A heart-shaped pizza with heart-shaped veggie pepperoni and vegan mozzarella for Little shmoo's Valentine lunch. On the side I packed a honey tangerine and a few unsalted mixed nuts nestled in mini-cupcake liners. You can just get a glimpse of the Sweet Tarts he'll be handing out at the requisite class sugar-bomb exchange. I noticed that all the "conversation hearts" I saw at the store contained gelatin, so I asked shmoo to save them and nibble on the nuts, and I would trade him for some vegan chocolate when he got home. Verdict: Mangled pizza crusts and tangerine rinds littered the ravaged lunch box. Our home candy swap worked just fine -- "I've tried those candy hearts before and they weren't as good as chocolate, anyway!" he told me. You got that right! 4 stars.
Oh, yum, that looks so good. I've been craving pizza lately. Pity about the 'sugar bomb exchange', you'd think a school would be more sensitive to special diets and needs.
ReplyDeleteMoto, my 9 and half year old vegan son gave out the same treats. I packed him a vegan cupcake to eat while the rest of the class ate their treats. We do the same exchange thing on Halloween too with no complaints.
ReplyDeleteIt is great to take a peek in another vegan kid's lunchbox. I really appreciate the effort that goes into this Jennifer. I often get in lunch ruts where we alternate every other day the same few things since they are easy to pack. I am really striving toward additional variety in lunches when I read your blog. Thanks so much for sharing!
Oh man, now that's what I call "greasy gourmet". Personally, I'm Jewish, so pepperoni have never really appealed to me, but I love vegan cheese-stuff! It's a rare treat because its source it fairly far from my house and it's quite expensive. Do you use Vegan Gourmet?
ReplyDeleteI hope you and your family had a sweet Valentine's Day. :o)
My mommy surprised me with three (!) fancy vegan chocolate bars. I found it funny that people who remember apologize for not handing me a treat because it "contains chocolate" -- I've always found it odd that as far as cookies and things go, people pick chocolate as the thing I supposedly can't eat, not, like, eggs or dairy. I digress -- sorry.
Oh this pizza is the best!!!
ReplyDeletehow does this pizza travel without getting squished? does he make sure to carry it in a certain way? my lunches, no matter how carefully packed, always got squished.
ReplyDeleteYummm... That looks delicious! It's just that much too late to tell me about the conversation hearts... Today people were giving them out, and I ate three before asking to see the box (at which point I felt sick and reminded myself that I should've read the ingredients BEFORE...)
ReplyDeleteYour blog is extremely inspiring and you have amazing ideas!
Shmoo is right - I totally agree that chocolate is way better than those candy hearts! Who decided they were so good anyway?
ReplyDeleteThe fun is looking at the little messages on the hearts anyway! Bravo schmoo.
ReplyDeleteThat pizza shaping is a great idea. Next time I make a pizza, I'll definitely give it a go!
ReplyDeletehow funny- avoidance of crust strikes again! wasn't sure if pizza would qualifly for that one...
ReplyDeletei agree with schmoo, chocolate is sooo much better than those little hearts (which if you ask me just taste like chalk with some sugar mixed in!) this pizza is such a cute idea. one year i made my husband (then boyfriend) a heart shaped focaccia bread for valentines day.
ReplyDeletejust wondering-looks yummy- but how do you keep it warm? My darling peanut would turn his nose up at cold pizza. (How will he survive college I wonder-I lived on cold pizza)Perhaps your little one doesn't mind it.
ReplyDeleteThat pizza looks delicious--and cute ;) And there is probably nothing I love better than chocolate.
ReplyDeleteAs always the lunch looks great! What type of cheese is that you've got on there? Is it the vegan gourmet mozzerella? If so, how did you get yours to melt so well?? Mine never does.
ReplyDeleteI wish you were my mom!
ReplyDeleteor at least made me lunches.
shmoo is such a lucky lil kid.
thanks for this great inspiration.
Oh my gosh! I love it...you always go the extra mile for your schmoo~he's so lucky!
ReplyDeleteI find that a tiny swirl of high quality olive oil works perfectly for 'greasy vegan pizza' because the veg cheeses don't always have a lot of oil in them. Helps it melt, and tastes delicious. That looks like the tofutti slices--is it? I used to have good luck with Follow Your Heart, and here in Europe I use Cheezly, which I'm really hoping is imported by the time I return to the US! Getting Cheezly to melt correctly is much easier than Follow Your Heart.
ReplyDeleteYour lunch looks delicious! I love all the hearts. My husband found vegan truffles and gummy bears at the health food store and packed those into my laptop lunch. (I also got hummus and pitas, a little 'velami' sandwich, and soygurt. )
Your candy trade is a great idea. I've always wondered how vegan parents handle these things.
I loved the results description!!!
ReplyDeleteLooks FAB as usual. What a lucky boy!
>Do you use Vegan Gourmet?
ReplyDeleteI would love to try Vegan Gourmet, but it's currently not available in my area. Right now I'm using Tofutti, although I noticed "Soymage" vegan cheese at the health food store. I might give that a try soon...
>how does this pizza travel without getting squished?
I took all the containers out and set the pizza down directly in the lunch box on a piece of parchment paper. After I took the picture I gently crumpled a larger piece of parchment (you could use foil, too) and set it on top of the pizza. It acted like packing paper, taking up the empty space and holding the pizza in place.
>how do you keep it warm?
I baked it in the morning then packed it, so it's not icy-refrigerator cold but it is cold. But you'll never hear anyone complaining about cold pizza around here -- it's a favorite leftover snack. You're right, learning to like cold pizza is a college survival skill!
Hi, Angela -- your lunch sounds great (vegan gummy bears!), and how sweet that your husband packed it for you! Cheezly and Velami look good, I wish we had them around here.
Hi, Vegan_1 -- You're right, the lunch is packed horizontally and carried vertically in an insulated carrying case with handles. The contents are nestled quite snuggly, though, and I sometimes cover things with extra plastic wrap or parchment paper, so things stay put. I've seen him swinging his lunch case around like a wild man before school, and things are still in place when he opens it for lunch. :-)
I love it!! What an awesome valentine's day lunch! :)
ReplyDeleteI haven't found a complete vegan cheese around my part of the world. My daughter goes into anaphalactic shock with any animal protein, almost all the soy alternative cheeses we have found have casein, which is derived from dairy protein even if they say dairy-free! For us it's a life or death thing. I guess I need to go search some more , she would love to eat a yummy pizza like that!
ReplyDeleteI'm 22 years old, but I still want you to move in with me to make MY work lunches!
ReplyDeleteAnd I'm a meat-eater, too. I've been thinking about going veggie for quite some time now but am concerned about the extra effort -- but your site has inspired me to start trying some of your lunch recipes! Thanks!
I love the heart shaped pepperoni. We had heart-shaped pizzas too but my toppings weren't so cute ;-). I use the follow your heart cheese and have no trouble with melting. Ask your local store if they will carry it - I've gotten a few stores around here to stock it.
ReplyDeletetoo bad you can't find the follow your heart vegan gourmet cheese! it's by far the best i've ever had.
ReplyDeleteand, as per some of the suggestions on here, the best way to melt it is to drizzle with a bit of olive oil, cook the pizza (or whatever) in the oven as you reguarly would, and then at the end of the cooking process, broil for a few minutes. i always do this, and every single time my pizza has turned out just as melty, cheesy and gooey as any non-vegan pizza.
Hi,
ReplyDeleteI'm still checking in daily. You are a major inspiration!
I have added you to my list of favorites on my blog. Check it out sometime.
Keep up the great work!
Aurora
Another travel question - what did you do with the nuts? Did they travel OK in their cute paper cups, with the parchment paper "padding" to hold them in place, or were they moved to a sealed container?
ReplyDeleteI've been wondering about the portability for a while, things like the layered dips, or yogurt w/ fruit on top, etc. I'm tempted to buy a laptop lunch set for myself, but I'm afraid it'll be a jumbled mess by the time I get to the office.
You can get the Follow Your Heart cheese from Vegan Gourmet online at www.followyourheart.com
ReplyDeleteHope this helps, I have a hard time finding it in my area as well.
Just click "purchase online" over in the left border.
That is so cute! Thanks to your blog my DH has asked me to start a meal blog as well. Its only vegetarian though, and not vegan....but there will be your ideas featured at times...DH and DD LOVED your vegan fish recipe!
ReplyDeleteheehee....so cute! you are such a thoughtful vegan lunch box mom.
ReplyDeleteHi, Amy! Yes, the nuts nestled in there just fine with the parchment paper holding everything in place. :-)
ReplyDeleteThanks, Kim! I might order some and give it a try. I've heard so many good things about it!
Thanks, LadyRachelLynn! I'm so glad you liked the fishies!!
ReplyDeleteyummy
ReplyDeleteI love the heart pizza!
ReplyDeleteR2K
that is ADORABLE to the point of sickness!! i love it!
ReplyDeletethis looks delicious! where can i find the recipe?
ReplyDeletewow. i am a huge fan of your website. i love every post, but this one melted my heart. it's all over the floor. thanks so much for the work you put into maintaining your website. you touch and inspire many people daily.
ReplyDeleteCheck out the Uncheese Cookbook:
ReplyDeletehttp://www.amazon.com/gp/search/ref=br_ss_hs/002-2398755-3292052?search-alias=aps&keywords=uncheese
and you can control your own ingredients and not eat processed "cheese food" grocery store soy cheese anymore!
(but you need some time; making uncheese is kind of a learning curve, like anything)
t.
wow thats a very unique pizza. I congratulate you for making that. looks very delicious too. I will be looking forward for more pics of your lunch boxes.
ReplyDeleteIsn't imitation meat and cheese kind of like get kids to smoke candy cigarettes? Isn’t that kind of like wearing fake fur? Isn’t that kind of like having your kid have sex with a blow up doll? It’s not real but it’s not good either.
ReplyDeletelooks great!
ReplyDeleteI <3 knitting- Ditto.
ReplyDelete'real'vegan-what is with people comparing eating fake meat with sexual activities?
for kids i think its about fitting in a little better and getting some protien and variety in them.
what kid is going to want to go vegan if it means that he only gets salad and tofu? i think the transitions are made easier with fake meat.
and a lot of people say that its not that we didnt like the taste, it was we didnt like the way animals were treated and it wasnt worth hurting them.
were all doing good in the world, dont put us down