catching up

it has been more a case of procrastinating in terms of posting rather than not putting lunchboxes together. after a full 14 months of “lunchboxing” (that almost sounds dangerous), papajon and i could do put a lunchbox together with our eyes closed (well, almost), taking pictures is fairly straight forward… but posting is a lot more complex… wordpress has made posting an easy process… but it is still a long process to routinely post once a week… some people post daily and twice daily. kudos!

monday

box 1: lentil stew: potatoes, lentils, onions, garlic, tomato concentrate, red pesto, a touch of chili and sprinkled with a bit of fresh parmesan box 2: cashew nuts  box 3: cucumber box 4: tomatoes

tuesday

box 1: a brand new adventure into mexican cooking: peppers stuffed with beans (an independance day dish – i did not serve with the traditional walnut sauce and pomegranate seeds…) – it was served with rice instead. it was delicious but time consuming… box 2: cucumber sticks box 3: skinned grapefruit box 4: caswhews

wednesday

box 1: freshly cut fresh papaya! box 2: boiled egg box 3: cozido à portuguesa (boiled potatoes, carrots, green cabbage and drizzled with pure and virgin olive oil box 4: cherry tomatoes

thursday

box 1: boiled broccoli box 2: cucumber sticks box 3: rice with spinach and salmon (rather pale picture…) box 4: cherry tomatoes

friday

box 1: cucumber sticks box 2: eggplant (aubergine) pakoras (a real hit in this house!) box 3: veg mix (red and green peppers, tomatoes, aubergines, onions, garlic and olive oil) with mashed potatoes box 4: sweet dried apricots

2 in 1

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

monday

tuesday

wednesday

thursday

friday

the rat race continues

back from the dead winter hybernation… with the packing, the relocation, the unpacking (still a great deal of boxes to unpack, but we can function, so we are getting lazy to unpack the remaining ones…), hubby starting a new job, jon starting at a new pre-school, getting used and enjoying our new surroundings, quick trip to zimbabwe, all of these factors limited my blogging time. but we continue to put together lunchbox on a weekly basis. same procedure as last year

monday

box 1: greek yoghurt with sugar free jam from norway (thanks to SIL+BIL) box 2: physallis (some of us are addicted) box 3: walnut bread from our local bakery with slices of gouda cheese and cucumber box 4: boiled egg (you can never go wrong with boiled eggs)

tuesday

box 1: portuguese rice (i call it portuguese rice, because i grew up on this stuff) – rice boiled with peas, onions, carrots box 2: cucumber slices box 3: soya sausages (from nutana) box 4: yellow pepper slices on the side: physallis

wednesday

box 1: tri-colour fusili pasta with aubergine tomato sauce and mozzarella box 2: red pepper slices box 3: tomato wedges with gouda cheese with sprinkled oregano box 4: organic raisins

thursday

box 1: spinach omelette box 2: red pepper sticks box 3: rye bread buns with organic beef salami (free of colourings and similar nasty stuff) box 4: physallis

friday

box 1: boiled broccoli with sweetcorn (seasoned with fresh raw garlic, olive oil and lemon juice) box 2: goat cheese with sugar free apricot jam box 3: potatos sautéed with zucchini (courgettes) and carrots box 4: organic raisins

week 43: relocating

we are relocating to western denmark within 3 weeks, so the house is beginning to look like a war zone. moving is a good way to de-junk:) we are getting rid of our PC tomorrow. our fujitsu-siemens laptop from 2005 is too slow, so i will not be uploading any lunchbox pictures until 2009… need to preserve my sanity!!

want to thank all of you that stop by we will be back to welcome the new year!

meanwhile, i leave you with a challenge: think of the top 10 foods you would want to eat before you die.

monday

left box: thin crisp pizza (as it should be ) with sundried tomatoes, tomato sauce, mozzarella and drizzled with fresh pesto box 2: salad with lettuce, tomatoes, sweetcorn and cucumber box 3: cucumber

tuesday

box 1: sliced yellow peppers with cucumber slice box 2: cucumber sticks box 3: cawliflower and green peas gratin box 4: mashed potatoes

wednesday

box 1: pumpkin curry with chick peas and green peas box 2: boiled potatoes with olive oil and oregano right box: veggie samosa on the side: tangerine

thursday: jon was properly fed at kindergarten at their monthly get-together-lunch

friday: no picture available…

week 42: glorious plantain

mamajon discovered a shop that sells plantain! bliss! rapture! mamajon grew up in ivory coast, and papajon and jon have been duly introduced to the great taste of aloko.

mamajon bought a bag full of ripe plantain, a few packs of foutou and a few bags of plantain crips… couldn’t help it…

monday

box 1: fresh tagliatelle with tomato sauce and black olives + parmesan box 2: sliced cucumber box 3: apple and cinnamon struddel with almonds and raisins (entirely and completely sugarfree!) box 4: radishes mini-box: fresh tagliatelle post scriptum: jon packed his own lunchbox and he felt he needed 2 boxes with tagliatelle.

tuesday

box 1: tomato slices box 2: plantain crips box 3: fresh salmon baked with potatoes and thyme box 4: fresh spinach sautéed with onions and olive oil

wednesday

box 1: tomatoes box 2: plantain crips (fabulous snack!) box 3: pasta with fresh spinach and oven baked feta cheese box 4: sweetcorn

thursday

box 1: spanish tortilla (the flip failed me… or i failed to flip and the egg/potato tortilla crumbled…) box 2: mexican tortilla grilled with cheddar cheese box 3: sweetcorn and green olives with olive oil and lemon juice box 4: grapes from portugal (grown in grandparent’s vineyard! )

friday

box 1: oven baked potatoes box 2: aloko box 3: tomato sauce with onions and grated parsnips box 4: roasted chicken breast

week 37: pumpkin time!

we bought a huge pumpkin last weekend and it has been sitting in our backyard waiting to be cooked and eaten. am looking forward to pumpkin pie later this coming weekend. but 1/4 of the pumpkin was used by papajon to make something sumptuously delicious!

jon and mamajon made banana pie sunday afternoon. jon is so good at helping in the kitchen. he plastered the pie crust inside the mould and cut 2 bananas with his child-safe knife then he was certain he wanted cinnamon on top of the banana!

i have to say a big thank you to heather for her suggestions last week! we tried the risotto with peas, white beans with herbes de provence and the zucchini pancakes. we had tried variations of the risotto and white beans before, but the zucchini pancakes was pure innovation!! it was loved by all in the house!! should have asked for a recipe though…

monday

papajon went to croatia on a project monitoring visit. he took the camera with him, so i could not take pictures of his monday lunchbox…

tuesday

box 1: banana pie – crust: blend oats, honey, almonds and coconut oil; slice banana on top of crust, sprinkle cinnamon and bake until crust is cooked box 2: cherry tomato box 3: risotto rice with peas and sprinkled with parmesan box 4: white beans seasoned with herbes de provence and a spoonfull of green pesto outcome: box came back CLEAN!

wednesday

left side of box: zucchini pancakes: what an excellent idea (thanks to heather) i used 4 eggs, whole meal flour, lots of ginger, a pinch of nutmeg, 1 large raw grated zucchini, pinch of salt, baking powder+soda box 2: boiled broccoli and olive oil box 3: cherry tomato outcome: when i picked him up in the afternoon, he left kindergarten chanting: i ate 3 pancakes, i ate 3 pancakes!!

thursday

kindergarten served lunch today. no lunchbox needed. they served pita bread, falafel and lots of crunchy vegetables like carrots and peppers.

friday

box 1: rice cooked with cinnamon, cardemom and cloves box 2: pumpkin curry: cooked pumpkin with chick peas, onions, salt + olive oil and curry spices (papajon’s twist) right side of box: 1 peach and a couple of whole meal crostini outcome: kindergarten was closed today, as all teachers had to attend a 6 hours training session. i took the day off to go for a picnic with my son

week 32: fast food nation

we live in a fast food nation, a fast food society. it is alarming to see children and even toddlers already overweight. children constantly snacking. children eating oversized ice creams… children feasting on large portions of oily and saturated french fries. who am i to judge, i like to feast on french fries once in a while my self, but the health of my child is another matter altogether.

we want our son to have the best start in life, and we really prioritise nutrition at home. it is a huge responsability to teach your child to eat right, to get him to love eating vegetables and fruits, foods that will make him grow healthy and have the energy to be active. when he’ll be older, he will make his own choices about foods, but now, it is our duty to set him on the right path.

monday

box 1: supposedly a spanish tortilla (except the frying pan gave up on me and it became scrambled eggs with diced potatoes, onions, garlic and olive oil! ) box 2: homemade frikadeller (these ones made by papajon with minced lamb) box 3: tomato and sweetcorn salad box 4: rhubarb and strawberry yoghurt (sugarfree) with blueberries

tuesday

box 1: cucumber and red peppers box 2: 2 babybel cheeses (it was the week of babybel!) box 3: quorn and peas in a coconut sauce and curry box 4: grilled tortilla with grated cheese and tomato

wednesday

box 1: tagliatelle with an tomato, aubergine and zucchini sauce box 2: whole wheat crostinis box 3: organic raisins box 4: mozzarella with red pesto outcome: for the fist time in a long time, the lunchbox was not empty… jon left the mozzarella behind

thursday

box 1: rugbrød (ryebread) with nutana sandwich cream and sliced cucumbers box 2: babybel and some homemade mayonaise as dip to the quorn fillet box 3: mini cucumbers and tomato box 4: 1 boiled egg with half a quorn fillet

friday

box 1: lentils with onions and masala spices box 2: cucumber and tomato salad box 3: 1 apple from the garden box 4: white and wild rice outcome: jon scrapped all boxes as usual, except the lentils – we know he does not like it, but we still try to introduce it in his diet now and then, hoping for a breakthrough

week 29: one week to go

we fly to seattle tomorrow the 12th and will be back to posting in one month! enjoy the summer sun!

monday

box 1: potato salad (boiled potatoes, shredded lettuce, peas, spring onions, olive oil and lemon) box 2: tomatoes box 3: chicken sausages and ketchup (one of the best around, no added sugar, no aspartam) box 4: pita bread

tuesday

box 1: homemade pizza (tomatoes, mozzarella cheese, onions, oregano), box 2: dried apricots box 3: cucumber slices

wednesday

box 1: penne pasta in a spicy bean sauce with cheese slices on the side box 2: tomatoes box 3: mini pita breads box 4: cucumber

week 27: 30 degrees celcius in may…

they went to the mini-olympics this week with other 5 daycares/kindergartens. jon won his first medal for relay-running. it is proudly hanging on his bedroom wall.

the weather continues to be absolutely fabulous which means another day at the beach.

the lunchboxes come back empty every week.

monday

box 1: mixed salad with corn, lettuce, tomato and cucumber box 2: pita bread box 3: rye bread with beef salami and a mini-babybel mini box: crème fraîche box 4: falafel

tuesday

they went to the mini-olympics and competed with other 5 institutions. they had a blast, or so jon tells us we packed sandwiches in a paper bag, with some babybel and fruit. no picture available.

wednesday

box 1: 2 pastes/dips: red humus (chick peas blended with olive oil, lemon juice, roasted red peppers, salt and a bit of crushed cummin) and burta (an afghan delight: blended one roasted eggplant with yoghurt, fresh garlic, fresh cilantro, olive oil, lemon juice and salt) box 2: naan bread box 3: carrot and cucumber sticks box 4: fresh strawberries

thursday

box 1: kidney beans in a tomato sauce spiced with a bit of chili and crushed cummin with a spoon of crème fraîche box 2: raw broccoli box 3: rye bread sliced turkey breast and cucumber slices box 4: sweet corn

friday

box 1: greek yoghurt with peaches and strawberries box 2: sweetcorn box 3: rye bread and beef salami box 4: cucumber slices

week 25: terrible two’s indeed…

it was a hard week for parenting… a great deal of tantrums. but that is all part of growing up. part of being two years old. pushing boundaries. but he is eating better than ever. he asks for porridge (oatmeal) every single morning with raisins and powdered with cinnamon. he can finish two big plates all by himself. and no, i do not exaggerate.

monday

(no picture available)

tuesday

wednesday

thursday

friday