Featured recipe from Marilu’s table * Brown bag lunches
Today we have a couple of recipes to perk up your brown bag lunches. These are kid-friendly (you know your kid best, so adapt the recipes to fit!) ways to get some extra fruits and veggies into them during the day.
Oh, and the world’s easiest cookies are here, too. Because every kid wants dessert… but that doesn’t mean you need to buy junk food, and it doesn’t mean you have to be a kitchen slave either.
Check these blog posts for more ideas!
Brown bag it * basics, leftovers, salads
Brown bag it * sandwiches
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Apple Carrot Salad
Green * Serves 4
1 apple, cored and grated
2 carrots, grated
1/2 cup currants (call them baby raisins if your kid doesn’t think she likes new things – or sub raisins)
1/2 cup orange juice
2 Tablespoons lemon juice
1 Tablespoon lemon zest (skip it if you don’t have a real lemon)
1-1/2 teaspoon grated fresh ginger (skip it if your kid doesn’t like the flavor… or try less at first)
1/4 cup walnuts, soaked 6-8 hours, chopped (if you didn’t get them soaked, don’t panic; use them anyway)
1 Tablespoon shredded unsweetened coconut (skip it if your kid doesn’t like coconut)
Combine apple, carrots currants, orange juice, lemon zest, and ginger the night before. Stir in walnuts and coconut in the morning, just before packing lunches.
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Easy Fat-free 3-Bean Salad
Blue * Serves 8
1 pound fresh green beans, cut in 1″ pieces, steamed until tender & cooled
1 15-ounce can garbanzo beans
1 15-ounce can kidney beans
1 large red onion, coarsely chopped
1/2 cup seasoned rice vinegar (from the Asian foods section of your grocery store)
Combine all ingredients in a sealed plastic container and shake well. Let sit in fridge overnight, gets better with age, up to 10 days in the fridge.
Note: If you make steamed green beans for dinner, just make an extra pound for this recipe. Add the other ingredients after dinner, and you’ll have a great salad ready for brown bag lunches in the morning!
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Three-Ingredient Cookies
Yellow * Makes 18 cookies
1 cup natural peanut butter
3/4 cup Sucanat®
Egg replacer equivalent to 1 egg (or substitute 1 egg)
Mix it up – spoon onto parchment paper lined cookie sheet. Bake at 350F for 7-10 minutes.
Optional: Add some Tropical Source chocolate chips.
