Chinese New Year Rooster Bento 2017

Chinese New Year is around the corner, Saturday, January 28th. The Chinese zodiac is a cycle of twelve years with each represented by an animal sign, and the sign for the Lunar New Year 2017 is Rooster. Chinese New Year is for many families a joyful time for getting together. I remember and love all of our reunion dinners which fell one day before Chinese New Year and we always gather at grandma's house to celebrate. My mom's side of the family is HUGE and the house would fill with aunties, uncles and cousins. Grandma, my mom and aunts will have been busy in the kitchen cooking for all of us, more than 30 people for sure! So many of us that everyone has to share rooms. Of course we did not sleep much, we play with fire works, watch Chinese drama (the older Jackie Chan movies - it's a tradition), chit chat, play cards, eat lots of cookies, etc.

On Chinese New Year day, we all wake up super early, dress in our new clothing (in my case it's always something in red ), wish the elders "Kung Hei Fat Choy" and those who are not married will get "ang pows" (red packets filled with money), a little later the dragon dance will come to grandma's house and after that we will go visiting more family and friends and fill ourselves with more food at each stop, lol.

The nice thing about Chinese New Year is that it starts with the New moon on the first day of the first lunar month and ends on the Full moon 15 days later. So, I usually have and will wear new clothing for at least 7 days. It's not a tradition but that's how my family rolls. The visiting of family and friends will also run for the 15 days, and that involves a lot of eating!

For this bento to celebrate ´The year of the Rooster´ I have included a three layer sandwich shaped with an oval cutter and decorated with fruit leather, cheddar cheese, and bits or raisin for eyes. Also beneath the rooster is some granola bar. In the other section I have sugar snap peas, some red grapes in my favorite square silicone cup, and a cute sauce container of ranch. This lunch was packed in a Lunch Bots Duo.

Happy Chinese New Year 2017! Wishing all of you who celebrate a Happy, Healthy and Prosperous New Year!!

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Chinese New Year Monkey Bento

Chinese New Year or Lunar New Year is approaching soon and falls on the 8th of February. This year it will be represented by the Chinese zodiac sign of the Monkey, Nikolai was also born in the year of the monkey! I am sure those who are celebrating will be busy with baking yummy cookies, cleaning the house, getting new clothes, wrapping ang pows (red packets with money), etc.

I'll be quite busy myself with the celebration followed by our wedding anniversary and Valentine's day, all on the same week! For this bento I made a simple monkey themed lunch with pumpernickel bread. I used a collection of circle cutters for the face. The largest was used to make the main head shape and to trim the ears which were made with smaller ones. For the eyes I used the smallest circle cutter on the provolone cheese as I had on the ears and a punch for the nori pupils. I freehand cut the larger provolone for the mouth and nose area and also the nori for the nose and mouth..

In this bento lunch (packed in a Planetbox rover):

• Main compartment - Monkey sandwich.
• Upper left - Organic baby carrots.
• Lower left - Organic apple slices and a couple of grapes with banana shaped picks.
• Center - Dye free choc covered sunflower seeds.
• Upper right - Organic granola bar with a cute monkey pick.

Wishing all who celebrate, Kung Hei Fat Choi (in Cantonese and one of the dialects that I speak) ! Happy Chinese New Year! Gong Xi Fa Cai (in Mandarin)! ♥

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Chinese New Year Sheep Bento Lunches (2)

Chinese New Year is tomorrow and it will be the year of the sheep. I may have to cook the reunion Chinese New Year Eve dinner this year. Even though it is not hugely celebrated in the U.S, I try to explain and teach Nikola the tradition every single year. I am sure those who are celebrating will be quite busy this week with last minute baking, filling 'ang pows' (red envelopes) with cash, cleaning and organizing your house etc.

I would love to wish everyone who celebrates 'Gong Xi Fa Cai'  and have a fantastic celebration with your family and friends!

Nikolai told me that the sheep I created in the first lunch looked like 'Shaun the sheep', to me, a sheep is a sheep, lol. This lunch was packed in a Planetbox Rover.

In this bento lunch:

• Main compartment - 'Sheep' sandwich. Top is larger circle of Provolone cheese with numerous smaller ones shaped with a cutter. Face is free hand cut nori with candy eyes and legs are black seedless grapes
• Upper left - Wheat crackers.
• Upper right - Cucumber slices with carrot alphabets.
• Center - Yogurt covered star
• Lower left -Organic kiwi slices with a couple of cute sheep picks.

Here is another fun sheep bento which I created using my CuteZCute animal palz. The main compartment contains organic cream cheese and strawberry jam sheep shaped pocket sandwiches (stacked) and a cheese stick. I used the sealer from the set as a separator and filled it with strawberry pieces. He also had cucumber slices and a little sheep pick. This lunch was packed in a cute book shaped bento box.

 
Here are the supplies or similar that I used to create and pack these lunches.

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Chinese New Year Horse Bento

Friday will be Chinese New Year and it will be the year of the Horse! While it is not celebrated locally as it was where I enjoyed my childhood, we try to make it a celebration that our son will remember and cherish.
Wishing everyone who celebrates 'Gong Xi Fa Cai'!!

In this bento lunch:

• Horse shaped sandwich with mane and tail of pumpernickel bread and a candy eye.
• Lower left: Organic baby carrots. Pretzel sticks barn with provolone cheese window.
• Upper right: Strawberries and cherries with a couple of cute picks.
• Far Right: String cheese. This lunch is packed in his Laptop Lunches

Here are the supplies that I used to make and pack this lunch.

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Bento Lunch: Happy Chinese New Year Snake bento

Chinese New Year will fall on a Sunday this year and we will be having our reunion dinner on Saturday night. As it is a Saturday, when I usually don't cook anyway, we will be enjoying a traditional Chinese New Year dinner at a restaurant.

This is the time of the year when I miss my family and friends  terribly and all the good foods, dragon dances etc. Well, I am very happy with the family I have now and will not dwell too much.
Wishing everyone who celebrates 'Gong Xi Fa Cai' (in Mandarin) or 'Kung  Hei Fat Choy' (in Cantonese dialect which I speak often). Happy Friday and have a fantastic weekend everyone!

In this bento lunch:

• Main compartment - Nature's own whole wheat sandwich rounds with colby cheese lettering and the snake is made of flattened bread and hand cut, food safe marker eyes and stripes on snake and tiny nori for tongue. Couple of cute cupcake picks.
• Upper left -100% fruit snacks and yogurt covered pretzels. ~Chinese New Year treats for Nikolai :)
• Upper right - Mandarin orange slices and seedless red grapes.
• Center - Heart shaped fruit snack.
• Lower left - Cucumber slices and crinkle cut carrots with ranch in the small container. Packed in Planetbox Rover.

Here are the supplies or similar that I used to make and pack this lunch.

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Happy Chinese New Year- Dragon, Bento Lunch #227( 1-23)

Wishing you all a very HAPPY AND PROSPEROUS YEAR OF THE DRAGON! Also wishing everyone good health,joy and success all year long!! Gong Xi Fa Cai :D
We came home very late last night,tired,no inspiration and low on groceries. The dragon head is supposed to look like the small dragon head beside the bento box.

• Top tier- Chinese raisin bread,home made pak kwa(long yoke) cut out to be like a dragon head, strawberry slices.
• Bottom tier- Yogurt covered raisins, Chinese cookies.

Here are the items or similar that I used to make this lunch.

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