Cheez Sandwich

Talk about surreal, a local TV newsperson did an interview with me last night! There I was on television opening my refrigerator and chopping an apple. They did a very nice, positive piece -- another happy little shout out for veganism!
Anyhoo, here is my first attempt at making a homemade block cheese to use for slicing. I followed the "Gooda Cheez" recipe in Jo Stepaniak's Ultimate Uncheese Cookbook. I sliced it into little cheese sandwiches on wheat bread, with some Brussels sprouts, apple chunks (although not the same apple I sliced on TV -- that was an apple body double), and let's not forget two little organic lemon wafer cookies from Food Fight!
Verdict: I was thrilled that my cheese set up perfectly overnight and had a smooth, creamy texture. But we all felt that the Dijon mustard taste was overwhelming -- good for a sandwich but not for plain snacking. It all got eaten up, though. 3 stars.

Corn Chowder

Last night I made corn chowder using the recipe in the latest issue of PeTA's Animal Times (I also tried to make the coconut- chocolate mousse recipe in my iSi cream whipper with disastrous, runny, very non-moussey results -- has anyone else made this successfully?). I left out the onions, leeks, kale, and peppers for Little shmoo. This morning I woke up early and baked blueberry-banana-oat bran muffins. I packed one for lunch along with organic orange slices and baby lima beans.
Verdict: This chowder had a great flavor even without the onions. He ate everything else but ran out of time for the orange, so he saved it for his after-school snack. 4 stars.
P.S. Tomorrow is the last day to vote for the Bloggie Awards. Please spread the word and vote for yours truly for Best Food Blog, and thanks to everyone who has already voted!

Mini-Bs

I had other plans for today but last night we were suddenly gifted with a bag of mini-bagels. Shmoo is a big fan of the mini-bagel. I spread them with vegan cream cheese and packed them with some "corn tires", peas & carrots, and two mini-bananas. The smallest container holds four Sharkies for a treat, and for an extra Friday surprise I snuck in a soccer ball pencil topper.
Verdict: Okay, the growth spurt must be over for now, because the appetite is going down! After the picture was taken he asked me to take out one banana. At lunch he ate all the veggies (first, of course, isn't he a kick?) but only one of his beloved bagels before he was full. He didn't try to eat the soccer ball. 4 stars.

Roasted Veggie Hand Pies

I packed two lunches today so I could eat with the shmoo after helping out at school. I roasted potatoes and carrots and tucked them between layers of barley poppyseed pastry to make these little "hand pies" (mine are the flowers). I also packed us each some organic apple slices and "Tuscan Bean Medley" (chestnut limas and cannellini beans), a gift from my lucky aunt who lives near a Trader Joe's. For a treat I threw in spelt pretzels mixed with one of shmoo's all-time favorite snacks: Tofurky Jerky.
Verdict: He ate his entire lunch (loved the beans!) and then ate my jerky, too. I'm surprised that he likes things like jerky and vegan salami -- they're too spicy for me. 5 stars.

Stuffed Peppers

It's another noon release for the shmoo. In case you're suffering any lunch box withdrawal, check out what my lovely sister-in-law made this week: stuffed peppers. She used the recipe for nut and bean loaf I had made into Mini-Wellingtons back in October and added a bit of tomato sauce to it.
She tells me "They tasted great, travel nicely (I took one to work), and are very filling!"
So there's another great vegan lunch idea, but one you won't see in my shmoo's lunch as he doesn't like peppers (yet?). Do other kids like stuffed peppers?
Ah, my husband is now bemoaning the fact that I never make him stuffed peppers. Thanks, Bernusha, we'll be over for dinner!

Sweet & Sour Meatless Meatballs

Vegan M.D. Dr. Michael Greger recommended Nate's Meatless Meatballs in the Maximum Nutrition DVD that our local veg group showed this month. I decided to give them a try. I made them into some good ol' Grape Jelly Meatballs (so easy -- cook one package of meatballs while warming up 1/3 cup grape jelly and 1/3 cup chili sauce in a saucepan, stirring until the jelly melts; add the cooked meatballs and voila!). I packed them with half a wheat bun, split so Little shmoo could make a hot meatball sub if he wished; green & yellow wax beans & carrots; an organic orange; and four chocolate covered nuts for a treat.
Verdict: Oh my. Those meatballs are good. They are really good. I think you could serve these to even the most hardened carnivore and they would be none the wiser. Little shmoo was thrilled to hear that there were more waiting for him when he got home. 5 stars.

Phyllo Bundles

Crispy phyllo bundles filled with tofu "feta" made with fresh dill and lemon juice; a lemon soy yogurt topped with fresh blueberries; some gigantes plakis (Greek "giant beans"); and some chopped cucumber, tomato, and kalamata olives. Little shmoo also wanted to show all of you his latest Lego creation, which he is calling "The Fire Vulture".
Verdict: Shmoo devoured the crunchy phyllo bundles, yogurt, and the beans, but he wouldn't touch the salad because of the tomatoes. Even so, I must say we've made a lot of progress with tomatoes lately -- it used to be even ketchup was verboten. Now he likes ketchup, tomato sauce, tomato soup, and sweet grape tomatoes. 3 stars.

Bloggie Finalist!

My little Vegan Lunch Box is an honest-to-God finalist for Best Food Blog in the 6th Annual Weblog Awards (aka the "Bloggies")!

Check it out and vote for me here (scroll down the page to "best food weblog", click on Vegan Lunch Box, then scroll down to the bottom of the page and hit "Submit your votes!").

And remember, "A Vote For Me is a Vote For Veganism"! Really, it's so cool seeing a vegan site up there contending with omnis. It's like when I enter my vegan cookies at the county fair. Only, you know, bigger.

Ham Roll-Ups

Here are some vegan ham deli slices rolled up with vegan cream cheese; watermelon, cantaloupe, and red grapes, and a wholegrain Pumpkin Carob Chip Muffin. Someone sent me a link to this Japanese, non-vegan bento blog, and it inspired me to try packing little disks of corn-on-the-cob instead of my usual cooked frozen corn.
Verdict: The corn was a big hit! In fact, everything was a big hit. In fact, I think this kid must be going on a growth spurt or something because his lunches this week have been completely picked clean. He's also eating big snacks and big dinners. What are we going to do when he hits his teens? We might need to buy an extra refrigerator. 5 stars.

Cashew Butter Sandwiches

I had both white and spelt bread today, so I made two matching cashew butter and organic strawberry jam sandwiches, cut out with a large biscuit cutter. I also packed some baby carrots with vegan ranch dip, and we decided to give baby bananas a try for the first time. Here's something else new: Barbara's Snackimals Oatmeal Wheat-Free Cookies. I wasn't sure if these were vegan ("natural flavor" is so vague) until I saw them for sale over at Food Fight Grocery, an all-vegan grocery store I desperately want to visit someday. Beverage: plain fortified soy milk.
Verdict: These baby bananas were the perfect fit for the lunch box and tasted just like their bigger brothers. He didn't like the brown half-a-banana I packed him once, so baby-size was the way to go. I think he could have eaten two, though. With no horrifying crusts to deal with, every bit of the sandwich and everything else was completely consumed. 4 stars.