My first baby turned three at the end of June. I recently heard a saying ‘the days are long, but the years are short’, and that couldn’t be more true.
I’m working on creating some memorable traditions for my boys. A simple one we’ve practiced for my son’s past two birthdays is the Picking of the Birthday Treat. My son pulls out a selection of cookbooks, and flips the pages, studying each treat until he finds one that tickles his fancy. I have to say, he’s got a good eye. Last year, whoopie pies, this year, a layered berry cake. Slices of delicious vanilla cake, slathered with freshly whipped cream and the ripest, prettiest berries you can imagine.
I made the cake the night before, and the first one turned out–terrible. As much as I love Martha, sometimes her recipes let me down. I don’t think the recipe was well-written or tested, and I also got into trouble because I used farm eggs, which aren’t sized. The result was a dense, eggy flop. Continue Reading »
Lunchbox #4
milk
pasta and sauce
raspberries
baked pita crackers
The Result (what came home): either not a hungry day, or a poorly packed lunch! Most of the pasta came home, and some of the crackers
I need to start packing duplicate lunches for me–these look pretty good!
I was a little nervous about sending a turkey sandwich, as I recently read that there wasn’t an insulated lunch bag on the market that kept food the right temperature for the right amount of time. So I probably went a little overboard with the coldpacks today!
Lunchbox #3
dates
cooked sweet potato cubes
turkey and cheese sandwich
pita crackers and hummus
Fruitabu fruit roll up
milk
The Result (what came home): sandwich crusts (that drives me nuts, why don’t kids eat crusts? I refuse to cut them off), and a few crackers/dab of hummus. And, things were still chilled at the end of the day, so I can relax about that. I used a thin flat ice pack that pretty much covers the whole bottom of the lunchbox, and an additional small one on the side. The food that was left felt like it had just come out of the fridge.
Also–Moms, I need help. The little fox is still a little lukewarm about preschool. Any tips?
Second day of lunch packing!
Lunchbox #2
milk
3 peanut butter bites (can be made with any nut or soy butter)
rice cakes with goat cheese
2 vegetable quesadilla triangles (thanks for the idea, Jen!)
raspberries and blackberries
The Result: 1 quesadilla triangle came back. I think my kiddo works up quite an appetite at school. He also did not bring back his not inexpensive insulated stainless steel cup–I hope another kid accidentally packed it and it comes back next week.
A note about the rice cakes. I think rice cakes carry the stigma of 80’s dieting fads, sweatbands, and working out with Richard Simmons, but I have an affinity for them. I love a crisp rice cake, especially with some tuna salad. I found a brand called ‘Suzy’s Thin Cakes’ (link above) at Costco, and I adore them. The only ingredients are brown rice, quinoa, and flax, and they are much thinner than a traditional rice cake, so they are wonderful for kids. The only drawback about rice cakes is that they get soft if you dress them and pack them the night before, so you have to pack them at the last minute.
Our friend at the random number generator chose lucky commenter number six to win the cookbook – Congratulations Jill!
