Last week

The school week was only 2 days long last week, and we spent lots of time preparing for our holiday feast and visit with family. Since I didn't get a chance to write about lunches then, I thought I'd put together a quick post to start this week. Thanksgiving meal highlights are coming soon!

 -Half bagel with sunbutter & jelly
-Kit's Organic fruit & nut bar
-Bare Fruit cinnamon apple chips
-Sili Squeeze with favorite smoothie

-Wellshire turkey ham & Earth Balance Mindful Mayo sandwich on Rudi's gf multigrain bread
-Sili Squeeze with favorite smoothie

Ravenous

-Honest Kids apple juice
-Kit's Organic fruit and nut bar
-Glutino apple breakfast bar
-Organic cranberry fruit strip
-Andean Dream quinoa cookie
-Glutino crackers and Wellshire turkey ham cut into circles

Yesterday was a Professional Development day at school, so the kids had the day off. We asked one of their friends (E) from school if she wanted to spend the day with us. Both kids adore her, and she's the first person that the boy has ever identified (on his own) as a friend. It is so very sweet to watch the three of them play together so well. We planned to share one of the kids' favorite places to play with her, so I packed up a bunch of lunches in preparation for our little adventure.
The idea was to have a bunch of easy to grab items so that they could eat for a bit, then run off and play, and then come back to the table as desired. These would have been perfect lunches for that, if all had gone according to plan. In reality, the second they got their shoes off, they ran to play for a solid 4 minutes, then the boy sauntered over and declared his need to eat. I handed him his lunch box, and he proceeded to devour the entire contents (except the quinoa cookie, which he gave to E!) within about 15 minutes. The girl had a similar reaction to the suggestion of lunch, but did pace herself a bit more. They blasted through their lunch so quickly and early, that we ended up having to cut our playtime short so that we could come home to refuel. Once at home, they went through 3 or 4 different snacks, and then ate a fairly substantial dinner. I'm not sure if entertaining E was using up a lot of energy, or if her presence somehow instigated a growth spurt, but I'm not sure I've seen either one of them eat like this before.

The easy way

 -Bare Fruit cinnamon apple chips
-Honest Kids organic apple juice
-Organic chicken breast (in the lidded container)
-Half sunbutter & strawberry on Rudi's gf bread

This was packed on an especially difficult evening. The day was full of tantrums and tears, and by the time it came to packing lunches, I was exhausted. The kids wouldn't touch the chicken, but happily ate everything else. The next day, the boy complained that I should stop packing such small lunches, but later went on to refuse his breakfast and most of his dinner.

-Wellshire turkey ham with Earth Balance soy-free mayo on Rudi's gf bread
-Carrot sticks
-Sunbutter for dipping

They loved the sandwiches, even with the mayo! I usually ask if they want mayo, since the bread can be pretty dry on it's own. Usually, the girl wants some, but the boy declines. This time I didn't ask, but both kids were pretty happy with it. It probably helped that they were quartered and in little cups. The girl had about half of her carrots, but ran out of time to finish, the boy didn't want his. Neither one wanted the sunbutter, which is usually one of the first things to be eaten.

Planning to be thankful

Yikes, terrible pic!
-Gluten-free pizza with daiya cheese on Kinnickinnick crust and turkey ham shapes on top
-small container of trail mix
-Banana/blueberry/honey/apple juice smoothie

This one was pretty neutral. Not a favorite, but didn't make it onto the "no" list either. They did like the turkey ham shapes that I put on their pizza, but said that I should put them on after baking it next time so that it doesn't curl.

-Half sunbutter and strawberry sandwich on Udi's gf raisin bread
-Wellshire turkey sausage with a cocktail fork
-Tiny container of dried pinapple
-Sweet potato bites

Neither one of them liked the sweet potato bites, but they both liked everything else. The boy is in the beginning stages of a yeast protocol. We're hoping that he comes out the other side with less cravings for carbs and sugar, and more willingness to try different foods. Worth a shot.

With just over a week until Thanksgiving, and family visiting this year, I'm just starting to seriously plan our gf/df holiday menu. I have some favorites from past years that will make an appearance, and a few new dishes that I'm excited to try. I have a feeling I'll be visting the Gluten Free Goddess for some recipe ideas,  since she hasn't failed me yet. It should be extra interesting since this year is our first without soy and with poultry. We'll be getting an organic pasture-raised turkey from Tea Hills Farm, and I'm planning on hitting the winter farmer's market for our thanksgiving produce. It will be nice to have a family thanksgiving where we can all eat and not worry about getting accidental allergens.

Election Day Lunch

Election day lunch:
-WayBetter sweet potato chips (and guacamole for the girl)
-Sections of pomelo
-Bell&Evans organic uncured turkey hotdog and small dipper of organic ketchup

Somehow the kids' lunchboxes got switched and he ended up with her guacamole. The boy said that he didn't even see it, lol. The veggie-ness of it probably overwhelmed him just enough to block it from his reality. He was excited about the pomelo pieces, he loves the texture. He takes so long to eat them that he was only able to get a few tiny bits in, but at least he'd eaten the other food first so he wasn't hungry all day. The girl ate everything in her lunchbox, and thanked me for putting the pomelo in there. If you haven't tried one before, and enjoy citrus, pick one up the next time you see one at the grocery. They taste like a grapefruit and tangerine cross, with fairly firm sections (the kids call them juice packs). They are usually a little pricy, but can be easily shared by 3 people, so it evens out.

Day after election day lunch:
-Homemade organic cornbread with sunbutter and strawberry jam
-Favorite smoothie
-Kit's Organic peanut butter bar

A little bit of a cheat in my no-sandwich week, but since it's made with homemade cornbread (with banana!), I'll let it slide. It would have been fun to have had an Ohio-themed lunch planned, but I didn't think about it until I was packing this up while watching the election results roll in. This lunch wasn't interesting enough to justify it's own post, but the kids enjoy having a visual representation of the lunches they've had, so it can hang out here with yesterday's lunch.

Pancakes with friends

-Gluten free banana pancakes with sunbutter/maple spread
-Organic fruit bites (leftover from Halloween)
-Caveman Cookie
-Glutino pretzels, raisins, dates

The kids didn't have school today, so we visited friends instead. They were more interested in grazing their lunchboxes all day rather than sitting down and eating everything all at once. The boy finished all of his food, plus a few cookies shared by friends. The girl left a couple of her pancakes, but ate everything else, and also some cookies. This wasn't a very protein-y lunch, but they made up for it at dinner. 
The lunches last week were heavy on the sunbutter and jelly sandwiches and smoothies, so I didn't post photos of them. This week, I'm going to see how many non-sandwich lunches I can come up with.