10 Interesting Ideas to Shake up your Child's Lunch box - or even yours!

Generally speaking I prefer to get my kids to make their own lunch for two reasons. Firstly, it means I don't have to do it, and secondly they make what they like and will eat. Thirdly - I know I didn't mention three but I changed the rules - I am a mum and I can do that. Thirdly, I like my kids to learn responsibility and making their own lunch is a good place to learn that.

All these reasons came about only recently. Prior to this, I would make the kids' lunch more often than not, and that is because I really like to do it. I know I am crazy, but I love to make the kids lunch as interesting as possible, but that being said, I can't and won't do this everyday. Now and then I shake it up a little. This stems from my own envy of the seeing other children when I was growing up from different cultures having the most amazing lunches in little heated boxes or thermos that smelt so good I would have been happy to slip into a coma with those aromas dancing in my nostrils. Dumplings, rices, noodles, sushi, buk choy, stiry fry, pork buns were regulars in my classrooms over the years from my Asian friends. Then there were curries, naans, other types of breads and spreads from my Indian friends. Sometimes they would share but thinking back I think they either felt sorry for me, or fed me to shut me up!! I think this could possibly be where my love for ethnic food was born. Anyhoo, I have kept these memories close to my heart and took it upon myself to make some interesting things for my kids now and then so they too would have children covet their lunch boxes - for my own selfish accomplishment (there is nothing wrong with that right?) I made some yummy and incredible lunches over the years - if I do say so myself!
 Here are some of my super cheap ideas that make lunch time interesting for me ( I am a school teacher) and my kids.

1. Marinated Chicken drummies - I make my own marinade with brown sugar, soy sauce, garlic and rice wine vinegar. You can bake these in the morning and wrap them in foil keeping them moist for lunch time.

2. Sushi nori rolls - can put a range of things in these and they are very healthy and really not that hard to make.

3. Inari rolls - you can get the bean curd pockets from an Asian supermarket and you can put rice, noodles or even salad in them, my kids love them!

4. Pasta - this is a personal thing. My kids are happy with pasta being cold, with pasta sauce mixed in even. I also make pasta salads too which my kids love both with a sauce and without. .

5. Mini omelettes/Frittatas - you can make these in cupcake pans and add grated carrots or whatever you kids will eat. I tend to just add tomatoes and cheese.

6. Pizza Scrolls - making pizza dough from scratch is not as hard as you might think. I make pizza scrolls usually the night before. I use pasta sauce and mozzarella cheese more often than not. I will also share soon a yoghurt dough recipe which is easy to make and I make scrolls with tomato chutney and cheese for something different.

7. Chopped salsa with corn chips - I make up my own salsa with tomatoes, cucumber, corn, and onion. I mixed it all together with a little bit of lime or lemon juice and oil - but not too much, and some fresh chopped (very well so my kids don't complain!) coriander / cilantro.

8. Tabouli - this is a salad that some kids will eat and some will loath with a passion. Luckily my kids like it and they will eat it on its own and in sandwiches.

9. Cold sausages - my kids love cold sausages in or out of sandwich. Sometimes my kids will eat the sausage only if it comes in a role or slices of bread. I sometimes cook them in the morning if time permits, but usually I will cook extra at dinner time.

So those are some ideas just to tease you and keep you interested!! I have more but for now will end with my last idea that the kids love and really aren't too hard to make. I even have a picture for you!

10. These are fresh rice rolls and are very versatile and more often than not are healthy. The above rolls have ham, salad, and vermicelli noodles in them. I would say that eating these rolls are really the only time my boys are happy to eat a green salad, which is basically what they are. Green salad with choice of meet and noodles, wrapped in rice paper. Rice paper sheets are available at both Woolworths and Coles or any Asian grocery and cost about a dollar or so for 12 sheets. You buy them dry and moisten them to soften them for wrapping. They can be a little fiddley in the beginning, but you should get use to them quickly. I will also add that my kids like some soya sauce with these and I purchase little fish shaped soya sauces from my Asian supermarket.

So I hope you have found a couple of new ideas to make your kids(yourself or even hubby) excited about eating lunch from their lunch boxes and have their friends drooling enviously. I will share more in the near future, should you want to keep up with what I am doing just add yourself to my e-mail list on the right side bar. I have lots of fun stuff coming up with giveaways happening too! You can also like my FB page using the link on the right side bar.

Pinterest Experiment: Baked Fajitas with Cilantro / Coriander Lime sauce in the HotMix Pro

As you all know I very much enjoy Pinterest. I have many boards and will shamelessly declare that I have thousands of pins which increase daily. Again, I will shamelessly invite you to follow my boards, or even if you just want to browse what I pin, you can do so here. I find a lot of solace and inspiration from Pinterest and often I will experiment with the recipes and ideas and see what I come up with.

Lately, I have been making freezer meals, which I seek inspiration for on Pinterest. I do this because it helps me keep chilled in the evening as I don't have to worry too much about dinner and its super helpful if you are trying to stick to a budget.  Recently, I came across the recipe for Baked Chicken Fajitas on Pinterest, but comes from Six Sisters Stuff blog.  I super duper love Mexican food which is somewhat hard to find here in  Australia in terms of restaurants.  I follow a lot of American blogs and recipes boards so Mexican recipes appear frequently on my dinner table.  The recipe I used from Six Sisters Stuff is as follows:

Baked Chicken Fajitas Recipe:

(Serves 6)

Ingredients:
1kg boneless, skinless chicken breasts, cut into strips
1 can diced tomatoes
1 can diced green chilies*
1 medium onion, sliced
1 large capsicum, seeded and sliced (I used small sweet capsicums for a variety of colour)
2 Tablespoon vegetable oil
2 teaspoons chili powder
2 teaspoons cumin
1/2 teaspoon garlic powder
1/2 teaspoon dried oregano
1/4 teaspoon salt
12 burrito breads, warmed to serve

Directions:
1. Preheat the oven to 180 C.

2. Grease a baking dish, oil spray works well.

3. Mix together chicken, tomatoes, chilies*, peppers, and onions in the dish. 

4. In a small bowl combine the oil and spices. Drizzle the spice mixture over the chicken and toss to coat. 

5. Bake uncovered for 20-25 minutes or until chicken is cooked through and the vegetables are tender. 

Serve with warmed burrito bread and enjoy!

 

*Green diced chilies are not as common in the supermarket here in Australia, compared to America. You should still find them in the Mexican food/El Parso isle. Alternatively, you could also buy bottled pickle jalapenos, drain them and dice them.  I recently purchased some diced green chilies on the internet at Grocery Run.com.au. They were having a USA themed run with lots of different American food items. When I made the recipe I actually omitted them as I know my kids won't like them.

 

Freezer Friendly

As a freezer meal I placed the chicken, capsicum, and onion in a zip loc bag. I them mixed up the spices and oil and poured this over the chicken and tossed to coat thoroughly. I zipped up the bag and put it in the freezer. 

 

I allow the chicken to defrost, mix through the marinade and pour it into the greased dish.

 

 

 I poured the tin tomatoes over the mixture and mix through gently. 

 

 

 

 Then I put it into the preheated oven for about 20mins.

 

To serve, I used a piece of burrito bread then fresh chopped lettuce followed by a good serving spoons worth of the chicken fajita mixture. Finally I drizzled the coriander sauce on top. You can also use plain sour cream.  

 

 

Coriander / Cilantro Lime Sauce

 

This was done using my HotMix Pro, but a blender can also work well.

 

Ingredients:

1 large bunch of fresh coriander - mainly leaves but some stems are fine

4-5 large leaves of fresh basil

pinch of salt

zest of half a lime

juice of half a lime

1/2 green jalapeno chilli seeds removed. (You can currently get these at Coles or Woolworths)

2 dessert spoons of sour cream - I used light

 

Put all ingredients except the sour cream into the HMP on speed 4 for 20 secs.

Scrape down sides and add the sour cream and mix on speed 7 for 20 secs. Taste and see if it needs anything more, I added a little bit of brown sugar to mine to even out the flavours.

 

This meal was an absolute winner in my house, with every last morsel consumed! I hope it becomes a winner in your house.

 

Do you Pinterest Experiment?

Simple Mother's Day Crafts #2

There really is nothing better for Mother's day from my kiddies than a homemade gift. I always look forward to seeing what my kids have been working their little hearts out on at school, and even in secret at home.  I started writing craft ideas for mother's day last year and thought I should follow up with some more exciting activities that I have come across since then. Mother's Day is just around the corner and some of these crafts and be completed before then, so if you need some inspiration, you have come to the right place.

Back in Feburary, I wrote a post on last minute gift ideas for your Valentine. The best thing about Valentines, is that if you missed a good item to make and share then, you can always make it for Mother's Day.

 I made a love canvas for Valentines which was well received by my family. It was a present to all of them, so I am glad they liked it. It didn't cost much, and the best thing about this idea, you can spell out anything and paint it any colour you like. I have seen these on Pinterest in pure white with words like, Family, Home, Eternity.

If you have ever seen gorgeous porcelain craftware and wondered how it was done, I discovered a pin that shows you how to make your own air dry porcelain from household ingredients - well at least one item you might have to go out of your way to find at the health food shop or chemist (drug store).

For full details on what to do head to The Junk Wave. I love the porcelain jewellery plates that use crotchet doilies for impressions. Now you can do it too!!


Pictures are always a great idea, but if you want to do something a little different this year, you can always transfer your favourite picture to a canvas - yourself! It is much cheaper than purchasing from the store and I have discovered pins that show you how to transfer pictures to other items.

This blog shows you how to print on tissue paper then modge podge it to a canvas. Click on the link to see better results on her blog.

I also came across these two pins, from the Better Homes and Gardens USA site.

I also liked these sun catchers. They would be super fun to do with kids, for any occasion, but a mother's day gift would be perfect.

More information can be found here.
I love this next idea which I got from this blog, which is in Spanish I think. Regardless, the image speaks for itself and provides for many fun projects for many occasions.

 Would you ever think that buttons and a balloon could make an awesome mother's day gift that your mum can keep forever? I found this great idea from Bonkers about Buttons.  Blow up your balloon and glue the buttons around the base of the balloon. When dry, pop the balloon and you have yourself a super neat serving bowl or decorative piece. More detailed instructions can be found via the above link.

If you have already purchased or made something small and now want a creative way to wrap or contain your treasure the following ideas can be helpful.

Designing your own wrapping paper is always fun. You can use a picture your child has painted or drawn. Otherwise, using homemade stamps are a great way to make decorative paper.

 

This idea came from 52 Week Project.

The good old carved apple or potato is also a good idea for making your wrapping paper.

I also like this idea found on Dreamy Blog for cute gift box idea.

This next gift box project I discovered via pinterest. Lines Across is an amazing resource for DIY projects. The colours and the projects pop out at you, and you want to start ticking off all the things you want to try. To help you out a little, start with this cute pyramid gift box. Tackle the rest in your own time!!

 

If you want to give a gift card, or some mother's day coupons, or just a sweet letter. Then this is a good way to package it up in a memorable way, discovered on this blog.

PennyPincinmom, has offered a free printable if you want to use some coupons or make an ever so subtle suggestion to loved ones if they are stuck on ideas.

I hope you have found these suggestions useful. If you want to share some more ideas, or have a mothers/fathers Day pin board on Pinterest you would like to share with me or my readers, then leave a comment below.

A humongous HAPPY MOTHER'S DAY to all the amazing mums out there!

Abra- Ca- Dabra...Benji can do Magic!

Benji is my very clever and entertaining 4 year old and he is also my youngest. He watched a kids TV show about learning and performing magic and his little eyes beamed with new found interest and excitement. As soon as the show was over he found a deck of cards - I didn't even know we had them, and he began doing tricks. Prior to this new discovery, tricks for Benji meant doing roly polies. jumping over my legs or the rug, twisting and turning as he jumped, and doing some form of break dancing moves he had also seen on TV( who said TV is not good for our kids!!). So now, "tricks" means something new to him and to our family.   He came to me within about 15 minutes of the show ending, telling me he knew magic tricks and wanted me to see. The following clip is one of his tricks that I had to video because it's just so cute and I can't wait to play it back to him when he is older.

Before I end, a little while ago a wrote a post titled, " Benji Says". Its a compilation of funny things that Benji says, as he says many every day. Today was no different. We took a train ride today and on the way home to keep him sitting still I started telling secrets - well it was only one. He giggled when I finished and he excitedly asked if he could tell me a secret. I was so happy as I thought this activity to keep going for the rest of the train trip back - how cool am I? However, this is what he whispered to me, " I don't want to play your boring game!" Doh!

Have you heard anything funny lately from your own kids or kids around you?

Be sure to share your posts on FYBF!



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Creamy Cauliflower Rice or Cheats Risotto!

This recipe is so delicious!! I love it and I will be making it for many years to come - when cauliflower is in season mostly! But truly, it can be vegetarian or if you are like me,and your family freaks out when I say the 'V' word, just do what I did and add some bacon. Alternatively, you could also chicken as well.

I discovered this recipe on Pinterest from A Pinch of Yum.  Naturally, I have changed it just a little to suit my tastes and those of my family, regardless, thankyou Pinch of Yum for opening my eyes to a new way of using cauliflower....I so love Pinterest!! Who would of thought that pureed cauliflower could make brown rice look just like risotto?  I do have to note, that I didn't really follow the recipe closely. I read the post got a gist of what she did and I was on fire with ideas.

Recipe
1 medium head of cauliflower chopped into about 4-8 pieces
4-6 cups of chicken stock (i didn't measure this sorry, just enough to cover your cauliflower so it can be boiled)
8 rashers of short-cut bacon - if you do the whole rasher you could get away with 4
1/2 cup of chopped fresh parsley
500g of cooked brown rice
2 tsp of garlic powder - or 2 cloves of garlic minced
Cheese of choice grated - approx 1 cup
salt and pepper to season

Method
1. Add cauliflower to stock and and boil cauliflower until tender
2. Blend cooked cauliflower until it becomes a thick puree - you may need to add some stock to bring it up to smooth, but not runny, and set it aside to cool.
3. Don't throw out your stock - keep it for another meal its yummo!
4. Dice up your bacon and cook it in a frying pan until nice and browned. You might want to add your garlic at this stage if you have fresh garlic.
4. Add cauliflower puree to bacon and stir through, then add garlic powder and stir through.
5. Add cooked brown rice (it could also be white its up to you) and fold through until well combined
6. Season with salt and pepper to taste - personally I only add pepper
7. Add parsley and grated cheese of choice folding through gently and serve.

Serves 6-8

It is so good, very straight forward to make and can be a fairly healthy meal and its quite versatile. You could use quinoa quite easily in this recipe. There is lots of room to add things that you or your family like. Do the experiment and don't tell them its cauliflower - they may not notice what they are eating:) I have to add that I didn't have left overs so couldn't test if it tastes good the next day.

School Recess ideas - Brownie Cookies

One thing that has challenged me recently is the whole concept of what to put in the kids' lunchboxes for their recess. I tend to have the lunches down pat or they are getting used to making their own - yippee!! I want to cut down on the package foods that are so easy to purchase, but aren't really good for them and are really expensive when you think about it. Even if you are an Aldi shopper, if you add up your what you spend on snacks for school and at home you could be a little shocked.

I have really thought a lot about this lately because my grocery bills were getting higher and higher and I was realizing that my kids were always saying that they were hungry and couldn't find anything to eat. I thought I was being creative with my purchasing, but when I thought about it, I was just buying crap that wasn't good for them. That being said, I do allow some packaged crap now and then to keep me sane!! What I have realised now, is that in the desire to do better for my kids I have added to my work load - not yippee!! Well, not really. I do like to bake and baking or making your own snacks is really better for everyone in the long run, and if you do a bunch of snacks that are freezable then you really will be laughing!

As you know I have embarked on the freezer meal trail and in so doing, I have added a recess recipes that can be frozen or made the night before with ease, to my list. some recipes are from scratch and other incorporate cake and brownie mixes that can be purchased - not super natural, but super easy and sometimes you have to cut corners and make it easy for yourself. Some recipes are littler healthier than others, but at the end of the day you want to have a little control on what and how much (size portion) they consume and you can do that best if you are making them. Here in NSW, we have school holidays coming up as of next week and I will endeavour to use the holidays to make a bunch of treats that are freezer friendly so that most of next term will be sorted out - well that is the goal anyway. Cookies, slices, brownies, cakes, muffins, and cupcakes are on the list. I will post when I can and share what I am doing so that you might find something that could work for you.

I do want to share one quick recipe that I found great and my kids loved them. Making cookies from your brownie or cake mixes (store bought) is something new to me. I discovered this on Pinterest and it seems to be something that has been doing the rounds in North America for some time - why are we so slow here in Australia?? Well this inspiration led me to a blog, "I Take Joy". Sally, who is the author shares a recipe on how to use your Ghirardelli brownie mix to make cookies from it. It just so happens that Ghirardelli is the brownie mix you can get from Costco and since the box has like 6 pouches in it, I figured I can do this!! The hyperlink above takes you to the recipe, and this is the result:

I added butterscotch chips as I had a friend bring some back for me from the USA - again why don't we have these here in Australia?? I don't get it!! That being said, Nestle do sell caramel chips which is a nice change and a good alternative. The recipes yields about 30 cookies. Its so easy and it is something a little different and a lot cheaper than packaged muffin bars. Best of all my kids have been asking for them - which is what you want! If you didn't want to do the store bought brownie mix, there are dime a dozen recipes making them from scratch which you can easily find via Google.

PS, Just to be clear, these treats are in addition to their fruit break and other things like vege sticks and cheese etc.