Smile sandwich

Lunch in our awesome Easy Lunchboxes today!

I have some homemade coleslaw, strawberry applesauce, and a toasted turkey sandwich. I used a toast stamp that I found at The Dollar Tree for the design on the toast. I also added a pickle for the minions who like those.

The minions have really been interested in toast recently. They request it for almost every meal and snack. So I figured I would incorporate it into lunch for them.

Meijer Gardens trip #1

If you would like to see our whole trip to Meijer Gardens, please click Here

My lunch. Homemade shrimp, garlic, and spinach onigiri, red peppers, melon, and pineapple.

The boys had 3 butterfly sandwiches, organic chocolate cereal, celery and red peppers with dip, a leftover meatball, cheese, kiwi, and pineapple.

The only difference in The Colonel's lunch is that the celery is cut very thin and the meatball is cut up.

I had 5 of these to pack. So I put them in the bottom of my backpack. I loved how the Easy Lunchboxes fit in the bottom.

All 5 loaded up with room for drinks still.

Pork and his lunch.

Clark asking his father for some oranges.

Pork eating again.



Me eating my onigiri and The Colonel having some celery.



Tyke and Oma at lunch.

Every time I make onigiri I think of this song. I was introduced to this anime by Karl.

National Cerebral Palsy Awareness Day

Today is National Cerebral Palsy Awareness Day! The CDC estimates that 1 in 303 in the United States have Cerebral Palsy.  Want to learn more? Click HERE

Yep, that's right! Most people know that the eldest minion is Autistic with Sensory Processing Disorder. We have another member of our household with a disability. The Elder has Cerebral Palsy. It effects both legs and his right hand is bent in towards the wrist. Also there are some fine motor skill problems in his left hand. One leg is longer than the other and he shuffles and has a limp when he walks. He has had several surgeries when he was younger that gave him greater mobility.


There are many simple things that most people take for granted. Lunch happens to be one of them. Until 6 months ago, The Elder took microwave lunches to work with him. Why? Because the box was easy for him to grip to get into work. Most lunch bags had handles that would slip off his wrist and containers are sometimes to bulky or flimsy.

Lunch with The Elder summer 2012

During lunch time he would have someone put his food in the microwave and bring it to him once he was done. Lifting a microwave meal out of the microwave is not an option for him. The container is to flimsy for him to be able to grip. I am trying to get our family off processed foods. So I began to try different options. For most people, lunch containers are no big deal. Any lunch container will work because they have the fine motor skills and 2 hands available to be able to handle any little bend that the container may do. To The Elder, that slight bend can make him lose grip on his lunch.

 I tried the disposable storage containers in the store. You can reuse them if you want and are microwave safe. Perfect, right? No. The way his fingers work, he could not set it on the table and open it. So he would hold it to his body so he could grip it with his "bad" arm and open the top with his left. Because the containers were so thin, they would bend and food would get on him. Also when warm and had the weight of potatoes and meat in it, the container was not firm enough for him to move to the table himself. He still needed someone to do it for him.

The next thing I tried was some more expensive thicker containers. I discovered that most of the really thick ones were expensive. One of the ones I tried out was circular. This did not work at all. The little tab to open it was pointed down and the top was a little more flexible than the bottom. This made it hard for The Elder to open. Also the shape was not something he could easily grip in his elbow. Things with corners worked best. The main issue with most were the tops being to flexible or the tabs to open the container not in the right position for The Elder to open.

One day I decided to give Easy Lunchboxes a try. I am a member of a group and I had heard many good things about them. I asked many questions about them before I decided to give them a shot. My main concern was how thick are they and how much does the top bend. The tab on the top was exactly what the Elder needed, but the top also had to be very firm and not bend.

The Elder can open it one handed. His other hand on the table for support.

Six months later, The Elder eats lunch out of an Easy Lunch box 5 days a week. The top is very firm and allows him to open it easily. The container remained solid even after being microwaved. This allows The Elder to place his meal in the microwave and take it out when it is warmed. He does not have to worry about the container bending at all. Also it stands up to his firm grip. Easy Lunchboxes have given The Elder the ability to have a hot meal and be able to heat and transport his lunch without needing help.

Opening a full bag. Notice that it does not bend and twist like some do when he puts pressure on the top.

I love the bag that Easy Lunchboxes has to offer. We have 2 bags, a green one and a black one. The green one is used almost exclusively.  The poor bag has been dropped several times, minions have spilled things on it, several times a minion have ran off with it and used it as a car tote. Still the bag is in good shape with no rips. The handle is not very long. This makes it easy for The Elder to hang it from his right arm and leave his left hand free to open doors or carry other items. Also the lunch bag is fitted for the Easy Lunchbox. This makes it keep it's shape when an Easy Lunchbox is in it and makes it easier for The Elder to unzip and zip the zipper. If a bag is to flexible, it makes it hard for him to unzip it.

Going to put shoes on for work. 

Daily this bag contains a small can of juice, a bottled water, a bottle of milk, and an Easy Lunchbox. The Elder appreciates the fact that even though there is a little room at the top of the bag, it does not bend like some do.  The handle is long enough that he can get his right hand into it, but short and wide enough so that it stays on his wrist. This allows him to keep his left hand free to steady himself going down the stairs or while walking into work.

The Elder's lunch

This was one of The Elder's lunches earlier this week. He needed something that would be easy on his tummy since he has been ill. I am still working on getting all the overly processed foods out of my freezer. I came across one of our favorite Green Giant veggie packets with sauce. It consists of cauliflower, carrots, yellow carrots,  cranberries, and some sort of light sauce. I topped with with fiesta lime pork. To the left I have cottage cheese and pineapple and a single turtle.

Spaghetti Leftovers!

I love leftover lunches. They make my life so much easier. Today's lunch is a leftover from Monday nights dinner. I have Barilla spaghetti (I like it better than most) the meatballs have hidden blended carrots, a little spinach, and cheese. I also use a little oatmeal in it too. I know you can't tell and no one (even The Elder) has noticed it yet. :-D Score!

This is Colonel Sanders' lunch. We have cheese, multi colored raisins with sunflower seeds, spaghetti, and a meatball in our Easy Lunchboxes.

No school today lunch

There is no school today! We had a friend over for lunch. The boys wanted tortillas in their lunches today. I made ham tortilla roll ups, blood orange slices, dehydrated apple, cheese, and multicolored raisins. 

Our friend loves Hello Kitty. So I made her Hello Kitty peanut butter sandwiches, blood oranges, dehydrated apples, cheese (she said she does not like it, but she ate some anyway), and multicolored raisins. 

Here is Colonel Sanders' lunch. She had a lunch similar to her brothers. Tortilla and ham rollups, dehydrated apple (I picked the thinner pieces), cheese, and raisins. 

Rocket ships, UFO's and Hello Kitty

I decided to use my little ham & cheese cutters for lunch today. I used my UFO, Rocket Ship, and Tree cutters for the peanut butter and jelly sandwiches.  For the sides I have cheese, a single prune (I wanted them to try it) and some dehydrated strawberries, sunflower seeds, and pumpkin seeds.

 The Colonel has a similar lunch. She has Hello Kitty sandwiches and baby trees. I also gave her some cheese pieces, a cut up prune, dehydrates strawberries, and some sunflower seeds.

Both lunches were put in my Easy Lunchboxes

Snowman

This was a fun lunch to make. I used my Easy Lunchbox for this lunch. I made a snowman out of mashed potatoes. I used carrots for his arms and nose. Nori was used for his eyes and mouth. I also have seasoned chicken and frozen veggies.

A use for leftover taco meat

On the left we have cheese bites, a Butterfinger, and steamed broccoli.

To the right we have cheese and spinach stuffed shells with tomato puree and left over taco meat. Yes, I said taco meat. We now have 3 people in our household with acid reflux. I know tomatoes are not the best for it, but the adults like them to much. The minion does not like tomato sauce. Our taco meat is not overly seasoned either so it is easy on the stomach. Because of the light seasoning, it works very well for other uses, like on top of stuffed shells to add some extra protein for my favorite meat eater, The Elder.

The Crab and the Chicks.

Have I ever mentioned how much I love Easy Lunchboxes? I know I do not use them a lot for the minions, but I use them 5-6 days a week for The Elder. Easy Lunchboxes came out with some new colors! Can you feel my excitement? I have 12 of the normal ones right now. So in theory I should be fine. "Just to be safe" I ordered 2 packages (8 boxes) of their "Brights". :-D :-D :-D I told myself that I would never use faces on here, but I am to excited not to.

Tyke informed me today that he did not want a "cut" sandwich. So I left his whole and made him a cheese crab on top of his peanut butter and jelly sandwich. The eyes are candy eyes. The crab shaped cutter I used was actually in the "dollar" section of Target. It was part of a play-dough tool set. I took out any piece that could be used for a sandwich cutter and gave the minions the rest for their clay. The minions also have cheese, blackberries, and strawberries for lunch.

Pork wanted me to make him cute sandwiches, so I used a cookie cutter to cut him out 3 chicks. I used cheese to give them beaks and candy eyes. Above them I used another play-dough cutter to make him a duck.

Colonel Sanders had her own cute lunch. Here she has 3 Hello Kitty sandwiches. I used a Hello Kitty cookie cutter that had one of the press on faces. This makes the bread nice and flat. I also used left over cheese scraps (from the crab and duck) for her cheese. I cut the strawberries into smaller pieces for her.

Oh look! Aunt Julie is overseeing lunch today! I have class today. So while the minions eat lunch, I make sure everything is in my school bag, take a shower, and then drive Tyke to school. From there I go right to school myself.

Chicken, rice, and Black Bean and Corn Salsa

This is really much better looking in person.  For lunch I made brown rice with lime pepper chicken, sprinkled with yellow tomatoes, cilantro, and fine shredded carrots for a little color. To the left I have some left over black bean and corn salsa. This is meant to be mixed in with the chicken and rice after they have been warmed. For desert we have 2 cookies.

Mac and Cheese with Hot Dog Face

Yes, I still toss frozen veggies in the lunch. I know The Elder is going to microwave it, so I decided there was no point in cooking his green beans before I put them in the lunch. Everything is refrigerated all night and then at work. Like the background? Lazy. Yes, I am very lazy. I just wanted to go to bed.

Our little friend is made up of homemade mac and cheese. It really is pretty easy to make. The eyes are made from two olives stuffed with 2 green beans. The eyebrows, nose, mouth (I think it looks like a cigar in this picture) and his "shirt top" are made from a leftover Hebrew National hot dog. Mmm.. leftovers! To the left of that we have two turtles and some frozen green beans.

Cheese Waffles

Today we will start with Colonel Sanders lunch. She has a cheddar cheese waffle, strawberry half, blueberries, cheese, and salami.
 

 Look who is joining us for lunch today! Yes, it is lunch time, but to create a different routine than a school day, we stay in our pjs till after lunch unless we are going someplace.

My father in law punched a Babycakes waffle maker for me as a Christmas gift. (see bottom) The waffles are in a heart shape and there is a spot to add a stick to them. While that thought is interesting, I do not want the boys to have to much fun with lunch.

Our Easy Lunchbox is perfect for this lunch. For the boys I made the waffle into a sandwich. See waffle recipe below. I added a slice of cheese and a slice of salami. I put half a strawberry on top of it to add some color. To the left I have blueberries and a slice of ham on a sword pick. 

The flash was a little to much for Colonel Sanders. Although you can see by her smile that she is enjoying her salami.

I changed the waffle recipe a bit from the original recipe. I was looking for a recipe that was not to sweet. Sweet and cheese do not always go to well together. I took a look at the little recipe book that was included with my waffle maker. Inside was a recipe for buttermilk waffles that used no sugar. Perfect!!! Only I have no butter milk. I do have some kefir on hand though. (see jar on bottom picture) So I decided to see if I could substitute. Worst case, I have to make more mix.

I will post the recipe as I used it. The original is in the Babycakes book that comes in the Babycakes waffle maker.

 Cheese Waffles
1 3/4 C flour
1 teaspoon baking powder
1 teaspoon baking soda

1/2 teaspoon salt

2 cups kefir (ok, I was short, so I added some milk)
1/3 cup olive oil (it calls for canola)
2 eggs
1ish C cheddar cheese

Mix all dry ingredients. Then add wet and mix until combined. It will be slightly clumpy and not very thick. Do NOT over mix.

Add in your cheddar cheese. I shred my own cheddar. I think it has a better flavor. The stuff you buy in the store pre done is coated so that it will not stick together. Stir mixture till it is just combined well. DO NOT OVER MIX. The mixture will still be pretty liquid. I have to admit that it threw me off. I have never had a waffle batter this way. It did turn out well though! Pour some into your waffle maker and cook until desired color. It was 4 minutes for me.

Clark took his sandwich apart and Pork ate it as a sandwich.

See that jar in back? The one with the pink hair tie holding on a coffee filter? Yep, that is my kefir. And the machine in front of that is my waffle maker. I am a messy cook, so there is drippings and what not around it.

The 2 cups of kefir I indicated in the recipe, I actually used about 1 1/8 cup of kefir and the rest milk.

The waffles came out thinner than normal ones. This worked in my favor for sandwiches. I think the waffle maker was designed to make thin waffles.

The Snowman

Clark requested I use his picture as a background. I know the colors do not really pop out in this, but it worked. I have 3 brown rice balls making up a snowman. He has carrot nose and arms. His eyes, mouth, and buttons were made from dried cranberries. Surrounding the snowman we have pork and pears. We had this before but with quinoa instead of brown rice. To the left we have peas and the new desert of choice, chocolate bars.

Chicken sausage and mashed potatoes

This is a "I don't want to make you lunch, so deal with leftovers" day. The mashed potatoes and chicken sausage were leftovers from the night before. The Elder is not a fan of having the exact same thing for lunch that he had for dinner the night before. So normally I try not to do that. Yep, today was not one of the days. The only thing that was different from dinner is the Milky Way candy bar. The corn is not leftover other than the fact there was still some in the freezer. Although we did have corn with dinner the night before.

Lunch tomorrow is kinda cute. I promise!

The White Rabbit...

The Elder did not get it. Not at all. Even when I dropped some huge hints. I know the theme is not right in  your face, but I still thought he would get it. Then I found out that he had never watched Monte Python and the Holy Grail.

I have egg noodles covered with garlic butter. The meat is a pan fried breaded pork loin pieces. I added a little bone lunch pick to them all. In the center we have the white bunny. To the right we have a snickers bar and corn.

Chicken and mushrooms

I know The Elder is not a fan of veggies. I also know if I make it for lunch for him to take to work, he will eat it. If he doesn't, someone will comment on it. Underneath the meat is a bed of pasta. On top of that I have garlic butter sauteed spinach with chicken, mushrooms, and 3 little carrots for some color. To the right we have hand cut steamed carrots and the ever popular chocolate bars that were hidden in my freezer.

leftover rice, and chicken

This lunch was made before but I do not see it posted. Peas and chocolate on the left side. On the right I have left over brown rice to which I added tomatoes and some diced spinach. On top of that I have some chicken sliced and seasoned with Chinese 5 spice. Mmm...

Everyone has been ill for a while now.

With everyone being so ill, lunches have been soup or snack like bland foods. Sometimes all anyone would eat was a slice of cheese and half a banana. :-/ Poor Tyke ended up with pneumonia which they think was helped along by the crazy acid attacks. Maybe some of that went down the wrong tube and then created a nice place for things to grow.

So there has not been any interesting lunches made.

The Elder has had some lunches. So instead of remaining MIA, I will post what I have made him until the minions start eating half way normal again.

This did not turn out as well as I thought it would. We have chocolate, green beans, leftover mashes potatoes (the real deal) and mini meatloaf monsters. The red tomato wedges were suppose to be Santa hats. Needless to say it looks odd. The teeth are made from ham and the eyes are peas.

Stocking Lunch and Leftovers again

Tyke informed me that he did not wish to have his sandwich cut. So I left his sandwich whole and just cut out a meat stocking for him.

 Lunch we have is dried cranberries, cheese and turkey, two bows made from cheese and a dried cranberry, and a sunbutter and jelly sandwich in the shape of a stocking. I used dried cranberries on the top.

Today I used a Mini Dipper in an Easy Lunchbox. The Elder is pretty much one handed. So he needed to easily be able to take out non microwave items easily before he warms his meal. I figured the Mini Dipper would work well. That and Julie is only given a 15 minute lunch (really), so getting her food warm fast is a must.

Once again we have some leftovers. The hash in the main compartment was made 2 days ago for dinner. It consists of potatoes, onions, garlic, sausage, and green peppers. To change it up a bit, I added some pan fried carrots to it. I know it sounds odd, but it really does taste good. Also I added some tomato flowers. To the left of that we have cut up fruit in a Mini Dipper and some chocolate I found in the freezer.

Oh look, 3 of the minions! Colonel Sanders decided she wished to stand up and eat at the table. I think she wants to be like her brothers.