The Lenten Lunchbox

I know, I know. Lunch isn't really the first thing you think of when contemplating the sacrifice of Jesus on the cross, but meal planning around restrictions can be a tough thing to do. With that in mind, at the request of a friend, I have compiled a list of some meatless, kid friendly lunchbox meal ideas that might help you get through this beautiful season of sacrifice and preparation. I have tried to include some nut-free and gluten-free options, too, for those of you with further restrictions.


Sandwiches and sandwich-like:
-Peanut butter (or sunflower butter or almond butter, you know, the usual suspects) banana roll-ups. Spread peanut butter on a tortilla and roll a banana up inside.
-Banana dogs. Put a banana in a hot dog bun. Add pbj as "condiments."
-Bagel and cream cheese. Put the cream cheese on the side to avoid sogginess.
-Sandwich Skewers. Cheese, bread pieces and veggies on a skewer. Serve with dip. For a mini version use toothpicks for skewers.
-Tuna salad (can be fun in a pita or a lettuce wrap)
-Egg salad (ditto)
- Cheddar apple sandwiches on baguette
-Veggie wraps with a cream cheese spread (roasted garlic and cheddar, garden veggie or herb cream cheese spread and your choice of veggies)
-Falafel and pita
-Cold veggie pizza (roll out crescent dough in a sheet, bake and cool. Spread with ranch dressing and top with cold, chopped veggies and shredded cheddar or colby cheese)
-Pita with hummus or baba ganoush

Hot Meals in a thermal food storage container

-Vegetarian chili with chips and cheddar on the side. Good with a cornbread muffin too.
-Macaroni and cheese
-Potato soup
-Tortellini vegetable soup
-Italian tomato bread soup
-Tomato soup with popcorn on the side
-Minestrone
-Lentil soup
-Pasta with alfredo sauce
-Pasta tossed with sauteed tomatoes, italian herbs and black olives (this is good cold as well)
-Egg drop soup
-Veggie pho (Vietnamese noodle soup)

Cold Noodle/rice/dumpling options
-Noodles with peanut sauce and veggies
-Cheese tortellini
-Cheese ravioli
-Pierogis
-Veggie fried rice
-Potstickers
-Veggie or shrimp summer rolls (OK, I know these seem a little putsy, but they really aren't that hard to make) with peanut sauce.
-Rice molds with soy sauce
-California rolls
-Soba noodle salad with veggies
-Italian pasta salad with Italian dressing, chunks of mozarella, grape tomatoes and black olives
-Tuna pasta salad with mayonaise, chunks of cheddar cheese and peas

Snack options: (Combine several and you have yourself a meal)

-Fruit and cheese skewers (pictured above)
-Hard boiled eggs
-Celery with peanut butter and raisins or cream cheese and black olives
-Whole grain crackers
-String cheese
-Yogurt (Greek yogurt has more protein)
-Build it yourself yogurt parfaits with yougurt, fruit and granola in separate containers
-Fruit and walnut salad with yogurt for dipping (think McDonald's, but homemade)
-Cheeses of the World (we did this once for about a month, trying different cheeses from different countries. It keeps the cheese + bread combo fresh.) So many options! Brie, Gouda, Manchego, Paneer, Queso Fresco.... the list goes on)
-Breads of the world. Rye krisp, naan, pita, pumpernickel, caraway rye, tortillas, baguette...
-Veggies and dip
-Soft pretzels (traditional for Lent)
-Muffins (blueberry, peanut butter and jelly, corn muffins, ginger peach, banana walnut, etc.)
-Apple slices with peanut butter
-Dried fruits
-Trail mix

Obviously, not all of these ideas will work for all kids, but it's a starting place. I hope it helps!

Frugal Cooking- Graham Cracker Pie

I was rummaging around in my pantry looking for something else when I noticed a graham cracker pie crust that was about to expire. Well, what is a frugal girl to do? I couldn't just let a perfectly good pie crust expire, so I made my Great-Aunt Beulah's Graham Cracker Pie. Confession time here, I spent the entire day accidentally calling the new baby by his dad's name, but I was still able to make this pie from memory. I know, it's kind of wrong. This recipe is obviously taking up valuable storage space in my brain that could be used for higher priority items. Like my kid's name. But it is a really good pie.

Here's the recipe.

1/4 c cornstarch
2/3 c sugar
1/4 t salt
2 c milk, scalded
2 beaten egg yolks
2 T softened butter
vanilla

3 egg white
6 T sugar

In a saucepan, mix cornstarch, sugar and salt. Gradually add scalded milk and heat until thick. Temper egg yolks (add a little of the hot milk mixture to them) and mix into the custard. Cook 5 minutes. Cool a little. Add vanilla and butter. Pour into pie crust.

Beat the egg whites and sugar into a meringue. Top pie with meringue and bake at 350 until golden brown (maybe 5-10 minutes. I don't keep track of these things).

Luckily the baby demanded to be fed as soon as I was done with the pie. It gave the pie time to cool and set. Normally I am of the opinion that waiting for pie to cool before eating it is for suckers, but it was nice to have it solidified instead of running all over my plate.

Frugal Cooking/Family History Part 3 Biscuits

I haven't been able to track down my great-grandma's biscuit recipe yet, but we decided to do a little reenactment of family history without it. The girls donned their vintage aprons and I broke out a cookbook by one of my favourite children's book authors, Tasha Tudor. If I can't have great-grandma's recipe, Tasha Tudor at least evokes the sort of American history feel I was looking to create.

Biscuits turned out to be easier than I expected to make. They are a little messy, but totally worth it. The girls had fun rolling and cutting the dough. We talked about Grandma's stories of making biscuits with her grandmother every day after school and what life must have been like. I actually knew my great-grandmother, so I talked a little bit about my memories of her too.

One of Grandma's favourite memories was using the leftover dough to make "baby biscuits" that fit perfectly on the plates of the Victorian china tea set Grandma Jennie owned. Of course, we had to make some baby biscuits of our own.


Both "mommy biscuits" and "baby biscuits" were delicious served with a batch of sausage gravy. In the future I will try making a double or triple batch and freezing some.

Here's the recipe:

1 egg
1/2-3/4 c milk
2 c flour
4 t baking powder
1/2 t salt
1/3 c shortening

Preheat oven to 475 F and grease a cookie sheet.

Break egg into 1 c glass measuring cup. Mix with a fork. Add milk to the 3/4 c line and mix again.

In a large mixing bowl combine flour, baking powder and salt. Lightly mix in the shortening with your fingers. Stir in the milk mixture. Do not overwork the dough. On a floured surface, roll the dough to 1/2 inch thickness and cut with a biscuit cutter or a drinking glass. Place biscuits 1 inch apart on the cookie sheet and bake 10-12 minutes until nicely browned.

Frugal Cooking- Rice Pudding

Can you tell I'm craving carbs lately as a knee jerk reaction to the gestational diabetes? I went through all the trouble of making this so I could eat 1/3 cup of it. I'm obviously a glutton for punishment.

Rice pudding is my ultimate comfort food. My grandma makes it, my great-aunt Beulah makes it and my great-aunt Leone makes it. My mom, who travels a lot for work, was having a conversation one day with a group of people from all over the world and they discovered that whatever differences they may have the one thing they all had in common was a grandma that made some version of rice pudding. It's simple, cheap and it tastes good.

Here's the recipe my grandma makes:

1 c rice
4 c milk or half and half (it's supposed to be half and half, but it tastes good with milk too)
1/2-1 c sugar
Vanilla extract
Almond Extract (opt. but recommended)

Cook in a double boiler on low heat until the rice is cooked through. This takes 1-2 hours. Check it occasionally to stir and add more milk if necessary. When it is cooked, add the sugar and extracts. It's good with cinnamon sprinkled on top.

Frugal Cooking- spaetzle recipe

Growing up we ate spaetzle all the time. I'm not sure if this is something handed down from my German grandfather's family or something my mom and dad learned to make when they lived in Bremen in the 1970s, but either way, it has always been a hit.

Spaetzle are tiny little dumplings, good for serving under any kind of sauce or gravy you would normally spoon over noodles or potatoes. It's good in soups in place of noodles and also, in my mind, good by itself with just some butter, salt and maybe a little dill. No matter how you serve it, it is cheap and relatively easy to make.

Recipe:
1 c flour
1/2 t salt
1 egg
1/2 c milk



Boil some water. Mix the ingredients. If you have a spaetzle maker, which is like a cheese grater with a sliding cup attached to the top of it, use that. Of course, if you have a spaetzle maker you probably already know how to make this.

If you don't have a spaetzle maker, suspend a colander over the water and push the batter down through the holes with a rubber spatula or wooden spoon. Boil until spaetzle floats to the top, about 5 min. I usually make a double batch for my family, but then feeding Zach is like feeding a teenage boy, so maybe a single batch would be enough for most families of four.