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.
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.
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.
No comments:
Post a Comment