Subtitle: Healthy food that toddlers might each.
Seriously, I came across Julie's eureka! idea* for a toddler-friendly pasta that is easy to self-feed when I was reading Emma B.'s great post about her fruitful morning in the kitchen. It's been in my head for a few weeks, and I finally got the stuff together to get it done yesterday.
And I'm so disappointed ... I can't figure out what I did wrong. Well, I might know, but I could use some hints from anyone who's been successful in the creating of the ideal Lunchblock.
First try: Using a generic brand wagon-wheel pasta and a name-brand Alfredo pasta sauce. I crammed the leftovers into a container and waited. Of course, it fell apart when I tried to slice it. Should've followed Julie's directions.
Second try: I purchased a variety of Annie's shells and cheese, and for this attempt, I used the Mild Mexican flavored one. Of course, I assumed that it is created like any other mac & cheese, so I returned the cooked and drained shells to the pan, added the milk and butter, and poured on the powder. I stirred it all up and added some peas, then shoved it in a container. When I found excess space in the container, I stuffed a piece of bread on top and pressed the lid on. Surely it should've worked ... right? Well, it certainly took on the block shape, and sliced well, but fell apart when the babes tried to eat it. Tons of little shells all over the place.
So I guess I should've followed the cooking instructions, and omitted the peas, which might have impeded the stickiness of it all.
Third Try: I did it all right ... this time I went for the tried-and-true orange cheddar variety, and eschewed any veggie add-ins. I followed the directions religiously, adding the prescribed amount of milk and butter, mixing the sauce separately, and pouring on top of the cooked shells, then mixing it up.
I stuffed a container in the same manner, and yes, it was a great block. Great shape, slices, chunks. I was so excited that I'd found the perfect, easy meal ... and alas, it fell apart in their fingers. Now I have little pieces of orange and white shells dotting my dining room carpet. Yes, I know I should vacuum. Or get a dog.
But really, what am I doing wrong? I did use whole milk vs. skim, and I added 1 tsp butter vs. the 2 that's recommended on the box, but that couldn't be it, could it? Now I feel very challenged to figure this out ...
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4 comments:
I too tried the lunch block. And although my block held together pretty well, minus the occasional shedding piece, my twins will NOT eat macaroni cold. It has to be hot or nothing, and being hot ruins the whole block effect, naturally. They don't throw much food, but I could really do without the "Blue Man Group" mixing of all the food on the tray into slop and slapping it with both hands in a wild frenzy and the finale of throwing the sippy cup as far as possible.
OMG Chickenpig, I love the "blue man" group reference ... that's exactly what mine do .. mix, slap, throw ... repeat.
I dunno - mine eat the regular macaroni shaped pasta with their fingers just fine (lukewarm, though - it's got a yucky consistency when cold). My vision of Julie's lunchblock was that it was CRAMMED into the container, but I never tried to make it. (Actually, my twins are still eating rice macncheese because we've yet to introduce wheat. The Annie's rice mac is really good, and I think maybe they're bigger pieces of macaroni.)
I use the kind that comes with the squeezable package of cheese, and drain the pasta *really* well. Moisture is the enemy of lunchblock! If you use the dry-powder kind, try skipping the butter altogether and using a bare minimum of milk.
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