November 29, 2006

The Daily Tiffin

Recently I started paying more attention to my son's lunch box, not entirely out of passion, but out of neccessity. What began as a "OMG,what shall I give him today?" is slowly capturing his and my imagination and becoming simpler and more streamlined.

One of my biggest challenges is a strange one. My little one who eats all my spicy, rustic, traditional and non traditional food at home is shy when he comes to school. I have been gathering all the excuses he gives for bringing back an untouched tiffin. It was gooey, sticky, it didn't taste right, the others made fun of the smell (Indian spices),it was not spicy enough, it was too spicy, it was cold (he likes it hot) and so on.
Now I keep asking my mom what she used to pack for us. That’s when I came across Meeta’s The Daily Tiffin, a lovely blog chronicling the tiffins she packs for her son. She takes beautiful snapshots of the lunches and makes me yearn to be a kid again, instead of a mommy. (Just kidding.)

So when Meeta started looking for contributors to broaden the topics, I was naturally interested to see where it would take me. Now as co-contributor along with Meeta, Lily and Nandita, I would be adding my notes on every thursday, on lunches, books, on anything kiddie related. A detailed introduction to each of us has already been posted at the site.

If any of you has any suggestions or ideas on what we should cover, they are more than welcome. Additionally, anybody who wants to contribute and post can do so, directly to Meeta or any of us. So come on over at The Daily Tiffin today. Maybe it would trigger a memory or it would help you create one.

9 comments:

Revathi said...

Hey Shaheen

Tagged u for a meme - Will be great if you play it -
http://en-ulagam.blogspot.com/2006/11/cooking-for-crown-meme.html

Jayashree said...

Looking forward to see what you cook up for the daily tiffin.

Ashwini said...

Hey Shaheen glad to know you had a good Thanksgiving. Will let my cousins know about the DT...would be useful for my nieces and nephews

Mrs. K said...

I will be regularly visiting the daily tiffin! Packing the lunch for my kid has become a challenge. Current favorite is sandwich wraps! If possible I use leftover chapathis to make wraps rather than using the storebought tortillas. I buy ground meat and boneless chicken and freeze it in small quantities(just enough for one wrap). I cut the chicken into small pieces and marinate before freezing. I let thaw one pack in the refrigerator overnight and cook it in the morning. Then I wrap it along with lettuce, cheese, sour cream/hummus/mayo, tomatoes, cucumbers etc..Vegetables are already in the wrap, so I pack some fruits as well.

Anonymous said...

Good luck! I am sure you would be great. I didn't realize you had a son. I have to admire the Indian kids in US- balancing between their Indian households and American sorroundings.
Hoping to read more.

Bong Mom said...

Shaheen, looking forward to your tiffin recipes, will ned it in the future
Our tiffin is boring, usually sandwich or chapati with leftover sabzi or salad.
My daughter is too small now and has lunch at her day care, which she still eats because everyone is having the same.
The days I send home lunch she usually asks for Macaroni or Fried Rice but hardly eats anything :(

Rajesh &Shankari said...

looks like a fun project!
I used to live in Milpitas, it is close to Cupertino and now live a little farther away, but would not mind driving to meet with all of U. Let me know when you are around this area

Shah cooks said...

Revathi, will play it definitely. Thanks.
Jayshree, Thanks and hope you would be checking out the daily tiffin too.

Ashwini, thanks a lot.

RP:u should be contributing to the daily tiffin or blogging about it in ur blog! wonderful ideas!Interested or u too busy?Do u have one or two kiddos?

Gini,Hmm.. I assume you have yet to enter the hallowed portals. Yes, i have a 6 yr old.:)

Oh Sandeepa, my son was eating at the day care till now so i had nothing to worry. Now..yeah, my lunches are the same. chappathis and leftover subjis most of the time.

Shankari, Oh that was nearby.Next time, i am definitely meeting with you guys.

Anonymous said...

Great idea for group blog. I am going to recommend it to my sister. She has a 6 year old baby girl and stuggling for ideas for lunch box meals.