Yay burgers *insert happy dance*, it's back to school in South Australia for Term 4!
It's all systems go, for the slippery slide towards Christmas. Izzys class is straight into it next week, with a week of swimming lessons. Rehearsal is well underway for the end of year concert for gymnastics too. I'm on the committee this year, so I am going to busy with this as well.
This first day back Nude Food Day, today, the 17th of October. Nude Food Day aims to raise awareness of healthy food choices and reducing waste for a healthier planet.
It's just a normal week for this household though. I've packed Nude Food lunch box since Izzy was in Kindy.
Last year, Isabel was called up to the front of assembly with her lunch box, because for the whole week, she had accumulated NO waste. That means no unnecessary packaging or wrapping.
This benefits in so many ways-
- Reduces costs of waste removal for the school
- Creates less pollution by using reusable containers, instead of one time use zip lock bags or wrappings
- Reduces rubbish for landfill, creating a healthier planet
- Saves money. Instead of buying individual packets, buy in bulk and use reusable containers
- healhier lunchboxes = healthier kids.
To acheive this, I use a Nude Food lunch box. It has seperate compartments and containers for food storage, eliminating the need for wrappings.
I buy in bulk packets, like sultanas, biscuits and popcorn for example. I then fill the small containers from the bigger packets, instead of lots of small packets, reducing waste.
I do bake on occassion, and try to add fresh fruits and veggies, like carrot and celery sticks.
If I add something like a muesli bar, I unwrap it first and then add it to the lunchbox. It's habit. I am weird I know.
What are you doing to reduce waste at your place?
This recipe comes from an extremely ratty cook book I own, The Beachport pony club family favourites.
It's from the eighties I guess, and I picked it up in reasonable condition from a garage sale eons ago. It's been well used in that time and hasn't fared well. I still make recipes from it, like this oat slice.
To be honest, its the first time I've made this particular slice. I usually make a chocolate slice from this book, everyone loves it. With the second week of school about to begin, I got my bake on because the cupboard was bare. It had all the ingredients for this one, so I went with it.
The recipe was supplied by Elaine Marshall. It's a good'un.
Oat Slice
120 grams butter
2 cups rolled oats
1 dessertspoon golden syrup
1 small cup coconut
1 small cup sugar
Melt butter, golden syrup and sugar in a saucepan. Combine dry ingredients in a bowl and pour in the melted butter mix.
Stir well until combined.
Spoon mixture into a greased and lined slice tray, and smooth out.
Bake at 170 degrees for 25-30 minutes.
Slice into squares when still warm.
I let it cool in the tin, then melted 100 grams of chocolate in the microwave. I then drizzled the melted chocolate over the top of the cut slice.
Izzys' auntie Margi chose a good week to come along and watch assembly a couple of weeks ago. Izzy won a very special award.
Izzy's class won a week long competition, to see who could accumulate the least waste from their lunchboxes. It coincided with a performance called 'Wiping out waste', at another local school.
Izzy won an individual award, because for the week, she accumulated no waste. Which meant she had no rubbish left over from her recess or lunch. By rubbish, it means no cling wrap or wrappers, because she would have had the odd apple core or banana peel. So I guess they didn't include recyclable materials in that waste. I've also noticed there is now a green waste/chook bucket outside the classroom door.
I was so proud, happy and just a tiny bit emotional. Just a little bit, no tears were shed people!
It wasn't until Margi mentioned it, that it dawned on me. That award, was a credit to me too.
I thought I would share how I achieve a waste free lunch box, most weeks.
While Izzy was standing with her other classmates, in front of the assembly, she was holding her lunch box. It's the same lunch box I used last year at Kindy. I bought a new one for school this year. It a Nude Food Movers lunch box, I bought at Woolies.
It has a compartment for a sandwich, so there is no need for wrapping it. Under the sandwich there is plenty of room for a piece of cake, some biscuits, cut up veggies or fruit.
There are a couple of containers with screw top lids for loose things like popcorn, sultanas or savoury biscuits like Shapes, or rice crackers.
I don't buy individually packaged snacks. I buy a big bag of sultanas, whole packets of crackers and make my own popcorn. I then fill the coloured containers with whatever I have at the time.
These lunch boxes are available in a larger version too, with an extra compartment of containers. If I had one of these, I'd probably put yogurt in one container and freeze one with water in it, as an mini ice brick to keep it cool.
Do you ever think about what you can do to reduce waste?
I am so glad I had a go at making my own muesli bars. I don't know what it is, but I see the boxes of bars at the supermarket and I just can't bring myself to buy them. Maybe it's the price, or maybe it's just because I haven't had success in getting my kids to like them.
I was quite surprised my fussy eater loved these, and Brett was full of compliments about them too. I thought they were extremely tasty, and will surely be making them again. Soon! I can see that they are not going to last long.
I am so keen to try out different ingredients, besides chocolate chips and sunflower seeds. Like apricot and almond, choc chips and chopped up dried banana, or white choc chips. As an afterthought, a tablespoon of sesame seeds probably wouldn't have gone astray in this batch. The possibilities are endless.
You should try make some, they are yumptious scrumptious and fantastic for school lunch boxes.
4 cups rolled oats
1/4 cup flour
1/2 cup dessicated coconut
1/3 cup packed brown sugar
3/4 cup chocolate chips
1/4 cup sunflower seeds
1/2 teaspoon salt
1/2 canola oil
1/2 cup honey
Preheat oven to 160C. Line a baking tray with baking paper.
Place oats, flour, coconut, brown sugar, chocolate chips, sunflower seeds and salt in a large bowl. Mix to combine.
Whisk together the oil and honey until well combined. Add to the dry ingredients until the oats are well coated with the oil mixture.
Tip onto baking tray and mound into a rectangle, about 22 x 28 cm and 2 cm thick. I used an egg flip to help push down and flatten the top and neaten the edges.
Bake for 40 minutes, until golden.
Cool for 10 minutes on the tray, then slice into 24 bars.
.JPG)
.JPG)
.JPG)
.JPG)
