Daily Bento

6 Jun

rainy day lunch

I’ve said it before but unfortunately, gloomy days make for gloomy pictures.

Tropical Storm Andrea has been hanging out at our house since last night.

It’s been raining pretty much non-stop here for the last 15 hours and we’ve been under a tornado warning all day.

Good times.

Not to worry though. All my laundry is done and I washed my hair this morning.

I wouldn’t want you guys to see me on the news wearing dirty clothes with greasy hair if my house gets carried away by a water spout.

Never mind the stocking up of survival things like canned goods and batteries.

Priorities.

That might sound crazy to some of you but most native Floridians I know don’t get too concerned until we’re dealing with at least a Category 3 situation.

For us, a tropical storm is just another rainy day.

It’s a perfect day to read a good book, watch some movies, blog something, and just hang out with family. As long as you stay away from the windows, off the streets, and out of the water you’re good.

I will say that Andrea needs to carry on up north so I can get out to the store before my kids eat us out of house and home.

I watched the two of them tear through a family sized box of Cheez-Its last night like it was their job – after they had cleaned their plates at dinner and had dessert.

Hollow legs much?

Things aren’t looking good for my food budget.

In Cam’s lunch today she had Annie’s organic mac n’ cheese, organic strawberries, organic grapes, and sugar snap peas with a little sea salt.

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Last Day Of School Lunch

5 Jun

last day lunch

We’re officially on summer vacation here as of about an hour ago.

I had to make a cute little lunch for Camryn to celebrate her last day of kindy.

She had a turkey sandwich kitty, organic fruit leather “last day” cut-outs, grape tomato balloons, organic grapes, broccoli, and Annie’s organic cheddar bunnies.

Just as I suspected, most of her lunch came back uneaten because her class had an ice cream party right after lunch.

In fact, I highly doubt any of them ate their lunches today because the conversation in the car this afternoon went something like this:

“Mom!!! Mrs. Kane only had vanilla ice cream which I don’t like but that’s okay because she had chocolate syrup, and whipped cream, and rainbow sprinkles, and flower sprinkles, and you’re not gonna believe this but she had chocolate sprinkles with rainbow sprinkles mixed in, and we had cupcakes  with YOUR favorite color icing, and we had capri suns and kool-aid… I didn’t have any kool-aid but I had two capri suns because it was hot so we were allowed!”

Luckily we don’t live far from the school.

3 Jun

soft and chewy spiced oat bars

 

It’s very very rare that I get a recipe just right on the first try.

This was an unusual exception.

I’m not talking about following an already established recipe. That, I can do.

What I’m gettin’ at here is coming up with an original recipe because as far as I know, none exist.

Normally the process takes time and numerous do-overs and eventually destroys my kitchen, my patience, and my ego before it’s all over.

But this time everything just worked.

 

Occasionally we get these in our Graze* box:

 

They’re called flapjacks and they’re fabulous! They’re also very small and you only get three, which is fine if your daughter doesn’t steal them all from you and shove them in her face like a chipmunk gathering nuts for the winter.

Flapjacks are lightly sweetened oat bars with dried fruit and a little spice. They’re somewhere between a chewy granola bar and a soft oatmeal cookie.

I ♥ them. So does my kid.

So naturally I knew that I needed to figure out how to make them myself just in case there is ever a flapjacks shortage some day or Graze discontinues them.

Since flapjacks aren’t technically granola bars, my usual granola bar recipe wouldn’t work here.

And since they’re not technically oatmeal cookies, my oatmeal cookie recipe wouldn’t work either.

So I checked the ingredients for all of the different flapjacks on the Graze website and did my best to recreate them.

The end result was pretty darn close.

If you’re a fan of flapjacks, I really think you’ll like these.

If not, I think you will be soon. 😉

 

Soft & Chewy Spiced Oat Bars

Ingredients:

1 stick of unsalted butter

1/4 cup of honey or golden syrup

1/2 cup brown sugar

1/2 tsp vanilla

1/2 Tbsp cinnamon

1/4 tsp allspice

1/2 tsp salt

2 1/2 cups quick cooking oats

 

I also added these to my bars but you could use any dried fruit you prefer. Sweetened coconut, nuts, chia seeds, hemp seeds, toffee chips, and mini-chocolate chips would be yummy as well.

 

Directions

Add the butter, honey or golden syrup, and brown sugar to a sauce pan and stir over medium-low heat until the mixture begins to bubble.

Stir the mixture slowly as it bubbles for 2-3 minutes and then take it off the heat. You don’t need to time it, you’re just looking for everything to become well incorporated. You shouldn’t feel any sugar granules when you stir.

Remove the pan from the heat and add the vanilla, cinnamon, allspice, and salt. Whisk to combine.

In a large bowl, add the oats and any additional items you might want in your bars.

Add the caramel mixture to the oats and stir until the mixture comes together and everything is well incorporated.

Lightly spray an 8×8 pan with non-stick spray, or line with plastic wrap or parchment paper.

Dump the mixture into the pan and press it with your fingers to even it out. If things start to get too sticky, just dampen your hands a bit.

Allow the bars to cool completely before slicing.

 

Chewy Spiced Oat Bars

Store in an airtight container.

*Updated 9/5/15: After making these bars several times since the recipe was originally posted, I’ve been able to make a few changes that actually make this recipe much faster and easier than it was before.

I’ve listed a few additional alterations below. I hope you like this new and improved flapjack recipe as much as the original.

Rolled oats can be used instead of quick-cooking oats. Just give them a pulse or two in the food processor or blender first.

I sometimes toast my oats before adding them to the caramel mixture by spreading them onto a dry sheet pan and sliding them into a preheated 350° oven for 1-2 minutes.

For crispier bars: Press the mixture into an 8×8 pan and bake in a preheated 350° oven for about 10 minutes. I’ve actually gotten sidetracked and left them in the oven for up to 15 minutes and they were fine. Allow to cool completely before slicing into bars.

 

* Graze is a weekly snack subscription service.

 

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My Favorite Lunch Packing Supplies!

2 Jun

Now that the school year is almost over, I thought it would be a good time to share my favorite lunch supplies with you.

First up is my absolute favorite. This one may surprise you.

 

Hello Kitty Insulated Bottle by Thermos

O.k. this thing is awesome. I try to keep Cam’s lunches as waste free as possible so I rarely buy juice boxes. I bought this thermos over the summer and even though I never included it in any posts, it got a lot of use this year. If we didn’t have juice boxes (which was most days) she used this thermos.

Why do I love it so much? Because when I open it at 7:30 at night to throw it in the dishwasher, the ice cubes that I put in at 8 that morning, were still in it – barely melted. It kept drinks ice-cold all day. Cam doesn’t drink much milk but I would have had no problem sending milk to school with her because I know it would have been fine by the time she got to it. Even if that was hours later!

I bought Camryn’s at Wal-Mart for $14.99. These often go on sale at Target and Toys R’ Us at the end of summer. You can also get them on amazon.com, lunchboxes.com, thermos.com, and lots of other online retailers.

 

CuteZcute Cutter Set

This was the lunch packing toy that I used more than any other to cuten up Camryn’s lunch this school year. She loved getting cute little animal head sandwiches (who wouldn’t?) and I loved how easy they were to use. They are also affordable at under $10 a set, sturdy, easy to clean, and super versatile. you’re not limited to just those cut-outs you see above. There are so many other things you can do with this set. My super creative bento buddies came up with some great ideas this year.

You can click the pic above to get one of your own.

 

Littlest Pet Shop Insulated Food Jar by Thermos

This jar didn’t get a lot of use this past year but it was used enough to prove it’s worth. If you follow the instructions it will keep food hot for 5 hours. It will also keep cold food cold for 7 hours.

I bought Camryn’s at Toys R’ Us just before school started. I think it was on sale for $12.99. You can also find it at Wal-Mart, Target and of course, on amazon.com.

 

Mini Hearts Sandwich Cutter

Camryn loved getting tiny heart-shaped filled sandwiches in her lunches. They were just the right size for her little hands.

I love this cutter because it doesn’t waste a lot of bread and it’s easy to use, even early in the morning with one eye open.

I got my cutter for $12.50 at my favorite online bento supply retailer, allthingsforsale.com. You can click the pic to get one of your own.

 

FunBites Cube It!

We love our FunBites cutter. We also have the Luv It! but the Cube It! is our favorite.

The Cube It! is easy enough for Camryn to use by herself and she thinks the tiny sandwiches are awesome.

The nice people at FunBites sent me a free cutter in exchange for a review but you can purchase one by clicking on the pic above, or by finding them on amazon.com. They are $12.99 per cutter.

 

Picks

Picks were an effortless way to cuten up Cam’s lunch this year. These 6 sets were our favorites.

              

 Cups & Containers

Cups and containers were great for separating food while adding a little somethin’ to Camryn’s lunches.

              

 Small Cutters

I ended up with a ton of different cutters this year (because I have no self-control evidently) but these were my most favorite.

              

Baran

I loved having baran on those days when I was pressed for time or just wasn’t into making a fancy lunch. I could just stick a bunny or a monkey in a lunch & viola! Instant cuteness.

   

There you have it! My favorite lunch packing supplies for this school year.

What are some of your favorites? I’d love to know, I’m always looking for new stuff. 😉

Daily Bento

31 May

Summer vacation.

Or what I refer to as: Three seemingly endless months of incessant whining about how there’s nothing to do and there’s nothing to eat and how hot it is outside and how we never go anywhere…

Can’t wait.

My husband and I dread summer.

Sure we’re all tired of the homework, the endless things that need to be filled out and returned to school, last-minute book reports, IEP meetings, waiting in the car lane every afternoon, getting up earlier than any person should be required to get up to make sure the teenager eats, grooms himself, looks presentable, doesn’t forget his lunch, and doesn’t miss his bus and summer does allow us a welcome break from all that.

But couldn’t it be a shorter break?

There’s just something about your kids sticking their heads in your fully stocked fridge and/or pantry every half hour and then yelling across the house “Mooooooom, there’s nothing to eat in here” that will drive even the most sane, put together woman to the brink of madness.

It also gets hot – really, really hot and humid here in the summer. So you have to hit the park or the beach or any other outside activity early in the morning, otherwise you risk burning to a crisp or passing out from heat stroke.

Been there, done that. No thanks.

Don’t get me wrong. We’re very lucky to live where we do.

We have quick access to parks, beaches, amusement parks, zoos, aquariums, movie theaters, libraries, and museums. But the novelty of those places wears off all too soon.

We’re also right next to a very popular summer vacation destination so the traffic becomes horrible and the crowds are almost unbearable everywhere you go. It’s easier on my sanity to just stay inside.

My kids have just three days of school left.

Those three days are filled with parties, movies, games, and an outside water play day for my daughter.

My son gets to take exams.

He sure got the bad end of that deal.

Since today is Cam’s last Friday of the school year, I made her a colorful and fruity Friday lunch.

She’s basically having ice cream for lunch next week so it seemed like the right thing to do.

 

For lunch today, she had a fruit salad that contained organic strawberries, pineapple, organic grapes, and organic cherries. She also had french green beans, cheese, crackers, and a slice of a banana bread/carrot cake hybrid with salted caramel glaze that I whipped up two nights ago.

The banana bread/cake contains carrots and pineapple so it’s pretty much a salad in its own right as well.

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Big Kid Bento

30 May

Today is a first.

I’m posting my oldest child’s lunch.

Can I still refer to him as a child if he’s old enough to drive?

That fact makes my brain hurt. It’s just weird. Wasn’t he just 7 last week?

I can’t even handle it. He’s like this huge teenaged person with a man-voice that still plays video games and watches cartoons, so child seems like the appropriate term here.

Anyway, he’s always been a lunch packer.

I could give him money for school lunch (which would be a lot cheaper) but he’d most definitely buy pizza and pop-tarts every day and that kind of diet isn’t good for anybody.

He’s not so good at making wise choices when it comes to food.

He’s also an Aspie (a term of endearment for someone with Asperger’s Syndrome) so for many years, he would eat the same lunch every day.

Every. Single. Day.

Sandwich, chips, cookies.

That’s it.

No fruit, no veggies, no variation.

The only exception to this rule was if pizza, chicken fingers, or a sugary treat of some sort were involved.

It’s hard to get kids to try new foods but it’s next to impossible to get a kid with Asperger’s to do it.

And even if you’re lucky enough to make that happen, it will almost always end in tears, gags, or vomits (if not all three).

Nobody needs that drama.

All that changed over the last couple of years.

I became super persistent about getting him to try new things and I finally wore him down.

I’m no quitter.

Of course there was whining, crying, and gagging in the beginning, but over time the process became easier for both of us and he has a much more varied diet these days as a result.

Now, let’s talk lunch!

 

I try to make bread at least once a week. The recipe I use is fabulous because it’s so versatile. That one dough recipe can be turned into cinnamon rolls, garlic & herb rolls, swirled breakfast bread, pizza crust, hoagie rolls, sandwich loaves, and so many other things. One day I’ll get around to posting it on this site.

I like to take that dough, roll it out, top it with all-natural lunch meat and cheese, roll it back up, slice it, and bake it. Pretty much the same way you would make cinnamon rolls (see, versatile).

D just pops them in the microwave at lunch time and in about 20 seconds they’re all warm and soft again with crispy meat on the edges and melty cheese in the center.

Nuthin’ wrong with that.

For lunch today, he had two of those meaty/cheesy spiral thingies, fresh pineapple, and some Big Cheez-Its.

 

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Daily Bento

29 May

If you had any issues with yesterday’s cupcake lunch, you may want to avert your eyes.

This was today’s lunch:

 

I know you see them. Those are banana bread brownies.

Yep. I went there.

I probably won’t be going there again any time soon though. They were not a big hit with both kids.

Cam liked them, D was not a fan.

I also packed grapes, strawberries, pineapple (which Camryn ate most of before I could snap the pic) and some cheese hearts.

In the interest of full disclosure, this lunch is still sitting in my fridge.

Camryn is home sick from school today so she’s only had saltines, pasta, and dry toast up to this point.

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Daily Bento

28 May

Look who’s back on top of things!

I made a lunch, photographed it, then had time to post it on the actual day that it was eaten.

Whaaaaat?

I know.

 

For lunch today, Cam had three whole wheat mini vegan chocolate & root beer cupcakes…

Wait.

I know what some of you are probably thinking – OMG she put 3 cupcakes in her daughter’s lunch! Where’s the sandwich?! Where are the healthy carbs!? 3 cupcakes full of sugar & who knows what else? The humanity!!!

It’s cool. I get it. And I have a perfectly reasonable explanation for you that will clear up this whole debacle and put your mind at ease.

Ready?

Sometimes my kids get cupcakes for lunch.

Shew! Glad we got that all cleared up.

In addition to her cupcakes she also had organic strawberries, fresh pineapple, colby jack cheese, and cherry tomato slices.

It was all packed in that nifty food storage box I found at Marshall’s for like $4. I ♥ Marshall’s. I wish I could remember the brand name of the box for you so you could all run out and get one of your very own but it has escaped me.

If you happen to be in a Marshall’s, T.J. Maxx, Ross, Beall’s, or any other discount store, look around their food storage department. You never know what you might find.

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Daily Bento(s)

28 May

Was May a busy (and expensive) month for anyone else?

Sheesh!

We had two birthdays, two Mother’s Days, a wedding, recital stuff, family coming in from out of town, and now that the end of the school year is fast approaching, we have ice cream party day and water fun day coming up next week for Cam.

Seriously.

We’ve had a lot going on around here over the last couple of weeks so posting took a backseat to my sanity.

It happens.

Anyway, I have a few of Camryn’s lunches from last week to share today.

This first one was last Wednesday’s lunch:

In her Bynto was organic strawberries, turkey and cheese roll-ups, a granola bar, a juice box, some honey almonds, and veggie chips.

This was last Thursday’s lunch.

It contained a granola bar, a juice box, baby goldfish, Greek yogurt with sprinkles, a cheese stick (under the spoon), grapes and strawberries.  It was all packed up in her Laptop Lunch Box.

And this one was Friday’s lunch:

Packed in her Yubo was a chicken sandwich, organic strawberries, baby goldfish crackers, honey roasted almonds, and a juice box.

There are no pics of her lunches that I packed earlier in the week because I slept in those days, then drug myself into the kitchen, slapped a sandwich together and threw it into an ELB along with some chips or goldfish, and cookies or maybe fruit? I can’t even remember. Let’s go with fruit.

Since this post is already pretty lengthy, I’ll keep my reviews short. First up, the Bynto…

Goodbyn Bynto:

Would I buy it again? Yes. It is inexpensive, it works well, holds quite a bit of food and Cam loves it. You do have to buy the stickers separately but you get a lot and they are dishwasher safe and easily changeable.

Would I recommend it to a friend? Yep. But I would be sure to inform them that you have to close the middle section first to get the other sections to close.

Laptop LunchBox:

Would I buy it again? Yes. I had actually been eyeing them for a while and was finally able to get a great discount on the one Camryn wanted. So I would say wait until they offer up a discount code and then snag one for yourself because they are on the pricey side.

Would I recommend it to a friend? Yes, but only to friends with older kids. Say 1st grade or above. The lids can be tricky to get off. I rubbed Cam’s with a little vegetable oil which has helped but they can still be tricky. The box itself can be hard to open and close occasionally too. Not sure what that’s about. It also holds a lot of food. Maybe more than a pre-schooler or a kindergartener would need. It is lovely to have all those compartments to keep everything sectioned off so nicely. That in itself is a big plus.

Yubo:

Would I buy it again? I was lucky enough to win our Yubo so I didn’t pay for mine. That being said, I was eyeing that lunch box too and waiting for a discount code to pop up so I could snag one for Cam. This lunch box is definitely pricey. Especially if you’re going for personalization. But… it would make a great birthday or Christmas gift so if you look at it that way, it’s not so bad.

Would I recommend it to a friend? Yes. But wait for a discount code and definitely spring for the drink holder. Camryn is the only one in her school with a Yubo and the kids and teachers go nuts for it. It is easy for little ones to use but holds enough food for older kids to use as well. The interchangeable face plates are fairly inexpensive so it doesn’t cost much to swap them out when your kid gets ready for a new look. I also love that the whole thing comes apart and goes right in the dishwasher. Genius!

*Alll of the products listed can also be found on amazon.com.

Disclaimer: I am not an affiliate for any of the companies reviewed above. I make no money if you purchase any of their products. This is just my unsolicited, honest opinion.

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Daily Bento

16 May

 

Today we’re taking a look at the Lunchbots Trio.

This was another fairly recent purchase (within the last couple of months) so I can’t attest at this point to how durable it is. It does seem sturdy though so I like to believe it will last a long time (here’s hoping).

Pictured above was Cam’s lunch today. A sandwich cut with her Funbites Cube It! cutter, grapes, strawberries, carrot coins, veggie chips, and cheese rabbits.

Overall, I am happy with the Trio.

The lid is supposed to be hand washed so obviously I throw it in the dishwasher anyway (we touched on this issue previously). It still looks fine.

The compartments are all on the smaller side so you really need to plan out the arrangement of your food. Which can be very aggravating first thing in the morning, especially if you’re already running late.

I don’t use this container very often for just that reason.

I just don’t have the time to fiddle with every piece of food to get it to fit in the box.

All of that aside, it is a fantastic little box. I would say that the size is geared more towards little ones or maybe snack for older kids and adults.

Cam did have some trouble getting the lid off at first but she mastered it pretty quickly so I would suggest (if you buy one for your little one) having them practice a few times at home until they get the hang of it.

I should probably also mention at this point that I am not being reimbursed in any way by any of these companies for my opinions.

 

 

 

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