Review of Raspberry, Feta, Pumpkin Seed Salad

You know how I promised a review of the Raspberry, Feta, Pumpkin Seed Salad on Thursday? Well, first of all, I forgot that was Christmas Day, but no worries, I was gonna post anyway, as we have a very laid-back Christmas Day in our household.

However, the real problem was that my ENTIRE family fell prey to some kind of sickness. SuperBoy had an icky cough. Just before Christmas, LoveBug had a 48-hr flu, which turned into an icky cough, for which we are going to the doctor this afternoon. My hubby got sick on Tuesday; he went to Urgent Care on Friday and was diagnosed with the flu  and put on meds; he is weak but recovering slowly. And me, hacking cough on Tuesday night turned into full-blown sinusitis and drippy drainage, which landed me in Urgent Care as well, because I couldn't attempt a breath without coughing! I'm on safe-for-pregnancy meds now, but it's a slow recovery process in this household. Ugh.

So THAT is why there was no post on Thursday; I was completely wiped out. Still am a bit. :(

So now, back to my review of the above-pictured salad. Tasty! The greens stayed fresh and crisp. The Craisins added a hint of sweetness, while the feta cheese chunks provided some tang.

In the future, I would have replaced the pumpkin seeds with chopped pecans. For me personally, I think that I prefer pecans or walnuts to pumpkin seeds. But at least, I gave it a shot, right?

What types of ingredients could you combine to create your own mason jar salad? In fact, what would you want to see me try? I'll gladly be your Mason Jar Salad guinea pig.

Lastly, this will be my next post until next year - don't worry; it's just around the corner. See you all next Monday.

Raspberry, Feta, Pumpkin Seed in a Mason Jar

This week's lunch is a Mason Jar Salad. Remember how I made the Healthier Cobb Salad and the Kale Slaw Salad. The beauty of a mason jar salad is two-fold: you can make an entire week's worth of lunches at one time, AND they stay fresh and yummy throughout the week. Plus, the combinations are practically endless.

This time, I made what I call a "Seasonal Salad". "Seasonal" because it incorporates toasted pumpkin seeds (the Autumn and Thanksgiving times of year) with the green and red colors of the Christmas season. Mason jar salads are pretty easy to make; here's how I created this one.

In the bottom of a quart mason jar (or clean pasta sauce jar), I placed about 2 Tbs. of a lite Raspberry dressing.

Next, I dumped in a handful of diced celery. This hearty vegetable prevents the dressing from soggifying (yes, I made up that word) the salad greens. Because who wants soggified salad later on in the week, right?

Next, I topped the diced celery with a large handful or two of salad greens. You can use any lettuces that you'd like. This week, I found a $5 tub of kale and spinach-type salad greens, so that is what I used.

A small cheery handful of Craisins adorn the salad greens, promoting the holiday feel of this particular salad.

Next, my favorite cheese with which to top a salad - feta! I crumbled up a bit, placing it atop the Craisins.

Lastly, a nod to the seasons passed (Autumn and Thanksgiving) - toasted, cinnamon-sugar pumpkin seeds provide a crunchy finish.

So there it is - a Raspberry, Feta, Pumpkin Seed Salad in a Mason Jar. On Thursday, I will give you my review. Hope it tastes as good as it looks!

"It's A Wonderful Life" Bento

On Monday, I posted a picture of one of my all-time favorite Christmas movie, and I challenged you to name that movie.

One guess was "A Christmas Story"; nope, but good guess.

Others guessed "It's A Wonderful Life" - if you were one of those people, you were right!

I tried to use several components to portray the "George Lassoes the Moon" scene.

(1) First, there's the Babybel cheese that I used to depict the moon.

(2) The "person" is made from buffalo chicken bites, and is using a Twizzler Pull-n-Peel rope to lasso the moon. The "person" represents George Bailey, while the buffalo chicken bites are a nod to the song that George and Mary sang in this scene - "Buffalo gals, won't you come out tonight? And dance by the light of the moon."

(3) The broccoli florets are placed to illustrate the bushes that Mary hid in once she accidentally lost her robe.

(4) The mini bell pepper is cut into a bell shape, to represent Zuzu's phrase "Every time a bell rings, an angel gets its wings."

(5) The angel-shaped angel food cake represents Clarence, George Bailey's guardian angel, who eventually gets his wings in the end.

Hope you enjoyed my culinary nod to "It's A Wonderful Life". If you have not seen this movie, rent it or borrow it from a friend; it's a heart-warming Christmas classic. If you already love this film, watch it again. I know I will be watching it again soon!

Name That Christmas Movie

Today, let's play a little game. I've made a bento lunch of one of my all-time favorite Christmas movies.

See if you can name that Christmas movie, and some of the hidden components. (Hint: there are at least four.)

I'll reveal the answers on Thursday. Have fun!

Reviews of TJ's December Fearless Flyer items

On Monday's post, I promised our family's reviews of the Trader Joe's products that we tried. All of which were found in the December Fearless Flyer - I wonder why they call it that. Hmm.

For snack at school, I packed Cinnamon Apple Sticks. They are crunchy, with a hint of apple flavor. LoveBug LOVED them, but SuperBoy didn't like them. Oh well, more for LoveBug.

The Multigrain Pita Bite Crackers were a hit with everyone. Personally, I wouldn't say that they reminded me much of pitas, but they were tasty as a cracker nonetheless.

Unexpected Cheddar - Trader Joe's describes it as such: "The smooth creaminess of the Cheddar gives way to a tangy flavor and slightly crumbly texture, a subtle hint of salt crystallization is discovered, and it begins to taste like an aged Parmesan." That description seemed to hold true for our family. A definite "keeper".

The Spinach & Kale Bites were a bit of a gamble. I mean it's practically pure veggies that I was putting in a kid-friendly lunch. LoveBug said they weren't her favorite, and SuperBoy declared them "okay"; however, he wasn't feeling the greatest that day, so I don't know if his opinion counts. :) Hubby and I LOVED these veggie bites. They are definitely better hot out of the oven or warmed in the microwave, but still pretty tasty when they are cold. And I will tell you that they could use a sprinkling of salt. But yum, yum, yummy!

Southwestern Style Chicken Poppers - When I first read about these in the Fearless Flyer, I figured that they were boneless chicken wings with a southwest kick. Nope, I was wrong. Here's how Trader Joe's describes them: We took "the black bean-corn combo made delicious in our Cowboy Caviar Salsa ... added diced white meat chicken, jack cheese, spinach, and southwestern style seasonings, then rolled it all up in a crunchy and colorful tortilla chip crust." It is delicious. LoveBug, Hubby and I could have these poppers in our lunches almost everyday. Good hot or cold. LoveBug said that these poppers were the best part of her lunch, apart from the Candy Cane Joe-Joe of course. :)

The most-anticipated part of the packed lunch ... the Candy Cane Joe-Joe. What is that, you might ask? It's like an Oreo, with a creamy, peppermint-flavored filling, studded with candy cane pieces. And these are only in stock at Trader Joe's in December.
Also, highly anticipated in our household are the Chocolate-Covered Candy Cane Joe-Joe's - oh pure deliciousness!

That's the end of our reviews for the December Fearless Flyer. I hope you got inspired to try a few new things. And if you live anywhere near a Trader Joe's, you most definitely have to try the Candy Cane Joe-Joes.

Lunch is served, courtesy of Trader Joe's December Fearless Flyer

Today's lunch is brought to you by Trader Joe's December Fearless Flyer. Oftentimes, we tend to get into a rut, in this case, a "same-ole, same-ole lunch rut". That is why I enjoy when Trader Joe's Fearless Flyer shows up in my mailbox. I peruse it for some "Out-of-the-Lunchbox" inspiration!

Here is what my family chose to try from December's Flyer.
* Southwest-Style Chicken Poppers
* Unexpected Cheddar Cheese
* Spinach and Kale Bites
* Multrigrain Pita Bites
* Cinnamon Apple Sticks
* Candy Cane Joe-Joe's

On Thursday, I will give you my family's reviews on these products. Until then, see what kind of lunch you could put together from December's Fearless Flyer. I'd welcome your comments and suggestions!

Hard-Boiled Egg Shapes

The other day, my son randomly asked for "eggs that are hard, and in a shape. You know?"
I finally deciphered his code, and the translation was this, "Mom, can you make hard-boiled egg shapes?"

I can't remember if I've shared about egg molds before, but I know I haven't shown you HOW to make hard-boiled egg shapes. At least, I'm pretty sure that I haven't. Gotta love my forgetful preggie brain.

You can purchase these cute, little objects at All Things for Sale, at an international store, or even at Amazon. (Goodness gracious, I love Amazon!)

First, how do you hard-boil an egg? This might seem logical to you, and there are several recipes out there for hard-boiled eggs. Now, I'm a pretty good cook; just ask my husband and kids. But for the life of me, I could NOT successfully hard-boil eggs every single time; sometimes yes, and sometimes no. It could have been the high elevation where we were living at that time, but nevertheless, it was terribly frustrating!

For a while, I would call my mom for instructions, since her "recipe" was tried-and-true. Then I decided to write it down. Not because I didn't want to call my mom, but because with a 3-hour time difference, she just might not want me to be calling late at night, just for hard-boiled egg instructions.

So, here I will share it with you.

"Place eggs in a pot, with enough water, to cover. Put lid on the pot. Heat on high, until eggs begin to rattle. Turn heat down to low, with the lid on, for 5 minutes. Turn off heat, though burner is still hot, for 1 hour or overnight.

Drain water. Place eggs in a bowl in the refrigerator." Or eat immediately.

Here are two tips that I would add:

(1) Place a splash of vinegar in the water before boiling. This enables the shell to peel off easily.

(2) When using egg molds, carefully peel the hot! eggs after the hour is up. You need to have warm eggs in order to put them into the molds.

Carefully peel the still-very-warm eggs. Place one egg into each egg mold. Close the lid, and snap shut. Put in the refrigerator for a few hours or overnight.

When the eggs have cooled in the molds, carefully undo each mold, and pop out the shaped, hard-boiled egg! I say "carefully" because there will be a bit of water in each mold, probably from the condensation of the previously hot egg. So just be aware.

One more tip: I used medium/large eggs this time, they didn't seem to fill out the mold completely. Large to extra large eggs should fill out the mold better. But either way, you end up with cute egg shapes.

Now, go and enjoy your delightfully-shaped eggs!

Thanksgiving Left-Overs

Ah yes, Turkey Day is over, but your left-overs might not be over. Personally, my family ADORES left-overs. Usually, I roast a HUGE turkey (about 20-22#), so that we have plenty of left-overs for turkey sandwiches and turkey noodle soup. But this time, I gladly let my mom-in-love cook a few turkey breasts in a crockpot; it turned out great- I didn't know you could do that! But the downside is that we don't have many left-overs. But if you do, here's a tip ... pack them up for a to-go lunch!

This lunch depends on what left-overs you have in your frig. Here is what I had around:
* Broccoli - on Thanksgiving, I roasted it (400-degrees for 20 minutes), but for the lunch, I left it crunchy and raw.
* Turkey - of course! Sliced and ready for nibbling.
* Cranberry-Orange Sauce - by Tyler Florence. It's SO easy to make! Delicious hot or cold. Can you tell I LOVE this recipe? I made it 3x in the past 2 weeks.
* Cheesy Mashed Potato Puffs - a great way to make-over left-over mashed potatoes.
* Black olives - the perfect accessory for fingers. Have you ever tried it? It's much more fun that way.
* Slice of sourdough baguette

Pack a cute, little pick or fork, and tada ... Thanksgiving Left-Overs lunch is served!

I bought a Bynto Lunchbox

Dear readers -
So sorry that life caught up with me again, and therefore I haven't been able to post recently. My kids have no school for the entire Thanksgiving week, due to parent-teacher conferences and Thanksgiving, obviously. And while I truly enjoy being with my kiddos, any semeblance of schedule goes right out the window. This week, we have conquered 1 housecleaning (someone else's), 2 parent-teacher conferences, a doctor's appointment, a trip downtown to the library, and a visit to have hot chocolate with Daddy at his work, all the while dealing with sibling quarrels (yes, my kids do that too), teachable moments, and of course lots of snuggles and book-readings. It's been a full week, in the past 2 days.

But here I am ... back to giving you some yummy lunchtime ideas ...

I wanted to show you the treasures that I found at a local kids' consignment event. 2 Goodbye Bynto Lunchboxes and drink boxes! A pink one for LoveBug and a blue one for SuperBoy! $6.50 for each box and drink container. On Amazon, they retail from $15+. On the Goodbyn website, it seems that the prices begin at $9+, without shipping and handling.

I tested these cute Bynto boxes, and they seem to work well. You definitely have to snap the lid down tightly around each compartment; that's a must. Also, they didn't come with a bag ($20 on Amazon), and since they are shaped differently than other lunch boxes, I didn't have a way to send them to school with the kids. Good thing that they had no school this week! It was a perfect pre-packed, stay-at-home lunch or put-in-the-cooler, in-the-car lunch. Eventually, I'll get a lunch sleeve bag, and let you know how it goes. Baby steps. :)

Due to Thanksgiving, there will be no post from me for the rest of the week. But early next week, look for a post on how to repurpose Thanksgiving left-overs into a tasty lunch!

Turkey Noodle Soup To-Go

Our family loves Thanksgiving, with one of the best parts being turkey dinner left-overs. I have had a turkey in the deep freezer since last year, so we decided to brine & cook it up for an early Thanksgiving dinner. I mean, who says you can't have more than one Thanksgiving dinner in November, right?

After the meal, my hubby and I picked the turkey bones clean (gross), and then I make my grandma's turkey bone broth. (Basically, browning the bones in the oven, and then simmering on the stovetop, together with celery, onions and water for a few hours.) Then, to make Turkey Noodle Soup, I add egg noodles, left-over turkey, canned corn and chopped, hard-boiled egg. Serve with bread and a side veggie - perfect chilly weather meal!

I know that I've made a "hit" for dinner, when one kiddo requests it for lunch the next day, and then the other child chimes in, "Oh, me too!"

But how in the world am I supposed to pack soup for a school time lunch?
Thermos Funtainer Food Jar.

It supposedly keeps food hot for several hours. (SuperBoy did say that his lunch was still hot at lunchtime.) And I LOVE the seal on this thing; no leaks in the lunchbox.

They are not cheap, but Thermos is a trusted brand, and I would highly recommend this brand. You can find Thermos Funtainers on Amazon or in your local Target store.

Dinnertime left-overs for lunch the next day? That just opens the door to so many more lunchtime possibilities!

And the winner of the Panda Bento Box is ...

And the winner of the Panda Bento Box is ... Christy! Congrats!

May you enjoy packing creative lunches in this cute bento box for your sweet son.!

Watch for other give-aways coming up!

A Bento Box Give-Away

This morning, my daughter peeked into her lunchbag and asked "Is today a bento lunch?" Apparently, according to my kiddos, I haven't packed in 'a loooonng time", and they are going through bento withdrawal. I will be trying to pack one up for tomorrow's lunch. :)

In honor of their request for a bento lunch, I am doing my first give-away! It's a cute panda-themed, 520-ml bento box, with a snap-close lid. Perfect for a adult's healthy snack, or a lunch for a child (ages 5-8).

How do you enter? Leave a comment below, telling me
(1) Either which blog post has inspired you the most
(2) Or what type of lunch would you like to see featured on my blog

On Thursday at 5pm PST, I'll choose a winner, and post the results by Thursday evening or Friday morning. Happy commenting!

Review: Healthier Cobb Salad in a Mason Jar

So I promised my review on my Healthier Cobb Salad in a Mason Jar. Here it is ... Oh yum!

The extra veggies made the salad that much more crisp and crunchy. The chopped, hard-boiled egg and a sprinkle of bacon were the perfect amount of protein! The feta cheese, instead of Bleu cheese, was delightful.

And the best parts? I discovered that the Hidden Valley ranch that I was using...
(1) Was a light dressing, and you couldn't even taste the difference.
AND
(2) I didn't need all of the 2 Tablespoons of dressing that I put into the mason jar. Next time, I would probably stick with 1 Tablespoon, because I could always add more, if necessary.

Mason Jar Salad: A Healthier Cobb Salad

One of my favorite salads is a Cobb Salad, which traditionally consists of iceberg lettuce, onion and tomatoes as the veggie portion. It is then topped with tons of protein - chicken, hard-boiled egg, bacon, sometimes even ham and turkey. Plus then there's the fats - avocado (yum!), Bleu cheese and a creamy dressing. While this salad is not a bad thing on an occasional basis (all things in moderation), I couldn't justify eating this deliciousness for lunch ALL week. So, I healthified it a bit ...

First, the dressing - I picked Hidden Valley ranch dressing, which is - in my opinion - the best ranch dressing ever. Sometimes, you can't skimp on the good stuff.

Next, a hearty vegetable, though actually it's a fruit - cherry tomatoes.

Topped with broccoli florets. Not normally in a Cobb Salad, but I wanted to add more veggies.

Some sliced carrots. Again, not in a traditional Cobb salad, but a great addition to my healthified Cobb salad.

Iceberg lettuce salad mix - a traditional Cobb salad ingredient.

Baby spinach leaves - a healthified ingredient. Yummy!

Topped with chopped hard-boiled egg and chopped bacon. Normal Cobb salad ingredients, but in reasonable amounts.

Lastly, since I don't like Bleu cheese, I added crumbles of feta cheese to top off my delicious, healthified Cobb salad. On Thursday, I'll share my review about this yumminess.

Cooking with Kids: Chef SuperBoy makes Flash's Banana Pancakes

Well, here I am again, posting late again. I try to post on Monday and Thursdays, but life didn't align with my blog-posting plans. That happens. This week, I'm gonna veer a bit off course of lunches, and talk about cooking with your kids.

I spoke at a nearby MOPS group (Mothers Of Preschoolers) about meal planning, plus about kids & food. (By the way, MOPS has been a lifesaver to me; we've moved several times while our kids were preschoolers, and I felt alone and isolated. MOPS gave me the opportunity to find myself again, in the midst of new and supportive friends. Get involved today - Find a MOPS group!)

Anyways, one aspect of "Kids & food" that I spoke about was in regards to cooking with the kiddos. In the past, my kids have randomly begged to cook with me. However, this hasn't worked out. Why?
* I either didn't have the necessary ingredients on hand
* Or I wasn't in the right frame of mind to have a helper
* Or our schedule didn't permit it right at that desired moment.
* Or BOTH kids wanted to help at the same time.

How was that working for me? Not so well.

So I decided to be proactive about cooking with my kids. Here's been my plan for the past few weeks. On Monday night, one child cooks dinner with me. The following Monday night, the other child cooks dinner with me. Since I only have 2 kids (right now), they each get a turn every other week.

This set-up has been working rather well for us, for several reasons.

* It provides the child one-on-one time with me.

* The child picks out several recipes ahead of time, and I choose one of those desired recipes to make.

* Because we are planning ahead, I actually have time to get the desired ingredients at the grocery store!

* This process also results in the child becoming more interested in food - the taste, texture, health benefits thereof.

* The child chef is SO proud to present the meal that he/she created.

Chef SuperBoy chose to make The Flash's Favorite Banana Pancakes with Red Cherry Sauce, from The Official DC Superhero Cookbook. (My review on this cookbook will come out in the near-ish future.) By the way, Dad was requested to make the pancakes alongside Chef SuperBoy, since Dad is the "Pancake King"; I was happy to step out of the way & take the pictures instead.

And here is Chef SuperBoy - so proud to announce HIS dinner to our family, and so happy to eat his yummy, messy creation.

Trying taking small steps to cooking with your kids. Even making pancakes or a fruit salad together. The results are phenomenal!