Today was a noon release day leading into SPRING BREAK -- hooray, an entire week off to play! Don't worry, though, I plan on posting a lil' bit of this-n-that next week to tide us over.For school snacktime today shmoo chose some fresh blackberries (I covered them with a bit of crumpled parchment paper to keep them from knocking about). He also wanted to take one of his new Dr. Fuhrman's Pixie-Vites to school, basically to show off. They arrived Monday, and shmoo is quite enamored! He stirs them into his juice (which he turns into some kind of elaborate science experiment role-playing game) or eats them straight à la Pixy Stix.
I love Dr. Fuhrman's vitamins (no, I'm not being paid). They're designed for people eating a healthy, plant-rich diet, with no mega-doses of anything, and no isolated vitamin A or beta carotene.
Personally, I think a good supplement can help fill in gaps even in the healthiest diet. One interesting study showed that vegan diets tended to be deficient in calcium, iodine and vitamin B12. The same study showed meat-eating diets tended to be deficient in calcium, iodine, vitamin C, vitamin E, fiber, folate, and magnesium. So either way, it couldn't hurt!
I LOVE blackberries!!!
ReplyDeleteYou were on the ReadyMade site today!!
http://www.readymademag.com/
Those look really neat. Unfortunately they have Strawberry in them and dd is allergic. :(
ReplyDeleteHow many come in the package? I see it's $30 or $40 for the order. Maybe I could get them for my other 2 kids...
Those berries look luscious. Yum!
ReplyDeleteOh man.. i'm gonna miss seeing your blog each day.. but i bet you're glad to have schmoo home all day. :-) Those vitamins are way cool.
ReplyDeleteOh, Jennifer, how I remember eating those awful sugar Pixie Sticks (stix?) as a kid!!
ReplyDeleteThese are very interesting - haven't seen them before, so thanks for the tip. Do you order them online or are you able to get them at your local stores?
I also love blackberries.
ReplyDeleteI wanted to thank you for being such a great resource. I am having a great time with my laptop lunchbox and I am enjoying Cheezy Broccoli Polenta (from The Ultimate Uncheese Cookbook that you have mentioned before) as we 'speak'. I added some mushrooms and garlic and made it with it veggie broth instead of just plain water. It is GOOD. I love any kind of polenta. Now I just need to get more blackberries.
Anyhow, I'll be looking forward to what you and shmoo will be up to for Spring Break!
I can see why kids would love those vitamins! They are a bit pricey though at a little over a dollar a day for them. Or maybe not? I don't know how much kid's vitamins usually run. I really like Dr. Fuhrman's book, so it might be worth a look into them for my little one. Thanks Jennifer!
ReplyDeleteYum blackberries! It makes me want to make a blackberry crisp...
ReplyDeleteCurrently I am giving my 2 year old Animal Parade vitamins (liquid) and the medium size bottle is about $18. I may try these Dr. Fuhrman's simply to see if it tastes better than the liquid form we're currently using (which I have tried and even mixed in with water and juice it still tastes funky).
ReplyDeleteThanks for the great idea!
Thanks for the vitamin tip!!
ReplyDeleteI'm such a lunch box adict now I made my own (not as fany and cool as yours)
ReplyDeleteI would like you to post something in the spring break week, or all of us are going to have withdrawal symptoms!!!
Wow, those pixievites are cool but very, very pricey.
ReplyDeleteEstef-go Vegan! Read/buy/steal/borrow John Robbins' The Food Revolution and realise why so many people are vegan not just because of health but ethics too.
ReplyDeleteAs for a cookbook Sarah Kramer's 'La Dolce Vegan' is dedicated to easy fast vegan eats and is really easy to follow.
Learning to cook now will really set you up for the rest of your life, and the pride you feel when your first cake is baked can't be beaten!
Jennifer, think of all the minds you are changing by having this blog! Every day I see someone's comment saying they are becoming vegan or vegetarian or at least trying to because of this ... that is amazing. You are changing the world! Keep up the amazing work!
ReplyDeleteYum blackberries! Haven't had those in forever!
ReplyDeleteThe pixievites look good too... though too expensive with that 2 a day suggestion for people over 4 years old, making it about $80 for 60 days. Wowza...
Re: pixievites -- couldn't you just use them once in a while as a treat -- I doubt Jennifer is suggesting that these replace the kids vitamins on a daily basis.
ReplyDeleteGreat blog! And congratulations on your win.
ReplyDeleteI Love Dr.Fuhrman too. He created a DHA (EFA oil) for vegans and it's incredible. I bought the vitamins, but for my friend; I need to order some for me too - thanks for the reminder.
Thanks for that study link too!
I hate to be the bearer of bad news, but the Pixie-Vites are not vegan - they contain cholecalciferol, the animal-derived form of Vitamin D (I think that is always, or at least almost always, from an animal source). I was just looking at them in his online store. Dr. Fuhrman's adult multi is vegan though (with ergocalciferol).
ReplyDeleteI a big Dr. Fuhrman fan too. I love his vegan DHA. I bought another brand of vegan DHA once, in capsules, and the SMELL!...ugh. I couldn't bring myself to try swallowing one.
Those blackberries look scrumptious!
I just stumbled across your blog and I love it. I'm not much of a meat-eater myself, and with my daughter starting school soon I need to find some creative lunch ideas (especially since peanut butter is banned there).
ReplyDeleteAwesome site. Thanks for the inspiration.
>>too expensive with that 2 a day suggestion for people over 4 years old
ReplyDeleteActually, the recommendation on the package is one a day, not two.
>>they contain cholecalciferol,
Oh, crud! The Gentle Care are vegan, so I just assumed he was using the same vitamin D in the Pixies. Maybe if we all pester them they will change the formula. These really should be vegan.
I had just ordered my Pixie Vites last night and didn't realize they weren't vegan. I just put in my email requesting a vegan version!!
ReplyDeleteThe Pixie Vites are $39.95 for a 60-day supply... I think someone thought there were only 30 in a bottle, but it's 60. Just to clarify. =0)
ReplyDeleteFor another tasty vitamin option, I'm fond of the Rhino bears (pangea sells calcium and multivitamin varieties).
ReplyDeleteI also like the calcium soft chews they sell, which are contain a somewhat more grownup level of calcium.
Calcium and B12 are the two things of which I try to make sure I get plenty. It hadn't even occurred to me to worry about iodine, though! You'd think Americans would all be eating enough iodized salt to get plenty of our quota of iodine!
I hate to be repetitive, and I know this has been asked many times before, but when will a cookbook with your recipies be available? !!!
ReplyDeleteI know that this doesn't directly relate to today's post, but I am new to this amazing web site and was looking through Jennifer's earlier lunchboxes. I've recently adopted the vegan lifestyle and was wondering what exactly tempeh and seitan are- I've noticed them both in Little Schmoo's lunches. What exactly are they made of, and do they taste like meat? I've found that I really am no longer fond of "meaty" tastes. Please if anyone can help me or give me some links to look at, I would greatly appreciate it. I only hope to be as versatile with veganism as Jennifer has proved to be. Thanks, and Jennifer I can't tell you how much your site has helped me.
ReplyDeleteThe berries look delicious. I am surprised your son is allowed to take vitamins to school, here that would subject a child of any age to expulsion as it is considered a drug and we have zero tolerance. Kids have been taken out of the district for less. I suppose he has a more lenient policy there.
ReplyDeleteI love your site, the lunches are fascinating.
Wow, beth, I hope they're willing to make exceptions for kids who actually need to bring prescription drugs to school, like insulin or asthma medicine, or stuff like that.
ReplyDeleteAnonymous about the seitan and tempeh--
ReplyDeleteSeitan is wheat gluten, tempeh is fermented soybeans. Neither really taste like meat in any way-- seiten especially tastes like, well, nothing, unless it's cooked in something (such as broth when it's being made, or sauces added when making it into a dish) and then it will taste like what you cook it in. It's very neutral, and I feel can have a very "meaty" texture. Tempeh has a more nutty taste, I guess-- it's a little strong and I'm not a fan of it, but again, it tastes nothing like meat. www.vegcooking.com has some good FAQs and such on vegan food. I'm sure other people have other great suggestions. =)
*shrug* I was refering to the daily recommendation on the site in which it says on suggested use: Children over 12 and adults - two Pixie-Vites daily (blah 12 yr, not 4yr, my bad)
ReplyDeleteI've been gone for a couple of weeks because I was so busy getting married, but I'm back now! I've really enjoyed reading through all the past posts I've missed. Jennifer, I can't wait for the cookbook so that I can utilize your recipes. I'm a housewife too. :) My new husband is becoming more of a vegetarian like me every day, and we both love your blog.
ReplyDeleteThanks again!
Thanks so much for the note on deficiencies in both vegan AND carnivorous diets. Too often I get bombarded -even by my mom, a 62 yr. old former RN -with "Well, aren't you lacking b12 and D and blah blah blah?" I always politely and gently remind her of how I keep on top of that as a vegan but somehow never thought to also inform her of the deficiencies in her diet, which according to that same study, seem much greater. Thanks for that!Not that I will harrass my mom, or anything...or my carnivourous bodybuilding dad with new info...:)
ReplyDeleteBTW, are blackberries in season or were they outrageously expensive? They're gorgeous! I'm in Toronto, so we're just thawing out now.
I know when I was in elementary school [I'm only a ninth grader now, so not long ago], they wouldn't let us take vitamins to school either. (I tried, a couple of times... they just got taken away.) The deal with perscription drugs was that inhalers were allowed to be kept with you, for obvious reasons, but anything else was to be kept at the office, and if you needed some you were to go see them.
ReplyDeleteThose pixie vites look really good, but I probably wouldn't give them to a child younger than 4 or 5, just because of the "If I can push the stool up to the counter when nobody's looking, I can have some more." factor. However for a child shmoo's age they'd be awesome!
I love all your pics! Have you thought about posting them in the laptop lunches group at Flickr?
ReplyDeleteBlackberries!
ReplyDeleteI remember the good old days when I used to go out picking blackberries, (my grandma used to live next to a field where there were literally hundreds of blackberry bushes) which we made into a delicious blackberry pie!
As the child of near-to-the-earth living hippies (and I've got the common/improper noun first name to prove it) with a vegetarian mother, your boxed lunches look so much like what I ate as a child in the early 80s. (Except the tempeh. My mother couldn't get me to eat tempeh for a million dollars and my own personal rocket ship.) I never watched TV, drank soda, had refined sugar (or wore shoes unless under durress) and turned out just fine! Well done giving your child choices - his childhood won't seem any different from anyone elses to him now, but when he looks back at all you did for him he will be glad!
ReplyDeleteI've been in lunchbox withdrawal on the weekends, until I realized squirrel http://squirrelsvegankitchen.blogspot.com/ updates daily. Now if someone woud actually cook for me :-)
ReplyDeleteBBs are the best! Im not so sure about suppliments, but probably cant hurt!
ReplyDeleteR2K
What will you do with the pixi stix vitamins now that you know they're not vegan? Will you use up the package but not order them again, or will you throw them away?
ReplyDeleteI'm always kind of torn with questions like this. Part of me wants to throw them away, but I know that isn't financially practical for me, nor is it really going to change anything. But eating even trace animal products has been known to make me sick (like if I'm eating out and am told something is vegan... and a few hours later I'm certain it wasn't... without going into more detail).
What are you going to do with the pixies now? Maybe give them to a friend? Or will you just finish them up?
Blackberries are delish. When I was living in Georgia (looong time ago) I used to go blackberrying with my mom. We would pick a ton, and she would make this thing where she lined a bowl with slices of white bread, cooked the berries a bit, then put more white bread on top. Then she put a small dish on the top of the mixture, with a can of soup on top, and weighted it down. It turned into a pudding-like thing we called "slump." Sounds gross, but it was awesome!
ReplyDeleteSeems like blackberries have the power to remind us of our childhoods. . . ha! I'm idealizing, though. . . I used to hate blackberrying, because mosquitos like me as much as I like blackberries!
In September I was a faithful reader, everyday I looked forward to it, then I lost my internet connection. As soon as I got it back this was my first stop. I can't wait until you finish your book!
ReplyDeleteWhy hello! This is my first time ever stopping by here and I'm ever so glad I stumbled across your site! I'm a vegetarian-thinking of becoming vegan teenager and I pack my own lunches, and while these lunches might be for younger kids I'm excited to make some for myself. Thanks!
ReplyDeleteMeg- I would agree with Vegan knitting about the vanilla yogurt and fruit. I love all of Wholesoy's flavors, and I have also tried (and liked) Trader Joe's soy yogurt. I definitely think that adding fruit (whether fresh, frozen or dried) makes it an extra special treat. Other good add-ins are granola or yogurt. Although sometimes I just enjoy yogurt plain. But I definitely think that it takes better than regular yogurt. Good luck and I hope you find a brand that you like. (one other kind you might try is silk- I have yet to try it, but I think I just might)
ReplyDeleteCorrection: I wrote the previous comment and realized I meant to say "granola or raisins" not "granola or yogurt".
ReplyDeleteI just want to thank you so much. I have a 5 year old who won't eat food that is too mushy, too crunchy or red (yup - that includes ketchup and jam). Mostly he goes for beige or green. Makes it super tough to find him stuff to eat. He will NOT eat meat - neither one of my kids would at this age - my now 14 year old son would eat steak and baked potatoes if I let him now!! This lunch box blog is AWESOME for my 5 year old. I sat him down with me and we perused the pictures. I got him to point to stuff he might like, or at least was willing to try. The hardest part is that he isn't allowed to bring peanut butter to school. He can have peanut butter sandwiches at home but not in his lunch. Ive taken to making homemade buns with soy flour, multigrains etc just to load them with as much goodness as possible!
ReplyDeleteLoved your croissant recipe as well :)
Many thanks!!!
Anne-Marie
Sigh. Came home from midterm madness, and FORGOT about this week.
ReplyDeleteBOOOOOOO for spring break!
Tell schmoo that I'm jealous of his break (and sad about the lack of lunches) while I languish on term papers Looooong past his bedtime....
Anne-Marie, can he take some other kind of nut butter to school?
ReplyDeleterockscissorspaper> We have a similar approach to veganism. As for the vitamin sticks, of course we're going to give them to a friend or use them up. Just as I believe in non-cruelty toward animals, I believe in non-cruelty toward the planet and I'm not going to send them to the landfill.
ReplyDeletecee, at least you GET Spring Break! I miss school.
ReplyDeleteCee, my spring break is still a month away!
ReplyDeleteHas anyone tried making their own soy yogurt? I've seen a machine in the Williams-Sonoma catalog, but it's not really something I can justify taking up space in my tiny kitchen. The best soygurt I've had is a French kind that comes in little glass jars. It had the perfect balance of tanginess, sourness, and sweetness.
I really like the WholeSoy cherry, but find their soygurt too sweet in general, and the silk stuff is less oversweetened but it's not really in any way exceptional.
Vegemite is one of the best sources of B12. It is excellent spread THINLY (a lot of Americans make the mistake of spreading it thick - don't, you won't like it) with margarine or vegan butter spread on toast.
ReplyDeletere: yogurt- I find that if I'm craving frozen yogurt, I pop some soygurt into my mini chopper with frozen berries and voila! Instant frozen yogurt. Maple syrup is brilliant for adding some zing, too, instead of honey. As for yogurt makers, I grew up with one and loved it but that was for dairy; I think there are specifics with soy or nutmilks, like adding probiotics or some sort of cultur starter. It mike end up being more econmomical if you're iinto tons of soygurt.
ReplyDeleteLet us know!
Oh, my, apologies for the above typos- my quinoa was boiling over!and once again, LOVE the blog!
ReplyDeleteJennifer: Thank you so much for this blog! I have made so far... "fish" sticks, fondue, & empanadas. We resently became vegan, and you have made the transition a breeze!
ReplyDeleteHeather
Anonymous, in the cookbook "The Garden of Vegan: How it all Vegan Again", Sara Kramer actaully includes directions on how college student strapped for cash and space can make their own soy yogurt in the microwave. It might be worth a try. My favourite is Soyogurt by Olympic Dairy. The colours are all natural -- like red cabbage, etc, and they're not super sweet.
ReplyDeleteI miss the lunchboxes. But I hope you and little schmoo are having a nice spring break.
ReplyDeletethis is related to dizzymisslizzy's comment about shmoo's infancy: how does your pediatrician feel about him being raised vegan? our dr is more than fine with my kids being vegetarian, but my daughter leans toward the vegan (as do i), which seems to make the dr nervous (i guess especially omega 3 and calcium-wise). just wondering what your experience has been!
ReplyDeleteI think Jennifer said shmoo chose to become vegan himself. He had started out omni as a baby. Maybe I'm not remembering correctly. I'm sure a balanced vegan menu for a baby would be easy to do, just as it is for an adult. Thirty years ago my Mom was sure I was going to keel over and die when I became vegetarian.
ReplyDeleteHere is a link to squirrel's blog for those in lunchbox withdrawal http://squirrelsvegankitchen.blogspot.com/
It seems Dr. Fuhrman's Pixie Vites have kicked up some good discussion here. If you want to know more about why Pixie Vites aren't vegan, check out this post on DiseaseProof.com: click here.
ReplyDeleteOr copy and paste this hyperlink:
http://www.diseaseproof.com/archives/supplements-389-the-vegan-view-of-pixie-vites.html
Hi Jennifer!
ReplyDeleteHope you and Shmoo are enjoying spring break! I just have to write and commend you again on this amazing site. I have been reading for a while, and I LOVE discovering the new lunches each day. But today I went back and read almost the whole blog, from Day One... and I am soooooo in awe! Has Shmoo ever eaten the same lunch twice? I have trouble finding different meals for my daughter to last just a week!
So many many many kudos to you.... I absolutely love your site and I want to gobble up everything I see in the pictures!
Thanks for continuing to awe and inspire!
Here's another vegan lunch blog for those of you going through withdrawl vegan lunchcast (uses the same lunchbox too) and just a really great vegan food blog vegan kitchen.
ReplyDeleteAnonymous, thank you so much for the vegan lunchcast and vegan kitchen links. They are helping me in my withdrawls for schmoos lunches. I also wanted to ask everyone (and Jennifer of course) what they think of pomegranates and pom juice. Is it really as healthy as it's hyped up to be? Is it a good way to get some dark berries into your diet? Thanks!
ReplyDeleteI wanted to let you know something I discovered, because I saw your entry about the tuno. I am not vegan but I am vegetarian, and as a kid i used to love a tuna sandwich, so I'd been craving it forever. Now ill warn you I use mayo in mine but I'm sure veganaise would do just fine. I mash up chick peas with a fork real well, put mayo in with it, and then add relish (my parents always put relish in tuna as a kid), i also ad tiny tiny pieces of red onion, salt and pepper. mix it all up and it's almost UNCANNY. I hope you try this out and enjoy it! I take it with me to work often for lunch!
ReplyDeleteJane, try one of the three other sites mentioned above hafqtjdb
ReplyDelete:-)
I'm not sure if anyone else noted that cholecalciferol is the only source of vitamin D3. Ergocalciferol is vitamin D2. However, according to the research I just did, each are equally effective in the human body, so as long as Vegans get lots of good sunshine along with their supplements (and any other fortified foods) they're in good shape! :) I myself (while not vegan) need to make sure I keep my Vitamin D intake high because it helps to prevent Multiple Sclerosis which my father has.
ReplyDeleteWhat was lunch today?
ReplyDeleteGet these snakes off my plane
what about calcium? i have no problem getting plenty, but i worry about my kids, who don't like all the calcium-rich food i do (also, i read recently that you don't actually get much from fortified soy milk, because it all ends up on the bottom of the carton).
ReplyDeleteTo Annonymous, re: Pomegranates:
ReplyDeleteI don't drink the juice becuse it's insanel expensive, but I DO eat the fruit. It has high levels of antioxidants, boosts immune defense, is packed with vitamins, and, most important to me, it TASTES GREAT.
A funny side note, I recently quit smoking (FINALLY!!! After so many attempts!) and Pommegranates SAVED me. Whenever I would get a craving for a cigarette I'd eat a pommegranate (at work or home, obviously, not like, on the street). Because it takes so long to eat all the little seeds, and because they gave me something to do to occupy my mouth, by the time I'd finished my snack the craving would have passed. :-)
thanks for the ideas, rockscissorspaper -- i hadn't thought about ground almonds hidden in stuff, that's a great idea (i'm always sneaking in flaxseed meal). and i think i should try kale again, and other greens. my 13 year-old loves everything, but my 9 year-old's a bit picky...
ReplyDelete