Lunch Roundup 3

Spelt bread turkey sandwich, raspberry mini cupcakes, strawberries, blueberries, and broccoli

Another week of bento lunches - woo-hoo! I had a request to do sandwiches this week. SO I decided to bake some spelt bread for them. I used spelt because it has much lower amounts of gluten in it compared to normal wheat. I can go on about how it is an ancient grain and yadah yadah yadah, but really I thought it would just be good to give them a variety since wheat is in so many things. Plus I am testing myself to see if eating spelt made favorites has the same effect on me as the wheat versions. Spelt is not an alternative btw for people with celiac disease, since it does contain some gluten.

Everything was Valentines theme of course too so if you are sick of hearts - sorry! Above is MY almond butter and jelly sandwich. I have not had one in FOREVER and I have to say with the spelt bread it was soooo good. We always use almond butter in the house since my daughter is allergic to peanuts. Above is store bought Barney Butter which tastes to me exactly like everyday peanut butter but with less sugar. They label it as completely peanut free which is really hard to find too.  I played around with making my own almond butter in the food processor this week - but one recipe at a time, lol.

These are the cookie cutters I use for my cheese shapes... 

you can use them on veggies, cheese, sandwiches, etc! 

The trick is they are tiny. 

Also in the lunches were a teeny tiny vanilla cupcake with raspberry frosting. I believe in a little of a bad thing is not so bad.  I put frozen raspberries in the frosting to make the pink color and flavor. My daughter gave one away to her friend at lunch who tried it and said "There was a yummy smoothie on that cupcake... it made the cupcake kind of a let down!" LOL 

Recipe for spelt bread: I made 2 loaves in my food processor. Making bread is easy, but messy and someone always asks you to give them a ride when you are waiting for it to rise to do the next step, but it is so worth it. I used half whole Spelt flour that comes packaged by Bob's Red Mill and half from the bulk section that looks more like white flour. I used one yeast packet for both loaves for a denser loaf, but you can use two for a lighter one.

Spelt Bread

Requires a LARGE food processor

Ingredients

• 2 2/3 cups warm water
• 1 envelope Active Dry Yeast
• 2/3 cup honey
• 1/2 cup sunflower oil
• 2 tsp salt
• 6-7 cups Spelt flour

Instructions

1. Add water to your food processor with the dough blade in. Sprinkle in yeast and pulse to dissolve.
2. Add 1 1/2 cups flour and pulse until smooth.
3. Remove the bowl from your base and allow it to rest in a warm draft free place with its lid on and a towel draped over it for 1- 1/2 hours or until it gets a spongey top.
4. Stir the sponge down and add honey, oil, salt and 2 cups more flour. Pulse to mix well.
5. Turn your food processor on and add remaining flour a little at a time until it turns to dough and pulls off the dough on the sides. It should be sticky. Let it process for 1-2 minutes to knead.
6. Place in a large oiled bowl and turn it to coat with oil. Place a towel over it and let sit for an hour.
7. Punch dough down and transfer to an oiled cutting board or counter. Separate in half and smoosh into two 8 x 12" rectangles. Roll one end tightly like a jelly roll and pinch ends.
8. Place in two greased loaf and and let sit with a towel over them for 1 hour.
9. Bake 375 for 30-35 minutes

Yield: 2 loaves

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