Sometimes it is catered by Muslim-owned restaurants and then we are able to get zabiha meat. If it is not then they go veg. I let Aaminah pick lunch from school one day per week. It's a little pricey, $5 a day or $20 for the whole week but I understand. They also get a half pint of milk with the food so the school isn't really making any profit on this. Still for us it's too much so it's a weekly treat. Last week Aaminah chose the Petros chili and chips with cheese and sour cream. Basically it's Fritos corn chips smothered in a veg chili with toppings. Really delicious plus it is a locally owned franchise that was started in Knoxville during the 1982 World's Fair. Yes we hosted it. It sucked. The theme was "energy" and as a 4th grader I could not have been more bored. :)
Ok so back to packed lunches. I know I probably send her too much food but I don't want her to be hungry. Plus anything left over she eats later as a snack. Today here is what I sent her:
1 Chobani blueberry yogurt stick
1 clementine (baby orange) peeled and segmented
1 can tuna in water, drained, with a bit of mayo n pickle mixed in to make a salad spread.
7 chocolate covered raisins and 1 date-sized no bake chocolate-peanutbutter oatmeal cookie
I think there was something else but I'm drawing a blank. Oh I made her an English muffin with one fried egg for breakfast but she only wanted her milk. She is still in Ramadhan mode and doesn't like to eat breakfast. :) I packed it so she could eat it at snack if she wished.
Now this wasn't really a good example because I needed to go to the store which I did this morning. I bought some grapes and strawberries (she loves fruit mA!) and I also bought some jelly for sandwiches (her least fave lunch option). I also bought some turkey pepperoni. We make little cream cheese pepproni "sandwiches" for snack or sometimes make a pepperoni and cheese quesadilla. It's very packable and kids love it!
I also bought some veggies I know she likes. I got cucumbers and shredded carrots. She really likes the small thin carrot shreds and of course I slice the cucumbers. I like to get the baby hothouse cucumbers but at over $3 for 4 tini cukes it wasn't happening. I bought 2 large cucumbers for $1.40. :) I wanted to get her some sugar snap peas but I always look to see what's on sale or even clearance veggies before I do that. You can save up to 50% of the cost and just use them in a couple of days; it's all good. :)
They have shelf-stable milk which is awesome. It's a little pricey ($1 a container) but it's organic and flavored. I get her the strawberry and the vanilla and she loves it. I usually freeze it for about an hour before school so it will be really cold plus I put a freezer pack in her lunch box.
Oh speaking of lunch boxes, I waited til now to buy them because of the great clearance deals you can find. I got her a really cute Igloo brand purse-style in a cool chevron design for $5 and I just picked up a Rubbermaid sandwich lunch kit for $5! It's normally almost $15 so it was a great savings! It has a sandwich/main dish keeper with a specialized freezer insert and then 2 snack cups and 1 side cup. It will be great. I've eyed them for a while but put it off until I found them on sale. Patience pays off!
InshaAllah next time I pack her lunch I'll try to snap a pic of it. I think it's great to give each other good lunch ideas so our children are nourished with love. :) For her drink I pack the milk plus I fill her water bottle with flavored water. I don't like plain water unless it's bottled; our tap water doesn't taste good here. :(
Alrighty then, talk to ya'll later, ma salaama!
2 comments:
I really enjoyed this post. Loved all your food ideas.
My 1st grader is such a picky eater. It's typically the same boring lunch around here....bagel and cream cheese, or PB&J sammy's {I've recently been rolling them like sushi to make them more interesting and appealing}, or mac and cheese. Last year, the girl only wanted bread with butter. Can you believe that? With all the yummy options out there?! LOL.
Along with a sandwich, I pack her some pretzels/crackers, some cheese, try to sneak in some fruit like clementines or a banana. Or some days she will take a granola bar. Not a big veggie or fruit eater, unfortunately. And that's about it. Boooo-ring!
My 2nd is a much more adventurous eater and I can't wait to pack her lunches next year, In shaa Allah.
Have you noticed the bento craze?? You know I am all over that! Such cute lunch ideas all over the web.
Oh and one last thing. I JUST picked up those rubbermaid containers this weekend but OMG I almost peed my pants, they are so expensive. I'm thinking of returning them and waiting for them to go on sale.
Anyways, you should do these posts more often. I loved your ideas!
<3 Take care! Salamz! Sorry for the novel. =)
I love getting comments! Hence the tag on my sidebar. ;)
Aaminah is an adventurous eater; we are mostly constrained by our budget and my energy level. :)
I was so hyped to find these containers on sale at Kroger! If ya'll have a Kroger local check in the kitchen wares section. iA you can find one at a good price!
I really wanted a planet box? bento box but good lord, they are like $40!!! Oh well. :)
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