Octopus Bento...complete w/ seashells ;)

Yes, I know what everyone says about the effects of food dyes and such.  I refuse to live in fear over everything I enjoy.  We do eat relatively health as a whole, but there are certain things we do enjoy.  Life is too short to get rid of everything that makes you smile....so, I will continue to use my food coloring! :)

Okay...now that we have THAT out of the way...THE OCTOPUS BENTO!  This one was fun for me!  As I said before, I enjoy making them because Rich truly appreciates them!  So....without further ado....

Beginning on the top left: Homemade Tie-dyed cupcake complete with a hibiscus pick with whale crackers, below that is a boiled egg shaped as a fish, decorated with my edible markers, and yes, dyed blue!  In the large compartment is where all of the magic happens...LOL...kidding...anyway...I made a quick, homemade mac n' cheese using mini shell pasta, Parmesan and Monterey Jack Cheeses, and a little milk...I cooked the noodles w/ blue water.  On top of the shell ocean are 2 hot dog octopuses with faces frawn on w/ edible markers.  This is decorated w/ a parasol toothpick and a pink flamingo pick. 

The Cupcake

Octopuses...or is it Octopi?  Haha!

Oh My Stars! Bento :)

So, Rich's Monday Bento ended up lasting him through Tuesday because he has been SO busy at work!  I just finished making his Bento for Wednesday (tomorrow) and I like it!  Here is Monday/Tuesday's Bento, Oh My Stars!!

Beginning at Top, Left then proceeding clockwise:  Star and heart-shaped watermelon bites with a cute, sword pick, Vanilla Yogurt with a star-shaped dollop of my homemade "Kitchen Sink" jam (several diff fruits), Crinkle cut cucumbers and carrots (more about these is a minute) with a star/music pick, and finally a star-shaped boiled egg that I wrote on with edible markers.

 

About the crinkle-cut veggies...This past Saturday my family had a picnic get together.  One of the things I brought was a big bowl of fresh veggies with ranch for dipping.  I cut the veggies using my Pampered Chef crinkle cutter which made little wave-like patterns in the veggies.  I want you to know that the kids were all amazed by the veggies and 3/4 of them were eaten by the kids!  Some had only veggies on their plates instead of hot dogs and chips!!  Goes to show that we eat w/ our eyes FIRST!

How did you start off your work week?  What did you have for lunch??  How do you get your kids to try new things without a fight?

What's in Rich's Bento _ Friday Edition!

A little late here...sorry!!  My guy had a really sucky week last week so I wanted to make him an extra special Bento!  It drew TONS of comments on Facebook (he's cute bc he always takes a pic and posts it). Here is my guy's bento from this past Friday:

Top left: Watermelon from my sister's garden cut into heart and star shapes with a few pieces of a sprite melon underneath, below that is a bear-shaped boiled egg(Rich's daily staple). In the big section, he has a mini star-shaped ham and colby cheese sammie with a homemade peanut butter/choc chip/oatmeal cookie on top. Right beside that is an oatmeal/raisin pawprint. In back, is a mini cheese biscuit and beside that are 2 picks of black olives and colby cheese cubes, all topped off with an Mini Iron Man gummy! :) This is what he eats on throughout the day, hence the variety of things! I think he also brought a dab of homemade chicken orzo from last night. :)  He is holding up the note that I tucked into it the night before so he would find it when he got to work!

 

This made me laugh....

He posted this on Facebook and his caption said, "In case y'all are wondering, it was good!"  I like how he truly appreciates my efforts.  Makes me enjoy doing it for him!

What's in your lunchbox for Monday-Monday??

Thursday's Bento...a Day Late!

Yep...I'm late but what can I say?!  Rich had a pretty simple bento yesterday.  He is a tad bit picky so it's tough at times.  I love him no less, though!!  Hubby took the pic at work so I apologize for anything you can't see very well!  Here we go....

Starting in the large compartment in my $1 lunch container with built-in utensils on the lid:  Heart and flower shaped cukes with a cute heart pick in the white silicon muffin cup (Dollar Tree - huge pack for a buck), a Tony's Ham & Cheese stuffed Sammie (I wrote his nuking instructions on it w/ marker so he'd know), bunny rabbit-shaped boiled egg.  Filling in the spaces around it all are 2 Hershey's Kisses and a handful of mixed nuts.  In the smaller compartment I put a cut up Gala Apple (sprinkled with lemon juice to prevent browning - and it held up nicely from the previous night when I made it) and a little container of Cookie Butter underneath to dip the apples in.  All topped off with a cute flag/star pick from a big pack of stuff from Big Lots!  Cheap is good!  Rich loves to have a boiled egg each day....I'm happy to oblige because it is great, lean protein!

There ya have it!  :)  Oh, I'm going to include a cute pick from a couple of weeks ago.  My niece, Taylor, and I decided to try our hand at homemade sushi.  I really wish I liked it!  Tay and Rich thought it was yumm!

It's pretty, though!  It had avocado, cucumber, and red bell pepper in it (if I am remembering correctly)!

Have an awesome weekend!!  Oh, btw, my birthday is coming up on Monday...know what I want for my bday?  More followers!  Help a sister out!  :)

Peace!
Joy

What's Rich's Bento??

I crashed Tuesday night!  Hendrix (my youngest lab) snuggled up to me and we were out!  I woke up at around 4amish and realized I had not made Rich's bento!  Being the wonderful wife I am, I got up and made it so he would have it for breakfast/snack/lunch!  Check it out!  I am always, always looking for new, simple bento ideas...please lend me your creativity in the comment section!

Large section: Cute lil' guitar container w/ 4 Hershey's kisses in it, a Teddys Grahams soft paw cookie/muffin thingie with a mini homemade granola bar underneath, homemade flour tortilla half with ham and cheese inside. The smaller sections: top- a few GINORMOUS grapes with heart-shaped cucumber slices underneath.  And finally, a homemade blueberry/cream cheese muffin. I Used the last precooked boiled egg yesterday (which Rich usually has in these for protein), but I am boiling more today! ♥  I try to boil 8-12 at the beginning of each week to use for lunches.  I didn't this week bc I still had a few leftover from last week...there are more now!  They were mint and olive green eggs!  These are laid by Easter Egg Chickens!  ;)

Summer Bento Blog Hop Inspiration....I LOVE the Beach!

SO, I was inspired today by a Blog Hop that went on today among the Bento Bloggers.  Since today is the first day of summer, they decided to have a hop around that theme.  I was VERY impressed!  My fave item was a bunch of miniature marshmallows on sticks (pretzels) that the artist had actually roasted over the gas burner on the stove!!  How cool!?

Since I LOVE summer...for obvious reasons (I'm a teacher), I figured I would create one for Rich using the same theme.  He has had a Bento every day this week, but I must say that they haven't revolved around a theme.  I am excited to show mine off to you!

Starting at the top left and going clockwise, we have the ocean which is made of blue vanilla yogurt, a starburst sun, a Werther's Chewy SeaGull, and cookie crumb sand.  Next, there are 3 Beach Balls made out of circle I cut out of bread with the top of a medicine bottle.  Then I used edible markers to color in the triangles.  These are Cookie Butter sammies.  The middle consist of a tiny red chocolate candy that I dug out of a jar of misc sprinkles.  These are accented by an orange Hibiscus Flower pick and a mini umbrella!  Below that you simply have some "Whales" which are Dollar General's brand of Goldfish.  Aldi carries "sharks" as their brand.  Finally, you have a little fishy boiled egg.  Hubby was impressed!  I also had a pink flamingo pick in the whales but it disappeared before the picture!

A close up of the ocean scene and beach balls.

You should try "bentoing" because if I can do it, anyone can!  I had a CRAPPY day and I just focused my energy on this for a few and believe it or not, it helped!  Whatcha think of my creation??  I also need some theme ideas. 

What's in his Bento Today?

I'm still learning when it comes to the whole Bento Box thing.  I try to have themes and such, but I usually just end up putting in things that I know he will like and that we have on hand.  I'm all about some ease!  He had leftover salad that I got at Backyard Bistro for his actual lunch, so I made a breakfast/snack Bento that he could just munch on when he got hungry.  Let's see what Rich had in his Bento!

Starting at the top, right, is some homemade chicken salad with almonds and grapes.  Below that are the crackers to go with it as well as about 10 M&M's as a treat!  In the large section he has orange slices, kiwi and apple hearts, cucumber stripes, and a little container of my yummy fruit dip is underneath the little love note...which he NEVER mentioned!  Sometimes you gotta ask yourself, "Why do I bother?"  He is usually very appreciative so I guess I can let him slide this one time!  lol

I just had to include a pic of the salad I got for lunch that Rich took the leftovers from.  This is a Cobb Salad from Backyard Bistro in Raleigh and let me tell you...it was HUGE!  It is one of my fave things there...with their homemade avocado-ranch dressing.  My niece and I went there because I had a $20 groupon!  Her salad is below....

My niece, Taylor, had a lettuce bowl salad with all kinds of veggies and some kind of seasoned, grilled chicken.  The presentation was so pretty!

Weekly Meal Plan via the SMARTSHOPPER!

I follow a couponing/deal blog on WRAL.com hosted by a friend of mine and local celebrity, Faye Prosser.  This lady rocks!  She teaches you how to coupon the RIGHT, ETHICAL way!  We call her the "SmartShopper" and her blog is called that too!  Anyway, I just posted my weekly menu plan there so I thought I'd post it here as well!  Hopefully, I will be able to incorporate a few bentos as well!  What do you think??


Monday - Homemade "Hambone Veggie Soup", blueberries/strawberries
Tuesday - Corned Beef Brisket, carrots, potatoes, cabbage (St. Patty's Day again - will be making corned beef hash for breakfast Saturday)
Wednesday - Leftover soup and our fave grilled ham n' cheese topped with a thin slice of tomato (produce box) and fresh basil leaves (YUMMM)
Thursday - Cheese enchiladas (with homemade sauce put up last year), corn on the cob, salad (weekly produce box)
 Friday - my version of Sesame Chicken, broccoli (weekly produce box), roasted new potatoes (produce box) Saturday - HUGE Sea Scallops (Trader Joe's has the BEST), garden peas (produce box), new potatoes (box) and strawberries/blueberries (also from box)
Sunday - Sounds like a great day to use a GROUPON at Backyard Bistro!!
Wow...didn't think I had it in me! Sounds like a yummy week...if I follow through!

Soup is always a win in our house!  Leftovers for lunches!  :)

Puzzle & Penguin Mini-Bento

I have felt pretty close to death for a couple of days!  I hate being sick!  Anyway, I finally cooked tonight...I'm sure my hubby was happy!  I made a big pot of ham/veggie/misc soup...the best!  We are having that for lunch tomorrow.  I made each of us a little breakfast/snack bento to munch on throughout the day.  I bought 2 new sammie cutters from Wally World.  They are CUTE!  I got the puzzle one and a penguin duo!  I hate Wally World but was there checking out a phone deal someone had told me about.  Out of stock - go figure!

Each has a mini penguin sammie and 2 puzzle pieces - filled with....wait for it....COOKIE BUTTER!  YUMMO!  The penguins each have a flower sprinkle for the eyes.  The chili pepper is made from a Trader Joe Fruit Leather.  The ABC cookies are also from TJs and are quite tasty!  Hubby has organic white cheddar mini cracker sammies and a tiny Fruit Stripe packet!

 

 

 

 

 

Cookie Butter: Trader'Joe's Product Review

As promised, a post on Cookie Butter.  Whenever I go to Trader Joe's, which I LOVE, I make it a point to try something new....every time.  There have been a couple of flops, but there have been FAR more YUMS!!  Rich is in LOVE with Cookie Butter.  It is $3.69 a jar.  Best way to describe it is a consistency a tiny bit thicker and "tackier" than Peanut Butter with almost a gingersnap flavor in the background.  You can use it just like you use Peanut Butter.  Our fave so far is to simply roll out a piece of bread and spread a thin layer of the butter on.  We then roll it up.  It's very tasty!  I purchased 2 more jars tonight!  It was funny because we had used about 1/3 of the jar when Rich started panicking over running out!  LOL

Try it out and let me know what you think!  I gotta warn you though...it IS QUITE addictive!!

**Note...I am in no way affiliated with Trader Joe's nor did I receive any form of compensation for saying the positive things about the product!  We just love it!

"Bentoing" - Getting my Feet Wet!

So, I have been growing increasingly interested in creating Bentos for Rich and my lunches.  I have started by doing a few here lately.  I will NEVER have as much time to spend on them as some bloggers have.  I admire their work, though!  Here are a few that I have created...

This first one was created for Rich to take for breakfast/lunch.  I made this one the designated "cold" one and the one below this one the "hot" one.  I figured he could have some of the cold one for breakfast and the rest with his hot one for lunch!

The main compartment has:  Cucumbers, tomatoes, carrots, and yellow peppers cut into various shapes (stars, flower-type deals, and hearts).  The little green container beside it has some ranch.  It is a repurposed playdoh container!  He also has some crackers in a muffin cup along with cheese and ham.  I couldn't resist the heart pick!  The smallest side compartment is an orange fluff thingie that I LOVE...he's not a fan...it came home!  More for me!  Beside it is some vanilla yogurt with fresh berries!

This is his "hot" one.  It has skewers with leftover pork tenderloin and mandarin oranges.  Weird combo, but he LOVED the broccoli casserole I made so he has some of that as well.

This is actually my breakfast/lunch for tomorrow.  In the main compartment I included a fajita-sized ham and cheese wrap, a skewer of fresh blueberries that I picked this evening, a boiled egg, and a "cookie butter" roll-up.  More to come on the Cookie Butter later...Rich is officially obsessed with it!  The small compartment holds 2 strawberries also picked tonight and some orange fluff.  I topped it with a few flower sprinkles.  :)

This is Rich's breakfast/lunch for tomorrow.  The main compartment has the same things as mine with fresh veggies replacing the boiled egg.  In the smallest compartment, I included 3 Mexican Meatballs in a muffin cup so he can take them out and nuke them if he wants.  Those things are a favorite and SO easy!  The other container has peach yogurt topped with berries. 

This lunch made me giggle and hubby smile!  I will say, Rich is a trooper!  He deals with my little obsessions very well...he even bragged about this to his boss who couldn't have cared less!  I named this "Under the Sea"...yeah, not very original but it's the first thing I thought of when I made this!  It is just dyed Ramen (I had a craving) with a little of the packet seasoning as well as my own twist.  I added some fresh herbs and black & white sesame seeds.  I topped the noodles with sauteed shrimp with garlic and herbs.  He liked it and I agree that it was quite tasty!

So, there you have it!  Laugh is you may, but it's kinda fun!  Let me know what you think!  Maybe I'll actually start posting regularly and get some more followers!  LOL

Another Bento Giveaway!

Mama needs some Bento tools and I'm broke!  Check out THIS BLOG for some cute ideas...and to enter the contest!

Bento-Crazy!

So, I have recently began getting into Bento-making!  I am NOT good at it but it's sure fun to try!  Times like this I wish I had a kid or two!  Thankfully, I have the best hubby in the world that allows me to use him as my experiment.  Afterall, he does get lots of yummy grub!  Today he proudly showed his boss (who couldn't have cared less) his "sea" of blue noodles with sauteed shrimp "swimming" in it!  He's awesome!  I'll post pics of my creations when I remember to take them!

Anyway, I don't have much in the way of bento-making "stuff" yet.  So, I have been reading various bento sites and came across a cool giveaway!!  Check it out!  FUNBITES GIVEAWAY!