The Lunch Box Event Round Up

When it comes to kids picky or fussy eater is a common feature. There are probably just a handful of them who would happily eat anything that mom makes (but they are really hard to find, I am still to find one). This is one reason that I came up with the lunch box event because with my hands on experience finding a new dish to satisfy my fussy eater was getting difficult. It has to be the perfect combination of healthy and yes, has to definitely appeal to these highly choosy taste buds. Here is a round up that I am glad to present and am sure many moms like me would love it. Thanks for all the support and encouragement and making this event possible.

1)The first to come in is Suma Rajesh’s French fries with cheese. French fries and that too with cheese is sure hard for the kiddies to resist. A wonderful recipe to start the round up with.


2) EC has two very healthy and tasty dishes with her green chickpeas cutlet and the masala idli fry (the less oil version)
- Green chickpeas cutlet


- Masala idli fry


3)Laavanya has healthy, colorful and quick to make peppered vegetable rice that the little ones and their dads too are sure to love.


4)Jaishree has the ver so popular vegetable Frankie with her special personal touch.


5)Priyasuresh has a great spread with varied dishes to suit each mood and palate.
-Spicy Mozzarella Sandwich


-Tofu Fried Rice


-Tofu crispy Balls


-Tofu Paratha


6)Soma Rathore a first time visitor has smiling face bunnies ("My bunnies were happy too")that kids would definitely find attractive.


7)Sandhya Kannan has an elaborate and healthy lunch box spread with her Gobi with Jeera rice.


8)Anudivya’s Garbanzo beans potato cutlet are an innovative recipe for the lunch box.


9)Pavani send in a South Indian favorite, the snack idli her style.


10)For snack time here is a delicious recipe from Yasmeen. Since its low in sugar good for lunch time too, her son loves them in lunch box.


11)Sangeeth Raghunathan has a healthy eat the Spinach rice. A easy to cook and good to eat recipe.


12)Sireesha presents a wonderful way to get your kiddies to eat vegetables without fuss. The veg rolls look simply superb.


13)Divya Vikram has this lovely flavored coriander rice. The color is superb and I am sure the taste is heavenly.


14)Neema has this tasty garlicky noodles and chicken wraps that both moms and kids will find difficult to keep off.
-Garlicky Noodles


-Fusion Chicken Wrap


15) Sudeshna, a first time visitor has send in two wonderful entries. A meal in itself the egg sandwich and a sweet ending the caramel pudding.
-Caramel Pudding


-Egg Sandwich


16) A mouth watering traditional favorite from Uma. The Moongdal Kichdi is a wonderful meal idea that all moms would love to use to get their young ones to eat healthy.


17)Shifali Katyal has a traditional favorite in the Delicious and Yummy Poha


18)Supriya Natu has send in these wonderful squash puris that her 5 yr old daughter loves. I am sure many moms too would find in a great way to treat their little bundle of joy.


19)Cham has these delicious looking Mac and & Veg tofu frittata. Healthy, tasty and definitely appealing.


20)Anjali J. has a definite kids favorite the bread pizza.


21)Lakshmi Raman has send in a traditional south Indian recipe that her 1 ½ year old daughter loves.
Ingredients:
Idli batter
Onion
Carrots -litte bit
beetroot - little bit
Paneer [very very little]
Corrinader leaves

For seasoning:
Mustrard
Curry leaves
1 geen chille
little bit ginger finely chopped
Ghee

Vessel needed
In India it's called "Paniyara Kuzhi" In US it's called "PANCAKE PAN"
Method:
Take dosa batter , add onion, carrots , beetroot , paneer ,corriander leaves[cut very nucely so that they'll not take it and throw it]
a pinch of slat[very little]. Do the seasoning and add it to the dough [if your kids are introduced to spicy food , remove green chillies
before adding to the dough].Mix well

Put ghee in the kuzhi's and let it become very hot[ you can get non-stick also. But with ghee it tastes good for the kids]
and out dough and wait for that to get cooked
Once it's cooked , turn the other side and cook.

22)Raaji is a new reader to my blog and liked the theme. She has for us the delicious semiya upma and some lip smacking pasta her style.
-Semiya Upma

-Evelyn's Favorite Pasta

23)Bhawana has a power packed Moong Dal Chille for your picky little eater. Taste and health all in one.


24)Pallavi has send in four irresistible entries that would make any mom happy. This is not all her blog is sort of a mini round up with a range of kid friendly recipes.
-Yummy Healthy Wraps


-Nutritious Whole Wheat Blend Rotini With Vegetables


-Tofu Pad Thai


-Quick n Easy Tofu Stir Fry


25)Vidhya iyer has healthy chapathis that are a rich source of veggies.


26)Jujubs has a wholesome lunch box for her little one “Muffins” . Her lunch box includes penne pasta with philadelphia chive and onion cream cheese together with milk.She has Caesar salad, grapes and pound cake slices to complete the meal.


It was absolutely awesome presenting this round-up. If by any chance have missed out on any recipe or entry please do mail me at vandanarajesh2@gmail.com

Bread pizza and the end of the lunchbox event

I have been planning to make bread pizza for long. Just love it. Crsipy toasted bread and a spread of my favorite veggies, with a generous helping of cheese and tomato sauce. Yummmm....Had planned it for the close of the lunchbox event and here it is for you. This was supposed to be a kids special but loved every dish that came. Guess it brought out the child in me. Will be posting the round up by the weekend.I would like to thank you all for having participated in the event. I was glad to see that some entries came in with 3-4 dishes.

Was a little skeptical initially as I had taken a long break with the shifting and all. Was doubtful about the number of entries that would come in. Thanks for not disaapointing me. It was a nice heady feeling seeing all the wonderful entries. I am sure the roundup would be one that most moms would look forward to. A great way to get their bundle of joy to eat well and healthy.

For now my bread pizza recipe.
Ingredients:
bread slices- 5 to 6
onions -1 (finely chopped)
Tomato - 1 (finely chopped)
Capsicum - 1(finely chopped)
Grated cheese
Tomato ketchup
Salt to taste



Method:
Mix all the vegetables together with a pinch of salt. Take a slice of bread and spread a tsp of tomato ketchup on it. Add a generous helping of grated cheese on it and grill in the oven for 4-5 minutes till the bread slices are nice and crispy and the cheese is all melted. Top it with some tomato ketchup. You could even make a nice smilie face on it to make it more attractive to your little ones. Yummmm....

To end my thrid event I couldn't think of a better ending than these delicious easy to make bread pizza and yes, I am topping it with chocolate. No not the bread pizza. I liked this chocolate lava acake and this video makes it so very tempting. I am sure both you and your little ones would enjoy this rich chocolate lava cake that is so full of chocolate.

This is one of the many tried and tested recipes that I like on the food site http://www.ifood.tv. I like this lively and vibrant platform that is a wonderful effort at getting foodies together. Feel it offers a nice opportunity for some great food recipes and videos and also a good blogging platform.I also blog here. You can find more of my blog posts here.

How to fillet fish?

Fish is a popular non-veg ingredient at my place. In fact, my mom is an expert at making fish curry and believe me haven't tasted better curry ever, not even in the best of restaurants. Cleaning fish is also something that she does with so much ease. However, when I got married and decided to cook fish for the first time, thought it was easy having watched mom doing it for so many years. I have got used to her style of cooking fish without the skin and just can't eat fish with the skin on. I guess it is good for health reasons as well. Eliminate all the extra fat in one go and what you have is yummy healthy fish.

Believe me, it just wasn't easy learning how to take off the skin. But over the years yes, I can do it quick and easy (but definitely still not as well as my mom does it).

I found this video on how to make fish fillet and also de-skin fish on a site and thought it would be of help to many of the beginners. Liked the step by step manner in which they have explained it here and it is done with so much ease. I am sure going to make the fillet at home next time on.


Cooking Tips & Techniques:How To Fillet A Fish

There is a good news that got me thrilled recently(no its not what you are thinking of...no such thing). It is that my blog got chosen on "foodie blogroll" for the 3-Months Milestone Members reward badge and is currently on display on their home page. Excited I was indeed to read the mail that came in and yes, my prize has been shipped I was told.

Tomato Chutney - enjoy the goodness of tomatoes

The tomato sure is a wonderful ingredient that not only lends its vibrant red color to the dish but also several health benefits. The benefits only get better when it is cooked. Here is a tomato chutney recipe that I am sure is made with slight variations in most Indian homes. A wonderful accompaniment for your crispy dosas, fluffy idlis, rotis and can even be served as a dip or spread. I like the tasty tangy flavor and prefer to have it with the dosa. This recipe goes to the event hosted by Ruth "Monthly Mingle- Sensational Sides"

Ingredients:
Tomatoes - 2 (big, sliced thin and long)
Onions - 4 (medium sized, sliced thin and long)
Red chilli powder - 1 tsp(I prefer to use Kashmiri chilli powder)
Salt to taste
Sugar -1 tsp
Curry leaves 8-10
Cookig oil -2 tbsp
Mustard seeds(3/4 tsp) and curry leaves(6-8) for tempering



Method:
Take a pan and add in 1 1/2 tbsp of oil. Add the tomatoes, onions and salt. Saute till the tomatoes and onions turn soft. Add the red chilli powder and saute for half a minute. Now add the curry leaves and sugar and saute for a minute. Take out and let cool. Put in the blender and make a coarse paste out of it. Temper with mustard seeds and curry leaves and serve.