Fall Leaves Lunches

How was your weekend? We had great weather on Saturday and we went out of town for a day. Yesterday, it was raining on and off the entire day and we stayed home most of the time, doing some fall cleaning and also some decorations. Of course, here in Florida it doesn't feel that much like fall until you go shopping for sweaters and long pants. It happens that I never did care much for the typical colors or styles of fall fashions. Thankfully there is a particular brand of clothing that sells fall clothing in cheerful colors especially pinks, my favorite color of all. We in the northern hemisphere are just past the Autumnal Equinox, so I made a couple of leaf themed bento for Nikolai last week. You can also find some fall themed lunches which I made in the past here.

Here in the first bento I have a couple of leaf shaped sandwiches which I shaped with cutters. I used a smaller cutter to remove some of the wax covering a mini Babybel cheese. My favorite crinkle cut knife was used for the cucumber slices over which I put a couple of cherry tomatoes and a pick. A fall leaf pick was added to decorate some red grapes and in the middle I included some yogurt covered raisins. I packed this lunch into a leak proof Bentgo  lunch box.

For this second bento I used a couple of small leaf cutters. One was used to shape slices of Colby Jack cheese, and also to cut shapes from slices of apple. The other was used to cut the center sections of a few slices of cucumber which I put into a pumpkin shaped silicone cup. I also used a couple of picks, one of them decorated the sandwich and the cute little scarecrow one is protecting the granola bar. I packed this bento into an Easylunchboxes urban.

These are a couple of simple examples of easy to prepare fall themed lunches. Fall is, for me, a really fun time of year:)

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5 Ways To Use Tortillas In Lunch Packing

When we have tortillas on hand, we use them for breakfast, lunch, a snack or even for dinner. Today I am sharing 5 ways in which I have used them in Nikolai's school lunch. There are many varieties of tortillas such as whole wheat, spinach, tomato etc and we use many of them at various times but I only had flour tortillas on hand when I made these lunches.

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Bento lunch 1:  Pinwheels. This time I used a sting cheese instead of cheese slices which I often use. I lay the tortilla flat, added the deli ham and the string cheese, roll and cut to bite sized sections then arrange as desired. He also had some alphabet wheat cookies from Ikea and seedless red grapes in square silicone cups, organic apple slices, cucumber sticks and hummus in the small blue container.

Bento lunch 2: Simple wraps. This is so easy, I've made these wraps for my own lunches numerous times. You can use any foods that you prefer for the filling. Beans, rice, and chopped up leftover steak are some of my personal favorites. His sides were blueberries and string cheese with grapes in square silicone cups. The top section contains organic baby carrots and Annie's organic crackers with pretzels.

Bento lunch 3: Quesadilla. We have been enjoying quasadillas a lot lately, and Nikolai suggested that I should pack them for his school lunch at least once a week. I'm happy to oblige and you may be seeing more quesadiila lunches in future posts. I pan friend these in the morning while Nikolai was having his breakfast, and made some extras for my hubby's and my own breakfast. He also had strawberries, blueberries and Annie's organic crackers as sides.

Bento lunch 4: Kebabs. Most kids love kebabs and I have made them both with tortilla and bread. I find that using tortilla is a little convenient and they turn out looking neater. Using bread is just fine but it's an extra step which is rolling the bread flat with a rolling pin first. I made a couple of kebabs and inserted them into some long picks. He also had organic granola bar cut into half, organic kiwi slices in a round silicone cup and blueberries.

Bento lunch 5: Tortilla cut to cute shape. This is a fun one, you can use any shaped cookie cutter that you have, I used a crab shaped cutter from my animal pals set for this lunch. You see, the set comes with 50 cute animal cutters and you can make at least 50 lunches with just this set, not to mention repeats. I added a couple of candy eyes to the crab shaped tortilla, Trader Joe's yogurt stars and seedless grapes in a fish shaped silicone cup. He also had cucumber sticks and strawberries.

There are many ideas out there that you can use tortillas, such as tortilla pizza, tortilla cups, tortilla chips and more. What is your favorite use of tortillas? These lunches were packed in our Easylunchboxes urban.

Pinterest friendly collage.

Here are some of the supplies that I used in these lunches.

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Minion Bento Lunches

We had the previous two Monday's off from school, and it was quite difficult for me to wake up this morning wishing that today is a holiday as well. One of our occasional tropical storms was approaching and it was rather stormy the mornings when I made these couple of Minion themed lunches several weeks ago. The first one was of bread and the other one pasta.

Bento lunch 1: This Minion was free hand cut out of bread, its basic shape was rather easy to make. I made the goggles, grin, and hair from organic fruit leather, the circles for the goggles, which were made with a cutter, were stacked to give the proper depth and the rest was free hand cut. His sides were orange slices, seedless red grapes and crinkle cut cucumber slices. Far right is a cloth napkin. This lunch was packed in his bentology bento box.

Bento lunch 2: This Minion face was made from  Annie's organic pasta with nori goggles, hair, and smile with mozzarella cheese and nori eyes all of which were freehand cut. Alongside he had organic apple pieces, Despicable me honey grahams, babybel cheese with the letter M cutout using my alphabet cookie cutter, organic baby carrots and grape tomatoes. This lunch was packed in a Planetbox rover.

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Yummy Kawaii Bento Book Review

I am so happy to be given the opportunity to review a great book titled Yummy Kawaii Bento, and written by one of my favorite bento artist and friend Ming, who blogs over at Bentomonsters.com.

I've been a fan of Ming's blog for a long while and was very excited to get my hands on a copy of her book! Kawaii, for those new to the term, is a Japanese expression for those things which are, from the Wikipedia definition, "lovable", "cute", or "adorable", and is perfectly applied to what you will find in Ming's book. It is true that you can't judge a book by its cover, but this one gives a pretty good hint regarding Ming's incredible talent. Look close; those bears have bentos! 

Early in her book she introduces the reader to the basics of bentos, selecting all the helpful stuff like boxes and tools like cutters, picks, barans and the rest. Then she shows how to use them to create amazing foods. Want to know how to make rice in various colors? She will teach you that even before you reach page twelve. And then come her amazing tutorials, with step by step instructions and illustrations. She includes a fabulous collection of her food art complete with the photos of the work in progress. Want more? You'll find it! There is an entire section devoted to delightful recipes, with, of course, the ingredients and the method of preparation. Just like the bentos, her book is a masterpiece!

Here is a photo of the book's cover. I just can't get over those little bear's tiny bentos!

Nikolai began the school year with a whole bunch of little sticky markers for his text books and as I was perusing this book I kept asking him for yet another one to mark a place of special interest. The result you can see below, and I was a long way from the end. I'm sure that I'll be making many more bentos inspired by examples from this book.

Using the pages from the photo above, I made something similar as shown below. The Hot Dog Bear Sushi was accompanied by carrot sticks and cotton candy grapes in a lettuce leaf cup, and a small container of ranch dressing.

Overall, Yummy Kawaii Bento is a fantastic book with cute ideas for lunches that Nikolai loves. I think everyone should have a copy of this book, beginning or pro lunch makers alike. It would make a lovely gift also!

Disclosure: Skyhorse Publishing sent me this book to review without cost to me. I have received no other compensation for this review and the opinions I’m expressing here are solely my own.

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6 CuteZCute Animal Friends Lunches

Want cute? Want easy? Want them both?? I think you will really like these! One set of cutter, 6 fun lunches. Here is a set which contains a cutter and stampers to make panda, cat, frog, and pig faces. Power this set with your imagination and you can make really cute lunches with ease.

CuteZCute Animal Friends collection is the first of the CuteZCute collections which we acquired! I've used this set quite often and keep them handy especially the bear face stamper.  Whenever I want to create a bear themed lunch or whenever I need a cute nose or eyes to add on to any other creation I reach for these. This set has them all, and they are not only as cute as cute can be, but also so very easy to use.

These lunches were packed a week or so before the end of school year and I decided to use only the CuteZCute cutter for my own convenience. Since it came with four animal friends cutters and stamps, I had four days of lunches planned and the other two I included as they also were made using the same set.

Bento lunch 1: This is a cat themed lunch for which I used the cat face cutter and both whole wheat and pumpernickel bread with Colby cheese as one of the fillings. It could work just as well with the reverse side which would have a white cat and a dark background, but I thought the contrast with the cheese was nicer this way. He also had cucumber sticks ("Mom, I don't like the cucumber seeds!"), organic baby carrots, Trader Joe's yogurt covered star, seedless red grapes with a cat pick, Annie's organic granola bar and cheddar crackers. This lunch was packed in his Planetbox rover.

Bento lunch 2: Here is a frog themed lunch which shows that you can use various fillings arranged behind the cutout places to achieve a fun result. You might like to try those pimento stuffed olives for the eyes with your version. This example is showing the frog with provolone cheese and salami facial accents. He also had a babybel cheese, pretzel sticks, seedless red grapes with a cute frog baran sheet and organic kiwi slices with a frog pick. This lunch was packed in a Planetbox shuttle.

Bento lunch 3: Panda themed lunch which was quite easy to create, a slice of Colby jack cheese cut and topped above a whole wheat sandwich. His sides were Annie's organic granola bar, hummus in the cute panda container, organic baby carrots, a string cheese cut into pieces, Annie's organic fruit snacks, pineapple pieces and also seedless red grapes with panda picks. This lunch was packed in a Planetbox rover.

Bento lunch 4: All of these are really cute, but this has to be about the cutest pig cutter I've ever seen. Behind the cutouts there is Colby cheese, and above are Ikea alphabet cookies. Inside the pig container is ranch dressing for the organic baby carrots and there is a little pig pick with the red grapes, both in my favorite square silicone cups. I packed this lunch in our Planetbox Shuttle.

Bento lunch 5: I used the winking cat face set for this lunch with nutella revealed by the cutouts and also in the main section I included some fish shaped cheese crackers. There are strawberry halves  above the cat and in the bottom left section I used alphabet cutters to create the spell the word in pieces of apple. Above the apple are organic baby carrots with a container of ranch dressing and a little cat pick. In the center is the letter "C" from a box of Ikea alphabet crackers. All of this is packed in a Planetbox Rover.

Bento lunch 6: For this lunch I used the panda face cutter from the CuteZCute collection on two slices of bread. One was dark pumpernickel rye and the other honey wheat and so that by swapping pieces I could create the result you see. This technique can be used with the other cutters in the collection as well. Also included with this lunch were blueberries, cucumber slices with a panda baran, IKEA alphabet cookies with string cheese, and a yogurt star. This lunch was packed in a Planetbox Rover.

Here are all 6 lunches in a collage.

Here are some of the supplies that I used in these lunches.

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Happy National Teddy Bear Day Lunch

It's National Teddy Bear Day today! I will make this a short post so that I'll be able to share his bear themed lunch on the exact day instead of later.

Since Nikolai is a huge bear fan, and also a fan of little bears, I have a collection of bear shaped cookie cutters and accessories. To shape the sandwich for this lunch I used the bear cutter from my Wilton animal pals cookie cutter set. His features are from mozzarella cheese, raisins and candy eyes. His sides were ants on the log (aka celery sticks, sun butter and raisins) with a cute bear pick, yogurt covered raisins, watermelon cut into bear shapes and a babybel cheese from which I removed a bear shape from the covering with the use of a small bear cutter. This lunch was packed in a Bentgo leak-proof lunchbox.

Next Monday will again be a day off from school, and another opportunity for a three day weekend adventure. I am so pleased that Nikolai actually enjoys visiting museums and historical sites as well as amusement parks.

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Big Hero 6 Baymax Bento

We had a great three day long weekend as Monday was Labor Day holiday, and we also celebrated our 15th year wedding anniversary with a pleasant weekend getaway. Everything was planned by my romantic hubby, because, as I may have mentioned before, he is the romantic one of us and also the one with the patience. Many people have asked us about how our friendship led to marriage, and my first answer is that we talk (and listen) a lot. I believe that communication is the key to a successful marriage. I need to change the subject now before I get into writing about marriage and romance, this is a food blog right?

Meanwhile, returning to bento mode, the nice people over at Say Please have sent us their newest edition of Lunchbox Love notes. If you are not yet familiar with them, these are collections of colorful and cheerful note cards, each about 9cm x 6cm, with a positive message one one side, and a bit of trivia on the other. They are a great way to say, "I've been thinking of you" when discovered in Nikolai's lunch bag or backpack, in his school binder as I've been doing lately so he sees them early in the mornings, or propped on the desk in his room. I sometimes slip one into my husbands wallet just to remind him that I was thinking of him. I have included them with many of his lunches which can be viewed HERE.

For a long time, it seems, Nikolai has asked for a Baymax bento, so I made this one featuring a Baymax shaped  sandwich topped with Provolone cheese and decorated with nori. Baymax is a Big Hero 6 character so I used the 6 from my numeric cutter set on the babybel cheese. Along with these he had pieces of peaches in one container, celery and organic baby carrots, and ranch for dip in the smallest container. Far right is a granola bar. I included a Lunchbox Love note in his lunch bag, and this lunch was packed in a  Bentology Living box, previously Laptop Lunches.

Here is a simple bento lunch with which I also included a Lunchbox Love note in his lunch bag. Into our LunchBots Quad I packed some of Nikolai's favorite roll-ups, ants on a log (aka celery with sun butter and raisins) with cucumber slices, orange slices with grapes, and alphabet cookies from IKEA.

I think these are a really fun way to brighten the day and educational too! From one card I learned that the International Space Station moves at 17,500 miles per hour. I never would have guessed that!

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Review: Ecolunchboxes Blue Water Bento Splash Box Kit

The nice people over at Ecolunchboxes generously offered us the opportunity to test their Ecolunchboxes Blue Water Bento Splash Box Kit. Since it's uncommon to find a leak proof and stainless steel container, I was eager to give it a try. We have both their Ecolunchboxes Solo Cube and Solo Rectangle and have used them for a couple of years now. We love them, and I have also written a review about them which you can find here.

Leak-proof may be a parent's favorite keyword search term, but let's just say it is really important when packing lunches which include such things as tomato sauce, apple sauce, yogurt, jello, salad dressing, and more. If you don't have a proper container available, it's difficult to consider packing these. I am quite pleased to report that indeed the Splash Box sealed perfectly for us. It was also easy to open, which is especially nice for those small hands. Its size is quite adequate measuring 6 1/2 by 4 3/4 inches and 2 inches high, and the Splash Box Kit includes a very nice lunch bag and a spork. As for clean-up, all parts are dishwasher safe. The quality of this lunch box is excellent and I am sure that it will last for many years with proper care.

Below is a photo of the Splash Box Kit with the leak-proof silicone seal in place. The bag is made of organic cotton and is available in three designs, the whale is shown here, the dolphin and seahorse versions can be seen here.

Below is a photo of a pasta lunch I packed in the Splash Box Kit. On the right side is multi colored pasta with spinach and leftover grilled chicken with a couple of cheese stars decorated with nori. On the left in a silicone cup are some green grapes and some cherry tomatoes on picks which give the appearance of balloons on strings.

This second bento lunch is a simple sandwich stamped with the likeness of Darth Vader alongside some cucumber slices and grapes topped with a Star Wars storm trooper pick.

All in all, we love our new Ecolunchboxes blue water splash box and I am sure we will be using this box frequently.

Disclosure: ECOlunchboxes generously provided me with the products for review without cost to me. Other than receiving the products, I have not received any compensation to write this review.

Disclosure: EOClunchbox generously provided me with the products for review without cost to me. Other than receiving the products, I have not received any compensation to write this review. - See more at: http://www.bentoschoollunches.com/2013/08/review-ecolunchbox-solo-cube-and-solo.html#sthash.QwBSisFq.dpuf

What we have here is a plastic-free, no-leak, stainless steel container topped with a silicone lid and made without toxic materials like BPA, PVC and phthalates…Ahhh, yes! Music to my ears. Since it’s so uncommon to find a leak-proof AND plastic-free food container, I decided to give it the Saville Family Test; a rigorous evaluation that not many products have survived (wink, wink). I’m proud to say it passed with flying colors! It’s leak-proofness comes from a special lip and groove inside the silicone lid that grabs onto the edge of the stainless steel container. N.I.C.E. - See more at: http://thesoftlanding.com/ecolunchbox-plastic-free-splash-box-for-kids-is-leak-proof/#sthash.9GQGKTV9.dpuf

What we have here is a plastic-free, no-leak, stainless steel container topped with a silicone lid and made without toxic materials like BPA, PVC and phthalates…Ahhh, yes! Music to my ears. Since it’s so uncommon to find a leak-proof AND plastic-free food container, I decided to give it the Saville Family Test; a rigorous evaluation that not many products have survived (wink, wink). I’m proud to say it passed with flying colors! It’s leak-proofness comes from a special lip and groove inside the silicone lid that grabs onto the edge of the stainless steel container. N.I.C.E. - See more at: http://thesoftlanding.com/ecolunchbox-plastic-free-splash-box-for-kids-is-leak-proof/#sthash.9GQGKTV9.dpuf

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