Back to Basics for Mama - Grown-up Lunches Packed Kid-Style!

My lunches are almost always salads, but I went through a few weeks where I just could not even be bothered to so much as chop a leaf of lettuce, I was so tired of salads! So I threw together some very basic proteins-grains-fruit-veggie lunches. Not quite MyPlate standards, but good enough for someone who lived off of Lucky Charms, McDonalds, and anything with frosting up until around 5 years ago!

 

Tuesday, 11/12/13 - I love dipping apples in peanut butter, so that was the focus of this lunch, for me.

Protein - Peanut Butter Co Cinnamon Raisin Swirl
Grain - Glutino Pretzel Chips (but not really. They're mostly starch, apparently!)
Fruits - Organic apples
Veggies - Organic sugar snap peas, vegan kale chips
Treat! - Peppermint dark chocolate coffee beans

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Wednesday, 11/13/13 - More apples with peanut butter, plus some corn chips thrown in as an out-of-the-box grain choice.

Protein - Peanut Butter Co Cinnamon Raisin Swirl
Grain - Organic blue corn chips
Fruits - Organic apples
Veggies - Organic sugar snap peas
Treat! - Dye-free Jordan almonds, vegan truffles

 

Thursday, 11/14/13 - This one makes me think of a baseball game, with the peanuts and popcorn. But really I just sat and ate it in my car while the toddler napped in back.

And yes. It was a delicious lunch!

Protein - Salted peanuts
Grain - Pop'd Kerns popcorn
Fruits - Organic raspberries
Veggies - Kale chips
Treat! - Homemade GF sandwich cookies

 

Monday, 11/18/13 - I tried a few recipes for the MOMables gluten-free "Oreos" post, and these (and the square ones shown above) were ones that I loved taste-wise, but weren't as easy to work with as the whole-grain version I went with. Plus I had to keep adding various things to compensate for over-stickiness, so I don't really have proper measurements. I'm going to make another batch, and then I'll share the recipe!

Protein - SunButter (for dipping my crackers, apples, and veggies)
Grain - Black rice crackers
Fruits - Organic raspberries
Veggies - Organic carrots and sugar snap peas
Treat! - Homemade GF sandwich cookies

Tuesday, 11/19/13 - Trader Joe's "cultured coconut milk" has a weird consistency, and Z doesn't really like it. She prefers the So Delicious brand. Just the chocolate though. I haven't tried any other flavors out on her yet. But I like it okay. And they're roughly $1 cheaper per little cup, so I can handle the only-two-flavors and weird consistency like a grown-up. A cheap grown-up who spends more money on specialty foods for our restricted diets now than bento gear. Sick and wrong!

Protein - SunButter (for dipping my crackers, apples, and carrots)
Grain - Black rice crackers
Fruits - Organic apples
Veggies - Organic carrots
Treat! - Vanilla coconut milk "yogurt" with Enjoy Life mini chocolate chips

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