BentoLunch.net - What's for lunch at our house

Happy Valentine's Day Bento

2012-02-14T12:30:00.000-06:00

F&B have school parties this afternoon, which are more than likely laden with sweets, so we opted for a much simpler bento today than yesterday. The noticeable lack of treats has to do with the fact that I know what my kids are bringing to school (we made zebra nibbles and candy cane lollipops for their classes) along with only a few of their friends (cookies & cupcakes have been mentioned). So we're doing healthier lunch and enjoying the class parties later.

Faith has a ham and cheese muffin from the freezer stash, carrots with cucumber hearts, strawberries, and organic applesauce (from my baking stash, you can switch it with oil) topped with a sprinkle of hearts. Cute, simple, and reasonably healthy. At least until 1:30 today.

A Valentine's Bento, one day early

2012-02-13T07:45:00.003-06:00

Why one day early? Because I had too many ideas and needed to share. Some bento friends & I all have posts live today to check out and get some great ideas for tomorrow's lunches. There's a link at the bottom of this post that will let you hop to another fun bento blog.

F&B both opted for ham and cheese sandwiches, with decorated tops. Faith has layered hearts and Ben got Xs and Os. Up on top of those are carrot hearts, similar to all the sausage style ones. Cut a carrot in a diagonal through the middle, flip a piece over and piece them together. I use toothpicks for ours, but F&B are old enough to not eat those. To the right, we've got strawberries for both, plus blueberries for Ben, and vanilla yogurt with some cute heart sprinkles that Nana sent.

It's packed in our Easy Lunchboxes (also available on Amazon), just use a small square of Press&Seal over the yogurt to keep it from leaking.

Just click here to hop to the next blog. Karen from What's in John's Lunchbag has some sweet ideas for you too.

The "When Mama is Sick" Bento

2012-02-10T20:00:00.000-06:00

Apparently, the world does not stop because I am sick, and certain little people still demand food.

This is where the concept of a freezer stash is most handy--grab entree, shove in box, add sides, and GO! I always precut my fruit and lately, I've been prepping yogurt and granola containers in advance, so it's really just a matter of putting it into a container.

The pictures are kind of bad, but mostly, I wanted to go back to sleep once the kiddos were safely ensconced in school.

They had macaroni and cheese muffins, carrots, strawberries for Faith, strawberries & blueberries for Ben, and separate yogurt & granola containers. They ate, they enjoyed, and I didn't have to think about it, not too bad.

What's for Lunch Wednesday, Week 89

2012-02-08T00:01:00.000-06:00

Welcome to "What's for Lunch" Wednesday!!!

Thanks so much for joining in last week if you did and looking forward to seeing all the fun lunches this week!

Want to join in?

Just choose a bento (please, just one bento or post or link) you've made from the last week you want to share, copy the URL of that post from your blog (you may need to click on the title to get it), and enter it into the linky below.

Click on the "Add Your Link" button to add yours and follow the steps, it's simple, I promise!

Bento o' Randomness

2012-02-07T18:00:00.000-06:00

While I still owe you all Day #5 of muffin mix ups, F&B only have 3 days of school this week and I have a lot of things that need to be finished. Hence, we have the bento o' randomness today

Miss Faith has a couple of mini zucchini-parmesan muffins, cheese cubes, carrots sticks, strawberries and creme brûlée crisps. As odd as I thought the bento was, she enjoyed it quite a bit.

Pizza Bento for Ben

2012-02-06T18:40:00.000-06:00

The boy was in the mood for pizza, so pizza it is!

Granted, it's not fancy pizza, just leftover frozen pizza that we had the other night and Ben wanted to save some of his for a bento.

So the boy has two small slices of the leftover pizza, some carrot sticks, two mini blueberry muffins, and some frozen blackberries. After the picture, we managed to squeeze in a few more blackberries before packing up for lunch. Unfortunately, frozen blackberries don't photograph especially well, but they defrost nicely by lunchtime.

Groundhog Day Bento

2012-02-02T11:15:00.003-06:00

Day #5 of muffin mix-ups is on hold to because it's Groundhog Day!

Or, as Ben put it last night, "I think tomorrow is an important day. I think they said Grouch Day." Since he showed up in our room around 4am, then got up for good when Shaun got up for PT and was fully dressed & playing when I woke up at 6:30am, I'm going to wager a guess that it really will be Grouch Day too.

However, lunch first!

Ben has turkey and cheese on multigrain rounds, topped with what I hope looks like a groundhog! He's made out of sharp cheddar with features from provolone and sugar eyes. I cut a small oval from the bread so he is actually popping out of his hole. If he doesn't look like a groundhog, just humor me, it was really early! To go with that, Ben has veggie straws and some grapes/strawberries/blueberries. He's also been on a yogurt kick, so he has a separate container of strawberry yogurt topped with granola for a treat. It's packed in our Easy Lunchboxes (also available on Amazon).

Up for some more cute groundhogs? Check out:

Bento for Kidlet

Family Fresh Meals

Mommy + Me Lunch Box

What's in John's Lunch Bag

This Lunch Rox

Bent On Better Lunches

What's for Lunch Wednesday, Week 88

2012-02-01T00:01:00.000-06:00

Welcome to "What's for Lunch" Wednesday!!!

Muffin Mix Ups Bento #4 - Fruits & Sweets

2012-01-30T19:00:00.000-06:00

I discovered something last week while working on these posts. Unlike the sandwich spins, which had me making a different type of sandwich each day, muffins yield a lot more food. And we're drowning in muffins. The slight break in the series was to catch up on eating all of the muffins I made last week before I delved into another batch.

This is also why day #4 is fruits and sweets. I have plenty of savory muffins, both entrees and side dishes and we needed a change. I love mini muffins as bento desserts. They are cute, with just the right amount of sweet in them, and there are tons of options for adding fruits. My favorite recipe is my mom's, that I link here often. It makes a great base muffin and you can just add your choice of fillers to it. This week, we did straight blueberry ones.

We also, obviously, took a break from the entrees muffins, I had two leftover mesquite BBQ pork sliders from the other night that we made, so each kid had one of those, carrots, grapes, and two mini blueberry muffins.

More ideas:

Make your own mini-muffins - The above base recipe and let your kids pick the fillers. Mine loved doing it!

Hormel January - New Year's Resolutions

2012-01-29T21:00:00.001-06:00

I'm so excited to get to be part of the Hormel Family of Bloggers for the second round of the project. Last go round, we got to try a lot of great new products and recipes, so the kids (and the husband) are all set to do it again.

The first topic, rather fitting for January, is New Year's resolutions, especially in terms of food and eating healthy. What goals are you setting this year, nutritionally? Do you have any tips to help along the way?

We decided, in our New Year's goals, that our big one was going to be meal planning again. We've learned in the past that when we meal plan, we actually eat at home. When we don't, well, there are a whole lot of restaurants to choose from. It's both healthier and cheaper to eat at our house. The other goal, and we're slacking on this a little, is trying a new recipe a week. I didn't try one this past week, but have had a few good ones in the last month that may even get made again.

Hormel also sent some great tips for healthy New Year's resolutions:

Keep it simple. Don't attempt to overhaul your entire style of eating immediately. Gradual changes are key. Start by adding fruit as a dessert or a delicious veggie as a side dish to dinner.
Eat a variety of foods. Bringing the same sandwich to work every day isn't going to get you the nutritional value that your body needs.
Don't deny yourself your favorite treats. It's important to remember moderation, not elimination.
Sit down with your family and create a meal plan for the week. Keeping in mind the food pyramid and using a tool like MyPlate, create dishes that everyone in the family will enjoy. Let each family member plan a dinner dish for the week and then get everyone's input on what changes can be made to make it a healthier meal.
Remember to drink water consistently throughout the day. For the body to function properly, you need to continually replenish it with water. This goal could be the perfect opportunity to cut out that extra glass of juice, soda, or coffee, and replace it with a cup of water.

What are your resolution this year? Are you sticking to them so far? Any go-to recipes that are helping you along?

And while you're at it, check out Hormel's Go Big for the Big Game Sweepstakes on Facebook! Enter to win a $500 gift card.

Disclosure: I have received product and information from Hormel Foods in exchange for being a Hormel Foods Extended Family Blogger. All opinions expressed within the post are my own.

Muffin Mix Ups Bento #3 - Think Outside the Muffin

2012-01-26T18:25:00.000-06:00

Muffin tins don't actually have to hold standard muffins made with things like flour, egg, milk, corn, etc.

These mac & cheese muffins are a great favorite of the kids and they actually taste good cold. Or you could do what I do and eat the first couple ones out of the oven because you're the only one who actually knows how many went in the oven the first place. Another favorite option is meatloaf muffins. Just whip up your favorite meatloaf and bake it in muffin tins for perfect singles servings.

Today, Faith had a macaroni and cheese muffin, pineapple chunks, carrots & cucumber, and some creme brûlée crisps.

Oh, and Ben had lunch with the principal today. Not because he did anything (which was my first guess), but apparently she has lunch with a few kids in each day daily and he was one of them. Anyhow, he came home and said he was supposed to tell me that the principal really liked his lunch! He had almost the same as Faith, but blueberries instead of pineapple.

5 Muffin Mix-Ups Bento #2 - Use Veggies!

2012-01-25T17:44:00.006-06:00

So what else can you do with muffins? How about something with veggies for an extra serving or partial serving?

I find veggies the hardest part to add to lunches at times, we seem to get in a cucumber and carrot rut quite frequently, and some of F&B's favorite veggie options are only good served warm.

One great veggie option is to add to the stuffed muffins we had on Monday. Diced chicken or turkey goes great with a typical frozen mixed vegetable blend. Also, zucchini and carrots make for some great desserts.

Today, however, we opted for great side veggie dish, zucchini parmesan mini muffins. These are perfect for bento and great warm or cold, plus we love our zucchini goodies. We used them in lieu of bread or crackers along with some meats & cheese for a snack-style lunch.

Ben had two of the zucchini parmesan muffins, a ham flower (two slices of ham to get it fluffier), some smoked cheddar cubes, blueberries, carrots, and some granola bar. I still hate the way blueberries photograph, they always look almost dusty, even though I know I washed them right before putting them in the fridge.

Some other veggie muffin ideas:
Sweet Potato Muffin Cupcakes (taste like pumpkin!)
11 F&B Taste Tested Zucchini Recipes - some aren't muffins, but all kid approved

What's for Lunch Wednesday, Week 87

2012-01-25T00:01:00.000-06:00

Welcome to "What's for Lunch" Wednesday!!!

Today's No-Stove Bento

2012-01-24T17:00:00.000-06:00

Well, I *thought* today would be day 2 of the Muffin Mix-Up series, but last night was "The cable company cut the gas line and we had no gas in the house until 5am which meant I had no oven and couldn't bake anything" night.

So the series will continue tomorrow as I'm baking today, and thinking about making a few things since I apparently don't plan well.

Yellow box on yellow/red background = yellowish photo

Today, however, we went with food that was already ready as the house was flipping COLD this morning, so getting out of bed was a chore. Both kids took one of yesterday's stuffed muffins, along with some granola bar and carrots. Ben also had blueberries, but Faith is not a fan of raw blueberries so opted for cucumber slices instead.

I took them to school then came home and Shaun & I discovered we didn't have to light a pilot light to turn our heat back on. Apparently, it has an auto ignition. Good things to know in advance of losing the gas.

5 Muffin Mix-Ups Bento #1 - Stuffed Muffins (Entrees)

2012-01-23T18:24:00.004-06:00

I really liked doing the 5 Simple Sandwich Spins back in November, so decided it was time for another series. This time, we're going with muffins, or muffin themed, items.

One of our favorites, from way way back, are stuffed muffins. Basically, these are corn muffins, with added cheese, meats or veggies, then baked. Very easy, and a typical batch makes at least 12, so you can freeze the extras. There are two basic options--make corn muffin mix (my recipe is here) or use a boxed mix like Jif. Make the corn muffin batter, then add several cups of extras to it. You want to see lots of the extras in the batter, not mostly corn muffin batter. Bake per your recipe or package directions.

Today, the kids had ham and cheese muffins (a packet of diced ham and several handfuls of shredded cheese), along with carrots & hummus, strawberries, and creme brûlée crisps.

Two other favorite stuffed muffins:

Ben's Taco Muffins

Chili Cornbread Muffins

F&B also like corn dog muffins--dice up hot dogs, add those and shredded cheese to the cornbread batter.

One Last Bad-Photo Bento

2012-01-22T19:00:00.000-06:00

Or at least until the next time I have a camera mishap!

Thankfully, the husband came home with a brand new SD card for me, so I should be back to normal tomorrow.

This lunch was actually Friday's for Ben. The husband hadn't been feeling well on Thursday and only wanted soup, so I abandoned dinner plans and made the kids and I a cheesy ham braided bread. We ended up having one end piece left, so I cut it long-wise for Friday's lunches.

Ben had the braided bread and a few caramel crisps on the top tier of his box, along with strawberries, blueberries, and a few carrots on the bottom.

Side note, the braided bread was awesome--refrigerated pizza crust, stuffed with cream cheese, ham, shredded cheddar, garlic and mayo, then baked. I love making braided breads, they are so pretty and really no work!

A Ben Lunch Bento, or how I broke an SD card

2012-01-19T12:15:00.004-06:00

In case you've ever wondered, apparently yes, you can break an SD card. There's a little floppy switch on the side that locks & unlocks the card. If it somehow disappears or breaks off, the card becomes permanently locked. I'm sure you all can guess how I learned that one. I just wish I knew how it broke. It's either in my camera or in my card reader, so not too many ways to break it?!?!

Because of this, today's bento had to be photographed at the last minute with my iPhone, apologies in advance for the horrible picture quality.

Ben had a turkey and cheese sandwich with his name on it, in case sometime between morning and lunch he forgets who he is. To the right, he has some vanilla creme brûlée crisps, some strawberries and blueberries, and some carrots on top of the sandwich. He begged for berries at the commissary on Wednesday, and I didn't have the heart to tell him no, even though the prices pained me greatly (I miss the cheap produce in Texas).

Either way, it's packed in our Easy Lunchboxes (also available on Amazon) because I had just emptied the dishwasher and they were quite handy.

What's for Lunch Wednesday, Week 86

2012-01-18T00:01:00.000-06:00

Welcome to "What's for Lunch" Wednesday!!!

Another Version of the Pita Taco Bento

2012-01-17T17:40:00.003-06:00

Hope you all had a lovely long weekend!!! We spent ours skiing at Keystone. Thanks to our cool little tracking pass, we now know we covered about 43,000 vertical feet over the 3 days (part day Saturday, all day Sunday, and a few hours on Monday; Monday was cold). The kiddos are doing awesome, skiing blues already and they have both discovered they can jump on their skis. With Faith's track record, it's questionable how good this is.

Anyhow, we got home late yesterday afternoon, so we had a simple taco dinner, with enough leftover to fill in today's lunches. We buy these great half-pitas that are perfect for the kids, especially for messy sandwich filings. I had just enough taco meat left for two taco pitas!

Both kids had a taco pita, with a sprinkle of cheese and some veggie straws. Since I was low on fruit, Ben had frozen blackberries, and Faith skipped the fruit and took carrots and cucumber instead. I was going to make it all pretty, but then I realized I was quite tired and sleep sounded like a better option. It's packed in our Easy Lunchboxes (also available on Amazon) to keep things simple, and dishwasher safe.

One Option for Apples in Bento!

2012-01-13T16:10:00.002-06:00

F&B are on an apple kick lately, but I find that if I don't slice the apples, they waste too much of them. Besides dipping the slices in Sprite, this idea I found on Pinterest seems to do the trick rather nicely--slice the apple in to thirds, piece it back together, slice in thirds again, like a tic tac toe cut, piece it back together and hold it with a rubber band.

Unlike Pinterest, I don't quite slice mine all the way through, leaving a fraction of an inch at the bottom so that it's easier to put the apple back together and rubber band it. It's such a little bit uncut that the kids can easily break the last part on their own, and they are trained to bring home the rubber bands, of course!

This would be Faith's lunch, but both kids had the same--turkey & cheese sandwiches on multigrain rounds, carrots sticks and cucumber flowers, a few veggie straws, and a rubber banded apple. I was pressed for time, so no cute sandwich toppers today.

What's for Lunch Wednesday, Week 85

2012-01-11T00:01:00.000-06:00

Welcome to "What's for Lunch" Wednesday!!!

Pizza Pita Pockets Bento

2012-01-10T14:15:00.001-06:00

Kind of in a goofy mood this morning, so I made F&B pizza pockets. Since frozen pizza pockets don't taste great unless they are cooked fresh, and they get soggy if left sitting, we make our own, using pita breads with sauce, cheese and pepperonis inside.

And of course, in case someone didn't realize what these were, I labeled them!

Each kid has an appropriately labeled pizza pocket, along with carrots, honeydew and blueberry-pomegranate crisps. It's packed in our Easy Lunchboxes (also available on Amazon), since the pita pockets need to lay flat.

Lunchable-style Bento

2012-01-09T17:00:00.000-06:00

Like most kids, F&B love the concept of a Lunchable. It's like a pseudo-bento, but missing a lot of their favorites, and not really enough food for either of them

Now, as the person who cooks around here, I don't quite get the allure of assembling your own lunch. I assemble lunches of some sort 7 days/week. It's really not all that fun. However, they think it's awesome, so lunchable-style bentos it is.

For the meats, we have turkey and ham flowers (skewer with a bit of uncooked spaghetti instead of a toothpick) and for cheese, some chunks of mozzarella. There are some crackers and carrots, lots of honeydew, and a bit of brownie that I made the other day.

And apparently, one of Faith's friends wants her lunches because they are cute. Cute is important to the 9 year old girl set.

Back to School Bento

2012-01-05T19:45:00.000-06:00

Today, F&B are back in school. And I thoroughly enjoyed a day of quiet in my house.

I did feed them at least!

Ben had pita pockets stuffed with turkey and cheese, some carrot sticks, blueberry pomegranate crisps, and honeydew.

And did I mention how peaceful and quiet it was today?

What's for Lunch Wednesday, Week 84

2012-01-04T00:01:00.000-06:00

Welcome to "What's for Lunch" Wednesday!!!

What's for Lunch Wednesday, Week 83

2011-12-28T00:01:00.001-06:00

Welcome to "What's for Lunch" Wednesday!!!

Hormel - Christmas Leftover Meal Ideas

2011-12-26T19:00:00.004-06:00

December's Hormel questions are all about Christmas, holiday food, and one of my favorite things, what to do with the leftovers!

Since we are not actually home for Christmas, I'm a little sad to say that we are not going to have a plethora of leftover ham at our house to cook with, as we did after Thanksgiving with our 14lb bacon covered turkey monstrosity. However, the kind folks at Hormel did send samples of their diced ham, so I have ham to cook with (and honestly, their bagged, cubed ham is preferable to dicing up my own ham)!

So, what can one do with a whole lot of leftover ham?

For bentos, of course, I have to recommend mini quiches or ham and cheese stuffed muffins, or a batch of each. Just make and freeze for quick and easy lunches! The quiche recipe is also great for make ahead dinners. I usually have a pan or two of quiche in my freezer, just make it but freeze before baking. I also want to make a batch of breakfast burritos to freeze individually for Shaun & the kids.

Freezing your leftover ham for later on is always an option. You can freeze leftover ham for up to six months, but the National Food and Safety Database recommends two months for the best quality. Chop and freeze ham in meal-sized portions for easier access when you're looking to cook a quick, last-minute meal.

For an easy and elegant appetizer, top toasted French bread slices with diced ham, thinly sliced pear, and thinly sliced Fontina cheese. Broil 1 to 3 minutes to melt the cheese and serve. These are lovely with a cup of soup for lunch, as well as an appetizer.

Since I plan to make a few ham dishes (come January 1st, we are back into full-fledged meal planning, since life will have calmed down), I've been browsing the Hormel site for ideas. A few of my "we're going to try them" items include:

3-Cheese Baked Ham and Tortellini - I prefer cream sauce on pasta too
Mashed Potato Pie - F&B would love this!
Ham & Barley Cream Soup - maybe with the toasted pear slices above

So share with me, any other brilliant ham ideas, utilizing leftover or diced ham? I could use a few more suggestions, that don't involved ham slices or a whole ham.

Disclosure: I have received product and information from Hormel Foods in exchange for being a Hormel Foods Extended Family Blogger. All opinions expressed within the post are my own.

From Our Family to Yours

2011-12-25T13:00:00.003-06:00

Merry Christmas!!!

(This was our Christmas card photo this year,

taken at Keystone, CO, a few weeks ago)

Featured Friday

2011-12-23T10:00:00.003-06:00

And some more awesome Christmas ideas, coming to my rescue!

Gingerbread Friends bento from Family Fresh Meals

I CAN Catch the Gingerbread Man! from Biting the Hand that Feeds You

A Christmas Lunch from Crazy? ... Maybe!

Fun Christmas Pancake Art from A Pocket Full of Buttons

As always, all pictures belong to their blog owners, click on them or their attached links to see the full posts on the original sites. (If you would prefer your link not featured, please let me know and I will remove it.)

Featured Friday, the prequel

2011-12-22T10:00:00.003-06:00

So, what do you do when you realize you're supposed to be leaving for Christmas vacation and managed to lose all the pictures you saved to feature?

You depend on some awesome bento friends to come to your rescue!

I asked a few sweet friends if they mind helping out by sharing a favorite Christmas bento or post and I was overwhelmed with the response, enough for two days worth! Just click on the pictures of links to see the awesome posts with more detail!

Up on the Housetop bento from Keeley McGuire

Welcome Jack Frost muffin cup meal from Bent On Better Lunches

The Nutcracker Suite bento from Happy Little Bento

And a great idea from Kelly at EasyLunchboxes for reusable cookie exchange containers!

Want to buy EasyLunchboxes? You can order through our affiliate link on Easy Lunchboxes or on Amazon)!

What's for Lunch Wednesday, Week 82

2011-12-21T00:01:00.000-06:00

Welcome to "What's for Lunch" Wednesday!!!

A Random Bento, from who knows when!

2011-12-20T15:30:00.000-06:00

Well, I found one of the bentos I saved for the holiday weeks! Still not the one I was hoping for (it was a really cute lunchable-style one), but at least I have something to share!

What can I tell you about this bento? Well, it appears to be a ham and cheese sandwich on a fluffy roll, which means we likely had BBQ sandwiches around that time (since that's the only time I buy fluffy rolls. Below that are some kind of crisps, blueberry or apple more than likely. On the upper right, there's a pasta salad with ham and peas and probably a ranch style dressing, and below that, it's honeydew!

And obviously, because of the pink box? It's Faith's!

The Kids Cook Monday - Christmas Cookies

2011-12-19T18:00:00.000-06:00

In a moment of utter genius, I managed to delete the bentos I had saved to fill in this Christmas week with at least a couple of posts. So much for that plan. So plan two involves some of my other cooking adventures. This week, for The Kids Cook Monday, F&B and I have been making Christmas cookies.

Now I've made several other kinds, including sherbet macaroons, almond fudge, jam filled sugar cookies and chocolate peppermint ones, but these two were the most kid friendly.

iPhone picture, the real camera was drying out from a water incident.

Zebra nibbles aren't exactly cookies. Use grid pretzels and top each with a Hershey's Hug, or we used Peppermint Kisses. Bake for about 5 minutes on whatever your oven is on, until the kisses get soft, but not melted. Remove from the oven and top each with an M&M, pressing down so the the kiss spreads out a bit. Other than the oven, F&B do these on their own.

Gingerbread reindeer were more cookie-ish. Use your favorite gingerbread recipe (or in a pinch, the Pillsbury refrigerated gingerbread is pretty good). Roll it out, cut circles, decorate with pretzel antlers and M&M eyes and noses, bake per the recipe. For these, I did the cutting, F&B did the decorating.

What's for Lunch Wednesday, Week 81

2011-12-14T00:01:00.000-06:00

Welcome to "What's for Lunch" Wednesday!!!

Reindeer Cookie Bento

2011-12-13T14:00:00.001-06:00

I was trying to figure out what kind of holiday bento to make F&B this morning when Ben said to me "You know, I would like a reindeer cookie in my lunch, that could be the decoration."

While I think that was his not-so-subtle way of getting his current cookie of choice, I didn't see a problem with the logic. One cute cookie = one decoration!

So the boy had a ham and cheese sandwich on multigrain rounds, topped with the coveted reindeer cookie. These are gingerbread reindeer, cut into circles, with M&M eyes and noses and pretzel antlers. To the right, he had blackberries and cantaloupe (a few of the blackberries are still frozen, not dusty). It's packed in our Easy Lunchboxes (also available on Amazon), since the reindeer cookies don't fit in most of our boxes.

More Christmas Bento, This Time with Cookies!

2011-12-12T14:00:00.000-06:00

We started doing a little Christmas baking yesterday! So far, we made Zebra Nibbles (pretzels with Candy Cane Kisses and M&Ms), orange sherbet macaroons, chocolate almond fudge, and gingerbread reindeer (pretzel antlers and M&M eyes and noses). Of course, there's no sense in making these if a couple don't make it into lunches!

Ben had a ham and cheese sandwich on multigrain rounds, quartered to fit in his container and topped with a sugar reindeer. For sides, he had a couple of the macaroons and a couple of the zebra nibbles, plus cantaloupe and blackberries, all packed in a 4-square Lock & Lock. The stupid refrigerator froze my cucumber, so I need to buy more veggies.

Santa Goldfish Bento

2011-12-09T14:30:00.001-06:00

I'm really enjoying the holiday themed bentos, but I also really needed to finish out the last two Goldfish breads we had in the fridge. With a little bit of ingenuity, some cheese, and my kitchen sheers, we have Santa Fishie!

Santa Fishie is made from Goldfish bread, filled with turkey and cheese, and topped with a Santa Fishie hat (marble cheese with swiss trim) and a happy fishie sugar eye. To go with him, we have pretzels, a granola bar and some cantaloupe. Santa Fishie is riding to school in style in his Easy Lunchboxes sleigh (also available on Amazon).

Frosty the Snowman Bento

2011-12-08T13:30:00.000-06:00

Of course, since Ben had to have a cute Santa bento the other day, I couldn't leave out my girl. She said she would take a Santa too, but it's more fun to have two different themes (which of course means 2 different posts).

Faith had a similar sandwich to Ben (roast beef), but decorated with a Frosty the Snowman! He's made from swiss cheese, with cheddar hat and nose, and bits of cucumber peel for eyes and buttons. I forgot carrots at the grocery store or he would had had stick arms too. To the right, she has some pretzels and M&Ms trail mix, and cantaloupe, since she doesn't like blackberries.

Lunch is packed in our Easy Lunchboxes (also available on Amazon). These are perfect for sandwich creations since there's more space, and Faith (unlike Ben) does not swing her box around.

What's for Lunch Wednesday, Week 80

2011-12-07T00:01:00.000-06:00

Welcome to "What's for Lunch" Wednesday!!!

A Santa Bento for Ben

2011-12-06T13:30:00.002-06:00

Ben doesn't typically request anything specific for his bento, the occasional item, but not really a theme. However, the other day, he told me that he really wanted a Santa bento, so I had to fill the request for my little guy.

Santa started out with a roast beef sandwich on multigrain rounds to provide the base. No cheese in the sandwich because I needed to use quite a bit to construct Santa. His beard is swiss, cut out with kitchen sheers, as is the trim on his hat and the pompom ball. The hat itself is cheddar because I had no idea what could be red other than fruit leather (which I don't have). His nose is a bit of pepperoni and some cucumber peel makes the rest of his eyes. To go with that, Ben has blackberries (on sale this week, 10 for $10, so we bought 6) and some pretzel and holiday M&M trail mix.

Lunch is packed in our Easy Lunchboxes (also available on Amazon), in order to get Santa to keep his shape. Shaun dropped the kids off at school today and said Santa would be lucky to make lunch the way Ben was swinging his bag around. Oops. ;o)

Snowy Weekend Bento

2011-12-05T14:00:00.000-06:00

We decided to take advantage of Colorado living and headed out to ski this weekend. We have season passes for Keystone and A-Basin, since they are both drivable for day trips, and they seemed like a good place to teach F&B to ski.

That was Saturday. Sunday, we were tired, cold, and it started to snow, so Monday lunches were made from what was in the fridge. However, grocery shopping is imperative, so that's where we are going after school.

Faith had a cream cheese and jelly sandwich on goldfish bread, complete with a sugar eye. To go with it, she had some pretzels, some cucumber snowflakes and an apple. Have you seen the puzzle apple on Pinterest yet? Cut it, piece it back together, rubber band it, and it will keep without browning! Perfect for the kids lunches. It's packed in our Easy Lunchboxes (also available on Amazon), as it was the only container I could smush the apple into.

Snowman Bento for Ben

2011-12-01T13:30:00.000-06:00

Today, the weather in Colorado Springs was calling for snow, so I opted for a bento in that theme. However, while it is cold outside, it's quite sunny and clear today, so gathering that the weatherman was just a little bit wrong! On the plus side, Ben liked the snowmen decorations this morning.

Ben has a turkey & ham sandwich two kinds of cheese (cheddar & provolone) on sandwich thins, topped with a little sugar snowman. To go with that, he has carrots, cantaloupe, and some pretzels, accented with an extra snowman pick. It's packed in our Easy Lunchboxes (also available on Amazon), so the sandwich could lay flat.

What's for Lunch Wednesday, Week 79

2011-11-30T00:01:00.000-06:00

Welcome to "What's for Lunch" Wednesday!!!

A Fishie Bento for Ben!

2011-11-29T14:00:00.000-06:00

Faith had a field trip today, so only Ben needed a lunch today. Well, let's rephrase that, only Ben needed a bento; Faith needed a disposable lunch, which did not thrill me.

Since it was just the boy, I decided to keep it simple and fill his lunch box with his favorites.

He has a cream cheese and jelly sandwich on goldfish bread, complete with a sugar eye, two homemade chocolate chip cookies, some carrots, a boiled egg and cantaloupe. (Faith had similar, but no egg and wanted an apple instead of cantaloupe chunks.) Ben's is packed in our Easy Lunchboxes (also available on Amazon), whereas Faith had baggies. :oP

A Simple Lunch Bento with a story

2011-11-28T14:00:00.000-06:00

Happy Monday! Hope you all had an amazing Thanksgiving break! We had a fun first Thanksgiving in CO, complete with a bacon wrapped turkey, the kids' favorite side dishes, and lots of Black Friday shopping.

I had good intentions last night of making some sort of fancier bento for the kids, since we've been doing simple ones lately. But, while cleaning up from dinner, I heard a bang. Now, living on post, there are cannons and all sorts of things that go bang, but this bang came from my fridge. I assumed the fridge was dying and was wondering what i was going to do with 3/4 of a bacon wrapped turkey (yeah, kind of overshot the turkey purchase). Either way, I opened the fridge, which is just fine, to discover that a can of biscuits exploded. So I did what anyone would do with a can of biscuits that had popper, we made pizza biscuits!

So Faith has a pizza biscuit with a cheddar snowflake on top, cantaloupe, carrots, and a piece of lemon bar. (Side note, the lemon bar is really more of a lemon spongecake, I was slightly disappointed in how it turned out. Now, if you were wanting a lemon spongecake, it's yummy, just not really a lemon *bar*.)

So, boring bento today, but at least I didn't waste the biscuits!

What's for Lunch Wednesday, Week 78

2011-11-23T00:01:00.000-06:00

Welcome to "What's for Lunch" Wednesday!!!

Thanksgiving with Hormel

2011-11-21T12:45:00.000-06:00

November's Hormel Family of Bloggers topic is, of course, Thanksgiving!

This is our first Thanksgiving in Colorado, so it will just be the four of us. Because of that, I've tried to carefully craft a menu that won't yield too many leftovers, except of the turkey. I want leftover turkey. It's vital to my freezer cooking plan, which includes making a couple of turkey pot pies and a couple of pans of sour cream turkey enchiladas, as well as leftover turkey sandwiches and soup!

The plan, so far, includes:

Bacon wrapped turkey (thanks to Hormel, I have some lovely bacon in the freezer to go with our turkey)
Stuffing
"Orange" potatoes - a sweet potato casserole with pecans that Ben loves
Deviled peas - Faith's request
Steamed rice, in lieu of mashed potatoes - that would be Shaun's choice
Fresh rolls
Pumpkin pie
Lemon bars - I'm trying a 2 ingredient version I found on Pinterest

Need advice for cooking a turkey? Jennie-O can help! Just head over to their website and checkout the Turkey Basics section. I've consulted it many times already and I'm sure I'll be back.Looking for some great sides? I blogged our peas and sweet potato recipes on Momtrends last year, they're linked above. They are two standing requests for holiday meals at my house. My favorite pumpkin cheesecake recipes is at the Momtrends link too. Having company over and needed centerpiece ideas for a beautiful table? I love these simple but elegant ideas, and they are easy enough for the kids to help create.

As for what to do about the leftovers? What about a yummy turkey and stuffing pie? Just switch the canned turkey for some diced leftover pieces in this recipe, perfect for the busy shopping weekend after the holiday.

Disclosure: I have received product and information from Hormel Foods in exchange for being a Hormel Foods Extended Family Blogger. All opinions expressed within the post are my own.

Featured Friday - Thanksgiving!

2011-11-20T14:00:00.000-06:00

In the process of this week's Sandwich Spin posts, I decided to hold the Featured Friday for the weekend. Since it's Thanskgiving week, what could be better than a bunch of turkey bento ideas!

Turkey shaped sandwiches don't have to be complicated at all. Actually, from a round sandwich, it's pretty easy to make a turkey! Just use your favorites to make feathers, faces and beaks, and voila! A turkey!

Mine from last year--the turkey is cut from cheeses, using a circle cutter and part of a duck cutter.

Multi-colored apple slices make cute turkey feathers in this bento from Bentology

From Our Lil' Kingdom, scalloped cheese slices poke out as the turkey feathers

From Cute Food for Kids, a simple turkey sandwich with cheese feathers and a bit of pepper and nori for accents.

From Crouching Mother, Hidden Toddler, this turkey has feathers made from multi-colored bell peppers, using a the ears on a bunny cookie cutter to shape them.

Want more Thanksgiving lunch inspiration?

Check out Ten Thanksgiving Lunch Ideas on Parent Map!

5 Simple Sandwich Spins Bento #5 - Slider/Stacker Sandwiches

2011-11-18T14:00:00.003-06:00

Last day of sandwich spins today and we went with another F&B favorite--sliders/stackers!

For these, I typically will roll the bread flat and cut multiple smaller circles out to build stacked sandwiches (crusts go in the freezer of course). These just *have* to be 3 layer sandwiches, because there is something fun about three layer sandwiches. We did a semi-club sandwich with two kind of cheese, turkey, ham, and a bit of mayo.

You may have to zoom in on the picture to see it better, I had to turn the sandwiches on their sides to fit into the box better. Ben has two mini sliders, skewered on a pick so they'd stay together. Side dishes include carrots, honeydew and zucchini bars; the box is a Monokuro Boo box that is neutral enough that Ben can use it too.

Hope you all enjoyed the series! F&B are off school next week, but we may do some fun lunches for Thanksgiving while we have the time!

5 Simple Sandwich Spins, Bento #4 - Shaped Sandwiches

2011-11-17T14:00:00.000-06:00

Day 4 of sandwich spins brings us the shaped sandwich. It might be the simplest idea yet, but there is something about a simple cut out shape to brighten up a lunch. Lots of options are available for these--regular cookie cutters, specialty sandwich cutters like the Lunch Punch, or simple sandwich cutters from the dollar stores and Walmart (we have a dino set from Walmart that is adorable and only around $2). Remember to save the crusts in the freezer, they make for great breadcrumbs and croutons.

Today, Faith has a roast beef and cheese sandwich on the same multigrain bread we've been using all week, cut into a butterfly using a LunchPunch and accented with a wee bit of cheese to pretty it up. Side dishes including carrots, cucumber flowers, cantaloupe and zucchini bars, and it's packed in our Easy Lunchboxes (also available on Amazon).

One more day of sandwiches spins! See you tomorrow!

5 Simple Sandwich Spins, Bento #3 - Kebab Sandwiches

2011-11-16T14:00:00.000-06:00

I've often said on here that F&B are convinced that food on a stick tastes much better than food not on a stick. The same is true with sandwiches--sandwiches on sticks taste better than sandwiches that are not.

In keeping with the sandwich theme, it was imperative to use the same bread to get the full sandwich effect. Cubes of cheese and rolls of sandwich meat have all the elements of a sandwich without being an actual sandwich. (This also works with crackers, but for the purposes of this series, it's sandwich or nothing.)

Today, Ben has sandwich kebabs with ham, turkey, cheese and bread. The picks are actually drink stirrers from the Dollar Tree last summer, keep an open eye shopping and you'll be surprised what works well to skewer food. Side dishes include kiwi, honeydew, and a piece of garden fresh zucchini bars I made last night, mostly to warm up the kitchen!

Day 3 of sandwich spins done, 2 more to go! See you tomorrow!

What's for Lunch Wednesday, Week 77

2011-11-16T00:01:00.000-06:00

Welcome to "What's for Lunch" Wednesday!!!

5 Simple Sandwich Spins, Bento #2 - Pocket Sandwiches

2011-11-15T14:00:00.000-06:00

F&B have always been thoroughly intrigued by the concept of Uncrustables, except for one small problem. They both dislike peanut butter, which is the hallmark of the Uncrustable empire.

Almost 2 years ago, a good friend of mine was doing the Komen 3Day and one of her fundraisers was a Pampered Chef event. There, I discovered a little treasure called the Cut-N-Seal, which allows you to make your own Uncrustables at home, with your choice of bread and fillings! Perfect for a sandwich switch up around here!

Faith has an egg salad Uncrustable on 12 grain bread. The cutter even leaves the cute little crimped edges, but the filling is much more palatable to my kids. Side dishes include apple cinnamon crisps, strawberries, and carrots with ranch, again. It was supposed to be cucumber, but I apparently don't have a cucumber in the fridge. Today, it's packed in our Easy Lunchboxes (also available on Amazon).

There are other options for pocket sandwiches too. Wonder Bread makes one option (though I don't have it), the Krustbuster is another (Biting the Hand That Feeds You has a great looking KB lunch here so you can see how it seals). Muffin Tin Mom also has a great post on how to make pocket sandwiches with just a round cutter and fork.

As for the extra pieces? I have a ziploc bag in my freezer for all the leftover bits of bread, end pieces, leftover garlic bread, etc. Once there's enough, I dry it in the oven and make bread crumbs. No waste!

Come back again tomorrow for sandwich spin #3!

5 Simple Sandwich Spins, Bento #1 - Sushi Rolls

2011-11-14T15:00:00.000-06:00

I've had this series floating around in my head for awhile, so decide that this week, I'm finally going to write it!

The humble sandwich is still the main staple of the American elementary school lunchbox, but after awhile, two slices of bread, some meat/cheese or PB&J gets a little old. But what about a way to jazz up the sandwich? Or better yet, 5 simple ways?

That's what we're doing this week, 5 different sandwich options, all using a regular loaf of the same bread!

First up, of course, is the sushi sandwich. Our very first bento, way back in 2007, featured sushi sandwiches. These are great with meat and cheese, peanut butter and jelly or cream cheese and jelly, just as long as you have something to stick the last bit together. It helps to trim the very edges of the crusts first and then roll the bread flat with a rolling pin. Spread with fillings, leave a little bit empty at the one edge, then roll tightly and slice!

Faith has cream cheese and raspberry jam sushi sandwiches (side note: plain white or wheat bread works a lot better, but we like 12 grain bread). Side dishes include honeydew, carrots & ranch, and strawberry yogurt (a bit of press&seal made sure the yogurt stayed in place). It's packed today in a Lock & Lock 4 square box.

Tomorrow, another day, another lunch, and another sandwich bento! See you then!

The Long-Awaited, Hotel Room, $5 or Less Meal Plan, Week 1

2011-11-13T12:50:00.005-06:00

AKA, you too can eat in a hotel room, without a stove, for less than $5/dinner (oh, and that's a collective $5, not $5 per person)!

Bit of background:

When we arrived here at Fort Carson, our house wasn't ready. Instead, we had 10 days booked at on-post lodging, then extended that another 10 days. We were told we had two rooms with a kitchenette to join them. Perfect! So along with the necessities, I added one of my crockpots, a small electric frying pan, the toaster oven, and the rice cooker, figuring I'd have a fridge and cook top in the kitchenette.

However, my interpretation of a kitchenette and theirs were a wee bit different. We had a sink, two microwaves, and a mini fridge in each room. One mini fridge froze *everything* while the other barely kept things cool. It was a hoot, really. Hence, most of my "this is what we can eat" planning went right out the window, since pasta is a staple of quick & easy cooking (no way to boil water) and I kind of bank on being able to store food in a fridge.

However, after a couple of days of eating out on the road, we were all tired of restaurant food & its prices, and a little sick to our stomachs from it all. So after a few grocery store trips, we managed to come up with two meal plans of 5 meals each, along with a bonus soup each week. Prices are based on Colorado Springs pricing (which I found higher than Dallas). Shopping varied between Safeway, King Soopers (a Kroger affiliate), Albertson's, the Commissary on post, and some basic necessities at the Dollar Tree (they sell HFCS free ketchup, along with cheap spices).

At that, the food's simple, it's reasonably healthy, but not all-organic, perfect balances, less veggies than I'd like, and we did a lot of raw fruit as snacks just to up the fruit/veggie count. If you're expecting well-planned, gourmet meals, this is not the place. However, it's not bad, considering the lack of storage, appliances and the fact we had to live in a hotel for three weeks. And it's way better than takeout!

Without further adieu, week 1 of hotel living, the meal plan!

Day 1: Shaun's Pseudo Stir Fry (don't ask, it's his thing)

1.5 lb ground beef @ $1.92/lb = $2.90

1 bag frozen mixed veggies = $.69

1 oz garlic (32oz jar @ $4.99) = $.16

3oz soy sauce (20oz @ $2.29) = $.34

3 cups steamed rice (6cents/serving, from the web) = $.36

Total = $4.45

Servings = 1 for me, F, B, 2 for Shaun, plus 1 leftover lunch for Shaun

6 bowls at $.74/bowl

Dinner only = $3.74

Directions: Saute ground beef & garlic in electric skillet, drain fat, add frozen veggies & soy sauce, lower heat and cover to steam, serve over steamed rice (we buy 20lb bags of rice and cook in a rice cooker, this may vary if you buy Minute Rice)

Day 2: BBQ Chicken Sandwiches (Faith's Birthday)

2lb Split Chicken Breast (5lb @ $5.30 sale at Safeway) = $2.12

1/2 bottle HFCS free BBQ sauce ($1.25/bottle) = $.62

6 slices cheese (10 slices at $2.29) = $1.38

6 fluffy buns (8 @ $2.36) = $1.77

Total = $5.89

Servings = 1 for me, F, B, 2 for Shaun, plus 1 leftover sandwich for Shaun

6 sandwiches at $.98/bowl

Dinner only = $4.91

Directions: Place chicken breasts in crockpot, cover with BBQ sauce and a bit of water, cook on low all day, remove bones at end, then shred, mixing with sauce to cover. Slice rolls, top with chicken and cheese (and onions if you're my husband, but I don't like onions on my sandwiches). Since it was Faith's birthday, we just had cake and ice cream after this.

Day 3: Taco Stuffed Baked Potatoes

1.18lb ground beef @ $1.92/lb = $2.27

Taco seasoning = $.47

1/3 container of sour cream (@ $1.25/container) = $.41

1/2 bag of shredded cheese (@ $2.29/bag) = $1.15

5 potatoes (10lb bag = 33 potatoes @ $2.49 = 7.5 cents each) = $.38

Total = $5.89

Servings = 1 for me, F, B, 2 for Shaun, no leftovers

5 potatoes at $.94 cents/potato

Dinner only = $4.68

Directions: Thankfully, you can microwave baked potatoes. Put several fork holes into each side of each potato. Place in the microwave for about 2 minutes per potato (I cook four at once, so 8 minutes), when done, flip to the other side, microwave another 8 minutes (or whatever number of potatoes you have). This does assume your microwave works properly. Ours did not, so it took longer. It's really not surprising, given the fridge issues we had too. Now, using the electric skillet, sauté and drain the ground beef, add taco seasoning and water, cook as directed. Slice the potatoes in half, mash up the insides a wee bit, top with a bunch of taco beef, cheese, sour cream (and onions, once again if you're Shaun). We actually really like this as meal instead of regular tacos. In my head, potatoes are healthier than tortillas.

Day 4: Citrus Stir Fry (possibly my husband's favorite meal)

1.01 lb Beef Round Tip (50% off at Safeway) = $3.27

1 bag frozen mixed veggies = $.69

1 package Italian dressing (4 for $3) = $.75

1 oz soy sauce (20oz @ $2.29) = $.11

4 oz orange juice (64oz for $2.19) = $.14

2 oz oil (can't find where the breakdown of this is, but) = $.14

6 servings of rice = $.36

Total = $5.37

Servings = 1 for me and B, 1.5 for F, 2 for Shaun, plus 1 leftover lunch for Shaun

6.5 bowls at $.83/bowl

Dinner only = $4.54

Directions: Shaun's favorite stir fry recipe, serve with steamed rice

Day 5: Italian Chicken with Rice & Veggies
2lb Split Chicken Breast (5lb @ $5.30 sale at Safeway) = $2.12
1/2 bottle Italian dressing ($1 @ Dollar Tree) = $.50
1 bag microwave steamed veggies = $.79
6 servings of rice = $.36
Total = $3.77
Servings = 1 for me, F, B, 2 for Shaun, 1 more split by F&B&me
6 servings at $.63/each
Dinner only = $3.77
Directions: Chicken in the crockpot, cover with Italian dressing and water, cook on low all day, remove bones but don't shred. Steam rice, steam veggies in microwave according to directions, serve.

Bonus Weekend Soup - Leftover Chicken Crockpot Soup:
1lb Split Chicken Breast (5lb @ $5.30 sale at Safeway) = $1.06
1/3 bag of carrots (baby carrots @ $.89/bag) = $.30
1/3 onion (onion at $.59/each) = $.20
2 oz garlic (32oz jar @ $4.99) = $.32

5 cubes chicken bouillon (25 cubes for $1 at DT) = $.20

Soup only = $2.08

Directions: This is not my typical chicken soup recipe, but it worked OK. I usually use more herbs, more veggies, a better stock/bouillon, and I really prefer cooking chicken soup on a stovetop. But in a pinch, this will do. Use precooked chicken, I actually cooked the third breast with the previous day's Italian chicken. Dice the onions and carrots a lot, since you can't sauté them easily without a stove. Shred chicken, discard bones, put it in the crockpot with everything else and cook on low all day. I actually didn't use all the chicken in the soup, I used most of it for chicken salad sandwiches to go with the soup. We all prefer a more broth-based soup anyhow, but make it to your taste.

Like I said, less than exciting food, but it's filling, well-priced, and reasonably healthy. Obviously, I didn't count salt/pepper in the mix since I couldn't figure out how to price it. We bought a salt/pepper pack at the Dollar Tree and we are still using it almost 2 months later, so I am guessing it's pennies at best. We also go through a lot of fruit, but I don't usually price/measure that, it's just chopped up in the fridge for the kids to eat whenever they'd like.

Week 2, coming soon!

Linking up to Menu Plan Monday on OrgJunkie!

Some Simple Sandwich Bento

2011-11-10T13:30:00.000-06:00

Still trying to solve the lighting issues in the kitchen for photography, but wanted to at least share a few simple sandwich bentos. Mr. Ben is home sick today (and yesterday), so had to keep it really really simple. Then again, sometimes simple just works!

This bento features a cream cheese and jelly sandwich on multigrain rounds (penguin pick for a teeny touch of cuteness), strawberries, carrots, and a bit of homemade brownie.

This one's actually similar, except the sandwich is a tuna salad pocket with the same side dishes. Come to think of it, this may have been Ben's on Tuesday.

Nothing dramatically exciting, but we're heading into a 3 day weekend, so I will get some new lunch fixings before Monday.

What's for Lunch Wednesday, Week 76

2011-11-09T00:01:00.000-06:00

Welcome to "What's for Lunch" Wednesday!!!

A Pizza Bun Bento!

2011-11-08T14:00:00.000-06:00

I had the choice today between making a cute bento or a new recipe for pizza buns that also looked really intriguing. In the end, the pizza buns won out, and my house smelled nice and garlic-y last night!

These were pretty simple, I found them on a recipe linky, who in turn found them on Pinterest, and now I can't remember what the link is (I'll look for it in a bit). In summary, roll out refrigerated pizza dough (like Pillsbury). Sprinkle with Italian seasoning and garlic powder, top with parmesan, shredded cheese and diced pepperoni, then roll up tightly. Slice into rounds, put on a baking sheet and bake at 425 for 10-12 minutes.

So today, Faith has two of the pizza buns, along with a small container of marinara for dipping (side note, I need bigger little containers), some carrots, some honeydew, some strawberries and a piece of brownie I made a couple of nights ago. It's all packed in one of our Easy Lunchboxes (also available on Amazon). Nice and easy this morning, as the recipe yielded 10 buns. Shaun and I sampled one last night, the kids took 4 in their lunches between the two of them, Shaun had three in his and I had the last two here.

A Fall Bento for Ben and a Little Favor from You!

2011-11-07T14:00:00.000-06:00

It's getting quite a bit cooler in Colorado, but with the time change it was entirely too bright at 6:30 am when the cannon boomed and woke me out of a sound sleep. But alas, had to get up, get the kids up, and get lunches going.

Ben opted for a cream cheese and jelly sandwich on multigrain bread, with a cute cheese leaf topper (I am missing a few cutters still, boxes aplenty in the basement), some carrot sticks, some honeydew chunks, and two homemade pumpkin chocolate chip cookies. What can I say? I like cookies.

And now for the favor--This is our friend Kate!

Kate's mommy is a good friend of mine and made Miss Kate's awesome Halloween costume. It's entered in a contest on Facebook and we would love if you'd take a minute to click on Kate's picture or this link and "like" her photo on the Facebook page.

Some Husband Bento Lunches

2011-11-05T11:30:00.000-05:00

Since I've had a few comments about wondering what I feed my husband, I took a few pictures of his bentos this week.

They are definitely less exciting than the kids' bentos, just simple food that will keep him full till he gets home. In advance, apologies for the pics! I had to take them as he was trying to leave in the morning, so I didn't have time to keep trying different lighting.

Let's see, this one has a sub sandwich on sun dried tomato bread--ham, turkey, turkey pastrami, pepperonis, mayo, couple kinds of cheese, lettuce, tomato, onion, etc. To the right, he has a chef salad with assorted veggies (I want to say lettuce, tomato, cucumber, onion, mushroom, maybe carrots?). He also had a thermos of soup that day, a chicken tortilla soup. The box is a jumbo sized Lock & Lock I've had for several years. The two inner containers lift out, so it's perfect if you have an item that needs to be reheated.

This one has a turkey pastrami sandwich on multigrain rounds (as usual, other meats, cheese, mayo, lettuce, tomato are all there too). He also took a thermos of homemade chili, a few pastries from the commissary bakery, and some honeydew that I was already cutting up for F&B's lunches. It's packed our Easy Lunchboxes (also available on Amazon).

In both cases, he's also been taking apples and peaches from the fridge, and who knows what other less than healthy snacks. I also made a batch of pumpkin chocolate chip cookies the other day, so those went along with him too.

I am highly amused though, the day of the Lock&Lock lunch above, he texted me from his training class that he was the envy of his peers. They all had to bring lunch. He had that. They were eating MREs. ;o)

An after-Halloween Bento

2011-11-04T12:00:00.000-05:00

Of course, once Halloween is over, there's still room for an after-Halloween bento, mostly because I had already made a few things and they still needed to be eaten!

For lunch, Faith had a corn dog muffin (Halloween wrapper), pumpkin spice cupcake (Halloween wrapper and pick), cucumbers and carrots (cut with the pumpkin cutter because it was the perfect size) and grapes (not Halloween, but needed to be eaten anyhow). It's packed in a Lock & Lock, because it was handy. :o)

Pita Pizza Bento!

2011-11-03T13:00:00.000-05:00

By far, this isn't the most inspired bento ever, but it's the first one in a long time where F&B came home and were that excited about the food.

In reality, it was an attempt to use out some leftovers, but it ended up being pita shell pizzas. Basically, they are just round pitas cut in half and split open, then stuffed with pepperonis, cheese and a wee bit of sauce. I thought they were pretty simply, but they must have been unique enough to impress the kiddos.

Faith had two of the pita pizzas (I quartered them for easier eating and stuffing), pretzels, carrots and honeydew. Very simple, but apparently, you never know what's going to strike their fancy!

What's for Lunch Wednesday, Week 75

2011-11-02T00:01:00.000-05:00

Welcome to "What's for Lunch" Wednesday!!!

Feeding the Husband Bento

2011-11-01T13:00:00.000-05:00

One of the nice parts of living on base is that Shaun can come home for lunch. He's mostly been finishing off leftovers, having soup and sandwiches, but I don't have to think about it till lunchtime.

However, for the next couple of weeks, he has some kind of training where he won't be able to make it home. Since he doesn't want to eat fast food, this means bringing a lunch. On top of that, the place he is at doesn't seem to have a fridge or microwave, so it's cold lunches to go. (We did buy him a thermos, so I've been boiling soups in the morning so they are still hot at lunch time. Apparently it works well, he couldn't sip his soup till mid-afternoon because it was so hot.)

So this week, he's using our Easy Lunchboxes (also available on Amazon). In this one, he has a sandwich with Orowheat 12 grain bread, mayo, lettuce, pepperoni, ham, turkey, turkey pastrami, cheddar and provolone. Upper right is a boiled egg for extra protein, lower right is cantaloupe. He toted along a thermos of homemade chicken soup too.

And because he is awesome and tends to humor me, doesn't the green bag go nicely with his camo? Even in uniform, it's important to coordinate. ;o)

Last Halloween Bento - Monster Mash!

2011-10-31T12:00:00.000-05:00

Squeezing in one last Halloween bento today, since I really wanted monster faces! Had to go light on the food, since both kids have class parties this afternoon, then we're having friends over for chili, trick or treating, and candy eating!

Ben has a monster face sandwich, half turkey, half ham, on multigrain rounds, with teeth cut from a slice of provolone. Eyes are boiled egg slices with carrots for the pupils. To the right, he has grapes, cantaloupe, and a little blueberry pastry thingie.

For Faith, I tried the other monster face option and cut the bread as the teeth (side note, Ben's was much easier!). Hers is cream cheese and jelly, but the rest of the bento is the same.

It's packed in Easy Lunchboxes, also available on Amazon.

Hope you all have a boo-tiful Halloween!!!

Hormel - Quick Fall Meals

2011-10-29T17:40:00.000-05:00

October's Hormel questions ask about quick fall meals. How do you take October activities--Halloween prep, apple picking, visiting the corn maze or hay rides, pumpkin picking--and bring it into the kitchen?

When your schedule gets busy, as it inevitably does in the fall, how do you stay on top of having dinner each night?

Now, for those of you that have been following along, we moved from Dallas to Colorado at the end of September, then spent the first half of October living in a hotel while we waited for our house to be done. Quick, easy meals were imperative, especially since I didn't have access to a full kitchen.

Perfect for fall days, I'm still in love with my crockpot! I actually have 3--a mini one, a taller round one and a wider oval one, for different uses. On MomTrends, I shared two of my favorite crockpot recipes already (crockpot roast chicken and crockpot lasagna). I also love to default to stews and soups in the crockpot. Beef stew is extra easy--cook the beef quickly in a pan to brown it, drain, add it plus water, bouillon, potatoes and mixed veggies to a crockpot, then cook on low all day long.

The next two nights are crockpot nights for us too! Tonight, I have a Hormel Always Tender Pork Loin in the crockpot. It's been simmering all day with garlic and parmesan (which you can smell the minute you walk through our front door). We'll serve it with steamed rice and steamed veggies, so little extra work on my part and it's pretty much ready to eat by 6pm!

Tomorrow, for Halloween, we're having friends over for chili in the crockpot, then out trick or treating with our kids! Another meal I don't have to watch carefully all day long, since I need to be at F&B's school in the mid afternoon.

What are your favorite fall meals? Or crock pot meals? Leave me a comment with your favorite, and one random winner will receive a pumpkin trick or treat basket, filled with Hormel goodies!

Disclosure: I have received product and information from Hormel Foods in exchange for being a Hormel Foods Extended Family Blogger. All opinions expressed within the post are my own.

Featured Friday!

2011-10-28T23:00:00.001-05:00

I know, in the process of moving, I've let Featured Friday fall to the wayside.

But we are almost moved in now, and sort of, kind of, semi-unpacked. (Well, if you don't go in the basement, my house looks pretty good. But stay out of the basement.) At some point, I'll take y'all on a little tour of our on-base housing. The kitchen is bigger than I expected and we got a darling little corner booth breakfast table which helps open up that part of the room. I did lose my bento cabinet, but confiscated a whole set of drawers for bento drawers, so I'm OK.

Anyhow, since Halloween is Monday, I wanted one more Halloween themed Featured Friday with some fun bentos from some of my awesome bento bloggers.

Cool dual pumpkins from Edible Articles

Absolutely darling ghosts from Ameriasian Bento

Spooky eyes from Biting the Hand that Feeds You

Ben had an eyeball obsession a few years ago--

Eyeballs=completely hilarious

Amazing Jack Skellington from Bento Monsters

This is not a bento. But these are too awesome not to add!

Pretzel and marshmallow skeletons!!! (From Wants & Wishes Daily Inspiration)

Two for the Price of One! Halloween Bento Lunches

2011-10-27T14:00:00.000-05:00

Why two for the price of one? Well, I have a few lunches in backlog, in case of emergencies and realized a few are kind of Halloweenie, so today, you get yesterday's and today's lunches!

Now yesterday, we had our very first snow in Colorado Springs. It was cold (and very cold, considering we moved here from 90-degree weather in Texas less than a month ago). And F&B were very cold, so I scrapped my original lunch plan and heated up soup for them.

They both had a thermos of chicken/corn chowder, which I was pleased to here was still piping hot at lunchtime (Thermos brand thermoses, filled with boiling water while I heated the soup to boiling also). In the box, they had cantaloupe, naan and some cheddar cheese, cut like a bat for festiveness. ;o)

Now last night was also cold, so I opted to bake to have a reason to put the oven on and warm up the kitchen! I made corn dog muffins (a kid favorite) and ended up with 18 of them, so I can start rebuilding a freezer stash.

They each had a corn dog muffin, blueberry crisps, honeydew and cantaloupe, once again accented with a bat cutout. I messed up and cut most of the cantaloupe before I remembered I wanted to shape some of it, so had to use the bats by default, since they are narrower than the other Halloween cutters I have!

Now I feel the need to run to the store and figure out something more festive for one more Halloween lunch!

What's for Lunch Wednesday, Week 74

2011-10-26T00:01:00.000-05:00

Welcome to "What's for Lunch" Wednesday!!!

Another Halloween Bento Lunch

2011-10-25T13:30:00.001-05:00

This one's simpler, because I wanted to use some leftovers out. We made tacos the other night and I had maybe enough meat left over for about a taco and a half. Not enough to make stuffed muffins or something like that and not really enough for Shaun to eat, but we did have a some pita breads left to make taco pitas for the kids!

Ben has a taco pita, cut in half, with meat and cheese inside. I really love the half pitas for the kids, they are so much less messy than the wraps! To go with that, he has some carrots with ranch dip, a kiwi (he's still on his kiwi kick), some honeydew, and two of yesterday's oatmeal butterscotch cookies. To make it Halloween-y, he has a pumpkin and bat cut from blueberry fruit leather.

It's packed in Easy Lunchboxes, also available on Amazon.

ETA: I put Halloween jokes in F&B's lunches today, I need more of these!

Faith's: How do witches do their hair? With scare-spray!

Ben's: What's a ghost's favorite fruit? Boo-berries.

The Kids Cook Monday - Butterscotch Oatmeal Cookies

2011-10-24T19:00:00.000-05:00

Right now, I'm just a wee bit obsessed with a cookbook I just reviewed for Momtrends (side note, I'm now the food editor there, in case you didn't know!). So for today's The Kids Cook Monday, I really wanted another cookie, so we made a version of the Oatmeal Scotchies from The Ultimate Cake Mix Cookie Book

Now why am I obsessed with this book? Because most recipes only involve a few ingredients past the cake mix! Quick, easy, yummy, and done in a matter of minutes. Of course, done in a matter of minutes is also matter of opinion--my matter of minutes was delayed slightly when I discovered the hard way that the drawer below my oven? Not exactly storage, more of a warming drawer and I'm thinking fingerprints aren't really a necessity of life.

Anyhow, in summary, our adaptation of Butterscotch Oatmeal Cookies, original recipe from The Ultimate Cake Mix Cookie Book:

1 box white cake mix
2 eggs
1/2 cup butter, melted

Blend these three ingredients till smooth, then stir in:

1 cup rolled oats
1 cup butterscotch chips

Roll into 1 inch balls and place on parchment paper on a cookie sheet.
Bake at 375 degrees for about 10 minutes or until edges brown.
Serve warm with a cup of tea. (I was in a tea mood this afternoon.)

Halloween Bat Bento!

2011-10-24T10:00:00.001-05:00

In this week's unpacking extravaganza, I've found my EasyLunchboxes, my cookie cutters *and* some Halloween decorations.

I still have not found the silverware, for those keeping track, and actually asked a Dallas friend to go check our old house and see if it got left (I am out of places it could be around here).

But Halloween stuff makes me happy!

Ben has a ham & turkey sandwich on multigrain rounds, topped with a cheddar bat with sugar eyes. The bat is making me all sorts of happy today, just because he's more interesting than anything I could make in a hotel room.

To go with that, he has pretzels, carrots, honeydew, and a chocolate zucchini muffin, topped with a little sugared ghost decoration. The ghost also makes me happy. :o)

Of course, as mentioned, it's packed in Easy Lunchboxes, which are also available on Amazon if you need a set of your own (both kids and my husband use ours!). And yes, finding my bento supplies? Also makes me happy! It's a good day.

More New House Bento

2011-10-21T16:00:00.000-05:00

Good news! I've found most of my bento supplies, my camera and my card reader. Of course, the silverware is still missing and I feel less optimistic about finding it daily.

Still trying to figure out where/how to take the pictures in this house. The lighting isn't great in the early mornings, so you'll have to excuse the shadows till I find out the ideal location. ;o) This one was taken around 7am and seems a little darker than I'd like it to be.

That said, we bought fresh naan yesterday, so Ben had a few pieces of naan, some chunks of sharp cheddar cheese, and a bit of deli turkey and ham. He had the rest of the honeydew, a few butter pretzels, and a mini chocolate-zucchini muffin. Faith had a class party today and that was what she chose to bring and share with her classmates, so I saved a few for lunches too.

What's for Lunch Wednesday, Week 73

2011-10-19T00:01:00.000-05:00

Welcome to "What's for Lunch" Wednesday!!!

New House Bento!

2011-10-18T20:47:00.002-05:00

Today, we finally got all our household goods! But last night, we actually had our first dinner (spaghetti) in the new house, then I decided to whip up a quick pasta salad for today's bentos.

I cheated a little and used Annie's Mac&Cheese as the base, it's the Arthur shaped kind. I added some ham, peas, cheese and ranch to it. Had some for lunch today too, not bad!

Anyhow, for lunch, the kids had a tier of pasta salad (lower/smaller tier), then honeydew, carrots, and some cute little Halloween pretzel melts we made for a treat!

Back to unpacking, I'm still on a search for the silverware!

ETA: Yet again, a horrific picture. Beginning to think iPhone + kitchen lighting? Not going to work.

What is Supposed to be a Ghost Bento

2011-10-17T09:26:00.003-05:00

So, I'm back, sort of! We are in our new house and the furniture should arrive tomorrow. The Internet should arrive today, we have priorities. ;o)

This was actually the last hotel room bento I made, down to the freehand ghost, lovingly crafted for my son ...

Who came home and said, "Why did you make a penguin???"

Anyhow, the boy had a turkey and cheese stuffed pita with a GHOST made of cheese on top, sugar eyes and a smile from orange cheese. He also had some grapes, some apple cinnamon crisps, and kiwi slices; he's on a kiwi kick right now.

And it's a ghost! Really!!!!

Very late night ETA: I did not realize how bad this picture was till I saw it on my laptop. It looks nice and clear on my phone!

Mini Biscuit Calzones Bento & Recipe

2011-10-13T12:30:00.001-05:00

We've been making mini-biscuit calzones for years for the kids' lunches. I looked back and discovered that the eighth bento *ever* featured these as well, way back in June 2007!

(Observation, I think my composition and photography have definitely improved over the years.)

Anyhow, since they are made with refrigerated biscuits, I can bake them in a toaster oven. And since we are still living at the hotel, I only have a toaster oven, not a real oven. (BTW, say a prayer that the housing office will let us move in on Friday afternoon instead of waiting till Monday morning, we don't have a weekend plan if they don't!)

Ben has two mini calzones, stuffed with mozzarella and turkey pepperonis, along with a side of marinara to dip them in, hiding in the yellow container. He has carrot sticks, some red plum slices and kiwi, because he's on a kiwi kick lately, and a few apple-cinnamon crisps as a treat.

In case you wanted it, here's the mini-calzone summary:

1 can refrigerated biscuits

1/4 cup marinara

1/4 cup shredded cheese

1/4 cup pepperoni, diced or cut into smaller pieces

-Flatten each biscuits into a circle.

-Put a dab of marinara on each, spread it out but not to the edges. You don't want a ton of sauce or they won't seal, just a teeny bit for flavor, like a 1/2 teaspoon.

-Arrange a few pepperonis on top, then a bit of shredded cheese.

-Fold the flattened biscuit in half, making sure the filler doesn't spill out the sides, then crimp the edges with a fork.

-Bake at 400 for about 10 minutes, or however long the biscuit package says to cook it.

-Serve with excess marinara for dipping.

***Side note: These work with any kind of filler that isn't very liquid, so use out leftovers like BBQ pork, ham, roast beef, etc, along with cheeses, and serve with a matching dipping sauce.

What's for Lunch Wednesday, Week 72

2011-10-12T00:01:00.000-05:00

Welcome to "What's for Lunch" Wednesday!!!

A Mummy-licious Bento

2011-10-11T11:00:00.000-05:00

F&B had Monday off this week, and I just found out they have Friday off too. I thought I signed up for them to go 5 days a week?!?!? If we weren't still stuck in a hotel, this might not be bad, but it's too little space for four people right now.

I am desperately craving the ability to bake and decorate for Halloween right now, so I had to attempt a kind of Halloween bento. The mummy meatloaf from Featured Friday gave me the idea and the pack of havarti in the fridge made for perfect bandages.

Faith has a mummy sandwich--turkey with herbed cream cheese on some kind of whole grain bread, topped with a mummy (strips of havarti bandages and sugar eyes). To go with that, she has grapes, carrots, half a red plum, and a few blueberry crisps. Since I can't bake, I had to buy treats. These ones are kind of a rice crisp from Quaker, we bought blueberry and apple cinnamon.

Featured Friday (Yes yes, on a Sunday!)

2011-10-09T15:30:00.002-05:00

Well, as in all the last posts, we are *still* in temporary housing, but I have to admit, it's much easier sharing a few favorite posts from the week than it is to actually make the bentos! Thankfully, I have some very talented bento friends with great lunch ideas and a slight addiction to Pinterest for regular food ideas!

Sweet Lia at Bentolicious has the cutest little kitten bento this week!

Marshmallow witches from Taste of Home that require no baking!

Sweet & salty bites from Free Cake Info (toaster oven maybe?)

Adorable Jack o Lantern sushi from the talented Sheri at Happy Little Bento

I really want to make this Mummy Meatloaf from The Knead for Speed

Fish Sandwich Bento

2011-10-07T13:00:00.000-05:00

Heading into our second full weekend in temporary housing (2 down, 1 to go!), I'm low on lunch foods. However, I'm also low on space, so with a 4 day weekend ahead of us, we're using the last bits of food I have.

I saw the Goldfish bread at the commissary the other day at a good price, and F&B wanted to try it out. It's a great bento addition without a whole lot of extra effort on my part!

Faith has a cream cheese and jelly sandwich on the honey-wheat Goldfish bread, some carrot sticks, a couple of gingersnaps, and the last yellow plum. I need to get a few other groceries, beginning to feel like most of our meals look the same right now!

A Little Bear Bento for Faith

2011-10-06T12:19:00.002-05:00

Today's experiment, posting from my iPhone, so let me know how this looks, please? Worried about formatting. Any blog apps recommendations are appreciated too.

But back to lunch! I got bored and used the egg mold I have to cut out a bear design for Faith. She has a turkey and cheese sandwich on multigrain bread rounds, topped with a cheese bear. I used wee bits of left over green bean to make the eyes. To go with that, she has a few gingersnaps, along with a mixture of fruit--pineapple, cantaloupe, honeydew, and strawberry.

What's for Lunch Wednesday, Week 71

2011-10-05T00:01:00.000-05:00

Welcome to "What's for Lunch" Wednesday!!!

Rainbow Fruit Bento

2011-10-04T10:30:00.000-05:00

Still in temporary housing! Less than two weeks left till we are in a house, thank God!

I'm running out of fun bento ideas since I only have a few boxes and very limited supplies, but I did have enough fruit for a rainbow of produce!

Ben has a chicken salad sandwich, made with leftover Italian chicken, stuffed into half a wheat pita pocket and sitting on top of a few veggie straws. To the right, he has his rainbow of fruits--strawberry, cantaloupe, pineapple, honeydew and blueberry, lots of his favorites, all in one box. It's packed in our Lunchbots Duo, which I discovered I did have with us, so it's another box option!

Again, sorry for the lousy pictures! I have my iPhone only and there is no window in our teeny kitchenette!

Semi-Halloween Bento!

2011-10-03T10:30:00.000-05:00

I'm a little sad that I packed the better part of my Halloween bento items, so I can't make anything really cool right now. I think a trip to the store for some new cutters may be in order since we don't get our stuff till mid-October. I figured a few Halloween picks were at least a good way to welcome October (side note, I also desperately want to bake pumpkin stuff and have no oven, it's traumatizing, to say the least!).

For lunch, Faith had deli turkey, skewered on Halloween picks and chunks of cheddar cheese. To go with that, she had pita crisp crackers, an almond poppyseed muffin and cantaloupe. She was *going* to have baby carrots to go with it, but she ate the bag of them while snacking & doing her homework. I suppose there are worse things in life than a child who eats a bag of baby carrots. ;o)

Another Temporary Housing Bento

2011-10-01T11:00:00.002-05:00

Temporary housing food is definitely interesting. I've actually managed to cook multiple dinners without an oven, and we're eating pretty well.

Lunches, in and of themselves, are easy, but cute lunches are harder since I'm limited with supplies. I talked to a local mom group in Dallas the day before we left, so at least I have a few things I brought along with me to the talk to show bento ideas. I really miss my big jars of cookie cutters though!

For the second day of school, Faith took a cream cheese and jelly pita sandwich cut into quarters to fit in her box. She had a few veggie straws, an almond poppyseed muffin, carrots, ranch, and cantaloupe. She ate everything, so this seemed to be a better balance of food!

Hormel September - National Childhood Obesity Month

2011-09-30T12:00:00.001-05:00

September's Hormel topic is regarding portion sizing and how do ensure your kids are eating the proper amounts of food. After all, September is National Childhood Obesity Awareness month and it's something all parents should be aware of.

So what is an appropriate portion size? Well, it depends on the person eating, but as a rule, most people don't choose the correct portion sizes when they are just guessing. Here are some great ways to familiarize yourself with the ideal portion sizes:

3oz chicken (average portion) = about the size of a deck of cards
1 cup rice = about the size of a tennis ball
1 medium piece of fruit = about the size of a baseball
1 small baked potato = about the size of a computer mouse
1 oz chocolate = about the size of a package of dental floss

Another great idea is to try using a digital food scale. These scales allow you to “zero out,” any bowls, plates, or measuring instruments so you are only getting the weight of the actual food items. Try using a food scale for a few weeks or until you feel like you can determine appropriate portions without its help. You will be surprised at how quickly you pick up on these nutritional tips!

And, as always, bentos are a great help for portion sizes. Boxes are sized for adults and children. A tightly packed, appropriately sized box (packed with nutritious food, of course) is typically a good measure of calories for that meal. Choose the right box, though, for an adult versus a child, if you try this method. Filling an adult box for a 6 year old might be entirely too much food for them!

Disclosure: I have received product and information from Hormel Foods in exchange for being a Hormel Foods Extended Family Blogger. All opinions expressed within the post are my own.

First Day of Colorado School Bento

2011-09-29T15:30:00.001-05:00

Yesterday was F&B's first day of school in Colorado! They both had amazing days, and Faith even found a new friend also named Faith! I'm fairly limited on bento supplies, and since we are in temporary housing, I don't quite have a real kitchen to work with. Even so, I made bentos for the kids to the best of my ability.

Faith had a turkey and cheese sandwich on multigrain sandwich rounds, topped with a few little cheese hearts, carrots, some veggie straws and a couple of gingersnaps in the top tier of her box, and some cantaloupe and red plums in the bottom tier.

Apparently, they don't have a large amount of time for lunch, so both kids brought home half a sandwich and their treats. I'll need to work on the amounts.

BlogHer Book Club - Lunch Wars

2011-09-29T12:30:00.001-05:00

Out of all the books I've gotten a chance to review, I'd be hard pressed to find one that seemed to fit my blog more than Lunch Wars by Amy Kalafa.

For those who haven't been around since the beginning, I started this whole blog right before Faith started kindergarten. In our case, she went to a private school with no cafeteria, so I needed to find a way to make sure she'd be able to eat her lunch in the allotted time. She's always been a great eater, but definitely a slow eater and bento lunches helped with that. Four and a half years later, she and Ben are in school in Colorado and I am making lunches x2. My original purposes have changed, but now it's a matter of feeding them a good, healthy lunch, where I know what ingredients have been used.

That statistics cited are troubling:

The price of fresh fruits and vegetables has risen 40% in the last 20 years
Half of America's school children eat less than 1 serving of fruit a day
30% eat less than 1 serving of veggies per day that aren't fried
At least 30% of the average child's diet comes from sweets, soft drinks, salty snacks, and fast food
Since the 1970s, obesity rates have tripled among children,12% have type 2 diabetes, 19% are obese and 35% are overweight, and all these numbers are rising

I know what my kids eat, I know what we all eat, and since I cook almost all of it, I know what is in it. However, one of the ideas I found most interesting in Kafala's book is the talk about the "food culture" at school.

Is what's being served and its message actually undermining what we try to tell our children about health and nutrition?

We tell them eat healthy, but cafeterias serve pizza and ice cream. We tell them candy is a treat, yet every time we turn around they are getting a candy reward at school, at scouts, at athletic games. We tell them to make good choices, but why are we offering bad choices to children who don't have the ability to think long term?

I'd love to hear your thoughts, if you want to leave a comment!

Or if you'd like to chat more about Lunch Wars with the other reviewers? Stop by BlogHer to join in!

This was a paid review for BlogHer Book Club but the opinions expressed are my own.

What's for Lunch Wednesday, Week 70

2011-09-28T00:01:00.000-05:00

Welcome to "What's for Lunch" Wednesday!!!

Live from Colorado!

2011-09-25T22:30:00.000-05:00

We made it, safe and sound!!!

We're in temporary housing for a few weeks until the house we are taking is ready. In the meantime, you all have the pleasure of looking forward to a series of posts on how we are going to manage to cook and eat while living in temporary housing without a real kitchen, LOL!

We have two mini fridge/freezer combos and a microwave. I brought my rice cooker, crock pot, electric skillet and toaster oven. Tonight we hit the grocery store to get a few necessities, then tomorrow begins the "how the heck do I cook dinner without an oven or cooktop?" craziness! Bentos too, of course, but those require less oven usage, except the desserts.

And the picture above? Well, that's the view outside our soon-to-be front yard! I am so excited about this!!! Be posting as soon as I can!!!

What's for Lunch Wednesday, Week 69

2011-09-21T00:01:00.001-05:00

Welcome to "What's for Lunch" Wednesday!!!

Featured Friday

2011-09-18T23:00:00.002-05:00

Welcome to a very late featured Friday on a Sunday night!

I know, it's two days late; things are a wee bit crazy around here. Our big news is finally official, we are moving to Colorado Springs very soon (as in we should be in CO by 9/25)! We'll be in temp housing until mid-October, then moving into our own place. I'll be doing my best bento-making from a kitchenette, but no promises. ;o)

As for this week, here are a few things I loved!

A fun "Apple of My Eye" Lunch from Bento-logy

Cider donuts from Lunches Fit for a Kid
(I am in awe of her bread making skills too!)

A royal lunch fit for a queen at Bent On Better Lunches

8 Great Lunch Foods from Organic Authority

And several of my bentos were featured on
Parent Map's 20 Lunch Box Ideas for Kids,
including my favorite pirate and Ben's infamous Peanuts!

What's for Lunch Wednesday, Week 68

2011-09-14T00:01:00.000-05:00

Welcome to "What's for Lunch" Wednesday!!!

Thanks so much for joining in last week if you did and looking forward to seeing all the fun lunches this week!

Want to join in?

Just choose a bento you've made from the last week you want to share, copy the URL of that post from your blog (you may need to click on the title to get it), and enter it into the linky below.

Click on the "Add Your Link" button to add yours and follow the steps, it's simple, I promise!

Leftover Calzones Bento

2011-09-13T13:30:00.000-05:00

Hope everyone is having a lovely Tuesday!

Yesterday was supposed to be the Kids Cook Monday, but it ended up being "Go out for yummy Thai food with friends" Monday. And we all really love Thai food!

I did make lunch for the kids, and took advantage of a little bit of leftover calzone filling from the other night. It's a bit of ground turkey, seasoned with garlic and Italian seasonings, a bit of garlic/herb cooking creme, some parmesan, a bit of red sauce, a few handfuls of cheese, really just bits & pieces of what was in my fridge, but so yummy!

For lunch, I stuffed mini pitas with the aforementioned filling, which kind of gave a calzone effect. (I used to make biscuit calzones frequently, if you look back to 2007 and 2008 posts; I really should do that again!) To go with the calzones, the kids had pretzels, strawberries and carrots with dip. Today's project is to go buy fruit, we are out again. I swear, we go through scary amounts of fruit around here!

Featured Friday

2011-09-09T15:30:00.001-05:00

Happy Friday Everyone! We're back from a really quick Missouri road trip, which also involved our very first trip to Kansas when I decided that one of the exits off I-44 had to have a gas station. No gas station, but within a half mile, a big welcome to Kansas sign. So we stopped and got out of the car so the kids could officially set their feet down in KS (we're a little odd that way).

Anyhow, a few fun links for the weekend!

An awesome stuffed bread character tutorial
from the sweet Lia at Bentolicious!

A cute heart themed "Mommy Loves You" meal
from Basic Bento for her preschooler

Another love themed lunch from Miso Bento
(And I totally want a Planet Box!)

And my Pinterest find--a way to keep apples fresh for snacks!
Check out the apple puzzle from @ Home With Real Food

On the Road Fox Bentos

2011-09-08T11:30:00.003-05:00

Yep, we're on the road again, but just a quick two day trip this time, back to Missouri.

I wanted to have lunch in the car, because I now know we shouldn't have to stop for gas until about Springfield, Missouri. I'm sure there will be bathroom breaks in between, but at least those should be quicker if we don't have to get food too.

This was one of those bentos that sort of came together after I started assembling it. I sliced the cantaloupe and scooper in the yogurt first, then made the sandwiches. I was going to make some kind of sandwich decoration, but started slicing a few strawberries when I noticed, they looked like ears! So from there, the fox appeared!

The kids have identical lunches because I'm driving and don't want to listen to it. ;o) They have ham & cream cheese sandwich on multigrain rounds, topped with fox faces (white cheddar for the eyes and organic blueberry fruit leather for the rest of the features). The ears, of course, are strawberries, then strawberry yogurt, and cantaloupe. Not in the bento, we have pretzels and granola bars for snacks, along with bottled water, and coffee for me.

For the record, Faith thinks it's a cat and Ben thinks it's a chihuahua. I was thinking fox, but I really am not sure.

On the road, I still prefer our Easy Lunchboxes, also available on Amazon. As mentioned, they fit in my cooler nicely and they are sturdy enough for the kids to use them on their laps.

What's for Lunch Wednesday, Week 67

2011-09-07T00:01:00.000-05:00

Welcome to "What's for Lunch" Wednesday!!!

Breakfast for Lunch Bento

2011-09-06T14:00:00.000-05:00

Well, almost a breakfast for lunch, assuming one's breakfast includes a pumpkin cupcake. (For the record, *my* breakfast often includes a cupcake. It goes good with my coffee.)

Either way, we bought mini-bagels the other day and F&B love mini bagels, so they were the base for lunch.

Faith has a mini bagel, toasted, and spread with whipped cream cheese and sliced strawberries. To go with it, she has a sliced boiled egg, blueberry yogurt with a dash of sprinkles, fresh cantaloupe, grapes to hold everything in place, the aforementioned pumpkin cupcake with a bit of cream cheese icing, and some tea party cutouts from organic blueberry fruit leather. Pretty, simple, and quite tasty!

I thought this was kind of pretty, so had to take a picture--bagel with fresh strawberries!

BentoLunch.net - What's for lunch at our house

Happy Valentine's Day Bento

A Valentine's Bento, one day early

The "When Mama is Sick" Bento

What's for Lunch Wednesday, Week 89

Bento o' Randomness

Pizza Bento for Ben

Groundhog Day Bento

What's for Lunch Wednesday, Week 88

Muffin Mix Ups Bento #4 - Fruits & Sweets

Hormel January - New Year's Resolutions

Muffin Mix Ups Bento #3 - Think Outside the Muffin

5 Muffin Mix-Ups Bento #2 - Use Veggies!

What's for Lunch Wednesday, Week 87

Today's No-Stove Bento

5 Muffin Mix-Ups Bento #1 - Stuffed Muffins (Entrees)

One Last Bad-Photo Bento

A Ben Lunch Bento, or how I broke an SD card

What's for Lunch Wednesday, Week 86

Another Version of the Pita Taco Bento

One Option for Apples in Bento!

What's for Lunch Wednesday, Week 85

Pizza Pita Pockets Bento

Lunchable-style Bento

Back to School Bento

What's for Lunch Wednesday, Week 84

Top 10 Bento Posts of 2011

What's for Lunch Wednesday, Week 83

Hormel - Christmas Leftover Meal Ideas

From Our Family to Yours

Featured Friday

Featured Friday, the prequel

What's for Lunch Wednesday, Week 82

A Random Bento, from who knows when!

The Kids Cook Monday - Christmas Cookies

What's for Lunch Wednesday, Week 81

Reindeer Cookie Bento

More Christmas Bento, This Time with Cookies!

Santa Goldfish Bento

Frosty the Snowman Bento

What's for Lunch Wednesday, Week 80

A Santa Bento for Ben

Snowy Weekend Bento

Snowman Bento for Ben

What's for Lunch Wednesday, Week 79

A Fishie Bento for Ben!

A Simple Lunch Bento with a story

What's for Lunch Wednesday, Week 78

Thanksgiving with Hormel

Featured Friday - Thanksgiving!

5 Simple Sandwich Spins Bento #5 - Slider/Stacker Sandwiches

5 Simple Sandwich Spins, Bento #4 - Shaped Sandwiches

5 Simple Sandwich Spins, Bento #3 - Kebab Sandwiches

What's for Lunch Wednesday, Week 77

5 Simple Sandwich Spins, Bento #2 - Pocket Sandwiches

5 Simple Sandwich Spins, Bento #1 - Sushi Rolls

The Long-Awaited, Hotel Room, $5 or Less Meal Plan, Week 1

Some Simple Sandwich Bento

What's for Lunch Wednesday, Week 76

A Pizza Bun Bento!

A Fall Bento for Ben and a Little Favor from You!

Some Husband Bento Lunches

An after-Halloween Bento

Pita Pizza Bento!

What's for Lunch Wednesday, Week 75

Feeding the Husband Bento

Last Halloween Bento - Monster Mash!

Hormel - Quick Fall Meals

Featured Friday!

Two for the Price of One! Halloween Bento Lunches

What's for Lunch Wednesday, Week 74

Another Halloween Bento Lunch

The Kids Cook Monday - Butterscotch Oatmeal Cookies

Halloween Bat Bento!

More New House Bento

What's for Lunch Wednesday, Week 73

New House Bento!

What is *Supposed* to be a Ghost Bento

Mini Biscuit Calzones Bento & Recipe

What's for Lunch Wednesday, Week 72

What is Supposed to be a Ghost Bento