The theme for the Gluten Free Menu Swap over at Celiac Family is packing gluten-free lunches for back to school! I am thankful that I don’t (yet) have to regularly pack a lunch as my daughter is going to a half-day kindergarten. However, we occasionally need one when she stays for after-school camp for a couple of hours. We’ve been packing lunches all summer long as we’ve had playdates galore and because of food intolerance packing a lunch was the way to go. Since we don’t do it everyday I usually end up packing a similar version of the same thing every time. The Princess isn’t used to the circus of eating with her peers and tends to not eat much during the eating period and then wanting to eat in the car on the ride home. So we pack several small snacks: a trail mix (with chocolate chips of course), crackers with nutbutter, a fruit stick, maybe a cookie or lollipop, sometimes lunchmeat, and sometimes just a regular nutbutter and jelly sandwich. I did dig out my old starwars thermos one day this summer and fill it with some super hot water, then added some super hot mac and cheese with some leftover chili. That was gone by the time I picked her up!
Cupcakes from the Princess’ birthday party!
The Princess had a birthday and a couple of birthday parties this past week! We had an amazing party with pink cupcakes and friends and then a family dinner with pink cupcakes and family. Pretty much the whole week was working and prepping bits and pieces for the party, so some cooking didn’t get done, but that’s okay. You only turn 5 once! This week I’m going to try do a bunch of cooking for the week on one day. Seems as the week goes on the energy and motivation for cooking gets less especially in the hot, hot, hot days of August in Florida.
Sunday
Breakfast:
gluten-free cereal, strawberries, blueberry muffin (I found them in the freezer and I don’t remember what recipe I used!)
Lunch: turkey burgers marinated in this recipe, veggie burger for me, potato chips, corn on the cob, and coleslaw. Pink Cupcakes for dessert (a friend who does baking on the side made these!)
Dinner: nutbutter and honey sandwich, fruit salad
Rest of the week:
Breakfast Choices:
Pink Panther Smoothie
Eggs
Favorite waffles
Dinner:
Breakfast for dinner: Favorite Waffles
Cauliflower Alfredo with frozen veggies (didn’t happen last week!)
Broccoli, Bacon, Tomato Pasta Salad
Spaghetti and meatballs
Vanilla cream mango milkshake with popcorn
Pizza, salad
Leftovers!
For more menu ideas check out Org Junkie’s Menu Plan Monday! Or for gluten-free menus check out Celiac Family and the Gluten Free Menu Swap!
The Girl Who Couldn't Eat Anything 
Happy B-Day to the Princess! And I must say…those are really good looking cupcakes. Yes, and this professor never eats much either when with friends, I think.
LikeLike
Well sometimes I can get talking, but mostly I’m just so hungry I focus on food first. Then I talk if I feel I must. But eating with 3/4/5 year olds is just almost impossible. Something is always happening and I totally don’t blame her for not eating.
LikeLike
*laughs* Yes, I could imagine. It’s probably extremely lively.
LikeLike
It is! There’s levels of grossness (because they aren’t really civilized yet) and sometimes food throwing (usually by accident) and most likely someone at some point spills a drink.
LikeLike
*laughs* I don’t think I’m civilized yet!
LikeLike
does that mean you throw food?
LikeLike
*laughs* Well, can’t remember the last time I did that.
LikeLike
Oh…well. I think its a particularly uncivilized thing to do.
LikeLike
*laughing* Me too!
LikeLiked by 1 person
Mac ‘n Cheese and Chili sounds like a yummy lunch! Of course, the Star Wars Thermos makes it even cooler. 🙂
LikeLike
It looked yummy! She is still eating meat and cheese so I didn’t taste it, but it certainly smelled good! I am quite fond of the Star Wars Thermos. I thought about getting rid of it during one of my purges, but my husband rescued it and hid it in his closet (a place I never touch!) 🙂
LikeLike
Pingback: Weekly Gluten-Free Menu Plan - Back to School Packing Lunch
Think I am gonna spice up dinner and do pancakes with chocolate chips and homemade syrup. Yum!
LikeLike
That sounds super yummy! What do you use to make homemade syrup?
LikeLike
Welp I am still perfecting it but I use turbinado cane sugar, water, and a little bit of vanilla extract.
LikeLike
That sounds interesting. I’m running low on maple syrup…if I run out I might try that!
LikeLike
Yesterday I worked on another teeny weeny batch and I think the key to get that syrupy effect is to refrigerate the leftovers so it will thicken up.
LikeLike
ah ha! Refrigerators are wonderful things.
LikeLike