Taking pictures of food is a fetish of mine. People on Facebook are always telling me to quit – it makes them hungry… but I just can’t seem to help myself. Food is beautiful. Even if you can’t see it as good on an iPhone with a vignette blur. Trust me. It was beautiful. Tasted good, too. Contrary to what some say, organic food does NOT taste like cardboard.
I actually told the kids to go get my camera before I remembered that it is in the shop getting ‘fixed’. We all just stared at each other. I pretended to cry. Then I pretended I wasn’t crying. The kids patted me on the arm, knowingly. They understand my anguish.
I’ll be ok.
Not sure how ‘fixed’ it will be after falling out of the back of an SUV, but I’m sure Best Buy is doing all they can. I called them today to bug them. They said maybe by the 14th they will know something more…
… and none of that is related to this post. But it had to be said, anyway.
The main reason for this post? One of our ‘resolutions’ was to eat healthier and as organically as possible and I’ll be needing LOTS of lunch ideas. The more ideas, the less the chance that I’ll be in the drive thru line breaking my vow to not drink coke or eat transfatty fries.
This is where YOU come in. I need your help.
Are you a lunch diva? Can you share your secrets to save us from fast food grease and premature death?
There are only so many ideas I have that don’t include frozen dinners and canned soup. Both of which are very expensive if you buy organic. Because a homeschool mom is a BUSY mom. Taking time out in the middle of your schooling is very time consuming and breaks your ‘stride’. I’m learning the hard way that if you want to eat healthy, you have to do more than just cooking – you have to PLAN.
This morning, I should have put on a soup pot, but instead, I frantically whipped together pasta salad and tuna salad – enough for my mom and us to enjoy when she stopped in between her piano students. On such a cold day, soup would have been nice. The oportunity was lost in the busy day’s activities. Oh, well. There’s always tomorrow…
… for a warm potato, chicken and corn soup with chicken broth and cilantro.
What’s on your homeschool lunch table? Wanna share? Here’s the January link-up for “My Homeschool Lunch”. I hope you’ll join in and give me some new foodie ideas. Maybe we’ll make this a monthly event to keep my steam up all year in the kitchen. And to keep my kitchen steamy. Both of which would be great when it’s cold outside.
Quick Links
My Homeschool Lunch (the first in the ‘series’)
My Homeschool Lunch 2
My Homeschool Lunch 3
My Homeschool Lunch 4
Add your Links!
woosterweester says
January 7, 2010 at 10:12 amI'm not super computer savvy, so I don't know how a MckLinky works.:) I do have some lunch ideas though, so I'll throw out a couple in case it's helpful. I have three girls ages 5, 3, and 1. We homeschool too and I know lunch prep doesn't get as high a priority as dinner.
We shop all organic too, but I do plan for one lunch outing a week (usually combined with a field trip). Here's some of the things we like:
1. Bean Burritos made with Ezekiel tortillas (or whole wheat) and organic, vegetarian pinto beans. You don't even have to use the stove if you wanna opt for the microwave. We add cut up veggies or fruit as a side.
2. Chicken in a crock pot. I usually like my crock pot for dinner recipes, but this concept is so easy. Basically, put your chicken in and cover it with whatever sauce you like (on low for 4-5 hours): marinara, balsamic vinegar, salsa (even peach salsas), bbq sauce, etc. Then you can either throw together with some leftover noodles, rice, or even put it in between bread for a sandwich or throw it on a salad. Nothing to chop up or watch on the stove.
3. Store bought turkey meatballs (or sometimes I make my own and freeze them). They come in all kinds of flavors…we usually pair them with a package of sweet potato fries for a "fast food" style lunch. Throw it on a tray and into the oven. In like 15 minutes, you have lunch.
4. Hummus (or other bean dips), veggies, and pita bread.
5. Muffin tin lunches. This is where you use a muffin tin and fill each compartment with a leftover from your fridge and pantry: lunch meat, crackers, pb, grapes, that lasagna from the night before that you don't have enough of to serve everyone, broccoli, ranch dip, etc. It's a way to get rid of leftovers, and the kids think it's fun too.
Well, I didn't mean to hijack your blog. I look forward to seeing what other ideas y'all come up with. Happy Lunching!
Rory
Shelley says
January 7, 2010 at 7:29 pmDon't know how you feel about them, but we love- gasp- leftovers! We actually make enough at dinner to serve for lunch the next day. Easy peasy, lemon squeezy! We can quickly heat, eat and clean up before I go to work:)
Nikowa Lee says
January 8, 2010 at 6:18 pmoh my goodness that looks so good! {drools}