Day 4&5

Day 4 was leftover pasta from my one pot wonder (which A didn't eat the night before).  He didn't eat much, but everything else was gone.  It's hard for me to tell how much I'm packing in the thermos.  Maybe I should start measuring?

Day 5, I'm taking it easy.  Ham & cheese sandwich and fruit.  I'm betting the carrots come back but everything else will be gone.  Am I jinxing myself?

Update:  after... I have to say I'm a bit surprised!

Day 3

Bummer.  Forgot the photos.

Mac & cheese in the thermos.

Snack: cup of grapes and some veggie sticks & oat cereal

Verdict: success!  Everything was eaten. :)

Tonight's dinner was inspired by Damn Delicious' one pot wonders <http://damndelicious.net/2014/05/16/one-pot-pasta/>. It actually was quite tasty.  This picture, I realize, doesn't seem so.  :(

One pot wonder

1 lb ground beef

1/2 onion, diced

1 small eggplant, cubed

1 c carrots, diced

1 lb mushrooms, sliced

1 26 oz jar marinara or spaghetti sauce

1/2 lb pasta

1 1/2 c water

Brown ground beef.  Drain excess fat.  Add onions, cook until translucent.  Add veggies.  I used what I had on hand - eggplant, carrots, and mushrooms.  Add 1 jar of marinara or spaghetti sauce, 1/2 lb of pasta, and 1 1/2 cups of water.  Bring to a boil, then simmer for 12-15 minutes, or until pasta is to desired softness.

Serve with Parmesan cheese.

Day 2

Chicken soup with square crackers (aka saltines), 6 tater tots, and a Pluto (no, pluot!  DYAC)

I even drew an arrow on the thermos to help A know which way to turn and open.  I thought that was pretty clever.

Verdict: Bust!  For snack, I sent a container of grapes, and stuck in the remainder of his breakfast, probably about a third of a whole wheat cinnamon roll with sunbutter.  I guess he ate all of that at 11:00 for snack so when lunch rolled around and 12:30, he wasn't all that hungry.  The soup was virtually untouched, the crackers had been added to the soup for a lovely congealed mess, but the tater tots were gone as well as half of the pluot.  Tragically, A did not close his thermos all the way so it leaked out all over his lunchbox and into his backpack.  Ugh.

So now I'm rethinking, maybe it is good to send a hearty snack and a lighter lunch.  I'll have to think about that.

Day 1

Lunch verdict:  All the meatballs & peas were gone and just a few pineapples left.  2 breadsticks was too much.  Next time, 1 will suffice.  Good lunch!

Lunch test run

2 Ham & cheese sandwiches

Goldfish

Carrots, microwaved 30 sec in a sandwich bag to semi-steam

Blueberries & pluots

Another waffle recipe

Another waffle recipe

I added tofu and banana in this one and also added some whole wheat flour, which muddled up the pretty yellow color of the cornmeal.  :(  But I wanted to go back to adding more protein and nutrition in this batch.  I also reduced to 1 egg so Mr A could eat more without being worried about consuming too much egg.

The waffles turned out kind of heavy and also not very crispy, probably because of the extra water from the tofu and banana.  Bummer, soggy waffles.  But since they're just going into the freezer and will be crisped up in toaster before eating, not really a big deal. :)

 Another waffle recipe

1 ripe banana, mashed

1/2 brick of tofu, mashed

1 egg

2 T vegetable oil

1 c milk

1 tsp vanilla extract

2  Tbsp granulated sugar

1 c cornmeal

1/2 c whole wheat flour

1/2 c Trader Joe's multi grain baking mix

Mix until combined.  Cook in waffle iron until brown & crispy.  (Or just brown and fully cooked.)

Cornbread waffles

Cornbread waffles seem to be a good breakfast for us lately.

Today's recipe comes from the back of my cornmeal bag.  It's actually a recipe for muffins, but I just cut the flour down to 1/2 cup and it looked like a pretty good consistency for waffles.  I also used 1/2 buttermilk and 1/2 whole milk. The waffles are not very doughy, a little grainy, but I think I'm ok with that.  I think next time I will use vegetable oil to see if that will help increase the crispiness.

1. Melt butter.  Cool slightly.  Whisk in 1 egg at a time.

2. Add 1/4 cup of sugar.

3. Whisk in 1 cup of cornmeal.

4. Whisk in 1/2 cup buttermilk and 1/2 cup whole milk.

5. Add 3 teaspoons for baking powder and...

1/2 cup of AP flour.

6.  Whisk until combined.

7. Add 2 big scoops into the waffle iron.  Cook until brown and crispy.