Week 7 - Daddy prepped meals

Morning snack: cottage cheese and Triscuits

Lunch: Turkey, cheese and avocado whole wheat tortilla roll up, steamed broccoli, and cantaloupe.

Tuesday-Friday

I don't have pictures for meals prepared for Tuesday through Friday this week because LA and I went out of town and left Daddy and LQ at home.  I left a menu for Daddy and he prepared all the meals for school.  According to LQ Daddy did GREAT!  Here's the menu I left him. 

Week 6

Morning snack: Banana cinnamon whole wheat pancakes and Yotot/Yokids yogurt.
Lunch:   LQ leftover pita cheese pizza, black olives, steam broccoli and sliced apples.
Afternoon snack: LA sliced turkey, cheese and blueberries. LQ trail mix with Barbara cereal, shredded coconut, cranberries and cashews.

Morning snack: Hard boiled egg and Yotot/Yokids yogurt.
Lunch: LA banana and peanut butter roll up on wheat bread and blueberries.  LQ banana, raisin and peanut butter roll up on wheat bread and peach.
Afternoon snack: Triscuits, sliced black olives and cubed cheese.

Morning snack: Hard boiled egg, whole wheat apple cinnamon pancake muffin and Asian pear
Lunch: LA turkey quesadilla, Asian pear and steamed butternut squash.  LQ turkey quesadilla and Asian pear.
Afternoon snack: LA puffs and vegetable pouch (not pictured).  LQ trail mix with Barbara cereal, raisins and cashews.

**NOTE: The whole wheat apple cinnamon pancake muffin uses the same recipe as the pancake recipe it is linked to except that I just added raisins and a little water to make it a bit more water.  Then I baked it for 15 minutes at 350 degrees.

Morning snack: Strawberries, blueberries and mixture of shaved coconut and pistachios
Lunch: breaded chicken, steamed peas and pretzels.
Afternoon snack: Cottage cheese and Triscuits

**Only LQ went to camp today.

Week 5 - Whole Wheat Apple Cinnamon Pancakes

Morning snack: LA Annie's cheddar bunnies and watermelon.  LQ Triscuits topped with peanut butter and raisins and watermelon.
Lunch: LA mac and cheese, oven roasted chicken and halved cherries.  LQ whole wheat pita pizza topped with homemade pizza sauce, mozzerrella and black olives and blueberries and plums.
Afternoon snack: LA puffs and butternut squash and pear pouch.  LQ trail mix with almonds, pistachios, shaved coconut and raisins.

Morning snack: Hard boiled egg and Yotots yogurt
Lunch: LA grilled cheese sandwich, steamed peas and plums.  LQ cheese, turkey and avocado sandwich and cherries.
Afternoon snack: LA sliced plum. LQ plum and pistachios.

Morning snack: Whole wheat apple cinnamon pancakes and hard boiled egg.
Lunch: LA turkey and cheese roll up, Goldfish and blueberries.  LQ grilled cheese and turkey whole wheat roll ups, shredded carrots, blueberries an dried cranberries
Afternoon snack: Mango and cherries.

Morning snack: Whole wheat apple cinnamon pancakes and Yotots yogurt.
Lunch: Breaded chicken, brown rice, steamed butternut squash and broccoli and apples/blueberries.
Afternoon snack: LA peach.  LQ insisted on eating the camp provided snack, cheese crackers, I think.

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Whole Wheat Apple Cinnamon Pancakes

Ingredients:
1/2 cup unsweetened apple sauce
3/4 cup vanilla almond milk
1 TBS agave or maple syrup (more if you'd like it a little sweeter)
1 cup whole wheat flour
2 tsp sodium-free baking powder
2 TBS cinnamon

Method:

Combine dry ingredients in one bowl  Combine wet ingredients in a separate bowl  Combine wet and dry ingredients.  Cook on a preheated, pre-oiled griddle.

**NOTE: depending on the amount of cinnamon packed into each tablespoon you may need to add more liquid.  Cinnamon has a tendency to coagulate a bit.  

Week 4

Morning snack: LA zucchini pancake muffin, Yotot yogurt. LQ zucchini pancake muffin topped with peanut butter and blueberry jam and blueberries and raspberries.
Lunch: LA diced turkey, diced cheese stick, sliced black olives and steamed mixed vegetables. LQ stuffed whole wheat pita with turkey, avocado and cheese, baby carrots and pretzel Goldfish
Afternoon snack: LA Blueberries and raspberries and buffs. LQ plum.

Morning snack: LA banana whole wheat pancakes with cantaloupe and blueberries. LQ banana whole wheat pancakes with Yokids yogurt.
Lunch: Mac and cheese, hard boiled egg and steamed mixed vegetables
Afternoon snack: LA puffs and organic fruit yogurt smoothie.  LQ blueberries and cantaloupe.

Morning snack: LA hard boiled egg and blueberries. LQ hard boiled egg and Triscuit topped with cream cheese and raisins.
Lunch: LA oven roasted chicken, Triscuits and sliced peach.  LQ whole wheat pita stuffed with oven roasted chicken, hummus and shredded cheese and sliced peach.
Afternoon snack: puffs and Yotot/Yokids yogurt.

Morning snack: Banana whole wheat pancake cupcakes and Yotot/Yokids yogurt.
Lunch: Oven roasted chicken, steamed broccoli and cauliflower, and wild rice
Afternoon snack: puffs and mango

Week 3 - Blueberry Banana Whole Wheat Pancakes

Morning snack: Blueberry banana whole wheat pancakes and blueberries
Lunch: Oven roasted chicken, wild rice, steamed mixed vegetables, and strawberries
Afternoon snack: LA halved red grapes and Annie's cheddar bunnies. LQ green grapes and cheese stick

Morning snack: Blueberry banana whole wheat pancakes and scrambled eggs
Lunch: Whole wheat bowtie pasta topped with homemade spaghetti sauce and shredded cheese, steamed peas and sliced black olives
Afternoon snack: Hazelnut and raspberry almond milk chia pudding

Morning snack: Yotots yogurt and puffs
Lunch: Turkey quesadilla, sliced avocado and black beans
Afternoon snack: Diced mango

Morning snack: Zucchini pancake muffins and Yotots yogurt
Lunch: Breaded chicken, brown rice, steamed mixed vegetables and blueberries
Afternoon snack: LA watermelon.  LQ red grapes and a cheese stick.

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Blueberry Banana Whole Wheat Pancakes

Ingredients:
1 ripe banana
1 1/4 cup soy milk/almond milk
1 cup whole wheat flour
2 tsp sodium-free baking powder
1 tsp cinnamon
1 TBS blueberry jam (we use the Wegman's organic blueberry jam, it contains very little sugar)

Method:

Mash up the banana in a large bowl and add the milk and jam.  In a separate bowl combine the flour, baking powder, and cinnamon.  Combine the wet ingredients with the dry ingredients.  Cook on warm pre-oiled griddle.

Week 2 (Zucchini Pancake Muffins)

Posting daily his quickly become an impossibility....so, here we go a weekly post.  I hope you guys stick around!  I'll try to throw in some fun yummy stuff between my Sunday posts, ok!

Morning snack: Zucchini pancake muffins topped with peanut butter and blueberry jam, blueberries and raspberries (yogurt for LA)

Lunch: LA got diced roasted turkey and cheese, black olives, and steamed mixed vegetables.  LQ got a pita pocket stuffed with turkey, avocado and cheese, baby carrots and pretzel Goldfish.

Afternoon snack: LA got puffs, blueberries and raspberries.  LQ got plums.

Morning snack: Peanut butter filled zucchini pancake muffins and yogurt

Lunch:  Breaded and baked chicken, brown rice, and steamed mixed vegetables (LA also got blueberries).

Afternoon snack:  LA got plums.  LQ got grapes and cheese sticks.

Morning snack: Puffs and yogurt.

Lunch: Quesadilla, black beans and avocado

Afternoon snack: Mango.

Morning snack: LA got watermelon and cheddar rabbits.  The girls got watermelon and peanut butter and raisin on top of Triscuits.

Lunch: LA got baked chicken, mac and cheese and cherries.  The girls got pita pizza with black olives and plums with blueberries

Afternoon snack: LA got puffs and a butternut squash and pear puree pouch.  LQ got trailmix with coconut shavings, almonds and raisins.

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Zucchini Pancake Muffins

Ingredients

1/2 cup whole wheat flour

1/2 cup all purpose flour

1/2 tsp baking soda

1 tsp cinnamon

1/4 tsp salt

1/8 tsp nutmeg

2 medium eggs

2 TBS vegetable oil

1 TBS brown sugar

2 TBS vanilla almond milk

3 TBS vanilla Greek yogurt

2 1/4 cup shredded zucchini

Method

Set the oven to 350 degrees.  Combine the dry ingredients.  Combine the wet ingredients.  Combine the wet and dry ingredients.  Spray a mini-muffin tin with nonstick spray.  Pour batter and bake for 12 minutes or until a toothpick comes out clean.

These are not sweet....at all, so I'd recommend having them with syrup or the way LQ prefers them, cut in half with peanut butter on the inside and blueberries on the top.  She calls them peanut butter jam cupcake sandwiches.

My New Saturday Morning Ritual

Now that I'm making lunch for three kids it only makes sense that I try to simplify a part of it.  I've decided that I can do that by making mini-pancakes on Saturday mornings.  This past Saturday LQ and I made over 75 mini-pancakes.  Although pancakes will be a regular part of the kids' morning snack, I'll experiment with topping them in different ways so it doesn't get boring.  One of LQ's favorite ways  to eat mini-pancakes is with peanut butter and raisin (peanut butter and raisin pancake sandwich), so that will definitely be prepared.  These pancakes are a great way to get your children to eat whole wheat and get some fiber in their diet.  

I've posted my pancake recipe in the past, but in case you missed it here it is again...

Ingredients:

1 ripe banana
1 1/4 cup soy milk/almond milk (more if the batter is too thick to pour)
1 TBS agave or maple syrup (more if you'd like it a little sweeter)
1 cup whole wheat flour
2 tsp sodium-free baking powder
1/4 tsp salt 
1/4 cup pecans (crush after measuring)
sprinkle of cinnamon (LQ normally likes to add this part and there have been times when she adds a tiny mountain of cinnamon, if you accidentally do that add more milk, otherwise the batter is too thick)

Method:

Mash up the banana in a large bowl and add the milk and syrup.  In a separate bowl combine the flour, baking powder, cinnamon and salt.  Combine the wet ingredients with the dry ingredients and fold in pecans.  Pour mixture into pre-oiled cupcake liners.  Bake at 350.  The timing will depend on what size liners you use.  Just make sure your toothpick comes out clean when you insert it into the center.