Pasta!!

So, I'm sure that many of you noticed that I didn't  post anything on Friday.  That's because Friday is the one day of the week when my son gets to eat what he refers to as a "normal" lunch at school. For the last several years I have insisted on making their lunches everyday with the exception of Fridays.  On Fridays they get to be just like everyone else and stand in the lunch line.  At my son's school, it's pizza day.  They use that term loosely as what they serve looks, tastes and smells like nothing I would feed them at home, but he likes to be with his buddies in the lunch line, and since it means that I get to sleep in one morning, I don't mind letting him eat pizza and ice cream for the sake of fitting in.

Today, though, it's back to the healthy UNboring lunch box.  I'm sure that today's pasta salad complete with mozzarella cheese, salami, pepperoncinis, olives and tomatoes is going to be a huge success and will hopefully be a frequent request. I had some myself for lunch and it was delicious!  I also included some veggie sticks and melon just to make sure that no one comes home hungry (well, any more hungry than usual!).

Eggs-ellent Lunch!

When you have your own flock of chickens in the backyard, the one thing that you can always count on is having eggs in your refrigerator, lots and lots of eggs! So we are always looking for clever ways to use them up.  We make a lot of omelets, frittatas, scrambled egg dinners, even fried eggs on spaghetti.  You name it we've probably tried a fried egg on top it.  When we can't seem to use them up ourselves, we feed them to the dogs, share them with friends and neighbors and when all else fails a good old fashioned egg fight in the kitchen is guaranteed to use them the up! 

The kids love breakfast foods anytime of day and since the egg bowl is currently overflowing I thought they would enjoy a brunch today.  So today they had individual quiches filled with ham, cheddar cheese, spinach, peppers, mushrooms and scallions.  They smelled delicious while they were baking this morning.  The quiches should be pretty filling so I topped their lunches off with some melon, grapes and some cinnamon graham cookies.  Eggs-ellent!

Green is Good!

So far the score is Mom-3, boring lunch box-0. Today's lunchbox had a pesto chicken sandwich with spinach, avocado and alfalfa sprouts.  I made the pesto yesterday and the chicken was leftover grilled chicken breasts from dinner the other night, so the sandwiches were quick and easy to build this morning, and definitely NOT boring.

I made quinoa salad for dinner last night, and the kids liked it so much that they requested it for lunch today. It was so delicious with tomatoes, cucumber, red onions, feta cheese, fresh herbs and some lemon juice. I was a little concerned that it might violate the "No stinky foods" rule, but was assured by the kids that it was in compliance.  I also stuck in some grapes and a couple of  chocolate chip cookies for good measure.

One of the most important lessons I learned in high school is that cookie dough out of the freezer is delicious! (Thanks Student Store for the memories!) As such, whenever I make cookies I portion out the dough and freeze the balls so that I can pull them out and bake them off a couple at a time or just enjoy a piece of chocolate chip cookie dough.  I baked a few of them while I was making sandwiches this morning, so the kids woke up to the smell of fresh baked cookies.  Needless to say I think the cookies will be the highlight of their lunches today!

Day Two

For dinner last night I made a delicious Greek Salad full of veggies, with a little bit of chicken and topped off with feta cheese and wonderfully briny Kalamata olives.  To me this is the perfect warm weather dinner, but the man and boy in my life complain that "rabbit food" doesn't fill them up.  So, I made some whole wheat pita bread, and then toasted a couple of the rounds with olive oil, sea salt, garlic, oregano and a sprinkle of Pecorino Romano cheese.  They were delicious and very filling.  The left over pita rounds went into the not-so-boring lunches today with some homemade hummus, sliced veggies, a few kettle chips and some apples.  Dips are always popular around this house! 

What's For Lunch?

To help keep me motivated for this challenge, I picked up a set of Rubbermaid Lunchblox containers that stack together into a variety of configurations.  The containers are very helpful for portion control and who doesn't like nifty little containers filled with delicious surprises!

For the first round of new lunches I made vegetable lo mein.  It's such an easy and satisfying dish, but I never think to make it at home.  It was an instant hit and I can tell it is going to be a regularly requested lunch entree.  I also packed them some apple slices and a couple of homemade chocolate chip cookies.  I'm feeling less boring already! 

The Un-boring Lunchbox Challenge

I realized the other day that my poor children have been eating the same boring lunch every day for the entire school year.  Occasionally some leftover spaghetti would show up in their lunchbox but most days when they opened their boxes in the cafeteria they found the same thing, a deli meat and cheese sandwich, bag of chips and an apple.  Sometimes I would get really crazy and even include a string cheese...poor kids.

So after being told by Shan that she felt "stuck in a lunch rut" I have issued a challenge to myself.  I will NOT send another boring lunch for the remainder of the school year (thankfully there are only 4 1/2 weeks left!)

The rules for this challenge are:

1. No prepackaged deli meat and cheese sandwiches. They will still get sandwiches, however, I vow to be more creative than a couple slices of smoked ham and a slice of swiss cheese.
2. They will not take the same lunch more than once each week unless requested.  
3. No individual bags of chips.  Chips are delicious, but they have too much bad stuff and not enough good stuff.  I will still send small portions from time to time, but they will not be from a fun assortment.  
4. Every lunch will contain a fruit or vegetable, or both.  I've always followed this rule of lunchbox packing etiquette and I don't intend to stop now!
5. Nothing too stinky. They have to sit by other people.  I want them to have friends.
6. It has to be budget friendly.  I'm not going to be packing fancy sushi rolls or prime rib sandwiches just for the sake of being creative.  The ingredients will remain largely budget friendly, though leftover prime rib or lamb may find it's way into a crusty french roll from time to time. 
7. Have FUN! This isn't about making lunch packing harder, it's about making it fun and creative and delicious.  My kids have adult tastes that should be celebrated at every meal.  I shouldn't save the goat cheese and shredded veggie sandwiches just for me!

The Challenge has been issued! Ready, Set, GO!