Thanksgiving Butterflies

Monday:
Ryan's lunch: grilled nutritional yeast cheeze sandwich w/ soy cheese & nori Calvin; blueberries; baked tofu; steamed asparagus; stuffing.
This was my first attempt at chibi, or a cartoon/anime bento. I ran out of time in the morning with children & husband yelling that it was time to go, so I didn't have time to add the nori title. But many might recognize Calvin from the cartoon Calvin & Hobbes.

AJ's snack: stuffing;
asparagus; Veggie
Booty; baked tofu;
grilled cheeze
sandwich.

We already had leftovers
to add to lunches after
an early Thanksgiving
celebration at my sister-in-law's new inn.

Tuesday:
Ryan's "family" lunch: yellow bell pepper; sesame tofu; rice ball "people"; asparagus; sliced black olives; broccoli.

AJ and his class made
vegetable-print vests
and clay necklaces for
their harvest feast at
preschool.

After school Dada took
Ryan, AJ & Maia to visit
their aunt, cousins, grandma
& 97 year old great
grandma.

Thanksgiving Day:
Our noontime dinner: garlic mashed potatoes/celeriac, stuffing, spicy baked tofu, broccoli, corn, roasted balsamic butternut squash pastina risotto (similar to this), cranberry cabbage (from a Russian cookbook of my mother's--she's Russian/Latvian), sauteed swiss chard, pickled beets, braised celery (veganized from Alton Brown's recipe here), crescent rolls, cranberry sauce, pickled asparagus, pumpkin pecan bread, pickles, cranberry apple cider.

We did a "dessert dinner"
of pumpkin creme pie,
baked apples, and vanilla
soy ice cream.





Many thanks to River
of Wing-It Vegan! She
tagged my blog for a
Butterfly Award!

Now it is up to me to
pass on the award to
10 more blogs of my
choosing. I liked River's
"veggie moms" theme.
I am going to deviate
from the expected food
blogs and choose 10 of my favourite parenting/parent-authored blogs, some food-related, most not. I am not concerned with whether or not these blogs have been awarded in the past--these are my picks. Enjoy!

http://freerangekids.wordpress.com/

http://www.confessionsofametromama.blogspot.com/

http://eatair.blogspot.com/

http://cfhusband.blogspot.com/

http://nocircumcision.blogspot.com/

http://www.apparenting.com/

http://www.lifewithmaggieandben.com/

http://sweetpeasandpumpkins.blogspot.com/

http://www.adventuresofabreastfeedingmother.com/

http://www.theattachedparent.com/

These bloggers can post the Butterfly Award picture on their blog and give the award to 10 bloggers they think are the coolest!
Whee!!!

Harvest Festival

Sunday was my birthday,
and I wanted to spend it
with my family at the farm's
Harvest Festival. There was
the dedication of the new
root cellar, potluck lunch,
crafts in the greenhouse, a
band, popcorn, juggling &
more.


It rained on and off
all day, hence Nate's
rain gear and my
husband's hat.

Maia slept most of the
time in the mei tei, and
hooded A.J. zipped
around being silly & cute.

























Ryan
had his
face
painted
like a
tiger.

Maia
finally
woke
up
and
enjoyed
being
outside
as
usual.


At home we shared
carrot cake for my
birthday.






Monday:

Ryan's lunch: soba noodles; steamed carrot leaves; soy sauce; rice ball w/nori leaves; cucumber slices; peanuts; Lake Champlain dark chocolate w/almonds; strawberries.

Husband's lunch:
seared cabbage
salad; soba noodles
w/carrots; salad w/
red pepper dressing;
bbq soy crisps; nuts
& raisins.


AJ's snack: soba
noodles; carrot;
cucumber slices;
bbq soy crisps.





Nate practiced for
Halloween with his
new pumpkin bag,
filling it up with
organic canned
beans, LOL.

Monday afternoon
Ryan came home sick...
our first round of public
school germs. Tuesday was a Jewish holiday, and I kept everyone home wednesday as well. AJ got sick and stayed home thursday too, and by friday Nate's nose was dripping. Maia and I are holding out!!

Tuesday:
farm share: bok choy; cabbage; sweet potatoes; apples; onions; parsnips; winter squash; beets; bell peppers; eggplant; tomatoes; lettuce; spinach; baby tat soi. Not shown PYO: kale; tomatillos; hot peppers; plum tomatoes; herbs; flowers; raspberries.

Thursday:
Nate's lunch: a pickle; sesame tofu; rice Pokeball; a dried apricot; vegetable dumpling; steamed broccoli; a carrot; strawberries & raspberries.
Ryan's Pokemon lunch...Caterpie evolves into Metapod who evolves into Butterfree. 'Nuff said!

Husband's
lunch:
vegetable
dumpling
w/ soy
sauce;
soba
noodles
w/ tat
soi &
scallion;
cold tofu;
red bell
pepper
strips;
water-
melon;
carrots;
peanuts, raisins, Craisins; a pickle.

Friday:
Ryan's 6th birthday is tomorrow, so I made him a birthday lunch: grilled cheeze sandwiches;
Faery Bread (got this idea from Bento Anarchy); mini pumpkin apple muffin; Lake Champlain hazelnut dark chocolate; dried apricots; a pickle; green beans; watermelon.

Back to Preschool

This week was soooo busy, especially with preschool starting up again and me getting back to the YMCA for some exercise twice a week.

Monday:

Ryan's Harvest Moon lunch: yellow rice; green grapes; corn with cucumber "husks" propped up with cold spinach; a yellow gel cup; mini whole wheat pita with tofu salad.

Husband's lunch:
mini pumpkin-apple
muffin; green grapes;
flax crackers;
watermelon; pickle;
carrot sticks; mini
whole wheat pitas
with tofu salad.

Tuesday:

Ryan's lunch: rice & bean burrito; salad; cinnamon raisin roll; carrot sticks.











It was Nate's very first day
of preschool. It was only an
hour long the first day, and Dada was the parent helper (it's a cooperative preschool). Snack was brief: organic pretzel sticks and strawberry kiwi 100% juice blend.
AJ's first day back was two hours long. His snack: carrot; cucumber slices; watermelon chunks; cinnamon raisin roll.

Farm
pickup:
kale,
rainbow
chard,
arugula,
corn,
leeks,
potatoes,
tomatoes,
peppers,
celery,
cabbage,
tomatillos,
Delicata
squash,
apples,
peaches,
cherry
tomatoes, jalapenos and red and gold raspberries. Not shown: flowers.

Wednesday:

AJ's snack: onigiri "apple"; cold spinach; apple cinnamon croissant; sesame tofu.
Ryan's lunch was similar, with the addition of tempura squash & broccoli w/ a little container of soy sauce, and some raspberries.













I love it when I can glean breakfast from my lunch preparations. This was the heartiest breakfast I'd had all week: soba noodles, tempura, spinach.
Husband's lunch: cold spinach; cherry tomatoes; tempura; sesame tofu (hidden on the right); soba noodles; apple cinnamon croissant.

People often ask how
I can do so much with
4 kids. I plan ahead a
lot, right down to setting
out the breakfast dishes
and bentos the night
before!


Thursday:

I decided with all the peanut allergies in schools these days that it was time to give sunflower butter a try. I thought it had a funny taste, but I heard no complaints from the boys. I still prefer cashew or almond butter, but it's nice to have this option for preschool which is completely nut-free.

Ryan's lunch: SBJ sandwich flowers; asparagus spears; red bell pepper strips; green beans; vegetable crackers; a Lake Champlain dark chocolate; dried apricots; raspberries.

Nate was too distracted
by fun stuff in preschool
to bother with his snack,
so he ate it later for
lunch: SBJ sandwich
flowers; raspberries;
cherry tomatoes;
vegetable crackers.

There was a class birthday already so I packed him a cupcake too.

AJ's snack: SBJ
sandwich flowers;
vegetable crackers;
green beans; raisins.





Friday:

I'm still learning how to use edible soy wrappers successfully. The smooth side yields a crisper stamped image but curls easily; I'll have to stick to the rougher side in the future.
Ryan's Pirate map lunch: rice; steamed broccoli; Chicken-free nuggets with a container of ketchup for dipping. Not shown: a container of cinnamon applesauce.

I found some missing
tomatoes & peaches
in the shape sorter...
Nate! Later in the day
I found it filled with
apples.