Happy Mother's Day

Happy Mother's Day, albeit a tad bit early!
(Don't forget! Mother's Day is THIS Sunday! Do a something thoughtful for your momma.)

In honor of Mother's Day, I wanted to convey the special bond between a mother and child. While pondering HOW to describe that bond within a boxed lunch, my eyes came across a card that my mom-in-love enabled my kids to purchase for me.

Granted, my kids bought this card for me for a whole different reason ... on April Fool's Day, I discovered a live bird in my house and freaked out! The kids decided to prank me by putting this card (with birds on it) in my bed, so that I would freak out again. What can I say ... they are 5 & 8, and new to this "April Fools" pranking thing.)

Anyways, this card features a sweet momma bird caring for her two baby birds. 'Bingo', I thought! Therefore, "Mother's Day Bento" birdie-style. (I completely forgot to take pictures of me making the lunch, so you'll have to make do with my commentary.)

First, I boiled spaghetti noodles, mixing whole wheat noodles with regular to give a textured look. Once the noodles are cooked and cooled, I stirred in a tiny bit of olive oil to keep them from sticking to each other. In the bottom half of the bento box (which is a Lock & Lock container), I formed a "nest" of noodles.

Next, I created the "leafy tree" of baby spinach above the nest. A pretzel rod forms the branch on which the momma bird sits.

The "birds" are made from baguette and Brie cheese. Cutting the baguette into thin slices, I chose both a large piece and a small end piece to create my birds. To form the beak, I sliced a carrot and cut a V-shape from that slice. Creating the wing was a bit more pretentious; I used kitchen shears to cut a heart-shape from a mini bell pepper. Spreading softened Brie cheese onto the baguette slices, I topped each slice with a carrot beak and red pepper wing. Lastly, I dotted the baguette slice with a drop of black decorating gel for the birdie's eye.

Next, I nestled the larger baguette birdie into the spinach leaves, and the baby baguette birdie into the nest of noodles. (I sent along a container of Italian dressing to mix into the noodles at lunchtime.)

To promote the "loving bond" theme, I cut melon into heart shapes, packed in a separate container to contain the juices.

Tada! A Mother's Day Bento. Not too hard. Try it for yourself. You can do it!

Valentine's Day Lunch

Yes, I realize that it is not Valentine's Day. However, I thought that I would post this lunch now for three reasons:
(1) To remind you that Valentine's Day is coming. It's on Friday.
(2) To give you an idea.
(3) To enable you to have time to get the ingredients to make a special lunch.

Here's what I did. First, I cooked heart-shaped pasta and tossed it with a bit of olive oil and seasonings. My mother-in-love gave the pasta to me, so I couldn't tell you where to buy it. But I'm sure if you Google it, you can find it.

Next, I cut baby carrots diagonally, twisted them around to match up the ends, and then speared them with a toothpick. Honestly, the toothpick was really hard to skewer the carrots with. Perhaps, you could try a food pick instead.

Moving on to the second layer: I cut a thick slice of pineapple and then pressed a heart-shaped cookie cutter into the slice, to make a pineapple heart. Because fresh pineapple is super juicy, I put it into a silicone cup to keep the juice from ruining the rest of the lunch.

This next part - the heart-shaped egg - was a bit more time-consuming. There are two ways to make a heart-shaped, hard-boiled egg. Unfortunately, I forgot to take pictures. Instead I'll include links on HOW to achieve this lovely look.
(1) Egg mold: Hard boil an egg. While it's still warm, peel it, and place it in this heart-shaped egg mold. Refrigerate until cool, and then pop it out of the mold. Voila - a heart!
(2) OR follow these directions on how to make a heart-shaped egg, using cardboard, a skewer & rubber bands.

Strawberries: This one is super easy! Follow this link to discover how to make heart-shaped strawberries.

Store-bought sugar cookie dough is transformed into Valentine cookies, using cookie cutters and red & pink M&M's. (The darn cookie dough expanded in the oven making an enormous cookie. Whoops!)

Lastly, here's an extra tidbit that I didn't utilize in this lunch, since my kids dislike raw tomatoes. But perhaps you can use it - how to make heart-shaped tomatoes!

Let me know what you come up with!