Not just peanut butter and jelly...

On a break....

2009-02-06T18:32:00.000-08:00

I hope to be back next month. We are attempting to sell and buy a house so lunches are going to be very simple for a bit. Lots of burritos, stuffed potatoes, apples, carrots and pretzels...

..and lots of peanut butter and jelly :)

Be back next month!

Busy week....

2009-01-16T07:44:00.000-08:00

This week we had a lot of build your own lunches. I have been experimenting and made up multiple batches of beans and chicken, a large batch of mexican rice, fresh guacamole plus we bought a big bag of Costco taco chips and a few bags of tortillas. We ate a lot of mexican this week and also managed to make burritos for the freezer.

Here is a tray of burritos about to be frozen for future lunches. They are black bean, rice and cheese.

We also put up a batch of twice baked potatoes. My oldest will happily eat these everyday.

The first week of the new year.....

2009-01-09T03:52:00.001-08:00

I neglected this blog in December but I am to trying to get back to it . I did not get pictures of everything as there were a few self-serve lunches but here is most of what went out the into our lunchboxes this week.

Today's lunch for my oldest was leftover steamed vegetables with some pork meatballs. The meatballs were a impulse Costco purchase that nobody but him will eat :)

Also tucked in there are 2 bar cookies.

Its hard to tell but this is a filling similar to what I use for empanadas. It has chicken, cheese, green chili's, hot sauce, chili powder, cumin salt and garlic with lettuce leaves and sour cream to make low carb "tacos" or lettuce wraps served with some extra hot sauce. DH is low carbing to jump start his diet.

My second oldest ate at school a few times this week since he gets free lunch for working at the school. This day he took a noodle-less tuna casserole we usually call mock tuna casserole. Its really a tuna salad mixed with green beans and topped with cheese and and heated in the microwave, Here with a sugar free jello. DS2 is very sensitive to what he eats so he does not eat at school everyday.

Ds2 again. A chicken salad using items I used to make burrito bowls for DH ( below)

This is the most successful lunch of the week. The black beans came out well seasoned, the chicken was awesome, and the improvised hot sauce came out well. I wish I could remember what all I put in everything :)

I was trying to make something like what my husband has been craving from Chipotle.

This terrible picture is my oldests lunch. More meatballs as a sandwich with a peeled and sectioned orange and chips. He had this a few days. One day he substituted a chicken club using chicken nuggets which is also what my daughter ate most of the week.

I still have one more lunch to pack today but I have a busy afternoon planned so I will put that one up later :)

Monday :)

2008-12-08T17:14:00.000-08:00

Today both the highschoolers took burritoes from the freezer with chips and salsa.

Dh took a tuna fish sandwich and potato chips ( not pictured)

This is a lunch from last week. Its a southwestern style salad and a chocolate pudding.

Here is another salad from another day last week. It has grilled chicken. I can't remember who took this one ;-)

No pictures today- Early release

2008-12-03T15:35:00.000-08:00

The kids had early release today so we had a big early family meal today. DH packed his own lunch (he works nights) from our big mexican meal. We had beef tacos, freshly fried shells and chips with taco beef and all the fixins including homemade guacamole, rice and beans.

I was to busy eating to get a picture :)

Completely skipped posting in November....

2008-12-02T12:47:00.000-08:00

DH's lunch-
Chili, cheese, sour cream and crackers.
Zero

Daughters lunch, which she gave to her little brother when she realized i was making chili :)

DS1 had a bagel with cream cheese, crackers, a hershey bar and a banana.

DS ate at school. He gets to eat free for volunteering in the kitchen.

October 28th

2008-10-28T15:07:00.000-07:00

Hubby made his own lunch today while I was taking a nap ( I only ended up with 4 hours sleep last night) so I did not get a picture of his lunch.

DS1 took quesadillas with sour cream, some taco sauce packets leftover from carryout, a bag of chips and a apple. I bought a box of single serve chips for a get together Saturday so I pulled out a few to use in lunches this week.

Its funny, I have not put quesadillas in a lunchbox before because I was worried about them drying out but DS loved them and requested that I make them everyday. I threw in a black bean, tomato, corn and cilantro mix that was leftover from southwestern salads then added a little sauteed onion. No nuking of quesadillas here, they MUST be cooked on the stove top in a little butter till crispy and golden. Yum!

DS2-Lower carb lunch, crustless pizza, salad and diet jello. The crustless pizza does not look pretty but smells and tastes yummy. It has sauteed garlic, onion and pepper with banana peppers, spicy sausage pepperoni and cheese,

The younger 2 had cheese and crackers lunches but lucky DD ended up with a cookie :)

2008-09-10T18:21:00.000-07:00

Today, I ran out of time so I grabbed DH a rice/black bean burrito. They are vegetarian and DH has to have meat in his lunch so I grabbed some taco chicken out of the freezer and topped it with a little cheese and packed some taco chips and salsa to go with it.

DS1 likes to be done early. He would rather have a simple lunch, less containers and fuss. He ate rice/black beans burritos most of the week.

One day he took leftover chili, taco chips and fruit. (pictured)

DS2 has been eating lower carb this week. He ate at school last week and felt terrible. He has to watch his blood sugar.

Here is a salad with ranch dressing, canteloupe and strawberries and sunflower seeds.

Here he had a hamburger with salsa and cheese, canteloupe, sunflower seeds and a little veggie tray.

Today's picture came out a little fuzzy. Here is a turkey and cheese lettuce wrap, a little leftover smoked sausage and peppers, veggies and almonds.

I did not take pictures of a few lunches. DH took leftover lasagna and a salad one day and another day he took sandwiches and chips.

Friday

2008-09-10T18:09:00.000-07:00

I'm late posting again :)

DS1- Grabbed a quick lunch, a freezer rice and black bean burrito, chips and salsa and fruit.(not pictured)

Ds2-Worked today (free lunch)

DD- Garlic vegetable pasta, homemade chex mix, strawberries and yogurt, a rice crispy from the freezer and some cereal to put on the yogurt.

I made little guy a plate when I was making DD's lunch.

Taco salad for DH. Salad base, chili, salad topping, fruit and chips.

Back to school...

2008-09-04T04:44:00.000-07:00

We are still adjusting to our new schedule. The kids are doing great but I am still on night owl time. About half of our lunches have been self serve with either a rice wrap or sandwich from the freezer, fruit, and chips. DS#2 is also working at school and gets lunch for free on days he works.

"Fried" chicken salad with fritos for crunch and fruit. Chicken is actually baked tenders from the freezer.

Sandwich with lettuce and tomato on the side, fruit and chips.

Kids lunch- Wrap, chips and salsa, veggies and rice krispie treat.

Wrap, chips, cookies and fruit.

White bean chili with cheese, yogurt with fruit and cereal topping.

Pizza pasta, salad and bread with butter.

Friday and Monday

2008-08-25T18:33:00.000-07:00

DH is really into crunchy stuff on his salads right now. He likes both sunflower seeds and croutons on his salad. I also packed some sun chips and nuts in case he does not have time to sit down and eat. Last week he had to skip lunch a few times. The sun chips are from a Amazon.com deal and we are just about out of them.

I made some southwestern style wraps for lunch and packed 2 for DH's lunch. I added a little hot sauce to ranch dressing to give it a little kick. They have salad mix with corn and chicken strips and just a little bit of tomato.

Tomorrow is the first day back to school!

Summers almost over......

2008-08-19T05:33:00.000-07:00

Well, I ended up ignoring this blog over the summer. I did not pack as much summer food as I usually do. Our garage sale days were shorter so we came home for lunch and the kids did not take food to the pool like I thought they woold. DH still needed lunch. He packed a lot of his own lunches over the summer.

School starts next week and I plan on keeping this blog updated again. It does not get a lot of comments but it does get a decent amount of visitors :)

Summer is here!

2008-06-20T18:58:00.000-07:00

Chef salad

Taco salad with chili and chips. Yogurt and fruit.

Salad with bacon bits and croutons, yogurt with fruit and a bageful ( free after double coupon)

Sandwich, carrots and dressing, yougurt with fruit

Reuban kit, granola and a banana

Summer is here, no more school lunches :)

I still have to pack for DH and food for trips to the pool and park so I think I am going to try to post more make ahead and portable foods. Towards the end of the summer I will need to stock up for the lunch box season and make some freezer items to grab and go for the new school year. I will probably post them on my other blog and link from here.

May 28th

2008-05-28T18:25:00.001-07:00

DH- 2 Caesar wraps with dressing and fresh fruit

The beige lunch.....

Ham and cheese sandwich, taco chips, graham cracker and mandarin oranges

Leftover pork and beans, carrots with ranch, strawberries and a oatmeal cookie.

Tuesday May 27th

2008-05-27T16:53:00.000-07:00

No lunches to pack yesterday.

Today the older kids bought lunch at school. DD made her own lunch and I only packed for DH. He had a chef salad with croutons, dressing and a side of berries.

2008-05-27T16:40:00.000-07:00

OK, I'm posting some of the pictures I took over the last 2 weeks before I start back to daily posting (hopefully), I still don't have my laptop fixed but I think I can use my children's computer set up to get back to blogging. Wish me luck (and patience).

Computer issues....

2008-05-06T06:33:00.000-07:00

I will be taking a bloggy break while my laptop is being repaired. I have been struggling to load pictures, hold a wireless connection and now I am having power issues so I am taking a break from posting lunches until I get my computer back. I will still be around but it won't be as convenient to post.

See you soon :)

This week so far......

2008-05-01T18:50:00.000-07:00

Pizza, carrots, pretzels with peanut butter and oatmeal cookies

Pizza, pretzels,carrots with dresing and oatmeal cookies.

Chef salad, chips and pinapple-mango skewers.

Smoked sausage and potatoes with greens beans, chips and cookies.

Egg salad wrap garnished with hearts, fruit with fruit leather hearts, peanut butter cookie hearts and a beverage mix packet.

Pizza pasta, cut up tomato, egg and carrots, strwaberries and gummy bunnies.

Large pizza pasta, pineapple and granola bar.

2008-04-23T14:48:00.000-07:00

Some lunches so far this week...
PB&J, banana, granola bar and fruit leather (self serve lunch)

I only made DD one lunch this week. Monday she had a sore throat, Tuesday I packed leftover spaghetti, wheat bread and yogurt with cereal to sprinkle on top and Wednesday she had a cooking class.

DH took wings and potato wedges with a orange and a banana. I did not get a picture of his lunch so here is a picture of the food still on a tray.

DS1 had Mexican rice and beans, yogurt with Kashi cereal to sprinkle on top and a orange

DH also had rice and black beans with tortillas, cheese, sour cream and a salsa packet leftover from a taco salad. I bought some spicy sausage on sale today so I cooked it up and added it to the rice and beans.

I needed to test the sausage to see if I should go back and buy more. Its a marked down item at my local GFS. It was really good but I was afraid to buy much without trying it. I think I will go back tomorrow and buy more because it was really good. DS2 worked in the cafeteria all week so I did not have to pack him lunches.

A few more from last week....

2008-04-13T04:59:00.000-07:00

Here are a few lunches from last week. Mostly we took leftovers and a few lunches are not pictured.

Alfredo pasta, salad, sunflower seeds and a couple chocolate quakes.

Chili, cornbread, sour cream and cheese

Leftover mexican rice and beans

Monday and Tuesday

2008-04-08T17:05:00.000-07:00

I accidently posted Monday and Tuesdays lunch at my main blog here. :)

2008-04-04T15:07:00.000-07:00

These are out of order. Not pictured are peanut butter and jelly sandwiches, pretzels and pineapple for DS1&2 one day and the one day DD did not feel well and she just had instant noodle soup.

Chili with cheese and sour cream, garlic croutons and oranges

DD- Red beans with smoked sausage, rice, peas/carrot mix, and fruit parfait

DS1&2-Red beans with smoked sausage, rice, applesauce, carrots and snack bar or fruit leather

DH-Red beans with smoked sausage, pineapple, and cheddar quakes

DD- "Instant" potato- broccoli casserole*, mixed fruit, garlic croutons and gummy bunnies

Instant sweet and sour noodles with steamed carrots, oranges, and choice of snack bar or fruit leather.

A note....

2008-04-03T12:18:00.001-07:00

For anybody out there who follows our lunch adventures ( Google says there are quite a few of you out there) I wanted to let you know where we are right now. If you follow my other blog you may know I am trying to buy as little as possible this month. This may lead to a little less color in the lunch boxes and more creative (hopefully) use of leftovers and things we may not usually use.

Next month after I have cleaned out my pantry, fridge and freezer I will need to stock back up and will probably work on some OAMC/Freezer lunch items. When the kids are out of school we will still need to pack many lunches because the older kids will be spending a lot of time at the pool and we will be doing some serious garage sale shopping this year.

Hopefully also I will put up more tips, ideas and links in the upcoming weeks. Please email me or leave a comment to share your favorite sites and ideas or to ask me any questions you might have. I am always happy to talk lunch :)

Tuesday

2008-04-01T06:06:00.000-07:00

Trying to use up some produce today. We had Shanghai noodles for dinner last night and I have a lot of the pasta left but it did not have much chicken or veggies left after we were done. Its still flavorful and made a good base for some smoked sausage cooked with some fresh spinach and garlic. This is what I had for lunch also and it was really good. DD has the pasta with granola, strawberries and some gummy bunnies.

DS1 had the last of the chicken and veggies in his pasta with granola (with a few jelly beans), applesauce and carrots. DS2 is working in the cafeteria today.

DH is having the sausage,spinach and pasta, mandarin oranges and strawberries and granola. He carries almonds in his lunchbox and will also take ice tea.

My older 2 children do not take beverages to school with them. They used to take water bottles but they would rather drink at the water fountain than be bothered to carry a bottle. They also get pop at school sometimes for helping a teacher or volunteering in the cafeteria. I tried powdered gatorade in a pop top bottle for awhile but they just did not care about it so I don't do it any more. I try to check once in awhile for dissatisfaction with packing lunches but they prefer packing. Since my oldest is in high school I was sure he would want to start buying lunches but he only likes the pizza and General Tsos chicken at the school and says he would need 2 of them to be full.

Monday

2008-03-31T16:59:00.000-07:00

DD had leftover pizza, applesauce, BBQ corn chips and jelly beans (free from CVS)

DH had a turkey sandwich, BBQ corn chips, and mandarin oranges. He also took home brewed ice tea and homemade granola ( pictured below)

The boys took pizza rolls (box was .10), applesauce, the last of the salad mix and either pretzels or lays.

I'm going to try to avoid buying much at the store this month and do a grocery challenge to save some money and also to clear out some items from my stockpile. So I will be using up at lot of odds and ends starting with open packages.

This week...

2008-03-28T14:23:00.000-07:00

The boys were easy this week. They did not have school Monday, took PB&J,pretzels and applesauce on Tuesday, Wednesday one worked and the other bought a school lunch, Thurday was the pictured spaghetti, bread, grapes and DD's cake. They both worked Friday also (free lunch for working).

DD got Monday off since the boys were home, she made her own lunch Tuesday, Wednesday was cooking class (she eats there)...
Thursday was the pictured feta-spinach dip with cut up veggies and flat bread crackers and fruit.

Friday was the leftover spaghetti sauce and pasta, veggies, a few berries, craisens and 2 little rice cakes.

The flat bread crackers were a leftover experiment that worked out well. I had a few flatbread leftover so I cut them with a pizza cutter and baked them. The spinach feta dip had garlic, cream cheese, fresh spinach, some sour cream and some seasonings.

I'm behind in posting..(also on spring break)

2008-03-18T13:57:00.000-07:00

I am behind in posting lunches but here are a few from last week in no particular order.

Leftover red beans and rice with fritos, oranges, girl scout cookies and a cut up fruit leather. This was a lunch for one of the boys.

Freezer enchildas over rice with black beans and sour cream.

DD has a enchilada over rice, cut up veggies, almonds with craisens and a homemade cheerio bar.

DD helped to use up some of the salads I had made for DH's lunches. Here is some tuna and curry chicken salads with veggies and mandarin oranges.

We are on spring break now and I did not make a menu this week. So we are eating out of the pantry and freezer and not worrying about lunchboxes this week. See you all next week!

Odds & Ends

2008-03-11T08:38:00.001-07:00

Last week was a lot of peanut butter and jelly.

DD gets all the odds and ends. It works out well because she likes to graze. I'm almost completely out of freebies and coupon deals in my lunchbox stockpile, so I am using that as a opportunity to start fresh and I am trying to use up every open package and odd item.

<---- This lunch includes a pack of croutons from a Wendy's lunch and a free cereal sample along with the bit of BBQ potato chips.

This lunch includes a lonely orange from the back of the fridge along with leftover green beans.

I know individual bags of chips are pricey but these are from a Amazon.com food deal. These have been handy and are almost gone. I will admit they were really nice to have. The wrap is a pizza wrap using up a pack of tortillas. I thought had some pizza sauce leftover in the fridge but it turned out to be ketchup so I opened a can of tomatoes and chopped up a couple to add with cheese and pepperoni. One son took a diet jello for a dessert while the other took a organic fruit leather ( another Amazon deal). They both took canned fruit.

DH took a burger with feta, a salad and also a dish of curry chicken salad for his low carb lunch.

Spring is around the corner and the baby is more mobile so I hope to get more double coupon deals and freebies to replenish my goodies stockpile.

I still have pop tarts saved for garage sale season and a few fruit leathers but not much else. I have way to much cake mix with I may use to make pumpkins muffins or cupcakes.

Can you tell I am cleaning up my pantry this week?

Friday

2008-02-29T14:06:00.000-08:00

Wednesday was a snow day.

Thursday-DD had a wrap made with the rest of Mondays rice mixed with a little salsa and cheese and lettuce, onion and sour cream. Also a small dish of craisins, a carrot and a yogurt drink. The yogurt drink was a freebie.

The boys took leftover baked spaghetti with bread, pears and girl scout cookies.

Friday-Peanut butter and jelly, chips and pears.

2008-02-26T20:40:00.000-08:00

Salsa chicken, black beans and rice.

This was DH's dinner and lunch today. I think he would take it again if we had any left :)

Sandwich with chips, pineapple and a cookie

We had sandwiches yesterday and today. The 2 older kids ate lunch at school.
We have been stopping by a small local place for lunch meat after big grocery trips. They have great prices, wonderful smoked cheeses and a BBQ chip that DH loves.

Pasta salad with pepperoni and cheese and strawberries. This is a picture from last week. Last week was a 3 day school week so I did not make as many packed lunches as usual.

2008-02-19T14:03:00.000-08:00

There was no school yesterday and DH did the shopping for me on the way home from a dentist appt. and picked up some sale deli meats for sandwiches yesterday. His lunch yesterday was a club style sandwich, chips and a banana ( no picture).

I used some more of the turkey and ham in todays lunches.

DD had 2 kinds of wraps (the orange ones did not hold up well) cut veggies and pasta salad.

The early birds each took half of a club style wrap, pasta salad, applesauce and graham crackers.

DH took a salad with croutons and dressing, banana and some chips for a later snack.

Valentines Day

2008-02-14T12:23:00.001-08:00

The Boys bought a school lunch yesterday and DD ate at her class.
Tuesday was a snow day and Monday they took leftover Mexican.

For Valentines day I wanted to make them something special so I made chicken club wraps with seasoned chicken breast, bacon, provolone and romaine lettuce wrapped in flat bread.

DD had a lighter version in a tortilla with potato salad, carrots and some goodies leftover from yesterdays class.

The boys had the wrap, potato salad, mandarin oranges and fritos.

DH keeps a bag of nuts in his lunch for snacking that usually lasts him about 3 weeks.

He had a club wrap, oranges, potato salad and a coke zero. I threw in some free south beach samples that came in the mail and a bottle of water for a little something extra.

The wraps came 0ut really well. I cooked the chicken breasts in a little olive oil and seasoned them with a generous amount of Canadian steak seasoning.

Easy Week....

2008-02-07T06:46:00.000-08:00

I did not have to make as many lunches this week, which is good because I have been really tired all week. Monday was super easy as everyone had leftover pizza ( carryout) from Superbowl Sunday. Here is a lunch that came back home. Ramen noodles with a few frozen meatballs and green beans tossed in, a orange and crackers. My oldest ended up helping at school and recieved a free lunch. It still was eaten by someone later in the day. My 2nd DS usually works 2-3 days a week in the cafeteria and eats free on those days.

Egg salad on a bun, pretzels, carrots, and a graham cracker with peanut butter and chocolate chunks.

DH took asian noodles minus the onions and with extra chicken. On the other days he toook potato soup or hamburger helper. He also takes fruit every day.

On the day that both boys needed lunch they took leftover asian noodles and apples.

DD did not need lunch on Wednesday because she has a cooking class at whole foods in the afternoon and they eat at class.

I have asked my kids if there are any days they would like to have a school lunch to try and see if they feel like they are missing anything. The oldest who is in highschool does not like the cafeteria food except for the pizza and he says the lunches are to small at school. DS2 works 3 days a weeks in the cafeteria just to be with his friends and says thats plenty for him. I'm glad because school lunches are 2.50 and both of my oldest find them to small. My oldest who is the skinniest kid in the whole highschool can eat a incredible amount of food these days :)

Wednesday, Thursday and Friday

2008-02-02T05:27:00.000-08:00

The rest of this weeks lunches are definitly lacking color. I did not go to the grocery store this week and I am out out of fresh produce, down to my last carrots, a few bananas and a very sad cucumber.

DD-The rest of the curry chicken salad, crackers, a cookie, carrots and sunflower seeds.

The early birds- Leftover chili ( we had chili cheese burritoes last night) fritos, pears, and some toppings for the chili. DH also took chili, he did not have chili last night.

One portion pizza pasta, cucmbers and carrots, pretzels, a banana and a fruit parfait cup.

The fruit parfait was a coupon deal ( .38 for a 4 pack) but the really looked yucky to me. I was surprised my DD ate it.

Friday- No school. DH took Hamburger helper and a banana. He also had a orange leftover from earlier in the week.

Monday and Tuesday..

2008-01-29T10:33:00.001-08:00

Monday-
Everyone took leftovers. Cheesy broccoli and rice casserole, ham, bread, and orange and chocolate chip cookies. I had 3 of those cookies mixes that have been sitting in my pantry forever in my free/cheap after coupon pile. I have a few things that are close to expiring I need to use up.

Today the kids are having pizza pasta portions from the freezer. The boys had canned diced pears while my daughter had a banana. While my kids would happily eat pizza pasta everyday, DH wanted something different. DH is having a curry chicken salad wrap with a orange, fritos, and a bar cookie. The bar cookies are from the same batch as yesterdays cookies. The bagged chips are from a Amazon deal ( sale plus amazon code plus gift certificate).

Today has been a little stressful and about all I got done was making lunches and having a bath. Not even a nice bath, one of those ok-baby-you've-been-crying-for-3-hours-so-lets-try-to-wear-you-out-and-get-you-to-sleep kind of bath :)

At least it worked.

2008-01-26T05:41:00.000-08:00

I have my computer back!

Lunches have been mostly leftover lately. Here are a few lunches we had this week.

Leftover spaghetti, veggies, bread and pudding with chocolate chunks.

Mexican pork roast nachos with taco chips and pumpkin mousse cake.

Carrot soup, pita bread, almonds and a blueberry muffin.

Smoked sausage with cabbage over spagheeti noodles, salad, bread and a brownie.

Friday January 4th

2008-01-05T16:34:00.001-08:00

DH- Hamburger patties from the freezer with gravy, mashed potatoes, broccoli and bread with butter.

I cooked 3 patties, 2 for DH and 1 for my DD's soup.

DD- Beef and vegetable soup, crackers, oranges and 100 calorie pack.

DS 1 - PB and J, chips and oranges (no picture)

DS 2- Worked in the cafetria today ( eats free)

2008-01-05T16:25:00.000-08:00

DD- Smoked sausage with sauteed cabbage and ramen noodles, celery and carrots, 2 small oranges and graham crackers.

DS 1- reds beans and smoked sausage (freezer lunch) appples with PB, taco chips and pound cake

DS 2- Pizza pasta (freezer), bread, apples and peanut butter.

DH had meaty bean soup and bread with butter

Busy season...

2007-12-28T10:05:00.000-08:00

Hello! I should be back to posting lunches on January 3rd. School is out and DH is practically living at work right now so he has been eating at the cafeteria. The last couple lunches I packed he did not get a chance to eat because he was so busy. He is really just snacking and drinking pop ( yuk!). Luckily he will get January 1st and 2nd off and then be back to a regular work schedule.

See you soon!

Thursday

2007-12-06T18:30:00.000-08:00

Layered beans, rice and cheese with chips and salsa, lettuce and tomatoes.

2 chocolate carrot cupcakes.

Wednesday

2007-12-04T21:49:00.000-08:00

DD- Meatballs with barbecue sauce, salad, cornbread and a chocolate carrot muffin.

Early birds are having the same but pineapple instead of salad.

Tuesday

2007-12-04T21:45:00.000-08:00

DD- Salad, potato salad, graham crackers and peanut butter and a small pack of nerds

2007-12-03T14:08:00.000-08:00

Early birds- Bologna sandwich, chips and pears

DD- Ramen noodles with chopped broccoli and chicken. Marinated carrot salad.

The chicken and chopped broccoli were leftovers from the fridge. Luckily the chicken went well because it was cooked is a soy-Teriyaki marinade on Saturday.

I did not feel well last week so lunch was easy- mostly sandwiches. Lots of hot tea has helped immensely so I hope to be back to daily blogging.

Monday

2007-11-27T03:54:00.000-08:00

Early birds- PB&J, chips and carrots

DD-Stuffed potato, veggies, cut up leftover hot dog and granola bites.

A week off or a "off" week..

2007-11-20T06:53:00.000-08:00

Sometimes things get hectic and lunch becomes self serve so I dont have any pictures but here are some of the things we had over the last week...

twice baked potatoes from the freezer ( more then once)
leftover mexican food with chips and salsa
peanut butter and jelly sandwiches ( more then once)
enchildas from the freezer
canned fruit ( pears or pineapple)
chips
fruit leather
granola bars
yogurt

I don't need to pack another lunch for the kids until Monday. DH will probably take leftover Thanksgiving food on Friday and Saturday. He has to work Sunday also but will probably get something with his friends at work.

So see you next week!

A few days off...

2007-11-13T05:01:00.000-08:00

I will be busy for a few days so my blogs will be quiet until then. Please feel free to email me if you have any comments, questions or tips you want to share :)

erratichomemaker@msn.com

Tuesday

2007-11-07T04:30:00.000-08:00

One of the early birds works today. The other took leftover kielbasa and beans, salad, bread and applesauce.

DD had bruschetta, a mini cheese ball with crackers, veggies and a fruit leather. I did a bunch of prep yesterday so I made her something a little different.

DH had chili, a twice baked potato from the freezer, sun chips and fruit. We were going to have chili stuffed baked potatoes yesterday but it got bumped until Wednesday. The chili was also from the freezer.

Monday

2007-11-07T04:20:00.000-08:00

On Monday the early birds took sandwiches,chips, fruit and granola bars

DH took Kielbada with white beans and tomatoes, salad and bread. He also took a apple and butter for the bread. I made it early so he could take it to work and it is what we had for dinner monday night. DH works nights.

DD had salad, pretzels and a cupcake. I did not make the cupcake, they were a day old bakery special. 12 mini dulce de leche cupcakes for 1.67.

We have found a lot of specials for convience food and I bought bulk chip bags from Amazon.com so there will be more prepackaged foods then we usually have.

2007-11-01T08:11:00.000-07:00

I have not managed to post daily this week. We woke up late Monday so I don't have pictures for that day. It was a run out the door lunch so it was a uncrustable, chips and granola bar day. I'm sure they loved it :)

Tuesday I had leftover spaghetti to use up so the early birds took it as spaghetti and DD had it as a pasta salad. She also had a cookie broken in thirds to fit in box, some cheese for the pasta salad, a hard boiled egg and granola bites. She also had a organic fruit leather and a salt packet for her egg.

Oldest DS had a can of pork and beans with some smoked sausage on top, pears, salad and some puffed crackers. ( Wednesday)

DD loved her lunch on Wednesday. She had a bluberry bagel with cream cheese, salad with italian dressing, puffed crackers and orange slices ( packed in a sandwich bag to prevent leakage).

Today I made ramen noodles and added chicken and green beans from last night dinner. The kids also had pineapple and granola bites.

DH took the items I prepared for dinner for lunch everyday this week. I did not get any pictures of his lunches.

A funny story about Ramen noodles. When my daughter was in 2nd grade ( she was still attending public school at the time) they had to make a project for Mothers day that started out

"My mother is.....". She wrote "my mother is a great chef because she makes me Ramen noodles" :)

This weeks lunches...

2007-10-26T09:04:00.000-07:00

One of the early birds works today ( free lunch), one is eating soft foods because he just had his braces adjusted. He took spaghetti hoops, pudding and a banana.

Miss Sydney had PB&Jelly, pudding with crushed graham cracker, puffed wheat crackers and vegetables.

DH took pork burritoes yesterday with shredded pork, red skinned potato, monterey jack cheese, lettuce, tomato, avocado and cilantro. I also packed salsa on side.

Burrito and salsa, salad, pretzels, and candy.

Egg salad and crackers, vegetables, oatmeal bites

Leftover pulled pork, potato salad and coleslaw

Laptop lunches

2007-10-24T08:18:00.001-07:00

Most of the comments I seem to get are mostly about the laptop lunch containers so I thought I would share some links that contain lots of info on them. They are expensive but they can be very helpful.

laptoplunches.com -this is the site for the company and has great info, lots of pictures and a newsletter focused on their lunchboxes. FAQS including some great info if you are worried about plastics and food. Most of the lunchbox is made in the USA.

Great pictures of laptop lunches at flicker

Top tips from lunch in a box

A google search will probably turn up more great sites if you need more inspiration. If you have a grandparents asking for ideas for a practical Christmas gift, this might me a good item to suggest.

If you are getting one for yourself, I think it really helps you to balance your food since when you look at those boxes they just scream for a variety of food and help with portion control. It takes a little practice to figure out what works for you but its worth it. If you like the ideas but don't want spend the money on a laptop lunch a lot of these ideas can be used with tupperware or other bento style lunchboxes.

2007-10-23T17:43:00.001-07:00

I accidently posted lunch on my other blog, please click here if you would like to see a update on our lunches. :)

2007-10-16T13:59:00.000-07:00

This is supposed to be a kitty. My husband could only picture a lobster but my daughter thought it was cute. It was really just a snack because we were out running errands in the morning and she loaded up on samples at Whole Foods. She still likes to eat during her break so I made this when we got back.

Lunch for DH and DD. I was making both right before the time DD was about to eat so I just put the soup in a side cup. If I was packing ahead it would need to go in one of the main cups that has a lid. These were use'em up lunches. DD had a salad with feta, chicken, olives, dressing some of the soup I made for DH and some M&M's

DH's soup was a bean soup made with a can of white beans, a brat sausage and some cooked chicken with seasoning. I needed to use of the last of the salad mix and there is always a big pile shredded carrots in the bottom that I added to the soup.

I think this lunch was from Friday. I made it while I was making breakfast for the older 2 kids. They leave before she wakes up. Banana pancakes, bacon, strawberries and pineapple and pretzels with M&M's

Lunch for the older 2. Burritos from the freezer, salad, chips and salsa

Mexican rice with black beans and cheese, corn bread, grapes and M&M's

I want to get back to posting these everyday, instead of doing it every few days, its easier to keep track of what I made when.

Easy week- Random lunches

2007-10-11T17:42:00.001-07:00

Leftover Asian noodles
Cut up vegetables
Cantaloupe and strawberries
M&M's

Cheese Sandwich
Smart puffs
Carrots

Leftover cream cheese chicken
Cut up vegetables
Bread and margarine
Pretzels
Mini candy bar

Meijer spaghettios
Cut up veggies
Fruit
Lego fruit snacks

The pirate booty was from one of those Amazon sales. I bought 2 cases and have been good about saving them for when I have little time. Meijer spaghetti hoops are on sale this week. My daughter would happily eat these every day but they look so yucky to me.LOL

I am a sucker for anything Lego so I bought the Lego fruit snacks as a surprise. Boy did that co-branding work on me :)

Monday

2007-10-02T12:14:00.001-07:00

Lunch #1 ( 2 of these) Enchiladas from the freezer ( cut to fit) over rice, chips,salsa, sour cream, grapes and a Resse's cup

Lunch #2 Mexican rice, chips, salsa grapes and a mini Hershey bar

Lunch #3 ( Not pictured) Meatloaf, southwestern mashed potatoes and green beans. I made dinner in the afternoon and packed a lunch for DH from what I made and then I will just reheat it later for dinner for me and the kids.

Wednesday and Thursday

2007-09-28T16:58:00.000-07:00

Green beans with smoked sausage
Salad
Bread and butter
Cookie

BLT

Carrots

Pretzels

Chocolate pudding with berries and choclate chunks

Monday and Tuesday

2007-09-25T09:10:00.001-07:00

Monday- Hummus and pita bread, Greek chopped salad and fruit

Tuesday- Meat and cheese with crackers, vegetables with curry dip, chocolate pudding with chocolate chunks and bananas with berries. The curry dip is the dressing for the chicken salad for tonights dinner. The chocolate pudding is just from one of those snack packs from my cheap/ free after coupon stash with a few chocolate chunks on top. I did splurge this week by buying a pach each of raspberries and blueberries since they will be gone soon and my daughter loves them. The boys don't like berries so they will probably last all week.

Thursday and Friday

2007-09-21T13:09:00.000-07:00

Thursday- We went for chinese :)

Friday- A ham wrap ( cut up)

Canteloupe

Tomato and pickle slices

Fruit leather

2 cookies ( they were wrapped in plastic wrap till lunchtime)

2007-09-19T09:02:00.000-07:00

Sydney's lunch- Hummus with vegetables dippers, cheese and a deviled egg. Sydney prefers to graze when she eats so I think she will really enjoy her lunch today.

Jason choose the quick turkey lunch ( again) but he is more concerned with speed then variety :)

Marcus is working again ( free lunch).

DH has been taking mostly leftovers and a few freezer meals but he wants to start taking low carb lunches again. I will need to plan better for that next week.

Links and Lunch

2007-09-18T11:51:00.001-07:00

I added some links on the side to great lunch ideas. I hope you enjoy them!

Please forgive the terrible picture. Today the boys did a repeat of yesterday ( quick turkey sandwiches) and Sydney had breakfast for lunch. She really is not much of a eater in the morning so this worked out nice for her.

Little pancakes and syrup

Smoked sausage

A hardboiled egg

Applesauce

We were not going out today so I did not worry about putting lids on anything, I just placed it in the fridge until she was ready to eat.

Do you have any lunch sites or blog posts that you want to share?

Mondays Lunch

2007-09-17T14:26:00.000-07:00

No picture today. Everyone woke up late. I woke up at 6:37 and realized no one was up ( the boys usually get up at 5:30) and they needed to be at the door by 7:00.

So we quickly grabbed 2 turkey sandwiches from the freezer, opened a can of pineapple and grabbed some smart puffs and a cookie for the 2 early lunches when son #2 came down the stairs and said he did not need a lunch today since he was working in the cafeteria. So the second lunch got bumped to my daughter. At least lunch was quick today :)

2007-09-13T19:31:00.000-07:00

Tuesday -Pizza Pasta

Wednesday -Leftover noodles, wonton chips, sesame seeds and dum dums

Thursday- Ham salad and egg salad on lettuce with crackers, marinated veggies and grapes

Monday

2007-09-10T17:17:00.000-07:00

Miss S-1/2 turkey and roast beef sandwich on wheat, watermelon and pineapple and snack mix with peanut butter.

DH-Club sandwich, doritos and grapes

J and M- Pizza day at school

Thursday and Friday Lunch

2007-09-08T09:00:00.000-07:00

Thursday-

Sydney- Chicken Curry salad with crackers

DH took the chicken salad as a sandwich

Friday-
Sydney-Quesadilla with salsa, sour cream and watermelon

DH took a wrap made with smoked sausage, banana peppers, leftover veggies and cheese with watermelon and a side of chips.

The boys packed there own lunch from the freezer stash. One of my boys has started working in the cafeteria at school 3 days a week and gets free lunch when he works.

The winners are.............

2007-09-07T11:05:00.001-07:00

Congratulations to:

Anne Marie

and

Jenn

Please send your address to:

erratichomemaker@msn.com

2007-09-05T09:34:00.000-07:00

Monday-No school or work

Tuesday-Leftover pizza,applesauce,crackers and peanut butter

Wednesday-

S-Salad

Wheat bread

Pineapple

Snickerdoodle

J & M- Bologna sandwich

Pineapple

Chips

DH-Enchiladas and rice

Chips, sour cream,salsa

Easy day..

2007-08-31T10:12:00.000-07:00

Todays lunch:

Bagels with cream cheese
Pretzels
Carrots
Grapes

No picture today but we should have our fridge working by the end of the day. Woohoo!

2007-08-29T19:42:00.000-07:00

Wednesday-

For my husband:

smoked sausage and potatoes with green beans, bread ( leftovers)

Kids:
Smoked sausage and pineapple skewers
rice
fruit leather
cracker pack

Thursday-

Chili over spaghetti
shredded cheese and diced onions
salad with ranch
cookie
fruit leather

First Day Giveaway!

2007-08-27T15:36:00.000-07:00

We made our first lunches of the school year today. We made them tonight for tomorrows lunches to save time in the morning.

On the menu:

Turkey mini croissants

Pasta salad

grapes

brownie

Please leave a comment for a chance to win a pack of American Girl Level 2 Readers with a craft kit and a chore chart. These are new and would be great for your young reader or to give as a gift. I have 2 sets to give away so make sure you sign into blogger or leave a way for me to contact you if you win. We will pick 2 winners next Friday!

The lunch box

2007-08-23T11:56:00.000-07:00

Join us on the 27th for our first lunches of the new school year. We will be giving away a few things!