LUNCH BOX 2..chutney and cheese sandwich

Although getting up early to prepare the lunch box is quite a bother, the planning , the preparation and the presentation is something that i look forward to...
I have been making lunch boxes everyday for 6 days a week as there have been no public holidays in the last few days.


There is lot of rush at the time the lunch box is packed and you will see me being on the edge all the time, till my son finally is out and on his way to college...
I try to take pictures of my lunch boxes but sometimes its difficult to arrange everything and take so nice pictures and that depends on the menu of that day if its something that’s easy, something that I can complete packing, arranging and putting it in his bag (This is important- as the day I don’t put it in the bag it remains on the table).

.But whatever said and done i love doing these little things for him as this is the time he needs me and there will be a time when he no longer needs my help and will be independent and thats the time we miss what we do for our kids so i believe that you should do as much as you can for them, when its possible for us and acceptable to them.

Chutney sandwiches are real life savers, and so last week when i had very less time to cook a good meal for tiffin,and so i gave him chutney sandwiches and added cheese slices to it

you will have the chutney recipe here.

For those who would like to have the green chutney right here.

GREEN COCONUT CHUTNEY

INGREDIENTS:

One cup coconut grated

2 green chilies

½ cup coriander leaves

3 cloves garlic,1 inch ginger

marble size ball of tamarind

½ tsp sugar.

salt to taste

METHOD:

Very easy, just grind all the above ingredients with minimum amount of water .Your chutney is ready . its is a very delicious spread for bread sandwiches.

LUNCH BOX 1

Finally, its time for me to prepare some nutritious tiffin boxes for my son

My son will have to carry his lunch box with him every morning, off course after I feed him a good and healthy breakfast.
Breakfast has been an important part of our morning ritual so as per habit I prepare a proper nutritious breakfast every morning too.
Today I made kanda , batata poha recipe you will find here which is a very typical maharashtrian breakfast which is very nutritious and filling you will find the recipe here.
This is just the beginning for me and I will go on trying new things and new combinations and share them with you. I would love it if my blogger friends come up with some suggestions as to what I can prepare a day earlier so that it becomes easier to cook the next morning.
I will try to give my son something that will keep him going till the evening as he will return only after 6.00 in the evening i.e. if the Mumbai traffic permits him, or it’s even later.

Kids usually tend to eat junk when they are on their own and out of the shell and that’s what I don’t want to encourage and hence something filling made by mom will always make him eat it, as he knows that lots of effort and thinking has gone into preparing his tiffin box .

I personally feel that if you always put ready made things in his box he will not care for what is given to him as he will feel that he might as well eat from out, but the love and affection with which a tiffin box is made goes a long way when it comes to his health as well as his food habits.
A combination of homemade and ready made can be done to make the tiffin box interesting, or should I say you can make it semi-homemade by using some ingredients from out mixed with home made stuff. Here in India one cannot avail of the facility of using a microwave at school or college and so he has to eat his food cold and so certain dishes like pasta or fried stuff won’t taste good after 5 hours of preparation. I know that everything tastes great when it’s hot but the kids have no option.
I usually plan his tiffin the night before as I have to make breakfast and lunch quite early.
This is just the beginning it will be an interesting journey as I think up of new stuff which will help me and other moms like me too.

This is what I gave him today
Fried rice with scrambled eggs to be mixed when he has his food .In this recipe mentioned i have used noodles with rice you can add or omit its optional.
3 small bananas for his small break at 12.10
His lunch break is at 3.10

I prefer not to give him sweets, but will definitely give him one or two occasionally

THESE ARE THE FEW THINGS I PLAN TO MAKE

Various parathas
Dosas
Sandwiches
Pulaos
Noodles

Can my friends suggest some more…