SCHOOL LUNCH IDEAS - VIDEO SERIES #2

SCHOOL LUNCH VIDEO SERIES #2

The Food and Nutrition Committee of the Place Under The Pine has put together a series of videos documenting the School Lunch program. The general policy around food in the PUTP has always been focused on moderation, variation, and holistic nutrition. The school lunch program has tried to incorporate these values, but, there are challenges.

Finding the right container system is a challenge. The citizens of the PUTP have big appetites, and therefore, need big containers. Starting this school year, the lunch program began using a bento box style container - the GoGreen Lunchbox. The compartment system made it very easy to divide and conquer. The deep compartments also allowed for plenty of food to be packed away. Having only one box kept it simple.

Leftovers have been incorporated into lunches more often this year. There are plenty of benefits to leftovers - They are already made. They add variety to lunch. They are often healthy as well.

With three little citizens now requiring lunches daily, a production system to put everything together needs to be efficient. Watch the lunch making process in action.

There is also a need to ensure the food that is sent is enjoyed by the young citizens. That the correct amount of food is being sent. And, feedback documented and future lunches adjusted accordingly.

Research into improving lunches is a never ending task. There are plenty of resources on the web to inspire you. The PUTP has put together a youtube playlist of various school lunch ideas - everything from rainbow bread sandwiches to shaped cheese. Click the LINK to watch some of the best youtube school lunch ideas.

PREVIOUS SCHOOL LUNCH IDEAS VIDEO SERIES - CLICK HERE

SCHOOL LUNCH IDEAS - VIDEO SERIES

SCHOOL LUNCH VIDEO SERIES

The Food and Nutrition Committee of the Place Under The Pine has put together a series of videos documenting the School Lunch program. The general policy around food in the PUTP has always been focused on moderation, variation, and holistic nutrition. The school lunch program has tried to incorporate these values, but, there are challenges.

There is the added constraints of time. The ideal time to prepare food would be immediately before consuming it, however, that is not possible with school lunches. One option is to prepare on the morning before school - which is, for lack of a better word - a hot mess. Another option is the night before. The PUTP has found preparing lunches the night before school is the best compromise. However, there are times when even the night before is not ideal - when extra curriculars end late, when school projects are due the next day, or when lunch makers are just tired out after a long day.

There are also container constraints - size and shape. And, further, many food options cannot even be considered due to lack of refridgeration, and no cooking/heating equipment. 

School Lunches are definitely a challenge.

After making thousands of lunches over the years the PUTP has developed a system that works well. Everything from timing, containers, and a customized repetoire of recipes that 'work' are the result of these thousand of 'experiments'. The PUTP took a leap earlier this year and made a few 'how to' or 'how we do' style videos in an attempt to help other parents take school lunches to the next level.

Analysis of the videos have shown the ups and downs that come along with the daily grind of making school lunches. There are periods when healthy, almost overzelous, lunches prevail. And, there are times when the quality is, let's be nice and say, less than stellar. But, as with the rest of life; there are good times and bad times.

Presenting the School Lunch Program video series:

The First Week Video - healthy lunches and improving with tinfoil.

Use Your Melon - Everything from classics like tuna salad to exotic fruits like mango!

Have Fun With Your Food - The process of making lunches can be an 'enjoyable' chore.

Healthy AND Realistic - A great mix showing some great lunches and busy night lunches (featuring things like Pogos)

Valentines Day and More - A Themed lunch for valentines day involves lots of heart shaped food.

The PUTP does not claim to be the original, be all end all, or pinnacle of school lunch videos, we play one small part. There are many similar videos on Youtube that share a different view, different food, different container system, etc. They are worth looking into - especially for those who are just starting the monumental task of making thousands of lunches in the upcoming years.

Here are a few recommended sites that the PUTP often views: 

BELLA BOO'S LUNCHES

SASSYLUNCHMOM

WHAT'S ON THE TUBE?

VIRAL IS A GOOD WORD IN OUR WORLD

The Place Under the Pine is down one TV screen (good life lesson: toy cars thrown by three year olds and screens do not mix), but, that is not the Tube we are referring to. YouTube, that is the TUBE that has been generating a lot of discussion lately around the PUTP.

 

The PUTP YouTube channel / memory preserving experiment has gone extremely well. Dozens of weekly vlogs have been made and shared with friends and family.

 

Here is the latest - Apple picking | Sports | Rubber Boots

 

 

 

Recently, the channel has expanded with videos on cooking (Cooking With Olivia) and what the young ones take in their school lunch.

 

Lolli makes oatmeal choc chip cookies

 

 

 

The increase in Tube-talk has been about one of these lunch videos. We had one go 'viral'. Not take-over-the-world viral, but to put it into context, typically a video hits between 30 - 60 views ... this 'viral' lunch video's count was over 8,000 at last check (and still growing). 

 

Be the 9,000 or 10,000th viewer. Here it is:

 

 

 

This is very exciting for all the citizens of the PUTP. YouTube is probably the most popular site visited, and everyone has their favourite channel. Being part of the "Tube" is a way of life around the PUTP, which is why having a little bit of success generates so much buzz. 

 

SIMPLE FOOD - FOOD POST

EAT SIMPLE, SIMPLY EAT

Sometimes those simple meals can be the most satisfying thing on the menu. Lately the citizen of the Place Under the Pine have been eating simple and loving it.

Macaroni and tomato juice - all it takes is two ingredients to make this wonderful meal. Add a bit of cheese still keeps it simple, but, adds much more flavour.

Perfect Autumn Food

Beans on toast - A can of beans on toasted white bread may not hit the top ten list of healthiest meals, but, for the PUTP it is a well loved classic that is enjoyed a few times during the year.

Any flavour of canned bean will work - with molasses, with syrup, with wieners even?

Meat, potatoes, and a vegetable (or two) - Not much doctoring with these ingredients to make them oh so tasty. This simple combination of food, a throw back retro meal for many, is not seen around the PUTP very often. But, recently this meal style has made a couple of appearances.

Meatloaf, potatoes, brussels, and corn niblets

Pork roast, carrots, squash, and potatoes

Simple ideas for Lunchboxes

Cereal and raisin trail mix

Cheese and crackers (wrap in plastic if made the night before to prevent sogginess the next day)

Fried egg sandwich. Don't forget the ketchup!

Add a dip - simple as that

To simplify lunch making for the multi kid family make identical lunches and snacks

Simple Desserts - There are many options for simple desserts. A bowl of fresh fruit or maybe some jello. But, in the PUTP dessert is more often a complicated affair involving layers, creaming, numerous ingredients, processing, baking, waiting, whipping...in the end always scrumptious.

Coconut cream awaiting whipped cream

FOOD POST - FALL MEALS

FALL MEALS

Fall, or Autumn as some call it, can mean many things, to many people. To the citizens of the Place Under The Pine "Fall" instantly brings to mind food - warm foods, back to school foods, and appleicious foods!

Back to School Foods

One month into the school year the lunch containers have seen their fair share of delicious foods. As in other years the first few weeks of school are filled with exciting lunches and snacks. But, by the one month mark the monotony has started to set in. Luckily for the PUTP, monotony tastes great!
"Monotony" (noun) - Sameness, lack of variety....definition in the PUTP is demonstrated below:

Snack container - Fruit & Muffin

Bright red berries. Extra Oatmealy chocolate chip muffin...mmmm

Lunch - 'Main' and Fruit

Croissant. Peach. Hand picked local apple.

Extra container: Yogurt or apple sauce

The yummy high fat plain yogurt with fresh berries.

This year the food quality committee did some research into the lunch program to determine what went into lunches, but more importantly, what was eaten in those lunches. The first few days were recorded in the following video:

Apple-icious Foods

Fall is apple picking season. Every year the citizens take the short trip out to the apple orchard and pick a bushel of the wonderful fruit. Just like last year many of the PUTP's meals have ended with some sort of apple treat.

As you can see the apples are delicious

Apple sauce is sometimes made daily

Pair that apple sauce with some warm biscuits and you have the classic PUTP weekend breakfast

WARM FOOD - THAT CAN BE FROZEN

Fall also means cool weather. Cooler temperatures have an inverse relationship with the PUTP's oven. When it cools down outside, the oven heats up...and vice versa. The barbeque has been given a rest lately and the oven had taken over most of the cooking.

Piping hot stew...apple crisp in the background!

Fall is a very busy time. School, hockey, basketball, and extra jobs all start up in the fall meaning many nights are busy, busy, busy. Easy, quick meals are a must have. The head chef of the PUTP takes this into account and often prepares her patented Double Meals - essentially a double recipe of whatever is for dinner. One to eat. One to go in the freezer to be pulled out on a busy night.

Examples of the Double Meal are shown below:

Stuffed peppers - One to eat

Stuffed peppers - One to freeze

Cheese filled pasta bakes - in freezer ready containers

Bake and serve

Add some quick sides for those busy nights

There are still those unusually warm days in the Fall that must be dealt with. The citizens of the PUTP have found a variety of ways to handle the unexpected heat waves of September.

One way to deal with the heat is by drinking fresh lemonade

A nice strawberry milkshake can cool the soul - although, these are good anytime of year.

JANUARY FOOD - HOT STUFF THAT KEEPS THE COLD AT BAY

A NEW YEAR FULL OF FOOD

Pine Tree Post | Food Page

The first weeks of 2015 were full of warm, delicious, food keeping the citizens of the Place Under The Pine toasty warm.

We'll start with the hot eats.

Lots of soups were made to warm the tummies:

A mexican flavoured concoction (Chicken Fajita Soup) made with beans, a can of cream of something soup, and some salsa. It was a big hit with all citizens young and old. Topped with cheese and avocado and eaten with nachos...warms the soul.



Sausage and lentil soup. So thick, like a big down filled duvet, it warmed the body deep down to the core.



A regular, almost staple meal, in the PUTP; broccoli cheese soup. This is one of those dishes that everyone loves. It's tasty, warm, filling...and according to the resident chef it is fairly easy to make. Stay tuned for a tutorial on how to make this soup.



A vegetarian curry made with veggies and chick peas. A very warm dish both temperature wise and spice wise. To tone down the spicy heat (and make it a tad richer) a scoop of sour cream does the trick.



On throw-back-Thursday, aka retro night, a tuna casserole was cooked up. It was given mixed reviews by the children.



Another retro looking meal, which is a rarity in the PUTP, was the classic meat, starch, vegetable plate. Experts predict this style of dish will likely not be seen for another few months. In this instance a seasoned pork chop roasted to perfection, cinnamon syrup squash, lentils & brown rice, and corn.



One special meal, perogies, were prepared by our budding chef Lolli...to see her cooking show 'perfect perogies' click here.



Pulled pork pizza - what a handle - made with Sweet Baby Rays BBQ sauce. Mmm, the sauce is the boss.



One of the keys to a good pizza is the crust. The secret ingredient/crust around the PUTP is Naan (from Costco). Naan seems to work better than a pita, they are the ideal size, and they cook up nicely.



Burritos, as seen in production below, are something that Jen makes in abundance. The PUTP does not end up eating burritos for days, but instead they freeze many. Burritos are a food that freezes well. One pan for the oven and one pan for the freezer seems to be the burrito motto around these parts.



This month's grilled cheese winner is the rye and gouda. Congratulations!

This month's trashiest meal goes to the chicken burger on white bread. This ingenious meal was created as a 'main' for a school lunch. Obviously, it was grocery day. Great creativity!

The most photogenic meal had to be this simple dipper lunch of veggies, homemade pita chips, and hummus.



Baked goods, as always, crowded the counter almost every day or two. It is amazing how fast the children of the PUTP can devour a dozen muffins!

Banana















Banana chocolate chip




Blueberry flax and yogurt muffins (don't let the healthy/cardboard sounding name throw you off, they are delicious) and cheese rolls.

Mounds of chocolate cupcakes. With both Oskie and Elli's birthdays in January, almost on the same day, a quadruple batch of cupcakes were needed!



And, along with cupcakes comes real birthday cake...

6 already!

Lunches remained predictable, with a repetition of meals. Small variations brought a bit of excitement.

Pouches of chocolate covered blueberries (from Costco) were popular.



A side of lentils and brown rice held up well.



The classic ham sandwich was modified slightly using a croissant and the good gouda cheese.



Mini-Wheats as a snack is a great idea. The kids love them b/c they are covered in sugar. Parents love them b/c they are healthy and the true amount of sugar is deceiving (it is far less than you'd think).



Frozen fruit with a dollop of the bitter, rich, balkan style yogurt is always eaten.



Tip #145 -The addition of a small container of salad dressing or dip exponentially increases the odds of vegetables being eaten.



A much requested item in January was a fried egg sandwich. Paired with a container of ketchup it is something different in the lunchpail. Word of caution - remind the children to do up the ketchup container after eating. A lunch bag washing may be in your future if you do not.



One area of cuisine that is lacking in the PUTP is drinks. Water is the most popular beverage holding approx 95% of the drink 'market'. Coffee and Tea take a majority of the rest. Juice is almost never seen, so when this photo was taken it made news...

Tomato juice with a celery stick

One last shot to leave you drooling was a late night snack...paired with a DVD of Call the Midwife. Yummers.