When Sonal announced her lunchbox collective, I could only think of what I go through with my kids. I have a 7-year old and a 4-year old who are picky eaters and therefore lunch is a big issue. While there are several things that could be sent to kids, when it comes to my children these are the issues I face:
1. They are picky
2. They don't eat messy food by themselves.
3. They don't want food that has sauce/ gravy as it may spill.
4. The food has to be in good condition by lunchtime.
I am might have forgotten a few more issues..😉
Anyways, the solution for most of these problems is SANDWICH!! Yes, sandwiches .. The possibilities are endless.. Most people / kids like sandwiches unless you are someone like me, who actually doesn't like them!😌 Don't get me wrong, I will eat them in a pinch, but for be most part I avoid them. Enough about me, coming back to lunch.. Sandwiches work for my kids and my husband too for his lunch!
Like I said earlier, there are endless possibilities for sandwiches! I am going to share with you some of them and ways to make sandwiches appealing to kids. Children don't like CRUST!! That is a big turn-off to them. If you are someone like me who thinks that throwing the crust is wasting food, then you better reconcile with it. Save the crust to make bread crumbs/ croutons or feed it to the birds/ducks.
So once you have taken off the crust, try to make it appealing by cutting the sandwich into different shapes. I use shape cutters to do them. They are inexpensive and easily available. If you don't have them, just use a regular knife to shape the sandwiches. Much as kids like hearts and trains, they also like little triangles and squares and circles. For little kids, keep the sandwiches simple. I like to make my kids' meals as balanced as possible, so I use whole grain or wheat bread, some protein in the sandwich and fruit on the side. The protein could be nut butter like Nutella, almond butter, peanut butter or cheese. You could pair the nut butter with sliced apple or banana. You could pair the cream cheese with sliced cucumbers tomatoes or just plain. You could also make an olive oil and tomato sandwich . For the slightly older kids you could use a layer of coriander-mint chutney with tahini or hummus.
Now let us look at some of the very basic options!
Servings : makes one sandwich of each kind
Ingredients:
Whole grain wheat/ white bread slices: 2 slices -per sandwich
For butter and jelly sandwich:
Butter/ nut butter: 1 tablespoon per sandwich. ( can adjust as per individual preferance)
Fruit preserve/jam: 1 tbsp
For the cucumber/ tomato sandwich:
Cream cheese: 1 tablespoon per sandwich. ( can adjust as per individual preferance)
Butter: 1 tsp
Cucumber slices: 3-4, depending on the size of the cucumber.
Tomato slices: 2-4, depending on the size of the tomato.
Coriander/mint chutney: 1 tbsp
Method:
For butter and jelly sandwich:
Apply butter/nut butter on one bread slice.
Apply fruit preserve on the other slice.
Place it on top of each other.
Place the desired shape sandwich cutter on the bread and cut into desired shape. I used a train-shaped cutter and a heart-shaped cutter.
Pack it in your child's favorite lunch-box.
For the cucumber/tomato sandwich:
Using a serrated knife cut off the crust from the bread slices.
Apply butter on one bread slice.
Apply coriander-mint chutney on top of the butter.
Place the cucumber and tomato slice on each other in layers .
Drizzle with some more coriander-mint chutney.
Apply cream cheese to the other slice. Place on top.
Slice it into two rectangles in the middle and then each rectangle into tow triangles.
You can use toothpicks to secure the sandwich.
Pack in lunch boxes with a side of desired fruit, cut into bite size pieces!
I am bringing these lunchbox ideas to Throwback Thursday #50, Fiesta Friday #132 and Saucy Saturday#57! Angie's co-hosts this week are Sandhya @ Indfused and Nancy @ Feasting With Friends
Cooking made easy:
The above sandwiches can be altered in many different ways depending on what you have on hand.
You could make only cheese sandwich, or stack with more veggies like sweet bell peppers, grilled tofu or paneer. You could also add ketchup or serve it on the side. Use your imagination!
Tip for healthy living:
It is recommended that every meal be a balanced meal to meet the daily requirements of nutrients. The best way to attain this is by making your meals colorful. You can read more in the references below.
References:
https://www.choosemyplate.gov/MyPlate
https://www.choosemyplate.gov/fruit
http://www.dartmouth.edu/wellness/docs/fruitvegservingsizes.pdf
Food for thought:
It is easier to build strong children than to repair broken men. Frederick Douglass
Please do share your thoughts. Your opinion matters!
Feeling hot hot hot ... That's the song that has been stuck in my mind! Well, literally, it is getting hot, with warmer temperatures here and scorching u relenting heat in India! Kids and adults alike are looking for ways to cool themselves down! What better than ice cream to cool yourself?? My daughter has been asking for ice cream sandwiches for a while now. I have been stalling her saying that when it gets warmer, I will make them for you. I don't like my kids eating cold, frozen stuff during winter for fear that they might get sick ( yes, I know that is a myth, but I can't help being a mom). This past weekend she goes, " Mommy it is warm now. Are you going to make ice cream sandwiches now??" I replied, " of course!" Her next sentence was : can I help? I said yes and together we set out making these cute little beauties!
Well, I cannot claim much credit for the recipe. It is literally ice cream sandwiched between 2 cookies! A friend of mine helped me with the nitty-gritty. So technically this is semi-homemade. I bought the ice cream and the cookies from the store, assembled the sandwiches and stuck it back in the freezer! When my blogger friend Sonal invited recipes for a semi-homemade collective, she specifically told me that she was looking for a recipe that was fun! Now who can say "NO" to ice cream & cookies?? Very few people ( read: me!). While any kind of ice cream and cookies would do, I have used regular Chocolate chip cookies and Double Chocolate Chip cookies with M&Ms for the cookies. I used a basic chocolate and vanilla ice cream. My daughter likes chocolate and my son likes vanilla! Also, they made for a good contrast with the cookies.
Want to use home-made chocolate chip cookies and home-made ice cream? Go ahead, and use it! It is much healthier!
Note: These treats are by no means healthy! However you can make them healthy. Here is the skinny on it! Use frozen yogurt or banana ice cream instead of the regular ice-cream. You know I always have the healthier alternative for you!
These ice cream sandwiches are super-easy and fun to make! They make for a great summer vacation activity for you to do with your kids. You can bring them with you to picnics in the park( make sure you use a cooler to transport them) and barbecues in your backyard!
Do try it, you will enjoy it just as much as my kids and I!
Servings: makes 12 medium-sized ice cream sandwiches.
Ingredients:
Ice cream: 1/2 tub of any flavor ice cream ( I used a mix of vanilla and chocolate ice cream).
Cookies: 1 box of large chocolate-chip cookies.( you may not use all as you need only 24 cookies).
Plastic Cling-wrap : to wrap the cookies.
Method:
Keep the tub of ice cream out of the freezer at room temperature for a few minutes so that the ice cream is softened a little and can be handled easily. The time period that you keep the ice cream out depends on the temperature in your area/ home. The ice cream should not become liquid/runny.
Lay out 12 cookies upside down in a single layer on a tray. Keep the cling film roll handy.
Using a small melon scooper or cookie scoop, scoop a ball of ice cream and place it on the cookie. Keep another cookie on top of the ice cream scoop and press down gently, slightly. Now cover the sandwich in a plastic cling wrap tightly and place it in a container.
Repeat this with all the rest of the cookies.
Place the container in the freezer for minimum of 2-3 hours.
To serve: remove the plastic cling wrap and serve!
Enjoy!!
Cooking made easy:
The size of the scoop of ice cream depends on the size of the cookie. The ice cream scoop should be proportional to the cookie size. Don't place too big a scoop, as when you place the cookie on top and press down, the ice cream will ooze out!!
Again, any shape/ type of cookie can be used, except that they should be big in size.
Tip for healthy living:
Food that we consume has to be healthy and balanced. Everything in moderation. Everyone is allowed to cheat/ indulge every once in a while. As long as it is in moderation and you are good most of the time. After all, we want to live our lives fully and not feel deprived!
Food for thought:
Intelligence is the ability to adapt to change. Stephen Hawking
Please do share your thoughts. Your opinion matters!
