Crazy Week

So this week did not start out 'crazy'. It actually started out calm, smooth, and easy. But as the week progressed, it slowly, then rapidly went crazy. Thankfully the week is not over yet, so we still have time to turn the craziness around. 

We have been having some type of weather these past few days. Lots of wind, rain, but thankfully the hurricane is bound to miss us. We will find out if this prediction is accurate tomorrow. The temperature feels great though. The house feels cool but cozy at the same time. 

So here are this week's lunch in no particular order. 

The girls' favorites were the pigs in the blanket and the Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtle. Why only four lunches? Because Friday turned out to be crazier than I had expected. Mainly due to distraction from the husband. I was at his work to pick up Rocky (long story), and while I was there, I was helping him with his board, and shredding paperwork.. All of a sudden I started TO feel hungry and that's when it hit me that I completely forgot to drop off lunches to the girls. Worst. Mother. Ever. Thankfully Cali is allowed to get a hot lunch and I just need to send the money to the school Monday. I had enough time to drop off lunch money to DJ, but still I felt bad. I over paid for their lunches, but most importantly I feel like I forgot to care for my children.

Making it up for them by making their favorite Filipino soup - Sinigang. It's perfect for this kind of weather and goes a long way since I can freeze the broth. It's a sour soup that has tamarind base. I use pork parts that has a lot of bones (neck bones with pork ribs). I also add vegetables such as water spinach (kangkong in Tagalog), string beans and okra. You can really add whatever you like but these are what the girls like. Maybe I can do a post on the soup another day as well as the awesome meal the girls prepared for us on Thursday.

Well to all my East coast family and friends, stay dry and safe while we are all still on flood watch. Until next time....

-Jen

A Week's Summary

So a daily post is starting to seem wayyyy too much for me - probably for everyone. I decided to do a weekly post of the lunches I have created for the week rather than a day to day post. People already think I do absolutely nothing with my time, or I have way too much time in my hand -- but honestly I try to just manage the time I have well so that it's spread just enough to get me by for the day.

This week I only had to prepare 4 lunches due to Wednesday being a Jewish holiday. It was a good little break for me so I was not complaining at all :)

So on Monday, I made a plain turkey, cheese, and lettuce sandwich with cheese crackers from Horizon Organics and tomatoes from our garden. These crackers taste really good, very similar to goldfish crackers, just not as salty.

Tuesday I wanted to give my girls a flower for being such awesome kids. One sandwich was Nutella, the other was peanut butter. Again with the sides of tomatoes and cheese crackers.

Thursday I was feeling the weather changes. Fall is probably my favorite season. I love the colors of the leaves as they change. I love the fresh cool breeze in the morning and evening. I love the sound of the tress and leaves as they are easily swayed by the breeze. I love how my electric bill is so much cheaper during this season. Most of all, I love Halloween. So this lunch was due to my excitement for October! It was a Nutella/PB sandwich with carrots, tomatoes, and yogurt.

Today's lunch was inspired by 'movie night' tonight for my family. The girls love the movie Big Hero 6. so I decided to try and create Baymax. Very simple to make. It's a rice ball, and I just cut seaweed wrapper up to make the circles and line. Next to the rice ball is ham inside a silicone holder the shape of a pig. When I bought it at first, I thought the silicone was more like a cutter. :( It wasn't though. But I made great use for it. This lunch was also prepped with our tomatoes and banana. My girls love tomatoes and honestly will chose to eat them over junk food. So why not ?! There are numerous benefits for eating tomatoes.

Well, that about sums up our lunches for the week. Hope everyone has a safe and blessed weekend.
- Jen

Special Day :)

Since today is such a special day, I decided to make the girls a special lunch that requires more than 10 minutes of preparation. After we picked the girls up last from school yesterday, we went to Kmart and purchased some crab traps. Our plan was to catch dinner with some left over so that I can use it in the girls' lunch. 

Well today's lunch is of no thanks to what we caught yesterday because we caught nothing lol. So I cooked some salmon this morning and made some sushi for the girls. Nothing special. It was just salmon and cuccumbers. 

So what makes today special? It's mine and my husband's 12th year anniversary. It's been more fun being married to this man than anything. We've had many adventures, many laughs, inside jokes, disagreements, and continuous opportunities to grow. We had to overcome many differences but things got easier once I started to focus on how I can be a better spouse to my husband rather than pointing out how he could be a better husband for me.  

Today we had an opportunity to go to the beach in the morning. We had a great little walk. Then went to Philly and had lunch at the Reading Terminal. I absolutely love Philadelphia and the Reading Terminal. We bought a dozen doughnuts from Beilers and had a beer at Molly Malloys. There's still so many places to explore in this huge city. I love it. Who knows what we have in plan for this evening. 

- Jen

That's a Wrap!

With school back in session I already knew things were going to be getting busy and chaotic. But I forgot about soccer, choir, book exchanges and other back to school functions at each other girls' schools.  With busy schedules (I'm sure other moms have even busier schedules), it becomes difficult to cook dinner or even pack lunches. At times like this I would just throw in the towel and opt for school lunches. But then once I remember the price (it usually doesn't take long for me to remember the price of lunch), I recollect myself and remind myself why I started this in the beginning. 

Last night DJ had soccer practice and Cali had a book exchange at school. They had a special going on with a local pizza company called Manco & Manco where part proceeds goes back to the school.  Their pizzas are always great too. It's always a fun event where the kids bring books that they would like to exchange and pick out new ones to read. There are also giveaways for the kids whose name is pulled out of a raffle, and it's a good way to meet some of the other parents. 

It was difficult to wake up this morning. So since I took my sweet time getting out of bed I had to do a quick lunch for the girls. I decided to make wraps. Quick, easy, and healthy. 

The wraps are held together with a kabob stick. It just makes it easier for the girls to eat, and it helps the kabobs from falling apart once they get to school. Even the hubby liked this idea. So in the wrap, we have provolone cheese, turkey breast, and lettuce. I didn't out any sauce in it because I didn't want it to get soggy. However next time I'd like to use the laughing cow cheese (I like the tomato basil one) instead of the provolone. I also packed watermelon and more tomatoes. 

My girls can eat tomatoes every single day, for breakfast, lunch, and dinner. They eat them like grapes and actually like them more than grapes.  So this lunch prep literally took me 10 minutes to make from start to finish. Tomorrow's lunch will be a special lunch. Stay tuned for that one 😊. 

- Jen

Mean Green

My girls absolutely love eating fruits and vegetables. So today I wanted to do something simple for lunch. Today's lunch was a garden salad with watermelon and a blueberry muffin.

Nothing fancy, but this is actually something that my girls can eat everyday. When we are at a restaurant, my younger daughter usually requests a Caesar salad rather than chicken strips, cheeseburgers, etc.

The tomatoes were from our vegetable garden that is slowly deteriorating. We have basil, parsley, pumpkins, and cucumbers. The cuccumbers and pumpkins are extremely sensitive. I think next year I will try to plant them in a container so that I can control the water from getting on their leaves. When you get water on the leaves of pumpkins or cuccumbers, they mold. Hopefully I can save some of the plants I have now from dying when it starts to get cooler outside. I just have to figure out where I can store them inside the house without my husband feeling like I'm turning the house into a greenhouse lol.

Well we are off to soccer practice and the family picnic at school. Til next time...

- Jen

Post Week 1 Football

Today I packed my girls' lunches based off of how I'm feeling after losing my first match in fantasy, and with the Eagles loss to the Falcons.

I'm a little salty. I hate losing. I'm super competitive and I wear all emotions on my sleeve. So I thought today's lunch was appropriate. Turkey and cheese sandwich with carrots and tomatoes. I also used celery sticks the help with the face.

So this week on fantasy, I started Peyton freaking Manning who got me a whooping 5 points. Their kicker was the one who won the dang game for them. I'm surprised they even won. Of course I had Demarius Thomas as my WR because I wanted the duo to rack points up for me, but I got a total of 8 points all together from the duo. I also had Frank Gore who didn't produce. No body freaking produced. I'm hoping it was just a wash this week.

Then there's the Eagles game last night. Byron Maxwell got exposed. Shows how much we should pay attention to preseason --- NOT. Ertz and Huff missed some crucial passes. We did not run the ball enough which is on of my main frustrations from the game. As many RB as we have, we did not freaking run the dang ball. It was almost like Andy Reid was calling our plays all over again. We need to run the dang ball!!! I swear I felt like Sandra Bullock from Blind Side when she calls the coach and tells him "Run the dang ball" in her southern accent. Except I was yelling it, which I should probably apologize to all my neighbors since all my windows in the game room were open. Also, we need to blitz more. We just need to be able to penetrate so the line can get to the QB and apply some sort of pressure. The times we blitzed or applied pressure, the Falcons weren't successful. Another thing and I'll be done (I can go on forever) --- we have to be able to adjust better as a team. These dang coordinators need to adjust better especially the defensive coordinator. If Julio Jones is in motion, double man him!! You can't have him one on one with Maxwell.

I just want to see freaking improvement, I don't want to keep taking steps backwards. Move on from this game. Adjust. Fix what did not work such as passing so much you forget about the run game. Eagles defense still needs a lot of adjustment and mesh. Hoping the progress from this. Can't continue to blow coverage on crucial 3rd downs that should be 4th downs because we aren't adjusting our defense to the opponent's offense.

That's all the rant for this Tuesday. I still have a headache from unbelief of the players that have all gotten injured this first week, from bad calls by the officials, and from frustration I have with my team. Next game is huge. We need a W against the Cowboys. Take advantage of Dez not being there.

- Jen

Welcome back Football!!

It's on necessary to do a football themed lunch with NFL season back officially as of yesterday!  For those who know my family, they know very well we are die hard Philadelphia Eagles fans. Win or lose. Without Superbowl rings. Yes, I've heard it all. I know what my team is, and I'm realistic about what I say in regards to our performance as a team. But I can proudly say because of our past unfortuneate years, we (only speaking for my family and I ) are probably some of the most loyal fans. 

Every team has bangwagon riders. These are by far the worst fans ever. They are a disgrace for the rest of us who actually ride or die by our team regardless of what dumb decision was made by the front office during off season or even during the season. If you're a fan, be simply that... A fan. Don't be a switch hitter just because one year the team you were rooting for wasn't performing to your standards. I see these fans as quitters. As people who can't handle or don't know how to handle struggle. I see them as people with little hope, little faith, no loyalty, and lack of resilience.  Regardless of what team you like, just make sure you are a fan worth winning for. 

Now, moving on to last night's opening season game with Patriots vs Steelers, there was a lot to take away from that game. First thing... Brady and the Patriots are pissed and they are taking it out on everyone. That kind of chip on their shoulder is dangerous for the other teams that will be facing them. Gronk and Brandy looked unstoppable. That being said, second thing to take away is how horrible the Steelers' secondary was without veteran pro bowler Troy Polamalu. But other factors that contribute is lack of meshing. The secondary still needs to learn how to work together. That will come with time. Third thing to take away is that if you have the Steelers' kicker on your team, might be time to grab a new one off the wire.  And last thing to take away with that was the production of DeAngelo Williams. I drafted Le'Veon Bell. The second I found out that Williams was going to replace Bell during his suspensions, I picked him up quick. I'm so glad I did because he produced 15 points for me when I didn't expect that much at all. 

I can't wait til Sunday, but even more for Monday night. It's time for friendships ending due to rivalaries. Friendship is temporarily over for some people lol. That being said, today I wanted to make a football themed lunch for my girls. 

Until next time, have a safe Friday!
- Jen

You must be my Lucky Star

We had some left over from our dinner last night, and what better lunches to pack other than the left over?! I don't like for things to go to waste or spoil  so I really try to make great use for everything that we have. Last night we had green beans, rice, and tilapia. The girls love anything with rice. Since we had some left over, it was just enough to make them some onigiris for their lunches. For those who are not familiar with onigiris, it's the Japanese word for rice balls.

I used the left over rice and added vegetable seasoning. Then added grapes, blueberries, and carrots.

My family was stationed out in Japan for 4 years back in 2005 (I just felt really old saying 'back in'). It was probably our favorite tour thus far. The culture was just great. My husband and I were most excited about seeing decked out imports (imports to Americans that is) such as the Skylines. Oh they were beautiful. Our daughter DJ started school out there at an International school called Kunitachi That was located off base. They always served fresh and healthy food. This is also how I started to gain an interest in making bento boxes. The kids would all compete to see whose mother packed the cutest lunch. When you see these lunches, you can't help but just be amazed at all the creativity that was put into them. This is where my inspiration came from.

Well I have to cut it short for now.

Until next time,
- Jen

Whoa, let me see that SUSHI ROLL!

So I share my posts on Instagram, Facebook, and Twitter. I posted my Texas sandwich on Instagram and use the same hash tags that I've always used last year when I posted the girls' lunches. Well, I received a notification saying I won something. 

This is what I was greeted with after. Of course I sent my info to @produceforkids to claim my prize. Don't ask me what it is, it's a surprise. But it's awesome to know that something that was started as a means to save money as well as have more control of what my children were eating has turned into something more. I showed my husband and of course he was extremely happy and proud of me. I don't do this to get prizes or win anything, that is just a surprise. I didn't even know that the site was doing any kind of competition. Usually I don't even enter competitions because I don't feel confident enough to since I don't do it in a competitive aspect. But it's nice to know my lunches are used as a means to inspire/motivate/or whatever. 

Well kind of hard to top yesterday's lunch now lol. But today I went with a sushi roll sandwich. My girls love sushi. I would have made sushi if I had fish/crabmeat, cucumbers, or avocados. My girls have requested more sushi this year compared to last year. Until I get some meat to put in the sushi, I went with a teaser (I'm such a mean mom). One kid loves peanut butter and does not really like chocolate; the other loves chocolate and not peanut butter unless it has jelly. 

I also added slices of apples and baby carrots to their lunch along with some cute little food picks. It's just a fun way to have a plain sandwich. Just because it's plain doesn't mean it can't be fun. 

Until next time , 
- Jen

Deep in the Heart of Texas

Hoping everyone enjoyed their Labor Day. As for my crazy bunch, we tried to squeeze in every tiny bit of drop left in the summer. We made waffles for breakfast, went to the beach (which was really crowded), ate some local BBQ,  watched the movie Inside Out, and played a game of basketball outside with the girls.

Of course we send the girls off to bed before 8 o'clock, but they are pretty much laying in their beds wide eyed, staring at their ceiling. Tomorrow Cali will be in 2nd grade and DJ will be in 6th. I remember being in both of their shoes at those 2 very different moments in my life. Right before the first day of school I remembered being nervous. My family moved to the states when I was 6, I was in the first grade, spoke a totally different language, thrown into a school that luckily had ESL. Yes people, I had to go to ESL because English was my second dialect! So my first year in America was the most culture shocking, pulled me out of all my comfort zone, confusing, and uncomfortable. Of course once i start to get the hang of things thats when summer vacation took place. So going into 2nd grade I remember wondering if I'd have classmates who needed to go to ESL, or if I'd have any classmate who was of my culture, or if my teacher would be patient enough to understand I need her to speak slowly in order for me to understand the words coming out of her mouth.

Then there was 6th grade. In Texas, that was the big jump from Elementary to Middle school. Luckily I had an older brother who I could ask for help or have look after me, but at that age he didn't want people to see us together lol. So there went that hopeful plan. So the night before the first day I remember not sleeping until 3 am because I was so excited to finally have different classes, a locker, and I would be able to sit with anyone during lunch instead of only sitting with my class. Thank goodness for those early classes of ESL, by the time I was in the 3rd grade I no longer needed ESL! I was almost a professional English speaking Pacific Islander! Lol

Well now my babies are resting, and I do what? Have a beer and pack their lunch! So since they miss Texas so much I thought I would pack them something that will remind them of Texas...

So I made a turkey, cheese, with lettuce sandwich, blueberries, tomatoes from our garden, and baby carrots. Of course I managed to mark Houston for them as that's where my parents are whom my girls are extremely close to. This preparation literally took 10 minutes -- if that.  I bought a Texas shape cookie cutter from Buckees. All my Texas folks know that's a popular gas station known for their little market and clean bathrooms for travelers.

It's so funny how we tend to take such little things for granted until we move away and no longer have the same access to things like we once did. Like the dang cookie cutter. I made the girls lunches in Texas as well, but never thought of purchasing a Texas shape cutter because it was always accessible to me. Well I hope you all have a great rest of the evening. Keep smiling :)

-Jen

AWESOME WEEKEND EATS!!!

So after my wonderful and relaxing produce shopping, I decided for dinner I wanted some cheeseburgers with Texas cheese fries. Pretty much I wanted Chilis just without having to drive there, hope for great service, and not overpay. Instead I went and purchased $1.00 hamburger buns, 2 lbs. of ground beef for $6.00, and Texas fries - plain for $3.50. Our meal for a family of 4 cost roughly $14.00 (since I added Maple bacon - I had purchased it 2 days ago). This is for good quality burgers and fries. 

From the 2 lbs. of ground beef I was able to make 8 patties. I season my burgers the same exact way I season my steaks. I don't add much because I don't want to drown out the taste of good quality meat. I cooked 4 patties for each of us and froze the other 4 for future cravings (no I'm not pregnant, I just enjoy eating). I gathered my lettuce, sliced a tomato and jalapeño, and placed my bacon in the oven the same time I baked my fries.

This is how my fries turned out. What did I do? I lightly greased the bottom of a casserole with olive oil as well as the top fries. I baked them according to the directions on the bag uncovered. At the same time I baked my bacon on a cookie sheet on the bottom rack. When the fries were almost ready (5 minutes before fully ready), I sprinkled shredded cheese, salt, and pepper. Covered with foil and allowed them to bake for the remaining time, or until the cheese was to my liking. 

When it was done I crunched up one bacon and took some jalapeño slices and put them on top of the cheesey fries.

My burger was cooked well on a pan rather than setting up my grill. When it was done, I put 2 pieces of bacon on top, jalapeño, tomato, and lettuce. Since the jalapeños were my caliente, I used ranch instead of bold AI sauce.

My family was extremely satisfied just as much as I was with the way this turned out. It was nothing special, just simple. And to me, some things are meant to stay simple. 

Well, if my dinner wasn't enough, today we went to church in the beautiful city of Philadelphia. Every time I go across either bridge whether it be Walt Whitman or Benjamin Franklin, I always get a feeling of joy. I don't know if it's because of all the history in the city, but I just get a sense of peace, love, happiness, and pure joy when I get to the other side. 

So after church, we decided to venture out to Chinatown. I was extremely hungry and everything was smelling great on 10th street.  We ended up in Shang Hai 1. We ordered crispy salt and pepper chicken, hot shredded pepper beef, and volcano chicken. Oh my word!!!!!! It was D-E-L-I-C-I-O-U-S!!! Everything they brought out did. Grant it there were some real tradition food on the menu that I have to try next time since I know their food is legit. They had pork liver, shredded frog, and other things that I didn't want to taste at the point. I was hungry and I wanted to eat something that would be satisfying rather than interesting lol.  

Well, that was our adventure for today. Until next time... -Jen

Produce Heaven

Not lying, something people probably don't know about me is I don't like shopping, unless it's for food 😂. I used to coupon until it became a weird addiction. I would buy things that I would rarely use. After I had a stock pile that needed its own room, that's when my husband told me, "You know, you can save more money by not spending money especially on things we don't need or use." Did I go through withdrawals or what after that?! I was addicted to and had more gratification in seeing just how much money I had saved rather than the products I had just purchased. If you have an addiction, please call a crisis center because I would probably just encourage you to keep going just so I can live curiously through you. 

So I found a new addiction (it's a controlled one this time 😉), it's called Produce Junction. They have something else other than produce in the store; they have --> plants <-- ! I love gardening as well so when I'm in this store I feel like a guy who goes into Home Depot. Actually that's a bad analogy because I like hardware stores too. You get the point though, I hope. 

So when you walk in, this is what you would see :

This was just a part of it. I didn't take any other picture because I was distracted by all the wonderful prices around me lol. The store is not that big but I can spend a lot of time walking around and looking at the produce and plants. Everything is from local farms and as I mentioned in my post from yesterday, they sell in bulk. I bought a 5lb. bag of red potatoes for $2.00! This is my recovery center from my previous addiction of couponing. 

So here is what I came home with today :

I purchased all of this for less than $20.00. I seedless watermelon, blueberries, Fuji apples, kiwi, red potatoes, celery, romaine lettuce, baby carrots, and cilantro. I wanted to look around for plants but I had to get home to feed my family lunch. 

For those who live in Southern New Jersey Shore and know of a better and/or cheaper place than the one I have found, please share and tell me so I can check it out. 

Until next time,
- Jen

Kick Start

I've been asked so many times if I have a blog, or if I blog.... So today marks a new day where I kick start a blog. I have never been much of a blogger, but I decided to start this new one in an attempt to share my family's life at the current moments. I am a sentimentalist; I enjoy capturing pictures of moments I wish to cherish forever (all of them). I love to explore, eat (A LOT!), learn, sports, gardening, and many more in which I'm sure you will learn as this goes along.

 

Last year, my family moved to New Jersey from Texas due to the military relocating us. Although things are bigger in Texas, things in New Jersey are bigger as well....Prices that is. When the school year started for our daughters we learned lunches for each child were roughly $4.00 each/day. After doing the math (I would have been spending roughly $40.00/week since I have 2 girls in school). , I thought in a means to help my family save money, I would pack our girls' lunches everyday.

 

We have an awesome produce "outlet" around us (New Jersey is the Garden State, and all the produce show for that) where they sell things in bulk for a really good price. You can get 2 lbs of apples for $2.50. I would buy fruits/vegetables that were in season or for sale to get a better value for my buck. Since my girls love fruits and vegetables, I realized I can just buy the produce there and buy the rest of the things for their lunches at the local grocery store. If you are not as fortunate as I am to have a local produce outlet, you can always research the closest farmers market near you or try bountiful baskets (this was something I learned about in Texas).

 

Did I make lunches every single day of the school year? Yes of course :) ----- ok, pride to the side.. No. I didn't. I cheated maybe a total of 2 weeks combined, which isn't too bad. There were days where we would wake up extremely late, or other days where I forgot I was lazy during the weekend and didn't do my shopping for the week (bad mom). But - for a good majority of the time, I did make a lunch every day. There were times I would pack the lunches before going to bed (ideal, but by evening I was tired), but most of the time I would pack their lunches in the mornings. I spent 20 minutes total. I'll take spending 20 minutes in the morning while my girls are getting ready for school over $40.00 that week. Honestly I saved $1,000.00 for the whole school year, this is me rounding down. Not too shabby if I do say so myself.

 

With this new school year coming, I'm hoping I can continue to do the same thing and pack healthy , fun, and cost efficient lunches for my girls. So stay tuned for those posts/pictures. In the mean time, here are a few lunches from last year.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Feel free to comment, make suggestions, or share :-) This year I am hoping to take better pictures. Going to go grocery shopping now since school starts for my girls next Tuesday. Hope I can find some good deals. Wish me luck!

 

- Jen