Looking forward to Lunch

I am a busy working mom with 3 children, one of whom is going away to college in September (Go UC Davis!).

Last year I tried to make a wonderful lunch for my children every day. We made sushi at home, and "face food". I packed bentos, and Oots boxes, and bought all sorts of wonderful "green" bags and boxes and water containers and thermi (the plural of thermos, of course). Somehow I didn't quite manage to be at my best every day, but I'd say I managed about 3 days out of 5.

So this year, to keep myself motivated to make lunch on those days when I REALLY don't feel like making lunch, I'm starting this blog. I'll post pictures, give recipes, bring suggestions for equipment, and I will hope some of you will talk back to me, because there is power in numbers, and I love sharing information. Some of the best ideas I've gotten have been from friends I've made on the net.

Food is more than simple nourishment- though wouldn't it be lovely it if was at least that? Food is social and it connects us with the people around us. Food is fun, and it's an "event" in our day. Food should be a celebration whenever possible.

With these goals in mind, I hope you will join me for a year of lunches- starting on August 25th, when school starts for me. I hope we'll share our successes, and our disasters (though I also hope there won't be many of those.)

Comments

  1. This sounds like a great idea, and I wish you the best of luck!

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  2. What a great idea!

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  3. It's the thought that counts. Thank you for wanting to be first. I'm really excited about this. I am making lists for lunches already!

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  4. I would starve if that was my lunch! It's pretty, but unless the three white things have some calories (what are they?), it's a nice snack but wouldn't be enough to carry my (fit, slender) kids from breakfast to an afternoon snack much less dinner. And they wouldn't like it, either, attractive though it is in the picture. Is it intended to be accompanied by something like a hearty half-sandwich? Maybe it's part of a weight-loss diet, in which case I do understand it. I hope your kids don't have phys ed in the afternoon, or a long walk home! I love your concept, but urge more calories for regular, active, non-obese children. I don't know the ingredients in fortune cookies, but am sure they aren't fattening. Do they contain corn fructose? It's a cute idea for a lunch box, if not. Do you send a beverage with it?

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  7. I'm really glad you asked that!!! That's just the top tier of a 3 tier bento box. That was the "dessert" compartment. There are fresh mozzarella balls, sweet homegrown pear tomatoes, apple slices dipped in vitamin C to prevent browning, raisins, and fortune cookies. NO HFCs. Never eat them. I just saw an amazing Youtube video presentation on HFCs by a Dr at UCSF, and he showed how HFCs are metabolized in the liver like a poison. It goes right to fat. I'll post the link, if you'd like it.

    Anyway, there was a layer of sushi (homemade) with cucumber sushi, and avocado/tomago sushi. I made tomago all the time. And in the second layer there were two small silicone cups of cous cous with raisins, olives, some plain rice spread out with some marinated seaweed, and a little cup of marinated cucumber. I send tea with my kids for their lunches. I will be posting the tea selection with each meal. I buy mostly organic. Today, for example, we were drinking the Tao of Tea’s Ayurvedic Tea for Good Health.

    Thank you so much for asking about the picture! I had it on my desktop and thought it was pretty- that's why I put it up :-)

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  8. Sugar
    the Bitter Truth
    This is a long presentation but well worth watching.

    http://www.youtube.com/v/dBnniua6-oM&rel=1

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  9. You make me wish my children were schoolage again! I used to work very hard at healthy, fun, attractive lunches that the kids would actually eat and was always in search of ideas. Where were you then!

    I think it's important to note that you are a working mom doing this lest people look at the above description and think, oh sure, like I have time to make sushi.

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  10. Just a note on food content-- I bought some V8 smoothie the other day, and was horrified to note when I went to drink some that corn syrup was way up there on the ingredients list. I had always trusted V8 in the past, and never thought to check. Shame on them.

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  11. Penni, this isn't just lunch for kids! You can post your own creative lunches. Please do. You come up with such wonderful stuff. I'm going to be posting my lunches as well. We adults deserve the best too!

    And yes, shame on V8! Corn syrup shows up in the darndest places, doesn't it?

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  12. You do make the best lunches :) they are so delicious! ^__^

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