We've got it - Our own Laptop Lunchbox!!

I have been going on about these great Laptop Lunch Boxes for ages and we have finally got our own. We are in gorgeous San Francisco and my cousin surprised us with this for Soeren. I am a happy Mommy now and can't wait to get started making all the great KIGA snacks when I get back.

These are just so perfect for healthy meals as it allows you to portion different types of ingredients into the smaller containers. It also contains cutlery so Soeren will be a real proud little laptopper in Germany soon.

As a matter of fact I am considering getting one more or at least a few additional containers to take back.

Just want to thank Amy Hemmert and Co. for bringing such a great vision to life and allowing mommies all over to pack healthy, nutritious and fun meals for their little ones. Of course we adults can use these for work too.

Sweet Cinnamon Apples and French Toast - reinvented

Hi y'all! Here is the roving foodie, reporting today from wonderful St. Louis. Thanks to all who wished me a nice vacation. I am having a fantastic time and eating like a hog ;-) So many different types of cuisine to go through that one just forgets about that slim waistline.

Here is something so amazing I made the other day for my family that I thought I would share it with you. What's more it is a perfect snack to pack in a snack box for big and small!

Hope you like it!

Recipe here.

Last one!

Not only our last lunch box for the next couple of weeks but also only one today. Soeren is at the hairdresser's with Tom so he will be missing the morning snack at the KIGA.
He said he needed to look good for America!! Sometimes I really wonder where he comes up with these comments.

For example, this morning he saw (by accident) that I had bought him a book about airplanes and airports. I had planned to give it to him in Frankfurt airport. It is a book we have often taken out from our local library and he loves it. I decided to go ahead and buy it. So, of course he was all excited when he saw it and wanted to show Tom. I told him that he had already seen it and that he could not have it right now!

Of course there were tears and then a bad mood .... in his disappointment he says to me "You can fly to America alone, I don't want to fly with you!"

Both Tom and I really laughed at this one. It was so adorable. In the end I managed to explain to him that it would be more exciting to look at it in a real airport so we can look at the real live examples.

I will try and post a few interesting things here on our trip. For example when we finally get our hands on the Laptop Lunchboxes I have been dying to have.

Afternoon Snack: A luscious Ricotta Buttermilk Pancake with maple syrup and a few fresh strawberries. A great way to start the vacation. mmmmm!

Adult Variation: You all know I am not gonna change a thing here .... just a couple more of these fantastic pancakes. They taste great with strawberries so pack yourself a large portion of these too.

See you soon!

Mangoes, Fruit Quark and a Veggie Sandwich

Still trying to finish off the leftovers ... I have so much stored in my pantry and freezer I think if a bomb hit us and our place was the bunker we'd be able to feed the neighborhood for at least a week! Amazing what one buys in the cooking euphoria. I found stuff in the dark dungeons of my pantry that I thought "huh? now why did I buy THAT?" Even my freezer looks more like a extremely well stocked freezer of a fine restaurant ... at least Tom won't hunger to death when we are away ;-))

Morning Snack:
Those Veggie Sticks were a huge hit! I thought they would be because they taste great. I used two a a sandwich filler on this finnish bread. I added a tiny helping of hummus and just mashed the sticks with a fork. The finnish bread was spread with a helping of cream cheese and then this filling. Ripe, succulent, sweet and plain old heavenly tasting mango as the fruit of the day! A little almond and berry organic bar to nibble on today.

Afternoon Snack:
Honey cake sandwich with butter in between and some fantastic mixed fruit with quark and a pinch of grape sugar.
A kinder Country bar as a treat!

Adult Variation:
The whole time I was preparing these boxes I kept thinking "This is so yummy I have to make the same for my lunch today." That's why I think it will also be great to keep it the way it is. Just a little more hummus. Soeren's taste buds are still developing to this type of food.
Hope you enjoy it!

Wraps & leftovers!

It seems that one or two of you appreciate the Adult Variation section. I was seriously thinking of discontinuing that section. But at least for Suelily I won't!!

Morning Snack: I have been cooking like a world champion lately and have a few leftovers of this and that. So as we are leaving for the US on Saturday I do not want to go out and shop on a large scale. On the weekend I made Chiles Rellenos and had a few tortillas left over. Today I decided to use one and make a nice wrap for Soeren with stuff I had in the fridge. I spread some cream cheese on the tortilla and put a few slices of grilled turkey breast, a slice of cheese and a few rucola leaves. A squirt of ketchup keeps the whole thing together. I had a little nibble and it really did taste fantastic. In the fruit department are wedges of the last of the juicy organic oranges. A few dried cranberries and some cashew nuts as treats.

Afternoon Snack: A chocolate bun put a smile on his face and organic grapes with vanilla custard a huge grin. He added his Actimel (fruit yoghurt drink) and said it would taste good with the bun. Isn't it just great when kids become so independent?

Adult Variation: The wraps are a great lunch box filler. You can fill them any way you like and of course with some spicy salsa. Try this for a filler: Chop up some grilled chicken or turkey breast into a bowl. Mix with cream cheese and sprinkle a little hint of curry powder. Chop up a few pineapple chunks and fill the wrap. Add some crunchy lettuce leaves and you have a asian style wrap filling! As for the custard I have something neat for you try. Put a few sponge finger biscuits in a container, pour a tiny bit of orange juice to soak the biscuits a bit and add some fruit over the top. You can just use grapes if you like. Now pour the custard over this and cool for a few hours - overnight is the best. Neat dessert to take with you eh? Make sure you keep this away from your colleagues!

Rice Pudding and a donut

Well, as the days get closer to our vacation it seems everyone is getting excited in my family. The mails are pouring in from all over with things to remember and to do. I myself have lists in almost every room of the house. I jot down anything that I remember on one of the lists. Tomorrow I'll be putting everything down on one list! My washing machine is doing overtime at the moment too .... washing stuff that we want to take with us. Although, and I keep saying this, I do not want to take too much as I want to buy plenty of cool clothes and stuff from the US. Especially for Soeren who needs a complete new wardrobe every season.

Morning Snack: Today it's a mixture from the world. We have Italian with a mozzarella, tomato and basel sandwich on sunflower toasties. Rice pudding with cinnamon - is that English, Indian or German? A few carrot sticks and a small treat for being so good and tough at the docs yesterday - a packet of jelly babies.

Afternoon Snack: To cover the American cuisine we have the donut filled with strawberry jam. Sugar high! To balance that nice juicy and sweet melon chunks!

Adult Variation: I am beginning to wonder if this section is being read by any of you. I added this part because a few wrote to me a while back and said that they take lunch boxes to work and would love suggestions. However, I have had no feedback ever since! Is this section useful for the adults? Or should I remove it?
I do take time to to think of ideas based on the days lunch box and hope that it is taken well.
Today's variation would be a large ciabatta roll, stuffed with mozzarella, lots of juicy tomatoes and chopped basel! I mentioned this in one of my previous posts, if you do not like rice pudding substitute it for something else. You can take a nice fruit custard for example.
Sugar high Tuesday for you? Then go for the donut. If not a nice plain yoghurt and a few granola bits would be perfect ... of course the melon stays. In such nice warm weather a refreshing melon is always a welcoming treat!

Spelt bread and Veggie Sticks

Wow! Our last week before we take off to the US. Really looking forward to this trip as I have not seen some of my family for a few years.

What about the Daily Tiffin, you ask? Well I do have one or the other idea of what I can post. It might not be daily, but things that can be related to the Daily Tiffin.

Of course I am also open to your ideas. Is there anything you might like to see me report about on my travel to the States? Let me know and I'll see what I can do.

Oh yeah ... and a happy birthday to Sonu! Wow bro you're getting old!!

Morning Snack: See that luscious spelt bread jam packed with sunflower seeds. Well it is a new bread that our baker tried out. I can tell you it is really delicious. Soft and moist. Most of the spelt breads I have tried were rather dry but this one is certainly a keeper. I spread it with some butter and laid a slice of cream cheese. With it I gave him a veggie stick. It is an organic sort I bought at our store and crammed with broccoli, corn, carrots, potatoes and cheese. A few cucumber slices and apple wedges for the crunch!

Afternoon Snack: A soft french chinois with chocolate chips and a chocolate chip vanilla yoghurt. How chippy?

Adult Variation: I would suggest to use some of the veggie sticks in the sandwich. Now, if you can find a nice bread like the one I used then go ahead and cut up 2 thick slices. Spread with some cream cheese and lay a few veggie sticks and a couple of lettuce leaves in between. You can also use a pitta bread, as I can imagine these sticks would taste great with the pitta bread and a nice helping of tahini. If you are going for this arabian type taste then try out a fatoush. A simple salad made from tomatoes, cucumbers, lettuce and roasted bread crusts. A delicious meal.
Either a chinois or a nutty danish pastry for your afternoon nibble, with a nice iced coffee will probably make your day. Hope you have a nice one!

Oranges, Fritatta & Chocolate Croissant

Mahek requested that I go back to the photo format I was taking earlier. I am glad to get feedback like this. It is quite important to me to know what you think is good and what needs improvement!

Suelilly was kind enough to give me tips on what to take to the US - from yesterday's post and Sini sent me a long mail telling me how I can keep Soeri occupied during the 10 hour flight to the US. Ladies I thank you for all that. Sini, we will chat soon ;-)!

This is just so fantastic. Just keep the feedback, mails and comments coming.

Morning Snack: Frittata (or omelet) with herb, cheese and peas. I used a heart shaped form to cook the eggs in. Can you make it out? I used some rye Finnish bread and spread that with butter. These orange wedges are so succulent and sweet I ate two yesterday evening. I have to get a few more for the weekend.

Afternoon Snack: A chocolate croissant from our organic bakery and a few salted pretzels and crackers to munch on. As a thirst quencher - Strawberry flavored Actimel!

Adult Variation:
Love the fritatta. Just fill it with what you like best. If not peas anything else goes. Oranges are so refreshing when the temperatures start rising. I like them pure but a in a mixed fruit cocktail with some strawberries and mangos would make not only a great drink but a scrummy dessert!
You know I am going to keep the croissant ;-) and you also know I love munchies while working so nothing changes here either. Enjoy!!

Cheese with Sunflower seeds and Nutella!

Hectic, hectic! Just a little over a week to go before we leave on our vacation to the US and I think I am breaking into a panic. Besides, the usual chores and work I need to get a few pressies for family in the US! I kinda dislike this act. No, I love getting my loved ones gifts and the more the better but those in the US get everything! So, what does one get cousins, brothers, aunts, uncles etc. from Germany. Souvenirs? They are what I call "dust catchers" and remain in some back shelf corner! No! Stuff to wear? In the US clothing is cheaper than here in Europe and they get the finest there too.

I think I am going to make a collage of photos from Soeren and get those developed a few times for the entire gang. I also bought 2 bags full of delish European chocolates as the chocs available in US cannot in actual fact be called chocolate!! What do you think are those good gifts?

Morning Snack: I love "Bonbel's" new cheese. It is light and buttery and has sunflower seeds in each slice. So, I packed a dark bread, baked with the goodness of flax seeds, sesame seeds and sunflower seeds, with a nice large slice of this soft cheese. I cut up some juicy yellow bell pepper sticks and a portion of natural yoghurt with chocolate chips.

Afternoon Snack: "Nutella for everyone" ... I have yet to meet someone who is not keen on this stuff. We love this stuff as well and even though we try to go easy on this chocolaty, nutty spread, we can't resist pigging out on it every now and then.
I spread some on two thin plain wafer type crispy bread. To balance that out I added a large bunch of juicy grapes.

Adult Variation:The simplicity of a nice cheese sandwich is often taken for granted. Somehow on dark breads and rolls the cheese tastes even better. So pack a dark roll with your favorite cheeses. Use two or three sorts. Mozzarella, Cheddar and Emmentaler go well. If you have a few sweet gurkin pickles then add a couple of these. Those in the UK will know the lovely "Branston Pickles" - a nice helping of this is the best thing that can happen to a cheese sandwich!
Keep the rest as it is - like I said - i have yet to meet someone who does not like Nutella!

Egg the Hot Dog!

A quick round up today as I need am off to a team meeting! Hope you don't mind if I skip the ranting today ... some of you are glad I am sure ;-).

Morning Snack: I egged the hot dog today! Huh? We've all heard of the chili dog and the kraut dog right? But today I decided to make a Egg Dog! I had made a bit of my egg salad last night and decided to use this for Soeri. He fancied a hot dog so both of us came up with the "egg dog" ... cool eh? In a nice rye roll, with flax seeds we spread the egg salad and added the hot dog. With this a few crunchy cucumber batons and some juicy melon.

Afternoon Snack: Now there is something about rice pudding that I can never make my mind up about. There are times when I like it and others I can't stand it ... Soeri is somehow no different. But when he wanted me to buy some yesterday I thought we'll try it with one container first. We got some cinnamon flavored rice pudding and I put half of the container for the lunch box. Still have a few luscious strawberries and they went into the container pure! A little muesli milk bar as a treat made him beam from ear to ear.

Adult Variation: Try out the Egg Dog idea it really tastes great. I would advice to add a touch of mustard to it to make it tangy and tasty. A fresh cucumber salad would be an ideal companion to this. Just salt slices of cucumber and soak out all fluids. Add a bit of sour cream and natural yoghurt, salt and pepper and a few herbs. If you like you can also add a touch of garlic to it. Melon is a delicious way to end the lunch. For the afternoon if you like rice pudding then go for it, but I know not everyone craves it. How about a berry trifle? The lovely Ashwini has a great recipe for one.

Smorbrod & Buttermilk Ricotta Pancakes

Another week, this one a short one thanks to the bank holiday weekend we just had. Hope you all had a great long weekend too.

The lunchbox is filled with plenty of yummies, so let's get to it.

Morning Snack: While we were holidaying in Denmark, back in 2004 we discovered that the Danish cuisine was not only quite delicious but also very simple. A very popular type of meal was the Smorbrod, which is basically an hope faced sandwich served with all types of fillings. Here the imagination had no limits, of course the most popular filling being those with fish.

I was rather delighted when I found the bread base that makes a Smorbrod here in our supermarket. Today's tiffin is a tribute to our holiday. I filled the Smorbrod with butter, a slice of Mediterranean cheese - with herbs and pine nuts and some honey glazed turkey breast.
A nice juicy green kiwi and a few dried cranberries covers the fruit options today.

Afternoon Snack: These delicious Buttermilk and Ricotta Pancakes I made last week and froze were just perfect with a container full of fresh strawberries. Maple Syrup was not desired by Soeren so that is why there is none.

Adult Variation: I know that Smorbrod is not available in every country. However, you can be creative and use what you do get. Instead of the Smorbrod use a slice of toast with the rims cut off. A bit of lettuce and finely cut honey glazed turkey breast and of course a little helping of tangy mustard. Or if you do like fish, you can always substitute smoked salmon and a nice honey mustard sauce instead. Otherwise, I think the rest of the snack box is ideal. I do hope you will try the Buttermilk and Ricotta Pancakes and let me know how they tasted.