Dance of the Vegetable Patch

Sunday, 22 April to Saturday, 28 April 2007

Sunday, 22 April

Breakfast:

  • Toast/porridge/weetbix
  • Banana
  • Yoghurt

Snack:

  • Planned on rockmelon, but it wasn't needed as we had brekky late

Lunch:

  • Pizza - dough in the bread machine; make extra to freeze; kids' pizza - cheese and tomato, mine with extra stuff

Snack:

  • Not needed

Dinner:

  • Red lentil and carrot soup - cook in the slow cooker; make extra to freeze
  • Fresh bread rolls - dough in the bread machine; make extra to freeze

Comments:

All of this went down really well except that my son wont taste orange coloured soup.  Both kids insist on only very smooth soup, which is a shame, but my boy will only have white (or off white) soup.  I'll keep making other colours though, in the hope that eventually he'll eat some!

 

Monday, 23 April

This was the last day of school holidays.

Breakfast:

  • French toast
  • Banana
  • Yoghurt

Lunch:

  • Planned on Corn on cobs (cook extra for corn wheels for school lunch) and Roasted potato chips but the kids had lunch next door, so didn't end up doing it

Dinner:

  • Planned on tofu filo triangles, but ended up with leftover pizza and corn on cobs

Comments:

I really wasn't feeling very motivated to cook today, although I did prepare my daughter's lunch for school tomorrow before I went to bed - something I haven't done before!

 

Tuesday, 24 April

First day of term, and the day that my daughter and I had agreed to start our "new look" lunches.

Breakfast:

  • Toast/cereal

Snack:

  • Apple

Lunch in the school lunchbox:

  • Rice animal shapes (with soy sauce)
  • 2 colour melon balls with caramel soy custard for dipping
  • Corn wheels
  • 4 mini bikkies

Snack:

  • Popcorn (home made)

Dinner:

  • Quick pasta - ie pasta from a packet mixed with tomato sauce from a jar (all organic)

Comments:

I did plan a veg casserole in the slow cooker for dinner, but was out in the morning so couldn't put it on.  The lunch was accepted quite well - corn and about half the fruit eaten, one rice face (although the nori decoration was picked off!) and of course the bikkies went.  So although they were small serves, that's still an extra serve each of fruit and veg eaten that she wouldn't normally eat.

Wednesday, 25 April

Anzac day - so a day off school, and we had a family lunch on so had to take a dish to share for lunch

Breakfast:

  • Toast

Lunch:

  • Frittata, salads, sandwiches, etc - that other's brought for lunch
  • Cupcakes (recipe from Vegan Lunch Box) and tofu filo triangles (recipe from the book Vegan Lunch Box) and bread that we took

Dinner:

  • Cauliflower soup done in the slow cooker
  • Bread - dough in the bread machine

Comments:

I know from experience that when we have big family lunches, the adults all eat a lot and feel as though they don't need dinner (and end up too tired too cook)0, but the kids all play a lot and don't eat much at all.  That was why I decided to do a slow cooker meal that I knew the kids would eat.  It was wonderful - we walked in the door, tired and with hungry kids, and the soup was all ready.  They sat down and ate it without complaint - this is the "white soup" that my boy will eat!

I love the cupcake recipe from Vegan Lunch Box; its definitely worth trying.  They're very quick and easy to make, and everyone loves them.  I make the "cream" that is in the vegan twinkies recipe on the same site and make up butterfly cakes.  Had leftover cakes so I froze them.  Everyone also loved the tofu filo triangles, but they're from the book so I can't just post a link for you here.  They're very plain, and quite quick to make, but both my kids love them - my daughter because she thinks they taste like chicken and my son because he loves tofu!

Thursday, 26 April

School and preschool today, and my son's birthday is tomorrow, so I had to send cupcakes to preschool today (he doesn't go tomorrow).

Breakfast:

  • Toast

Snack taken to school/preschool:

  • Banana

Lunch taken to school:

  • Leftover pasta
  • Carrot flowers and cheesey dip
  • Melon and custard
  • Cupcake

 

Lunch taken to preschool:

  • Cheese sandwich

Dinner:

  • Broccoli with cheese sauce
  • Steamed potato and kumara with sour cream (like warm potato salad)

Comments:

Keeping preschool lunch simple still at this stage!  Most of the school lunch was eaten.  The little pink container has cheesey sauce with a tiny spreader. 

Hardly any dinner was eaten, but the kids were visiting friends in the afternoon and ate chips and cheezles, so that could explain it!  They do normally eat broccoli with cheese sauce.

I made more of the butterfly cupcakes from Vegan Lunch Box for my boy to take to preschool for his birthday treat.  They went down well.

 

Friday, 27 April

Today is my boy's fourth birthday!!

Breakfast:

  • Toast

Snack taken to school:

  • Banana

Snack eaten at home by my son (while house cleaning was happening in preparation for his party tomorrow):

  • 2 apples
  • 3 cupcakes!!
  • 1 banana

Lunch taken to school:

  • Broccoli and (vegan) cheese sauce for dipping
  • Watermelon and rockmelon on toothpicks, starfruit
  • Choc spread to dip (nut free, vegan, purchased type)
  • Cup cake
  • Potato cubes in sour cream

Lunch for the birthday boy:

  • Went out to a cafe that he loves and he chose scrambled eggs and toast

Dinner:

  • Filo tofu triangles (2 each, which was a good amount)
  • Broccoli au gratin (leftover)

Comments:

My daughter ate most of her lunch, except only one slice of star fruit and no watermelon - even with the chocolate sauce that was there to try to make it all go down more easily.  She ate about a third of the potato.

 

Saturday, 28 April

My son's party day - party was at afternoon tea time

Breakfast:

  • Pa called around to say "happy birthday" and brought a sweet bun

Lunch (just nibbled at party food, which was):

  • Tofu filo triangles
  • Egg sandwich

Afternoon tea - the party!:

  • Choc cup cakes
  • Plain butterfly cup cakes
  • Veg sausages - fried in bite sized bits
  • Tofu filo triangles

And for the adults, also:

  • Baguettes (homemade, fresh - yum) with cheese and tomato

People also brought:

  • Egg sandwiches
  • Fairy bread

Birthday cake was banana cake

Dinner:

  • Noodles with soy sauce

Comments:

My challenge was to make afternoon tea party food that was vegan - not because I'm completely vegan, but just that it was what I was trying to do.  I did have other things planned, like some watermelon, polenta fries, potato chips and choc chip bikkies (which I had made but completely forgot to put out), but there was so much food none of these things were necessary.  It was only afternoon tea, after all.