CALZONE: the sneaky vegetable

This calzone is made with mostly broccoli with a little ricotta and mozzarella all stuffed into a whole wheat crust. Pizza sauce on the side for dipping; kalamata olives; lettuce and red bell peppers. Frozen chocolate peanut butter bars for dessert (made with crushed Mid-Del wholewheat graham crackers, homemade organic peanut butter, and melted dark chocolate chips).

waste generated: small piece of unbleached parchment paper

TROPICAL SUNRISE

Cream cheese and homemade apricot jam on sprouted whole wheat bread "wheels"; pineapple chunks; sweet and spicy pecans mixed with plain pecans; and multigrain flake cereal.

waste generated: none :)

"I MADE IT MYSELF"

As the title suggests, this lunch was created by my eldest. It began with a diagram and some high hopes ("Mommy, if we make a sandwich out of candy bars, is it still candy?"), and morphed into what you see here. It took a total of 45 minutes to prepare. . . .I could have hollowed out another pumpkin in that amount of time, but I couldn't have replicated those smiles!

Half a peanut butter sandwich with homemade apricot jam on sprouted sourdough bread; raw almonds; a small organic gala apple, halved, Organic Valley string cheese, and a mini lemon cookie by Sunflour Baking Company.

waste generated: plastic wraps from both the cookie and cheese :(

Make Your Own Taco

If I am obsessed with gourds, my son is obsessed with lunchables. I don't believe that this will entirely soothe the itch, but I am hoping it will bring us closer to common ground. By the way, this is my children's favorite family dinner and the leftovers pack nicely with no alterations.

Make Your Own Taco Kit (all ingredients are organic): homemade corn and wholewheat flour tortillas; shredded lettuce; chopped tomatoes; shredded cheddar; and ground buffalo meat seasoned with tomato sauce, onions, cumin, chili powder and salt.

waste generated: square of wax paper

Tuna with a Twist

Tuna salad (made with line caught tuna, canola mayo, dijon mustard, shredded carrots, slivers of celery and capers) wrap on a sprouted wheat tortilla with crisp apple matchsticks; apple chunks; raw almonds; and all bran crackers.

waste generated: strip of wax paper used to hold wraps together

MAC & CHEESE & PEAS

Today I was given instructions: "something warm that is not soup."

Annies whole wheat macaroni and cheese made with plain yogurt (instead of milk & butter) with peas and wheat germ. I put frozen peas in the colander and dump the boiling pasta on top, Instantly unfrozen, but not mushy, peas. I throw in a handful of raw wheat germ at the very end.

Fully Belly Farm nantes carrots, peeled but end left untrimmed (wrapped in the versatile, re-useable wrap-n-mat), and sliced cucumbers with Annie's Cowgirl Ranch dressing.

waste generated: one paper napkin leftover from a pizza delivery

Back to Basics

Whole wheat pita bread stuffed with green leaf lettuce and chicken pesto salad (chicken with basil walnut pesto, sundried tomatoes and a touch of canola mayonnaise), sliced tomatoes, flour shaped "cookies" (whole wheat pie crust cut into the shape of flowers and sprinkled with cinnamon sugar); half a pomegranate.

waste generated: none :) By the way, the plastic spoon found its way home on the day of the great pumpkin. It has been washed and will be used again.