post scriptum

we have been through a great deal since march. a twin pregnancy where we tragically lost one of the identical twins at week 19 of the pregnancy. subsequently, it became a high risk pregnancy and i had to be sent on sick leave, followed by further complications which got me committed to bed rest. a month into bed rest, i was hospitalised. two weeks following the forced hospitalisation, our jon got a little sister born premature at 28 weeks. the little sister had to remain in hospital until the approximate due date. we got back home 4 weeks ago…

life at home has changed a great deal…

on the other hand, the good news is that jon’s kindergarten will start preparing their own lunches as of january 2010 so we the parents will no longer need to pack lunch boxes on a daily basis! hurray!

i want to thank all those that have come by to check on us.

monday

box 1: potato salad with crème fraîche and fresh parsley box 2: fresh red peppers box 3: Nutana soya fillet box 4: cherry tomatoes

tuesday

box 1: chow mein with carrots, soy sprouts, peas, onions, fresh ginger, garlic served over egg noodles box 2: cherry tomatoes box 3: veggie spring rolls (filling: cabbage, carrots) box 4: roasted almonds

wednesday

box 1: ratatouille (aubergine/eggplant, onions, fresh tomatoes, garlic, olive oil) served with a Nutana veggie sausage. box 2: cherry tomatoes box 3: veggie muffin (salty muffin base with zucchini/courgette and Nutana veggie sausage box 4: roasted almonds

thursday

box 1: boiled potatoes with black eyed peas and boiled egg – drizzled with olive oil box 2 + 4: fresh grapes box 3: fresh red peppers

friday

box 1: red lentil stew with red lentils, onions, garlic, tomato, crushed cumin and lemon juice box 2: variety cherry tomato box 3: naan bread box 4: cucumber slices

2 in 1

posting madness – 2 posts in 1 day or maybe i am just too keen…

monday

tuesday

wednesday

thursday

friday

week 20: back from procrastination mode

after one week in portugal and one week of business work related travel (where we did prepare lunchboxes for jon, but they were never photographed…) we are back to business as usual.

on friday, jon did not have a lunchbox because we had to spend lunch at the hospital – nothing serious – it was a scheduled appointment.

a big thank you to WORDPRESS for making even easier to post and upload pictures!!!

p.s. jon emptied the lunchboxes every day this week.

monday

box 1: vegetable (zucchini, aubergine, tomatoes, red peppers, onions) quiche with some stincky yummy cheese box 2: greek yoghurt with fresh rasperries (they were picked last summer by grandma and frozen) box 3: cherry tomatoes

tuesday

box 1: spinach tagliatelle with tomato sauce + fresh parsley box 2: cooked zucchini in tomato sauce and onion and parsley box 3: cucumber sticks box 4: fresh strawberries picked this very spring!

wednesday

box 1: grilled tortilla wrap with kidney beans in spicy tomato sauce and cheddar cheese box 2: fresh strawberries box 3: long winter cupcakes (they have p-l-e-n-t-y of sugar, but they are delicious… jon does not usually eat sugar, but once in a blue moon….) on the side: celeri sticks

thursday

box 1: greek yoghurt and raspberries box 2: soya pølse (sausages) box 3: broccoli and tomato quiche with the quintensential cheese ingredient (we could not survive without dairy products in this house – that much we have established!)

week 18: jon in the kitchen

jon loves to help in the kitchen. from peeling onions, to decorating cupcakes with icing and winnie the pooh add-ons to throwing salt in the boiling water, to helping us with the menu for dinner. if he sees that we are about to start cooking, he will drag his chair over to the kitchen counter, climb up and get busy. as long as he stays away from the knives… so we encourage him and praise him, because even if it takes double time to cook dinner, i would rather have him around and feel like he is being helpful.

on sunday, jon helped me make some sugar-free cookies. we did not follow any specific recipe. we just threw stuff in, he mixed all ingredients with his little hands and made them into what looks like meat balls rather than cookies. i put them in the oven to bake and he was excited about the outcome. he ate them throughout the week as a snack or in his lunchbox.

monday

box 1: creamy potato soup with peas box 2: sliced red peppers box 3: rustic bread with cream cheese (philadelphia…) box 4: odd shaped cookies made by jon himself! (contain oats, fig paste, cinnamon, nutmeg, honey, flour, butter and hazelnuts) 0utcome: empty box

tuesday

box 1: fresh salmon cooked in a rich tomato sauce (thyme, garlic, oregano and spices) box 2: cucumber sticks box 3: rice and peas box 4: delicious crostinis (old italian recipe) outcome: empty box

wednesday

box 1: cucumber and bell pepper slices box 2: peixinhos da horta (green bean tempura) box 3: oatmeal/dates sugar-free cookies box 4: gouda sticks outcome: empty box

thursday

box 1: fresh pasta with mixed veg tomato sauce (zucchini, mushrooms) with havarti cheese slices box 2: cucumber box 3: raw cawliflower box 4: cherry tomatoes outcome: needless to say, he ate everything except the raw cawliflower. papajon loves to eat raw cawliflower, mamajon is not so keen on the idea. we found out jon and mamajon have similar taste buds.

friday

box 1: fusili pasta with fresh pesto and peas box 2: sun-dried apricots box 3: cucumber slices box 4: soya nuggets (still the best on the market) outcome: emp-TY

week 17: colourful lunches

there was a virus roaming at jon’s daycare, where 8 of the 12 children in his daycare room were sick – jon was one of them. it was a combination of tonsilitis, fever and some coughing. jon did not eat much this week… we hope he will recup soon enough. he is healthy and running about but his apetite is not at the usual level yet.

monday

box 1: rustic olive baguette slices drizzled with virgin olive oil box 2: soya sausages box 3: lentil stew box 4: crunchy salad with pineapple, raw white cabbage, celeri, raisins and natural yoghurt dressing outcome: jon ate all except for the lentil stew - half of it was left behind note: the contents of this lunchbox were cooked up by grandma

tuesday

box 1: fresh tagliatelle with boiled broccoli, garlic, olive oil and feta cheese box 2: cucumber sticks box 3: smoked salmon on a bed of lettuce sandwiched between 2 slices of rustic bread box 4: fresh red peppers outcome: this box was eaten at home and it was eaten throughout the day. most of it was left behind though. i have noticed that when he is sick, he prefers to eat raw foods than to eat cooked meals…

wednesday

box 1: quorn fillet in a bed of roasted veg (aubergines, peppers, onions, tomatoes and zucchinis) box 2: cucumber sticks box 3: risengrød/arroz doce (cooked rice in milk and vanilla) drizzled with cherry sauce box 4: grapes

thursday

box 1: smoked salmon and vegetables quiche box 2: cucumber circles box 3: home made apple sauce box 4: dried apricots outcome: mamajon in her wisdom forgot that it was that day of the month; the day where the nice ladies at the daycare centre cook for all the little ones and there is no need to bring along a lunchbox… so jon snacked on the apple sauce and apricots when he got home

friday

box 1: spinach tagliatelle with mixed vegetables (zucchinis, aubergine, tomatoes, garlic, onions) and sprinkled parmesan box 2: soya sausages box 3: sugar free cookies (oats, flour, coconut oil, dates, raisins, honey – will upload the recipe soon…) box 4: dried apricots outcome: empty box

week 13: carrot craze

they celebrated fastelavn (carnival) towards the end of the week at the vuggestue and jon went dressed as an cute elephant! he has been going through an “elephant” phase and he likes to read books about elephants (Dumbo), elephant lego, elephant costume, toy elephants  

monday 

box 1: mexican mix (kidney beans in a tomato sauce, lots of onions and garlic, red peppers with some grated cheddar cheese) box 2: oat crackers (healthy and delicious) box 3: salad (tomato, lettuce, carrot, cucumber) box 4: corn mini-box: crème fraîche outcome: some of the salad left behind – those oat crackers dissapeared!

tuesday

box 1: on a bed of lettuce – red peppers and tomato slice box 2: mini carrots box 3: wasa runda with smoked salmon and crème fraîche box 4: wonder mash (inspired by Auntie M.’s lunch – boiled carrots, parsnips and broccoli mashed with a bit of olive oil and raw garlic! it looks dubious but it tasted delicious) outcome: the lettuce and a bit of the mash were not eaten.

wednesday

box 1: oat crackers – one with a slice of gouda and the other with smoked salmon box 2: wok veg (mange-tout, peas, carrots, broccoli and carrots with some soy sauce) box 3: greek yoghurt with home made applesauce box 4: curry chicken outcome: empty box

thursday

box 1: baby carrots with crème fraîche box 2: physallis (a box of them is quite cheap at the moment!) box 3: rice with peas with a good portion of cooked spinach with a drizzle of olive oil, garlic and pesto paste box 4: slice of gouda outcome: some rice was not eaten – have concluded jon is not a great fan of rice. he will eat it, but not one of this favourite staples.

friday

box 1: cherry tomatoes and rice box 2: baby carrots box 3: falafel box 4: red peppers outcome: a couple of carrots and most of the rice was abandonned – i expected that… but one has to try… he never starves though – i got quite early to the daycare on friday to see him eat a plate full of fruit; kiwis, apples, pineapple, pears… he was eating fruit like there was no tomorrow! the daycare provides free fruit for the kids which i think is great!

week 4: quiches and all

so far november has not been an easy month. a great deal of sick children at the vuggestue (daycare) and this week was no exception. jon had diarrhea last night but he was fine by the following morning and ready to play.

this week was different in terms of packing lunchboxes – we got a break on thursday because the vuggestue usually cooks for all the kids once a month. they had spaghetti and sauce.

monday

box 1: egg salad with rye bread box 2: spicy oatmeal muffin (oatmeal, flour, nutmeg, cardemom, cinnamon -no sugar nor sweetners) box 3 + mini box: carrot sticks and crème fraîche with dill box 4: banana halves outcome: box licked clean (assuming he did not eat the banana peel though….)

tuesday

box 1: mixed salad (cucumber, lettuce, sweet corn and tomatoes) box 2: natural yoghurt (non sweetened) and strawberry sauce/purée) lower half of lunchbox: spinach quiche (spinach, cream, eggs, nutmeg, garlic and domyati feta) outcome: a quarter of the quiche was left. they had cake for freja’s birthday, so…

wednesday

box 1: spinach ravioli with a veg tomato sauce (containing aubergines, green peppers, onions, garlic, and tomatoes) box 2: halloumi cheese sticks box 3: cucumber binoculars with mini carrots box 4: strawberries (not the season but still pretty good when defrosted!) outcome: 2 halloumi sticks left…

thursday

— all 12 kids from jon’s daycare room had spaghetti and sauce today, prepared by the sweet ladies of the vuggestue —–

friday

box 1 & 3: calzones (papajon made the pizza dough – he is the expert – and the filling is made out of aubergines, sundried tomatoes, fresh mozzarella, black olives, and onions – the recipe was  roughly based on something mad jamie whipped up once on tv. click here for the real recipe) box 2: oranges box 4: carrots outcome: all 4 boxes came back empty. considering he had diarrhea the previous night… we are impressed. unless his little friends at daycare are helping him with scuff it down at lunch… we will have to investigate.