4th of July

Happy 4th of July!  Nothing says summer like the 4th of July and nothing says 4th of July like S'Mores, Smiles and Sparklers! Luckily the weather was on our side after so much rain and there was an abundance of all three!  What a great day!

In case you are wondering, yup, that's a Cha Cha melting away with a warm and toasty marshmallow all squished between half of a graham cracker!  It was the perfect size to fit between the quartered graham cracker I used.  I think it would have melted even more if it had lasted a little longer!!!  You can probably tell from the pictures that it was worth all of the planning to reserve the phe for this special treat!  YUM!

Hope you are enjoying a great weekend too!

Just In Case!

Buying the minivan not only meant that we would all be able to go places together, it also meant that I could have a permanent compartment to fill up with low protein, non perishable "just in case" food items. I have to admit, the automatic sliding doors and 55 cup holders throughout were very cool but when I saw this little compartment I immediately knew how I would use it and I was sold!    

One day the kids and I were at a play date where I knew we would be having cupcakes.  I was sure to bring a low protein one for Z along with a few snacks.  (Have you seen these?  They work great!  I think they were made just for people with PKU!!!)  Anyways, this was our first visit to this home.  S and the little girl were in the same preschool class and up to that point my relationship with the mom unfolded at drop off and pick up time which was never really a chance for deep conversations!  She knew Z had PKU but I told her I would make sure she was all set for our visit.  I have learned since this experience that I should have been much clearer about if there would be any other food at all because when we got there she had very kindly prepared lunch too!  Based on the timing I had assumed we would have a cupcake snack then head home for our lunch!  Woops!  It all worked out just fine because I had some things in my "Just In Case" compartment and when I figured out what was going on, I calmly scooted out to the van to dig around and see what I could bring in and call lunch!  Ultimately, it was kind of a random little plate of food but Z never heard me scrambling and I was able to use some apple slices the mom was serving to everyone.  I presented it all to Z in a way that didn't make her or the mom feel bad either!  I kind of felt like a magician or something!  I know this situation was far from a crisis and could have been way more dire and dramatic and I could have easily asked the mom for more things too that would have worked for Z to eat, it wasn't as if we were stranded on a desert island or anything, but having my stash and my travel scale gave me great confidence!

Here's what I am carrying around these days: Gerber cereal bars, a container of pear/blueberry baby food (even though Z is almost 3 I still use these occasionally as if it were applesauce), fruit twists, and juice treats, Apple Juice, tiny boxes of raisins, fruit leathers, dry pasta and some MixQuick.  I almost forgot to mention our travel scale.  It has worked out great for us!  With Z getting bigger by the minute, I want to update and add to my on-the-go collection!  What kinds of things do you carry with you Just In Case?

 

The Lunchbox

I am IN LOVE with this Laptop Lunchbox.  It started with an obsession with this website.  I got addicted to checking it every day to see what Jennifer would come up with to pack for lunch for her son.  I quickly realized that the lunch box itself was as much a part of the experience as the amazing edible contents!  When S turned 3 and needed to bring lunch to preschool she was lucky enough to get one for her birthday.  Someone told me that they loved it because when it is opened you can see everything, that it's inviting in that way.  Thinking about S eating her lunch, something I had done with her just about every single day of her life up to that point, alone (with her new friends and teachers of course) made me a little worried and sad too (I'm so sentimental!!).  Setting her up to have the very best lunch experience on her own was really important to me and this sold me on getting her one.  Since then I have found at least 10 million other reasons to love, love, love this amazing puzzle of "good"plastic.  It's a bento style box that basically is a case that holds 4 (or 5) "containers" that you can fill up with food.  One of the larger rectangular dishes and the littlest one both come with lids.  As soon as Z started eating table food I couldn't wait for her to get one.   PKU or not I would have wanted her to have one but particularly for weighing things and managing the low protein diet, it is AMAZING! 

You have probably heard all the buzz about plastic lately.  This set is made without phthalates, without BPA, and it also has no lead; all things that make it a great, safe choice for holding food!  By using a set like this you can help the environment and don't have to use or spend time working to reuse tons of little plastic bags!  Like I mentioned earlier, when you open it and see your lunch, even something as simple as a sandwich, it actually is enticing and beautifully organized and colorful and it practically begs you to devour it!  This is true!  It doesn't matter who I am packing lunch for, when I use this lunch box,  it is a great visual tool for packing nutritious food.  It helps me think about "eating with your eyes".  I quickly glance at each container and generally pack some kind of main item like a sandwich, or a hunk of banana bread, some fresh veggies, sometimes with dip in the tiny container, fruit, and something "extra" like some chips or a slice of low protein cheese cut up into shapes with a mini cookie cutter.  The littlest container is so cute!  You can put a few mini marshmallows or a teddy graham or two or some other special little treat in there if you aren't using it for dip!  I could go on and on!  When packing for Z,  I just put each container on the scale, put the food in it, record it on her diet records and when all of them are full I shut the lid and off she goes!  Sometimes when I think I am just packing snacks to go (versus packing a traditional lunch) and I am packing for both of my older girls, I end up using easily 3 little plastic lidded containers for each of them that I find myself scrambling to find a way to label for each child.  I know I could color code them by lid or something but I have found that using the lunch boxes takes away all of that confusion and is simpler and in the end I always ask myself what I am doing with all of the separate little dishes and a headache!!!!!  I should just start with the lunch box in the first place!!! Live and learn!  

The Laptop Lunches Website is an amazing resource too full of inspiration for the whole family! There are pictures and lists and ideas of how to fill the lunch box.  With a little creativity you can easily adapt most of the high phe stuff to a low protein version (or just switch that item out) and you are left with a new twist on lunch!

Here is a picture of a quick lunch I packed for the girls the other day.  The only difference is that in Z's box (on the right) her sandwich is made out of low protein bread and is minus the peanut butter.  That and S lost her littlest container and I haven't replaced it yet!  I don't make it a point to make sure their food is as identical as possible or that we all eat the same thing at our meals.  I also choose not to make a big deal out of days like these where they are almost identical but it is neat when it happens and I do think that having some overlap is important.  When it works like it did on this day it makes for a very quick preparation too!  Here we have a sandwich, carrot sticks with a little Ranch dressing "dip", Veggie Stix and some apple chunks!  I can't wait to try these wraps and find some fun ways to fill them up or make some quesadillas and take them on the road!