Off to Grammy and Grampy's House

Ethan loves going to his grandparents house, and lucky for both of us, they live just across town. We'll often go over mid-morning and stay for lunch. With Ethan's allergies, I almost always pack him a lunch when we'll be out at mealtime. This time I decided to pack myself a lunch, too.

Ethan's going through a picky eater phase, at least I hope it's just a phase! It's all about Sunbutter Sandwiches these days. In addition to the sandwich, I packed Raw Yellow Pepper and Zucchini, Apple-Grape Juice and his daily dose of Gummy Vitamins (calcium and multi-vit). He was delighted to have a lunchbox, but only nibbled at most of the food.

My lunch was dinner leftovers of Steamed Broccoli, Purple and Red Potatoes, Homemade Chicken Nuggets and a Clementine. I had never made purple potatoes this way (diced then cooked in a small amount of salted water), but they were so good!

Day 1 - A Day of Meals (almost)

For my first day on a mission, I pre-packed my breakfast, lunch and afternoon snack to make it easier to avoid all those excuses and temptations of being too hungry, not having time, etc. Nothing is easier than  walking into my kitchen to find a meal ready to eat. It really helped me to have everything just waiting for me. I even stuck to my pre-planned schedule of breakfast, lunch, snack, dinner and dessert and drank lots of water. No snacking in between! On top of all that, I went for a run, "danced" with my son and did some yoga during naptime. No regrets, but boy am I sore today!

Breakfast

1 slice Whole Wheat Toast w/ 1 pat Butter

2 1/2 pieces of Turkey Bacon

Strawberries and Blackberries

2 C Water

(Note to Self: Blackberries are now out of season here and nothing like those tasty summer berries. Yuck.)

Lunch

Green Salad w/ Homemade Dressing (not pictured)

Chicken and Wild Rice "Soup" w/ Carrots

3 Pretzel Rods

1/3 Organic Gala Apple

1/2 Diet Coke 

Snack

Red and Black Grapes

1 slice Colby Jack Cheese

(I also had two unplanned additions: 3 pretzel rods and 1/2 a Diet Coke)

Dinner was black beans; roasted zucchini, peppers and asparagus; guacamole and chips; and a Diet Coke. My after dinner treat was 2 Mint Milano cookies and some Light Soymilk. Along with the extra pretzels mentioned earlier, the chips and Diet Coke w/ dinner weren't planned. Overall though, it was a great day. I had a nice variety of food, never felt too full or too hungry and ended up with a calorie intake of 1478. Nice :)

Fall Flavors - Roasted Chicken, Kale, and Sweet Potato

I have a cabinet full of different bento boxes, which has become Senorcito's favorite place to play in the kitchen. However, I always end up going back to my Laptop Lunchboxes. I love the fact that they can be used in the microwave and be thrown in the dishwasher at the end of the day. The box is still perfect for my son to use for breakfast and lunch. I made some rice pumpkin zucchini bread the other day. It didn't turn out how I'd hoped, but the boy loves it anyway.

Baby Bento

• Breakfast: Pumpkin Zucchini Bread, Banana, Green Grapes and Blueberries
• Lunch: Kale w/ Onions, Plum, Roasted Chicken and Sweet Potato

Big Bento

• Roasted Chicken
• Apple
• Sweet Potato
• Kale w/ Onions

Also posted on What's for Lunch Wednesday