nothing new under the sun

I am talking about kids lunch, tired of the same ole ?

Me too.  Here's what I am serving these days

our weekend fave, snack lunch cheese, crackers, popcorn, carrots and ranch, and fruit
hard boiled eggs and bacon
diy lunchables crackers, pepperoni, ham, cheese
cucumber & hummus sandwiches
pasta salad
lentil & quinoa salad with tortilla chips
cowboy cavier with tortilla chips
deli meat rolls with cheese or cream cheese
jelly & cream cheese roll ups in a flour tortilla
almond butter & apple butter (not really butter just concentrated apple puree) sandwich
Nutella, peanut butter & banana
grilled chicken strips with ranch dip or honey mustard
soup
chili
mac & cheese
pasta
quinoa with veggies
cream cheese and ham stuffed peppers
rice bowl with veggie flowers and hoisen
bagel with cream cheese

And what are you eating for lunch?  Their leftovers, whatever you can shove in your mouth by the time their done eating and ready to move on to the next thing?  I can honestly say I know a lot about lunch, but, not because I was eating it.  For the first time in 7 years I actually think about what sounds good to me for lunch, what is healthy, and I make it, sometimes!
salad, smoothie, snack lunch (veggies, fruits, cheeses, crackers, dips) or sandwich.

Here's how to keep it exciting.  The reason I know this I use to work in upper management for a restaurant group.  Every day I had to eat lunch in an upscale French Restaurant for 3 years.  Poor me, but do you realize the two main ingredients in French Cuisine?   Cream and butter.  How did I not gain 30 lbs a year?  Salad.  Did I get sick of it, yes.  How did I deal with it?  I would march myself back to the kitchen everyday and make my own "new" salad dressing concoction.  Also their are a million different ways you can make up a salad.  Need some protein so it sticks with you for the day?  You can throw chicken, quinoa, farro, nuts, seeds, cheeses, in it to fill you up.

As the bible says, there is nothing new under the sun, so we have to serve things we have in new creative ways.  I found this great resource on glorious grains, check it out for some new ideas to add grains for salads and sides with dinner.

Also, if you make a dressing on Monday make enough for the week, I store mine in a canning jar.
 I also try to put seasonal ingredients in my salad
pumpkin seeds
roasted butternut squash
apples
roasted sweet potatoes
bacon, pancetta, or prosciutto
candied walnuts
pomegranates
pears
clementines

fall dressing lesson 
maple Dijon vinaigrette
equal parts, apple cider vinegar, vegetable oil (1/2 cup each)
1 tablespoon maple syrup
1 teaspoon dijon
S&P
 Directions: add everything except oil, slowly wisk in oil

If you want to be able to whip up simple genius foods in a hurry have a well stocked pantry!

My new favorite smoothie
1 cup cabot vanilla greek yogurt
3/4 cup orange juice
1 cup kale
1/2 avocado
1 apple or some kind of fruit, peach, pear, banana
ice
(if you need more liquid add milk or more oj)
chia seeds to garnish (optional)

redeeming the time

Since I now have more time, I wonder, isn't their something more important I should be doing than thinking about what nut free snacks to send to school with my kids?  Yes, thanks to my amazing friend Anna Goodworth, who wrote the book LESS.  I can't stop thinking about the kids who have nothing to eat when mine complain about the nutritious meals prepared with love by their parents.  If your sharing my frustrations I encourage you to check out the dirt cookies Haitians are eating.  My kids have seen this video.  The book LESS also discusses exposing and educating our children about world hunger and gives tangible acts to respond to what you read with your kids.

I  do think about feeding my kids healthy nut free snacks too, because I want to raise children with good eating habits.  I am thankful daily that we can purchase healthy ingredients.  This is the best recipe that I have made for kid snacks, why?  It tastes awesome, I like to eat these for a snack too,  it is super healthy, and it doesn't have nuts!

Pumpkin Butterscotch Oat Bars 
2 cups old fashioned oats
1 cup oat flour (grind up oats in blender or food processor, make sure to measure AFTER grinding)
1/4 cup flax seeds (optional)
1/8 cup chia seeds (optional)
1 cup whole wheat flour
2 teaspoons baking soda
1/2 teaspoon salt
1/2 cup brown sugar
15 ounce can pumpkin
1 tablespoon 1 + 1 teaspoon vanilla
2 tablespoons honey
1 cup unsweetened almond milk or any milk
2 cups butterscotch chips or chocolate chips (you can also sub craisins, raisins, diced apples,
Preheat the oven to 325 degrees F

• Place all dry ingredients in a bowl stir with a whisk
• Add wet ingredients stir well with a spoon
• Spray a 12x9 pan with cooking spray
• Press it evenly in pan
• Bake 20-25 minutes
• Let cool completely
• Cut into 24 squares

These freeze well :)

I also make the following muffins in small muffins tins and freeze them for school snacks.  I hope you and the littles enjoy!
Pumpkin Chocolate Chip muffins
Gingerbread Muffins
Apple Banana Carrot Muffins
Banana Crunch Muffins

I also make a ton of trail mixes myself.  I make a big batch one day and then portion it out for the week.   I try to put something neutral (a grain of some sort), something sweet, and something salty.  And yes that is ridiculous I used culinary training to come up with that :)

Here are some of my combos
mini pretzels, popcorn corn, candy corn

cheerios, craisens, chocoate chips

rice chex, raisens,  pretzels, m&m's

pumpkin seeds, popcorn, chocolate chips

dried fruit, rice chex, popcorn

A few other suggestions
Brown rice crispy treats, I add and subtract what I like don't like
chips & salsa
carrots & hummus
cut veggies
applesauce
mandarin oranges from a can
whole fruit, oranges, grapes, apples, bananas travel well
cinnamon sugar apples (add lemon juice if sending to school)