"Healthy Lunches your kids will love...

...and actually eat."  That is the secondary title of a cookbook I picked up over the summer.  The book's title is:
Good Food to Go It is written by Brenda Bradshaw and Cheryl Mutch, MD.  They are both working mums (one a teacher and one a paediatrician).  120 recipes that offer "creative ideas for balanced lunches and nutritious snacks that will make packing lunches a joy and not a chore."  Well, yes...and no.  The chore part is still there.  The foreward is written by Jeremy Friedman, Head of Division of Paediatric medicine at Toronto's Hospital for Sick Kids..."I have a feeling this book is going to become an invaluable resource for parents for years to come."
   Okay...so let's give it a try.  My kids and I chose a few recipes from the book to try out.
   The first one was "Egg fried rice", page 146...this is typically a standard "quick supper" in our house.  We tried it for a saturday lunch.  My kids announced partway through that "its good, but I like yours better".  What I liked were the instructions for making it for one serving.  Most family recipes are for four servings, but what about the times when you are really only cooking for one child?  Even in our house, it happens...one out with friends, one at soccer and one at a volleyball game...skating finished and now you are home with only one.
   The next one was Spanakopita, page 87.  This recipe is a bit of work, and it makes a lot (which you can freeze for quick lunches), so if your family doesn't already like spanakopita, I don't think I would bother with it.  After discovering this summer that my son likes spanakopita (one of two things on the menu at a vegetarian restaurant that he liked), we gave it a try.  Really, really good.  Definitely worth the work.   We made our own tzatziki to go along with them.  
   The third recipe we tried was for Mini Banana chocolate chip muffins, page 173.  These were easy, with a very soft crumb.  You could easily use all whole wheat flour rather than half and half whole wheat and all purpose.  My own banana muffin recipe uses yogurt, and I have to say I missed the creamy flavour.  But, the best testers for these recipes are the Under 5 crowd, and they loved them, so that guarantees this recipe will get repeat business for the Daycare set.

The other big hits were Udon Noodle stir fry (page 158) and No bake Chocolate Haystacks (page 171), which were lovely old fashioned rolled oats and cocoa, and tasted just the way I remembered them as a kid...They tasted like "More".

   Now, why did I find the discovery of this cookbook a little bit depressing?  Well, let's just say, "They beat me to it..."  Here's hoping there is room on the shelf for two of these books...

If you don't have a lot of cookbooks in your kitchen, and you are looking for some lunch time inspiration or, if you have some Mums with young children (heading off to daycare or kindergarten) on your gift list this Holiday season, this book is definitely a good buy.

Happy Packing!

Kim

the most important ingredient...

 Put a little love in those lunch boxes...

...Packing lunches is just another chore on the list of never-ending chores, not necessarily one of the most liked chores either.  So rarely do we get positve feedback for the lunches we pack...At the end of the day, when you are tired, and you open that lunch box and there it is: half a sandwich still left, an apple somebody "didn't have time" to eat, and the wrapper from the granola bar...The whines of "why did you pack me that?  You know I hate that !"  Or "Why can't you just pack me licorice and jelly beans and a bunch of oreos, like so-and-so's Mum does?"
Why?  That answer is easy.  Because we are parents.  And when these small humans were placed in our care, we swore that we would give this parenting the best of everything that we have in us, that we would raise this little person to be the best big person we could.  And a big part of making sure that they grow into big people, is providing them with good nutrition, the best nutrition we can.  And for those hours in the day when they are away from us, that is the one connection we have with them, the lunch box.  So, we labour over our decisions...lots of fibre, plenty of protein, dairy for strong bones, more veggies!  Eat more veggies!  And fruit for Vitamin C, especially right now, with all those germs around.  No pop or candy, not good for those little teeth!  We want to make sure they can keep their teeth until they are 90!  However, just like everything else in our world, we only have so much control over things.  And sometimes you can do all the right things, say all the right things, make all the right things, and have them eat all the right things, and still life throws you a curve ball.  Something that no amount of carrot sticks and sprouted grain bread can fix.
...So make sure you are putting in that one special ingredient...Make sure there is love in there too...And not the kind that the grown ups understand, but the kind that your child gets...A little heart shaped piece of paper that says, "There are chocolate chip cookies for us to share when you get home!" or "I chose this apple just for you"...Or throw in an oreo or a hershey's kiss  (Kate'll tell you, "just stick it in your pocket and eat it outside!")...Remind them that you are thinking of them even when they are away from you, that your love for them is never far away.

This blog was written in memory of a wonderful little girl, a little girl I never had the chance to meet.  I am sure that her Mum often wishes she could have packed her many many more lunches, filled with oreos and carrot sticks and lovely froggy pictures to share with her friends.


Keep an eye on those lunch boxes, Cassidy!  Help us make sure they are filled with love!

Cassidy Leigh Briggs, who left this world too soon on January 11th, 2010, after a brave battle with liver cancer.
 Cassidy's family has set up a foundation to raise funds to provide art supplies for children to allow them to continue to foster their creativity and express themselves creatively while they battle cancer.  Please check out the website below for more information:
Cassidy Briggs foundation