Musings | Munch Munch Munchery

photo credit:  Munchery Blog

I just tried this food site based on a friends recommendation and IT IS AMAZING!!  Wholesome, local, organic meals prepared by top local chefs delivered to your door.  I ordered my meal early afternoon (before 3pm) and the meal was delivered to my door by 5pm that evening.  All meals come in compostable and biodegradable containers that are both oven and microwave safe.  I am so excited about this service.   Perfect for those days when you didn't get a chance to think about what to make for dinner pizza or take out just doesn't sound appealing.  I love that they also just added a new chef who is a master in paleo cooking.   Total win for me.  You should really check out their site and see if they deliver to your area.

Family | Soup on my mind

Cold weather usually means soup for dinner in my family.  It is my go-to comfort food and is a staple in my meal rotation during winter months.  It usually shows up at least once if not twice a week.  Lucky for me, my family loves soups.  I love that they are simple to prepare and fits well with a healthy eating plan.  It's also a great way for me to get my girls to eat more servings of a variety of vegetables.

So for winter months, here are some of my family's favorites:

Spinach & Broccoli Soup - great way to get more greens into your diet.

Butternut Squash Apple Soup - hearty goodness and perfect with crusty french bread.

Minestrone Soup - loaded with veggies but you can also mix it up and use what vegetables you have on hand.

Chili - not a soup but a cold weather favorite.  I play around with this recipe by loading it up with more meat - italian sausage and beef sirloin.  The girls then dress it up with their own favorite additions - cheddar cheese, sour cream, avocado, etc ... This is usually served with a side of corn bread. 

PS.  I'm not big into buying kitchen gadgets and usually will make what I have work but last year I broke down and purchased an immersion blender and WOW ... making soups just got a whole lot easier.  So now, instead of doing batches in my blender, I pull out my immersion blender and puree right in the pot.  Makes clean up a whole lot simpler as well.

Family | Getting back into the lunch groove

 

Z started the new school year today.  For me, it means the beginning of a year of packing lunches.  I have a confession ... I don't enjoy packing lunches.  In fact, I dread the whole process.  Last year, it got so bad that Z ended up with more hot lunch days than not.  Thankfully, Revolution Foods is our school's hot lunch provider so she was at least getting a fairly healthy, well-balanced lunch (or that is what I tell myself).

Today is the first day so it's a new beginning.  This year, I'm going to approach the task of lunch prepping the way I tackle work projects ... strategize, plan, and execute.

Like any projects, there are always some parameters -- I can't do sandwiches since Z will have nothing to do with sandwiches or anything resembling a sandwich.  No leftovers either for the same reason.  And all lunch options must be edible at room temperature since they don't have the option to heat up their food.

In order for me to have a variety of healthy lunch options lined up, it's going to take a bit of planning so here is my game plan:

• Stock up on smaller, reusable containers, thermos, and snack bags.  Of course, they need to be all BPA and phthalate free options.  SUMO anyone?
• Plan out weekly lunch menus.  I do this for dinners so why not for lunch as well?  I will start with about 5 - 8 items in the rotation that I know Z will eat and then edit as the year progresses.
• Stock up on weekly lunch items when I do my weekly shopping based on my menu planning so I'll always have what I need.
• Pre-cut fruits and vegetables at the beginning of the week and store in ready to go containers to be tossed into lunch bags in the morning.
• Pre-pack crackers and dry snacks in to-go containers so they can be tossed into lunch bags at the last minute.

I'm hoping with some prep work, I can avoid the "what to pack" panic attacks I had last year and have healthier, relatively "tasty" lunch options that Z will actually eat.

We'll see how well I do ... I'm always open to suggestions so I would love to hear from other moms on how they survive packing lunches for the grade school crowd.