December Menu

December Menu

Lunch Lady Land in October

Greetings, parent friends of small friends of mine! 

The time has come to share what happened in Lunch Lady Land for the month of October. Okay, seriously, where is the year going? I'm hoping to invest in a new pair of running shoes soon just so I can keep up with it. And yes, I know that was a dumb joke.

So, let us celebrate the fact that we got through this fun and festive month and that while I may be too old to wear my Spider-Man costume for halloween...

it's never too late to learn how to carve a pumpkin! I present to you the first pumpkin I ever carved on my own...

Yes, indeed, 30 is my year!

Now onto lunch!

Apples

We finished off September with a week of apple recipes and they trailed into the beginning of October. After all, apples are a perfect fall fruit and with the Portland Apple Festival taking place in October, you can't not find more things to do with apples. 

Apple Crisp Pizza

Coat chopped up apples in honey, lemon juice and cinnamon, place on a rolled out pie crust, top with oats, butter, brown sugar and cinnamon and bake it up! Pizza for dessert? 

Absolutely.

Baked Apples

After baking up apples in cinnamon goodness for morning snack, I showed some of the kids pictures of the apples before and after I baked them. They looked over the pictures while the baked apples sat before them and exclaimed, "well, they're prettier when they're green, but they smell better when they're brown."

Applesauce Cookies

Making cookies with applesauce instead of oil not only gives them a great flavor but gives them more of a cake like consistency, these little oatmeal-aplesauce-cranberry yummies were a hit. Wanna know a secret? Instead of throwing in chocolate chips...

I threw in pears!!

Breakfast cookie. Boom!

Veggie Meal Time

There were lots of hot meals to keep the kiddos warm during the crisp fall season! I will say, though, God was actually quite good to us this fall here in Portland, gifting us with a most pleasant indian summer. None the less, it was only a matter of time before the rain set in, and set in it did as it is currently pouring outside as I type this. I believe the phrase is "raining cats and dogs," but I'll be honest, I never liked that phrase. Mainly because I was much too literal as a child and the idea of raining cats and dogs seemed awful... being pelted by a hissing cat with the smell of wet dog hair in the wind, BLAAGH! (too much? I apologize). Rainstorms, on the other hand, to me, were quite enjoyable. 

Now that I've grossed you out with giant wet hairballs flying in your mouth during a house-pet downpour, let's talk about food!

The meals I'm about to share with you are vegetarian, some even vegan, that your kids chowed down on. Don't worry, I won't be pushing my eating habits on your kids with meat-free menus, I just like introducing new things while finding great ways for the kids to get in their daily dose of vegetables.

Candy Corn Pizza

If you wondered what it the world I was feeding your children when seeing this name on the menu, fret not, I did not throw candy corn on a slab of marinated dough and call it a pizza. I did however, make marinara from scratch (a Browning family recipe), smear that on flatbread, and layered a variety of cheeses to take on the appearance of this classic fall treat: candy corn. Way better for you than high-fructose corn syrup and a fun way to make plain cheese pizza just a little more festive.

Sweet Potato Chickpea Burgers

It may or may not come as a surprise to you that this is my kind of burger. Just because I eat vegan doesn't mean I can't enjoy a good burger, and you may be surprised to find out that your kids quite enjoyed them too.

Actually, I was quite surprised myself. I figured it would be a hit or miss, leaning more towards the miss, but I wanted to give it a shot. And I'm glad I did because BOOM! They loved them. Mildly easy (when not making more than 60) and a great way to cater to those who are gluten free and vegan while still exciting the taste buds of those who aren't. 

Slow Cooked Squash Lasagna

This one was an early morning wake up call, but well worth it as once again the kids downed these layers of seasoned squash, mixed vegetables, ricotta cheese, lasagna noodles and mozzarella melting and molding together in the crock pot. Some might say you can't make lasagna without meat. I say that's a crock.

Coconut Curry Vegetables over Brown Rice

Made with coconut milk and curry, slow cooked all morning and afternoon in the crockpot, the kids ate through three crockpots full. I used vanilla coconut milk to cut a bit of the spice and add a little sweetness and once again I was pleasantly surprised by the kids' reactions... which had nothing to do with the fact that I may have told them I had some help from a special friend...

Speaking of help... I'd like to take the time to thank an everyday superhero... and no, I don't mean the Amazing Spider-Man. While he often provides inspiration and helps maintain my child-like mentality while cooking for preschoolers, it is not him that I owe much thanks. I'm about to let you in on another secret... I don't do my own dishes. I know. I'm not that amazing. Her name is Mackenzie and she comes in every afternoon, not only to help clean up after me, but also to help wake the kids from their naps and get them ready for snack. She is the amazing one. And she deserves many, many thanks.

Mac, you are awesome!

CARROTS!

Did anyone else watch Anne of Green Gables growing up? Little red-headed Anne was picked on not only for her fiery spunk but her fiery red hair. After being called "carrots" one too many times by a boy who concealed his affection for her by teasing her (what is it with boys?), she yelled out "CARROTS!" just before slugging him across the face. Man, how I loved that movie and played that scene out in my mind as I was picked on for being smaller than everyone else. "Small fry," they would call me, but without the fiery spunk of a red head while being raised in the "sweet, sweet" south, I just smiled and slugged people in my mind's eye. Externally I was a brunette, but internally I had fiery red hair and a mean punch.

Anyway, I'll save that for therapy. The whole point before my A.D.D. kicked in was that we had two weeks dedicated to one of my most favorite vegetables: CARROTS! 

Carrot Cake Cookies

With coconut, oats and shredded carrots, these were a healthy twist on a classic cake.

Who doesn't love cookie dough? And who would have thought that cookie dough with veggies could be so good...

... but safer to eat when baked! The kids loved them... some kids even commented on liking the "orange chips."

Carrot Soup

With fresh organic leeks and over 10 pounds of carrots, this was a beta-carotene overload that made the taste buds explode. The pot was left empty as most of the kids had seconds or thirds of "mushy carrots," termed by one little guy who would give Bugs Bunny a run for his money in the produce department.

You gotta have festive croutons to go with a warm fall soup! We geared up for halloween with pumpkins and ghosts (using cookie cutters with tortillas). Note to you: spinach flavor tortillas taste great when toasted, but will turn a little brown when baked. If you aren't going for aesthetics, then bake on, my friends.

Did I mention that fall is my favorite season in the Northwest? Allow me to express my sentiments with food...

Raw Carrot Cake Bites

These healthy little mock carrot cakes are packed full of natural energy... perfect for when you just got up from a nap and want a sweet treat but don't want to crash yet again before bedtime. Process together  oats, dates,  raisins, shredded coconut, carrots, coconut oil, maple syrup, cinnamon, vanilla, sunflower seeds and chocolate chips and refrigerate for 30 minutes before serving. These are sure to make mouths happy and bodies healthy.

Honey Roasted Carrots

The secret ingredient in these puppies? Nope, not honey... applesauce. Using applesauce instead of oil gives a great flavor and lessens the fat content. Sprinkle with parmesan for an added kick.

Spiced Carrot Muffins

The kids had no trouble eating their vegetables with these carrots for breakfast. While indulging in her vegetable muffin, one little girl yelled out, "Ms. JJ, I love your food!" And I got a very loud "Thank You, Ms. JJ," from the carrot covered quiet mouth of a kid who doesn't ever eat his vegetables. 

SNACKS!

I love me some snacks, hence the nickname, "snacks!" Actually, I gave myself the nickname, I felt it was more accurate than what the other middle schoolers called me, and it hurt my feelings less, but again, a topic to be discussed elsewhere. All you need to know is, they used to call me "snacks," and by "they" I mean me. 

Cookies

Made with ground oats instead of flour, these delicious flour-less chocolate chip/cranberry cookies were the most enjoyed batch of cookies thus far.

Not that they needed flavor enhancement, but I had some extra time and some sixlets on my hands, so I decided to give the cookies a little something extra. It's hard not to get a God complex when a child thanks you for their eyeballs.

Speaking of faces...

I couldn't bring myself to just serve cream cheese on a bagel. Sure, the kids would have enjoyed just cream cheese on a bagel, but then they wouldn't have screamed "BREAKFAST FACES!" to which a teacher responded, "yep, that's usually what I look like at breakfast." During morning snack one of the kids was crying for his mom and his classmate suggested that eating his face might help. A great example of how context is everything.

Fruit and Yogurt Cups

I even re-wrote a song with this one, see if you can guess the tune...

"Here's the story of a real lunch lady,

who was glad she didn't have kids of her own.

But she loved to serve the kids at her preschool, 

where she became well known...

as the lunch lady who would serve you awesome lunch!"

HAYSTACKS

A perfect snack for fall that can easily be made without using any corn syrups. Use your favorite nut or seed butter, melt with chocolate or butterscotch chips, add in dried fruit (optional) and pour over lo-mein noodles or pretzels. The kids tore into these as if they were looking for a needle. 

Halloween Snacks!

Brush tortilla chips in coconut oil, sprinkle with cinnamon and sugar, cut out into ghosts, dip in vanilla yogurt and BOOm! One kid thought his was so cute he just wanted to look at it. "We want the kids to actually eat the snacks, JJ," a teacher joked with me. Attractiveness is a balance. Make them cute, but not too cute.

Snack time with healthy little monsters, and no, I don't mean your kids. I mean these healthy little monsters... Graham crackers, sunflower seed butter, apricots and strawberries.

You may not know this, but more often than not I am incredibly hard on myself, especially in the kitchen. I caught myself off guard the day I made these when I dropped a little monster and he broke. Instead of yelling at myself for being clumsy, the first thing that came out of my mouth was "don't worry little guy, we're all broken." Perhaps therapy is working. And yes, I talk to my food, so perhaps not.

I love that I can put sunflower seed butter on blueberry muffins, add a dash of halloween sprinkles and the kids scream with joy over getting "cupcakes" for breakfast. "They look like halloweenie, " a kid yelled, and her classmate agreed, "yea, and better than biscuits!"

Apple Teeth

The kids spent a week learning about hygiene and I thought this to be a most appropriate snack for that week. Smearing the sunflower seed butter on the marshmallows is a great way to show plaque build up on teeth... or to gross someone else before eating.

My favorite response to the apple teeth were the kids saying, "look, I'm smiling like Ms. JJ!"

Halloween Trail Mix

This was as "naughty" as I got for Halloween at snack time. Literally, I was called naughty for serving this snack. But, I'm okay with having a healthy reputation and this being what people find appalling.

Sandwich Fun!

I love making sandwiches fun for the kids. My goal as long as I am in Lunch Lady Land is to never make a sandwich just a sandwich. Here are some of the sandwiches dished out in October...

Learning the number three with the three little bears during library week...

Sunflower seed butter and homemade jam... SOUNDS good to me!

Musical sandwiches without all the noise during music week...

Learning the number five with high five sandwiches.

My favorite responses to these sandwiches were "I bit my fingers off!' and "can I give you a high five, Ms. JJ?" which led to a lunch room full of little high fives as I circled each table with eager hands waving and calling my name. I'm not gonna lie, I felt famous. It was quite possibly my favorite response to date. I liked it so much I put a ring on it...

Owl sandwiches? What a hoot! There was lots of hooting in the lunch room that day. Sorry, teachers. 

Lunch with my boo! 

Ghost sandwiches with pumpkin hummus and veggies...

I'll give it to Mary Shelley, author of Frankenstein, creating a monster has it's difficulties...

but creating an assembly line of healthy little monsters all before lunch... not so easy. The response, on the other hand, was well worth the effort. Other than the OOOs and Ahhhs, my favorite responses included howling (not sure what that had to do with anything), "that face is my favorite" (something I'm sure Frankenstein never heard before), and my absolute favorite, "mmmm... FRANK!"

The month of October sandwiches ended with a classic Jack-O-Lantern, a much easier process. After being asked by multiple kids how I made the smiles, I took bread and cookie cutters out to the lunch room and did a demonstration for them. It was as if I did something magical the way their eyes lit up and watched with bread crumbs hanging from their open mouths. "I like your smiles," one girl said, followed by many echoes of "I like your smiles too." I decided that I reserve the right to take that as a personal compliment. Sorry, Jack-O-Lantern, compliment intercepted.

PUMPKIN!

In the month of October you simply have to feature pumpkin dishes, and I was all on board and ready to take on the pumpkin season!

Pumpkin Pie Granola

A delicious twist on your morning granola. "Now we're talking!" someone said when they heard we weren't just having plain granola.

Pumpkin Pie Polenta

A Delicious twist on your morning polenta. And if you don't often have morning polenta, then this whole dish is a delicious twist on your morning breakfast. This is what happens when my southern roots meets the roots of fall: corn grits, pumpkin, raisins, cinnamon, vanilla, honey, maple syrup & coconut milk. My favorite preschooler response? "It's like we're having pumpkin pie that has been inside of a pumpkin pie!" followed by the kid who was scrapping down his second bowl while exclaiming, "this will help me grow!"

Pumpkin Hummus

My first attempt at this wasn't the best, as I added a bit too much garlic, but it was fun to watch little faces react to garlic overload. My second attempt, however, much better and it was warmly welcomed by teachers and kids. This is a staple for me during the holidays. It is the perfect mix of pumpkin and protein!

Pumpkin Turkey Chili with Maple Cornbread Muffins

I'm not sure what to say other than BOOM! Some of the kids asked if there was chocolate in it, as well as a teacher. But no, no chocolate. The secret was cinnamon and pumpkin pie spice along with the pumpkin, making it savory with just the littlest bit of sweet. Top it with cayenne for just the slightest kick in the mouth. I may have to look into chocolate chili though, that's not a half bad idea. 

Coconut Curry Pumpkin Soup

If "a few of my favorite things" sung by Julie Andrews in The Sound of Music were a bowl of soup, it would be this one. With coconut milk, coconut oil, pumpkin, garlic, sweet potatoes, cinnamon, pumpkin pie spice, cayenne, curry and cumin, this soup was hard to share...

...but seeing as how I cook for kids, I figured it was important that I set my selfish ways aside and share a few of my favorite things with the kiddos. With great news, but unfortunately for me, there were no leftovers. Sincerely, my pride soared but my heart was broken.

Pumpkin Pancakes

I won't lie, these were delicious, everyone flipped for them, so much so that I couldn't flip them fast enough. Which is why I'm glad that the kids and teachers enjoyed them as much as they did, because I will never make them again. Trying to figure out how to make 100 plus pancakes and serve them so that they don't flatten or get cold but are still made far enough in advance to be able to serve everyone at the right time... Yea, I don't see that happening again for a while. That said, you should try it at home! When made in small increments, say family size, they really are the perfect fall breakfast. Seriously, make them at home next fall, and then I won't feel bad about not making them at school.

Pumpkin French Toast Bake

The kids loved this and I watched a funny interaction happen at one of the tables of older kids. Often they play the game "raise your hand if you like...," where someone names something and they raise their hand if they like it. While eating, one of the kids said "raise your hands if you like this," 10 out of 10 kids raised their hands. He continued, "raise your hand if you like Halloween," 10 out of 10 kids raised their hands. Followed by "raise your hand if you like small spaces," 7 out of 10 kids raised their hands. I laughed to myself as I realized my cooking tied with Halloween and beat out small spaces for things the kids like. It was not a bad way to start the day.

Pumpkin Mac & Cheese

It may sound crazy, but it was really well loved. I literally watched kids tilt their heads back with their eyes closed as they enjoyed each bite. "This blows my mind!" someone said, and another little one with his mouth full tried to eat and thank me at the same time saying "phank you Ms. JJ, is soooo dewishious!" Just make mac and cheese, add pumpkin, and I promise, you won't be disappointed. 

Pumpkin Chocolate Chip Muffins

I just wanted to show you that you don't need to use orange food coloring to get that halloween effect in your food, just add pumpkin!

Another reason why patience is a virtue... the frosting WILL melt if you don't wait for the muffins to cool before trying to top them...

... BUT, fortunately for me, the kids don't mind their chocolate being melted, as long as it's chocolate! Here are a few faces enjoying the mess, a lesson I'm sure we all could learn from. Life is messy, but sometimes you just gotta learn to enjoy yourself...

Pumpkin Breakfast Cookies

It's like granola in a cookie. It's basically an excuse to serve cookies for breakfast. My popularity goes way up when I do that. 

HALLOWEEN!

The kids tried to guess what I was dressed as for halloween. A few teachers thought I was a frog, to which the kids responded, "no, frogs don't have teeth!" "Yea, especially jagged teeth," one kid said. I was just about to feel insecure about my teeth when I realized my hat had jagged teeth (I was an alligator). The kids screamed "alligator," and "crocodile," but my favorite guess was "an alligator who cooks!" I found that quite appropriate seeing as how I was also wearing my apron. Smart kid!

Mummy Pizza!

Perfect for a halloween lunch as well as the best way to get a kid to talk in a British accent while expressing motherly love: "I love my mummy!" kids laughed, as well as yelling "yummy mummies!"

Halloween might be my favorite time of year to get visitors in the kitchen because you never know who is going to show up in what. And yes, she supervises your children.

Ghost Banana Pops!

Frozen bananas dressed as ghosts for an afternoon snack on halloween. Just dip them in vanilla yogurt, stick em' in the freezer, wait about 30 minutes before applying makeup and BOOm!

A healthy and easy snack that was enjoyed by all sorts of little people, animals and even superheroes...

You might be wondering how Lunch Lady Land made it through the halloween season, and I have two words for you... 

kitchen aid.

Aside from my amazing help, Mackenzie (Mac, I'm not comparing you to a kitchen aid, you far surpass this inanimate object), my second kitchen aid that I couldn't do without is just that... a kitchen aid. 

I am not being paid by kitchen aid to say this (though wouldn't that be nice), but when it comes to making healthy and creative snacks and meals for the kids, I rely mostly on whipping them up myself, be it dressings, dips, frostings or muffins, instead of getting store bought brands full of chemicals and Lord knows what else. 

I am not saying this to dog on store bought items, believe me, I realize that sometimes when it comes time for preparing a meal after working all day, ain't no body got time for that. I am saying that maybe on a weekend or a day when there's time, take your kid in the kitchen and try working on one thing from scratch. You don't actually have to go out and buy a kitchen aid to do this, I was just looking for a transition into the topic of cooking with your kids. Also, Target has them on sale right now and upon staring down the red one for my own home, I blurted out, "I'd get married for one of those." My therapist says that gift registry is not a good enough reason to get married, and though it's appealing, I'd have to agree with her, so until then, I'll still be dancing to Beyonce's "all the single ladies," as well as cooking for your kids.

One of the most common questions I get asked by the kids is "how did you do this!?!" and they are fascinated when I have time to step outside of the kitchen and show them. Preparing food with your kids isn't just a healthy option, it is a great way to bond with them as well as make them feel included in something important. I know there's not always time, but if you're looking for an activity to do with them and the rain is making the park seem less than appealing, the kitchen is a great place to start! 

Another "how did you do this!?!" homemade concoction:

Pumpkin Cream Cheese!

... The kids loved the cinnamony (I am making that a word, take that, spellcheck!) goodness that this spread had to offer. After thinking I was serving a plate of tic-tac-toe games, one of the kids responded, "that could be a plate of hugs and kisses!"

I laughed as the thought never even crossed my pessimistic-prone mind. "Perhaps it's not a game," I thought to myself, "but, in fact, a plate of love." How appropriate, because that is what I always try to give your kids in the form of food... love.

As always, I love serving your kids. Rest assured that as long as I am their lunch lady, I will serve them to the best of my ability. Until next time, 

lunch lady out!