Getting Organized for School Lunches, Part 1

Step 1: Make a List

It’s back to school time in our community, and with a new school year comes a new rhythm to my day. This year, my oldest two children are in Kindergarten and 3rd grade, leaving me (mostly) at home with only my 2-year-old. It’s a big shift from having all three at home over the summer!

Since the older two have complex food allergies, feeding challenges, and other special needs, I’m working on streamlining the process of packing lunches for them. Mornings are super crazy, and cutesy, Pinterest-worthy lunches are just not a priority around here. I’m just trying to get some food packed between hollering “Get dressed!” “Don’t forget to comb your hair!” and  “Stop chasing your brother around the house like a maniac!”

The first step is to “Make a List” – a list of lunchbox-worthy items they’ll actually eat. School lunches are not the place to experiment with new foods. Lunch time is so short at school, and my boys will ignore anything that is not an easy-to-eat, preferred food. Allergen-free food is too expensive and time-consuming to be wasted, so familiar foods it is, even if that means the variety is pretty limited.

I’ve been doing this for a couple of years now for my oldest, so here’s his list:

• Hot Entrees: hot dogs, leftover chicken, potato hash, “mac & cheeze,” burgers
• Cold Entrees: tuna salad, Sunbutter and jelly sandwich, yogurt with jelly, cracker sandwiches
• Starchy Sides: potato chips, Rice Rollers, Supercookies, homemade no-bake cookie
• Fruits & Veggies: applesauce pouch, apple slices, dried mango, raisins, carrots, celery, avocado

For my middle son, the list is more restricted:

• Hot Entrees: hot dogs
• Cold Entrees: Sunbutter and jelly sandwich, cracker sandwiches, leftover “desperation” waffles
• Starchy Sides: potato chips, Rice Rollers, Supercookies, crackers
• Fruits and Veggies: applesauce pouch, raisins, fruit leather

I try to pack 3-4 items each day, depending on the serving size of each item. Hot items go in a thermos, of course. (Pro tip: Pre-heat the thermos by filling it with boiling water and letting it sit for 5-10 minutes before filling it with hot food.)

My next post will be Step 2: Streamlining the Process. Stay tuned!

Tuesday Tips – Kosher for Passover Marshmallows

It’s Passover for those who celebrate, and that means that the grocery stores are stocking special “Kosher for Passover” items. This is a boon to those of us who must avoid corn, as one of the “rules” for Passover is usually interpreted to mean that corn is forbidden in Passover foods. My favorite thing to stock up on at this time of year is corn-free marshmallows, and when I see them, I always stock up. This year there were two kinds at the store: one coated in toasted coconut, and one without. I’m not sure who was more excited to see them, me or the kids! I’m sure the other customers in the store thought it was odd to see an entire family jumping up and down with excitement over marshmallows.

Of course, I can’t see marshmallows and not think about those gooey marshmallow cereal treats from my childhood. They were always a staple at bake sales in high school. It turns out that they are still every bit as yummy as now as they were 20 years ago! And they’re still super simple to make. Add these to the list of easy snacks to send to school!

 

Corn-Free Marshmallow Cereal Treats

1 10 oz bag of marshmallows

1/4 Cup of coconut oil

6 cups of crisp rice cereal (we use Erewhon Crispy Brown Rice cereal)

 

1. Melt the marshmallows and coconut oil together. This can be done on the stovetop or in the microwave.

2. Stir in the cereal until it is thoroughly coated.

3. Press into an oiled cake pan and let it cool completely. (If you’re in a hurry, stick it in the freezer for 15 minutes or so!)

4. Try not to devour the whole thing in one sitting – you’ll get a tummyache!

A word to the wise: I tried making this recipe with both kinds of marshmallows. It worked great with the ones coated in powdered sugar, but the ones with the toasted coconut were too dry. Next time I use that kind, I think I’ll try decreasing the cereal by a cup, and increasing the oil a little. If you try it, leave a comment and let me know how it comes out.

Friday’s Fab or Fail: More About Xylitol Candy…

I’m a big fan of doing things once and doing it big enough that I don’t have to think about it for a while.  You know, kind of the point of this blog.  So, I had the bright idea this summer to expand my candy making to a bulk sized endeavor.  The small batches were a big hit, but time intensive.  I don’t have tons of spare time to be standing around in my kitchen watching sugar boil (as I’m sure many of you can relate to!) so bulk is the way to go.

The original recipe was 1 cup of water and 1 cup of xylitol.  Bring to a hard boil for 12 minutes (or 310*F) and tada! Candy!  That seemed to work well for the small batches.  There were always some candies that didn’t harden, and some of them turned out a bit crumbly, but no one really cared much.  So, I increased my recipe by 4.

Well, let’s just say that this plan didn’t really come together how I envisioned it.  First of all, it took f.o.r.e.v.e.r. for the xylitol to come to the right temperature.  Then, I discovered that you don’t add flavoring to candy when it is at temperature. Bad idea!!!  The difference in temperatures cause the intended mix to spatter and it can burn you!  DON’T DO IT!  Don’t worry – I’ll tell you the safe way to do this in a minute. The third issue that occurred with my bulk attempt is that some candies hardened beautifully, some never hardened, and some were like crystal shards – not really what one expects when one thinks of HARD candy…  It was quite mysterious, and obviously needed more thought.

I started playing around with the xylitol candy recipe (as I do, when things don’t turn out just how I want them) and have discovered that the original recipe I linked to isn’t the best way to make it. The original recipe used xylitol and water, and then boiled off the water to make the candies. After much research, also known as reading candy cookbooks (yum!), I decided to skip the water as an ingredient altogether.  As it turns out the wide variety of textures in my bulk candy experiment were because of the various amounts of water in the solution.  The really crumbly candies were poured first, and the hard candies were poured at the end when the water had finally boiled off.

So, to make your xylitol candy, you will need to slowly melt some xylitol in a small pan. In this case slow is better – so you don’t burn the xylitol before it melts.  When the temperature reaches “hard crack” (which is about 310*, or if you drip some into cold water, it forms threads that will crack when you try to mold them) pour the xylitol into your candy mold, or drip it onto parchment paper and let it harden.

As I said earlier, DON’T add the flavoring when the candy mixture is at its hottest – it will spatter and burn you! Wait for the xylitol to cool some (to about 270* or so) before adding the flavoring. You will still have plenty of time to take advantage of the fluidity of your candy before it hardens.