Feature Feast: Mommy Elephant

This delicious lunch is brought to you from Mommy Elephant Sarah.

Lunch today is an egg salad sandwich ( small spoonful of fat free mayo and a couple squirts of yellow mustard) on whole wheat sourdough bread, with slices of fresh cucumber and a small bowl of ranch for dipping.To satisfy my sweet tooth I ate some red seedless grapes. Yum!

Check her blog out!

Mmmmm Bacon

One massive BLT burrito for lunch. Two slices of bacon, about 2 cups of lettuce, one whole cut up tomato and a little bit of mayo makes a wonderful and very filling lunch.

Spinach Quesidilla

I apologize for showing you a half eaten quesidilla. My only excuse is that it is that good.

This is frozen spinach, thawed and drained, simmered in olive oil. And then combined with feta cheese and put in a tortilla. The tortilla was then seared on both sides. And soooo good.

With this a side of red beans and rice.

Super Fast Lunch

Typical bean and cheese frozen burrito and a banana. Fun and fast.
The exciting part is that white blob on the plate there.
That is homemade plain yogurt!
More on that at a later date.

Leftovers are lovely

This is leftover Turkey Balongse. A recipe from Real Simple magazine. Loaded with celery, carrots, and onion as well as fire roasted tomatos and, of course, ground turkey breast.

So good! Worth the repeat for lunch.

Sloppy Joes

I love sloppy joes. Add a cup of broccoli and that is a tasty, filling, and nutritious combination.

Lunch Bunch - Toddler Lunch

Toddlers + Sloppy Joes = The best combination ever!

This lunch is also featuring soy sauce seasoned broccoli (the ultimate secret in getting veggies into babies) and mozzarella cheese.

Brunch: Not just for Sunday

My husband is in love with breakfast sandwiches. This is his plate. I couldn't imagine eating this much at one meal!

Breakfast sandwiches are english muffins with fried egg, cheese, and sausage patties. Banana and strawberry on the side.

These are good. Real good.

Happy brunch!

Anti-Mayo Chicken Salad

On a day with no sunshine, sun chips are the way to go. A small handful of carrots off set this extra special sandwich.

It's chicken salad. Made from leftovers. And no mayo!

We were out. And so I used chopped pickles, some pickle juice, and yellow mustard to stick the chicken together. It was delicious.

CLT

I ditched the meat for this sandwich which was a simple combination of lettuce, thick cut tomato, and cheese on honey wheat with a smidgen of mayo. Delicious!

Half a banana (because when you care you share) and carrots finished this lunch. Along with a couple big glasses of water.

I love water.

Ooey Gooey Grilled Cheese

This was the MOST satisfying grilled cheese sandwich. Cheddar cheese, honey wheat bread, and old fashioned butter.

Great.

Leftover salad, romaine; carrots, celery, skim milk mozzarella tossed with oil and vinegar.

Lunch with a Friend

A great lunch with a friend! Asparagus seasoned with butter and salt.

Wolfgang Puck Tortilla Soup split with a friend

Grilled Cheese sandwich

It was a fantastic lunch! And good company.

Just Peachy

A super sweet salad!

2 cups lettuce
1/2 peach
4 baby carrots
1 tomato
3 ounces shredded hot chicken breast (leftovers)
oil and vinegar dressing

Fruit and salad are such a great combination!

English Muffin Pizza

An entire peach cut up to frame my delicious English muffin pizza.

My pizza consisted of one whole wheat English muffin, two tablespoons of pizza sauce, some slices of tomato, and a handful of mozzarella cheese.

I made these in the microwave because I didn't want to heat the whole house with the oven. Next time I'll do the oven because they are so much more delicious that way. 15 minutes on 375 changes everything.

Grab a Button!

Check out the new button I made for the lunch blog! Feel free to grab it to share some great ideas with your friends!

What's Pho Lunch?

I saw Rachael Ray make this Funky Pho and, knowing I had leftover pork that needed eating in the fridge decided it would be a great lunch. Unfortunately, I'm not Rachael Ray and my recipe didn't turn out as well as her recipe. Of course, I left out a few ingredients so that would be why.

Add to it a side salad covered with oil and vinegar and that is one Pho-tastic lunch!

PIZZA!!!! Guess which one is mine?

This has been a tough week for us. The grocery money ran out way too fast, as our little ones needed new shoes. So we traded some of our grocery store money with Stride Right. I had to get creative with what we had in the pantry and fridge and it actually worked out to equal some yummy lunches. I think I'm going to start trying this once a month. It has definitely made me feel less wasteful.

Using Store bought whole wheat thin pizza crust I topped the kid's pizza with red sauce, mozzarella cheese and black olives. For mine I used pesto sauce instead of red sauce and topped with mozzarella cheese, canned artichoke hearts, black olives and some broccoli. It looks way too green but was still very yummy!

So here is this weeks challenge for y'all.....Check in the pantry, the back of the freezer and the fridge and try to use up all of the things that have been hiding there for too long. A little creativity can go a long way. :)

Not-So-Sloppy Shredded Beef BBQ Sandwiches

I love BBQ for dinner. Especially if there are a lot of leftovers.

This is 2 ounces of roast beef with BBQ sauce and pickles on a hot dog bun. Since hot dog buns stay as one piece when you use them it keep the BBQ sauce and beef juices from dripping everywhere. Perfect! They also work amazingly well for not-so-sloppy Joe's.

Sides are half a cup of carrots and half a fruit cup.

Lunch in a Crunch

I often find myself eating the same things I make for the kids. Since this gets VERY boring, I am always looking for new ways to make my kids food more adult friendly. This recipe is adapted from foodnetwork.com.

Begin with a basic hot dog in a bun. I used Turkey but whatever you prefer will be fine. Top with 1 tbs shredded cheese. Drizzle some BBQ sauce and top with French's Fried Onion Straws. Some chopped onion would also taste great on this but I didn't have any on hand. This lunch took 5 minutes and tasted a whole lot better than plain old ketchup. Enjoy!

~Amber

Brunch: Lazy Sunday Pancakes with Banana

I *heart* Sundays!

This is pancakes from a mix topped with half a chopped banana and maple syrup. Mmmm. And very filling. Brunch is the best meal of the week.

Weight Watchers: 7.5 points

Classic Lunch

This lunch was delcious and light as well. A full cup of carrots tossed wtih oil and vinegar salad dressing. I use Newman's Own. It is fantastic.
The sandwich is one slice of roast beef, one slice of provalone, mustard and mayo on whole wheat. To compensate for only having one slice of roast beef left I loaded this sandwich with a full tomato sliced. It was great. I didn't miss the extra beef at all.

Lunch Bunch - Toddler Lunch

Toddler Lunch of the day!

Shredded chicken breast, 1/4 of a tomato, a plum, 1/2 cup apple sauce and 1/2 ounce cheese. He loved this meal. Except the chicken ended up on the floor. It was all I could do to rescue the pit from that plum though. He thought it was absolutely perfect.

Pure Tastiness

This was such a delicous lunch!
Hot dog on whole wheat bun covered with the humble but tasty yellow mustard.
I made homemade relish with bread and butter pickles. The sweetness really went well! It hit the spot for lunch.
The side is one white potato covered with Homemade Gourmet Garlic Basil Seasoning and olive oil. I used a tablespoon of each for a serving of two potatoes. Both my husband and 14 month old thought the potatoes were perfect.

Weight Watchers: 9 points (with light hot dog)

How to "Tackle" an on-the-go-lunch

     I created this Bento Box style lunch for my 3 year old for a road trip. She absolutely loved it and it was much easier to eat out of, not to mention more eco-friendly, than giving her 10 plastic bags full of food. I also decided to use it for myself for long trips home from work, as an alternative to the fast food fix.
     I looked for an affordable Bento style box everywhere but was unable to find one affordable enough for my budget so I got creative and decided to look in unexpected places. For around $3.98 I found this awesome Tackle box in the fishing section of my local grocery store.
     For this particular "Tackle" Lunch I used:  Turkey Sandwich shapes, String cheese, Fresh and dried fruit, goldfish, and a low sugar scone. Be creative! With adjustable slots, there is no limit to what you can put inside. :)
~Amber

Amber is mom to two girls, 15 months and 3 years old and works part time. She will be joining me in writing about a different lunch everyday.
 

Honey Mustard Chicken Salad

2 cups lettuce
1/2 tomato, chopped
4 baby carrots, chopped
1/2 ounce provalone cheese
3-4 ounce shredded chicken

2 tsp honey
2 tsp dijon mustard
1 tsp olive oil

Combine salad ingredients. Heat chicken. Mix honey, mustard, and olive oil together and toss with chicken until coated. This chicken was amazing! Why have I never made this before!?! So much better than honey mustard salad dressing.

Weight Watchers: 4.5 points

On a Roll

A packed sandwich!

Sub roll

Loaded with pickles, tomato, lettuce.

2 ounces chicken breast deli meat

1 slice colby cheese

1 tsp mayo

1 cup of grapes

The sandwich was amazing.

Every bite tasted a little different.

I pulled out the inside of the bread to make a sandwich for Isaac.

Everything just like Mommy's except no lettuce.

He ate most of it but all the turkey ended up in the floor.

Weight Watchers: 8.5 points

Brunch: Sunday Sweet Potato and Egg

Sunday is such a great day to sleep in, relax, and have a fantastic brunch with the family.

This is Sunday Sweet Potato and Egg
Serves 2:

1 medium sweet potato, chopped
1/2 medium onion
1 ounce chorizo
half handful cilantro or parsley
salt and pepper to taste
2 eggs
1 tablespoon butter
1 ounce shredded cheddar
hot sauce to taste

In a large skillet brown the chorizo, breaking it up. Place on paper towels to drain. Put sweet potato and onion in same skillet and cook until cooked through - about 10 minutes. Add chorizo, cilantro, salt and pepper and mix well.

Separate mixture onto two plates and wipe out skillet. Split cheese between the two plates. Either cover with foil or put in oven to keep warm.

Melt butter in skillet and fry two eggs. Place eggs on top of sweet potato mixture and serve!

Nutrition Information: 627 calories, 42g fat, 21 saturated fat, 4.7 fiber


Weight Watchers: 15 points

Accidental Lunch

I went to make lunch and couldn't find the bread! I dug way back in the fridge and found a bag each of wheat and flour tortillas. I decided to try one of each.

2 tortillas

1 cup lettuce

1 tomato

1 slice of cheese

1 ounce turkey deli meat

1 tbs ranch

I split the ingredients between the tortillas. Unfortunately the whole wheat one was horribly stale and I had to switch it out for another flour one. It was fun meal. I kept the ranch separate to dip the wraps in.

After eating this I still felt hungry so I had a cup of jello mixed with blueberries with whipped cream on top. I split it was a toddler.

Lunch Bunch - Toddler Lunch

This is a meal for a 14 month old child. Not pictured is apple juice.
1/4 cup blueberries
1 slice wheat toast
1 1/2 teaspoon butter
1/8 cup black beans

Heat and serve! My toddler loves finger foods. And ripping bread. And dropping things. I love that all of these foods don't require mopping.

Salad for two

Going on a day trip tomorrow to visit a friend. And nothing is quite as nice as a friend with food!

Salad to share:
6 cups lettuce
1 cup carrots
1 cut tomato
1/2 cup black beans
9 ounces talapia
1 tbs herb and lemon seasoning
1 tbs olive oil

Get the oil hot in a skillet over medium high and add talapia seasoned with 1/2 tbs seasoning. Cook, flipping once, until fish is cooked through.

Chop up everything and toss.

I don't think this salad will need dressing. The fish tastes amazing! I love salads in summer.

Super Salad

A delicious salad for lunch today:


2 cups romaine lettuce

1 Roma tomato

1 chopped hot dog
1/4 cup blue cheese

1/4 cup black beans

4 bread and butter pickles

drizzled with oil and vinegar

Nutrion Information: 532 calories, 42g fat, 8.9 saturated fat, 6.5 fiber

Weight Watchers: 13 points

Packed Lunch: PB&J

I love lunch. And people sometimes avoid the obvious. Peanut butter and jelly can be an amazing lunch, especially if you haven't had it in awhile.

Peanut butter and organic grape jelly (no high fructose corn syrup!) on low gluten bread, 1/2 cup raw carrots, and a serving of BBQ potato chips. Delicious and portable!

Super Salad

A delicious salad for lunch today:

2 cups romaine lettuce

1 Roma tomato

1/8 cup blue cheese

1/2 cup black beans

4 bread and butter pickles

drizzled with oil and vinegar

Nutrition Information: 353 calories, 22g fat, 5.5 saturated fat, 9.5 fiber

Weight Watchers: 4.5 points