week 34: headless chicken

the headless chicken is mamjon, or at least i am running around like a headless chicken these days. days should have 25 hours. or maybe i should look into reducing my work load to part time…

we had a long weekend. spent the weekend at farmor and farfar’s place (papajon’s parents) – jon loves running around in their backyard. jon loves the proximity to beach and forrest. so we all took friday off and enjoyed hanging out

monday

box 1: spinach pasta with butter beans in tomato sauce with fresh basil, garlic and onions box 2: cucumber and tomato box 3: sunflower seed bun with økologisk beef chorizo (all local stuff, no additives, no colourings, no funny business in this chorizo…) box 4: norwegian crisp bread (knekkebrød) with babybel

tuesday

box 1: falafel (chick pea goodness) with a mini-box of crème fraîche and dill box 2: mixed salad with white and orange carrots (white carrots!!!), sweetcorn and tomatoes box 3: knekkebrød (see link in monday’s lunch), with slices of dill flavoured arla havarti box 4: dates from an exotic land far away outcome: jon finished the lunchbox, but he did not dare eat the dates. mystery yet to be solved.

wednesday

box 1: mexican salad (as we call it at home) with boiled green beans, green peas and fresh red peppers – drizzled with olive oil and lime juice box 2: vegetable chips (parsnips, beetroot and potatoes) box 3: økologisk lamb sausage (lamb, paprika, onions, garlic, and other-that-i-can-not-remember-now and that is it!) – i don’t eat meat (i grew up vegetarian and eat fish once in a while and white meat once in a blue moon) but papajon said that it was the best sausage ever! i was diagnosed with anemia a month ago due to lack of iron, so we want to avoid jon getting iron deficiency by being purely vegetarian. if he eats meat, we are very careful to chose meat directly from the butcher, and papajon will then prepare it all at home. box 4: mashed potatoes with cheese, butter and milk (bring on the comfort food!)

thursday

box 1: pizza made with a tomato base spread on a large focaccia bread and topped with onions, beef chorizo and cheese. sinful. but homemade. box 2: cucumber sticks box 3: egg soufflé – eggs with left over mashed potatoes and feta cheese. delish. mini-box: homemade mayo with dash of cervera ketchup (sugarfree/aspartamfree/nonesensefree)

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 10: eating less than a bird

unlike previous weeks, jon did not eat much this week – be it at home be it at daycare. have read that children go through different stages of development, and when they are going through a growing stage they will eat a great deal more than usual. with jon, most times he eats for 3 people (well…i exaggerate ) yet this week, a bird could have easily gotten more down than he did. but we never push him, we know he eats when hungry and he is good at communicating when he is full. but for me as a the mother who is used to seing an empty box when i pick him up in the afternoon, bringing a half full box home was….

monday

box 1: quiche with left overs – yes, it happens, we re-use the good stuff – the filling was used the previous day to fill the mexican burritos (tomatoes, soya mince, red peppers, mushrooms, onions, garlic, cumin, coriander seeds) – all this goodness could not have gone to waste! box 2: home made apple sauce (boiled apples from great-grandma’s garden, no sugar, just some lemon juice) box 3: fresh tomatoes. outcome: empty box

tuesday

box 1: lentil stew (the recipe is actually avó’s (grandma) recipe that has been slightly adapted) – it has lentils, sweet potatoes, onions and a generous portion of red pesto box 2: physallis box 3: crunchy salad (grated carrot, sliced celeri, lettuce, tomato) box 4: brazilian nuts + raisins outcome: he just ate the raisins, a few spoons of the lentil stew and some of the grated carrot and the physallis of course.

wednesday

box 1: cucumber and celeri sticks with some greek yoghurt as dip box 2: physallis and grapes box 3: good old yummylicious gratin (potatoes, soya sausages, onions, garlic cooked in the oven with part milk and part cream) box 4: sweetcorn and red bell peppers outcome: he ate all the fruit, some of the corn and some of the gratin, the rest was untouched

thursday

box 1: couscous with fantastic sauce made by papajon (tomatoes, carrots, red peppers, dried apricots, cinnamon, curry, chili – in moderation selvfølgelig!) box 2: hard boiled eggs box 3: boiled peas box 4: seedless grapes outcome: the grapes and eggs were eaten happily, the rest was barely tasted.

friday

box 1: spaghetti + tomato sauce + soya meatballs box 2: greek yoghurt + passion fruit box 3: roasted zucchini with grated parmesan and herbs + raw cawliflower box 4: banana outcome: cawliflower + zucchini + spaghetti left behind.

week 5: marmite fan

as i write, jon is having his afternoon siesta. we have been home for the past 3 days because he was diagnosed with hand-foot-and-mouth disease (viral infection that generally affects pre-schoolers) and his fever has been up to 39.7 C with no clear signs of it coming down. at least his appetite is not altogether gone, he still eats very well, and has been more active today than he was yesterday. hope it will all clear over the weekend.

we still packed his lunchbox every night, hoping that the following day he would feel better. but we ended up eating its contents at home.

we discovered this week that jon is absolutely mad about marmite. after his cereal/oatmeal breakfast, he will usually have a toast with marmite. and if i forget he will quickly remind me to get him one.

monday

box 1 & 3: little rustic buns with home made burgers (papajon’s skills), box 2: left-over pasta from the previous night – tasting even better box 4: tomato, cucumber and a few lettuce leaves. outcome: gone with the wind. empty box.

tuesday

box 1: marmite rectangles: butter and marmite spread on økologisk bread box 2: tartelettes aux champignons (pastry bottoms filled with fresh mozzarella and portobello mushrooms with a drizzle of pesto oil) box 3: mango and rasperries (again… frozen) box 4: carrot + cucumber + tomato salad (lemon and olive oil dressing) outcome: half of the fruit box was left… defrosted fruit is never as exciting as fresh fruit.

wednesday:

box 1: potato salad (boiled potatoes, a whole lot of crème fraîche, sliced radishes, dill) box 2: fresh radishes box 3: 2 chicken sausages and 1 sojapølse (soya sausage) with remoulade and ketchup box 4: baby carrots outcome: he only ate the sausages – the night before he feasted on radishes. you can tell papajon put the lunchbox together, because that is the only time jon enjoys treats like remoulade and ketchup…

thursday

box 1: quorn fillet with roasted green beans and sliced tomatoes with herbs (thyme, rosemary, oregano) box 2: fresh papaya swirls (emphasis on the word “fresh”) box 3: risotto with herbs box 4: champignons farcis (portobello mushroom roasted upside down with  fresh mozzarella and a spoon full of parmesan) outcome: another meal eaten at home, despite the fever, he still ate a great deal of the risotto and all the green beans and half of the quorn fillet.

friday

box 1: whole wheat pasta with spinach sauce (spinach, leeks, onions, garlic, fresh salmon and cream) sprinkled with freshly grated parmesan box 2: rye bread in winnie the pooh shapes box 3: fresh papaya strips box 4: cheese and økologisk bread “stars” outcome: ate most of the pasta and 3 strips of papaya but did not eat the bread. thought it was cute and kept saying peter plys (winnie the pooh in danish) but did not touch them.

week 3: introducing quorn

we were not able to do too much shopping last sunday (we try to stock up for the whole week). that meant going to the supermarket every other evening to get vegetables or fruit. we managed to get hold of some  quorn (which comes in different shapes and tastes) at Brugsen - which is pretty exciting considering we eat mostly meat-free at home.

monday

box 1: lasagna (fresh lasagna sheets with a minced quorn tomato sauce + white sauce + peas + sliced aubergine. box 2: sesame wasa runda (crisp bread) box 3: tomato and corn salad (dressing: olive oil + lemon + oregano) box 4: raisins + apple sauce outcome: the lunchbox came back completely empty. licked clean…

tuesday

box 1: rice with green pesto and peas box 2: juicy orange box 3: “mexican” salad (tomatoes, boiled green beans, green olives + drizzled with olive oil and lemon) box 4: cucumber sticks + corn outcome: some corn and a couple of green beans were left alone in the box…

wednesday

box 1: pita bread box 2: roasted quorn bites box 3: salad (lettuce, tomato, cucumber and corn) + spiced up crème frâiche box 4: home made humus (chicks peas, olive oil, 1 garlic, juice of 1 lemon blended) outcome: empty lunchbox!!

thursday

box 1: wasa runda - sesame box 2: cucumber box 3: spinach cannelloni (made with spinach + peas + garlic rolled into fresh lasagna sheets covered with a tomato sauce) box 4: cottage cheese outcome: the runda crispbread did not go down as usual today, and he did not touch the cottage cheese. but there was no trace of the cannellonis…

friday

box 1: sliced yellow peppers mini-box: home made mayo (got the recipe from a spanish friend of mine: blend at high speed 1/2 cup of sunflower oil with 1/2 cup of soy milk + 1 clove of garlic, if you can stomach it, salt to taste – creamy and tasty semi-healthy mayo!!) box 2: penne pasta with spinach and tomato + grated cheese box 3: potato grossly mashed + oeufs farcis (yolk of egg mixed with mayo) box 4: greek yoghurt with swirls of jorbær grød (strawberry sauce) outcome: we are coming to the conclusion that jon no longer likes mash. a month ago, he was wild about mashed potatoes, in fact his favourite food… but his tastes must be changing. he left the mash behind. a few pennne were also left behind.