  
• Slice the halved apple thinly and decorate the batter with the slices as you like. Sprinkle with demerara sugar.
  
• Cook in oven for 15-20 minutes until tester comes out clean or are springy to the touch. Smaller muffins will take less time so do check at 13 minutes.

Bento boxes

I am trying to squeeze in some recipe development and have been checking out Bento boxes. For a food stylist they are such a treat to research...they are so cute! I will try to put together some ideas with pics soon for more Lunch Box ideas. You really do not need a lot of culinary skills to put a Bento Boxes together , you just need to be neat and organized. I do squirm a little at the amount of processed meats included in child's Bento Box lunch, but on the other hand how adorable can a lunch get? I wish someone would make me one.

Click here to check out some Bento Box lunches.

If you are interested in a Bento Box book written in English click here.

By the way where did my spell check function go? I am quiet dependant on it as I am sure you have already noted.