Bentos 94 - 97: Second Week of School

Sigh. . .One month into school and I'm already way behind.  I'm not good at this blogging thing. Here are the bentos for the second week of school.  I forgot to take a picture on Friday morning, we were in a bit of a rush, so there are only four again.  

Bento for Baby 94:  Baby Girl had some leftovers from dinner the previous night.  My mother gave me a few pounds of roma tomatoes from her garden, so I made a fresh tomato sauce from one of my Lidia Bastianich cookbooks.  This was packed into a Lunchbots thermal container.  Along with the leftovers I gave her a zucchini apricot muffin from the freezer, some halved cherries, and some sunflower and pumpkin seeds in the medium Nesting Trio container.

Bento for Baby 95:  Tuna white bean salad dressed with lemon and olive oil in whole wheat pita, sugar snap peas, grapes, and some cantaloupe pieces in the tiffin box.

Bento for Baby 96:  Two mini pizzas on whole wheat pitas from the freezer, some sugar snap peas, bing cherries an some pretzel sticks in the U Konserve Rectangle.

Bento for Baby 97:  Some more leftovers from dinner the previous night in her Lunchbots thermal container - our favorite Bittman spaghetti and meatballs, along a few grapes, a strawberry and a few sugar snap peas in the medium container from the Kids Konserve Nesting Trio.

Items similar to those used to pack these bentos:

    

Bento for Baby 81: Spaghetti and Meatballs with Spinach Cake and Apple Sandwich

This bento was a resounding hit with Baby Girl.  I gave her some leftover spaghetti and meatballs I made for dinner the night before.  This was made from a fantastic recipe by Mark Bittman for Spaghetti and Drop Meatballs With Tomato Sauce, which makes a quick (about 30 minutes) and delicious meal.  In addition to being delicious, this recipe also very well written, the steps are laid out in a logical progression, are very easy to follow, and you can actually complete it in the stated prep time, unlike most recipes.  I made it pretty much as written, using whole wheat spaghetti and grass fed beef.  Anyway, Baby Girl absolutely loved it for dinner and polished off the leftovers in her lunch the next day.  

Along with her leftovers, Baby Girl had an apple peanut butter sandwich, some segments of clementine, a spinach cake from the freezer and a couple cubes of cheddar cheese.  This bento came back completely empty, so I now felt comfortable to declare the lunch strike officially over!

Supplies similar to those used in this lunch:

Bento for Baby 79: Palmiers and Banana Bread

For her bento on this day Baby Girl had a few more favorites.  Although she had eaten her whole lunch the previous day, I wasn't yet convinced that her lunch strike was over.  Thankfully, she again ate most of her lunch, except some of the black beans shown here in the green silicone cup.  Along with the black beans, she had three spinach pizza palmiers from the freezer, some unsweetened banana chips, a clementine, one sunbutter oatmeal ball and a small piece of whole wheat sugar-free banana bread (which was actually leftover from her breakfast on this morning.)

Items used to pack this bento:

Bento for Baby 75: Apple Sandwich and Pizza Palmier

You may notice that the next few bentos have much less food than I usually pack.  Baby Girl went on a bit of an eating strike at school in November and December.  Most of her bentos came back barely touched, even when I sent her favorite foods.  To encourage her to eat her lunch, I stopped packing items to supplement her morning snack.  I also packed more foods I knew she liked, but still tried to provide variety and a few new flavors.  It was a frustrating time. I was worried about her getting enough to eat and annoyed at the waste of food.  Since my mind was on other things, I often forgot to take pictures of her bentos, so the next few posts aren't a complete record of the few weeks before the holidays.  Thankfully, Baby Girl started eating with gusto again the last week before the holiday break!  However, I think her appetite is smaller these days as her growth rate slows in toddlerhood, so I'm going to continue with just packing food for lunch and not supplement her school-provided morning snack.

So, for her bento on this day sometime in early December, I gave her an apple and peanut butter sandwich (on an organic Fuji apple, which she let me know was much too tart for her liking. . .), two pizza plamiers from the freezer, some unsweetened banana chips and a couple carrot sticks.  This was packed in the top section of her small green tiffin box.  I think on this day all she ate was one bite of the apple sandwich, some of the banana chips a half a palmier. . .sigh.

Supplies similar to those used in this lunch:

Bento for Baby 74: Dan's Awesome Pancakes and Goat Cheese Tortilla Rolls

Back to bentos after a holiday hiatus!  Before we start with the new bentos packed this week, I need to catch up on several lunches I never got around to posting before the holidays.

This bento is from the beginning of December.  For her morning snack I gave Baby Girl a couple of Dan's Awesome Pancakes from the freezer and some frozen blueberries in the white silicone cup.  For the lunch portion of the bento, she had some goat cheese and thinly sliced cucumber rolls on a whole wheat tortilla.  With the tortilla rolls I gave her a few slices of apple and two sunbutter oatmeal balls.

Supplies similar to those used in this lunch:

Bento for Baby 73: Mixed Grain Blueberry Muffin and Ak-Mak Peanut Butter Crackers

Baby Girl has another quick and simple bento today since I'm holding down the fort alone while her father is travelling.  For morning snack I gave her a mixed grain blueberry muffin from the freezer and some slices of banana.  For lunch she has some freshly ground, additive-free peanut butter sandwiched between some whole wheat Ak-Mak crackers, few slices of English cucumber, some gala apple slices and a mix of organic raisins and roasted, unsalted sunflower seeds in the yellow silicone cup.

Supplies similar to those used in this lunch:

Bento for Baby 69: Multi-grain Blueberry Muffin and Avocado Hummus Tortilla Roll

For her morning snack on this day, Baby Girl had two mini mixed grain blueberry muffins from the freezer and some halved grapes.  This was packed in the bottom section of my favorite small green tiffin box.  For lunch, packed in the top section of the tiffin box, I gave her some avocado hummus tortilla rolls.  I started with a typical hummus recipe with chickpeas and tahini, but substituted a small avocado for most of the tahini and some of the olive oil.  It turned out quite nicely; it had a strong avocado flavor but the chickpeas made it a bit heartier.  I spread this on a warmed 100% whole wheat tortilla, topped that with some grated cheddar cheese and rolled it up.  With her tortilla rolls, I gave Baby Girl some thin carrot sticks, a sunbutter oatmeal ball and some chunks of pear.

Supplies similar to those used in this lunch:

Bento for Baby 68: Yogurt with Granola and Zucchini and White Bean Canneloni

Baby Girl had some of her favorites in today's bento!  She hasn't been eating very much at school lately, so I thought I'd stack the deck to encourage her a bit.  I packed most of her food for the day together in a U Konserve Rectangle container, but I intended some for her morning snack and some for her lunch.  For snack, I gave her some plain greek yogurt in the smallest container from the Kids Konserve Nesting Trio.  To eat with that I included some homemade granola and some frozen blueberries.   Our entire household has become a bit obsessed with homemade granola the last few months.  We all love it for breakfasts and snacks.  I make a slightly sweeter one for the grown ups and a version with little to no added sweetener for Baby Girl.   I much prefer it to store bought cereal.

Anyway, back to the bento.  To eat for lunch I included a zucchini and apricot muffin from the freezer and some frozen edamame and peas in the U Konserve Rectangle.  I also gave her some leftover zucchini and white bean cannelloni I made for dinner the night before in a 4 ounce glass canning jar so it could be warmed in the microwave .  This is a fantastic dish where sautéed grated zucchini, white beans and spinach are wrapped in whole wheat crepes and then baked in a creamy ricotta based sauce.  I will post the recipe when I have time to type it all out.  It's not a quick and easy dinner, but it is so delicious it is worth the effort!

Items used to pack this bento:

Bento for Baby 67: Zucchini Apricot Muffin and Sausage Squash and Brussels Sprout Pizza

Dan made an absolutely delicious pizza for dinner last night.  It had mild Italian sausage, roasted delicata squash, roasted Brussels sprouts and fresh mozzarella on homemade whole wheat dough.  It was a perfect combination of slightly spicy, sweet and bitter.   Baby Girl has been cautious of Brussels sprouts and squash lately, but even she recognized the deliciousness of this pizza and ate a whole slice without picking it apart.  So, for her lunch the next day, I gave her two small slices of the leftover pizza.  I included a mishmash of other food with the pizza in the U Konserve Rectangle for her to eat for morning snack and lunch.  She got half a pear, some carrot and cucumber sticks, some halved green grapes, a sunbutter oatmeal ball, a zucchini apricot muffin from the freezer and a few squares of organic cheddar cheese.  An interesting note about the zucchini muffin - I was chatting with my husband while making this new batch recently, and I completely forgot to add the small amount of brown sugar called for in the recipe.  Guess what?  They are still rather tasty!  Baby Girl actually seems to prefer them this way! Next time I make them I think I'll put just a tiny bit of sugar in them, because the bite of the baking soda without any sugar is a bit sharp for me.  But I'm really glad that I can make a healthy muffin even healthier!

Items used to pack this bento:

Bento for Baby 66: Pancakes and Avocado Pita

Baby Girl had some of her Papa's Awesome Pancakes along with some sliced green grapes for her morning snack on this day.  This was packed into the left side of the U Konserve Rectangle.  Food for her lunch took up the remaining portion the container.  Her lunch consisted of half a 100% whole wheat pita filled with a mix of Greek yogurt and avocado, some frozen broccoli and peas in the orange silicone cup and a trail mix of dried apricots, almond slivers and walnut pieces in the white silicone cup.

Items used to pack this bento:

Bento for Baby 63: Waffle with Yogurt and Green Curry Tofu

Dan the pancake man made some waffles the previous weekend, so lucky Baby Girl got a leftover quarter for her morning snack on this day.  She also got a bit of plain Greek yogurt to accompany it.  She has a new-found love of dipping things, always accompanied by her gleefully saying "dip, dip, dip," so I imagine the yogurt will become dip for the waffle.  For her lunch I gave her a few cubes of tofu leftover from the Thai green curry I made for dinner the night before.  She was a huge fan of the tofu, but didn't really like the taste of the curry sauce, even though it was very mild.  I'm sure she'll come around.  I also gave her some frozen broccoli florets, a few carrot slices from the curry, some halved green grapes and a couple mini whole wheat biscuits from the freezer.

Supplies similar to those used in this bento:

Bento for Baby 62: Squash Blossom Risotto

I think risotto is a great food for little ones.  For babies starting out with baby led weaning it is a great soft texture that's easy to eat.  They can also eat it easily with their hands since it gets sticky and clumps together when it is cool.  You can also throw all sorts of vegetables in it and it always tastes fantastic.  For older kids learning to eat with utensils, it is easy to scoop up and doesn't fall off a fork or spoon.   It's the kind of dish that will satisfy both adults and kids for dinner.  And it comes together in less than half an hour!

We got some beautiful squash blossoms with our CSA share, so I thought a nice way to appreciate their delicate flavor would be to use them in a risotto.  I made a classic risotto and then stirred in the sliced squash blossoms with the last couple additions of stock right before the risotto was finished.  The risotto was delicious, as it always is, but I didn't think that the flavor of the squash blossoms came through as much as I was hoping.  But the beauty of being a member of a CSA is I will likely get more squash blossoms in the future and can experiment with fun new ways to cook with them.

So, for Baby Girl's bento on this day, I gave her some of the leftover risotto from the night before.  I packaged it in a 4 ounce glass canning jar so that it could be heated up in the microwave at daycare. To round out her lunch, and to eat for morning snack, I gave her a multi-grain blueberry muffin from the freezer, two sun butter oatmeal balls, some sliced green grapes and a mix of garbanzo beans and frozen peas in the red silicone cup.  This was packed into the top layer of my favorite little green tiffin box.

Similar items to those used in this bento:

Bento for Baby 60: Pancakes and Palmiers

Since we went out the night before, I grabbed a few things from the freezer to quickly pack this bento in the morning.  I put all her food for the day in the U Konserve rectangular container.  For her morning snack I gave Baby Girl a couple of Dan's Awesome Pancakes and some frozen mango chunks.  For lunch she had three pizza palmiers, two filled with spinach and ricotta and one with pesto, ricotta and broccoli.  I also gave her some sliced carrots and English cucumber and a little trail mix I made with walnuts, raisins and sunflower seeds.

Items used to pack this bento:

Bento for Baby 59: Zucchini Apricot Muffin and Rice Noodle Stir Fry with Peanut Sauce

For lunch on this day, Baby Girl had some leftover brown rice vermicelli stir fry with peanut sauce, tofu and vegetables.  This recipe was very loosely based on a recipe from one of my favorite cookbooks, Moosewood Restaurant Cooks at Home: Fast and Easy Recipes for Any Day, for Fragrant Rice Noodles with Vegetables.  Baby Girl loves tofu and anything with peanut sauce, so this dinner was a hit.  The leftovers were packed in a 4 oz glass canning jar so that they could be warmed in the microwave.  I packed some more food in the largest container from the Kids Konserve Nesting Trio to supplement her lunch and eat for morning snack. Clockwise from the broccoli in the white silicone cup we have a sunbutter oatmeal ball, a zucchini and apricot muffin from the freezer, a strawberry and some organic frozen blueberries in the yellow silicone cup, and some organic cheddar cheese cubes.

Items used to pack this bento:

Bento for Baby 58: Dan's Awesome Pancake and Goat Cheese Cucumber Tortilla Rolls

For morning snack on this day Baby Girl had one of Dan's Awesome Pancakes from the freezer along with some sliced grapes in the blue silicone cup.  Baby Girl's love of goat cheese is enduring, so for her lunch I made her some goat cheese and cucumber tortilla rolls.  I warmed a 100% whole wheat tortilla in the microwave briefly and then spread it with a thin-ish layer of goat cheese.  Warming the tortilla helps it roll without cracking and makes the cheese easier to spread.  I cut some English cucumber into really thin slices using my mandolin and then layered them over the cheese on the bottom half of the tortilla.  Then I rolled the tortilla tightly and cut it into four equal pieces.  With her tortilla rolls, I gave her her a little trail mix of walnuts, sunflower seeds and raisins in the red silicone cup, some strawberries and one sunbutter oatmeal ball.

Supplies similar to those used in this bento:

Bento for Baby 57: Banana Bread Peanut Butter Sandwich with Pasta Carbonara

Baby Girl had some old favorites for her morning snack and lunch on this day.  We had pasta carbonara with summer squash for dinner again the night before, so I gave her some of the leftovers the next day.  This was packaged in a 4 ounce canning jar so it could be warmed in the microwave. To round out her lunch and to have for her morning snack I packed Baby Girl a peanut butter sandwich on whole wheat banana bread from the freezer, some strawberries and some sliced cucumbers and sugar snap peas.  This was packed in the largest container from the Kids Konserve Nesting Trio.

Items used to pack this bento:

Bento for Baby 56: Zucchini Apricot Muffin with Caramelized Onion Butternut Squash Hand Pie

I made a lovely free-form savory crostata for dinner last night; filled with a bit of ricotta, caramelized onions, butternut squash and blue cheese.  It was rather beautiful, too, I wish I had snapped a picture of it.  For Baby Girl, I used the same crust and fillings to make little hand pies because it's hard for her to eat a wedge of tart.  We use a fantastic whole wheat olive oil dough recipe from the Chocolate and Zucchini blog for many of the savory tarts/crostatas we make in these parts.  However, unlike the blog author, I make the dough in my food processor.  I just mix the dry ingredients in the bowl with the metal blade then pour in the wet ingredients and blend until a ball forms. I love this dough.  It is much healthier than regular pastry dough, it is really quick and easy to make and it is a dream to work with. I've never had difficulties rolling this out or moving it to a tart pan.  And it's delicious, it has a really nice light and flaky texture.  I rarely par bake the crust when using it for a savory tart. For the crostata last night I simply rolled it out into a large circle, layered on the fillings and folded the edges up over the filling and baked it on a preheated baking stone.  To ease the transfer of the crostata to the oven I rolled it out onto a large piece of parchment paper and then just slid the whole thing onto the stone.  

So!  Back to what we're here for - the bento!  I gave baby girl one of the leftover hand pies for her lunch the next day.  I had a taste of the cold tart myself, and it was equally tasty cold as it was warm. With her hand pie I gave her a mix of frozen edamame and peas and one sunbutter oatmeal ball.  For morning snack I packed a zucchini apricot muffin from the freezer along with some strawberries and some frozen mango chunks in the blue silicone cup.  I intended for her to eat some of this fruit with her lunch, too, but I couldn't fit it in that section of her tiffin box.

Supplies similar to those used in this bento:

Bento for Baby 55: Strawberry Tortilla Rolls and Quinoa Cake with Spinach Cake

I've been breaking my own rules and buying strawberries even though they are way out of season and nowhere near local, but Baby Girl loves them, so I continued to buy them.  Not surprisingly, they don't taste nearly as good as fresh, local berries.  I bought one last box for this week, so I thought I'd make some strawberry and cream cheese tortilla rolls for Baby Girl's morning snack for the last time this year.  With her tortilla rolls I included some halved organic green grapes.  For her lunch I grabbed a few things from the freezer: a quinoa cake, some organic mixed vegetables and half a spinach cake.  I also packed her a couple slices of Gala apple and a sun butter oatmeal ball.

Supplies similar to those used in this bento:

Bento for Baby 54: Dan's Awesome Pancakes and Vegetarian Chili with Cornbread

Baby Girl had some more leftovers in her bento on this day.  For her morning snack I gave her one of Dan's Awesome Pancakes from the freezer along with a couple strawberries.  Her lunch was made up of leftovers from our dinner the night before - some homemade white bean vegetarian chili in a small 4 oz canning jar (so it could be warmed in the microwave) and a slice of cornbread.  With her chili she had a few slices of English cucumber and some green grapes.  This chili was mildly spiced and included one of her favorite things - beans! - so it was a hit for dinner.

Similar items to those used in this bento:

Bento for Baby 53: Mixed Grain Blueberry Muffin and Ak-Mak Peanut Butter Sandwich

Today's bento is kind of old school.  I contains the foods that automatically pop into my mind when someone says "kid's lunch."  Not that that's a bad thing, it's still healthy and tasty, and I can be pretty sure that Baby Girl will eat all of it!  Here are the details - For her morning snack, I gave Baby Girl a mixed grain blueberry muffin from the freezer and some cut up green grapes.  For lunch I made her a peanut butter sandwich on a couple 100% whole wheat Ak Mak crackers.  I used the freshly ground, straight from the tap peanut butter from Earth Fare that only contains organic unsalted peanuts.  It is a new hit in our house for the whole family.  With her cracker sandwich I packed some organic raisins, a couple slices of gala apple and some English cucumber slices and sugar snap peas.  I cut one of the cucumber slices into a flower shape as an enticement to try it.  Sometimes cucumbers come home, sometimes they disappear from her lunch, so it's still a work in progress to get her to eat them.

Supplies similar to those used in this bento: