tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-87043875347003068872009-06-26T19:10:59.510-07:00delicious (mostly healthy) merry meal making ideas, feeding a tree nut allergic kindergartner, lessons learned and what's for lunch in an american-style bento box!Annelieshttp://www.blogger.com/profile/05691553115521076372annelies@lunchnugget.comBlogger39125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8704387534700306887.post-86340227602835975482008-09-05T05:43:00.000-07:002008-09-05T13:46:59.095-07:00

(clockwise from upperleft) Blue corn tortilla strips. Pinto beans tossed with black beans and two orange bell pepper stars. Steamed broccoli with Sysco ranch for dipping. Chicken and cheese quesadillas with more bell pepper stars. Blue corn chips: When I bought these chips at TJ's, I didn't notice they were unsalted, but believe it or not they still taste good (I'm eating a few right now!). I

Annelieshttp://www.blogger.com/profile/05691553115521076372annelies@lunchnugget.com14tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8704387534700306887.post-66719283276827517452008-09-04T20:49:00.000-07:002008-09-05T10:37:02.380-07:00

(clockwise from upperleft) Jarred halved peaches, cut into chunks. Cubed beets with American Flag picks. Sliced Gala apples. Jelly beans. TJ's spinach flour tortillas wrapped up with ham and muenster.Peaches: Trader Joe's has different types of jars of fruit (peaches, pears, mangos), and they are delicious and easy, plus you can pour out the liquid in a cup, add some water, and drink it as juice.

Annelieshttp://www.blogger.com/profile/05691553115521076372annelies@lunchnugget.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8704387534700306887.post-22278918068621139442008-09-02T19:50:00.000-07:002008-09-02T20:32:56.215-07:00

(clockwise from upperleft) Trader Joe's calcium enriched applesauce. Chocolate chip cookie, devilishly dipped in yet more chocolate. Fresh green beans with TJ's Roasted Sunflower Seed Butter for dipping. Caprese kabobs.Details: The green beans were Wegman's pre-cleaned, pre-packaged ones, and looked gorgeous - more so than the open bins of fresh beans I normally find in grocery stores. I simply

Annelieshttp://www.blogger.com/profile/05691553115521076372annelies@lunchnugget.com10tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8704387534700306887.post-17156164744798298042008-09-02T18:47:00.000-07:002008-09-02T20:27:40.995-07:00

My friend Tricia Wilson makes these really cute sandwiches for her children, and my own kids have since come to know them as "Mrs. Wilson Sandwiches." Just looking at these sandwiches makes me feel like a kid again! They are made with the help of a Pampered Chef product called a Cut-N-Seal, which seals the outer edges and eliminates the crust (think Sm*ckers Untouchables - so called by me because

Annelieshttp://www.blogger.com/profile/05691553115521076372annelies@lunchnugget.com3tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8704387534700306887.post-57901917189408070292008-08-29T08:03:00.001-07:002008-08-29T09:37:22.352-07:00

(clockwise from upperleft) White nectarines, peeled and sliced. Three shortbread cookies with apricot and raspberry filling. Raisins. A fork for the nectarines, and spoon for the corn. Canned corn. Grape tomatoes. Cinnamon-raisin mini-bagel, sliced and spread with Neufchâtel. Special surprise: a plastic snake (not pictured) that I nestled in with the tomatoes. Drink: 60/40 water/applejuice.A

Annelieshttp://www.blogger.com/profile/05691553115521076372annelies@lunchnugget.com3tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8704387534700306887.post-55857394720017759012008-08-28T11:47:00.000-07:002008-08-28T12:00:38.250-07:00

(clockwise from upperleft) Yellow bell pepper. Fresh ripe tomatoes from our neighbor's garden, mixed with carrot bits and a tiny sprinkling of fresh ground black pepper and sea salt. A hard-boiled, pre-peeled (can you believe they are sold that way? hello, time saver!) egg from Trader Joe's (TJ's), Neufchâtel, shortbread cookies - one with apricot filling, one with raspberry filling, a

Annelieshttp://www.blogger.com/profile/05691553115521076372annelies@lunchnugget.com7tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8704387534700306887.post-74271662401317020012008-08-28T10:48:00.000-07:002008-08-28T12:01:51.232-07:00

(clockwise from upperleft) Yellow watermelon, which I didn't even know existed until we tried it at Trader Joe's (TJ's) and Irena (the best-est demo lady ever!) explained it's been around for years. TJ's honeyed sesame sticks, TJ's triple ginger cookies. A spiderman fork, which is sitting on top of four little bite-sized pieces of mint flavored Zone Perfect bar. I added the almost half Zone

Annelieshttp://www.blogger.com/profile/05691553115521076372annelies@lunchnugget.com8tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8704387534700306887.post-285979968935101892008-05-19T10:15:00.001-07:002008-05-19T13:48:29.936-07:00

(clockwise from upperleft) navel orange segments, pink lady apple slices that I forgot to prevent from browning, orange and black M&Ms*, spiderman napkin, baby carrots**, more cucumber chain link rings since they were such a hit last week (and this time I used an Oxo serrated peeler, which I highly recommend because it peeled the cucumber like a hot knife through cold butter), ham that I stacked

Annelieshttp://www.blogger.com/profile/05691553115521076372annelies@lunchnugget.com13tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8704387534700306887.post-56717848981858309852008-05-16T09:55:00.000-07:002008-05-16T10:21:01.623-07:00

(clockwise from upperleft) steamed corn, surrounded by grape tomatoes and red/orange bell pepper. Mini-toasts spread with Trader Joe's sunflower seed butter and Trader Joe's pumpkin butter. (And I remembered to tell the after-school teacher that it is not peanut butter!) The hard mini-toasts become, en route, pleasingly soft when left to sit in the lunchbox with other food as pictured. Homemade

Annelieshttp://www.blogger.com/profile/05691553115521076372annelies@lunchnugget.com4tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8704387534700306887.post-86244515360226719752008-05-16T09:19:00.000-07:002008-05-16T09:54:15.571-07:00

Yes, okay, I thought I was clever with the name for these little puppies. We were at the grocery store yesterday afternoon, and in addition to having fresh corn (which I remember two years ago was selling for 8/$1, but is now 4/$1), there was quite a selection of fresh fish. Nugget has been asking me for weeks to buy a whole fish, head and tail and all. I always explained I had no idea what to

Annelieshttp://www.blogger.com/profile/05691553115521076372annelies@lunchnugget.com6tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8704387534700306887.post-13454202085008251752008-05-16T07:07:00.000-07:002008-05-17T14:40:01.820-07:00

Familiar with the 6Ps? Well, here it applies as Prior Planning Prevents a Piss Poor Lunch. I'll begin begging off that I haven't (aghast!) packed a lunch in a week. One day Nugget's friend came over for lunch, and the other two days the after school program was cancelled.On Wednesday, Nugget, Rooni and I went to the fantastic new National Air and Space Museum in Chantilly, VA. The building is

Annelieshttp://www.blogger.com/profile/05691553115521076372annelies@lunchnugget.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8704387534700306887.post-45559474802235656662008-05-07T10:05:00.000-07:002008-05-07T10:20:35.165-07:00

(clockwise from upperleft) all natural pasta tossed with extra-virgin olive oil and sea salt, low-sodium turkey breast cut into strips and rolled up into bite sized bundles, Trader Joe's organic black beans, red and orange and yellow bell pepper, and Enjoy Life allergen-free soft baked snickerdoodle cookies. Drink: water.

Annelieshttp://www.blogger.com/profile/05691553115521076372annelies@lunchnugget.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8704387534700306887.post-2657066944937858212008-05-07T09:39:00.000-07:002008-05-07T10:14:05.614-07:00

I was so excited to find these gorgeous Torino Italian artisinal pasta, in the shape of farfallines, at the grocery store. They are all natural, made from 100% durum wheat, and the beautiful color comes from red bell pepper and tomato for red, spinach for green, and curcuma (most likely turmeric, but that is just my guess) for yellow. When cooked, the reds turn a more orange hue. They are almost

Annelieshttp://www.blogger.com/profile/05691553115521076372annelies@lunchnugget.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8704387534700306887.post-63777638644934590522008-05-05T11:00:00.000-07:002008-05-05T19:44:59.371-07:00

(clockwise from upperleft) cubed watermelon, Trader Joe's organic dried banana chips (made with coconut oil and cane juice), TJ's chocolate covered sunflower seeds, strawberry, grapes, honeyed sesame sticks in a pinch bowl, Oscar Meyer turkey bacon (I have never tried turkey bacon before; the grocery store employee stocking the bacon recommended this one), and TJ's fresh mozzarella (cut with a

Annelieshttp://www.blogger.com/profile/05691553115521076372annelies@lunchnugget.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8704387534700306887.post-2281292963544799872008-05-05T10:28:00.000-07:002008-05-05T10:59:56.494-07:00

I found these cute little silicone pinch bowls at the grocery store. Being agreeably flexible, they can be used to further divide the large Laptop Lunch inner containers, as well as take up extra space if certain food items have a higher "smushage potential". Dishwasher safe and heat resistant to 500 degrees.

Annelieshttp://www.blogger.com/profile/05691553115521076372annelies@lunchnugget.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8704387534700306887.post-11872485271352791452008-05-02T09:40:00.001-07:002008-05-02T10:13:24.997-07:00

Last lunch's "ants on a log" had Nugget's teachers wondering if there was peanut butter in the celery. I need to remember to put a little note in there next time that it is sunflower seed butter, especially if I use it on a sandwich. They suspected it wasn't peanut butter, since it didn't look quite as thick as peanut butter usually does. My friend Pam, who is peanut allergic, has tried the

Annelieshttp://www.blogger.com/profile/05691553115521076372annelies@lunchnugget.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8704387534700306887.post-2064162441607346352008-04-30T06:36:00.001-07:002008-05-15T05:41:15.362-07:00

A thank you to Liz for reminding me of the ease of Ants on a Log!(clockwise from upperleft) Ants on a Log: celery sticks with Trader Joe's sunflower seed butter and raisins (I placed them on a layer of folded paper towel, so they wouldn't tumble around), four teaspoons TJ's chocolate covered sunflower seeds, strawberries, a spiderman napkin, red and yellow bell peppers, and TJ's mango chicken

Annelieshttp://www.blogger.com/profile/05691553115521076372annelies@lunchnugget.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8704387534700306887.post-86028837002337538832008-04-28T10:52:00.001-07:002008-05-15T05:42:12.652-07:00

Arrrrrrrr, matey! A little pirate patch, tucked in next to a jolly-roger napkin, accompanies today's goods. If I'd have been really thematic and on my toes, I'd have included Veggie Booty but it didn't occur to me until just now.(clockwise from upperleft) Trader Joe's pineapple salsa (a mild, sweet salsa), roasted lavender/rosemary sweet potatoes (leftover from dinner), four white-chocolate

Annelieshttp://www.blogger.com/profile/05691553115521076372annelies@lunchnugget.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8704387534700306887.post-88267623397152839062008-04-26T08:41:00.000-07:002008-05-15T05:43:22.090-07:00

The kids pulled out these trays for lunch today, so I thought we'd have some fun with it. I forgot I had the orange and black Wilton Food Writers until after I made the first tray. The food writers are meant to write or draw on cookies, cakes, breads and fruit. They are not meant so much for cheese, but it worked just enough, I suppose. Nugget finished the first tray, saw Rooni's cheese fairy

Annelieshttp://www.blogger.com/profile/05691553115521076372annelies@lunchnugget.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8704387534700306887.post-17386797678501024232008-04-25T09:32:00.001-07:002008-05-15T05:43:39.236-07:00

(clockwise from upperleft) As I have mentioned before, Nugget's preschool focuses on learning one letter of the alphabet each week. This week is letter "Z". Trader Joe's has organic alphabet pasta (a tri-color pasta using tomato powder and spinach powder to get the other two colors), so I thought it might be fun to incorporate the weekly letter into this lunch. A great activity to keep the kids

Annelieshttp://www.blogger.com/profile/05691553115521076372annelies@lunchnugget.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8704387534700306887.post-90843850391771764822008-04-25T09:10:00.000-07:002008-05-15T20:48:15.756-07:00

I found a great bread conducive to cookie cutting into shapes - Trader Joe's Whole Wheat Bread. It is soft enough to be palatable to kids, but dense enough to not lose all shape when subjected to a cookie cutter. And it is made with stone ground whole wheat and honey, followed by a list of natural (and pronounceable) ingredients. I had the tin of Ateco Graduated Daisy-shaped cutters handy, using

Annelieshttp://www.blogger.com/profile/05691553115521076372annelies@lunchnugget.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8704387534700306887.post-8348898107914664092008-04-24T12:13:00.001-07:002008-05-15T05:43:59.419-07:00

Nugget, Rooni and I packed up and met some friends in Patterson Park. We enjoyed not only the equal parts sunshine and shade, but the lovely breeze, great playgrounds and feeding the ducks as well. What a glorious afternoon!(clockwise from left) two navel oranges cut into segments, Trader Joe's mini-rice multiseed Omega-3 flax crackers, raw fresh green beans with TJ's sunflower seed butter for

Annelieshttp://www.blogger.com/profile/05691553115521076372annelies@lunchnugget.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8704387534700306887.post-48274935845149142352008-04-23T10:56:00.001-07:002008-05-15T05:44:19.879-07:00

(clockwise from upperleft) Trader Joe's Apple Wild Berry 100% natural fruit wrap which I spread with a layer of cream cheese, rolled up, and cut into spirals. The spirals do not hold together at all, so I had to pack them tight, but they taste fantastic. Kiwi cut lenthwise and placed in a way that is supposed to look like a tower crane (construction fruit impressionism, if you will - and I told

Annelieshttp://www.blogger.com/profile/05691553115521076372annelies@lunchnugget.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8704387534700306887.post-38682610828837022342008-04-23T10:19:00.000-07:002008-04-23T11:20:33.345-07:00

Another engaging idea I learned from the lunch making DVD is to offer fun napkins to use. You can make the napkin match the theme, if you are doing a lunch theme that day, or just have charming patterns and pictures that your child enjoys. Nugget happens to like fire engines, Spiderman, and other boyish things, so I found some cute ones at Jo-Ann Fabric. The one pictured (left) I am particularly

Annelieshttp://www.blogger.com/profile/05691553115521076372annelies@lunchnugget.com3tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8704387534700306887.post-77413762162424611332008-04-20T16:43:00.001-07:002008-04-20T18:10:03.427-07:00

I'm so excited to have these lunches actually prepared the night before! Nugget saw the toy dinosaur in my bin of kid lunch supplies and requested it be packed in again. (clockwise from upperleft) TJ's pear halves in white grape juice & ascorbic acid (aka Vit C), apple slices soaked in the same juice to prevent browning, sliced Stil bangers, yellow tomatoes, toy dinosaur & tomato "pizza" pie.

Annelieshttp://www.blogger.com/profile/05691553115521076372annelies@lunchnugget.com4