lunch 2.29.10

In my son's thermos is homemade mac-n-cheese with green beans mixed in, an apple, an cookies that I made for a friend of mine who has celiac (sp?), They are snickerdoodles :)

I am having some of the mac-n-cheese with strawberries (inspired by amanda at lunchbox limbo), some chips, and banana muffins I also made for my friend.

Subway

I wanted to put in a small plug for SUBWAY. We all must have those days when we just must grab and go for a dinner or you only have a half hour between karate and cub scouts and you must eat on the run. Well when we have those moments we head for Subway. Look at these really cute REUSABLE bags that the kids meals came in the other night. I know it isn't the perfect meal but it is pretty good (sandwich, apples, and milk). I have two boys so one gets apples and the other one get chips. They split both and that way they only have a few chips but also some fruit.

School lunch review 2.26

School lunch today is pizza, corn, an apple and chocolate milk. My son had a sleepover last night so I haven't been able to interview him yet on this lunch. I was with him when he made his choices and he also had the option of rice with his corn and he could have gotten diced peaches (i'm sure packed in syrup) instead of the apple. I also don't know what he ate and didn't so I will find that out too.

Tomorrow's lunch is pierogies (in the thermos), cheese wrapped with Hormel natural turkey, pineapple packed in juice, (Wegman's brand), and organic yellow cupcake. I feel better about this lunch. I think it was mostly the big hunk of white bread I served him that made me cringe. Too many empty calories. Who knows!

I am having pierogies also with broccoli and mixed fruit in juice. I have ski school tomorrow so I am a worried about lunches. I got home late tonight too so I feel behind already. This hasn't been a great week. And I had high hopes after my success grocery shopping.

lunch 2.24.10

I am a bit embarrassed about today's lunch. There isn't too much healthy about it. But I suppose that is why I started this venture. To keep myself in check. I know there are days when I slip and pack lunches that don't hold up to my standards. Well this is one of them.

It includes white bread :(, sun chips (not too bad for chips), fruit 'roll up' (better choice than regular ones but not fresh fruit), and ORGANIC CARROT STICKS and dip. (that makes it all better right?) :)

Picture to follow. (If I can bear it)
UPDATE- Here is the photo. And when lunch came home so did almost all of the sandwich and chips. He ate all of the carrots and the simply fruit 'roll up' Go figure!

lunch 2.23.10

My son is having leftover shrimp lo mein in the thermos, a vegetable egg roll (see below), oranges, and organic yellow cake mix made into cupcakes.
This is the one item I bought 'just because' I had a coupon for it. I baked them tonight to have with our shrimp lo mein (details later). They were pretty good. There was one spice that I didn't care for but other than that they were really good and I was pretty happy with the ingredient list. I don't know if I will buy them again but I might try a different variety.


Shrimp lo mein (I made this tonight by throwing together shrimp, broccoli, carrots, escarole, noodles, some soy sauce and chicken broth and a little sweet and sour sauce. I don't think it is actually a recipe but I called it Sweet and Sour Shrimp Lo Mein. I am having a bite of baked egg roll, some pretzels and oranges.

A look in the fridge

This is quite empty. See that tub of butter... It is the second one. I bought one in December and finally finished it. My husband ran out for a few items and bought another! We will see how long it lasts this time. On the bottom shelf you see quite a bit of SOBE. I am working on weening my self off of Diet Soda (my vice) and this is an alternative I like and I am pretty confident with the ingredients.

lunch 2.22.10 - Back from vacation

Not so healthy but I will chalk it up to the first day back from vacation. I need to get back in the grove. In the thermos is some meatballs and corn for my son to put on the roll and there is a simply fruit 'roll up'. I promise to do better tomorrow.

For me.... leftover Olive Garden minestrone soup!! I love it! This with a glass of white wine was my last supper out for vacation. Back to the grindstone tomorrow.

Can't wait... Groceries

I dont have the exact numbers but I can't wait to blog about the fact that I saved at least $14.00 in coupons this week AND there was only one product I used a coupon for that I wasn't planning on buying anyway. I LOVE THAT!

UPDATE

February week one = Tops = 31.73
Walmart = 74.75 (higher bc I bought items for superbowl and mardi gras)
TOTAL = 106.48 ($1.98 in coupons)



February week two = is fuzzy because of our mid-winter break, we ate out alot and pick items up here and there. My husband pick things up too so I don't have all of the receipts. Here is what I have.
Tops = 17.83
Walmart = 12.00
TOTAL = 29.83


OK, time to get back on track... School start again on Monday!

February week three = Wegmans = 90.71
Target = 25.60
TOTAL = 116.31
(Here's the best part - $17.25 in COUPONS and all but one for an item I would not buy anyway)

Brown Cow recipe

Just two ingredients.... When your kids come in from playing in the snow or just need a warm-up this makes the perfect warm treat without the caffeine and sugar in hot chocolate. My little one LOVES it. This is a recipe that my next door neighbor made for us when I was growing up.
Just warm up the amount of milk you would like to use and sprinkle in some cinnamon. No measuring, just sprinkle. It is tough when the kids start drinking sugary hot chocolate to then try to use this as a substitute, but give it a try and let me know what your kids think.

School lunch review

Doesn't this look terrible. This was my son's lunch, yes lunch, on Friday. We are off all week for mid-winter break so no lunches for a few more days. I haven't had a chance to have him rate this lunch but I will later today (the boys are at the movies with dad). In my opinion it is ridiculous.

I got flowers

I got flowers today from my 'boys'. It made me smile. I lost a little wallet I have that had a few gift cards in it and it made for a stressful day. I am trying to put it all into perspective and remind myself that it is just money and totally replaceable. But as many of you know, when you are pinching pennies to make a difference in the budget... it stinks to lose money...

Anyway, flowers from my valentines was a good way to remind me what is important in life. I love them (as I sit here and listen to them all play Rock Band :) I am smiling.

Happy Valentines Day to all!

lunch 2.10.10

Still a bit behind. My son had pierogies today again. This time I packed carrot sticks and dip which went better than the cold cooked broccoli and corn (although he did eat some of it). Then a Wegmans mixed fruit in juice cup.
I have very unhealthy lunch. PB and J with chips and oreos. Holiday Lunch :) - In the bag is a bit healthier with an apple and yogurt (organic Wegman's brand) and granola (organic Barenaked)
I

Homemade mac n cheese and lunch too

HOMEMADE MAC N CHEESE!!! - I used taco cheese for a bit of a kick! Yummo! :)



This might be the most creative that I have ever been. This is a clementine with blueberries in it and a chocolate as a stem, tomatoes, and in the thermos is homemade mac and cheese.
I have LOTS of mac and cheese. It turned out sooo good. I use taco cheese so it went really well with salsa and blue corn chips. Then I had blueberries too.

lunch 2.9.10

Lunch for my son... I think I am back on schedule after sickness and Superbowl.
In the thermos is some pierogies from last night. I also packed some veggies but I am not sure if he will eat them since he can't warm them up and the thermos is full. We will see. I also packed him a Simply Fruit roll up and a couple of the Super Bowl Crayons that I made from Gourmet Mom on the Go they don't look as great as hers but I gave it a shot and they were a hit with the kids at the party.

I am having pierogies as well (sorry they aren't so photogenic), some applesauce, and tossed salad with poppy seed dressing.

School lunch review

Super Bowl Monday means buying for my son and packing leftover chili for me with no pictures :) This is chicken nuggets (I cringe as I type) potatoes with no skins, peaches, and chocolate milk.
My son's rating for todays lunch.
1. Taste = 4 1/2 stars (first lunch to not be 5)
2. Healthy - 3 stars he said that the potatoes and fruit were the only healthy 'things'
3. Food groups - Veggie = potato, Fruit = peaches, Grain = 'stuff on outside of chicken', Dairy = milk, and (It took him awhile to recognize that the chicken was the meat/bean group. Go figure he didn't notice that those little 'nuggets' were meat. :)

lunch 2.5.10

BTW - Lunch today was leftover meatballs (because hamburgers from the menu turned into meatball sliders), cheese and corn.

AND I FORGOT to go down and take a picture of my son's lunch. He bought today. I will have to edit this post with a review as soon as we discuss it. Right now he is enjoying a movie with his little brother who has been sick. Brotherly Love!

I bought organic chicken!!

I have found a local farm where I can buy some meat. I was able to buy 2 lbs of organic ground beef for $3.00/pound and organic eggs for $2.00/dz. The women at the farm was so nice. I asked if they had chicken breasts but she said that for now they only have whole chickens. The thought of preparing a whole chicken scared me a little. When I told her she just laughed and offered me a chicken for FREE to give it a try. I am quite nervous about it but I will be sure to take some pics and update everyone on my journey.
Total spent $8.00!

lunch 2.4.10

My son is having leftover meatballs with cheese and mixed fruit. He told me that he didn't want anything more and that this would be enough. I don't know though.

I am not taking my laptop lunch box tomorrow because I have too much soup to fit. Tomato soup, goldfish, a pear, and M&M's.

As I said in my venting post, my 3yr old is sick. We all keep getting sick this winter. So many families around us are going through the same thing. In November when we first got sick I had to throw away my bottle of children's Tylenol because it had expired and we hadn't used it. Now I am three quarters of a way through a bottle. We have never been this sick before.

Just a vent

What is it about this year and sickness?? My family has never had this much sickness. Now my little one is running a fever 102ish. AHHHHH

Groceries/Menu - January totals

Groceries this week = 147.86
I spent more because I made a stop at our local co-op which is a bit pricier than Wegman's. Then I got some items at Target. Plus, I still did a Wegman's stop as well.

January totals = 420.07/4 = 105.00/week (bc I didn't count the Jan 2nd which was over break)

Menu this week (better late than never)

Monday - we had soup and sandwiches
Tuesday - Chicken, mashed sweet potatoes, broccoli, and applesauce
Wednesday - Lime Chicken Taco salad
Thursday - Pierogies, apple sauce
Friday - Hamburgers, sweet potato fries

lunch 2.3.10

Today I am having chicken taco salad. Mix of chicken, beans, rice, and salsa, with corn chips, cheese and dip.
My son is having a turkey and cheese sandwich, tomatoes and dip, Harvest Cheddar Sun Chips, and a 'fruit roll up'

lunch 2.1.10

My son's lunch is a cheeseburger, mixed fruit, noodles, and chocolate milk. He was offered green beans but turned them down. His review today...
1. Tasted- "5 stars"
2. Healthy - "I don't know... 4 stars...because of the hamburger, they aren't that healthy."
3. Food groups -" Missing the vegetable but it has dairy, fruit, grain, and meat & beans family"


Lunch today for me is a leftover salad from a restaurant called The Poppy Seed. There is chicken, walnuts, cranberries, raisins, sesame seeds, walnuts, and mandarin oranges. It was a great salad. I also have pita bread and one of the last chocolate bouchons from my cookbook review.