Eclectic Lamb

Strawberry Pizza Bento

Posted on June 20, 2013 by eclecticlamb

It is now strawberry season here. I made a strawberry themed dinner for my husband and myself. The leftovers made an easy and delicious leftover lunch.

Container: EasyLunchBoxes

Strawberry Pizza:The pizza has goat cheese, strawberries in a reduced balsamic vinegar and a garnish of fresh spinach leaves. I made some changes to the original recipe. I did not use white balsamic vinegar and I used spinach instead of baby arugula and frisée. I am thinking about trying this with feta cheese next time.

Vegetable: Strawberry, Cucumber, and Basil Salad, I reduced the amount of basil and did not use the balsamic vinegar since I already had some in the pizza. I thought that this was refreshing and delicious.

Strawberry Bread: I used this recipe. I don’t like this type of bread so I did not try it but my husband loved it.

Posted in Bento / Cute Food | Tagged bento, featured ingredient, strawberry lunch, vegetarian | 10 Comments

Rose Bento

Posted on June 19, 2013 by eclecticlamb

I made this simple lunch in honor of June roses. I used a rose pan that made six muffins. The nuts and strawberries don’t look like roses but I decided to just go with it. In either case, it was a delicious lunch.

Container: EasyLunchBoxes

Rose: Red Pepper and Cheese muffin (Page 230, Great Breads by Martha Rose Shulman) with lettuce

Dairy: Raspberry yogurt with almond flower

Fruit: Strawberries

Posted in Bento / Cute Food | Tagged bento, rose themed lunch, vegetarian | 13 Comments

Outer Space Day Preschool Camp

Posted on June 18, 2013 by eclecticlamb

The theme for our third day of Aunt Kathy’s Preschool Camp was outer space. Our previous themes were Australia and Dinosaurs/Volcanoes.

This Astronaut lunch was prepared for my 28 month old nephew. He loves pasta! He did not eat the astronaut or carrots.

Container: EasyLunchBoxes

Fruit: Apple moons and stars (I peeled the apples and then dipped them in a solution of water with a little bit of lemon juice to prevent browsing. Then, I used a variety of small cookie cutters to cut the star and moon shapes.)

Vegetable: Carrot moons and stars (I used small cookie cutters to cut the carrots. I like to use a folded dish towel between my hand and the metal cookie cutter. It prevents the metal cutter from hurting my hand.)

Background: Farfalline pasta with tomato sauce

Astronaut: Lasagna noodle with food marker details (I used kitchen scissors to freehand cut the Astronaut.)

I made this pasta rocket lunch for my nephew who is almost five. I was inspired by this lunch by BentoLunch.net . My nephew ate almost all of this lunch. There was only a little pasta left.

Container: EasyLunchBoxes

Background: Farfalline pasta with peas and carrot stars

Rocket: White and orange cheddar cheese

Nuts: Cashews

Fruit: Blueberries

Preschool: Our focus of the day was outer space, astronauts, and rockets. We practiced counting down from 5, read books about astronauts, and made rockets out of paper towel tubes. We had a lot of fun all day playing with a space themed sensory box. We played with glue and glitter (on Aunt Kathy’s porch) to make star art. We pretended to be astronauts. Everyone had fun playing in a refrigerator box converted to a rocket ship (Aunt Kathy was the only one to not go inside the box).

My husband and I made this simple astronaut costume out of a 35 oz utz Halloween Pretzel Treats container and a white pillow case.

Astronaut Costume

We mostly followed these directions to make rockets out of paper towel tubes.

Handmade Paper Rockets

This was my first time making a sensory box. I followed these directions to create a space themed sensory box. I could not find star shaped pasta so I used dried black beans and dried navy beans. I also used the Space themed Toob set. This sensory box was a huge hit! My younger nephew loved this so much. He played with it off and on for long lengths of time throughout the day.

Space Themed Sensory Box

I took a refrigerator box and covered one side with space themed paper I found at the Dollar Tree. The kids decorated the other side. We had this box outside and inside (it started to rain). The kids loved it!

Space Themed Refrigerator Box

We did our own version of glitter sponge painting. We cut stars from sponges, dipped in glue, then sprinkled with glitter. But we were inspired by this (scroll down).

Star Glitter Craft in Process

Star Glitter Craft

Our afternoon snack was Cheddar Rocket Crackers from Trader Joe’s.

Rocket Snack

Posted in Bento / Cute Food, Crafts, Food | Tagged bento, preschool, vegetarian | 12 Comments

Eat Your Vegetables Day

Posted on June 17, 2013 by eclecticlamb

Today is “Eat Your Vegetables Day“. I decided to eat and photograph vegetables as part of every meal and snack. I am a vegetarian but ate vegan all day in celebration of Eat Your Vegetables Day.

Container: EasyLunchBoxes

Fruit: Blackberries

Vegetable: Golden Beets roasted with a little olive oil and thyme

Main: Cold Peanut Noodles with cucumber and cherry tomatoes

For part of breakfast I had Vegan Carrot Cake Muffins. I used white flour and substituted dried blueberries for the raisins.

Vegan Carrot Cake Muffins

I had a simple snack of hummus with carrots, baby zucchini, and sugar snap peas.

Sabra Hummus and Wegmans Baby Vegetable Medley

Hummus and Vegetables

For dinner I made homemade pizza dough and topped it with seasoned black beans and zucchini lattice.

Black Bean and Zucchini Lattice Pizza

Posted in Bento / Cute Food, Food | Tagged bento, peanut noodles, vegan | 10 Comments

Dinosaur and Volcano Day Preschool Camp

Posted on June 16, 2013 by eclecticlamb

Dinosaurs and Volcanoes were the topics for our second day of Aunt Kathy’s Preschool Camp.

This Volcano with Dinosaur pizza lunch was prepared for my 12 year old nephew. He was one of my two teachers for our preschool camp. My 14 year old niece was our second teacher. I acted as principal/co-teacher.

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

I made this dinosaur lunch for my 28 month old nephew. He seemed to enjoy the pizzas. His older brother received a Dinosaur themed Muffin tin meal. I will post it when it is the weekly theme for Muffin Tin Monday.

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

Preschool: Our focus of the day was dinosaurs, volcanoes and the letter D. I made a volcano play mat with bean bag dinosaurs. We played with dinosaurs frozen in an ice egg. The young nephews were thrilled to go on a dinosaur themed egg hunt. We played with dinosaur and volcano stick puppets. Our afternoon snack was a dino dig in pudding. My niece made a paper mache volcano and we all enjoyed watching it explode. We also used Q-tips to paint dots on dinosaurs.

I sewed a volcano mat using fleece. I followed these directions. It was my first time sewing fleece and my first time with a new sewing machine. It is not perfect but the result is fine. I used this template and modified it for the dinosaurs. I used decorative felt and filled them with dried lentils.

Volcano Mat with Dinosaurs

I was so pleased to find these directions. It was not a hot day but we still had fun with the dinosaurs in ice. My 28 month nephew in particular was fascinated by these.

Plastic Dinosaur in Ice Egg

Dinosaurs Freed from their Ice Eggs

My 12 year old nephew came up with the idea of having an egg hunt. We put dinosaur stickers and plastic dinosaurs in various plastic eggs. My niece and nephew enjoyed preparing for this hunt and my young nephews had a great hunt, fun opening their eggs and enjoyed playing with their rewards.

Dinosaur Egg Hunt

We made volcano and dinosaur stick puppets. We found it here and used this for the dinosaurs. My niece made the design for the volcano.

Volcano and Dinosaur Stick Puppets

I spent quite a bit of time looking for dinosaur dig ideas. When I found this edible dinosaur dig idea, I knew that it would be perfect for our afternoon snack. Everyone from the teachers to students, enjoyed this fun dig. My nephew who is almost 5 said, “This is very special”. When they found the dinosaurs in the pudding, I quickly washed the dinosaurs so they could play with them.

Dinosaur Dig Snack

Dinosaur Revealed

My niece made this awesome volcano with paper mache and spray paint. We put a small plastic cup in the top to hold the baking soda and vinegar. She dyed the vinegar red before pouring. Everyone was mesmerized by this activity.

Volcano Starting to Erupt

Continued Eruption

Watching Volcano Eruption

Linking to:

Posted in Bento / Cute Food, Blog, Crafts | Tagged bento, dinosaurs, preschool, vegetarian, volcano | 16 Comments

Flag Day Bento

Posted on June 14, 2013 by eclecticlamb

In honor of Flag Day I decided to make this American Flag themed lunch for my husband.

Container: EasyLunchBoxes

Background: White rice with a little butter and shredded horseradish cheese, toasted walnuts

American Flag: Tortilla painted with blue food coloring, white tortilla stars (could not fit 50 so 2 starts represent all 50 states), red pepper stripes

Salad: Lettuce, cherry tomatoes, horseradish cheese star

Fruit: Watermelon stars and blueberries

Posted in Bento / Cute Food | Tagged American flag, bento, flag, flag day, vegetarian | 20 Comments

Australian Flag Bento

Posted on June 11, 2013 by eclecticlamb

I made this lunch for my 14 year old niece on Australia day of our preschool-camp. She loved it!

Container: Bento box from Japan

Australian Flag: Cheese quesadilla with blue food coloring, Union Jack red drawn with food safe marker, cheese quesadilla is also around and underneath the flag

Nuts: Toasted almonds with hazelnut in the center

Vegetable: Cucumber stars

Fruit: Apple stars with cinnamon

Posted in Bento / Cute Food | Tagged australian flag, bento, flag, vegetarian | 22 Comments

Australia Day Preschool Camp

Posted on June 10, 2013 by eclecticlamb

Two of my young nephews are staying at my sister-in-laws house while their parents are on a business trip to Australia. I am hosting 4 sessions of “Aunt Kathy’s Preschool Camp” at my house. My 12 year old nephew and 14 year old niece are assisting with camp. We planned four different themed days and we worked together to prepare fun and educational activities. Of course I included fun lunches for everyone but I will share some of the lunches in their own post.

This kangaroo quesadilla lunch was served to my 28 month old nephew. I was not sure how much to give to this age. He did not eat the cucumber or cheese “K” but ate everything else.

Container: EasyLunchBoxes

Fruit: Apple stars with a little cinnamon

Vegetable: Cucumber stars

Kangaroo & Joey: Quesadillas with flour tortillas and mozzarella cheese, face details drawn with food safe marker

Letter “K”: Colby-Jack cheese

I made this Koala and baby themed lunch for my nephew who is almost 5. He ate most of it.

Container: EasyLunchBoxes

Koala & Baby: Quesadillas with flour tortillas and mozzarella cheese, face details drawn with food safe marker, ears are Colby-Jack cheese, served with Japanese Koala cookies and Colby-Jack “K”

Vegetable: Cucumber stars

Fruit: Apple stars with a little cinnamon

Preschool: Our focus of the day was marsupials and the letter K. I printed many photos of marsupials and hung them up at their level. We decorated a wagon to look like an airplane to transport us to Australia. We listened to Australian music. We played memory using two copies of these cards.

My nephew, niece and I made the crocodile from an egg carton mostly following these directions.

Egg carton Crocodile with Kangaroo

My niece made this crocodile puppet by following these directions.

Crocodile Puppet

We had fun with this koala mask and this kangaroo mask.

Koala and Kangaroo Masks

My nephew enjoyed playing kangaroo pretend play with an apron and pocket to hold a joey.

Kangaroo Pretend Play

My nephews painted a paper plate to make a koala. I found the idea here.

Koala Craft

My niece made these Kangaroo cups. We used them to serve an afternoon snack of pretzels.

Kangaroo Cups

Posted in Bento / Cute Food, Crafts, Food | Tagged Australia themed preschool, bento, vegetarian | 17 Comments

Pig Quesadilla Bento

Posted on June 7, 2013 by eclecticlamb

I made this lunch for my 12 year old nephew for lunch at my house. It was Australia day for Aunt Kathy’s preschool camp. I know that it is not Australia themed but it does use quesadillas. I made lunch for 5 including myself that day and wanted all of the lunches made before the kids arrived. To keep it easy, everyone had quesadillas with the same fruit and vegetables.

I came up with this theme by looking through my cookie cutter collection. When I realized that I had large and small pig cutters, I decided to make a pig themed lunch.

Container: EasyLunchBoxes

Background: Cheese quesadilla painted with food coloring

Salsa: in Mini Dippers

Nuts: Toasted almonds with a hazelnut in the center (in a Wilton cup)

Pig: Cheese quesadilla painted with food coloring

Vegetable: Cucumbers cut into pig shapes

Fruit: Apples cut into pig shapes sprinkled with cinnamon

Posted in Bento / Cute Food | Tagged bento, quesadilla, vegetarian | 10 Comments

Taco Bento

Posted on June 5, 2013 by eclecticlamb

My 12 year old nephew requested that I make a taco themed bento lunch to eat at school. I prepared the beans the night before. The rest I assembled in the morning. Then I drove the lunch to my nephews house before he got on the school bus. He was very thankful and enjoyed this lunch.

Container: EasyLunchBoxes

Taco Shells: Taco Bell Home Originals brand Mini Taco Shells

Lettuce

Cheese: Mexican blend

Fruit: Grapes and raspberries

Beans: 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

Posted in Bento / Cute Food | Tagged bento, taco, vegetarian | 12 Comments

10 Bagel Bento Lunches

Posted on June 4, 2013 by eclecticlamb

I love making bagels. My niece, nephews, husband and I love eating my mini bagels. So it is natural that bagels are featured in many of my bento lunches. I have made more than 10 bagel lunches but these are some of my favorites (in no particular order).

1. Bear Bagel

2. Bagel Lunch

3. Bagels and Cheese

4. Summer Tea

5. Bagel Jack O’ Lantern

6. Bagel and Granola Bar

7. X O Bagels

8. Sunflower Bagels

9. Animal Faces on Cheese Bagels

10. Ready to Drive Bagels

Posted in Bento / Cute Food | Tagged bagel, bento, vegetarian | 14 Comments

Snoopy Bento

Posted on June 3, 2013 by eclecticlamb

As a child I was a fan of Snoopy. I have thought about making a Snoopy themed bento but it was not until I found this bento by RabbitCanCook, that I knew I had to use her Snoopy in a bento. I served this to my 12 year old nephew while he was at my house for lunch.

Container: ECO Lunchboxes

Background: Rice covered with raw spinach leaves

Fruit: Mango

Nuts: Slivered almonds

Snoopy: Rice with spinach details

Dog house: Red bell pepper

Woodstock: Yellow bell pepper

Posted in Bento / Cute Food | Tagged bento, snoopy, vegan, vegetarian | 20 Comments

Leftover Orzo Salad with Chickpeas Bento

Posted on May 31, 2013 by eclecticlamb

This was an easy and quick lunch made from dinner leftovers.

Container: EasyLunchBoxes

Orzo Salad: Orzo Salad with Chickpeas, Dill, and Lemon from Cooking Light (I used chives from my herb garden instead of the green onions and garlic)

Fruit: Blackberries

Vegetable: Lettuce, cauliflower, tomato, carrot, green pepper, and sugar snap peas

Linking to:

Posted in Bento / Cute Food | Tagged bento, leftovers, vegetarian | 12 Comments

Hockey Bento

Posted on May 30, 2013 by eclecticlamb

I made this lunch for my 11 year old nephew. He requested a hockey themed lunch. The food here is for his lunch and snack.

Container: EasyLunchBoxes

Hockey Sticks & Ice: Green pepper and ranch dip

Hockey Pucks: Blueberries

Hockey Rink: Quesadilla with food coloring details

Above the box: Granola bar and pistachios

Posted in Bento / Cute Food | Tagged bento, hockey, vegetarian | 21 Comments

Animal Face Bagel Bento

Posted on May 29, 2013 by eclecticlamb

My 8 year old nephew helped me assemble this easy lunch. He asked me to title it “Animal Face”. My nephew decorated this lunch with my animal pick collection. This was a lunch at home so no need to think about what other little boys would say.

Container: EasyLunchBoxes

Vegetable: Red bell pepper

Fruit: Blueberries

Bagels: Homemade cheese bagels

Linking to:

Posted in Bento / Cute Food | Tagged bagel, bento, vegetarian | 13 Comments

New York State Bento

Posted on May 28, 2013 by eclecticlamb

I made this New York State themed lunch for my 8 year old nephew. This is my second attempt. Last year I tried one but did not like it enough to post here. The beaver and Long Island were the problem last year. In this bento I tried a different type of beaver and omitted Long Island (which happens to be my place of birth) from our state shape.

Container: EasyLunchBoxes

Status of Liberty: Green pepper

New York State Shape: Cheese quesadilla

Beaver: Tortilla broiled with cooking spray and paprika (our state animal)

Apples: Our state fruit

Eastern Bluebirds: Tortillas broiled with cooking spray and sanding sugar (state bird), Wine Red Garnet (state gem) is under the bluebirds

Not Pictured: Greek yogurt (important state product) dip with grated apple and maple syrup (product from the Sugar Maple – our state tree)

Posted in Bento / Cute Food | Tagged bento, NY food, state themed lunch, vegetarian | 18 Comments

Squirrel in Tree Bento

Posted on May 27, 2013 by eclecticlamb

My 14 year old niece and I made this bento lunch. The tree and squirrel are both cheese quesadillas.

Container: EasyLunchBoxes

Background: Assorted lettuce

Tree: Cheese quesadilla

Squirrel: Cheese quesadilla painted brown with food coloring and water (before cooking), Wilton candy eye

Vegetable: Snow peas

Fruit: Strawberries, raspberries, and blueberries

Posted in Bento / Cute Food | Tagged bento, vegetarian | 23 Comments

Leftover Ravioli with Pesto Cream Bento

Posted on May 24, 2013 by eclecticlamb

This was a quick bento made from leftovers. The ravioli is cold in this photo because I made this bento lunch from leftovers in the refrigerator. It can be heated or eaten cold.

Container: EasyLunchBoxes

Ravioli & Vegetables: Ravioli with vegetables and Pesto Cream sauce (see recipe below)

Salad: Lettuce, cherry tomatoes, green pepper, yellow pepper, carrot and cucumber

Fruit: Raspberries

Ravioli with Vegetables and Pesto Cream

Add amounts to your desire and the number of people you want to serve, this is just a general idea recipe. Try at your own risk.

Ingredients:

Cheese Ravioli (or any type)

1 onion

1 red pepper (or vegetable of your choice)

Green beans (or vegetable of your choice)

Olive Oil

Sour Cream

Pesto

Method:

Saute onion in olive oil in skillet until soft, add vegetables and cook until tender (add additional olive oil or some water if needed).

Add sour cream and pesto to make sauce.

Cook ravioli according to package directions.

Blend drained ravioli and sauce.

Serve

Linking to:

Posted in Bento / Cute Food | 15 Comments

Little Boy Blue Sheep Bento

Posted on May 23, 2013 by eclecticlamb

Here is the fourth and final lunch in my four part series this week of nursery rhymes/songs with sheep/lambs.

Little Boy Blue come blow your horn, the sheep’s in the meadow. I did not have room for the cows in the corn.

Container: EasyLunchBoxes

Little Boy Blue: Boy (cheddar cheese painted with blue food coloring and water), mixed nuts

Horn: Apple with cinnamon, apple pieces

Sheep: Black olives and mashed potatoes (cooked cut potatoes, mashed with cheddar, salt, pepper and a little bit of butter), molded into sheep

Meadow: Cooked broccoli

Linking to:

Posted in Bento / Cute Food | Tagged bento, lamb, Nursery Rhyme, sheep, sheep themed food, vegetarian | 23 Comments

Baa Baa Black Sheep Bento

Posted on May 22, 2013 by eclecticlamb

Here is the third lunch in my four part series this week of nursery rhymes/songs with sheep/lambs.

Baa, baa, black sheep, Have you any wool? Yes sir, yes sir, Three bags full.

Container: EasyLunchBoxes

Wool: Cheese popcorn

Fruit: Peach

Background: Lettuce

Black Sheep: Peanut butter sandwich on pumpernickel bread

3 Bags: Corn and feta cheese fillo dough bundles tied with chives

Linking to:

Posted in Bento / Cute Food | Tagged bento, lamb, Nursery Rhyme, sheep, vegetarian | 17 Comments

Mary had a Little Lamb Bento

Posted on May 21, 2013 by eclecticlamb

This is second in my four part series this week of nursery rhymes/songs with sheep/lambs.

Mary had a little lamb, its fleece was white as snow

And everywhere that Mary went, the lamb was sure to go

Container: EasyLunchBoxes

Background: Lettuce

Mary: Cheddar cheese quesadilla with hair and dress painted with food coloring and water

Lamb: English muffin served with cream cheese and pineapple (in Mini Dippers)

Wool: Cauliflower

Fruit: Raspberries

Linking to:

Posted in Bento / Cute Food | Tagged bento, lamb, Nursery Rhyme, sheep, vegetarian | 16 Comments

Old McDonald Sheep Bento

Posted on May 20, 2013 by eclecticlamb

This week I am featuring nursery rhymes/songs with sheep/lambs.

Old McDonald has a farm, Ee-i-ee-i-o, And on his farm he had a sheep, Ee-i-ee-i-o

With a baa-baa here, And a baa-baa there, Here a baa, there a baa , Everywhere a baa-baa

Old MacDonald had a farm, Ee-i-ee-i-o.

Container: EasyLunchBoxes

Background: Flour tortilla painted with a little blue food coloring and water

Baa-Baa: Carrot

Sheep: Peanut butter sandwich on wheat bread, eyes (chocolate sprinkles), nose (food safe marker)

Barn: Watermelon, door (Wegmans fruit flat details), apple slices

Wildflowers: Yellow bell pepper, centers (dried blueberries attached with spaghetti – it softens by lunch)

Linking to:

Posted in Bento / Cute Food | Tagged bento, lamb, lamb nursery tales, sheep, vegan | 17 Comments

Reader Influenced Bento

Posted on May 17, 2013 by eclecticlamb

Last week I invited you to vote on the type of bento I would make. The winner was “Interesting colorful food layout (not character)”. I bought a lot of colorful produce for this bento but it ended up being red, green, and white.

I hope that you think of this as interesting and colorful. I tried a few new techniques in this lunch.

Container: ECO Lunchboxes

In Round Cup: Tri-Color Pearl Couscous cooked with vegetable bouillon, added chickpeas and decorated with chickpeas, green peas, and snow peas

In Oval Container: lettuce, cream cheese with some homemade pesto in cherry tomato cups, green pimento stuffed olives on star picks, checkered apple (this was my first time trying this, I used this awesome tutorial by Jenn of Bento for Kidlet), stamped watermelon (used cutter similar to this), and snow peas.

Not pictured: Blue Diamond Natural Oven Roasted Almonds with Sea Salt

Posted in Bento / Cute Food | Tagged bento, vegetarian | 30 Comments

Under the Sea Bento

Posted on May 16, 2013 by eclecticlamb

My 14 year old niece made this lunch. I only offered a little help/suggestions.

Container: EasyLunchBoxes

Ocean: Mukimame, sprouts

Starfish & Seahorse: Homemade grape jam sandwiches on wheat bread

Whale: Apple on blueberry yogurt

Fish: Pepperidge Farm Goldfish Crackers

Posted in Bento / Cute Food | Tagged bento, vegetarian | 21 Comments

Tennis Bento

Posted on May 15, 2013 by eclecticlamb

When I found Racchette pasta at Wegmans, I knew I had to make a tennis themed bento lunch. I made this lunch for my 14 year old niece. She ate it at school and heated the pasta with a microwave available for students. I placed the sides in silicone cups so she could remove them before heating the pasta.

Container: EasyLunchBoxes

Fruit: Mineola Tangelo

Nuts: Toasted pecans

Tennis Pasta: DeCecco Racchette pasta with green peas, dressed with a garlic and olive oil sauce, carrot lettering

Linking to:

Posted in Bento / Cute Food | Tagged bento, pasta lunch, racchette pasta, vegan | 20 Comments

Lily of the Valley Bento

Posted on May 14, 2013 by eclecticlamb

Lily of the Valley is my favorite flower. I love the shape and smell. I am also reminded of my Grandmother’s garden in the house she had when I was a kid. That house and garden holds magical memories for me. I have a memory of fresh cut Lily of the Valley in a small juice glass on a counter in the kitchen. The memories are probably more special because that house and garden no longer exist. When I was about 11 my Grandparents sold that house. A contractor bought it, destroyed the house and garden and built apartments.

Container: ECO Lunchboxes

Soil: Wild rice cooked with a vegetable bouillon

Lily of the Valley: Apple with chives (from my herb garden)

Vegetables: Lettuce, mukimame, cucumber, carrot, roasted green and orange bell pepper, roasted asparagus (difficult to see in photo)

Linking to:

Posted in Bento / Cute Food | Tagged bento, lily of the valley shaped food, vegan, vegetarian | 29 Comments

Bagel Bear Bento

Posted on May 13, 2013 by eclecticlamb

I am not convinced that this looks like a bear. I think that the eyes are the problem. But my husband enjoyed this for breakfast on a day he went to work early. I love that he does not mind eating cute food because I love making cute food.

Container: EasyLunchBoxes

Bear: Homemade bagels with cinnamon sugar topping, eyes (Craisins), nose (carrot made with CuteZcute cutter), filled with cream cheese and homemade apricot jam

Vegetable Bears & Fruit: Cucumber bears and strawberries

Mini Bears: Mini Teddy Grahams – Honey

Linking to:

Posted in Bento / Cute Food | Tagged bagel lunch, bento, vegetarian | 29 Comments

Vote for Bento I will Make

Posted on May 10, 2013 by eclecticlamb

I appreciate you my readers, your visits and all of your “likes” and comments. I love it when you offer suggestions for what I will make next.

So I thought it would be fun for you to vote on the type of bento I will make. Please vote below. In the comments, offer specific suggestions if you want.

~~Voting is open until Sunday May 12.~~ Voting is now closed. See results below. On Friday May 17, I will post the bento influenced by you.

Posted in Bento / Cute Food, Blog | 15 Comments

Family Tree Bento

Posted on May 9, 2013 by eclecticlamb

I wanted to try out a family tree idea. This was a quick and easy lunch to prepare.

Container: EasyLunchBoxes

Fruit: Apple and strawberries

Dip: Ranch

Hearts: Horseradish cheese

Tree: Peanut butter and homemade strawberry jam on wheat bread, broccoli, sugar snap peas, carrot lettering

Posted in Bento / Cute Food | Tagged bento, tree lunch, vegetarian | 17 Comments

Millennium Falcon Quesadilla Bento

Posted on May 7, 2013 by eclecticlamb

In preparation for my recent “May the 4th Be with You” blog hop, I made two bentos. This is the one that did not make the cut for the hop. But I thought that it would still be nice to share.

Container: EasyLunchBoxes

Background: Nori (dried seaweed)

Millennium Falcon: Cheese quesadilla with food marker details

Asteroid Field: Red grapes

Lightsabers: Pretzels with dyed white chocolate

???: I was aiming for Vader, looks more like Chewbacca, roasted green pepper with raw pepper slices behind

Linking to:

Posted in Bento / Cute Food | Tagged bento, Star Wars, vegetarian | 14 Comments

Matching Bento and Napkin

Posted on May 6, 2013 by eclecticlamb

Awhile ago a reader suggested that I embroider a bento. I love my EasyLunchboxes so it was a natural choice to embroider it on a napkin. I enjoyed planning and creating this simple embroidered napkin with matching lunch.

Container: EasyLunchboxes

Stars: Peanut butter sandwiches on wheat bread

Fruit: Strawberry

Vegetable: Sugar snap peas

Embroidery in Progress

I made a 12 inch by 12 inch napkin from a Flour Sack Towel bought from Herrschners. I used a water erasable pen to transfer my pattern to my napkin. My stitching is done with a simple back stitch. For the food I used 2 strands of DMC thread. For the outline of the box I used DMC Perle 5. I would have used 2 strands of DMC thread but I did not have any black left in my stash. (If you would like the pattern, leave a comment or email me.)

EasyLunchboxes with Matching Napkin

Posted in Bento / Cute Food, Embroidery | Tagged bento, EasyLunchboxes, embroidered napkin, vegan | 24 Comments

Cinco de Mayo Bento

Posted on May 5, 2013 by eclecticlamb

I made this simple lunch for Cinco de Mayo. For the lettering I used a cutter set similar to this.

Container: EasyLunchBoxes

Cactus: Cucumber

Sombrero: Watermelon with dried blueberry fringe (I attached the blueberries with pieces of spaghetti – it softens by lunchtime)

Lettering: Horseradish cheese

Mexican Rice: I used this recipe from Eating Well.

Linking to:

Posted in Bento / Cute Food | Tagged bento, cinco de mayo, vegetarian | 13 Comments

May the Fourth Be with You Bento Hop

Posted on May 4, 2013 by eclecticlamb

Once again, I am proud to join my Bento Bloggers & Friends on this “May the 4th Be with You” blog hop. Please find the hop button at the bottom of this post and continue through the hop until you visit all of the amazing blogs.

Container: EasyLunchBoxes

Background: Spinach

Stormtroopers: Onigiri made with upside down bear rice mold, paprika stencil

Darth Vader: Onigiri mixed with black sesame seeds and made with upside down bear rice mold

Tie Fighter: Cucumber

Millennium Falcon in Asteroid Field: Tortilla with food coloring, red grapes

Please click on the hop button below to see what Beth of A Boy & His Lunch prepared.

Once you’ve completed the hop…

Posted in Bento / Cute Food | Tagged bento, Star Wars, vegetarian | 59 Comments

Nest Themed Dinner

Posted on May 2, 2013 by eclecticlamb

My 16 year old nephew and 14 year old niece came over for a nest themed dinner. It was enjoyable to have them help me cook and the food was delicious.

Salad with bird crouton. I mostly followed this recipe from Lady Nann’s Table. The eggs and rest of the salad are from the Bird’s Nest Salad with Citrus Dressing recipe from Beautiful on the Raw. I only made orange eggs and did not put garlic in the dressing. We also used the olive oil choice in the dressing instead of nut butter.
Potato nests from Eating Whole. They took a lot longer to cook than the recipe said but I think that I had more potatoes in each cup. We roasted red pepper, white onion and zucchini to add to the nests.
Birds Nest Pasta from Veggie Kids. My niece had hers with peas since she does not like cheese. My nephew and I had our nests with pearl fresh mozzarella balls.
Birds Nest Cookies from Martha Stewart. They take time to make but are worth it! I used Cadbury Mini Eggs (milk chocolate with a crisp sugar shell). I bought the eggs around Easter.

Bird Nest Salad

Potato Nests and Spaghetti Nests

Birds Nest Cookies

Posted in Food, Party Planning | Tagged nest themed dinner, spring party, vegetarian | 29 Comments

May Day Basket for Neighbor

Posted on May 1, 2013 by eclecticlamb

When I read this post by Which~Craft 2 Create?, I knew that I wanted to make a May Day basket for my neighbor. And of course I wanted it to be edible.

I used my french bread dough and a 7 oz, (200 ml) ramekin to make this basket. The handle is held on with toothpicks. The vegetable flowers are cucumber, radish, and carrot.

My neighbors were delighted to receive this May Day basket.

Posted in Bento / Cute Food | Tagged homemade, may day, shaped bread, vegetarian | 27 Comments

May Day Bento and Mini Photo Tutorial

Posted on April 30, 2013 by eclecticlamb

In honor of May Day which is tomorrow, I made this flower basket themed bento. It was a delight to make and eat this cheerful bento.

Container: EasyLunchBoxes

Fruit Flowers: Watermelon with dried blueberry centers (attached with spaghetti – will soften by lunch)

Nuts: Almonds and walnuts

Basket of Flowers: Peanut butter sandwich, basket made with french bread dough, asparagus, plum tomato, radish with carrot and yellow pepper centers

Braid Basket Handle

Handle on Basket

Cut Lines in Basket

Linking to:

Posted in Bento / Cute Food | Tagged bento, may day, shaped bread, vegan | 28 Comments

Did Not Make The Cut Bento Blog Hop

Posted on April 29, 2013 by eclecticlamb

I am joining 7 of my fellow Bento Bloggers & Friends on this “I Didn’t Make the Cut” bento blog hop. Please find the hop button at the bottom of this post and continue through the hop until you visit all of the amazing blogs.

Each of us entered the Bento & Co 2013 International Bento Contest. The theme this year was pasta.

I did not expect to make the cut. I could say negative things about this bento and I was hesitant to join this hop and share my entry. But the fact is I am very glad that I took on the bento contest challenge. It pushed me to attempt a more traditional Japanese type bento, gave me something fun to occupy my thoughts, and my husband and I had a wonderful pasta feast. It was similar to when I entered a flower show but at least this time I don’t think anyone is going to say that their 3 year old grandchild could make this.

Fruit: Strawberries

Vegetables: Broccoli, sugar snap peas, mukimame, tomato

Ravioli: Cheese & Spinach Ravioli with homemade pesto (the basil is from my herb garden), garnished with pine nuts

Garlic Knot: Homemade with garlic and parsley

Riccioli: Riccioli with fresh tomato sauce that I made with diced tomatoes and vegetable bouillon

Garlic Shape: Horseradish cheese

Please click on the hop button below to see what Lise of Veggie-Bento prepared.

Posted in Bento / Cute Food | Tagged bento, pasta, vegetarian | 26 Comments

Sashiko Pillow

Posted on April 26, 2013 by eclecticlamb

This is my first experience with Sashiko. I found it relaxing and fun.

Sashiko is a type of embroidery stitching from Japan. It uses a running stitch. In 2011 I took a Sashiko class at the City Quilter in Manhattan. At that time I purchased a kit and started this piece. I completed the Sashiko stitching shortly after the class. But I did not sew it into a pillow until yesterday. One of the great results of having a blog is that it encourages me to complete projects.

Posted in Crafts, Embroidery | Tagged sashiko | 31 Comments

Ready to Drive Bento

Posted on April 25, 2013 by eclecticlamb

I made this bento for my nephew who recently turned 16.

Container: EasyLunchBoxes

Vegetable: Sugar snap peas

Fruit: Strawberries

Bagels: Peanut butter on homemade poppy seed bagels

Cheese: Car (horseradish cheese with food coloring paste details), Railroad sign (sharp cheddar cheese with food coloring paste details)

Linking to:

Posted in Bento / Cute Food | Tagged bagel lunch, bento, vegetarian | 12 Comments

Artichoke Pasta Bento

Posted on April 24, 2013 by eclecticlamb

This was a fast bento to make because it was entirely made from dinner leftovers. I was not very fond of the pasta recipe but it was good enough to eat as leftovers for lunch.

Container: EasyLunchBoxes

Vegetable: Asparagus with toasted hazlenuts, a little lemon juice, salt and pepper

Fruit: Blackberries

Pasta: Pasta with Grilled Artichokes (I roasted the artichokes instead of grilling)

Linking to:

Posted in Bento / Cute Food | Tagged bento, leftovers for lunch, vegetarian | 18 Comments

Knight Bento

Posted on April 23, 2013 by eclecticlamb

When I made my first knight bento I knew that there would be other knight themed bentos in my future. My 8 year old nephew requested that I use the ECO Lunchbox because it is metal like armor. I don’t like using sanding sugar for healthy bentos but I made an exception for this lunch.

Container: ECO Lunchboxes

Background: Sugar snap peas

Nuts: Brazil nuts in small Wilton snack cup

Dip: Ranch

Knight Helmet: Peanut butter and strawberry jam sandwich on wheat bread with Wegmans Fruit Flat details, silver and red sanding sugar “glued” with a little bit of soft butter.

Fruit: Strawberries, one strawberry dipped in melted chocolate to represent a shield

Linking to:

Posted in Bento / Cute Food | Tagged bento, knight | 12 Comments

April Showers Bring Bento Flowers

Posted on April 22, 2013 by eclecticlamb

This bento was enjoyable to assemble. The colorful cucumber and melon make this rainy lunch cheerful.

Container: EasyLunchBoxes

Rain: Flour tortilla pieces with homemade apricot jam in the middle, rain drops drawn with Wilton food marker

Umbrella: Peanut butter and homemade apricot jam sandwich on wheat bread, handle (green pepper)

Vegetable Flowers: Cucumber

Fruit Flowers: Cantaloupe and watermelon

Linking to:

Posted in Bento / Cute Food | Tagged bento, vegan | 31 Comments

Tissue Box Die

Posted on April 19, 2013 by eclecticlamb

When my 8 year old nephew and I spent the day together recently, we created a craft for JDaniel4’s Mom: 3rd Annual Tissue Box Challenge 2013. The challenge was to “decorate or build a tissue box(es) with or for your children”.

Our project is basic but it was a great Aunt/Nephew activity and it was fun to work together in my craft room. We brainstormed ideas. I drew the circles, he did most of the coloring. Together we attached the panels.

View of 3 and 2

View of 6 and 4

Posted in Crafts | Tagged DIY, tissue box challenge | 21 Comments

Reject Pasta Bento

Posted on April 18, 2013 by eclecticlamb

Recently I made several pasta bentos for possible entry in the Bento & Co bento contest. The theme this year is pasta. I determined that this bento is not good enough for entry but it was delicious.

Container: Bento box from Japan

Top Tier: Wegmans Tortiglioni with homemade herb garden pesto (garnished with pinenuts), homemade garlic knot, bowtie pasta with fresh tomato sauce made from canned diced tomatoes and vegetable bullion.

Bottom Tier: Asparagus, local maple sugar candy, and strawberries

Linking to:

Posted in Bento / Cute Food | Tagged bento, pasta, vegetarian | 27 Comments

Cat Bento

Posted on April 17, 2013 by eclecticlamb

This is my forth lunch using the CuteZcute cutter. Previously I made the Panda, Frog, and Pig.

Container: EasyLunchBoxes

Vegetable: Cucumbers

Mice: Colby Jack cheese

Cat: I used the CuteZcute cutter to make a black sesame rice onigiri. I used the cat cutter to make the cheese details and colored the cheese with Wilton food writers. The CuteZcute cutter is available at Bento USA by All Things For Sale and on Amazon.

Fruit: Apple slices

Posted in Bento / Cute Food | Tagged bento, CuteZCute, lunch, vegetarian | 20 Comments

Tortilla Puzzle Pieces Bento

Posted on April 16, 2013 by eclecticlamb

This lunch ended up being very neutral and without a vegetable. I had planned to have salsa in this bento but when making the lunch I discovered that I did not have any. So I used hummus instead.

Container: EasyLunchBoxes

Fruit: Apple slices

Nuts: Brazil Nuts

Hummus: Served in Mini Dippers

Puzzle Pieces: Flour tortillas cut with Lunch Punch set, sprayed with cooking spray, sprinkled with sesame seeds, poppy seeds, and hot paprika. Broiled until lightly brown.

Other lunches I made with the Puzzle Lunch Punch set:

Bear Puzzle

Back to School

Linking to:

Posted in Bento / Cute Food | Tagged bento, Puzzle Lunch Punch, vegan | 19 Comments

Archery Bento

Posted on April 15, 2013 by eclecticlamb

This was lunch for my 8 year old nephew on a day that we were out and about. It was packed in an insulated bag with an ice pack. I thought that the pretzel sticks would get soft but he said that they were alright.

Container: ECO Lunchboxes

Background: Orange bell pepper and sugar snap peas

Bow: Green bell pepper

Arrows: Pretzel sticks with Wegmans Fruit Flat details

Target: I mixed the colors with hot rice and packed into the circle cookie cutters then I carefully lifted out the metal rings. I started with the outer rings and worked inward. It was actually easier to make than I expected.

Black – ground black sesame seeds
Blue – food coloring
Red – ketchup
Yellow – turmeric

Dairy: Peach yogurt with apple shaped apple slices on top with a sprinkle of cinnamon

Linking to:

Posted in Bento / Cute Food | Tagged bento, bow and arrows lunch, vegetarian | 17 Comments

Grilled Cheese Sandwich Bento

Posted on April 12, 2013 by eclecticlamb

Today is Grilled Cheese Sandwich Day so I decided to make a bento with grilled cheese. I made this one for my Mom. She came up with the idea to use jam in the center. It brought back memories of my Grandfather. He always ate jam with his Grilled Cheese.

Container: ECO Lunchboxes

Grilled Cheese on wheat bread cut into flower shapes with homemade grape jam in center
Sugar snap peas
Spinach
Carrot flowers
Mango

Linking to:

Posted in Bento / Cute Food | Tagged bento, grilled cheese | 25 Comments

Sunflower Bagel Bento

Posted on April 10, 2013 by eclecticlamb

This was an easy and satisfying lunch. I just had to make the sunflower bagels. But you can buy bagels for this if you want.

Container: EasyLunchBoxes

Bagels: Homemade bagels with sunflower seeds on top, cream cheese

Vegetable: Cucumber

Fruit: Mineola Tangelo

Linking to:

Posted in Bento / Cute Food | Tagged bagel, bento, vegetarian | 6 Comments

Pig Bento

Posted on April 9, 2013 by eclecticlamb

This is my third lunch using the CuteZcute cutter. Previously I made the Panda and Frog. Sometime in the future I will make the cat. I asked my 8 year old nephew to help me brainstorm how to make this lunch. He suggested a pig in mud (chocolate pudding). I loved the idea but decided on a savory version of mud – black beans and rice.

Container: EasyLunchBoxes

Vegetable: Carrots with Greek yogurt and honey

Mini Pigs: Apple cut in pig shapes with cinnamon

Pig: I used the CuteZcute cutter to cut the pig out of a tortilla. I coated it with cooking spray, sprinkled with paprika and broiled. The CuteZcute cutter is available at Bento USA by All Things For Sale and on Amazon.

Mud: Black beans and rice. I loosely followed this recipe but included a higher bean to rice ratio to make it look more like mud. I used 1 can of black beans instead of red beans, and did not include the green bell pepper, stock, and cilantro.

Linking to:

Posted in Bento / Cute Food | Tagged bento, CuteZCute, vegetarian | 16 Comments

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