April Fool's Day bento... just kidding

Presenting my April Fool's Day bento. Just kidding! You'll have to wait until tomorrow.

My mom-in-law is in town, and we are in cahoots to make each meal contain an April Fool's surprise element. We've got breakfast and lunch figured out already. Still working on the dinner surprise.

Plus ... did you know that the Marshmallow Tree blooms very rarely ... every few years, and only on April 1st?! AND we have our very own Marshmallow Tree right in our front yard?!! Well, my kids are about to discover that amazing fact tomorrow morning before school. And believe me, I'm gonna take pictures.

List of O Foods

Since the foods beginning with the Letter O are not very numerous, it's time to pull out the stops on the creativity. For instance, instead of putting Octopus into the lunch as the main protein, I created an Octo-Dog (octopus-looking hot dog). What will YOU come up with? And please share a picture - I'd love to see!

Breads/Grains:
Oatmeal
Oats
Orecchiette pasta (looks like little ears)
Orzo pasta

Dairy:
Olde York cheese (creamy and crisp taste)
Oxford blue cheese (creamy, semi-soft, blue cheese)

Desserts:
Oreos

Fruits:
Orange

Meats/Protein:
Ocean perch
Octo-Dog (octopus-shaped hot dog)
Octopus
Orange roughy
Oysters

Vegetables:
Okra
Olives
Onion rings
Onions

Combos:
Omelet

Letter O Lunch

This bento was SO fun to make, albeit challenging. Why so challenging? Name a meat or protein that begins with the letter O ... you thought of "octopus", didn't you? Yeah ... do YOU want that in YOUR lunch? Well, I can almost guarantee that most kids (and adults) don't want it in their lunches either!

I also thought of Ocean perch, Orange roughy and Oysters. Still none of those sound appetizing in a packable, to-go lunch. Time to get creative!

Presenting the "Octo-Dog"! Also known as "an-octopus-shaped-hot-dog". It's rather simple to do - carefully slicing the hot dog to create "legs" and then boiling in water for a few minutes. Click on How to Make an Octo-Dog for step-by-step instructions.

I laid the Octo-Dogs over a bed of lightly buttered Orecchiette pasta. This cute little pasta looks like tiny ear-shaped shells.

Into the corner, I tucked some green Olives. Note that I put them in a silicone cup, to contain the olive juice, keeping it from making the Orecchiette from tasting like a summer pasta salad. That is a delicious thought (and perhaps, I'll make that dish this week!), but it wasn't the idea that I was going for now.

In the second layer, I placed Oreos in a small silicone cup as a dessert. (Note to self and y'all: place the cookies into the lunch in the morning. Experience talking again.)

Oranges make up the fruit component as this Letter O lunch. Originally, I wanted to place Orange smiles into the lunch, but they wouldn't fit. So they became Orange quarters. Still delicious. I put these in another silicone cup to prevent the juicy oranges from soggifying the Oreos and Okra.

Fried Okra! I've never tried my hand at it before. However, the Letter O veggie choices are quite limited. Honestly, it wasn't awful. It was rather delicious. I can't wait to try it again, now that I am more confident in frying it.

What will you make for YOUR Letter O lunch?

Preview of Baran Sheets

Hey friends! Unfortunately, life is getting in the way of blogging. Nope, actually, I mean that I am choosing my family and our life over the blog, once again. "Family first" is my motto.

Although I am a stay-at-home-mom, I have picked up a few housecleaning gigs as well. Today, I begin cleaning a rather large home. The first few times of cleaning a new house are pretty time-consuming for me, as I am not familiar with my new client's home, nor my own routine of cleaning it efficiently.  So, I expect my entire day to be consumed with cleaning, leaving no time for blogging.

But let me leave you with a preview of my next topic: baran sheet. A baran is a food divider or separator. They come in all shapes and sizes. Here is a picture of an adorable one. Can't wait to share more with you! Now, I'm off to clean!

Happy St. Patricks' Day!

Happy St. Patrick's Day! We are not Irish in the least bit, so I was NOT about to attempt making the traditional Irish fare, especially not with the blog world watching. So instead I created a whimsical rainbow and shamrock bento.

The main part of this lunch features a rice shamrock on a bed of baby spinach. It is actually fairly easy to make! I cooked rice in my rice cooker and let it cool for a few minutes. With wet hands, I molded the rice into heart-shaped rice patties. OR you can make a bed of rice, wet a heart-shaped cookie cutter, and press it into the layer of rice. Positioning the three hearts of rice into a shamrock shape, I added a fish-shaped, soy sauce container as the stem of the shamrock.

I spooned yogurt into the bottom left section, adding a few drops of food coloring. Using a toothpick, I swirled the colors to create a modern-style rainbow.

Lastly, what's a St. Patty's Day bento without a rainbow of fruit?! A few strawberries, clementine sections, half a pineapple ring, kiwi slices and purple grapes. Arrange them in a rainbow fashion. Tada!

Happy St. Patrick's Day, y'all!

How to Make a Letter N Lunch

How to make a Letter N lunch? Simple.
Pick a food from each category. Assemble in a lunchbox.

Remember to keep wetter foods away from dry foods. There are two ways that you can accomplish this:
(1) Place the foods in different containers or compartments. Fit n Fresh boxes enable you to separate the foods into numerous, appropriate size containers. Easy Lunchboxes has 3 distinct sections that allow foods to be separate, yet still in the same lunch box.
(2) Use silicone baking cups in whatever lunchbox you use. They are perfect for dividing up large spaces, as well as containing delicate cookies or juicy fruit salad.

I highlighted the foods that I used in my lunch. What foods will you choose to create a Letter N Lunch?

Breads/Grains:
Naan
Noodles

Dairy:
Neufchatel cheese

Desserts:
Nilla wafers
Nougat
Nutella spread
Nutter Butter cookie

Fruits:
Nectarine

Meats/Protein:
Nuggets
Nuts

Vegetables:
Napa cabbage
Navy beans
Nicoise salad
Northern beans

Combos:
Nachos
New England clam chowder

Letter N Bento

The star of today's bento lunch is the Letter N. I believe this to be one of the most beautiful lunches that I have ever created. The colors are so vibrant. The food is scrumptious. All in all, it is a feast for the eyes AND tastebuds.

In the back corner of the Easy Lunchbox, I placed wedges of Naan (an Indian flat bread), as well as a small chunk of Neufchatel cheese, which may be spread on the Naan. In the USA, we commonly think of Neufchatel as a low-fat cream cheese, when in fact, it bears more likeness to a Brie cheese.

In the compartment in front of the Naan and Neufchatel cheese is a juicy salad of chopped Nectarines and Nuts.

However, the main delight of this lunch is the Napa Cabbage Slaw. Absolutely delicious and refreshing. A reminder to my tastebuds that perhaps Spring just might be around the corner. (At least, I hope it is!) I based my tasty concoction upon Napa Cabbage Salad found at Food & Wine, and then I tweaked it to fit my family's preferences. You simply MUST try it!

Lastly, I wrapped up the lunch by placing Nilla wafers in a silicone baking cup.

I pack my kids' and husband's lunches (and sometimes one for me too!) the night before, and I learned 2 things to pass along to you.

(1) In case you didn't know, it is SO much easier to pack the lunches the night before! Either enlist older children to help with making sandwiches and tossing veggies into baggies, OR wait until the kiddos are all in bed, turn up some music, and make some lunches happen.

(2) Here is the thing that I learned from packing and then eating this particular lunch. Pack the lunch the night before, but put the Nilla wafers into the lunchbox in the morning. The aromas from the Napa cabbage slaw slightly permeated the delicate, crumbly cookies, giving the Nilla wafers a mild taste of soy sauce and rice vinegar. It wasn't horrible, but it wasn't exactly the taste that I was expecting. Lesson learned. And now you won't make the same mistake. You're welcome! :)

Silicone Baking Cups .. Not just for baking anymore

Silicone baking cups used to be just for baking delicious muffin and delectable cupcakes. But not anymore!

I find uses for silicone baking cups in almost every lunch. To contain juices of a kiwi, fruit salad or orange. To keep a hard-boiled egg from sliding all over the lunch. To protect a dessert from touching (and therefore tasting like) the neighboring meatloaf. To help a muffin to keep its shape. To create an overall theme, or to bump up the 'fun factor'. SO many uses for these handy-dandy silicone baking cups.

But, here is the best part ... they come in different shapes, sizes and colors! Not just round baking cups anymore. Wilton offers several shapes, like squares, circles, hearts and flowers. You can usually find these at JoAnn's or Michael's, and sometimes even in the baking aisle of a grocery store. However, let's take a look at my favorite bento website, All Things For Sale, to see what they have to offer.

If your little person loves trains, use these silicone cups to create a train lunch. And instantly, you'll be the best parent ever!

Same thing for robot lovers. Oh my goodness, how cute are these?

For vehicle fanatics everywhere, here is a set of planes, boats, trains and cars. I'm pretty sure that SuperBoy would love to find these in his lunch.

On a more basic note, All Things for Sale carries large, circular silicone cups ...

... As well as smaller ones. I purchased small ones like this from a local Daiso store, although they all seem to be missing ... hmm. Anyways, I will probably purchase more of these smaller circles. They are perfect for tucking a few blueberries or a piece of cheese into a small, empty space in a lunch.

Some more basic shapes include brightly colored squares.

Also, there are star-shaped silicone cups. Totally cute. I can see using these in an "Outer Space" bento.

Who doesn't love hearts?! Not just for Valentine's Day. Tuck one of these into your child's lunch (or your honey's lunch) for an extra pop of love.

Is it Springtime yet? Nope, but it can be Spring-y in your lunchbox, with these sweet flowers!

Here's more adorable flowers and a shamrock!

Perhaps you are packing lunch for a tween. These simple flower silicone cups seem to bring sophistication AND fun to a lunch.

For animal lovers, I present this set of four silicone cups. A bunny, a flower, a fish and a bear.

Trying to encourage your child to eat more fruits and vegetables? Perhaps these baking cups will help with the enticement. I know that I would love to find these adorable containers in MY lunch! This collection features a pea pod, an orange, and a pair of cherries.

This set of produce-shaped cups is practically a fruit salad.

These lettuce-looking cups and dividers will probably be my next purchase. They can be used for kiddos, but they also look pretty classy to arrange in an adult's lunch as well.

I hope you have enjoyed our journey through the land of silicone baking cups. I trust that you are encouraged to craft creative lunches. Just remember ... lunch-making doesn't have to be difficult. Purchase a set of cute silicone baking cups, and use that as your "jumping off point" to make an adorable, themed lunch.

(I am not getting paid for this review. Although I have not tried all of their products, I just LOVE everything that I personally have purchased from this website.)

Happy Birthday, Dr. Seuss!

Dr. Seuss is one of my all-time favorite authors. Not only is his writing filled with sing-songy rhymes and whimsical characters, but sometimes there are some gems of truth hidden in the stories as well. For instance: "Be yourself because the people that mind don’t matter and the people that matter don't mind!"

This is the time of year when we celebrate his birthday. (Technically, yesterday was his birthday.) Today, I am helping out in my son's classroom for "Read Across America" Day, as they devote a morning to reading their favorite Dr. Seuss stories. Which is why it seems appropriate to post my Dr. Seuss bento today. (Please forgive the graininess of the picture. I had some camera issues.)

The first thing to catch your eye should be "Thing 1" and "Thing 2" from my favorite Dr. Seuss book, "The Cat in the Hat". The Things are made out of strawberries and frosting. First, I picked through the package of strawberries, in search of the two largest ones. After washing them, I popped off their stems. Next, I whipped blue food coloring into store-bought frosting, and carefully topped the strawberries to create the carefree, blue-haired look of the Things. With a toothpick, I steadily drew the numbers onto the fronts of the strawberries. Then, most importantly, I let these cute Things DRY for a bit, which hardened the frosting, holding the design. I also placed each Thing into a silicone cup; that way, the shape of the Things held up better in the lunch.

In between Thing 1 and Thing 2, there is a stacked creation, representing the Cat's Hat! I took equal-sized slices of red pepper and white cheddar cheese. Alternating them, I threaded the pieces onto a toothpick. Tada! Nice and easy.

On the top layer of the bento, the focal point is the center cup of goldfish. These colorful crackers represent the fishies from "One Fish, Two Fish, Red Fish, Blue Fish". However, do you know what I realized?! I opened the goldfish bag and was sorting through the colors ... much to my shock and horror, I realized that there were NO blue goldfish. For some reason I was sure that there were. Nope, I was wrong. But anyways, you get the idea, right?

Lastly, another favorite book of mine - Green Eggs and Ham. I have fond memories of my Dad reading this book to my kids; when my parents come to visit, at bedtime, you can hear my Dad animatedly reading Green Eggs and Ham to his not-so-little-anymore grandbabies. I don't know who enjoys it more - Dad or the kiddos.

In order to make "green eggs", I hardboiled eggs and removed the yolks, mashing them up with a good bit of pesto. Once I liked the consistency, I piped the pesto-yolk mixture back into the white part. For the "ham" part, I made roll-ups of baby spinach and slices of ham. I simply laid out a thin slice of ham, lined it with baby spinach, rolled it up, and then cut the rolls to fit into the bento. Again, nice and easy!

Hope you enjoyed this Dr. Seuss lunch, and remember that you don't have to make a creative Dr. Seuss lunch only on his birthday. Discover which book is your child's favorite; design a lunch around the book, and then read the book together! I'd love to know what you come up with!

And in the spirit of reading ... in case you didn't realize I put links on the book names, so that you can buy them off of Barnes & Noble website. Here are some other good ones: "Fox in Socks", "There's a Wocket in my Pocket", and "Horton Hears a Who". Grab a book & read it today!