I Didn't Think It Would Still Be Good

It's more than just the heat that's making me cranky these days. I swear if you didn't know better you'd think I'm constantly trying to poison these kids. I mean I know I'm cheap, and I do hate waste. But still. I've never given them bad food. When I doubt I really do throw it out! But still. Every single freakin' thing they take out of the fridge; "Mom? Is this still good?". God forbid anything should get close to its "sell by" date. I've drank more milk in the past 2 weeks than in the 24 before that - PROVING that the milk isn't bad. And I don't. like. milk.

"Honey do you really think that I would EVER give you something that wasn't good for you? Something that would make you sick? Seriously? It smells fine. If something LOOKS okay and you smell it and it smells okay and then you taste it and tastes okay then it's most likely good to eat."

"Uhm...no but Mom, it's just that the expiration date says April 1st and it's already March 25th and I'm not sure blahblahblahblahblahblahblah"

"GIVE ME THE DAMN MILK!"

gulp

"Do I look like I'm dying? No? Then drink it!"

And now today.

"How was lunch?"

"I didn't eat it. I'm sorry Mom."

"Why not?"

"Well I didn't think it would still be good."

One of these days they'll push me too far and I'll serve up a big stale tortilla burrito for dinner with out of date cheese AND sour cream and and maybe some rotten fruit for dessert. Just. Cause. I. Can.



1. burger
2. berries
3. container of sugar
4. baby banana
5. pig full o' beans

My lunch was the same. I had a hamburger. It was left-over from last night. I mixed in sliced green onion and blue cheese crumbles and then grilled them. It was absolutely delicious. And I didn't die.

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Summer Days

It's sure getting hot. Yeah, I'm bitchin' about the heat already. Betcha can't wait for August.



Identical light summer lunches for the Boy and Boo, mine was much the same, so I didn't bother with a picture.

1. honeyed yogurt in the container
2. baby banana
3. monster strawberry
4. black grapes
5. biscuit

I learned from experience that if a kid can't open a banana, a kid won't eat it - and those little Manzana bananas can be really tough to get into! An easy fix is to snip half-way through the stem with scissors, not enough to expose the fruit, but just enough to get the tear started. Works like a charm - or you could something like this.

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Just Another Packed Lunch

1. sliced ham rolled with cream cheese in the middle
2. tiny pickles
3. little toasts
4. peach rings
5. carrots and hummus for the boy
6. grapes
7. pistachios

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Back to the Grindstone

So long Spring Holiday, it's as though we never really knew ya.



1. ham slices rolled up with cream cheese inside
2. wedges of Edam
3. snow peas and baby carrots
4. dried pineapple
5. Nutella sandwiched between coconut bar cookies




1. cubes of leftover ribeye
2. wedges of Edam
3. snow peas and baby carrots
4. potato chips
5. Nutella sandwiched between coconut bar cookies

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Mini Meatloaf Lumps o' Love

Life's been a little crazy around here. The cure? Little lumps of barbecue glazed meatloaf. Tastes like love. Or at least like really good meatloaf. I made some extra for the freezer. Any bets on the date I'll find them and throw them away? No? Oh well. At least I got a chance to use the new food processor for like the 4th time since I got it at least 2 months ago. It can make bread crumbs out of bread slices in no time flat. A real workhorse that thing is turning out to be. Good investment. Yep.







1. little meatloaf or loaves depending on the eater
2. strawberries
3. roasted corn
4. orange slices for me
5. sugar for berry dipping for them
6. carrots for them cause good mommies give their kids vegetables
7. mini fudge grahams for them cause good mommies compensate for giving their kids vegetables that they don't particularly like by giving them cookies even if they also gave them pure sugar

Hey, it's just a little sugar. Like less than a teaspoon. They drink water! And milk. Organic even. Back off nutrition police! It's a healthy lunch. Really. The fact that I'm entering the first lunch in Margot's Wholesome Lunchbox monthly blogging event and not the other two means nothing. Nothing at all.

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When the Whole is Less than the Sum of the Parts

1. onigiri stuffed with krab, cream cheese and green onion
2. strawberries
3. container of sugar
4. pistachios
5. fudge filled marshmallow



1. 3 onigiri stuffed with krab, cream cheese and green onion wrapped with nori belts
2. strawberries
3. container of soy
4. container of sugar
5. dried pineapple
6. chili lime peanuts



1. 2 onigiri stuffed with krab, cream cheese and green onion
2. strawberry
3. vanilla yogurt with dried papaya
4. granola
5. tangerine
6. pistachios

Those kids didn't like onigiri stuffed with krab, cream cheese and green onion. Though they do claim to like rice, krab, cream cheese and green onions. Freaks.

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Peanut Butter Sanwiches. Again.

1. peanut butter sanwiches
2. grapes
3. pretzels
4. pistachios
5. watermelon





1. peanut butter sanwiches
2. grapes
3. pretzels
4. pistachios
5. watermelon
6. orange slices
7. cookies

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Bento Lunches for a Boy and a Boo

I made a couple of fast and easy bento lunches for Boy and Boo - and then I went back to bed :)



1. chunks of sausages and cheese
2. crostini
3. banana muffin
4. grapes
5. orange slices



1. chunks of sausages and cheese
2. banana chips
3. banana muffin
4. grapes
5. orange slices
6. rice balls

Aren't those oranges gorgeous? I actually bought them only because they were smaller than the MONSTER sized navels on display - it wasn't until I cut into one that I noticed the little ID sticker and realized we had gourmet citrus on our hands! Oh, just 69 cents a pound too. Don't hate me.

In honor of our "found treasure" I made a salad based on a recipe from Pinch my Salt made of these oranges with jicama and cilantro dressed with a vingrette made from their juice and served it with grilled tuna for dinner last night. It was fantastic! I did have to add a bit of vinegar to the dressing though, probably because of the low acidity of these oranges.

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Double Dog Dare You to Say Something About my Hello Kitty Bento

Another day, another lunch, another really bad photo. Boy assured me it tasted better than it looked. He also mentioned that he was in a really pissy mood so no one dared comment on his Hello Kitty Bento. Hey, at least it was blue. I guess I really should put some effort into finding some more boy-appropriate containers for him.

1. cocktail sausages wrapped in strips of whole wheat bread with mustard
2. cookies
3. cheese
4. banana chips
5. honey roasted almonds

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Apples and Onigiri

1. onigiri
2. apple
3. peanut butter
4. soy pig
5. fudge marshmallow
6. heart shaped donut bites

A regular lunch for a boy. The lid of the box presses against the top of the blue pick to hold the donut bites in place. The apple was cut with a slicer/corer, rubbed with a little lime juice and reassembled in the silicon cup.

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Valentine's Day of Doom

Okay - it wasn't that bad, we did get brownies with pink frosting. But I seem to have lost the ability to take a decent photograph, and that's makin' me pretty freakin' cranky.

If you squint you can kinda see what we had for lunch.



1. baked potato (salted and peppered)
2. heart-shaped containers of butter and sour cream
3. little tomatoes
4. brownie



1. shrimp
2. cocktail sauce
3. chili lime toasted corn
4. cheese
5. brownie



1. shrimp
2. cocktail sauce
3. chili lime toasted corn
4. steak bits on picks
5. brownie

The picks are strategically placed to keep the brownie from getting stuck to the lid and also to keep the steak out of the frosting. I normally don't get too concerned about "food safety" with our lunches but with these I took the added precaution of adding a layer of frozen reusable ice cubes on top of the shrimp right before they head out the door.

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Any Day is a Good Day

for sushi!

Pretty much identical lunches for me, Boy and Boo. The main attraction was a krab/avacado/mayo maki roll. I varied the size to fit our varying appetites.



Boo's had:
1. sushi roll
2. sliced tangerine
3. tiny pudding
4. little peanut heart things that I can't remember the name of





Mine has:
1. sushi roll
2. tangerine
3. little containers of soy and wasabi
4. apple jelly
5. grape tomatoes




Boy got:
1. sushi roll
2. containers of soy and wasabi
3. sliced tangerine
4. strawberry and grape jellies

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Sandwiches and Eggs: Deviled. Not Molded.

Basically the same for all of us today. The sandwiches were delicious, but probably a little too big. Boo wished that hers had more ham.

1. croissant sandwiches with cream cheese, roasted red peppers and alfalfa sprouts, Boy's with peppered ham, Boo's with cream cheese and ham only
2. deviled egg with tomatoes for me
3. golden kiwi for Boy and Boo
4. apple rubbed with lime for me

I attempted the infamous egg molds. It didn't go so well. Apparently one should use "extra large" eggs and that isn't the same as "jumbo" eggs. Jumbo eggs are way too big and squish out the edges of the molds. I also noticed that the yolks were forced all the way to one side, which is not conducive to deviled egg making. Luckily, I had boiled extras.

Quick and Dirty Deviled Eggs

4 hard boiled eggs
1 T mayo
1 t mustard
1 shake hot sauce
salt and pepper

Slice the eggs in half lengthwise and put the yolks in a bowl. Mash with a fork until smooth. Add in the mayonnaise and mustard and a good shake of hot sauce. We like Louisiana brand for stuff like this. Stir in a pinch of salt and a good grind of pepper. Stuff the stuffing back in the eggs and eat.

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TGFPS (Thank God for Pasta Salad)

When Boy came home today, "I really enjoyed the pasta salad." Guess you had to be there.

1. dinosaur shaped chicken nuggets
2. lone tomato
3. crostini with goat cheese
4. pasta salad
5. grapes a on a pick
6. strawberry
7. container of ranch
8. tiny pear

Pasta Salad

Pasta salad is a great way to use leftover pasta. We're all mayonaisse freaks so I don't even fancy up the dressing - just drained and cooled leftover pasta with some chopped vegetables (carrot and celery this time) enough mayonaisse to make it shiny and salt and pepper to taste.

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Philafornia Onigiri

Boy can't enough of that krab/cream cheese combo.

1. onigiri stuffed with krab/cream cheese/scallions
2. containers of soy, wasabi and pickled ginger
3. mini egg rolls (Costco)
4. container of sweet chili sauce
5. chocolate rum cake with strawberry

Boy had a yogurt smoothie too, but forgot it in the fridge. So I drank it. Bad Boy.

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Spicy Calidelphia Roll

1. maki roll by request with krab, avacodo, yellow carrot, cream cheese and spicy mayo
2. containers of soy and wasabi
3. tangerine sections with a strawberry
4. mango jelly x 2
5. little box of Sour Nerds

I realized after the lid went on that this wasn't packed tightly enough so I added...

6. white grapes

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Elvis-san

1. peanut butter and banana sandwich
2. sesame seed sushi, one with kombucha
3. bottle of soy
4. coconut bar cookies
5. fruit jelly
6. baby pear
7. bottle of soy sauce
8. Hello Kitty Chocolate Marsmallow

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I'd Rather Have More Food

1. birthday bun
2. tiny onigiris
3. carrot chips
4. hummus
5. strawberry jelly
6. 2 Mango Hichew's
7. soy
8. Hello Panda cookies
9. stacked turkey ham and cheese sandwiches

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For Boys with Braces

1. furakake'd onigiri with and nori wrap
2. tiny pastry
3. cocktail sauce
4. shrimp
5. krab and pea salad
6. crackers
7. mango, papaya and pineapple bits
8. candy

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This is the Story of the Three Little Pigs

1. three pig onigiri with smoked sausage filling
2. crab and edamame shuimai
3. mini smoked sausages
4. dulce de leche poundcake bites with candy heart
5. 2 jellys
6. chocolate sauce
7. soy pig

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