april started with Easter and Spring Break which also means Spring camp! one less snack since little one got early but still lots of goodies. then it’s back to the regular 5 container school day meals with some pictures, notes … Continue reading packing school meals: month 8
march began with a nor’easter but that doesn’t keep us from packing her meals! this month’s school theme is water so you will see some rain and planting. other things to look forward to: Dr. Seuss’s birthday and revisiting childhood … Continue reading packing school meals: month 7
it’s February! so much to learn for a growing child, like this month’s theme: light! to kick it off, the kids went on a walking trip around the neighborhood and observed streets signs. it’s also the month for Lunar New … Continue reading packing school meals: month 6
cauliflower grits just sound delicious and cajun shrimp is a no-brainer but little one is not a fan of cauliflower or shrimp. for some reason i felt that this recipe would change her mind. for little one’s non-spicy palette and … Continue reading palatable palette: butter shrimp and cauliflower grits
i had been looking forward to making a dish with avocado pesto for a while now and then i was inspired when i saw it in a wrap. first one i tried was a Tofu and Tomato Wrap with Avocado … Continue reading palatable palette: veggie wraps with avocado pesto
it’s a new year and back to school! this month’s class theme is transportation so there will be some vehicles in little one’s meals! m added an activity to meals by creating a treasure hunt in some of the dishes. … Continue reading packing school meals: month 5
it’s December! more holidays are coming up and the weather’s getting colder. what meals will we have for little one this month? Continue reading “packing school meals: month 4”
for the most part, we have one vegetarian and one meat dish a day (not including breakfast) but i’ve been feeling like i need to shake up my vegetarian dishes. Continue reading “recipe: gluten free eggless corn fritters”
another year and lucky to have so much to be thankful for. we not only have be able to put food and home over our heads but also have plentiful to share with extended family and friends as well as … Continue reading Happy Thank*ful-for-food*Giving!
i made a tomato mozzarella tower with tapenade and basil dressing years ago that i thoroughly enjoyed. Continue reading “cook with kids: tomato mozzarella tower”
we had a half day this month so fewer meals make different decorating opportunities. there’s also fewer meals for the second half of the month with Thanksgiving break. m’s meals Continue reading packing school meals: month 3 – pt 2
just so we share morning preparations, m and i are trading off days to prep little one’s meals. the days i don’t do it, i miss it but then it gives me more time to get my juices flowing 🙂 Continue reading “packing school meals: month 3 – pt 1”
little one can’t eat school food because of her food allergies but i do see what the class is eating. last week’s lunch included sloppy joe and i was planning to make it for little one it turns out that … Continue reading palatable palette: turkey and quinoa sloppy joe
when your kid tells you that you should mess up the picture you created because she’s scared of bugs … maybe it’s better to make cute pictures? Continue reading “packing school meals: month 2 – pt 2”
i have thrown quinoa into my meals in substitution for rice dishes and i’ve added quinoa in my salads before but i didn’t know quinoa is an important grain in peruvian culture. Continue reading “cook with kids recipe: peruvian quinoa salad”
i wanted to share a favorite food with little one: fried chicken! i found an oven baked recipe that was replicating KFC’s recipe. i made some changes and flavor still was tasty but i needed a little more practice to … Continue reading palatable palette: oven baked fried chicken
it’s month 2 and i’m starting to preplan and think of ideas to make meals fun for both myself and little one. when i grew up, i used to love newspapers that had word jumbles. since little one’s class is working through the alphabet, why not play word jumble with little one with her food? Continue reading “packing school meals: month 2 – pt 1”
after two weeks of just churning them out, i can start to enjoy myself and have fun with the meals. some pictures… some words… but always color and always fruits and veggies. Continue reading “packing school meals: month 1 – pt 2”
it’s back to school! now little one is adjusting to a public school schedule so we’re learning too. school starts earlier and ends earlier. luckily little one’s after school program is in the same room so no awkward transition there. so the meals are: breakfast, lunch, end of school snack and after school snack. Continue reading “packing school meals: month 1 – pt 1 new school”
making chili, taco or stews that calls for chili seasoning is a bit of a challenge when i can’t cheat and use a packet. Continue reading “recipe: garlic free chili seasoning I”
my little one was under the weather otherwise it would have been a fun recipe to make together. a savory pie that was free from excess. plant-based recipe with no oils, egg or dairy but let the herbs do all … Continue reading palatable palette: chick pea cauliflower quiche
for my little one’s playdate this month, i prepared some zucchini ravioli and picked up some empanadas from a local establishment. unfortunately my little one couldn’t enjoy the empanadas but then it got me thinking … 
how could i try to make it?
little one loves pizza though lately she prefers white pizza. so clearly she loves the crust … so, what if i use the pie crust for empanadas? so on this cold weekend, we set out on the experiment! Continue reading “cook with kids recipe: gluten free pork empanadas”
when i see the Tasty videos, i can’t help but feel confident – i can do it! such was the feeling when I saw the video for eggplant hasselback. now i am no fan of eggplant but i love caprese. it also looked so easy and beautiful that it kinda called out for me to make it. 
SO WORTH IT!
even better is that it was easy for the little one to help make it – almost independently. learning to layer, seeing patterns, finding columns. is it math? is it cooking? it’s all good and delicious too! Continue reading “cook with kids recipe: eggplant hasselback”
i have been trying to figure out how to share dumplings with my little one for a long time but the dumpling wrappers i had been searching for all had wheat or egg. then i remembered some dim sum dumplings use rice wrappers. so i looked for the rice wrappers used for vietnamese summer rolls Continue reading “cook with kids recipe: dumplings in bánh tráng / rice wrapper”
i love Vietnamese bánh mì sandwiches and while you can have it many ways – with pork, tofu, chicken – the staple is the pickled carrots and daikon. Continue reading “cook with kids recipe: Vietnamese pickled carrots and daikon”
so my first recipe using spaghetti squash was this caprese bake recipe, which i was super excited about because i love caprese salad! it was perfect because i wanted to make a vegetarian dinner and also wanted to engage my little one in our weekly family cooking time. dumping, mixing, scooping. all good fun and then – eating! Continue reading “cook with kids recipe: spaghetti squash caprese bake”
my little one likes pork so i found a this recipe from one of Bob Warden’s pressure cooker cookbooks. it has a nice sweet and savory flavor to it. i paired with the pork chops with some sweet potatoes and … Continue reading palatable palette: orange glazed pork chops
