Beverly's Salad in a Jar

 

 

I learn so many great things at school (Jon's homeschool coop).  Beverly came up with the wonderful idea of making her salad in a canning jar and bringing it for lunch.  Brilliant and doesn't it look delicious!

 

Beverly saw this idea of stacking a salad in the Dallas newspaper - the article was titled, "Make-ahead salads".  In the article, they gave several salad recipes, showing them stacked in 12 oz rock glasses.  The key to this idea is to stack the ingredients correctly so the salad can be made ahead and does not wilt.  Use ingredients that you like - this works for any salad you wish to create.  Placing it in a canning jar, as Beverly did, allows you to easily take a salad with you for lunch.  Be sure to use a wide-mouth jar.

 



Salad in a Jar Instructions:

 

1.  First pour your dressing in the bottom of the jar.

2.  Next add items that will brown if exposed to air such as apple, pear or avocado chunks.

3.  Then add meats and/or cheeses, if using.

4.  Then add diced vegetables, seeds and/or nuts.

5.  Lastly, add lettuce or spinach greens.

 

Press gently to compress the salad so it holds together.  Screw on lid and place in refrigerator.  Pack in insulated lunch bag with an ice pack.  Can be made the night before.

 

When ready to eat, remove the lid and gently turn over the jar onto your plate.  Remember when you stack the items in the jar that the items will come out in reverse order.

 

This idea can also be used to create individual salads ahead of time for a party if you stack the salad in open drinking glasses instead of a jar (as was shown in the newspaper article).

 

What a great to-go lunch idea which keeps all of your ingredients fresh, eliminates storage in plastic, and allows you to use ingredients such as fresh avocado.  This idea makes your lunch fun and appealing.  Thanks, Beverly!

Salami and Cheese

 

This is one of my favorite to-go lunches, hard salami (or summer sausage) and cheese.  However, most brands of hard salami are loaded with sugar, nitrates, other preservatives and flavorings (a potential source of MSG).  Read the ingredient labels and find a brand that does not contain ingredients on the list of foods/ingredients to avoid.



I like the Organic Prairie brand that Whole Foods sells.  Let's compare this with the ingredients in Boar's Head salami, a brand that most people trust as better quality because they market themselves as a better quality product.  Remember, you must not blindly trust any brand - read ingredient labels always and learn how the ingredients they use are raised and processed.

 

Boar's Head Genoa Salami Ingredient List:





Organic Prairie Summer Sausage Ingredient List:

 

I think by seeing these two ingredient lists that the difference in quality based on their ingredients is obvious .  For this lunch that Jon and I took to our homeschool coop, we had the summer sausage, cheese slices (remember to buy white cheeses), crackers and granny smith apples from our apple tree.  Celery or carrot sticks would also be a great addition to this lunch.  We packed the lunch with an ice pack because the Organic Prairie Summer Sausage is uncured and required refrigeration after opening.  



Lunch on the Plane



Whenever we fly, we always take a sack lunch with us.  The food at the airport is not fresh and home-cooked with good ingredients, and you never know how long your travels many take, even if your flight is only an hour.

 

Fred went on a trip to California a couple weeks ago and this was the lunch he took with him.  He was optimistic that his flight would be on time - I typically pack a bit more food when I travel. 

 

For a lunch when you don't want to or can't bring a thermos bag or ice pack, don't bring meats (or perishables) and use your 'food' as the ice.  Be prepared and have some frozen muffins or other homemade bread, pastry or dessert creation in the freezer to bring along.

 

Airplane Lunch Possibilities:

 

Frozen muffins (lemon poppy seed as shown in the photo)

Frozen cookies (such as Mary's (chocolate chip) cookies)

Fresh noncrushable fruit (organic apple, orange, pear, etc.)

Fresh veggie sticks (organic carrot, celery, cucumber, etc.)

Trail mix (Fred created the trail mix in the photo above for his trip - I'll share his recipe tomorrow)

Frozen nuts (such as Brazil nuts, almonds, etc.)

Hard cheese cubes such as an aged cheddar (don't freeze your cheese in advance)

 

Nuts and cheese are excellent choices to bring when traveling.  Though they are refrigerated at home, they can be left out for the day.  If you pack your lunch on the way out the door, then frozen bready items you pack will help keep the other items cold for longer. 

 

Do not try to bring anything that is at all viscous, including honey or it will be confiscated.  I bought some expensive raw honey while in the east and had it taken away from me by security at the airport when trying to fly home with it.  Of course, you also cannot bring water or other drinks into the airport.  You can bring an empty bottle though.  I also include an empty water bottle and fill it once I get inside the airport.  Staying hydrated is key when flying.

 

Once Fred got to California he found a Sprouts grocery store and stocked up on foods to eat during the week.  He had a small refrigerator in his room and he ate all his breakfasts in his room.  I have provided many more tips on eating when traveling in another post.

 

Traveling does not have to mean that you stumble off your FoodsbyGod diet.  You will be amazed how much better you will feel if you plan ahead, bring good foods with you and stay on track.

Hummus and Crackers



If you are short on time, this is a very simple lunch that takes no time to prepare.  I like to make my own hummus, and these individual cups are a bit small, but they are a great option to have in your refrigerator when in a pinch.  I packed two cups for this lunch, with some Whole Foods water crackers, carrot sticks and some fruit salad.

Healing Soup Lunch When Feeling Under the Weather

 



This is perhaps the most important lunch to have available to pack up, especially during the school year as germs are spread around and it seems that everyone is sick.  It is a good plan to weekly make homemade broth and a batch of healing chicken soup during the fall and winter months.  You can keep portions of soup (and biscuits) in the freezer, so they are available when needed for a lunch.

 

At the slightest sign of a cold, flu, or stomach bug coming on, it is critical to watch what is eaten.  Absolutely no sweets of any kind and no cold drinks, not even ones with natural FoodsbyGod ingredients.  Sweets feed cold germs and your body will be hampered and not be able to ward off the illness.  Gut health is also very important, and the healing chicken soup with homemade broth is the best way to heal one's gut.  Also stick with room temperature water or herbal teas when fighting as illness. 

 

Be sure to have a wide-mouth thermos on-hand in your house (or multiple ones if you have several children).  When packing something hot, while heating up the food to pack for lunch, boil some water and fill the thermos with hot water.  When the soup or other food is hot, pour out the hot water and immediately fill with the hot soup and screw on the lid of the thermos.  If you pre-heat the thermos in this manner, the food will stay hot until lunch time. 

 

Typically when one is not feeling great, one's appetite is diminished.  Listen to your body and teach your children to do the same.  Eat a light lunch and drink plenty of room temperature water throughout the day.  If I were not feeling great, I would not pack up much for lunch (as shown in the photo).  The thermos of soup and a few whole grain sweet cream biscuits would be plenty. 

 

Taking precautions like this can save you time and money, allowing you to avert an illness.  However, this is a delicious lunch even if you aren't feeling sick!  Leftovers soups and stews for lunch are great choices, especially as the weather turns cooler.  I would then add a fresh raw veggie and fruit to my lunch (remember to eat the fruit first).  An excellent lunch option - enjoy!

Waffle and Smoothie Lunch





Yesterday's To_Go_Lunch idea, a salad, may not be an option for your child's school lunch, but today's lunch idea is a very kid friendly option (even for big kids like me!).  I had a peanut butter and jelly sandwich in my school lunch almost everyday growing up so even to this day, I don't really enjoy a peanut butter and jelly sandwich.  But there is something special about nut butter on a waffle... 

 

 



 

I love my gluten-free waffle recipe and thus whenever I make waffles, I make extras and freeze them.  After the extras have thoroughly cooled to room temperature on a cooling rack, I put waxed paper between them and seal them in a Ziploc bag and put them in the freezer.  They reheat easily in the toaster or if you are packing a lunch, they don't need to be thawed.

 





 

I like to use different nut butters, not just peanut butter, on my waffles.  My current favorite is raw walnut butter (but it is VERY expensive!).  Raw almond butter is also a good choice plus there are many other kinds of nut butters.  I typically buy organic nut butters.  Also, be sure to read the label.  Many nut butters contain sugar - don't buy those.  I like to buy the ones that are packaged in glass jars.

 

If you are packing a lunch, put nut butter on both pieces of waffle and then sandwich the pieces together.  I like just the nut butter on the waffle, but you can also drizzle on a bit of raw honey.

 

With this lunch, I have packed some fresh organic raspberries that were on sale at Costco last week (a special treat for my raspberry loving guys) and some raw carrot sticks.

 

I have also made a yogurt smoothie which I've poured into a thermos.  A nice, wide-mouth thermos (as shown in the photo) is an essential item if you pack lunches.  It can be used for cold or hot foods.  Be sure to pre-chill your thermos with ice water before filling with your smoothie and your smoothie will still taste great hours later.   There are many, many different smoothie possibilities - experiment and have fun creating your own favorites.  



Lunch Salad Which Satisfies



I typically don't snack between meals, but only if I eat a satisfying breakfast and lunch.  So if I have a salad for lunch, I need to add some good protein and fat to it. 

 

For my salads, I always start with a bed of greens, typically spring mix lettuce or baby spinach (I usually buy the one pound organic half and half mix from Costco) though there is nothing better than lettuce from the garden.  (Lettuce is a cool weather crop for North Texas and is easy to grow.)  Triple washed store bought organic lettuce is a quick and easy alternative though.  I also usually add at least one other fresh vegetable to my salad.  On the salad in the photo, I have added sliced organic cucumber (which is a summer crop and thus won't be in season much longer).

 

My favorite protein to add is leftover shredded cooked chicken (it is really good if you pre-grill it as described in the chicken salad recipe).  When I cook chicken, I typically make extra, shred it and put it in the freezer.  It is then easy to take out a bit for a salad.  If you are packing a lunch you don't even need to thaw it first.  Be sure to pack your salad in a insulated lunch bag though and include an ice pack since the meat and dressing need to stay chilled. 

 

For the salad in the photo, I added some sliced ham pieces.  Be sure to buy a ham that is not loaded with additives.  Hard boiled egg is another good protein option for your salad.  I topped my salad with some grated cheese.  Remember to grate the cheese yourself since pre-grated cheese contains anti-caking additives.

 

The last key ingredient is a good salad dressing.  Don't skip the dressing, you need good quality fats in your diet to properly absorb the fat soluble vitamins.  If you are packing your lunch, be sure to put your salad dressing in a separate small container or your salad will be wilted by the time you eat it.  If you don't make your own, buy a good quality dressing.  I like the Annie's Organic Caesar dressing shown in the photo.  The things that I look for in a good dressing are:

 

 

1.  Expeller-pressed or cold-pressed oil (though don't pick ones that contain soy oil).

2.  If sweetened, only with honey, no sugar.

3.  No artificial ingredients (store bought dressings typically contain xanthan gum, which is a thickener and o.k.).

 

I have included some crackers with my salad for this lunch.  It is difficult to find crackers that do not contain ingredients on the foods/ingredients to avoid list.  Most organic crackers contain enriched flour, one of the ingredients that I never eat.  The crackers shown in the photo are something that I picked up at the store recently.  Other Back To Nature crackers contain enriched flour, but this one does not, though they are not organic and are high in salt.  Two other cracker options that are acceptable (though none are optimal) include Mary's Gone Crackers (contains soybeans) and Whole Foods Organic Water Crackers (made with white flour).

 

Developing a good cracker recipe is one of my goals for this coming winter.  In the meantime, I use crackers sparingly.

 

Salads are a great lunch option and there are so many different possibilities you can make.  Let your creative juices flow!

Ham and Cheese



Ham and cheese is a very popular lunch option, but today's deli ham is loaded with additives such as nitrites, nitrates, MSG, and even corn syrup.  All these additives are on the foods/ingredients to avoid list and these common deli meats are not part of a FoodsbyGod diet. 

If you purchase better quality deli meats from stores like Whole Foods, they are very expensive, running about $11 to $14 a pound.  A better option that I have found is to purchase a small natural ham which runs about $6.50 to $8.00 a pound. 

I hope you are convinced to buy better quality meats after watching the videos in yesterday's post.  I purchase small ham chunks (either Pederson's Natural Farms or Niman Ranch) from Whole Foods or Natural Grocer.  These hams have a good shelf life in the refrigerator if you don't touch them directly with bare hands when slicing (hold it with a piece of wax paper or plastic wrap).  Be sure to then seal the left over ham back up well and it can last a couple weeks in the refrigerator. 

 

I slice the ham into chunks for ham and cheese bites (as shown in photo above) or I slice it thin to make ham sandwiches or ham wraps.  Be sure to pack your lunch in an insulated lunch box and include an ice pack when you are taking meat.

 



Cheese is also very expensive.  I buy Organic Valley raw cheeses when they are on sale, various local raw cheeses, and I also buy two cheeses from Costco (shown in the photos above).  Buy white cheese, all orange cheese is colored.  I look for European cheeses since many of the horrible USA ranching practices, such as using growth hormones are not allowed in European countries.  Local raw cheeses are the best choice if you have access to a local supplier.  One excellent source in the DFW area is Veldhuizen Raw Milk Cheeses. 

 

For this lunch, I packed organic cucumber wedges for my fresh veggie and organic red grapes for my fresh fruit.  Remember to teach your family to eat their fresh fruit first for better digestion. 

 

If you are going to include a chip or puff with your lunch, make sure you buy an brand that does not contain artificial ingredients and if it contains corn, that it is organic.  Shown in the photo are Bearitos Cheddar Puffs.  We don't buy many processed chips or snack items - this was a special treat for the start of the school year.  We bought a bag since it was on sale and was being sampled at Whole Foods.  A better option is to pop your own popcorn and include a baggie of popcorn instead.  It can be popped the night before if sealed up after it cools.

Meatloaf Lunch

 



 

We had a fun class last night with lots of sampling of quick lunch options.  With school starting back up, I want to give you some ideas (and motivation) to fix good lunches using God's foods and ingredients.  I will be posting various ideas over the next week.  Be sure to include an ice pack and get a thermos bag if you are packing perishable items like meat. 

 

Here is the first lunch idea.

Meatloaf - make extra meatloaf when you have it for dinner and fix cold meatloaf bites (with toothpicks) or cut some slices.  You can also make a meatloaf sandwich.  Great filling lunch option that is easy to fix if you plan ahead and make extra. 

Carrot (raw veggie) - always try to pack a raw vegetable to eat with your lunch.  Organic carrots are readily available year round and always a great option.

Fresh fruit - I also try to always include a fresh fruit at lunch time.  Remember to eat your fruit first and to eat in season.  Organic green grapes (don't forget to learn which produce you want to buy organic) or a fruit salad goes great with this lunch.