DIY Pizzas and "no touching raw meat"

It's well documented that my kids voice their opinions when it comes to breakfast and lunch and that it's something that I both encourage and celebrate. But dinner? That's all me. Whatever I want to make (and eat) for dinner is what we're doing. I'm usually pretty confident that each of my kids will enjoy some part of dinner – but frankly with three kids (one of whom can't eat dairy, another who would eat her weight in dairy and pasta every day if she could and a third who basically only eats fruit, yogurt and chicken legs but will sometimes experiment with whatever his big sister is eating), it's near impossible to please everyone all of the time. Fine. Even when I'm past that challenge, dinner needs to be ready quickly. I aim for 30 minutes or less. And it usually has a protein, a vegetable and a fruit. 

After this weekend's kitchen disaster, where embarrassingly I mangled two fingers in a stick blender, I was told by an ER doc not to touch raw meat until the stitches come out next week. You can't be too careful when it comes to potential infection and wounds. I'd be fine with grain and green salads and black beans for days (or weeks!) on end, but I'm not sure the rest of my gang would feel the same. 

So tonight we're making pizzas. I bought whole wheat pizza dough and found these organic (fully cooked) sausages at my local market that my crew can add to their pizzas or have on the side (or not). My kids go bananas for DIY pizza. I cut some corners by buying pre-shredded cheese (I'm feeling a bit squeamish about sharp edged things at the moment) and buying already prepared sauce. We'll pair it with grapes (cut for the baby) and frozen peas (my son prefers these still frozen) and call it a day. It's a win-win, as far as I'm concerned. The prep time is not much more than the time it takes for my kids to roll out the dough and spread their own toppings, and I've followed doctor's orders. 

DIY pizza means you can leave the cheese off part of it, for the dairy-free! 

Kitchen Accidents

A few years ago, my sister had stitches on her index finger after having a kitchen accident with her stick blender. It was a wake up call. I'm usually so careful in the kitchen but after hearing about her trauma, I made a mental note to be even more cautious with my stick blender. I religiously unplug it EVERY time I take it out and plan to stick my fingers anywhere near the blade. Or so I thought. 

I guess I was in a hurry. Or just not thinking. On Saturday night, I set out to prepare the spice rub for a pork shoulder that I planned to slow roast Sunday for some awesome Super Bowl nachos. My sister and her family were planning to join us for the big game and nachos is their Super Bowl tradition. I'm happy to comply. I had just finished tucking in my baby and my three year old for the night. My husband and seven year old were just finishing up a book before she headed to bed for the night. I had my phone beside me and intended to take photos of the meat and the rub and text them to my sister with a message along the lines of "oh, it's on!"

 Somehow I forgot to unplug. 

As my right hand scraped the rub mixture off of the blade, my left hand somehow pressed "on." I'll spare you the gross details but tell you this: 27 stitches later, I don't think I'll be using the stick blender for a long, long time. Maybe never again. It's so sad because that thing is so very handy, and I use it ridiculously often.

I'm incredibly lucky. It could have been worse and frankly, I'm feeling so grateful that I still have ten fingers (and their tips... I thought I had lost the thumb tip). I'm also forever thankful for my sister, the calming force even in the face of disgusting injury, who came from across town to be with me for a long night at the ER while my husband held down the fort with our three kiddos. We've never had emergency plans in place for things like this (though we definitely have plans for emergencies that involve the kids) but I've been thinking about it since Saturday; Adults need back up plans and reliable people to call in an emergency too! It was so clear to me that my sister was the right person to call. Do you have adult emergency plans in place at your house? 

p.s.: see my pinky finger? I had an accident at a friend's birthday party when I was 4. It got caught in a folding chair. I lost most of the tip. In those days of no cell-phones, my mom went to pick me up from the birthday party and there was a note on the door: "Went to emergency room. Everything fine. Meet us there." She had no idea that I was the center of that emergency until she got to the hospital! But alas, that's a story for another day. 

p.p.s.: my husband cleaned everything up, rubbed the pork shoulder with the seasoning to let the amazing flavors penetrate the meat all night and slow cooked it all day Sunday. His nachos were outstanding, as was the rest of the feast that he prepared for Super Bowl Sunday! 

Lunchbox-Friendly Sushi

Let me put this right out there: DIY sushi rolls with the kiddos is a lunch that packs itself.

I've always been fascinated by sushi: the art of it, the buzz around it, the quest for the freshest fish, the accoutrements. I'm not able to indulge in any of it thanks to my fish allergy and I rarely take chances in a sushi restaurant with the non-fish items because even the slightest bit of cross contamination leads me to Benadryl. 

A couple of years ago, when we discovered that my eldest daughter didn't have the allergies that I have (phew!), she and my husband began a sweet tradition of going out for sushi as a twosome. At some point, a second tradition emerged and we began making vegetarian rolls of our own at home. My daughter (then in kindergarten) was completely enthralled by the DIY rolls and all things with seaweed. Her love affair waned for a long while but now it seems to be back. She and I went to the market together the other day and she specifically requested sushi rice and nori. I wasn't at all surprised to see it on her LaLa Lunchbox meal plan this week and was kind of excited for this lunch-making activity.

Making sushi rolls is one of those things that sounds involved. And messy. And hard. But I swear, it isn't. I was really feeling victorious about the whole thing until I realized that my littlest one was systematically removing all of the folded clothes from her dresser drawer as we were DIYing with nori. That was big fun. But I digress.

These sushi rolls really are an easy project to do with kids and you can basically put anything you want in them. We chose to fill them with egg and avocado. I explained it to my 3.5 year old sushi newbie like this: "First, we're making rice. Second, we're frying two eggs. Third, we're slicing an avocado. Then it's all about the rolling." 

Bam! It really is that straightforward. My kids overstuffed the rolls in their excitement, of course, and my son was a little taken aback by just how sticky the rice was on his fingers. But they were both proud as peacocks about these rolls, and completely excited to pack them in their lunchboxes. Two rolls, sliced into pieces, fit perfectly into an Easy Lunchboxes container – woot! 

Never made sushi rice before? Never fear. Here's how: 

Bring 1 cup of sushi rice and 1.5 cups of water to a boil. Cover and simmer for about 20 minutes or until the water has evaporated completely. Add 2 tablespoons of rice vinegar (unsweetened) and stir. 

To assemble the rolls, here's what you'll need:

• 1 package of nori (toasted seaweed)
• 2 TB rice vinegar
• 1 cup sushi rice, prepared
• 1 avocado, sliced
• 2 eggs, scrambled

Prepare the sushi rice and set aside. Lay a piece of nori on a mat and sprinkle lightly with water. My son likened it to rain drops. Spread the rice evenly on the nori, making sure to leave room on the edges (about 1/2 inch, plus more at the top for sealing). Place the avocado slices and egg pieces along the bottom edge of the rice and roll up the nori like a burrito. Seal the edges with wet fingertips. Slice with a sharp knife and enjoy! Makes about 6 rolls. 

See that cute little pink bunny thing below? It's a teeny container for soy sauce! 

Resolution Meals for Kids

Every August, parents are bombarded with articles, tips and suggestions for healthy kid lunches. Each new school year begins in earnest with balanced, beautiful lunches. We pat ourselves on the back for doing our part to help little minds and bodies grow. But somewhere around November (December if you’re lucky), the rut sets in. Whether your children are planning their lunches or it’s a parent-led decision in your home, January is the perfect time to infuse your lunchbox routine with some new options and a renewed commitment to healthful meals.

This month we'll be posting some food suggestions to refresh your breakfast and lunch routines and will include some downloadable images (below) to add to your LaLa Lunchbox Food Library. Click here to see how to easily add images to your Food Library. Keep checking this page for new food additions throughout the month and click through for the easy, kid-friendly recipes. (click the images to access the recipes)

Happy New Year to you and yours! 

Resolution Food #1: Ricotta Cheese 

Ricotta Apple Pancakes

Ricotta Carrot Roll Ups

  Resolution Food #2: Quinoa

Quinoa with Avocado

Resolution Food #3: Eggs 

Egg Eyes

Resolution Food #4: Dried Mango

Chickpeas with Dried Mango and Avocado

 Vietnamese-Style Quinoa Meatballs

Egg Salad with Dill

Bulgur Wheat with Dried Mango

Resolution Food #4: Dried Mango

Dried mango has got to be one of my favorite snack foods ever. When I first discovered the gently dried mango from Peeled Snacks, it was an eye opener. I had long avoided most dried fruits because of the added sulfites and sugar. The Peeled Snacks much-ado-about-Mango has one ingredient: organic mangos. No preservatives. No added sugar or oil. No sulfites. And they're organic, so they're non-GMO. These have become a staple for car trips and I frequently have a bag in my purse. They make for great snacking for kids and adults. I recently began experimenting with ways to use dried mango beyond the snack...

Voila! They work beautifully with breakfast AND lunch! This Chickpea with Dried Mango and Avocado dish is a hint of warm weather in the black hole of winter. We gobbled it up! 

Chick peas are a year round food for us (and as an aside, I am a fan of canned beans and loved this blog post from Gina Rau about it). Avocados are also a year round food for us. And in dishes like these, Peeled Snacks Much-Ado-About Mango is a perfect fresh mango substitute. Everything about this dish is Real Food and it's a wonderful way to kick off a healthy new year.

For more Resolution Foods, click here.
 

Want to jump start the New Year? Join the Peeled Snacks Real Energy Challenge to: eat more fruit, reduce added sugar and choose organic! All participants receive weekly tips from experts and from Peeled Snacks and are entered to win weekly prizes! Click here for more information! 

Chickpeas with Dried Mango and Avocado

Ingredients
1/2 cup of chopped dried mango
1/2 cup of chick peas
1/2 avocado
1/3 cup chopped bell pepper (we used yellow pepper here)
pinch of salt
pepper to taste
2 teaspoons of olive oil
juice of half of a Meyer lemon
1.5 tablespoons of fresh chopped cilantro
teaspoons of fresh chopped mint

Method
Combine all ingredients and let the flavors dance together. This is best at room temperature and even better on day two! 

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Dried Mango and Bulgur Wheat Porridge

Dried mango is excellent with breakfast too! I reconstituted a few slices of it in warm water and cooked the pieces with bulgur wheat to make this porridge-type of breakfast. This can be done with any grain or with oatmeal, of course. Bulgur wheat can be a bit messy with young eaters but the texture is so delightful and it's a nice change of pace for us (we've been on an oatmeal kick lately). For an extra protein kick, you can add nuts or chick peas to this breakfast. 

Ingredients
1/2 cup of bulgur wheat
1 cup of water
7 slices of dried mango
1/2 cup of warm water
1 teaspoon of cinnamon

Method
Place the bulgur wheat and 1 cup of water in a pot and bring to a boil. Meanwhile, place the mango strips in a bowl with warm water to slightly reconstitute - approximately 5 minutes. Once the pieces are slightly soft, cut them into chunks. when the water is boiling, stir the bulgur, reduce heat to low and add mango pieces. Simmer until the water has evaporated. Add cinnamon and serve (and nuts or chick peas if using).