School lunches, Week 3

This last week was full of thrown together odds and ends as we all spent the majority of our time marveling at the insane weather. But the week before that actually had a couple good lunches. I'm reminded that most kids, mine included, typically do not like leftovers in their lunch and simpler is always better. To that end, my son has kindly offered to step in and offer more direction about what he likes and doesn't like. I've agreed to take this constructive criticism with zero indignation and am embracing it. So far.

Monday:

• Sweet and sour chicken from this recipe (I replaced cornstarch with arrowroot and the soy sauce with coconut aminos)
• Brown rice with grass fed butter
• Apple sandwiches
• Seaweed chips
• Mango coconut chia seed pudding (recipe follows)

Wednesday:

• Cucumber tuna "sushi" bites with cherry tomatoes (recipe follows)
• Strawberries
• Seaweed chips
• Almond butter breakfast bread from this recipe
• Ginger raspberry spinach almond milk smoothie

Mango coconut chia seed pudding

I've yet to meet a chia pudding I didn't like but this one is my current favorite. 

Ingredients:

4 tablespoons chia seeds

1 1/2 cups full fat coconut milk (one can)

2-4 tablespoons maple syrup or honey

1 teaspoon vanilla extract or 1 vanilla bean

1/2 teaspoon ground ginger or 1 tablespoon fresh grated ginger

1/2 teaspoon ground cardamom

pinch sea salt

frozen mango chunks

toasted shredded coconut

Directions:

Place chia seeds in a large jar or bowl. Add coconut milk (shaken), syrup or honey and vanilla extract or scrape vanilla bean pod. Mix well with whisk or fork. Add ginger, cardamom and pinch of salt. If using bowl, pour combined mixture into a jar making sure to shake well and stir thoroughly to avoid globs of chia seeds. Place in fridge for 3-5 hours or ideally, overnight. When ready to pack, place portion into a small container and top with chopped frozen mango. Add toasted coconut just before serving. 

Cucumber tuna "sushi" bites

I can't remember where I originally saw the idea to give credit but these were a hit. Just the right size, really refreshing and so easy to make.

Ingredients

1 English cucumber, washed

Tuna recipe using your favorite go-to or use this recipe for a vegan option. Adding julliened, chopped carrots makes a great addition. 

avocado

toasted sesame seeds

Directions

Slice cucumber into rounds between 1" and 2", depending on taste (and mouth size!) Place cucumber slice on cutting board and using a paring knife, gently cut out center of each slice, leaving a hole large enough to place filling. Add tuna filling, top with small bit of avocado and toasted sesame seeds. These are best made the day of and are also great with wasabi and coconut aminos (or soy). They are delicious and so versatile. 

Prep Time

Food prep for the week generally happens on Sunday nights, but since it's Labor Day weekend and my lovely husband is headed out of town (again) I did it yesterday. Yes, it's a pain to dedicate time to cooking a bunch of things all at once and yes, it can feel like you're in a really wacky Top Chef Thanksgiving Challenge but it's so very worth the effort! In a little over two hours I made:

• 2 trays of kale chips
• 6 hardboiled eggs
• Mashed cauliflower for lunch/dinner later in the week
• Smoothies for breakfast plus some to freeze for the week
• Soaked oatmeal for breakfast
• Prepped a dinner of pineapple chicken
• Batch of cardamom mango chia puddings
• Almond butter breakfast bread for snacks

I was a devoted reader of Cookie magazine, which is now, sadly, out of print. One of my favorite sections was their dinner flow chart and some bit that was called, "Just get me to Wednesday" and showed how to shop and cook for the first part of the week. I've found that the things it's hardest to make during the week are snack foods, so I try to make the Sunday prep heavy on all the little things that will carry us to Thursday. Then I can scrape the crumbs of all the snacks together and call them a mystery bite. When you don't rely on bagged or wrapped snack foods you see how tedious they can be to make and you may take it very personal when the homemade crackers you spent over an hour making are gone before they've cooled. 

Another problem we solve with Sunday prep nights is our woeful date night situation. We are so bad at scheduling them. For one reason or another it just doesn't work out for us to have a regular night set aside to be out without kids. I agree that it's so, so important to spend time sans kids but I don't think it means you necessarily have to always do it out of your home. It was also brought to my attention by a friend that having one person do ALL the cooking was not good. When we were first dating cooking together was one of my favorite things. I have so many wonderful memories of us getting home from work, going to the store, lazily combing the aisles to see what looked good, coming home, drinking wine while we talked and cooked then sitting down to a nice dinner at 8:30. Fast forward to now, where I am the gate keeper of all things food and my son recently asked, "Does dad actually know how to make anything besides pancakes?" YES, he does! Well, he did before I forced him to unlearn his skills by shooing him out of the kitchen when he offered to help. It just seemed easier that way. So we decided to kill two birds with one stone and establish a Sunday night cooking date after the boys have been put to bed. And I love it. We can drink a bottle of wine, my husband can get back to the stove without the pressure of hungry kids and I get to sit around with a magazine while whatever I'm prepping cooks, biting my tongue as he does something slightly different than I do. It's also a very valuable lesson in letting go of control; something some of us have a very hard time doing. 

School lunches, Week 2

Over the next month or so we'll narrow down our eating schedule for what kind of foods we'll have on what days; for example, Mondays may be breakfast for lunch, Tuesday is finger foods, Wednesday is soup day, Thursday is pasta or rice, Friday is...well, whatever is only mildly wilted at the bottom of the vegetable drawer and that plastic-wrapped burrito I'm always so happy to see at the end of a week of cooking! We'll eventually do the same for our breakfasts and dinners. I know this may seem horrifying to some, this regimented, pre-planned way of living but it's actually incredibly liberating. The busier I get, the more convinced I become that the key to sanity is being meticulously regimented in the things I have to do so that I can be spontaneous and relaxed in the things I want to do. I love to cook but it's stressful to do when it's past dinner time, everyone's starving and the fridge is empty so having dedicated prep times and meal plans takes away much of the burden and opens wonderful little pockets of time in the day.

Monday:

• Pepperoni, broccoli and tomato quiche (recipe from Elana's Pantry and found in The Gluten-Free Almond Flour cookbook)
• Mixed greens with peach and corn salsa (recipe follows)
• Carrots and cucumbers with hummus
• Cranberry/Pomegranate/Cherry gelatins
• Coconut milk, mango, raspberry, spinach, ginger smoothie

Tuesday:

Today was our first dud. I made the sweet potato falafels the night before, he said he loved them but I had a nagging feeling I'd hear otherwise. Sure enough, when I picked him up I got the, "Mom, no offense, but..." speech. I'm not giving up on these and I think I can turn it around with a little tweaking. Stay tuned!

• Sweet potato falafels
• Buttery peas and roasted broccoli
• Sesame rice crackers
• Watermelon
• Nectarine

Wednesday:

• Lentil vegetable soup
• Turkey and goat cheese rolls
• Pumpkin muffin (recipe follows)
• Apple and almond butter "sandwiches" (recipe follows)
• Seaweed chips

Thursday:

• Gluten-free spaghetti and meatballs
• Roasted Brussels sprouts
• Olives
• Salad with pepitas, dried currants and Tessamae's dressing
• Nectarine
• Spinach, cherry, ginger smoothie

Friday:

• Amy's gluten-free burrito
• Guacamole and salsa
• Plantain chips
• Tamari roasted almonds
• Peaches and cream (recipe follows)

Peach and corn salsa

It's not often that I come up with an original recipe creation that leads to a Frankenstein-creation moment of triumph but this one so does! Add corn and peaches as needed to serve your crowd, whether it's 1 or 10. You can omit the basil and add all kinds of seasonings to suit any summer meal. Enchiladas, pizzas, tacos, grilled fish, the sky is the limit.

Ingredients

2 ears corn, shucked and thoroughly cleaned

2 JUST ripe peaches (too ripe and you end up with a mess)

1/4 cup olive oil

4 tablespoons champagne vinegar, plus more to taste

Sea salt

Black pepper

Fresh basil (optional) or other spices/herbs

Directions

Hold corn vertically with one end in a wide bowl. Using a sharp knife, slice corn kernels off the cob working in smooth strokes, not a sawing motion. I've found a paring knife usually works best to get as many kernels off as possible. Slice peaches into 1/2" chunks and add to corn. Whisk together olive oil and champagne vinegar. Start with a couple tablespoons of vinegar and taste to see if you'd like it more or less acidic. Add olive oil or vinegar until it tastes right. Throw in a pinch of salt and a few grinds of black pepper, then whisk again. Pour over corn and peaches then gently fold in. Add basil or other herbs and chill or serve. 

Pumpkin muffins

I've certainly had my share of Pinterest fails but sometimes you get a rare gem that quickly becomes a go-to. That's how we feel about these muffins. I doctor them up all kinds of ways and sub all kinds of squash/nut combos when I make them. Be sure to put them in the fridge or freezer once they're cool because they do tend to get funky quickly. 

Apple and almond butter sandwiches

Ingredients

1 apple

Almond or any kind of nut butter

Additional add-ins such as shredded coconut, honey, raisins, chocolate chips, sliced cherries, etc

Directions

Wash and core apple taking care to get all the seeds out. Firmly hold apple and cut into uniform slices approx 1/4" to 1/2" thick. Smear a slice with almond butter, add a topping if you'd like then put another slice on top. That's it! So easy and so, so delicious.  

Peaches and cream

Nothing makes me happier than throwing on a terrible, thick Southern accent and hollering, "Come on, y'all! Come getcha peaches and cream!" You can easily use whipping cream instead of coconut cream if you're so inclined. I've altered this slightly to make it lunch box friendly.

Ingredients

One can full fat coconut milk

1-2 peaches

Raw honey

Tiny pinch salt

Cinnamon

Directions

Place can of coconut milk in the fridge overnight. Once ready, gently open the can and make sure you have a thick, dense layer of cream on top with all the watery liquid below. If you don't, curse a blue streak and angrily put it in the freezer for a couple hours or start over with a new can. Once you have your cream, gently use a spoon to get out the cream and put it in a big bowl. Drizzle lightly with raw honey and add the tiniest little pinch of salt. Blend with a hand mixer or whisk until a true cream forms. Refrigerate (or put into thermos). Chop peaches and put into container or bowl. When ready to eat or assemble, put peaches into a bowl, top with cream and sprinkle with cinnamon. 

School lunches, Week 1

Please ignore my tragic photography. 6:30 doesn't feel too early until you're trying to take a picture of food. This next week I have the good camera all ready to go and I'll even wear my glasses while I take the photos. We were out of town on Friday so it was a short week.

Monday:

• Turkey, mustard, lettuce, avocado sandwich on sprouted grain bread
• Cherry tomatoes
• Kale chips
• Plum
• Citrus gelatins (recipe follows)
• Blueberry oatmeal muffin (recipe follows)

Tuesday:

• Nachos - Rice chips, refried black beans with raw goat cheese, guacamole, tomatoes, salsa
• Carrots with sunbutter
• Tropical protein balls (recipe follows)
• Coconut, cherry, spinach, ginger smoothie

We love these silicone smoothie holders! There's only been one spilling incident but I think it was likely user error. Since then I put it into a ziploc bag, just to be safe. 

Wednesday:

• California-esque rolls - brown rice, avocado, cucumber (recipe follows) and coconut aminos
• Hard boiled egg
• Strawberries
• Kale chips
• Blueberry oatmeal muffin

Thursday:

• Amy's gluten-free burrito with guacamole
• Cherry tomatoes
• Sliced apples topped with almond butter and shredded coconut
• Mango jerky
• Citrus gelatins
• Tangerine

On Fridays my son's school offers "Pizza Friday"...yay! But they don't offer options for gluten-free or dairy-free kids...boo! We accommodate this by giving him whatever other option he wants for those days. Sometimes it's burrito day, sometimes it's fruit crumble but I know it definitely makes it feel less unfair to not get pizza at school. 

Citrus Gelatins:

Ingredients
2 cups juice
1/3-1/2 cup grass fed beef gelatin, such as Great Lakes
Additional fruit (fresh or frozen) if desired
1 tablespoon coconut oil

Directions
Measure out juice in large pyrex (4 cup) or larger. Pour 1 1/2 cups of juice into saucepan and heat over medium. Sprinkle gelatin over remaining juice in pyrex or bowl. Add additional fruit, if using, to juice in saucepan and heat until just boiling. At this point I'll sometimes mash larger fruit like cherries or mangoes. Pour immediately over gelatin and stir to dissolve any remaining clumps. While gelatin mixture is cooling, lightly brush coconut oil onto 8 x 8 glass container. Once gelatin mixture has cooled slightly (about 10 minutes), gently pour it into the greased container and allow to set. Once cooled and hardened, move to the refrigerator and store. This gelatin will melt in the sun, so I always send it with a spoon, just in case when it's hot out or when it's being stored more than an hour or so in a lunch bag. 

Notes
There are lots of reported health benefits from gelatin and it's incredibly versatile. You can pour it into molds or cut into shapes using cookie cutters and we've yet to try a flavor combo we've not liked. You should note that gelatin really diminishes the flavor of whatever juice you're using, which is why I try to add fruit as well. Some of our favorite combos are: fresh grapefruit, orange and lemon juices, cranberry/pomegranate juice with frozen cherries mashed in and apple juice with mangoes and blueberries added.

Oatmeal Muffins: 
Adapted from this recipe

Ingredients
2 cups oats, (gluten-free if desired and NOT instant)
1/4 cup nuts, chopped (almonds, walnuts and pecans are all great)
1/4 cup seeds (pepitas, sunflower and sesame all work)
1 tablespoon cinnamon or ginger
1/4 teaspoon salt
4 tablespoons honey or maple syrup
3/4 cup coconut oil, melted
1 cup milk (dairy, almond or coconut will all work)
1 tablespoon vanilla extract
1 cup fresh or frozen fruit such as blueberries, raspberries, strawberries or mangoes

Directions
Preheat oven to 375°. Line muffin tin with 12 cups. Combine oats, nuts, seeds, cinnamon or ginger (or both), and salt in a large bowl. Combine honey or syrup, coconut oil, milk and vanilla then pour over oat mixture and combine. Once blended, fold in fruit. Bake for 20-25 minutes or until tops of muffins have started to brown slightly. I'm guessing this recipe makes about 18 muffins but it's hard to say since I'm not sure how many servings my helpers swipe. Once cooled, remove from muffin tin and store in an airtight container on the counter for a few days or in the fridge for a week. You can serve these just in the muffin cups or put them in ramekins with yogurt or milk on top.

Tropical Protein Balls
Adapted from Nourishing Meals cookbook

Ingredients
1 1/2 cups raw cashews
1 cup Halawi or Medjool dates, pitted and chopped
2 tablespoons coconut oil, melted
Zest and juice from 1 lime
pinch sea salt
1 teaspoon vanilla extract
1/4 cup unsweetened shredded coconut, plus 4 tablespoons

Directions
Pulse cashews in food processor until a fine powder forms. Not too far or you'll end up with cashew butter! Add dates, coconut oil, lime juice, zest, salt, and vanilla. Keep processing until ingredients are combined a dough begins to form. Add 1/4 cup shredded coconut and continue to pulse to incorporate. Once coconut is blended in, take out dough and form balls, we do smaller than golf ball size. You can then roll them in the remaining shredded coconut if you'd like but we usually just leave them as is. You can store in the refrigerator or place them on a baking sheet lined with parchment paper then put them in the freezer. They take about 20 minutes to fully thaw but when it's hot I like to put them into a lunch frozen so they're less likely to make little hands really sticky.

California-esque Rolls

I used this recipe from Nourishing Meals but only had short grain brown rice and that seemed to work. We used cucumber and avocado to fill then topped with toasted sesame seeds and served with coconut aminos. This was the favorite meal of the whole week and I'm sure it'll become part of the regular rotation.

*I use Lunch Bots Duo and Trio containers and we've had this Nissan thermos for going on 4 years. I love the Lunch Bots but liquids DO seep from one compartment to the next, which is good to know so you can avoid a muffin soggy with pickle juice. Also, the colors tend to flake off the lids over time so the silver option is probably the best.

Back to Reality

Sitting here, just like I do every year, mumbling something like, "I can't believe school starts in a week." Smudged mascara, bedhead from trying to get two kids to sleep and a crunchy front yard worthy of a biker gang are proof that yes, summer's nearly gone and this party is over. The boys have had it pretty easy on the manual labor front since school's been out but with the start of a new school year we'll be getting back into our normal routine and along with regular bathing and decent bedtimes that also means chores.

At one point long ago we tried the whole allowance thing with the caveat that in order to get the allowance, we wouldn't remind you to do your chores. If you did them, you'd let us know and Friday would be payday. A couple weeks went something like this:

"Hey, what day is it?"
-"It's Friday."
"I forgot all my chooooorresss!!! Waaaaahhhhh!"

We quickly realized this was not the way for us and came to the decision that if the chore was something you would be called on to do in your adult daily life (assuming no live-in help) then we wouldn't be paying you to do it at our house. Each boy gets chores that are within his capabilities without help from us and rather than simply assigning them, we give a few different options to choose from and they can create their own responsibilities. Today when we talked about it, Flynn decided that after a year he's had enough of table setting and would like to move to dish washing some nights, which I think is crazy but I'm gladly willing to accommodate.

It's also essential that they help because 1. We live in a small home for 4 people and 2 dogs (roughly 1100 square feet with no garage) and things get funky very quickly 2. Jonah goes to preschool 3 mornings a week and I work from home. I could easily spend that precious time doing housework rather than work-work 3. They go to Waldorf school and won't have homework until 3rd or 4th grade, leaving plenty of time to play and still finish chores.  Here's a little run-down of what each guy is doing:

7 years old

• Make bed every morning 
• Help make younger brother's bed
• Have backpack ready for school
• Prepare any sports stuff
• On bath nights, set and clear table
• On non-bath nights, do all dishes (seriously, this will be a life lesson)
• Spend 5 minutes helping prepare lunch for school
• Lay out clothes for the next morning
• Tidy up bookshelves each night
• Brush dogs
• Read every day
• Sort laundry

3 1/2 years old

• Put pillows and friends onto bed every morning
• Put on own clothes
• Have a vague idea where backpack is
• Come to breakfast table with a minimal amount of screaming, crawling or moaning
• Responsible for catching all bugs that come into the house
• Responsible for helping with all baked goods
• Help clear table
• Take all used cloth napkins from table to laundry after dinner
• Feed dogs at night
• Sweep floor after dinner
• Tidy up toys at night

Yes, we have to nudge sometimes, and yes, we have to demand sometimes but for the most part we're very consistent and it's gotten easier. They are still fairly little and I'm willing to do pretty much whatever it takes to help them find some joy in their work so if that means speaking in a British accent while you sweep or listening to Janet Jackson while you clean that's totally fine. As they get older, more chores get added. Around 10 years old the hammer really comes down when they have to start doing their own laundry and each kid will be responsible for one family meal each week. They'll find or create the recipe, shop for ingredients, cook and serve it. 

Since there is no allowance offered we give Flynn opportunities to earn money by doing additional bigger jobs. The boys are working towards getting a bunny so they need to save up for alllll the supplies that go with it and this part has worked out so well. For example, one Saturday he organized my closet, cleaned out the fridge and cleaned the front porch for $15. We were both ecstatic at the end of the day! 

The 7th Year

Ah, spring! Truth be told, I'll always be a fall loyalist but as soon as I see green shoots come up from the earth or hear a robin calling while we're eating dinner by the light of the sun, I start to warm to spring. Another added benefit of spring is celebrating my April baby! Spring babies remind me of the truth in the cycle of life, the basic wisdom within all of us that tells us it's wise to bring new life into the world after the frost when everything is softer.

I also enjoy that spring break falls shortly before my son's birthday because it gives a unique opportunity to be with him for a length of time and truly see him for who he is, where he is at this moment. The couple months leading up to his birthdays tend to be challenging. Just like the stems tentatively rising up, he is incredibly sensitive. Any shift in the wind can blow him over and it shows in how quickly his face can flush, how the tears seem so close and so ready to spill out at the first sign of any hurt, any slight - perceived or real. It's ALL real during this time and I've learned we just have to ride it out.

While some children delight in yanking out a tooth that's dangling by one last thread, my guy cries and howls about how scared he is, how bad it hurts, that he just wants it to be OUT. These last few weeks we've had several conversations about all the reasons why it's so wonderful and such a gift to be a very sensitive person. Of course it's awful to see something that should be "no big deal" or that you know still needs to occur another 20 or so times become a two day saga, and of course you try not to imagine the day the hurt will come from someone or something outside himself. When a friend turns away or a heart is broken you know you'll have the same conversation then about how bad it hurts, how scary it is and that you just want it to be over.

During these times I feel acutely aware that all children, and yes, all adults are highly sensitive beings. We all have within us something that strikes a nerve, quickens a pulse. Some of us may try to ignore or avoid those triggers but they are still there. I take comfort when I see my son working through this time at his own pace, in his own way. I see the evidence in the repetitive patterns in his drawings and paintings, the way his shoulders and jaw relax when he sinks into his knitting projects, the way he seems to go into a trance as he dribbles a soccer ball back and forth, back and forth across the field.

According to Rudolf Steiner, the seven year change is of major significance. And it doesn't stop there - the seven year cycle continues on. I'm sure there are other children going through this change who are being told expressing themselves during this time makes them "a baby" but as I think about the extensive changes we all go through every seven years, from the cellular level outwards, I think, "EXACTLY! You're 7! You are a baby!" During times of transition we should expect less, pressure less, laugh more, touch more and move more slowly. As parents our knee jerk response is to label this transition "difficult", demand our expectations be met, demand attention be paid to the task at hand. Yes, there is a time to focus inward, to follow instruction from others but this is not that time. I find lately that my son tunes me out and argues vehemently about simple daily tasks yet instantly tunes in when the conversation is framed in learning about something. Anything. This curiosity to soak in the new, to tune into the outside world is at the core of the seven year change and I'm reminded that in order to foster these changes in the most peaceful way possible we need to "feed what's hungry." If we truly see ourselves as beings rooted in nature, then during times of conflict or growth it only makes sense that we tune out the monotonous, the voices of others and stretch outward tentatively, carefully, soaking up the knowledge the world has to offer, just as the sprouts soak up the sun.

As a wise man once reminded us, "Take care of yourself, and each other."