Ups & Downs

Monday:
I managed to get my act together this morning to make enough food for everyone: snacks for preschool, lunch for my husband, and a second breakfast for Nate and I to share.

Onigiri triangles with wakame furikake, honeydew melon, edamame, spinach, & some cucumber slices for Ryan.
At preschool today the "food lady" visited the 5 year old class again, as she does about once a month. She is a nutritionist who does a food curriculum for the kids concentrating on a different "food group"; she follows the outdated USDA food pyramid, though I have shared with her a vegan food pyramid that we prefer, as well as the Harvard food pyramid which I believe is far healthier for the average American diet.
Anyhow, this visit was about the "meat" group, argh! But with Ryan in mind, she talked about all different high protein foods, and concentrated on beans. The kids made hummus to eat with pita chips and carrots. They made a bean sachet to take home. And parents were given a hummus recipe and a blurb about the benefits of including beans in one's diet. Thumbs up!

Husband's lunch: same as preschool snack, plus some blueberries & Thai rice noodles. In the second container is some leftovers dinner: mixed vegetables, General Gau's tofu, fried rice.

For Nate & I: edamame, Thai rice noodle soup, honeydew melon, cold spinach & cucumber slices.

Tuesday: Ryan's snack...Smart Hearts soy crackers, cucumber slices, mini apple beet muffins.










Wednesday: mini waffles, Hello Kitty container with maple syrup, baby carrots. Blueberries & a strawberry for Ryan, raisins for AJ.


Friday:
The week has ended with both Ryan and AJ catching that stomach virus finally, and my husband is going on his third day with the flu. So no snacks today.
On the bright side, I am 20 weeks pregnant today. Half way day, woo hoo!

Winter Vacation Week

No school this week, and I ended up with a stomach virus. On top of my chronic morning sickness that was no fun. I tried to hide out in bed all day so that no one else gets sicks..so far so good, crossing my fingers!

Ryan has been enjoying his snack/gift box he got at preschool. His friend did a beautiful job decorating.
Contents: 2 old-fashioned striped candy sticks, a heart lollipop, a small bag of tortilla chips, a vegan rice krispie treat, lemonade, a flashlight, a glow stick, & glow in the dark glasses.

New bento goodies arrived in the mail. This set is intended for Nate. I keep trying to find more boyish or gender neutral items.

Since no snacks or lunches needed to be packed this week, here is one of the boys' meals at home. I got these cool plates at a little toy store in Carrousel du Louvre in Paris. The little holes in the middle are meant for holding an egg, but they're great for dips and small finger foods.
Under the food there are pictures of The Little Prince, Babar, and Elmer the elephant.

Lunch: cold spinach, buckwheat soba noodles, honeydew melon, peanuts. Ryan wanted almonds instead, and an added vegetable gyoza.

Valentine's Week

I felt I could get away with sending the boys with some of my Hello Kitty and pink colored items this week.

MondayBoth boys had heart-shaped sweet potato puffs, watermelon hearts, & sesame tofu. Ryan also had a strawberry and some raspberries.

Tuesday
Only Ryan has preschool on tuesdays. I am always excited when blood oranges are in season and he was happy to try them: blood orange slices, raspberries, edamame, mini apple-beet muffins.

WednesdayToday was supposed to be the big Valentine's celebration at preschool, but snow & freezing rain over night cancelled school. The wet snow was perfect for rolling giant snowballs in the yard.


A.J. was disappointed to miss school because Dada was going to be parent helper and I had baked heart-shaped sugar cookies to share, along with a big bix of strawberries (guess we'll just have to enjoy them ourselves!). It is a cooperative preschool, so in addition to the teacher there is a "parent helper" each day who brings the snack and helps out with the class.
We'll just put each cookie in a little bag and staple it to A.J.'s valentine's he made instead.

ThursdayHappy Valentine's Day! I made some pancakes with berries for breakfast. Mmm...mmmm!

Friday
Only AJ had to bring a snack today: flax crackers, grapes, a baby carrot, a Valentine cookie.

Ryan's class picked names out of a hat last week. They had to make a Valentine gift/snack box for their chosen friend. Our area of expertise! What fun! The teacher's instructions were to include something "salty" and something "sweet". Luckily he chose his friend Sophie who loves Hello Kitty, so the gift was easy to find. And I think he did a fabulous job decorating the box!
Inside we packed a mini juice box, 2 strawberries, pretzels, a Valentine cookie, a mini book of Hello Kitty stickers, a Hello Kitty doodle top, & a Hello Kitty strawberries napkin.

I can't wait to hear about what Ryan received. I packed him an extra cookie in his backpack just in case the contents of his snack box isn't all vegan. His friend asked him what he could eat, and he said "fruit flavoured candy canes"... crazy kid! We'll see what they come up with.

Preschool Snack

My 5yo & 4yo bring their own snacks to preschool. It is a cooperative preschool and a there is a different parent who brings the snack every day. It's just easier to have them bring their own, and I enjoy making them something. There are other kids in their classes with food allergies who also bring their own snacks.
The school is completely nut-free, as many preschools are these days. But it makes it trickier for us since we eat a lot of nuts at home. I probably offer soy products more often than I'd like. Nothing against soy in general, but I like to avoid processed soy products when possible and stick to more traditional forms.

Monday:
Ryan's snack (left): vegetable gyoza, blanched spinach, blueberries, strawberries.

AJ's snack (right): grapes, mini rice cakes, blanched spinach.


AJ is my pickier child. He doesn't usually care for berries or a lot of raw vegetables, but he likes his cooked greens.

Ryan chose one of my many Hello Kitty bentos for his snack. His preschool class only hasone other boy, so Hello Kitty is considered "cool".


Wednesday:

Both boys got the same food today: multigrain bagel with Tofutti cream cheese & strawberry jam, baby carrots, honeydew melon.


Thursday:







Nate's new Thomas the Tank Engine lunch box arrived in the mail today. Yes, he's only 18 months old, but when I saw it I had to get it for him. He'll start preschool 2 days a week in the fall. The toddler class brings their own lunches. Now I need to find some matching Thomas bento gear!


Friday:

Ryan got a strawberry. The rest is the same for each: edamame, seaweed rice crackers, grapes, a carrot.

Intro

My 3 sons:

And #4 is on the way...

I am a longtime vegan, raising vegan kids just west of Boston, MA. I love creating beautiful food for my family with local organic produce whenever possible. We love our local CSA just 2 miles from our house.