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Big flavor in a little cup.
February 25, 2010
Jackson’s Lunch:
I love dips, so consequently we typically have at least one on hand. Ideally, I’d like to try a new recipe every week, but that never happens. My go-to dip has always been hummus, but this week I was determined to give a new dip recipe a go.
I decided on Walnut-Feta Dip because I had a lot of both walnuts and feta cheese in the fridge. It was relatively quick to whip up, and the results are very tasty. The real test, though, was whether or not Jackson would like it.
Jackson generally likes dips, too. I believe his love for them, however, stems more from the potential mess factor of dipping something into a gooey mass rather than from the yum factor as it does for me. Either way, he took one taste and immediately gave me two thumbs up. “Mmm,” is what I believe he said; it was difficult to tell since his mouth was still full.
Both of his teachers commented today on how good it both looked and smelled, so I told them I’d share the recipe with them. I’ll share it here, too.
Walnut-Feta Dip*
1/2 cup walnuts
3/4 cup crumbled feta cheese
1/4 cup milk
1/2 tsp. dried oregano
1/4 tsp. black pepper
1 small clove of garlic, peeled
Toast the walnuts in a 375 degree oven for 7 to 10 minutes or until fragrant. Let cool slightly.
Combine all ingredients, including walnuts, in a food processor. Whiz until smooth. Scrape down sides and whiz again.
Super simple and really yummy on veggies or crackers. And since it isn’t at all runny, it works great in a packed lunch.
*Recipe adapted from Rachael Ray’s “Feta and Walnut Dip” on Foodnetwork.com.
The Roasted Red Pepper dip isn't authentic Romesco sauce, but it's still tasty. And I made a double batch of gumbo and froze it just for occasions like this one.
January 4, 2010
I’ve had lots of people ask me where I get ideas for Jackson’s lunch, and the truthful answer is anywhere I can. I’m always looking for new ideas or better ways of doing something I already do. I scour magazines for recipes whenever I can. I read cookbooks. I watch cooking TV shows. It certainly helps that I enjoy doing these things, but I also find activities like these important and essential to feeding my family. No one likes boredom, even when it comes to food, so I’m always on the look out for new ideas. Restaurant menus have been an invaluable source of ideas.
When we eat at a restaurant, Jackson is always given a children’s menu if one is available. I began to notice he usually enjoyed the coloring and games, but much of the time the children’s menu items didn’t appeal to him. He’d end up sharing my or my husband’s meal and leaving his meal either on the table or in our fridge after bringing it home in a doggie bag. Yes, it’s true that the children’s menu items in restaurants are normally cheaper, but it isn’t a savings at all if he isn’t eating them.
That was when I began “studying” restaurant menus. While Jackson colored the kids menu, I read the descriptions of regular meals searching for things that might appeal to him without breaking the bank. Appetizers and soup items are generally less expensive than “adult-size” entrees, so I started ordering things like chicken satay, Thai summer rolls, and Italian wedding soup for him. He loved many of the things he tried, so then my search for recipes for these things began.
Since time, or lack of, is an issue, I look for shortcuts or easier ways to prepare dishes without sacrificing taste or healthfulness. For chicken satay, I grill extra chicken at dinner and then quickly put together a simple peanut sauce in the morning to serve with it. For summer rolls, I wrap extra salad with either shrimp or chicken in wonton wrappers—things don’t have to be authentic or perfect to be tasty. And things like soup, I make big batches and freeze them in portions.
My thought is this: We are constantly told to be good role models for our children, but how many of us order mac and cheese when we go to a seafood restaurant? Who of you orders a grilled cheese sandwich at a nice Italian joint? I say let kids eat what we eat. Find out what their palates adore and, if you can, prepare those things at home with your own special twist (healthier, quicker, easier) either for lunch or dinner. No boredom there, and their lunchboxes (or dinner plates) will likely thank you for it, not to mention your kids themselves!
Roasted Red Pepper Dip
1/3 cup toasted almonds
1 garlic clove
1 8 oz jar roasted red peppers (packed in water), drained
1 tsp. vinegar (I like red wine or balsamic)
2 Tbsp. olive oil
Salt
In the bowl of a food processor, grind almonds until they resemble cornmeal (don’t grind for too long or you end up with almond butter).
With the motor running, drop in the garlic clove to finely mince.
Add the peppers and vinegar and pulse to chop and combine.
Again, with the motor running, drizzle in the olive oil. Taste for seasoning and add salt a little at a time. This is a great dip for veggies, but it’s also yummy on chicken, fish or pizza.
Jackson and the lunch he helped prepare.
December 22, 2009
Most mornings, Jackson wakes up about an hour before we have to head out the door for school. That gives him just enough time to wake up with a cup of milk, have breakfast, get dressed and washed up, and play for a few minutes before we’re off.
This morning, for what ever reason, he woke up about 20 minutes earlier than usual just as I was about to start packing his lunch. This gave him the opportunity to have a say in what went into his lunch, and he loved helping out. Plus, it made the job easier on me. This is how I did it.
First, I asked if he wanted to help get his lunch together, and he enthusiastically answered, “Yes!” I told him he needed a protein, a grain, and some veggies and/or fruit. For the protein, I gave him some available options: egg, turkey, or cheese. He chose an egg, and I decided to scramble it with some veg.
For a grain, I asked if he would rather have bread, crackers, or pretzels. He chose bread, so I asked him if he wanted anything on it. He said peanut butter and fruit spread, but since peanuts aren’t allowed at his school, I suggested cream cheese or almond butter. He chose cream cheese. (After the sandwich triangles were made, he wanted to try one. He ended up eating two of them while we were packing.)
Next were veggies. He opened the fridge and got out the celery and broccoflower completely on his own (he ate broccoflower while we packed, too–hooray!). I asked if he wanted hummus for dipping the veg, and he said yes.
When I asked what fruit he wanted to bring, he said, “None.” Since he had so many veggies packed already and a little fruit spread on his sandwich (made with all fruit and no added sugar), I didn’t have a problem with a fruitless lunch.
We set the lunch up for the photo, and Jackson said, “Oh, I can’t wait to eat lunch today!” That’s what I want to hear–excitement about eating a healthy lunch. When I picked him up from school and asked how lunch was, he said, “Very yummy and I ate everything!” And he had.
I definitely believe when kids are involved in food prep they’re more likely to eat. Maybe next time we have beets for dinner, I’ll get Jackson to help in fixing them. Maybe then he’ll eat them instead of clamping his lips together, wrinkling his nose and shaking his head “no” when I ask him to give them a try. Somehow, I don’t think it’ll work out quite the same way with beets.
Here’s my hummus recipe:
1 small garlic clove
1 can low-sodium garbanzo beans, drained and rinsed
1/4 cup tahini (sesame paste)
juice of half a lemon
1/2 tsp. salt
1/4 tsp. Tabasco sauce
water
With the motor running, drop garlic clove into the bowl of a food processor to finely chop. Stop the motor, remove the lid and add beans, tahini, lemon juice, salt, and Tabasco. Replace the lid and turn the motor back on. While the ingredients whir around, slowly add some water a tablespoon at a time until the hummus reaches a creamy consistency (I use about 3 Tbsp. of water, but it’s really personal preference depending on how thick or thin you like your hummus). Taste for seasoning.
I use hummus as a dip for veg, crackers, or pita chips. It’s also great on sandwiches or added to a vinaigrette to give it body and creaminess. Yum! Jackson (and most everyone else I know) loves it.
I like to make sandwiches with things other than traditional slices of bread for something a little different.
December 9, 2009
I try to plan ahead as much as possible, but when it comes to lunch I’m more of a “shoot-from-the-hip” kinda girl. I plan our dinner menus every week and shop accordingly, but I can never seem to do the same for lunch.
Part of the challenge is the way we prepare and eat these two meals. With dinner, we all eat the same thing as a family at dinner time. But with lunch, I take care of Jackson’s in the morning, mine in the afternoon, and Adam puts his own together. We’re all over the map when it comes to lunch.
One strategy that has helped me get a little more organized, though, is making extra dinner so that we have leftovers. Then, when it’s time to throw together Jackson’s lunch, I have some options at hand. I can either give him what we had the night before for dinner (or some portion of it), reinvent the leftovers, or find something else to give him.
With today’s lunch, I used leftover thyme biscuits from last night’s dinner. I had extras because I made sure to make more than we needed and set them aside. Then, this morning all I had to do was slice and top it. It’s no more difficult than making a regular sandwich, but it’s a nice alternative to regular bread. Plus, I knew Jackson would like the biscuit since he ate it last night and said, “Ooo, so yummy!”
I adapted a traditional drop biscuit recipe to make the biscuits a little healthier. Here’s the recipe:
Herb Biscuits 1 cup all-purpose flour 1 cup whole-wheat pastry flour 1 Tbsp. baking powder ½ tsp. baking soda ½ tsp. salt 1 Tbsp. minced herbs (thyme, sage, rosemary, or dill—whichever you like) 4 Tbsp. olive oil ½ cup nonfat plain yogurt ½ cup nonfat milk
Sift all dry ingredients together in a large mixing bowl. Mix in herbs. Stir in olive oil until the flour mixture looks sandy in texture.
In a small bowl or measuring pitcher, mix together the yogurt and milk. Add to the flour mixture and mix just until all dry ingredients are wet. Add a tiny bit more milk if the mix is too dry.
Spoon onto a parchment lined baking sheet in 8 equal piles. The biscuits rise as they bake, so make sure there’s space between them. Bake at 425 for 15 to 20 minutes. Cool on a wire rack.
