Whole Wheat Pita and Sides

A healthy school lunch:

cut the whole wheat pita bread in half (I found a smaller size one)

spread some hummus

a few slices of organic turkey breast

sliced cucumbers

and a few greens

side: red pepper and snow peas

for dessert: strawberries and blueberries

for snack: organic dates

Also our school is a trash free school so all the kids bring in their lunch boxes and reusable containers.

The containers came home empty. Our daughter ate everything with the exception of one date!

Healthy habits start early in life! If you eat healthy, your kids will too!

School Lunch

I find it very surprising that parents are okay with their children eating lots of sugar every day... When I stop by my kids school and have a look at what kids are eating I find a huge variety... some are extremely healthy while others send lots of cookies, cupcakes and other things for dessert. Do the children really need all these sugary treats? Do some parents think that by doing that they are making the kids happy? It may end up being a temporary happiness as their bodies may be "fine" with them now but in the future they will suffer the consequences. Then I hear parents say "My child is a picky eater". Well, if the option of sugar is just not there then they will learn to eat healthy.
My kids get plenty of sugary treats in birthday parties they get invited to, so for school lunches the only sugar they get is from fruit and the rare time I may send dried fruit.

So I'll be posting pictures of what I send with our daughters to school,maybe that will inspire other parents who don't know what to send...

Beef and Vegetable Stir Fry

Preparation time: 15 minutes
Cooking Time: 10 minutes
Serves 4

Ingredients:

350 gr tenderloin, thinly sliced (just omit if you're vegetarian)
a package of rice noodles or egg noddles (about 300 grams)
sesame seeds
sesame oil
soy sauce
1 bunch broccoli - cut in bite size
4 large Shitake mushrooms - cut
1 large red pepper, sliced
fresh ginger (thumb size), peeled and finely sliced
3 garlic cloves - chopped
5 spring onions - sliced
a handful of snow peas
1 zucchini - cut in bite size
half bunch of coriander
a bit of chives

Cook the noddles according to package instructions. set aside.

Heat a large Wok, add a splash of sesame oil, the garlic, ginger and beef. stir fry for about 3-4 minutes. add a splash of soy sauce and and stir fry for a few more seconds. tip the contents into a plate including the juices.

Put the Wok back on heat, add a bit more oil, all the vegetables and stir fry for about 3 minutes, add another splash of soy sauce. add the beef to it. mix it all and turn off heat.

To serve, add noodles to the plate, then the stir fry. Garnish with chives, coriander and sesame seeds.

Vietnamese Salad Rolls

Here's a recipe from my friend Vietnamese friend Loan. She makes these amazing salad rolls. They are tasty and healthy :)

Serves 8.

Ingredients:

1 Package of rice wrappers
1/2 Package of rice noodles
1 Jar of Hoisin Sauce
1 Bunch Cilantro
1 Bunch Mint
1 Iceberg lettuce - shredded
1/2 Salmon or you can cook some shrimp instead
1 English Cucumber - fingers
2 Cups Shredded Carrots
3 Garlic Cloves - chopped

Put all these ingredients in separate bowls:
cilantro, shredded lettuce, cucumbers, carrots, mint

you'll have them on your table ready for people to make their rolls

Salmon:
Bake it in the oven for 20 minutes with a bit of sesame oil, you can also add some cut up spring onions and add soy sauce and broil it.

Sauce:
In a saucepan brown the garlic in a bit of oil and add the hoisin sauce and 1/2 jar of water. simmer for a minute. it's ready.

Noodles:
cook according to package instructions

Rice Wrappers:
hold each one under warm water for about 20 seconds each side. put each one on a separate plate.

Now you're ready to make your rolls:

Start with the noodles, then carrots and all other ingredients. Wrap them like burritos. Eat with the dipping sauce.

Yummy!!

An amazing combination! Khoresh-Bademjun

Featured on Jamie Oliver's website: http://www.jamieoliver.com/foodwise/article-view.php?id=3643

I have to say this is one of my favorite dishes and Persians really knew what they were doing when they created this delicious recipe! I made it last night and the best thing is that we had leftovers for lunch today :) Persian food tastes even better a day after cooked! So here is the step by step recipe for 6 people! Preparation + cooking time = 1h

INGREDIENTS:
- 500 grams of beef cut up in small pieces (make sure you wash it before you cook it, you never know who has touched that meat!)
- 1 large onion
- 4 cloves of garlic
- 1 teaspoon of each: tumeric, cinnamon, salt and pepper (you can add more according to your taste)
- 3 dried Persian limes or if in powder form - 2 teaspoons or more if you prefer it a bit more sour (you can find them in Persian shops). If you are not able to find these, use the juice of 1 lime.
- 6 small eggplants peeled and cut into long strips of 1cm thickness
- 1 can of diced tomatoes
- 2 cans of whole, peeled tomatoes

DIRECTIONS:
1- Fry the eggplants and put them aside (eggplants soak a lot of oil in, when frying. So, make sure you let them rest on paper towel to take out the excess oil)

2- Brown the onions and the garlic in the same pan you previously fried the eggplants in.

3- Add the beef and the spices (salt, pepper, cinnamon, tumeric) and cook the beef until brown, then add the diced tomatoes, mix it and let it cook for another 2-3 minutes.

4- In another pan, pour some of sauce from the canned whole tomatoes, and add a layer of eggplants. Add the Persian limes and pour the beef sauce on top. Add another layer of eggplants and to finish add the whole tomatoes cut in half and the rest of the sauce on top. Sprinkle some salt and cinnamon, put the lid on and let it cook for 30-45 minutes in low heat.

5- Serve it with plain Basmati rice and "Mast-o-Khiar"

Fruit bouquet

ingredients:

any fruit you like: pineapple, strawberry, kiwi, grape, melon, etc
wooden skewer
chocolate bar to be melted


cut up fruit pieces, mount them on the skewer and serve them like the picture.
melt the chocolate and you can dip your fruit in it!
yum!!!

this was one by our mom, Faezeh! thanks!

Pesto Pasta

This is an easy recipe and quick to make - for 4 people!

You'll need:
- 3/4 of a regular package of pasta - of your preference (I used thin spaghetti) 
- 2 table spoons of olive oil
- 1 red pepper cut into small thin slices
- 4 cups of spinach leaves
- 1 medium onion thinly sliced
- 3 cloves of garlic chopped or minced
- 1/2 jar (or can) of diced tomatoes (or 1 medium fresh diced tomato)
- 1 jar of pesto sauce (you can make your own if you want)
- 1 table spoon of honey
-  pepper (no salt, as the pesto sauce already has enough)

Directions:
- Cook the pasta in hot boiling water with no salt, as you will use some of the pasta water in the sauce (and the pesto sauce already has enough salt).
- In a hot pan pour the olive oil and add the garlic to brown; once the garlic has browned add the onions and let it fry for about 2 to 3 minutes until it softens. Add some ground pepper (just a pinch) and the honey to caramelize the onions/garlic. Turn the heat to medium and add the pesto sauce and the diced tomatoes. Mix them in for about 3 minutes and add the cooked pasta, the pepper slices and the spinach. Also add half a cup of the pasta water (it gives the sauce the right consistency). Don't overcook the pepper and spinach so that they are still crunchy when you take a bite! Mix it and it'll take a minute after that for it to be ready to serve!