4 Simple Lunches

4 Simple Lunches

Here are 4 easy lunches: tortellini kebabs, spinach quesadilla, pretzel bagel sandwich, bistro snacks, all packed in EasyLunchBoxes.

Tortellini kebobs for lunch

I made this simple but fun lunch from party leftovers.

Container: EasyLunchBoxes

Top Left: Strawberries

Bottom Left: Peanuts

Right Side: Kebabs – cheese tortellini, cherry tomatoes, black olives, and fresh mozzarella balls

Spinach Quesadilla lunch

I packed this lunch for myself on a day I was out and about with my nephews. It was a nice change from my usual cheese quesadilla.

Container: EasyLunchBoxes

Top Left: Pistachios

Bottom Left: Green Grapes

Right Side: Spinach Quesadilla (I did not use whole wheat tortillas) with Salsa in Mini Dippers

Pretzel Bagel Lunch

When I found this pretzel bagel at Wegmans I knew that I had to feature it in a lunch. This simple lunch was satisfying and delicious.

Container: EasyLunchBoxes

Top Left: Cherry tomatoes

Bottom Left: Pistachos

Right Side: Pretzel bagel sandwich with Dijon mustard and Cheddar cheese

Snack Lunch with Yogurt

I made this bistro / snack type lunch for my husband.

Container: EasyLunchBoxes

Left Side: Blackberries, sharp Cheddar cheese, cucumber slices, Keebler Town House crackers

Top Right: Pepperidge Farm Cheddar Goldfish crackers

Bottom Right: Cashew nuts

Above the Box: Yogurt

Posted in Bento / Cute Food, Food | 1 Comment

Ice Skates Birthday Lunch

Ice Skate bento lunch

I made an ice skates themed meal for my niece on her 11th birthday. She is a figure skater so a skating themed lunch was a natural choice. I had so much fun planning this meal with her and hope that she enjoys it!

Happy Birthday Ella! I hope that you have a fantastic year!

Container: EasyLunchBoxes

Left Side: Ice skates – cheese and lettuce sandwich on wheat bread with cheese also on top of the sandwich (I used an ice skate shaped cookie cutter to cut the bread, cheese and the lettuce), food coloring marker details, Blades – a little bit of softened butter and silver sanding sugar, strawberries

Top Right: Pineapple “11”, sliced strawberries

Bottom Right: Homemade individual rustic apple tart made in a muffin tin, “11” picks

Posted in Bento / Cute Food, Food | 5 Comments

Squirrel Shaped Bread

Squirrel bread lunch

I made this squirrel themed bread lunch for my nephew. I bought an assorted pack of doughnut holes and the kids (1 niece and 2 nephews) had fun arguing over who would get which leftover doughnuts. I rarely buy doughnuts so they were very popular!

Container: EasyLunchBoxes

Top Left: Doughnut holes with Nutella, chocolate sprinkles, pretzel sticks (I first made these years ago – before I had a blog, I can’t find the original source)

Bottom Left: Oak leaf shaped cucumber (one with skin showing – used cookie cutter)

Right Side: Homemade bread shaped as a squirrel with food marker detail, Cheddar cheese acorns (used cookie cutter)

Posted in Bento / Cute Food, Food | Tagged | 9 Comments

Strawberry Rice Same Food Different Lunch Boxes

same lunch different boxes collage
I made this lunch for my nephew but did not like how it looked. (I think that it was actually my rice that were supposed to look like strawberries that I did not like). Since I had some extra time I experimented putting the same ingredients in 3 different boxes. (some of the boxes have more or less of the ingredients and one does not have actual strawberries)

Strawberry rice in Lunchbots trio

Container: LunchBots Trio

Top Left: Strawberry (cooked Nishiki rice with a little salsa mixed in and shaped using plastic wrap), snow pea (star shaped cookie cutter), toothpick, shredded snow peas

Top Right: Mini blueberry muffins, baby carrots, green grapes

Bottom: Strawberries, pistachios

Strawberry rice in book bento box

Container: Book Bento Box

Contents: Strawberries (cooked Nishiki rice with a little salsa mixed in and shaped using plastic wrap), snow peas (star shaped cookie cutter), toothpick, shredded snow peas, pistachios, baby carrots, green grapes, miniature blueberry muffins, strawberries

Strawberry rice in Easy Lunchbox

Container: EasyLunchBoxes

Top Left: Miniature blueberry muffins, green grapes

Bottom Left: Pistachios

Right Side: Strawberries (cooked Nishiki rice with a little salsa mixed in and shaped using plastic wrap), snow peas (star shaped cookie cutter), toothpick, shredded snow peas

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Fit & Fresh Containers and Lunch

Fit and Fresh Cool It and Dip N Dunk lunch

I was happy to receive these Fit & Fresh containers. I did not use the ice packs with this lunch but used the ice with the vegetables and dip. I sent my husband’s lunch in them. He liked the containers and wants to use them again.

Dip N Dunk Container: Celery, carrots, ranch dip

Cool It! Meal Carrier: Triscuits, hard boiled egg, Nerds candy, Cheddar cheese, cashews, raspberries

Cool It anD Dip N Dunk Containers Fit and Fresh

Here are the containers with the lids on.

Fit and Fresh Cool It and Dip N Dunk Containers Inside

These are the containers with ice in the lids. I removed the ice from the purple container because I was concerned about using them with my crackers. I liked having the ice in the lid of the dip container. The Dip N Dunk lid is now in my freezer so it is ready to use at a moments notice.

Disclosure: Fit & Fresh sent me the products shown here for review. I was not financially compensated. All opinions stated here are 100% my own.

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Dragon Bento Lunch

Dragon Bento Lunch

I made this mashed potato dragon by cutting chilled Cheddar mashed potatoes with a cookie cutter. (see directions below)

Container: Wooden box purchased in Kyoto at Bento&co.

Contents: Dragon – Cheddar mashed potatoes, cooked broccoli, strawberries, blueberries, walnuts

Cookie Cutter Cheddar Mashed Potatoes

  • Peel, dice and cook potatoes in boiling water until tender
  • Mash potatoes with a little bit of butter and shredded Cheddar cheese, salt and pepper to taste (I did not use milk because I wanted the mashed potatoes to be thick)
  • Spread Cheddar mashed potatoes on a plate or in a pan to the correct thickness and size for your cookie cutter
  • Chill Cheddar potatoes in refrigerator until somewhat firm
  • Cut the firm Cheddar mashed potatoes with a cookie cutter and carefully remove the cutter

Dragon Watermelon Meal

I asked my husband what dragon shaped food he wanted to eat and he said watermelon. I think that he is pretty cute.

Container: EasyLunchBoxes

Left Side: Watermelon dragon (2), broccoli, hard boiled eggs

Top Right: Cashews

Bottom Right: Garlic bread

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Strawberry Cream Pie Day

Strawberry Cream Pie

Today is Strawberry Cream Pie Day. My family did not object to celebrating it with me.

I made this recipe but used my own crust and substituted vanilla for the almond extract.

Slice of Strawberry Cream Pie

 

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Yummy Kawaii Bento Book Review and Lunch

Yummy Kawaii Bento

I was happy to receive a copy of Li Ming Lee’s new bento book Yummy Kawaii Bento. I have long admired Ming’s food art. She makes amazing creations. In this book, Ming features cute character bento with rice, eggs, bread, salad, pasta, and potatoes. As a vegetarian who does not like the taste of eggs, there is quite a bit of eggs and meat used in this book. But it is easy to make substitutions to fit the needs of you and your family.

Lion Yummy Kawaii Bento

I thought the Soboro Lion was adorable and looked easy to make. It was fun to put together. I substituted lentils for the meat and did not follow the directions for the meat soboro.

Container: Kokeshi box

Left: Lion – rice, lentils cooked in vegetable broth, olive, spinach, black sesame seeds

Right: Bell Peppers Stir-Fry p. 227 Yummy Kawaii Bento

Soboro Lion

Disclosure: I received a free copy of this book. I was not financially compensated. All opinions stated here are 100% my own.

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Libra Bento Lunch

Libra Zodiac Bento Lunch

Next in my monthly series of Zodiac symbol lunches, here is Libra. I used a knife to part the rice and inserted pieces of sauteed zucchini.

Container: EasyLunchBoxes

Left Side: Rice, sauteed zucchini, more zucchini and sauteed peppers under the rice

Top Right: Pistachios

Bottom Right: Pineapple

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12 Taco Lunches for Teen

12 Taco Lunches

My teenage nephew loves it when I make him tacos for lunch. Sending tacos for lunch can be a fun change from other lunch food. You are only limited by what you or your kid will eat. Here are 12 meatless taco lunches. All of these were packed in my EasyLunchBoxes.

Taco Quad

The mini corn tortilla cups were an experiment and my nephew said not to make them again so I will not bother giving you the recipe.

Container: EasyLunchBoxes

Left Side: Pizza cheese, black beans, lettuce, tomato

Top Right: Mini corn tortilla cups

Bottom Right: Peaches with a little lime juice, raspberries

Above the Box: Taco Sauce (in Mini Dippers), Nutella to Go (special treat), Blue Corn Taco Shells

Vegetable Tacos

This is a roasted and sauteed vegetable taco lunch served with Ortega Fiesta Flats.

Container: EasyLunchBoxes

Top Left: Watermelon

Bottom Left: Sargento 4 Cheese Mexican

Right Side: Roasted zucchini and green pepper, sauteed red onion and broccoli, corn, salsa (in Mini Dippers)

Above the Box: Ortega Fiesta Flats

Taco lunch with apples

I was not expecting to make a taco lunch and did not have lettuce in the house. My nephew decided to have a taco without lettuce instead of eating something else.

Container: EasyLunchBoxes

Top Left: Apples dunked in water with a little lemon juice

Bottom Left: Mexican cheese blend

Right Side: Black beans with a little bit of taco sauce, tomatoes, black olives

Above the Box: Ortega Fiesta Flats

Taco Salad packed for lunch

I like how this one turned out. It was convenient that the Ortega Mini Fiesta Flats fit in the box. But I can no longer find them. Also my nephew had said that he wished that he had more of the shells then I sent that day.

Container: EasyLunchBoxes

Top Left: Ortega Mini Fiesta Flats

Bottom Left: Raspberries

Right Side: Corn, lettuce, Mexican blend cheese, black beans cooked with some taco seasoning, tomatoes, black olives

Above the Box: Mini Dippers with taco sauce and salsa, Nature Valley Roasted Nut Crunch Bar

This lunch was previously published here.

Taco Lunch

For this one I cooked the beans the night before but assembled the lunch in the morning before school. The shells are mini taco shells and I can no longer find them.

Container: EasyLunchBoxes

Left Side: Taco Bell Home Originals brand Mini Taco Shells, lettuce, Mexican blend cheese

Top Right: Grapes and raspberries

Bottom Right: Black beans (basically the same as this but I did not use rice) and quartered cherry tomatoes

Above the Box: Granola bar and taco sauce in Mini Dippers

The previously published post is here.

kidney bean corn tacos for lunch

I made this one with kidney beans instead of black beans.

Container: EasyLunchBoxes

Left Side: Tomatoes, lettuce, Mexican cheese blend

Top Right: Green grapes

Bottom Right: Kidney beans, corn, taco sauce

Above the Box: Corn taco shells

This original lunch post is here.

Taco on a stick

I had fun with this one. While brainstorming different ways to serve the same thing, a younger nephew said, “Taco on a Stick”.

Container: EasyLunchBoxes

Left Side: Cherry tomatoes, lettuce, black olives and Pepper Jack cheese on mini wooden skewers

Top Right: Lettuce

Bottom Right: Black beans and salsa

Above the Box: Banana, Mini Dippers with Taco Sauce, and tortilla chips with a hint of lime

This Taco on a Stick lunch was previously published here.

Taco Salad Lunch

My nephew loves Skittles so it was the special treat in this lunch.

Container: EasyLunchBoxes

Left Side: Lettuce, Mexican Cheese Blend, salsa in Mini Dippers (I put the top on after taking the photo)

Top Right: Skittles

Bottom Right: Black beans with sauteed onion and some tomato sauce

Above the Box: Banana, Blue Corn Tortilla Chips

Not Pictured: Mini Dippers with taco Sauce, mixed nuts

Here is the original post.

Taco Salad Lunch

When I send taco lunches to school with my nephew I try to make them different. For this one I put the tortilla chips in a plastic container instead of plastic bags. I also made cinnamon sugar chips and served with Nutella as a special treat.

Top Container: Divided container

Contents: Tostitos Hint of Lime Flavored Tortilla Chips, homemade cinnamon tortilla chips, Nutella in Mini Dippers

Bottom Container: EasyLunchBoxes

Top Left: Black beans with onions sauteed in olive oil, with tomato sauce, and some hot sauce

Bottom Left: Watermelon

Right Side: Tomatoes, Mexican cheese blend, black olives, lettuce

Smooth taco sauce in Mini Dippers

This lunch was previously published here.

Taco Salad Flag Lunch

My nephew ate this for dinner at my house. I think that the black beans (hidden under the other ingredients), Greek yogurt, and chips made this a filling meal.

Container: EasyLunchBoxes

Top: Shredded lettuce, star shaped radish, salsa, shredded Monterey Jack cheese, black beans with sauteed onion, some hot sauce, and some plain tomato sauce (not visible, under other ingredients)

Bottom Left: Greek yogurt with cinnamon star (I used a star cookie cutter as a stencil for the star)

Bottom Right: Blueberries

Above the Box: Tostitos Bite Size chips

This Taco Salad Flag lunch was previously published here.

Taco Lunch Soft Shells

My nephew prefers hard corn shell tacos but for this one I sent soft flour tortillas.

Container: EasyLunchBoxes

Left Side: Black beans mixed with a little bit of taco sauce, corn, taco cheese blend, lettuce, tomatoes

Top Right: Red grapes

Bottom Right: Flour tortillas, trimmed and gently folded to fit into the box

Above the Box: Taco sauce in Mini Dippers, Nature Valley Roasted Nut Crunch Bar

Vegetarian Wonton Taco Cups

These taco cups are best eaten hot out of the oven but I did pack some leftovers for lunch. The bottoms were a little soggy but the rest of it was crisp.

Container: EasyLunchBoxes

Left Side: Vegetarian Wonton Taco Cups, I basically followed this recipe but added black beans instead of meat

Top Right: Ghirardelli Caramel Chocolate square

Bottom Right: Plum

I hope that collection gave you some ideas to make lunch more fun for your teen or someone else special in your life.

Posted in Bento / Cute Food, Food | Tagged | 2 Comments

Sheep Rice Bento Lunch

Sheep Rice Eco Lunchbox

Earlier the summer I made this sheep rice lunch for my nephew. After getting the lunch he decided that he does not like plain rice for lunch anymore. Anyway, I still have others in my life that will eat my onigiri and rice lunches.

Container: ECO Lunchboxes

Contents: Sheep – Nishiki rice shaped into a rice ball with plastic wrap, cheese face and ears, more rice on top for head, spinach details, grapes, mini blueberry muffins, carrots, green bell pepper, peanuts

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Talk Like a Pirate Day 2015

Talk Like a Pirate Day pancake lunch

Ahoy, me Hearties! Happy Talk like a Pirate Day! (it is actually tomorrow but I am starting the celebration today)

Me nephew helped me make this pirate themed lunch for him. He had fun placin’ t’ picks and blueberries.

Container: EasyLunchBoxes

Left Side: Pancakes cut with pirate ship cookie cutter, blueberries, pirate hat cupcake ring, shark pick

Top Right: Pistachios with skull pick

Bottom Right: Snow peas

Posted in Bento / Cute Food, Food | 2 Comments

Linguine Day

linguini day lunch

Today is Linguine Day! It also happens to be my Dad’s birthday. Happy Birthday Dad!

Container: EasyLunchBoxes

Left Side: Linguine with cheese sauce, smoked sun-dried tomatoes, dried parsley

Top Right: Raspberries

Bottom Right: Lettuce, shredded carrots

Posted in Bento / Cute Food, Food | 2 Comments

Challah Apples and Honey for Lunch

apples honey challah for lunch

I kept it simple and made my nephews the exact same lunches.

Container: EasyLunchBoxes

Top Left: Apples (dipped in water with a splash of lemon juice to prevent browning), honey (in small green container)

Bottom Left: Carrots

Right Side: Round Challah bread (I halved the recipe, made individual round challahs and did not use the topping), Cheddar cheese

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Frog Bread Lunch

Frog Bread

Here is another fun shaped bread lunch.

Container: EasyLunchBoxes

Top Left: Green grapes

Bottom Left: Frog shaped cucumber (cut with mini frog cookie cutter), carrots

Right Side: Frog shaped homemade bread, food coloring marker details, Cheddar cheese

Posted in Bento / Cute Food, Food | Tagged | 2 Comments

Paw Patrol Lunch

Paw Patrol Sandwich Lunch

I asked my 3 year old nephew what theme he wanted for lunch. He said, “Paw Patrol”. He loved the dog picks!

Container: EasyLunchBoxes

Left Side: Peanut butter sandwich with carrot lettering

Top Right: Blueberries

Bottom Right: Bone shaped apples – dipped in pineapple juice to prevent browning (used cookie cutter)

Posted in Bento / Cute Food, Food | 2 Comments

Lego Day

Lego Minifigure Head Lunch

On our list of 100 summer activities, we had many Lego activities. My 11 year old nephew is a huge Lego fan so we decided to have a Lego day on his birthday. On Lego day of course I made Lego themed food.

The birthday boy ate this mini-figure head quesadilla lunch.

Container: EasyLunchBoxes

Top Left: Strawberries with a homemade Lego pick

Bottom Left: Green pepper Lego brick

Right Side: Lego Minifigure Head cheese quesadilla with food marker details, Trader Joe’s Caramel Popcorn

Lego Rice for Lunch

My pistachio loving nephew ate this Lego rice lunch.

Container: EasyLunchBoxes

Top Left: Peaches with homemade Lego picks

Bottom Left: Pistachios with Lego bricks drawn with food safe marker

Right Side: Rice Lego bricks – cooked Nishiki rice with salsa, tomato circles on top (mix some salsa into hot cooked rice, line mini loaf pans with plastic wrap, add salsa rice to lined loaf pan, cover rice with plastic wrap, press down, take out of mold), spinach

Lego Brownies

For dessert we made brownies and decorated them with green frosting and M&M’s to look like Lego bricks.

Lego Marble Run

My nephews had fun creating this Lego marble run maze and spent quite a bit of time playing with it. I found the idea here.

Lego Balloon Car

They each designed their own simple balloon powered Lego car. I found the idea here.

Lego Minifigure Cut Out Scavenger Hunt

I printed off this and created a scavenger hunt for my nephews. It was a rainy day so I hid the mini-figure print-outs around my house. Each boy had their own to find and when they were done I gave them small Lego sets to build.

Lego Minifigure in Ice

I think that playing with something embedded in ice is fun at any age so I froze mini-figures for each nephew. They had fun smashing the ice in my driveway.

Lego Space Men

We went to our nearby (over 1 hour away) Lego store in preparation for Lego day. These Space men with vehicles were their special July giveaway after spending a certain amount of money. On Lego day I gave them these to build.

Lego Birds

I bought this set of birds for the three of us to build. I did the Robin, the 11 year old nephew the Hummingbird, and the 13 year old nephew built the Blue-jay. They made fun of me that I took the longest but I was also distracted with other things.

Make Own Lego Head Storage Containers

I found these directions to make our own mini-figure Lego head containers. I had also thought about painting a container but it was cheaper to buy the cornstarch. My nephews each decorated their own container.

I think that we had a memorable Lego day but you never know what kids will end up remembering.

Posted in Bento / Cute Food, Food, Party Planning | 7 Comments

September National Honey Month Themed Food

Bee Hive waffle with melon bees

September is National Honey Month so I have some food featuring honeycombs, beehives and bees. Yes I took liberty with the definition of beehive and honeycomb for the sake of having fun with food.

This first meal came about with help from my 13 year old niece and 11 year old nephew. I love getting help with brainstorming bento ideas. My niece suggested cutting a waffle with a cookie cutter. My nephew suggested making a beehive from a waffle. I used this cookie cutter set.

Container: EasyLunchBoxes

Top Left: Cantaloupe bees

Bottom Left: Pistachios with “Bzzz” written with food safe marker

Right Side: Homemade waffles cut with beehive shaped cookie cutter, maple syrup in small yellow container (you could also use honey), bee pick

Bee Hive Bread with cheese bees

When making this homemade bread beehive I made small balls of dough and put them close together. Very easy!

Container: EasyLunchBoxes

Left Side: Sliced peaches with a little bit of lemon juice to prevent browning and a little bit of honey

Top Right: Carrots and bell pepper (supposed to be flowers)

Bottom Right: Beehive shaped homemade bread with edible bees (cheese, almond slices, food safe marker details)

Pineapple Bees food

I made these easy pineapple bees as part of a Back to School post but I wanted to share them again here since I love them so much.

I used fresh pineapple and cut chunks to my desired side. I then painted on some melted chocolate with a special paintbrush I use only for food. I cut dried pineapple in half and attached to the pineapple chunk with more melted chocolate. I was able to buy a small amount of dried pineapple in the bulk section of my grocery store.

 

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Ninja Sandwich for Lunch

Ninja Peanut Butter Sandwich Lunch

This lunch was for my 7 year old nephew. He requested this theme. It was actually a very easy lunch to make once I figured out how I would make it. This photo shows only one Ninja sandwich but I packed two for him (on top of each other).

Container: EasyLunchBoxes

Left Side: Ninja peanut butter sandwich on wheat bread (I used a round cutter to cut the bread), eyes (mini chocolate chips), crust from the bread, plastic sword, carrot lettering (I decided not to “glue” down the carrots with peanut butter and my nephew did a word scramble and figured out on his own what it spelled)

Top Right: Snow peas, carrot stars

Bottom Right: Blackberries

Posted in Bento / Cute Food, Food | 6 Comments

Back to School Bento Lunches

Spelling Bee Themed Lunch

This week I made four lunches for back to school. I am featuring three of them here. I love that my niece and nephews allow me to make cute lunches for them. My 15 year old nephew had a taco lunch that I will show on another day. I also followed our new tradition from last year and made jam tarts with their school year in pie crust.

This Spelling Bee themed lunch was for my nephew.

Container: EasyLunchBoxes

Left Side: ABC pasta with a little bit of butter and taco cheese in a bee silicone cup, cucumber and red bell pepper

Top Right: Cheez-It’s Scrabble Junior crackers

Bottom Right: Pineapple Bees with melted chocolate and dried pineapple wings

Not in Photo: Nature Valley Roasted Nut Crunch Bar

Alphabet Pasta in Bee Silicone Cup

Close-up of the Alphabet pasta in the bee cup.

Class of 2016 Themed Food

I made this lunch for my 16 year old niece. She is a Senior in high school and came up with this awesome theme idea.

Container: EasyLunchBoxes

Left Side: Nishiki rice, carrot lettering, sauteed zucchini and yellow bell pepper with some vegetable broth

Top Right: Vanilla Greek yogurt with blueberries

Bottom Right: Pistachios

Bookworm themed lunch

I made this book worm themed lunch for my 13 year old nephew.

Container: EasyLunchBoxes

Left Side: Cheese quesadillas with food marker details, gummy worm

Top Right: Cucumber

Bottom Right: Pineapple

Above the Box: Pistachios, Nature Valley Roasted Nut Crunch Bar

Posted in Bento / Cute Food, Food | 3 Comments

Happy Bento Book Review and Lunches

Happy Bento Lunches on the Go by Anna Adden

I was excited to receive a copy of Anna Adden’s book Happy Bento! Lunches on the Go. This book may look small but there is a lot of helpful information, fun ideas, and beautiful photos in it. From beginners to long time bento makers, there is something for everyone. Today I am sharing two lunches that were inspired by Anna’s book.

Cookie Cutter Pasta Technique Happy Bento lunch

When I turned to page 40, I was excited to see a technique I had never tried. Anna put pasta in a cookie cutter and kept the cutter in the lunch to hold the pasta. I did not have a hippo cookie cutter or the exact bento box in the photo but I did not need them to make a cute lunch. I mixed cooked mini shell pasta with a little butter and cheese and put it in a Starfish cookie cutter. Since I had a Starfish I decided to make an entire Under the Sea theme.

Starfish Themed lunch

Container: EasyLunchBoxes

Left Side: Mini shell pasta with butter and Mexican cheese blend in a starfish shaped cookie cutter, blueberries, Cheddar cheese fish (cut with cookie cutter)

Top Right: Pepperidge Farm Cheddar Goldfish Crackers

Bottom Right: Sugar Snap peas, shell carrots (cut with a tiny cutter)

Happy Bento Space Theme lunch

When I looked at page 38, I knew that I had to make peanut butter and apple sandwiches. I actually don’t have a rocket cookie cutter but I have plenty of stars and moons. I even have mini star rice molds that I used for this lunch.

Star Moon PB apple sandwich lunch

Container: Book Bento Box

Contents: Moon and Star peanut butter apple sandwiches, blueberries, blackberries, star onigiri (rice balls made with Nishiki rice and a mini star rice mold)

You don’t need the same tools to make an awesome lunch inspired by Happy Bento! Lunches on the Go. But if you want to buy some bento supplies visit Bento USA.

Disclosure: I received a free copy of this book for being part of the Happy Bento book blog tour. I was not financially compensated. All opinions stated here are 100% my own.

Posted in Bento / Cute Food, Food | 1 Comment

Virgo Bento Lunch

Virgo food lunch

Next in my monthly series of Zodiac symbol lunches, here is Virgo.

Container: EasyLunchBoxes

Left Side: Cheese quesadilla with Virgo Zodiac symbol written with food marker pen, mixed nuts

Top Right: Snow peas

Bottom Right: Blackberries

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Panda Bread Lunch

Panda Bread Lunch

I made this Panda shaped Nutella bread lunch for my 13 year old niece. I don’t see her very often and she loves Nutella so I baked some inside this bread just for her.

Container: EasyLunchBoxes

Left Side: Homemade bread with Nutella baked inside, Nutella ears and eyes, food marker nose and mouth

Top Right: Cherry tomatoes with Panda picks

Bottom Right: Panda apple with blueberry ears (stuck on with spaghetti), cinnamon eyes

Posted in Bento / Cute Food, Food | Tagged | 2 Comments

Spiderman Food for Lunch

Spiderman Raspberry Pancake Lunch

Read a book, watch the movie, eat themed food was on our 100 list of summer activities this year. The boys decided on a Spiderman theme – graphic novel, movie, lunches.

Container: EasyLunchBoxes

Left Side: Spiderman raspberry pancake (I added some frozen raspberries to the pancake batter), Cheddar cheese (eyes), small container of maple syrup (not in photo)

Top Right: Red bell pepper with blue spider drawn on a tortilla with blue food coloring marker

Bottom Right: Apple with chocolate and white candy melt details

Spiderman Rice Lunch

I made this for my salsa and rice loving nephew.

Container: EasyLunchBoxes

Left Side: Nishiki rice with salsa, spinach and cheese details, spinach background

Top Right: Blueberries

Bottom Right: Pretzel sticks spider web with chocolate and M&M

Spiderman Pasta Lunch

I consider this lunch the worst of this bunch. It looks strange and not really Spiderman themed. I made it for myself. I was lazy and did not figure out a way to do the webbing on the tomato and watermelon.

Container: EasyLunchBoxes

Left Side: Penne pasta with olive oil, Parmesan cheese, and spinach, cherry tomato, cheddar cheese details

Top Right: Peanuts

Bottom Right: Watermelon with feta eyes, blueberries

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Fit & Fresh Lunches and Review

Fit and Fresh Bento Lunch Kit

I was excited when Fit & Fresh contacted me to try out their Bento Lunch Kit. So far, I tried the box twice for packed lunches for myself but it would also be great for kids and teens. I loved the bag! It is so pretty and using it made me feel special. The box has ice packs that snap into the lid. I used the ice packs for the first lunch I made and did not use them for the second. It also has leak proof containers that fit into the two small compartments. I used the small containers for one lunch and not the other.

Fit and Fresh Lunch

Container: Fit & Fresh Bento Lunch Kit

Left Side: Kansas Medley Rice Blend (rice, wheat berries, and wild rice), roasted zucchini and yellow bell pepper, shredded Cheddar cheese

Top Right: Plain Greek yogurt, blueberries, cinnamon (I put the lid on the orange container after taking the photo)

Bottom Right: Watermelon (I put the lid on the blue container after taking the photo)

Star Food Fit and Fresh lunch

Container: Fit & Fresh Bento Lunch Kit

Left Side: Star shaped sauce-less pizzas with Cheddar cheese (I made homemade pizza dough and cut it out with star cookie cutters, added shredded Cheddar cheese and baked at 410 for about 10 minutes)

Top Right: Raspberries

Bottom Right: Cucumber stars

I enjoyed the versatility of the Fit & Fresh Bento Lunch Kit (ice pack or not, leak proof containers or not). I look forward to using it again for future lunches.

Disclosure: Fit & Fresh sent me the product shown here for review. I was not financially compensated. All opinions stated here are 100% my own.

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African Animal Muffin Tin Meal

Africian Animal Muffin Tin Meal

I made this African Animal themed muffin tin for a nephew. As usual at my house, muffin tin meals are popular with my older niece and nephews. You don’t need to be a toddler to enjoy a muffin tin meal.

Top Row:

  • Giraffe 3D cheese quesadilla
  • Chocolate covered animal cracker rhino
  • Cheese lions with spinach leaves

Bottom Row:

  • Mixed nuts
  • Sugar snap peas
  • Elephant Kiwi
Posted in Bento / Cute Food, Food | Tagged , | 3 Comments

Sunflower Cupcakes

Sunflower Cupcakes

My nephews and I made these sunflower flower pot cupcakes as part of our 100 Summer Activities list. I had the terra-cotta baking pots for about 20 years and it was my first time to use them. We followed these directions for the sunflower but not the pot. We used these directions for the cake. My nephew crushed up chocolate teddy grahams for the soil (it is what I had in the house) and I made a simple chocolate frosting. They were very sweet but looked cute. I want to make bread in them next.

Flower Pot Cupcakes Frosted

Posted in Bento / Cute Food, Food | 7 Comments

Shawn the Sheep Lunch

Shawn the Sheep food

The Shawn the Sheep movie will be released in the U.S. this week so of course I made a Shawn the Sheep themed lunch.

Shawn the Sheep Lunch

Container: EasyLunchBoxes

Top: Pumpernickel bread almond butter sandwich, cheese, food coloring marker details, lettuce

Bottom Left: Blackberries, apple with cinnamon, food coloring marker details

Bottom Right: Black olive, cauliflower, goat cheese with black olive pieces, lettuce

Linking to:

Eats Amazing Fun Food Friday

Posted in Bento / Cute Food, Food | Tagged , | 3 Comments

Constellation Dinner

Constellation Dinner Collage

My niece and some nephews joined me for a constellation themed dinner. This dinner featured Strawberry & Kiwi Salsa with Cinnamon Tortilla Chips, Star Salad, Big Dipper Baked Pasta, and Orion Brownies. I also taught each of them their zodiac sign and showed them the constellation for their sign. I don’t think that they were impressed with their zodiac signs but they seemed to enjoy the food. I don’t believe in the significance of Zodiac signs and it is difficult to see the pictures in the constellations but I think it is considered common knowledge and kids should have a basic awareness of it.

Kiwi and Strawberry Salad with cinnamon stars

Strawberry & Kiwi Salsa with Cinnamon Tortilla Chips: I used this recipe but did not use whole wheat tortillas, I also used olive oil and sugar instead of the coconut oil and sugar.

Star Salad

Star Salad: This is a simple but colorful salad that features vegetable stars – lettuce, radish, cucumber, carrots, red bell pepper

big dipper angel hair pasta bake

Big Dipper Baked Pasta: I made angel hair pasta, homemade cheese sauce (2 cup white sauce with shredded sharp cheddar cheese) and baked it until heated and slightly browned. After baking I garnished it with peas in the shape of the Big Dipper.

Orion Constellation Brownies

Orion Brownies: I made brownies using a Ghiradelli Brownie mix. After it was cooled we put sprinkle stars in the shape of Orion Constellation.

Consider having a stargazing party with a themed dinner to teach your kids about Zodiac signs and constellations.

Posted in Bento / Cute Food, Food, Party Planning | Comments Off on Constellation Dinner

10 Reasons Why Adults Eat Cute Food

10 Reasons Why Adults Would Eat Cute Food

I am passionate about making and eating cute food. People often assume that all of the food art I create is made for children. Why should only kids have all of the fun? I even received the following comment on Pinterest for my Lily of the Valley lunch, “Cute but terrible idea for a kid – Lily of the Valley is toxic”. It was cream cheese and chives over wild rice. I see the point but that meal was made for an adult. Cute food does not have to be only for kids. Here are 10 reasons why adults may decide to eat cute food.

Bald-Eagle-Bento

1. Advanced Age – When you are old you can be young again. You’re never too old to enjoy life and eat cute food. When I was a teenager I went to a tea party at the house of my grandmother’s friend. The woman put on a cute spread and dyed Easter eggs. It was memorable to me that an older woman still took steps to make a meal fun and special. Also sometimes when a person is older they do not have as much of an appetite. You can make a cute meal for an elderly friend or relative as a way to motivate them to eat a nutritious meal.

eiffel tower toast

2. Sickness – When you are sick you need to limit your diet and most food is not appetizing. Make toast more fun. Or better yet if you are feeling sick hopefully someone who cares about you would make your toast look appealing. Grace at Eats Amazing has some fantastic toast art.

Carrot Flower in Cucumber Cup on cake plate

3. Special Occasion – There are many adult only occasions in which fun shaped food would be appropriate. Holiday meals for adults, a wedding, tea party, bridal or baby shower are a few occasions that come to mind. You are limited only by your interests and imagination. Themed food such as shaped butter can also make an occasion more elegant.

Charlie Brown and Lucy Lunch

4. Fandom Do you or someone you love have a fandom obsession? Is there a fan of Hello Kitty, Doctor Who, Snoopy, Naruto, Harry Potter, or Star Wars in your life? Fandom possibilities are endless. Celebrate your interest with themed food.

Jack-o-lantern calzone lunch

5. Something Good Inside – If you love chocolate or cheese and know it is inside a cute bundle of food will you decide not to eat it because you think cute food is just for kids? Most likely you will eat that panda shaped bread with chocolate inside or a jack-o-lantern themed calzone. You can call me weird but the night I ate this jack-o-lantern calzone, I was delighted to eat something so cute and delicious.

World Smile Day Lunch

6. Pick-Me-Up – When you are feeling down a way to turn that frown upside down could be a smile themed meal. This meal makes me smile every time I see it.

Babar Lunch

7. Kid At Heart –  Did you retain a childlike spirit? I am guessing that most people who know me would not say that I was a kid at heart but when it comes to eating cute food, I am. Cute food amuses and delights.

3D Giraffe Elephant crackers

8. Simply Enjoy It – Why not? It is a common misconception that cute food is only for children. You don’t have to be a child to enjoy whimsically shaped food.

Tanabata Fruit Cups

9. Only Food Available – You are starving and the only food available happens to be a turtle shaped bread. You want to eat fruit but will not because the watermelon and apples are cut into star shapes? I am guessing that most people would eat it anyway.

ELB Lily of the Valley

10. Your Hobby is Crafting with Food – You enjoy creating food art and do not always have a kid around to eat it. Or there are leftovers from the meal you made for your kid. Crafting with food is a wonderful creative outlet for people who do not like clutter. When you are done with your creation you can eat it.

Posted in Bento / Cute Food, Food | Tagged | 8 Comments

Super Mario Bros Bento Lunch

Super Mario Bros Food

I made this Super Mario Bros sandwich lunch for my 5 year old nephew. I ate lunch with him and was very pleased that he enjoyed it so much. The bag was dropped on it’s side and everything stayed in place except that the apple shifted. I “glued” Mario’s features on with Peanut Butter (you could use Wowbutter or another sticky spread). I thought about using spaghetti to hold the mushroom (apple) together but opted not to do it. I did not do anything special to hold the details on the star but it held.

I knew that I wanted to make a Mario sandwich but was unsure how. This was my inspiration. I copied the apple mushroom and was inspired to make a cucumber star from this lunch.

Container: EasyLunchBoxes

Left Side: Mario peanut butter sandwich on wheat bread (sideburns, eyebrows, and mustache are the crust from the bread glued on with peanut butter, eyes are cheddar cheese with food coloring marker details, the hat is Wegmans Strawberry Fruit Strips, the “M” is cheddar cheese with food coloring marker detail)

Top Right: Cucumber stars, one with skin and inside of cucumber for eyes

Bottom Right: Apple mushroom, I used the end of a pastry tip to create the circles and removed the skin with a knife. I dipped the apple pieces in water with lemon juice to prevent browning

Posted in Bento / Cute Food, Food | Comments Off on Super Mario Bros Bento Lunch

Leo Bento Lunch

leo zodiac symbol

Next in my monthly series of Zodiac symbol lunches, here is Leo.

Container: EasyLunchBoxes

Left Side: Mashed potato with white cheddar cheese molded in a custard cup, blue mashed potato piped on top in the shape of the Leo symbol, lettuce

Top Right: Frozen green peas

Bottom Right: Mandarin oranges

Posted in Bento / Cute Food, Food | Tagged | 1 Comment

4 Year Blogiversary Giveaway

blogiversary giveaway

Edited: The giveaway is now closed. I will notify the winner.

It is that time of year again! I am celebrating my 4 year blogiversary with a giveaway in appreciation for my readers. My long time readers know that I love using cookie cutters with savory food. The giveaway this year has a lot of cookie cutters!

This contest is open to anyone in the world.

The prize consists of:

  • Small alphabet cutters
  • Set of Animal Picks
  • Set of Valentine Cookie Cutters
  • Set of Easter Cookie Cutters
  • Set of Thanksgiving Cookie Cutters
  • Set of Easter Cookie Cutters / Stamps
  • Set of 2 Large Silicone Cups
  • Set of 3 Mini Rice Molds

How to Enter:

  1. Please submit a comment.
  2. Make sure that I have your email address with your comment.
  3. For an additional entry please subscribe to my blog by email and tell me in your comment that you subscribed.

Important!! Please read the Terms and Conditions of this giveaway!
Prizes cannot be shipped to P.O. Boxes. Winner will be randomly selected by a random number generator and notified by the email submitted with your comment. Entries that do not fulfill the mandatory requirements will be deleted. Winner will have 48 hours to respond before a new winner is selected. Facebook, Instagram, and Pinterest are in no way associated with this giveaway. If you’ve chosen to subscribe by email for an additional entry, you must still be doing so at the time of the drawing or you will be disqualified, and I will draw again. I do not share or sell information and will use any information only for the purpose of contacting the winner. This giveaway ends Thursday, July 23, 2014 at 5:00 p.m. EDT.

Posted in Blog, Food | 87 Comments

Cow Themed Food

Cow Themed Food

Today in celebration of Cow Appreciation Day I have cow shaped food. I used cow cookie cutters for a majority of these meals.

holstein pizza

Container: EasyLunchBoxes

Left Side: Cow shaped pizzas with mozzarella cheese, black olives (no sauce)

Top Right: Sugar snap peas

Bottom Right: Apple with “Moo” cut out

The Cow Jumped Over the Moon

This mashed potato cow jumping over the moon was previously published here.

Cow Onigiri

This cow rice ball was previously published here.

Cow Sandwich Lunch

This cow sandwich was previously published here.

cow sandwich

This black and white cow themed lunch was fun to make and eat.

Container: LunchBots Trio

Top Left: Pumpernickel bread sandwich with cream cheese and strawberry jam, cream cheese details, lettuce

Top Right: Strawberries and blueberries

Bottom: Black olives and fresh mozzarella balls

Dish spoon cow moon lunch

This cheese cow and moon was part of a dish and spoon themed meal. It was previously published here.

cow quesadilla

This cheese quesadilla cow was a natural choice for a cow themed meal.

Container: EasyLunchBoxes

Left Side: Cow shaped cheese quesadilla with food marker details, sugar snap peas

Top Right: Cottage cheese with cinnamon

Bottom Right: Green grapes

Maids-Milking-Lunch

This cow sandwich with cheese udder and fruit roll-up details was previously published here.

Bass Clef Bento Lunch

This cheese cow with food marker details was featured in this “All Cows Eat Grass” music themed lunch. Previously published here.

Back to School Basics Hop

This simple cow shaped pizza was previously published here.

cow pattern food

This cow patterned meal is simple to make – rice and kidney beans over cheese rice.

Container: EasyLunchBoxes

Left Side: Cooked rice with shredded white Cheddar cheese (added when rice is hot), Dijon mustard, kidney beans

Top Right: Mixed nuts

Bottom Right: Broccoli with lemon

cow bread

The bread in this meal is supposed to be shaped as a cow.

Container: EasyLunchBoxes

Left Side: Cow shaped bread with food marker details, Cheddar cheese stick

Top Right: Green grapes

Bottom Right: Cucumber with carrot lettering “Moo”

cow in the corn

Little Boy Blue come blow your horn, the sheep’s in the meadow the cow is in the corn.

Container: EasyLunchBoxes

Left Side: Cheese cow with food marker details, baby corn, snow peas

Top Right: Strawberry and kiwi

Bottom Right: Lettuce with cheese sheep

cow cookies

Frosted sugar cookies with ChocoMaker Milk Chocolate Flakes.

I hope that you now have some ideas for making cow shaped food. Enjoy!

Posted in Bento / Cute Food, Food | 2 Comments

Vegetarian Taco Lunch

kidney bean corn tacos for lunch

This was for my taco loving nephew. I made it with kidney beans instead of black beans because I wanted to try something different.

Container: EasyLunchBoxes

Left Side: Tomatoes, lettuce, Mexican cheese blend

Top Right: Grapes

Bottom Right: Kidney beans, corn, taco sauce

Outside of Box: Corn taco shells

Posted in Bento / Cute Food, Food | Tagged | Comments Off on Vegetarian Taco Lunch

Sunny Pizza

Sun pizza no sauce

I made several versions of these sun pizzas and decided to share both of them. Both types have mozzarella and cheddar cheese but one type has tomato sauce and one does not. My niece ate these as part of a pizza dinner.

Container: EasyLunchBoxes

Left Side:  Two sun shaped pizzas (pizza dough, mozzarella, and orange cheddar cheese). I used a circle cookie cutter and a triangle cookie cutter to cut the dough.

Top Right: Yellow bell pepper with sunglasses pick

Bottom Right: Apple

sun pizza with sauce

These pizzas have tomato sauce, mozzarella and cheddar cheese.

Posted in Bento / Cute Food, Food | 1 Comment

Bear Pancakes for Lunch

teddy bear pancakes

I know that these pancakes are funny looking but my nephew loves pancakes and chocolate and he enjoyed these.

Container: EasyLunchBoxes

Top Left: Grapes

Bottom Left: Peanuts

Right Side: Bear shaped pancakes with regular and mini chocolate chips, maple syrup

Linking to:

Eats Amazing Fun Food Friday

Posted in Bento / Cute Food, Food | 2 Comments

3D Animal Shaped Crackers with Soup

3D Giraffe Elephant crackers

I love using cookie cutters for savory food. Instead of making cookies I used these 3D cutters to make giraffe and elephant shaped crackers. This was actually the second time I attempted this. Make sure when you cut out the shapes that you push the leg openings a little bit together. Cracker dough does not expand the same way that cookie dough does so you need to make the openings more narrow.

Soup with 3D animal crackers

I wanted to serve these crackers with soup so I made this celery soup (with vegetable stock) to use up celery that I had in the house.

These were fun to make and eat. If I make them again I will experiment with different seeds and rubs to add color and details to the animals.

Linking to:

Eats Amazing Fun Food Friday

Posted in Uncategorized | Tagged | 2 Comments

World UFO Day Food

UFO themed food

Happy UFO Day! I made this fun cheese and bread meal for my nephew.

Container: EasyLunchBoxes

Left Side: Homemade bread – I shaped the roll and baked on a cookie sheet, after it was cooled I drew on it with a food safe coloring pen. Cheddar cheese stars (used a cookie cutter).

Top Right: Grape alien (I attached the eye with cream cheese, it was not easy to use celery for the antenna, use a toothpick to make holes in the grape and pea to make it a little easier), blackberries

Bottom Right: Cucumber stars (used a cookie cutter)

Posted in Bento / Cute Food, Food | 2 Comments

Cinderella Lunch

Cinderella Themed Food

Not long ago I received this glass slipper pick from a friend so of course I had to make a Cinderella themed meal. I served it to my niece.

Container: EasyLunchBoxes

Left Side: Homemade bread – I shaped the roll and baked it on a cookie sheet, after it was cooled I drew on it with a food safe coloring pen. Miniature Reese’s Peanut Butter Cup with melted white chocolate (put the melted chocolate in a plastic zip-lock bag and cut off a small corner, pipe on the clock hands).

Top Right: Blackberries with glass slipper pick

Bottom Right: Mouse shaped cucumbers (used cookie cutter), carrots

Cinderella chocolate clock

Close-up of the Cinderella food details.

Linking to:

Eats Amazing Fun Food Friday

Posted in Bento / Cute Food, Food | Tagged | 4 Comments

Vegetarian Cookout Food

Vegetarian Cookout Food

Here is a vegetarian grilled meal that does not include veggie burgers. My parents and I ate this meal when they came to visit. My parents are not vegetarians but they enjoyed this. My Dad did the grilling.

Menu

  • Composed Salad (see below)
  • Grilled Cheesy Potato Packets – We enjoyed this but we did have some trouble with oil leaking out of the packets when they were flipped. Make sure that your packets are well sealed.
  • Grilled Garlic Bread – I did not use parsley.

Composed Salad

Beautiful composed salad – cucumber, tomatoes, romaine, feta cheese, and black olives. Serve with a vinaigrette of your choice.

Grilled Cheesy Potato Packets

Grilled cheesy potato packets after they were cooked. Delicious! This was a satisfying meal and I am looking forward to making it again.

Posted in Bento / Cute Food, Food | Tagged | Comments Off on Vegetarian Cookout Food

4th of July Food

4th of July Food Collage

This year for 4th of July I have themed food in the shape of an eagle, the United States, fireworks, and the American Flag. All of these feature rice and most have rice and salsa which is a new favorite combination in my house.

For other ideas see my post from last year of 14 USA Patriotic meals.

Salsa rice beans american flag

This American Flag lunch features rice, salsa, and beans. My pistachio loving nephew enjoyed this meal.

Container: EasyLunchBoxes

Top: American Flag – black beans, cheddar cheese stars, white Nishiki rice, salsa

Bottom Left: Pistachios

Bottom Right: Raspberries

Fireworks beans over rice

This is my second attempt at making a fireworks themed meal. As with last years meal you probably did not know that the black beans were supposed to represent fireworks. But my niece enjoyed this meal anyway.

Container: EasyLunchBoxes

Top Left: Grapes, cantaloupe, watermelon

Bottom Left: Mixed nuts

Right Side: Nishiki rice with salsa, black beans

bald eagle rice

This is my second time making an eagle. I think that he turned out cute.

Container: EasyLunchBoxes

Left Side: Nishiki rice eagle with blueberry eye and cashew nose, broccoli, sugar snap peas

Top Right: Brazil nuts

Bottom Right: Tomatoes and Feta cheese

America 4th of july food

This is not my favorite in this batch but I wanted to try something different.

Container: EasyLunchBoxes

Top: United States – broccoli (used a cookie cutter), Nishiki rice with salsa

Bottom Left: Plain Greek yogurt with cinnamon and a little sugar stripes

Bottom Right: Apple stars

What do you like to make to celebrate a patriotic holiday in your country?

Posted in Bento / Cute Food, Food | Tagged , | 2 Comments

Cancer Bento Lunch

Cancer Zodiac Food

It is that time of the month again, time for another Zodiac symbol themed lunch.

Container: EasyLunchBoxes

Left Side: Wegmans Kansas Medley Rice Blend, green dyed spaghetti Cancer Zodiac symbol

Top Right: Asparagus

Bottom Right: Watermelon

Posted in Bento / Cute Food, Food | Tagged | Comments Off on Cancer Bento Lunch

Tabouleh Lunch

Tabouli Red Pepper Hummus Lunch

This Tabouleh (or Tabbouleh) lunch with red pepper hummus veggies is low-cal but satisfying.

Container: EasyLunchBoxes

Left Side: Near East Tabouleh with tomatoes and feta

Top Right: Wegmans Red Pepper Hummus

Bottom Right: Cucumber and carrots

Posted in Bento / Cute Food, Food | Comments Off on Tabouleh Lunch

Twice Baked Potato Sheep

Twice Baked Potato Sheep

In my never ending quest to make lamb/sheep themed food, I made these potato sheep. They are a little funny looking but maybe they are also cute?

Container: EasyLunchBoxes

Left Side: Twice baked potatoes (added cottage cheese to the baked potato and refilled the potato shell) with Craisin ears and cheese face with food marker details

Top Right: Peanut Butter Energy Balls (see recipe below)

Bottom Right: Snow peas

Peanut Butter Balls (5 servings, Serving size: 2 balls)

1/4 cup natural peanut butter
2 Tbs milk
2 Tbs dry milk powder
1/4 cup Craisins
4 (2 1/2 inch) graham cracker squares, crushed
1 tsp vanilla

Combine peanut butter and milk until well blended. Add remaining ingredients and mix well. Divide into 10 balls and place on a foil lined cookie sheet. Place in freezer until ready to serve.

Posted in Bento / Cute Food, Food | Tagged , | 6 Comments

Artichoke Rosemary Bruschetta for Lunch

Artichoke Rosemary Bruschetta Lunch

My Mom loves artichokes so I made this for lunch during her visit. I often bring this to parties but never made it for lunch before. Delicious!

Container: EasyLunchBoxes

Left Side: Artichoke Rosemary Bruschetta

Top Right: Blueberries and Raspberries

Bottom Right: Asparagus

From Betty Crocker Holiday magazine #123, November 1996 (link no longer online)

Posted in Bento / Cute Food, Food | Comments Off on Artichoke Rosemary Bruschetta for Lunch

100 Summer Activities for Tween and Teen Boys

100 Summer Activities Boys

Update: See the end of this post for an update on the changes we made to the list. We completed 100 activities but we did make many changes along the way.

This summer I will have my nearly 11 year old nephew and recently 13 year old nephew at my house two days a week while their Mom works at an office. I have enjoyed other summers with them and we did a combination of activities. This year I was inspired by lists of Summer Things-to-Do and worked with my nephews to develop this list. Of course this list is not only for boys. Girls can enjoy each of these items. But when searching for ideas I found a lot of ideas that my nephews would not want to do. Since I wanted their buy-in for each of these items we went through lots of ideas before getting to 100. They did come up with some of their own ideas. I separated the ideas into categories: Outings, Exercise, Science, Outside/Water, Crafts, Misc., Food/Drink. They did not say no to any of my Food/Drink ideas. I wanted an Education category but that was vetoed.

I have no idea how many of these we will actually do this summer but hopefully I will occasionally share our progress.

100 summer activities (PDF of all 100 items in abbreviated form)

At the end of this list I have some additional ideas I came up with that they rejected.

Outings

  1. Beaver Meadow Audubon Center
  2. Miniature golf
  3. Movie at planetarium
  4. Lego Store
  5. Visit a historic place
  6. Visit cousins
  7. Archery
  8. Factory tour
  9. Zoomobile at library
  10. Daniel Boone program at library
  11. Village Garage Sales
  12. Wildlife Defenders at library
  13. Collect eggs from cousin’s chickens
  14. Visit Great Grandma (bring baked item)
  15. Go to Ellison Park
  16. See movie at local movie theatre
  17. Picnic at Beach
  18. DEC Education Center
  19. Fort Niagara
  20. Skyzone
  21. Go canoeing

Exercise

  1. Walk to Tim Hortons
  2. Walk to McDonalds
  3. Play tennis
  4. Run/Bike around Village Park 1/2 mile loop

Science

  1. Create a baking soda volcano. Pour a bit of white vinegar into a plastic cup, add a tablespoon of baking soda and watch it “explode.”
  2. Microwave Ivory soap
  3. Other microwave fun – peeps, etc?
  4. Make magnetic slime and make it move with magnets
  5. Coke and mentos experiment
  6. Kool aid eruption
  7. Foam experiment with yeast, soap, and peroxide
  8. Experiment with food coloring, milk, soap
  9. Lava in cup experiment
  10. Take apart an obsolete and unwanted household object, like an old printer or clock radio, to see how it works. – see if relative has something
  11. Make a robot
  12. Clean pennies with vinegar, salt
  13. Build waterfall water wall
  14. Build and launch miniature rocket

Outside/Water

  1. Make a target with chalk on the sidewalk, and then throw wet sponges at it until it disappears.
  2. Water balloons
  3. Put a small toy in a balloon, fill it with water and freeze. You’ll end up with a toy frozen in a big chunk of ice.
  4. Set up a Lego scavenger hunt in the backyard. Give the kids maps or clue sheets for extra fun.
  5. Make ice sculptures by freezing different shaped containers full of water. Once frozen, take them out (use a little warm water if necessary) and use them as building blocks.
  6. Play croquet

Crafts

  1. Sun print paper craft
  2. Sculpt with clay
  3. Squirt shaving cream onto a paper plate and “draw” with your fingers.
  4. Make a toy boat. Add sails and decorations, and then float it in pool, river or tub.
  5. Create a wallet out of duct tape.
  6. Origami – crane and moving crane
  7. Paper airplanes
  8. Make greeting cards
  9. Draw a picture blindfolded
  10. Throw paint filled eggs at canvas to make art
  11. Exploding sidewalk paint bags
  12. Blow paint bubbles with straw painting
  13. Make wooden rope climbing monkey
  14. Shrinky dink craft
  15. Learn about another cultures holiday – make food, etc..
  16. Make Christmas gifts
  17. Family Photo magnets
  18. Duct tape pencil case
  19. Nail string art

Misc.

  1. Create a short stop-motion film using legos
  2. Play the board game Life
  3. Play Monopoly
  4. See if you can actually get a Slinky to go down the stairs
  5. Make a domino chain reaction. See how long you can make it, and try adding curves and going up and down stairs.
  6. Read a book, watch the movie, make themed food
  7. Lay down sheets of bubble wrap and have the kids get popping.
  8. See who can create the best shadow figures. All you need is a flashlight, a sheet and your hands.
  9. Play Balloon Ping-Pong Paper plates, Popsicle sticks, and a balloon are all you need
  10. Throw a balloon into the air and see how long you can keep it afloat without letting it touch the ground.
  11. Make a catapult (this is only one way, not sure which type we will try)
  12. Make your own bouncy ball
  13. Rubber band car
  14. Make a marble run
  15. Learn bird calls and test each other
  16. Star Wars movie marathon day
  17. Special Volunteer / Good Deed
  18. Make Lego candy dispenser
  19. Listen to various types of music
  20. Play with refrigerator box
  21. Learn some magic tricks put on a show

Food / Drink

  1. Beverage challenge. Set up chilled cups of seasonal drinks (lemonade, iced tea, fruit water) and try to identify each while blindfolded.
  2. Play restaurant: Have the kids create a menu, take orders, cook the meal and serve.
  3. Make your own rock candy
  4. Make candy from maple syrup experiment
  5. Bake soft pretzels
  6. Make bagels and experiment with toppings
  7. Guess taste of various ingredients while blindfolded (include whipped cream)
  8. Make ice cream
  9. Decorative cake with dry ice and book (if can find dry ice)
  10. Make fried dough
  11. Make and eat Popsicles
  12. Battered fried apple rings
  13. Flower Pot cupcakes
  14. Mini ice cream cakes
  15. Make corn fritters

100 summer activities (PDF of all 100 items in abbreviated form)

Some Rejected Ideas

  • Fruit picking
  • Take photos of plants and animals using different filters and frames
  • Paint the sidewalk with water, see how fast the sun makes it disappear
  • Draw a game board on the sidewalk and make up the rules
  • Create a sidewalk masterpiece with chalk
  • See who can build the tallest tower with blocks or Lego bricks
  • Massive bubble battle
  • Water cup race – balance cups of water on their heads
  • Make and navigate an obstacle course made out of recycled items
  • Collect items from nature and make a collage
  • Play War, Old Maid, or Go Fish
  • Make your own puzzle
  • Create your own comic book
  • Make a summer vacation scrapbook
  • Grab binoculars and go bird watching
  • Make tie-dye T-shirts
  • Build a house of cards
  • Lie outside and watch the clouds
  • Make potato stamps
  • Grow cress heads
  • Visit ancestors at a cemetary
  • Draw a picture with your foot
  • Dye popcorn kernels and make a mosaic
  • Pony bead crafts
  • Interview a family member and make a digital recording

I hope that this gives you some activities to do with the kid in your life.

Update: These are the 100 items we ended up completing.

Posted in Adventures, Bento / Cute Food, Crafts, Food, Party Planning | 2 Comments

Graduation Themed Lunch

Graduation themed food

My 18 year old nephew is graduating this week. I made this graduation themed lunch for his last week of classes. I was nostalgic while making this lunch. It was my last time to make a school lunch for him.

Container: EasyLunchBoxes

Left Side: Cheese quesadillas (3 stacked) with Mexican cheese blend and kidney beans, Cheddar cheese graduate cut-out

Top Right: Chocolate Graduation Cap – mini Reese’s Peanut Butter Cups, sectioned Chocolate Bar, fruit flat, little bit of chocolate frosting

Bottom Right: Raspberries

Not Pictured: Granola bar, additional mini Reese’s Peanut Butter Cups, grapes

Posted in Bento / Cute Food, Food | 1 Comment

9 Dinosaur Food Ideas

Dino Food Ideas

As regular readers of this blog know, I am a huge fan of using cookie cutters with savory food. I wanted to use some of my dinosaur cookie cutters so I decided to make this collection.

Dino cheese

This dinosaur shaped cheese is a fun way to garnish a meal. I actually made it for myself as I feel that cute food is not only for kids.

Container: EasyLunchBoxes

Left Side: Wegmans Kansas Medley Rice Blend, Cheddar cheese dinosaur

Top Right: Raw broccoli

Bottom Right: Watermelon

Muffin Tin Monday Dinosaur

I made this Dinosaur themed muffin tin meal a few years ago for a nephew who was 5 at the time. He loved it!

Top Row:

  • Dinosaur nest with egg (corn and Colby-Jack cheese)
  • Mama and baby dinosaurs (strawberries with chocolate eyes)
  • Letter D (Colby-Jack cheese)
  • Dinosaur eggs (green grapes)

Bottom Row:

  • Broccoli
  • Dinosaur pizzas (I made pizza dough and cut with a dinosaur cookie cutter, topped with tomato sauce and mozzarella cheese and baked)
  • Dinosaur fossil cookies

Cheesy Naan Dinosaurs

I made this meal shortly after Easter. The dyed hard boiled eggs were leftover Easter Eggs.

Container: EasyLunchBoxes

Left Side: Naan bread broiled with cheese and garlic powder, dyed hard boiled eggs

Top Right: Cashews

Bottom Right: Raspberries

Dino Hatch Egg Quesadilla food

I had fun making this Dinosaur quesadilla hatching out of it’s shell.

Container: EasyLunchBoxes

Left Side: Cheese quesadilla with food marker details

Top Right: Broccoli

Bottom Right: Strawberries

Dino Pizza

This is another one that I made a few years ago. My nephew who ate this was 28 months at the time. He enjoyed the dino pizzas.

Container: EasyLunchBoxes

Fruit:  Grapes cut in half

Vegetable: Green Peas (he did not eat the peas)

Dinosaurs: Homemade pizzas, crust was cut with a dinosaur pizza cutter

Dino Rice Caveman Cheese

I used a dinosaur cookie cutter to shape sticky rice.

Container: EasyLunchBoxes

Left Side: Dinosaur rice (cooked Nishiki rice, pack rice into a cookie cutter and then carefully remove the cookie cutter, brush with soy sauce, cheese eye with food coloring marker detail), snow peas

Top Right: Clementine

Bottom Right: Brazil Nuts, Cheddar cheese with Caveman drawing (food coloring marker)

Volcano Lunch

A few years ago I hosted Aunt Kathy’s preschool camp. I made this on Dinosaur and Volcano day for one of my teachers (my 12 year old nephew)

Container: EasyLunchBoxes

Fruit: Strawberries

Vegetable: Cucumber

Volcano & Dinosaur: Homemade pizza. I shaped the volcano by hand. I tried several versions but was happiest with this one. The only sauce was the lava, the rest was cheese. I cut the dinosaur pizza with a dinosaur cookie cutter. Broccoli trees.

Yogurt: Raspberry yogurt to represent lava

Dino shaped bread

Okay I think that this shaped bread was a fail as a dinosaur. It looks more like a Manatee.

Container: EasyLunchBoxes

Top Left: Carrot and Green Pepper

Top Right: Cottage Cheese with blueberries and cinnamon

Bottom: Dinosaur shaped bread (food marker details), cherry tomatoes, almond butter (in Mini Dippers)

Dino Tortilla Chips

Recently I discovered that I prefer black beans if I mix them with salsa. These homemade dinosaur tortilla chips are sprinkled with paprika and hot paprika.

Container: EasyLunchBoxes

Left Side: Dinosaur tortilla chips with paprika and hot paprika (I cut flour tortillas with a dino cookie cutter, brushed olive oil on each side, sprinkled with paprika and baked in a 350 degree oven for about 10 minutes or until lightly browned and crisp.), blackberries

Top Right: Greek yogurt with cinnamon

Bottom Right: Black beans and salsa

I hope that you now have some new ideas for making dinosaur shaped food for the kid in your life or yourself. Enjoy!

Posted in Bento / Cute Food, Food | Tagged | 2 Comments

Pasta Leftovers for Lunch

9 Pasta Leftovers ELB

I won’t lie. I LOVE pasta. I can eat it hot, cold, or at room temperature. I love having leftovers to eat for lunch. In this collection I have Lasagna, Bow Tie (Farfalle), Liguini, Ziti, Elbow, Orzo, Angel Hair, Large Shells, and Fusilini pasta. All of these are packed for lunch in my EasyLunchBoxes. I hope that this collection of 9 different pasta recipes gives you some ideas for lunch, dinner, or anytime.

Bowtie Pasta Asparagus

I would not eat asparagus as a kid because my Grandfather told me that it would make my pee smell funny. As an adult, I love asparagus and don’t mind the odd smell of my urine after eating it.

Container: EasyLunchBoxes

Left Side: Bowtie pasta with cooked asparagus, a little butter, garlic powder, and Parmesan cheese

Top Right: Almond and Coconut bar

Bottom Right: Blueberries

Baked Vegetable Ziti

This pasta recipe is a favorite in my house.

Container: EasyLunchBoxes

Left Side: Baked Vegetable Ziti – I did not use the mushrooms

Top Right: Almonds

Bottom Right: Trader Joe’s Dried Clementines

Angel Hair Eggplant Pomodoro

I love eggplant and fresh mozzarella and this recipe has both.

Container: EasyLunchBoxes

Top Left: Clementine

Bottom Left: Hazelnuts

Right Side: Eggplant Pomodoro over Angel Hair pasta – I did not use whole wheat Angel Hair

Fusillini with Carmalized Onions

I am a fan of Caramelized Onions and they went great in this pasta dish.

Container: EasyLunchBoxes

Left Side: Fusillini with Caramelized Onions – I loosely followed this recipe, I did not have Panko so I used other bread crumbs

Top Right: Mandarin oranges

Bottom Right: Assorted lettuce

Orzo Spinach

This is another pasta recipe that I frequently make because I love spinach and feta cheese.

Container: EasyLunchBoxes

Left Side: Orzo with Spinach and Feta Cheese

Top Right: Blackberries

Bottom Right: Almonds

Lemon Linguini

This creamy linguine recipe is easy to make and delicious for dinner and leftovers for lunch.

Container: EasyLunchBoxes

Left Side: Linguine in Lemon Cream Sauce

Top Right: Green peas

Bottom Right: Applesauce with cinnamon

Stuffed Shells Artichoke Spinach Feta

My Mom is a huge fan of artichokes so I made this when she visited.

Container: EasyLunchBoxes

Left Side: Artichoke, Spinach, and Feta Stuffed Shells

Top Right: French bread

Bottom Right: Mandarin oranges

Vegetable Lasagna

This vegetarian Vegetable lasagna contains lots of vegetables and is very satisfying.

Container: EasyLunchBoxes

Left Side: Vegetable Lasagna – I mostly followed this recipe but did not use the mushrooms and carrots

Top Right: Almond and Coconut bar

Bottom Right: Blueberries

Mac and cheese stuffed peppers teen lunch

I made this meal for my teenage nephew and it was previously published here.

Container: EasyLunchBoxes

Top Left: Raspberries

Bottom Left: Dove Sea Salt & Caramel Dark Chocolate

Right Side: Three Cheese Macaroni Stuffed Peppers

I hope that you now have some new ideas for a pasta dinner and save some pasta leftovers for your lunch.

Posted in Bento / Cute Food, Food | Tagged | Comments Off on Pasta Leftovers for Lunch