Lunchbox Ideas (8)

Here I am with more healthy lunch and snack options after a long break, I wish I could say after a long 'holiday', but it was rather a very busy period due to other commitments in life. Most of these lunchboxes were prepared with the seasonal fresh produce, mostly homegrown, at the time. I hope you find them inspirational.

1. Lunch and Snack:
* Potato salad (boiled potatoes, capsicum, fresh mint, seasoning of your choice)
* Apple
* Blueberries
* Home-grown mulberries

 2. Lunch and Snack:
* Stuffed vine leaves
* Pineapple
* Blueberries
* Home-grown mulberries

3. Snack:

* Sorrel leaves (packed with Vitamins A, C and more. Click here to read more.)
* Homegrown tomatoes
* Cucumbers

4. Lunch and Snack:
* Flat bread wraps with cream cheese, chia and sunflower seeds,
* Red capsicum sticks
* Strawberry
* Persimon
* Black grapes with seeds

To see the previous lunchbox ideas posts, you can visit:

#7
#6
#5
#4
#3
#2
#1

Lunchbox Ideas (7)

Yes yes, I know. It has been ages -and felt even longer!- since I was able to post anything here the last time. Even though it might have looked like a big break here, it was actually a very busy period for me. Life was in its full swing on this side of the planet for sure.

The new school year has started a few weeks ago Down Under and even though I love spending time with my children during school holidays and that we all really enjoy not having to rush in general; reality has already kicked in and we like it or not we have already adapted to our school-day routines well.

Below is some more inspiration for your in case you are looking at healthy variety and are happy to try new recipes and combinations. You can find the links to the previous lunchbox idea posts at the bottom of this page. Enjoy!

1. Lunch and snack:
* Cucumber dip (finely chopped cucumbers, natural yoghurt, a small pinch of salt, some dried mint and some fresh mint leaves for decoration).
* Flat bread chips (Lebanese/flat bread cut into triangle shapes and toasted until crisp).
*Purslane (Never underestimate this edible weed. It is full of Omega 3 just to say the least. Read more about it and get some recipes here)
*Grapes

2. Lunch and Snack:
*Pasta salad (pasta made from the night before. In the morning, I added some raw red capsicum, lightly blanched peas, and some dried mint. Feel free to add your favourite seasoning).
*Fruit salad (fresh garden grapes, some plum and nectarine slices)
*A salad (toasted halloumi, home-grown cherry tomatoes and home-grown basil leaves)

3. Lunch and Snack:
*Some organic rice crackers and spreadable cheese
*Home-grown celery sticks, homegrown-cherry tomatoes and mozzarella cheese cubes
*Pear

4. Lunch and Snack:
*Sandwich (meat balls, green salad eaves, cucumber slices and spreadable cheese) (in a foil wrap in the picture below)
*An apple (cut in half)
*Carrot sticks
*Two types of grapes

Previous lunchbox ideas for you to check out:
#6
#5
#4
#3
#2
#1

Lunch Ideas for School Kids (6)

After a bit of a break, here I am with more lunch ideas for school kids for you. Don't get me wrong when I say 'ideas for kids', they could be just for anyone's outing or work day too, really. If someone made me these everyday, trust me, I would not complain at all! In saying that, it is true that I am the one that makes these for my kids every school day, but I just can't manage my time or energy around preparing one for myself too. Mine is often so much more boring. I know, it is disappointing. Hubby also gets quite jealous of our children's freshly made foods that are mostly homegrown or homemade, since the best he can get out of me is pretty much the homemade bread that I bake that he can make himself some sandwiches or toasts with. Oh no, thinking about it, it sounds a bit cruel. Anyway, lets not get into too much unnecessary detail here now and lets move onto the lunchbox ideas of this post.

1. Lunch and Snack

• Cream cheese, chia seeds and linseed wraps
• Red and green capsicums
• Kiwi 

2. Lunch and Snack

• Cream cheese, chia seeds and sunflower seed wrap
• Red capsicums and celery sticks
• Apple 
• Mandarin

3. Snack (for two)

• Avocado dip
• Carrot sticks
• Celery sticks

3. Lunch and Snack

• Avocado and chia seed sandwich
• Cucumber sticks
• Capsicum sticks
• Apple 
• Banana

Lunch Ideas for School Kids (5)

I am assuming that by now, you would have well noticed that we use cream cheese sandwiches more often than not as my son prefers cream cheese over other cheese types in sandwiches. He also prefers his sandwiches not to have many ingredients which is not a concern for me as he has his vegetables on the side happily anyway but I do find it boring. I would love to hear from you some other sandwich filling ideas.

1. Lunch and Snack:

• Cream cheese and chia wraps
• One small apple
• One small persimmon (cut into slices)
• One small (homemade) muffin

2. Lunch and Snack:

• One slice of homemade wholewheat bread with cream cheese and chia
• One slice of homemade olive bread with cream cheese
• Homegrown celery sticks
• Carrot sticsk
• Homegrown cherry tomatoes
• Strawberries
• Blueberries

3. Lunch and Snack

• Rice crackers with some cream cheese on the side
• Cucumber sticks
• Homegrown cherry tomatoes
• Melon slices

4. Lunch and Snack:

• Cream cheese and chia wraps
• Two organic dried apricots
• Half a carob stick
• Some homemade savoury cookies
• Cucumber slices
• Homegrown cherry tomatoes

5. Lunch and Snack:

• Rye bread sandwich with cream cheese and linseed
• Carrot sticks
• Cucumber sticks
• Red capsicum sticks
• Homegrown cherry tomatoes
• One banana

Note: You can access to the previous 'lunch ideas for kids posts' by Home of Homemade Treasures here:

Lunch ideas #4
Lunch ideas #3
Lunch ideas #2
Lunch ideas #1

Lunch Ideas for School Kids (4)

Below is another set of four lunch ideas for school children. If you would like to check out the previous ones, you can check here, here, and here.

1. Lunch and Snack:

• Cream cheese and chia wraps
• Lightly boiled squash with some dried mint on top
• Cranberries
• Homegrown corn on the cob

2. Lunch and Snack:

• A sandwich in multigrain bread (with poppy seeds) with cream cheese, cucumber, tomato and chia seeds
• A vegetable salad with raw mushroom, cucumber, carrot and some homegrown salad leaves
• Green and red grapes
• An apple

3. (Light) Lunch:

• Green salad leaves (sorrel, baby spinach and lettuce)
• Red capsicum
• Fetta cheese cubes
• Linseed
• Pumpkin seeds
• Goji berries

4a. Lunch and Snack:

• Cooked pasta shapes
• Lightly boiled broccoli
• Lightly boiled green beans
• Raw red capsicum
• Apple slices
• Strawberries

4b. Snack for Miss Junior
(Same as 4b except for pasta and apple)

• Lightly boiled broccoli
• Lightly boiled green beans
• Raw red capsicum 
• Strawberries

Lunch Ideas for School Kids (3)

This is the third set of four lunchbox ideas here after this and this on Home of Homemade Treasures blog so far. Definitely more is planned. Please feel free to share your lunchbox ideas with us in the comments section below as well. Enjoy!

1. Lunch and Snack

• Warm green lentil and pasta soup (in thermos)
• Pineapple slices
• Strawberries
• Blueberries
• Melon slices

2. Lunch and Snack

• Homemade pancakes
• Strawberries
• Raspberries
• Blueberries

3. Snack:

• Watermelon and banana kebabs

4. Lunch and Snack

• Couscous with cherry tomatoes and green leaves
• Cucumber slices and carrot sticks
• Melon slices and blueberries

Lunch Ideas for School Kids (2)

I have been longing to make this post for such a long time now but it looks like today had to be the day. I seriously am one busy woman! (Who isn't, ha?)

I had shared four lunch ideas/recipes with you here previously. I prepare lunch for my son on a daily basis, and Miss Junior now has lunch at school a few days a week as well, so, do expect many more to come in time but for now, enjoy the ones below:

1. Lunch and Snack:

• (Homemade organic) bread and spreadable cheese with chia
• Avocado slices
• (Homegrown) cherry tomatoes
• (Organic) cranberries
• Pineapple slices

2. Vegetable and cheese kebabs:

• Red capsicum, 
• cucumber, 
• mozzarella cheese

3. Lunch: 

• Carrots
• Raw fresh garden peas
• Slice bread
• Cheese slice

Snack: Fruit Salad

• Blueberries
• Kiwi
• Strawberries
• Nectarin

4a. Lunch and Snack for Mr. Junior

• Homemade roast beef - cold cut.
• Baby spinach and fetta cheese salad
• Flat bread chips
• Cucumber, yoghurt and mint dip (tzatziki)
• Fruit salad with melon, kiwi and strawberries

4b. Lunch and Snack for Miss Junior

• See 4a for content.

Lunchbox Friendly Vegetarian Koftas

Remember my post on 'red lentil koftas' from last year? (Click here for the recipe) Here is a slightly more attractive presentation of them for kids.

The inspiration simply came from my love for my son. One school day, he asked for something special (as he often does). I know he normally enjoys red lentil koftas, which I learned how to make last year and have been making some at times ever since. It was during a really hot week and I thought the red lentil koftas would be just perfect. I simply made the mix the night before and left them in the refrigerator over night. In the morning, made small koftas with them, wrapped them around with some fresh juicy, crispy lettuce and voila! When he came home, there was no sign of any leftovers. He surely loved his lunch.

Have a very happy day!

MULBERRY (and Generosity)

I was hoping to make a post on some boysenberries that I was generously donated the plant of a few months ago. The beautiful Rebecca from Piccaninny Rugs happily opened her doors to me and even gave me some boysenberry plants as well as a strawberry plant on the day we ever met. I am so grateful to have met such a trusting and generous person with a confident look and a warm smile on her face. As for the boysenberries, unfortunately, they didn't work out well for us but we were able to have a few mouth-watering strawberries from her plants. We may have to try planting boysenberries once again next year.

Talking about generosity... I think a lately found friend of mine can be awarded as one of the most generous people alive. Here is only one of the many examples that I have personally had with her: 

One day last year, as I was having some freshly picked mulberries from her mum's neighbour's garden at her place, I said "Mulberries are one of my all-time favourites since childhood". My comment triggered something and made her get up from her seat right away. She simply went to her backyard and brought a big pot with a newly planted mulberry tree in it. She told me that I could have it. I was not expecting it and wanted to turn down the offer as I thought it was too much to take from her but she insisted I would. I cannot thank her enough. We planted the tree on the ground and it thrived immediately! The whole family is in love with the much precious fruit! 

Now, lets move onto the mulberry fruit and look at it in more detail. 

Mulberries come in a variety. Some of the most commonly known varieties are the white, red and black mulberries. The white mulberries come originally from China and the black ones are believed to have originated in Iran but they have all travelled and made home in many other countries and continents in today's world. The main reason it was used initially was not for its fruit, but rather as a food to silkworms. Silkworms seem to enjoy the plant's leaves quite a bit. It was mostly later on that the mulberry fruit became more known and desired. The bark of the mulberry tree is also used for making paper but this post's highlight will be on the fruit. 

Mulberries are refreshingly succulent, tart and sweet in taste. The ripen mulberries just melt in mouth. The immediate look of mulberry fruit is similar to a blackberry. They can be consumed raw or cooked. Mulberries make great jams and syrups but our family favourite is still the raw fruit.

Mulberries' health benefits are as follows.

Mulberries; 

• contain high amounts of antioxidants, minerals and vitamins.
• have significant amounts of anthocyanins which have been proved to work against cancer, ageing and neurological diseases, inflammation, diabetes and bacterial infections. 
• contain antioxidants that protect against stroke risks
• are low in calories
• are an excellent source of vitamin-C
• are rich in B-complex group of vitamins and vitamin K. 
• have vitamin B-6, niacin, riboflavin and folic acid. 
• contain small amounts of vitamin A and E
• have the types of antioxidants that protect the retina from harmful ultraviolet rays through light-filtering actions.

BROCCOLI STEM FINGERS

 Here is another snack idea for you. It is simple, fresh and healthy.

What you see in these pictures is from a raw broccoli however, you can make the same using cauliflower as well. No more wasting the stems!

(Click here for further information on broccoli and its health benefits as well as some recipe ideas with it. )

PUFF PASTRY S'MORES

Here is a quick and easy s'mores recipe, that my beautiful and multi-skilled 15 year old niece has taught me. As this recipe is one that everyone can customize for their own taste, it's sure to please.

Ingredients:

-Two sheets of puff pastry (serves about 6 people)

-Milk Chocolate

-Marshmallows

-White Chocolate

-Berries

Method:

Using some shape cutters, cut the pastry into shapes of your desire and place them onto a greased oven tray (or a tray with baking paper). Place tray into an already preheated oven of 200 degrees. Cook for about 10-15 minutes, or until golden brown. Allow to cool. Then add your favorite toppings such as berries, marshmallows, milk chocolate and white chocolate (or anything of your choice and taste!).

Have a sweet day!!

HOMEMADE LEMONADE RECIPES

Homemade Lemonade


Ingredients:


4 lemons
2 cups of caster sugar
6 cups of water


Method: 


Mix your water and sugar as well as 1 sliced lemon in a saucepan before turning on the stove. Then, turn on your stove and bring it to boil on high heat. Once boiled, simmer for a few minutes and then leave it to cool down. When luke warm, put it through a sifter. After that, add the juice of the remaining lemons (3 lemons) to the mixture and chill in refrigerator before serving. 




Easy Lemonade


Ingredients: 


4 lemons
4 cups of water
1/2 cups of caster sugar (some people may prefer this amount to be 2/3 cups)


Squeeze lemons. Mix the lemon juice, water and the sugar well and refrigerate before serving.




Lemonade with Soda Water

Ingredients:

4-6 lemons (you need a cupful of lemon juice)

2/3 cup caster sugar

1 cup water

3 cups soda water

Method: 

Boil the lemon juice and sugar together for a few minutes making sure that the sugar is dissolved well. Leave the mix to cool. To serve, combine the mix with the soda water and add some ice cubes. 

Note: You can add some zest to these recipes if preferred. 

FOOD DESIGN (5)

Some people are so smart and skillful, don't you think? I found this somewhere on the internet (can't find the original source) and thought it is something to be shared. In my opinion, this would be a great design for a themed party, especially. Well done to the owner of the idea and the maker of this fun dish!

POMEGRANATE

Pomegranate is definitely one of my all-time favourites. I normally consume it as a fruit even though I can never say no to some freshly squeezed pomegranate juice either.

Pomegranate fruit has many tasty and beneficial seeds and each seed is surrounded by a sac of sweet-tart juice contained by a thin skin. There are layers of seeds which are separated by paper-thin membranes.

After opening the pomegranate by scoring it with a knife and breaking it open, the seed casings (arils) are separated from the peel and internal white pulp membranes.

I love the sweet and/or savory taste as well as the watery texture, and the delicious dark red colour of it. However, I am also aware of its health benefits which makes me even more interested in this particular fruit. Below is some useful information on pomegranate which is used as fruit, juice, in syrups, sauces, in medicine, ink making, dye making, vinegar and so on.

Health benefits of pomegranate:

Especially in India, the rind of the fruit and the bark of the pomegranate tree is used as a traditional remedy against diarrhea, dysentery and intestinal parasites.

The seeds and juice are considered to be a tonic for the heart and throat.

The flower juice, rind and tree bark are believed to be useful for purposes such as stopping nose bleeds and gum bleeds, toning skin, (after blending with mustard oil) firming-up sagging breasts and treating hemorrhoids.

Pomegranate juice (of specific fruit strains) is also used as eyedrops as it is believed to slow the development of cataracts.

Pomegranate has been used as a contraceptive and abortifacient by means of consuming the seeds, or rind, as well as by using the rind as a vaginal suppository.

Pomegranate aril juice provides about 16% of an adult's daily vitamin C requirement per 100 ml serving.

It is a good source of vitamin B₅, potassium and natural phenols, such as ellagitannins and flavonoids.

Pomegranates are listed as high-fiber in some charts of nutritional value

 Its edible seeds supply unsaturated oils.

Pomegranate may be effective in reducing some heart disease risk factors.

Juice consumption may also inhibit viral infections.

Claimed to provide antioxidants.

Pomegranate extracts have antibacterial effects against dental plaque

The peel of pomegranate fruit may be used as tea to treat diarrhea.