Lunch Box Wednesday # 3

This month it has all been about Squeeze’ems.  I haven’t been able to experiment with much else as Oscar has been obsessed with what I can put into the Squeeze’ems.  Which is a good thing because I know he’ll enjoy having them in his lunch box, and the frozen ones will do double duty in keeping the lunch box cool.  I’m just not sure how many of those little caps will make it home – based on the number that we had to search for in the lounge room!

So what did we fill them with?  Well here’s a few examples:

• Frozen or refrigerated:
  • 100% Banana Ice Cream (high amines)
  • Pear Slushy – frozen pear juice (low chemical / Failsafe)
  • Pureed cooked Red/Golden Delicious apple (moderate salicylates)
  • “Honey” yogurt – fresh vanilla yogurt mixed with Rice Malt Syrup (low – moderate amines)
  • Pear yogurt – fresh vanilla yogurt mixed with pureed pear (low – moderate amines)
  • Banana yogurt – fresh vanilla yogurt mixed with mashed banana (moderate – high amines)
• Refrigerated only:
  • Vanilla Instant Pudding (low chemical / Failsafe)
  • Chocolate / Carob Instant Pudding (low chemical / very high amines)
  • Vanilla Custard  (low chemical / Failsafe)
  • Chocolate / Carob Yogo  (low chemical / very high amines)

If you’ve got any suggestions of your own, I’d love to hear them.

The Chocolate Chip Rye Cookies may not sound like a healthy lunch box treat, but they are probably healthier than many things kids have in their lunch boxes.  I sacrificed a Gold Lindt Easter Bunny for these biscuits, which I based on this recipe from Eating Appalachia.  I didn’t have any spelt flour so used wholemeal instead, and I don’t know if it was this or the other substitutions I made, but my cookies didn’t spread thin like the originals, they stayed nice and chunky, and were very yummy.  They also lasted well and didn’t crumble in the biscuit tin, which is another reason why they would be good in the lunch box.

 Previous Lunch Box Wednesday Posts:

Lunch Box Wednesday #1 – Rice Balls, Egg Rolls, Carrot and Zucchini Muesli Bars

Lunch Box Wednesday #2 – Preserving Fresh Fruit, Pear and Vegetable Bread, Chewy Gluten-free Crackers

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Flavoured Yogurt

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Serves	2
Prep time	10 minutes
Allergy / Intolerance	Amines, Artificial Addititives, Artificial Colours, Egg, Glutamates, Preservatives, Salicylates
Suitable for	Amines Challenge, Gluten Free, RPAH Elimination Diet - Amines Allowed, RPAH Elimination Diet - High Chemical, RPAH Elimination Diet - Low Chemical / Failsafe, RPAH Elimination Diet - Moderate Chemical, Salicylates & Amines
Meal type	Lunch Box, Sweet Things
Misc	Child Friendly, Freezable, Pre-preparable, Serve Cold
Occasion	Picnic

Making low chemical flavoured yogurt

Ingredients

• Fresh vanilla yogurt (made yourself, e.g. Easiyo)

Low Chemical / Failsafe

• Rice malt syrup
• Maple Syrup
• Very ripe pear

High Amines

• Very ripe banana

Moderate Salicylates

• Cooked Red or Golden Delicious apple

Directions

1.	Combine 1 cup of vanilla yogurt with any of the following (adjust quantities to suit taste):
2.	1 teaspoon rice malt sytup
3.	1 teaspoon maple syrup
4.	1/2 banana, mashed
5.	1/4 cup pear, mashed
6.	1/4 cup cooked apple, mashed
7.	Store in the fridge or freezer.

Note

Low Chemical / Failsafe, Moderate - High Amines, Moderate Salicylates

 

“Fresh yogurt, natural, plain or vanilla” is listed in the 2011 version of the RPAH Elimination Diet Handbook as low chemical. The previous 2009 version listed “Yogurt” as moderate in Amines. The definition of “fresh yogurt” in the 2011 version is not clear.  If you are using fresh yogurt, made yourself, then the amine level of that ingredient will be low.

 

Carob / Chocolate Instant Pudding

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Serves	12
Prep time	4 hours, 15 minutes
Allergy / Intolerance	Amines, Artificial Addititives, Artificial Colours, Egg, Glutamates, Preservatives, Salicylates, Wheat
Suitable for	Amines Challenge, Gluten Free, RPAH Elimination Diet - Amines Allowed, RPAH Elimination Diet - Low Chemical / Failsafe, RPAH Elimination Diet – Very High Chemical
Meal type	Lunch Box, Sweet Things
Misc	Child Friendly, Pre-preparable, Serve Cold

Easy do-it-yourself carob or chocolate instant pudding/

Ingredients

For the pudding mix:

• 4 teaspoons raw cocoa or carob powder
• 3/4 cups wheaten cornflour
• 1/2 cup caster sugar
• 1/2 teaspoon salt
• 3/4 cups powdered milk

To make:

• Milk (2 cups for 3 serves)

Directions

To make the pudding mix:
1.	Place all the ingredients for the pudding mix into an airtight container. Seal the container and shake well.
2.	The pudding mix can be used straight away or it can be stored for several months.
To make the pudding:
3.	Combine half a cup of pudding mix in a medium saucepan with two cups of milk.
4.	Heat the milk mixture over medium heat, whisking continuously. When the milk has thickened like custard and can coat the back of a spoon remove it from the heat.
5.	Pour into a single bowl or three smaller bowls. Place in the fridge and allow to set for 4 hours.

Note

Low Chemical / Failsafe, Very High Amines, Gluten-free

Half a cup of dry pudding mixture makes three serves of pudding.

Use carob for a low chemical version.  Raw cocoa is very high in amines.

Chocolate Chip Rye Cookies

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Serves	11
Prep time	20 minutes
Cook time	12 minutes
Total time	32 minutes
Allergy / Intolerance	Amines, Artificial Addititives, Artificial Colours, Dairy, Egg, Glutamates, Preservatives, Salicylates
Suitable for	Amines Challenge, Dairy / Lactose Free, RPAH Elimination Diet - Amines Allowed, RPAH Elimination Diet - Low Chemical / Failsafe, RPAH Elimination Diet – Very High Chemical
Meal type	Lunch Box, Sweet Things
Misc	Child Friendly, Pre-preparable, Serve Cold

Delicious chocolate chip cookies using rye flour.

Ingredients

• 3/4 cups rye flour
• 3/4 cups wholemeal flour
• 3/4 teaspoons baking powder
• 1/2 teaspoon bicarbonate of soda
• 3/4 teaspoons salt
• 100g butter or Nuttelex
• 1/2 cup brown sugar (lightly packed)
• 1 ripe pear (mashed)
• 1/2 teaspoon vanilla extract
• 100g dark chocolate (chopped into smallish pieces)

Directions

1.	Preheat the oven to 180°C and line two trays with baking paper.
2.	Sift the flours, salt, baking powder and bicarbonate of soda into a medium-sized bowl, adding the husks back in.
3.	In a separate bowl cream the butter and sugar.
4.	Add the pear and mix until just combined. Stir in the vanilla.
5.	Add the flour and mix until just combined. Stir in the pieces of chocolate.
6.	Take a heaped teaspoon of dough and roll into a ball, flatten it slightly and place on the baking tray. Repeat for the remaining dough, leaving some space in between on the trays.
7.	Bake for 10 - 12 minutes, until the cookies are cracked and the tops are dry and brown. Allow to cool on the trays.

Note

Very High Amines, Low Salicylates, Low Glutamates

I haven't tried this variation yet, but I'm pretty sure these cookies would work with soy carob buttons substituted for chocolate, to make a low amine version.