New Baby Arrival

You might have been wondering where I've been, why there's been no new posts lately. Just having a baby and adjusting to life at home with a newborn. Just small things like that. :)

Baby Girl (haven't come up with a cute-enough pseudonym for the blog yet) was born last Tuesday morning at 2:40am. 6# 6 oz. She and I are doing great.

So there might be a follow-up lunch post on Thursday, linking back to last Monday's post about "Grab-and-Go Lunches". I'll do my sleep-deprived best. And let's just say, I'm SO glad I grabbed those grab-and-go, healthy food items when I did, because they have come in SO handy!

But for now, enjoy these delicious pics of the new baby and our family.

LoveBug and SuperBoy are over-the-moon in love with New Baby.

Oh the cuteness!

Daddy is all mushy over his littlest girl.

Last picture for now, I promise. Soon enough, back to blogging about healthy, outside-of-the-lunchbox lunches, with an occasional baby picture thrown in.

Ultrasound Reveal and DIY Pics of "Baby Bee" Bento

On Monday, I showed you the lunch I made for the kiddos on Ultrasound Day. They were convinced that it was a girl. And they were right ... it's a GIRL!

We surprised them with pink donuts from TopPot (a local donut shop). "Pink" because that is how we told them "it's a girl!". Donuts because it was a celebration, and donuts are a very rare treat.

Here is how I made this "guess-the-gender" lunch.

I began with the following ingredients:

Hard-boiled eggs (not pictured)

"Blue for a boy" ingredients - blueberries and blue corn chips (Garden of Eatin' chips are DELICIOUS!)

"Pink for a girl" ingredients - red radishes and red bell peppers. (Naturally pink foods are rather difficult to come by, so I substituted red.)

After removing the shells, I rolled the peeled, hard-boiled eggs in yellow food-coloring, and then pat them dry with a paper towel.

Here's the dyed, hard-boiled eggs.

Once the eggs were patted dry, I added candy eyeballs and positioned a strip of nori (dried seaweed) as a bumblebee stripe.

One more nori stripe and sliced almonds as the wings, and the edible bumblebee is complete.

Moving on to packing the lunch: I began by placing several silicone baking cups in the lunch container as placeholders. I added blueberries to one blue silicone baking cup.

Red pepper strips filled in one side of the container.

Radishes fill in the space opposite the red peppers. And blue corn chips (so yummy!) get added to the other silicone baking cup.

Lastly, I placed the bumblebee egg in the small silicone cup in the center.

Now the "What Will Baby 'Bee'?" lunch is complete.

What Will Baby Bee???

Last Friday, my husband joined me on a trek downtown for my 20-week ultrasound. The kids were SO bummed that they couldn't skip school to come along. (They didn't know that was NOT even an option.)

Both kids were certain that this baby was a girl, but I told them that they'd just have to wait and see - it's a 50-50 chance. I packed them a cute lunch and a note in order to keep their anticipation peaked.

A play on words ... What Will Baby "Bee"?
Obviously, the blueberries and blue corn chips stand for a boy. The red bell peppers and radishes represent "pink" for a girl. The bumblebee is made from a yellow-dyed egg with nori stripes. Come back on Thursday to learn how to make it!

But before you go, give me your best guess - boy or girl? I'll post the answer on Thursday!

Mason Jar Pasta Salad - How-To

Hey readers - so sorry that I couldn't post sooner. On Thursday, my family and I left to camp in a remote location - so remote that there was no cell tower or 3G for MILES. Twas very good to be unplugged, but unnerving when I realized that I hadn't posted as promised.
So please forgive my tardiness!

So here's how to make a Mason Jar Pasta Salad - step-by-step.

In a Mason Jar Pasta Salad, you can use any ingredients that you desire. It's quite adaptable to differing palates. Here's what I used: broccoli, whole wheat pasta, garbanzo beans, snappeas, grape tomatoes, baby carrots, green onions, mozzarella cheese, zucchini and Newman's Own Lite Caesar Dressing.

I began by prepping my ingredients. While the pasta boiled, I cut and chopped the veggies and cheese into bite-sized pieces. I blanched the broccoli florets, zucchini semi-circles and chopped baby carrots.

Next, mise-en-place - which means "everything in its place". I put my ingredients in order of layering. Remember when I told you last week that layering is a key to keeping the ingredients fresh and tasty? Well, that's what I did here. Plus, I wanted the layers of the colorful veggies to look lively.

First, I poured about 2 Tbs. of Newman's Own Lite Caesar dressing into the bottom of a quart mason jar. (This is one of my FAV salad dressings. SO much flavor!)

Colorful grape tomatoes begin to create the barrier between the salad dressing and the softer veggies, which will be added at the top of the jar.

Bite-sized snappeas top the grape tomatoes, adding a bit of crunch!

Bright orange baby carrot pieces add more color. (I blanched these pieces for 2-3 minutes to soften them up just a wee bit.)

A layer of broccoli florets add more green to this already colorful pasta salad. (I blanched these for 3-4 minutes to cut the raw broccoli taste. Be careful to not overcook!)

Garbanzo beans provide another nutritious layer, between layers of delicious, green vegetables.

Semi-circles of zucchini were blanched for 2-3 minutes, then shocked in ice cold water to stop the cooking process. After draining, these half coins were added on top of the garbanzo beans.

Chopped green onions for a flash of color and a burst of flavor.

Small cubes of mozzarella cheese formed the last layer of this delicious pasta salad.

Add the lid and screwtop, and you've got yourself a super nutritious meal once lunchtime rolls around. I simply cannot wait to make a bunch of these, and try them out all week!

I'll let you know when I do.

Plus, be on the look out for some posts about the camping meals we made this past weekend. I'll let you know what works and what didn't. :)

Mason Jar Pasta Salad and an Announcement!

I've been doing some reading about Mason Jar Salads. When I first discovered these layered salads on Pinterest, I thought "Seriously? A fancy-layered salad in a jar. Who has the time to make that?! I'm not Martha Stewart. I've got kids to care for and a household to run."

And then ... I read WHY the salad is layered. Here's the basic run-down:
(1) The layers begin with dressing at the bottom, followed by hearty veggies, then softer veggies, pasta, cheese, nuts & seeds.
(2) This layering process keeps the dressing away from the softer veggies (like spinach), which prevents wilted, mushy (therefore yucky-tasting) vegetables. Who wants that? Not me.
(3) Lastly, I have heard that these salads can last up to a week. That means creating lunches on Sunday for the ENTIRE week. When leaving for work in the morning, open the frig, grab the mason jar and go. Or if you're at home during the day, then lunch is already made for you; no more second-guessing a healthy lunch decision.

So I made my own Mason Jar pasta salad, and a special announcement on the side. See if you can guess what my announcement is ...

Pasta salad layered in an Avent baby bottle? Yup, we are pregnant! Due February 5th.

And by the way, come back on Thursday to view my step-by-step pics and instructions of how to craft a Mason Jar Pasta Salad in a Ball Canning jar. Super easy. Very healthy and adaptable. And I think it might become a regular occurrence in our home. :)