Healthy Lunches Week #4

This week was super busy, but lunches went great. I feel like we are really on a roll now. Nothing to exciting and new ideas, because the kids really just want repeats of everything they have already had.
Now that our 4th week is over, I am pretty sure that they have figured out their favorites: pizza lunchables, uncrustables sandwiches, like the one below, leftover tacos and whole wheat banana bread with a frozen smoothie.

Now that we have finished our fourth week, I will keep posting periodic lunches, those that are new and worked with the girls, lots of tips and things we do to stay healthy, whole foods dinners, treats and I will post our weekly schedule and how we allow for moderation with treats and dinner out one night a week.

Here is the rundown for the week:

MONDAY:

Today was salad, as requested by both girls. They LOVED it last week. They had romaine lettuce, chopped carrots and cucumbers and shredded chicken. They had two poppy seed muffins from the freezer. Recipe I posted earlier on week #1 HERE and a small container of honey crisp apples.



They loved this and containers came home almost completely empty. One mini  muffin would have been enough.

 

 

TUESDAY:

Whole Wheat uncrustable with natural peanut butter and raw honey, honey crisp apples, cucumbers and carrots and some popcorn. I will admit I was in a hurry and used popcorn from a microwave bag....which isn't a whole food because of the additives...but that was actually the last bag in my house. Now we will only be able to make our usual air popped.

This crimper is the best and my girls LOVE eating a sandwich this way. I think it was the best thing pampered chef has made. It keeps the peanut butter and honey in. They are getting more and more willing to eat veggies and I LOVE THAT!

 

 

WEDNESDAY:

Today was leftovers from dinner last night. I made tacos with ground turkey (recipe below) and I made a double batch, which I will do from now on so that we can all take leftovers the next day. The girls had warmed meat in their thermos, with re fried beans (not pictures), whole wheat flax tortilla and shredded lettuce.

This is their new favorite lunch. They ate everything and they said it was enough to fill them up. I did heat up the tortilla before school and wrapped it in foil.

 

 

THURSDAY:

Today was were all in a hurry, so it was nice to be able to use things from the freezer. The girls had fresh apples (we have 40 pounds of honey crisp to use), blackberries, frozen smoothie, more about that on the first week HERE and a frozen slice of banana bread from 100 Days of Real Food HERE

Everything was gone after school except a few bites of bread.

 

 

FRIDAY:

The girls really liked today's lunch cause it was different and something we haven't done before. They had thin Triscuits (only 3 ingredients), natural turkey in squares, string cheese, pickles and a whole wheat cupcake, recipe below.

They LOVED THIS! It was fun and different and they liked having something sweet.

 

 

New Recipes This Week:

 

Ground Turkey Tacos

(This makes a double recipe, which could probably serve12)

 

 

Ingredients:

1 green pepper, finely chopped

1 red pepper, finely chopped

1/2 onion, diced

2 cloves garlic, minced

2 packaged ground turkey (each were just over a pound)

1 can black beans, drained

1 T. chili powder

1/2 t. cayenne

2 T. cumin

seal salt to taste...maybe 1 t.

1 small can, 6 oz.  tomato sauce

1 small bunch cilantro, chopped

 

Directions:

1. In a large pan, saute green and red pepper, onion and garlic in 2 T. olive oil over medium heat.

2. Once onions are translucent, add in ground turkey and cook until no longer pink.

3. Add beans, spices and tomatoes sauce.

4. Cook until well seasoned and bubbly.

5. Stir in cilantro and turn off heat.

We serve ours with: whole wheat tortillas, shredded romaine, some cheese, sour cream, home made salsas and avocado slices.

 

Whole Wheat Cupcakes

(inspired from Eat Good 4 Life HERE)

 

Ingredients:

2 cups white wheat, whole wheat flour
1/2 C. raw sugar
1 1/2 teaspoon baking powder
1/2 teaspoon baking soda
1 egg
1/4 cup coconut oil or 1/4 cup butter
1 cup vanilla almond milk
2 teaspoons real vanilla extract

 

Directions:

1. Mix the wet ingredients together and then add the dry. once well mixed, put in little cupcake tins, with liners.

2. Bake for 8-10 minutes at 350. I filled mine to the top, so mine only made 24 cupcakes.

 

Frosting:

 In a bowl, combine 8 oz cream cheese and 1/4 C. soft butter with a hand mixer.

Add in 3 C. powdered raw sugar. I just put my raw sugar crystals in the blender and it made great powdered sugar.

We also added 1 t. vanilla and 2 T. cocoa powder for chocolate.