Lunchbox Tuesdays: Peanut Butter and Jelly 'sushi rolls'

Happy Tuesday everyone!

The holiday season is here, and for me, that means lots of baking and decorating and singing and fun movies.  It also means that the girls are going to have a lot more sweets in their lunchboxes, which obviously will make them very happy. But not today. Because last night, my husband worked until midnight, and he was VERY  hungry when he got home. And while looking in the refrigerator for the dinner plate I saved and wrapped for him, just like I always do, he happened upon my cookies. And he ate them. Well, about 3/4 of them. I could tell you what words were exchanged this morning when I realized what happened, but I try to keep things family friendly around here, so I'll just leave it at that. But seriously?! I had 2 cookies and was worried about how I was going to burn off the extra calories. He ate 2 batches without a second thought. So unfair. :P

But onto The Princess's lunchbox, cookie free:

• Peanut butter and jelly 'sushi rolls'. I found this idea on one of my favorite blogs, bentolunch.net. All I did was flatten the bread with a rolling pin, spread peanut butter thinly over the bread, and layer jelly over the peanut butter. Then I cut the bread into slices and rolled it up. Voila! 'sushi rolls'. :) (This takes care of the grain and protein.)
• Orange slices. (fruit, check!)
• Baby carrots. (veggie, check!)
• Yogurt. (dairy, check!)
• Water bottle.

And this week's tip for making lunches more fun, and healthier, for your child: change the packaging of the food. Seriously, the same food your child refused to eat yesterday may become today's favorite meal if you just change the way it looks, like my peanut butter and jelly sushi rolls. Or a ham and cheese sandwich could easily become ham and cheese roll ups with some crackers on the side. Fruits and veggies cut up into cutesy little shapes make lunches more fun, and your children may even forget that they are eating veggies. (Or not, lol. But its worth a shot!)

I hope you enjoyed this Tuesday's lunchbox. We are always looking for lunchbox inspiration; if you made your child a fun lunch that you would like to share with us, email a picture and brief description of the meal to differentkindsofcurls@gmail.com. As always, comments are not just welcomed, but greatly appreciated!

Lunchbox Tuesdays

Happy Tuesday!

Yesterday, The Princess got her 1st report card of this school year, and excuse me if I brag, but I am one proud momma! 3 A's and 2 B's. Normally, I would not be so excited over B's, but The Princess has a learning delay, so this is this is an incredible report card for her, and I am absolutely over the moon. She works so hard just to understand what comes easily to most everyone else, and her perseverance and hard work inspire me to always try harder and reach further.

For today's lunch, I made The Princess an "I Love You" Bento.

This lunch contains:

• Heart-shaped ham sandwich on whole wheat bread, with heart shaped cheese on top. :)(Protein, grain, check! Check!)
• Raspberries with mini chocolate chips stuffed inside. (Fruit, check!)
• Tomaters. I was trying to keep the red theme going, and the only red veggie I had was red bell peppers, and The Princess won't eat raw pepper. So today there are 2  fruits, and no veggie.
• Cupcake (Because what's a celebration without cupcakes?)
• Strawberry yogurt. (Dairy, Check!)
• Bottle of Water.

And of course there was a 'mommy' note hidden inside. The Princess loved her lunch today, she showed the note to all of her friends.

And for this week's tip on how to make lunch healthier and more enjoyable:

Use colors. Do themes, 'colors of the day', rainbows, (oohh! I just gave myself another cool idea for a lunch!) whatever you can think of to add color to your child's lunchbox. Why?! Because kids love bright colors, and veggies are colorful! Maybe your child will eat that cauliflower if EVERYTHING else in his lunchbox is white that day, and it is more of a game. Try it, I dare you!

I hope you all enjoyed looking at The Princess's lunchbox today. Remember, we are always looking for more inspiration for cool lunches, so if you made your child a super cool lunch that you would like to share with us, send me an email with pictures and a description to differentkindsofcurls@gmail.com

Lunchbox Tuesdays

Happy Tuesday! I hope your Mondays were happy, healthy and fruitful. :)

We were at the grocery store last night, and The Princess really wanted an Oscar Meyer Lunchable. I mean, really, really wanted one. Of course, I do not make a habit out of buying those things. They are way over processed, contain too many fillers and too many ingredients I cant read/pronounce....just all around grossness. I'm not saying I NEVER buy them. There have been a handful of times we were running super late and needed something fast and they were there and I bought them. I feel like I just confessed, lol.

But the Princess's Asperger's does not allow her to understand why something is ok once, but not all the time. "But you let us eat it last time. If it wasn't good for us, you would not let us eat it." Any deviation from a rule throws The Princess into break down mode. Actually, Asperger's has become like the voice of reasoning and common sense in my house. If it's not good for you, why eat it at all? When is it ok to eat something that is full of grossness? But I digress.

So I decided to make the Princess a lunchable, mommy style:

• Ritz Crackers, 7 of them. (grain, check!)
• 8 pieces of ham, nitrite/nitrate free of course. (protein, check!)
• 8 squares of cheese. (This does not really cover the dairy requirement, so I also gave The Princess 50 cents to buy milk at school.)
• A clementine. Lunch is only 20 minutes long, so I peel them ahead of time so she doesn't spend half of her lunch trying to do it herself. (Fruit, check!)
• Broccoli. (Veggies, check!)
• Ranch Dressing for dipping sauce.
• Bottle of water.

And for today's tip on how to make lunch healthier and more enjoyable for your child: Let them Dip. Seriously, children that tend to be picky eaters may be willing to try something new, or retry something they don't like (Like broccoli) if they have a yummy dipping sauce to go with it. Veggies do not lose their nutritional value if they are dipped in a sauce or dressing. And the few extra calories may be a fair trade off if your child id willingly eating a veggie or piece of meat that they normally would have snubbed their nose at. Try it: Let them dip. :)

I hope you all enjoyed this peek into The Princess's lunchbox. If you would like to share what is in your child's lunchbox, submit a picture and description to the email address in the 'Contact Us' page above. And as always, comments are oh-so appreciated. :)

Lunchbox Tuesdays

Happy Tuesday!! :)
For this week's Tuesday's Lunchbox, I tried my hand at another Bento. Actually, The Princess really loves Bento lunches, so I have made them  for 5 of the past 6 school lunches. Here it is! :) (I apologize for the poor lighting.)

This bento contains:

• Pita made with leftover ham from Saturday's dinner, cheese, tomatoes, and Arnold's "Italian Herb" pocket thins flatbread. (Grain, dairy, veggie, protein. Check, Check, Check, Check. Yes, I just called tomato a veggie. Just for right now, we will pretend that it is.)
• Sliced apples (Fruit. Check.)
• Homemade brownie cupcake. I like to bake brownies in cupcake pans, the kids like the way they look, and it makes serving easier, and fun. :)
• Bottle of water

Now for the lunchbox tip of the week. Last week, our top was to exchange juice and other sugary drinks for water. This week, I want to call attention to prepackaged and deli lunch meats. A lot of the time, these meats contain nitrates and sodium nitrites; potentially harmful chemicals that have been proven to increase the risk of colon and pancreatic cancers, and may even cause an increase in migraine headaches. Learn more about that here on Livestrong.com. You should be especially aware of these risks if you have a family history of these conditions, or are predisposed to them otherwise. Look for packaging that says "Nitrate and Nitrite free." Two brands that claim not to use these harmful chemicals are 'Applegate Farms' and 'Hormel Natural Choice.'

Another option, and my favorite, is to make Sunday's dinner using a meat that is sandwich worthy, and make it large enough so there are leftovers for lunches the for the following week. Leftover Turkey, chicken, and ham that has not been treated with Nitrates or Nitrites all make for great lunch meats. Plus, you will save time and money by having prepared the meat ahead of time and using leftovers. Sounds like a win, win, win to me. :)

I hope you all enjoyed this week's Lunchbox Tuesday. If you would like to share what your child is eating for lunch, send me an email with a picture and description of your lunch, I am always looking for inspiration.

Lunchbox Tuesdays

Hello there. :)
If you have been keeping track, you probably noticed that we missed Lunchbox Tuesdays last week. Reason being, the crazyrediculousnasty snowstorm knocked out power to 85% of the state....so no power=no school=no lunchbox Tuesday. But we are back on the grid now (hooray!!) and back to business as usual.

So for this week's Lunchbox Tuesday, I wanted to try something different. A Facebook friend introduced me to a new concept (new to me, at least) for school lunches. I was hesitant at first, when I googled "Bento lunch" I got pictures and descriptions of these Asian dishes that I knew my kids would not even CONSIDER eating. Then she referred me to one of her favorite websites...http://www.bentolunch.net/, and I was hooked!  So here is my first attempt at a Bento-style lunch. :)

This lunch contains:

• A taco corn muffin. This is my semi-homemade version of this. I used Jiffy corn muffin mix, prepared the batter as directed. I made taco meat as I normally would, except I used hot Italian sausage instead of hamburger meat. (My family LOVES hot, spicy food. ) I mixed the taco meat in with the corn muffin mix, added some shredded cheese, and cooked as directed on the Jiffy box. This covered the grain and protein portion of a healthy lunch. :)
• Sliced apples and organic baby carrots. Ideally, half of your child's lunch should consist of fruits and vegetables.
• Goldfish crackers. The Princess has snack time at school, and she ate them then.
• Yogurt. With bento-lunches, all of the food ideally would be in the same container, but The Princess loves her Yoplait, and that is a luxury I don't mind allowing her. (dairy:check!)
• Not shown:bottle of water.

I love the idea of Bento-lunches, its a fun way to stray away from the ordinary brown bag lunch, and it gives us a reason to play with our food. :) I would encourage you all to check out this website if you are looking for ways to make lunchtime a little different for your little ones.

We all know that a healthy diet is essential to healthy hair. A diet that is lacking in essential vitamins and minerals can lead to dry, brittle hair; it can slow the growth of hair, and cause flaking of the skin and scalp. Every week I am going to give one simple way to make your lunchboxes healthier.

This week's tip: Substitute sugary drinks, and juices, with plain ol' water. Even 100% juices contain a lot of sugar, and a lot less nutrients than you would get from just eating the fruit itself. In an apple, for example, the healthiest part is the peel, which is not included in the juice. Find out more about that on Livestrong.com. Substituting water for other drinks will lower calories, provide better hydration, and encourage better eating habits down the line. Try it, I double dare you! :)

So I have shared with you a banana hotdog, and now a taco corn muffin. If you have a cool lunch that you would like to share, send me an email at differentkindsofcurls@gmail.com.

Lunchbox Tuesdays

Good Morning! (or afternoon, or evening...depending on when you read this.)

In my home, we are big on nutrition. I try to make sure my family is eating a healthy, balanced diet full of vitamins and nutrients, and low in sugar, salt, fat and artificials. We go with homemade as often as possible, and always try to buy in season fruits and veggies from local orchards and farms that are pesticide free. So once in awhile I will be posting recipes for natural products/food that we enjoy in my home; hopefully you will find them helpful in yours as well.

Today, I wanted to spotlight the lunchbox. I know for some parents, it is a struggle to fill a lunchbox with food that is nutritious and something your kids will eat. :) More and more, schools are putting restrictions on foods that can be brought into the building. (My girls' old school did not allow peanut products at all. There were children with airborne allergies that would go into anaphylactic shock  if they even SMELLED peanuts.)

A well balanced lunch should have a grain, (preferably whole wheat or whole grain), fruit and/or vegetable, dairy or dairy substitute, protein, and as little sugar as possible. If you are aware of how much sugar is in food nowadays, you know that last part is not so easy. (Did you know that a serving size of Welch's Grape Jelly has more sugar in it than a serving size of Coco Puffs Brownie Crunch Cereal? Betcha didn't. Those of you that  make your own jelly probably aren't surprised though.)

I thought I would start a new portion of my blog, called "Tuesday's Lunchbox" where I will  share with you all what is in my kids' lunchbox for the day. Maybe I will be able to give you ideas on how to spice up the ordinary brown bag lunch a bit. I also hope you will share with us what your kids are eating, I for one am always looking for more ideas. :)


The Princess's lunch today:

• A banana dog, her favorite! (a hot dog bun with  peanut butter and low-sugar jelly and a banana. Looks like a hot dog, but fills the requirement for grain, protein, and fruit.) Yesterday The Princess got an A+  on a test, so I am surprising her with some chocolate chips on her  banana dog, 'glued' on with a little more peanut butter. (So much for low sugar, lol)
• A fat free yogurt. We do not use the kids' yogurt because most of them are too full of sugar, and  some misrepresent themselves and are not actually yogurt  at all.....you have to read the labels.)
• Baby carrots
• Bottle of water.

Filling, nutritious, and yummy!

I hope you enjoyed this post. Feedback is oh so appreciated.

What is in your child's lunchbox today?