Taking Chances

I got brave and took not one but two chances today! One was a hit, the other an utter reject (well, rejected by Miss Picky... I actually loved it!). Here was today's menu (clockwise from bottom left):

• Mashed potato "purses" with decorative plastic bento picks.
• An orange kitty-shaped condiment cup of ketchup & mayonnaise, mixed, to serve as a possible dip for the potato purses. Frozen the night before in hopes that the mayo "stink" would be lessened.
  
• A tiny blue condiment cup of Newman's Own Balsamic Vinaigrette Dressing.
• A salad of fine-julienned carrots, jicama, and apples.
• Nitrate-free natural ham & calcium-enriched American cheese rollettes.
• Two oatmeal-chocolate-chip cookies.

VERDICT:

• Mashed Potato Purses. I was nervous about serving her cold mashed potatoes -- she loves mashed potatoes but tends not to like food she loves to be served in unfamiliar ways. But she loved them! Several were filled with about 1/2 teaspoon of a vegan "cheese fondue" I'd made for dinner the previous night (from The Vegan Lunchbox), which she hadn't liked a whole lot but had eaten ok. She said she liked the plain potato purses and the "stuffed" ones equally well. Now, I made some for myself too, but I just couldn't quite get used to the sensation of eating cold mashed potatoes.
  
• Ketchup/Mayo Mixture. Still a no go on a condiment. Have you ever heard of a kid that doesn't like to dip their food in stuff??? She does at home!
  
• Balsamic Vinaigrette Dressing. This is her beloved "Eskimo Dressing" (long story) and to my schnaz it smells even sweeter warm than cold, so I thought for sure she'd like it as a dipper. But nope. "Mom, listen to me carefully: do not ever pack me stuff in those cups again. Ever." I'm gonna ignore her though. It's my job.
  
• Carrot/Jicama/Apple Salad. Two thumbs down from Miss Picky, but I loved this! I really didn't know if I would even like it. See Prep Details below for how it's made.
  
• Ham & Cheese Rollettes. Not a favorite, but she ate 'em.
  
• Oatmeal-Chocolate-Chip Cookies. I've yet to make a cookie for her she doesn't like. (I make chocolate oatmeal no-bakes for me, precisely because she doesn't like them! Hee hee hee).
  

PREPARATION DETAILS:

• Mashed Potato Purses. This idea was from another favorite bento blog, I think it was Vegan Lunchbox. Put a handful of leftover mashed potatoes in a square of plastic wrap (I actually used the wrappers for the american cheese, to reduce waste), and twist the plastic wrap to form a ball of potatoes. Borrowing the Japanese idea of putting a flavorful filling inside rice balls, I put a flavorful filling inside a few of the potato balls. For this first attempt, I used some leftover vegan "cheese fondue," which had a nice cheesy, salty flavor and soft orange color that I thought would go well with the potatoes. But you could use anything that your kid might like -- a bit of peanut butter, jelly, yogurt, cheese, cream cheese, an olive, pimento, raisins...
  
• Ketchup/Mayo Mixture. Half ketchup & half lowfat mayo make what is essentially Thousand Island Dressing. I froze this overnight in hopes of the mayo having a less objectionable odor to Miss Picky. But it was still rejected.
  
• Balsamic Vinaigrette Dressing. Our family favorite is Newman's Own Balsamic Vinaigrette salad dressing. I use it on everything. My only complaint is that it now comes only in plastic bottles instead of glass. BPA and phthalates in plastic leach more readily into oils (a major component of salad dressing), and plastics don't recycle as fully to their origins as glass does.
  
• Carrot/Jicama/Apple Salad. This was so easy and incredibly delicious! I used my new Kuhn Rikon Quickslice Julienne Mandoline ($15 online) to make thin julienne slices of carrots, jicama, and two little leftover apple wedges that I knew would go brown before they got eaten. Then I poured on a little Paul Newman (Newman's Own) Balsamic Vinaigrette dressing and stirred it all up until everything was moist, but not drippy. You don't need a julienne slicer to make this -- you could easily use a grater instead, or slice them thin, or slice them into small matchstick pieces.
  
• Ham & Cheese Rollettes. One slice of ham, one slice of cheese. Roll, cut into thirds, and secure with toothpick or decorative bento pick. I don't bother with mayo or mustard.
  
• Oatmeal-Chocolate-Chip Cookies. This batch was from a boxed mix, but I use fat-free egg substitute instead of whole eggs, and canola oil instead of butter. I also add a tablespoon or so of real vanilla; to me it makes a huge difference in flavor!