Lunchbox L♥ve

A category to help solve the world problem of what to put into the lunchbox.

Food for on the Go Homemade Snacks Lunchbox L♥ve

Lettuce & Tune Layers

Sometime ago I went through a phrase when I was convinced that low carb eating was the answer. Thankfully with time I have a more balanced view on things, and once again eat bread if I feel like it, potatoe like a crazy person, and noodles in moderation. To be honest, I struggle so much with persistent nausea (sometimes I think I should have called this blog The Nauseous Kitchen), that if a potato is all I want to eat, I am damn well going to eat that potato and be happy. I can’t see myself gaining weight when getting queasy half way through all meals! So I think I am in the safe zone.

But besides weight and health issues, sometimes I just don’t actually want to eat bread. Sometimes I just want crunch and freshness, but maybe something a little more grounding that a salad.

And so here are my coz lettuce and tuna ‘sandwiches’.

Low Carb Tuna Sandwiches Recipe

There has been some gorgeous flat leafed coz lettuce coming from the farm’s garden, and it works wonderfully to house the tuna. You can use any lettuce which has reasonably flat leaves. Big baby spinach might also work.

What I like about this recipe is that you can pack these up into a lunch box for an on the go lunch, which you can eat with your hands. Just pack a serviette as well, incase you get any tuna on your fingers. You could also place a couple layers on top of each other, and wrap these in parchment paper for a real ‘takeout style’ lunch box meal.

Enjoy!

Low Carb Tuna Sandwiches Recipe

Lettuce & Tune Layers

Print This

Serves: 1 Prep Time: 10 minutes Cooking Time: 0 minutes

Ingredients

1 tin of tuna
4 large coz lettuce leaves
Salt and pepper to taste
Mayo
Olive oil
2 sundried tomatoes cut into slivers (I use the scissors!)
Handful of fresh chives, chopped
Handful of celery tops, chopped (if you do not have any of these you can substitute in for parsley, or leave them out)
1 tablespoon lemon juice

Instructions

Mix all ingredients in a bowl except for the lettuce.
Lay the lettuce out, and spoon the mix onto two leaves.
Spread it out evenly over the leaves, and then top each with the other two leaves.

Notes

If you need a bigger lunch, simply double up the recipe.

June 5, 2017 0 comment

Gluten Free Homemade Snacks Lunchbox L♥ve Vegan ♥ Dishes

Flax Seed Crackers

written by Daniela Klein

I like crackers. A lot! Just think, without a cracker – eating a piece of cheese is just plain inappropriate eating-of-all-the-cheese. But combined with a cracker in hand, and you are now elegantly consuming a hor de ovre. Oh sorry, hors d’oeuvres.

Butter too, is a whole new game. Do you know how much butter one can get onto a cracker? The ratio can inconspicuously turn decidedly to the butter side of things, without anyone being the wiser. Try that with a slice of bread…. That must be one of the most maddening things in the world – someone looking pointedly at how much butter you are putting on your bread. Didn’t their mothers tell them it is rude to stare.. at how much butter someone else is consuming?

Phew! Anyway, what I am driving at here is that crackers are absolutely essential to a good life. One where snacking is stylish (not gluttonous) and butter comes in slices.

Now for the less brainwashed and more free thinking out there – this might sound ridiculous. But my dear mother so ingrained in me the evils of processed and refined flour, that I now cannot forget. How’s that for a great way to ruin someone’s passion for crackers?

Long story short, I have often hankered to design a cracker recipe which is not just ‘healthy whole grain’ or in some other insipid health category – but one which is packed with nutrition. As in, perhaps made out of a superfood… ?

(e.g. failed lentil crackers)

FLax Seed Cracker Recipe Gluten Free

Enter a few days ago. I found this staggeringly simple recipe on Ketoconnect.com for flax seed crackers.

I couldn’t have asked for more of a superfood cracker. 99% flaxseed? That’s some powerhouse nutrition people! Flaxseed is packed with Omega 3 fatty acids.

Besides being a concentrated form of goodness, ground flaxseed has been making a bit of a name for itself in the gluten free baking arena. It has this incredible STICKINESS which is all binding. So much so that it can be used in place of xanthium gum in some recipes.

Therefore, a recipe made with just flaxseed Must Work! And it did.

FLax Seed Cracker Recipe Gluten Free

What to Watch Out For

The are two things to watch out for with this recipe.

It is a good idea to let the ‘dough’ sit for an hour or overnight to release some stickiness.
Spreading out onto a baking sheet can take an extra few minutes than expected due to stickiness.
You might want to line the pan with rice paper. I used wax paper, and let’s just say that I ended up having to eat some wax paper : S if I wanted to make the most of all the crackers. (this stuff sticks guys)

Taste?

I like the taste. It’s not your classic wheaty taste, but it has got its own savory flavor. They are also pretty filling, so if you need something to eat on the go which will fill you up per bite – not a bad choice!

Nutritional Density

Sorry – I just have to include this. Dr Axe calls flax seeds one of the most nutrient dense foods on the planet! 1 ounce of 3 tablespoons of flax seeds contain:

30% of one’s daily magnesium requirement
35% of one’s daily manganese requirement
19% of one’s daily phosphorus requirement
10% of one’s daily selenium requirement
25% of one’s daily fibre requirement
6,338mg of Omega 3 (that is a lot! 1 Omega 3 oil capsule typically contains just 300mg…)

Top top it off, flax seeds also contain reasonable amounts iron, vitamin B6, potassium, copper and zinc.

FLax Seed Cracker Recipe Gluten Free

Flax Seed Crackers

Print This

Serves: hmmm Prep Time: 2 minutes Cooking Time: 35 minutes

Ingredients

1 cup ground flax seeds
1 cup water
1 flat teaspoon salt
1 teaspoon black pepper
2 tablespoons dried garlic powder (or you can use onion of your do not like garlic)
1 sheet rice paper

Instructions

Combine all ingredients (flax seeds and flavorings) and let to sit for +1 hour.
Place your rice paper into a baking pan.
Spread the cracker mixture onto the rice paper. Try to get it as thin as possible.
Bake on medium for about 35 minutes or until the crackers start to harden.
Remove from the oven and cut into squares.
Allow to cool in the pan and then remove from the pan.

Notes

If you find the dough difficult to spread, sprinkle a few drops of olive oil onto the top to facilitate spreading... I use my fingers! If you do not have rice paper you can try some cooking spray. However you might find that the crackers stick to the pan.

FLax Seed Cracker Recipe Gluten Free

February 24, 2017 2 comments

Gluten Free Lunchbox L♥ve Wraps

DIY Egg Wraps Recipe

written by Daniela Klein

For some reason it is very difficult to get rice wraps here where I live. Why, I do not know.

That is why I was enthused the other day when I saw on pinterest that you can make your own light wraps out of eggs! It was a post by the pretty lady from The Lean Green Bean. I have been trying to reduce the flower and increase the egg in my pancake recipe – forever! All in an effort to make a egg based wrap for myself.

All the time I never thought of just using eggs.

When I made these egg wraps I decided to whisk the egg quite thoroughly, as opposed to the original recipe which calls for mixing with a fork. This actually worked quite well in that it made the cooked wrap very light and fluffy. Yum!

The downside to this is that it makes them a little more fragile to turn. So do not start pan frying these and trying to turn them when you are in a temper or a rush.

It took me literally 10 minutes to cook my wraps because all you need to do is whisk the eggs, heat up the pan with a dab of olive oil, and pour in some egg. Flip after a few minutes, taking care not to break the wrap. You can work on roughly one egg per wrap.

I cooked up more than I needed, and stored some in the fridge. Tomorrow I am going to take them out and see how they taste after storage.

For the filling of my trial wrap I used white cheddar, a few bits of smoked salmon (only because I had some) and some shredded green beans.

But the beauty of these wraps is that they can be filled with anything! I am think of next trying a couple filled with some baked lentil sprinkle, lettuce and mayo! : )

Egg Wraps

Print This

Serves: 2 Prep Time: 3 minutes Cooking Time: 10 minutes

Ingredients

6 Eggs - 1 per wrap
Drop or two of olive oil for the pan
Filling Ingredients: Shredded green beans, smoked salmon, white cheddar

Instructions

Break the eggs into a bowl.
Whisk the eggs until light and fluffy.
Heat a skillet with a few drops of olive oil in it.
Pour in 1/6th of the egg mixture, rotating the pan to make it spread evenly and far.
Cook until the edges brown and curl ever so slightly.
Gently and carefully turn the pancake over and cook the other side for a few moments.
Continue until you have made all six wraps.
Fill with the above stuffing, or a filling of your choice!

Egg Wrap Recipe

January 24, 2017 0 comment