tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-31909601379475377152023-11-16T05:01:00.521-08:00Lunch Is BoringLori Arnoldhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/05600443590399882818noreply@blogger.comBlogger52125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3190960137947537715.post-64326421418024284252014-10-26T19:22:00.003-07:002014-10-26T19:29:42.272-07:00Spook WeekIt's Halloween week!<br />
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This is my favorite week for bentos. However, I've been really bad lately at packing bentos for my kiddos, opting more often for a quick sandwich-and-apple combo, so I'm hoping this week will be a good opportunity to get some bentos back on the go.<br />
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Last week, I made this spooky lunch.<br />
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They had ghost sandwiches with cucumber skin eyes surrounded by raisins ("dead flies"), cucumber slices (not very creative or spooky, I know, but they're green...), a half-banana ghost, "<a href="http://www.amazon.com/Creepy-Carrots-Aaron-Reynolds/dp/1442402970">creepy carrots</a>" and monster strawberries, which didn't end up looking like I wanted them too. I had cut them into zigzag shapes, thinking they'd look kinda scary, but instead they just looked... pathetic. We made funny-face brownies at the weekend, so they each got one of those and some white chocolate skull-and-crossbones made in my silicone mold. Finally, I added a jack-o-lantern clementine for an additional piece of healthy fruit and Halloween fun.<br />
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I've got white chocolate ghosts solidifying in the fridge right now for tomorrow morning. I also have, like, no lunchy food in the house, so it'll be interesting to see what their lunches will look like in the morning. Ghost sandwiches are always easy, but as for the rest... can I somehow make Goldfish and string cheese look scary?Lori Arnoldhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/05600443590399882818noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3190960137947537715.post-43952403654408298572014-10-02T05:48:00.000-07:002014-10-02T05:48:07.755-07:00The Pumpkins Are Watching<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
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Lolly requested another "spooky lunch" this morning, so I let her choose from my Halloween cookie cutters. She chose the black cat cutter. It didn't quite use up the whole sandwich, though, so I added a couple of small Pampered Chef pumpkin cutter shapes - one with eyes! - and that used up most of the sandwich. I hate throwing too much away. (The kids devoured the leftover pieces anyway, like ravenous beasts.)</div>
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She also insisted I use the big pink bento box. Lolly's a light eater, and usually doesn't finish her lunch, so trying to fill an adult-sized bento box without giving her more than she can eat took a little thought. Rather than filling the side next to the sandwiches all the way up, I used a silicone cupcake liner filled with Goldfish (actually Great Value "Penguins") to take up space but not add too much food. I filled the bottom tier with fruit, because she almost always eats all her fruit. I added a string cheese too, which maybe she can save for snack time. Oh, and I added a few matchstick carrots around the sandwiches to add both some vegetables to her meal and some orange Halloween ambience. I'll be interested to see if she eats all of this!</div>
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<br />Lori Arnoldhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/05600443590399882818noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3190960137947537715.post-48192177241245736042014-10-01T19:47:00.000-07:002014-10-01T19:47:06.722-07:00Casper the Friendly Sandwich<br />
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I'd love to say that my lack of bento blogging lately has been merely from not having time to blog, but that wouldn't be entirely true. While I have taken several photos of my bentos since school began a month and a half ago, I've also sent the kids to school with boring lunches more often than not. And some days, I just sent them to school with nothing, opting for the school dinners out of either laziness or not having anything in the fridge worthy of packing.</div>
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<br />But on Tuesday I hit the grocery store and bought lots of berries and cheese strings and veggies, enough to hopefully last them a few days before my larger shopping trip planned for the weekend.</div>
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It's October, and that of course means Halloween, and that of course means my favorite time of year to pack bentos. I'm pretty sure I still have a good selection of Halloweeny supplies, like candy molds and cookie cutters, to get us through the month with some fun, spooky creations.</div>
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Today, the kids got ghosty-shaped peanut butter and jam sandwiches with cake decoration eyes (Fifi's favorite part, of course), baby carrots (which reminds me, I need to get a food pen, I could've done some <a href="http://www.amazon.com/Creepy-Carrots-Aaron-Reynolds/dp/1442402970/ref=sr_1_1?s=books&ie=UTF8&qid=1412217449&sr=1-1&keywords=creepy+carrots">Creepy Carrots</a> action with them!), Annie's Bunny Grahams, a Slim Jim, and a "berry scary" tray of blueberries, blackberries and strawberries. Fifi got a yogurt smoothie too, and both girls got a Kool-Aid drink thing because I bought way too many at Sam's Club a couple of weeks ago and need to get rid of them... at lunch times, of course, to preserve their teeth. :/<br />
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My other ideas for Halloween include white chocolate ghosts, white chocolate skull-and-crossbones, "Jack O-Lantern" clementine oranges, green monster pudding, maybe a Star Wars lunch, and - if I can convince my hubby it's necessary - a bread machine so I can make orange, green or purple sandwich bread. I've got pumpkin cookie cutters, so I need orange bread! I'll probably make Halloween shaped cookies with the kids too, even though homemade cookies are my downfall, and I usually end up eating the whole batch myself at night while watching Netflix and drinking cups of tea.<br /><br />What are your Halloween treat ideas?Lori Arnoldhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/05600443590399882818noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3190960137947537715.post-33229728912529127602014-09-03T06:52:00.000-07:002014-10-01T20:18:42.189-07:00Pizza DayI made pizza for dinner on Monday night. It gave me the bright idea to make an extra pizza for the kids' lunches the next day - a calzone, actually, to be exact. I thought it would be less messy.<br />
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I didn't make up the calzone-in-a-bento idea myself; I got the idea from Judith, who is a bento queen, and will hopefully contribute to this blog. <br />
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Lolly, in particular was delighted. She's a pizza lover. The pizza was refrigerated overnight and put directly into their bentos cold, but we love cold pizza. I included a couple of tomatoes with the calzone, and in the other box, sliced strawberries, blueberries and green grapes. In the lid were some Marks & Spencer "Mad Frogs" that were sent to us from Scotland. On the side, the kids got a cupcake, a bag of Quavers (also from Scotland), and a juicebox.<br />
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Lolly came home off the bus and the first thing she said to me was, "Mummy I ate ALL of my pizza! I LOVED it! Can we have it again tomorrow?!"<br />
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Looks like I'll be making another pizza tonight!<br />
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<br />Lori Arnoldhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/05600443590399882818noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3190960137947537715.post-4578679314880678322014-08-25T09:42:00.000-07:002014-08-25T09:42:12.794-07:00High Tea (aka Jello for Lunch)<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
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A few years ago, my daughters received these little teacup and saucer muffin cups for Christmas from their "Auntie" Sarah. They were so cute, I bought several more. (I even used them as the base for party bags for Fifi's "Mad Hatter Tea Party" when she turned six.)<br />
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I've been frustrated at my inability to find <a href="http://www.amazon.co.uk/Tala-Mini-Coloured-Jelly-Moulds/dp/B0036L5YGU/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&qid=1408984898&sr=8-1&keywords=jelly+moulds">jello molds like these </a>in America, thus unable to send homemade jello in the kids' packed lunches. (And by homemade, I mean, of course, simply from a jello box.) I got the idea last night, though to put jello in these durable muffin cups, and if I do say so myself, they turned out cute!<br />
<br />I did have to wrap them in cling film and then put them in an EasiYo tub (which I then realized are also perfect for putting jello in), but I think the kids will have fun with them at lunch anyway.<br />
<br />Their lunches today consist of cheddar cheese and summer sausage slices, saltine crackers (also wrapped in cling film to keep the moisture out so they don't get stale or soggy by lunch time), blueberries, kiwi, baby carrots and mint chocolate chip cookies. They also go a juice box and a banana (not pictured). <br />
<br />Think this qualifies as "high tea"? Probably not. Maybe next time I do the jello teacups, I'll do cucumber sandwiches and fairy cakes too.Lori Arnoldhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/05600443590399882818noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3190960137947537715.post-31877127836214382402014-08-20T12:45:00.000-07:002014-10-01T20:17:51.194-07:00Animals For Lunch<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
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Yesterday I wanted to do a cutesy animal-themed lunch, but it only half turned out. I had a little teddy bear shaped cutter which I imagined would make adorable little jam sandwiches, but they came out looking pretty scraggly. I got five out of one sandwich, leaving very little waste, but they didn't look as cuddly as I hoped. I included some Annie's Bunny Grahams and some "Penguins" (the Great Value version of Goldfish) and a Babybel with a heart cut out of the wax to complete the bottom tier.</div>
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The top tier consisted of baby carrots, blueberry-stuffed raspberries and banana slices. The lid contained some cucumber slices, and I put in a vanilla milk (which neither of the kids liked, it turned out.)<br />
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That was Lolly's lunch. Fifi, being older, got similar, but instead of the animals, I just gave her heart-shaped PBJ sandwiches, and Bunny Grahams in the lid. She had a cheese string on the side and cucumber slices in a separate container. </div>
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Today I tried a different lunch idea (though still keeping somewhat with the animals, I guess). I put on the oven as soon as I woke up this morning and baked some dinosaur-shaped chicken nuggets. I used to do this fairly regularly in Scotland, so I'll find out after school today if it was a hit with the kids or not. In one tier, they had nuggets with ketchup in a container. In the other tier, I placed baby carrots, cucumber sticks, black grapes and a silicone cupcake liner filled with Penguins. Inside the lid are 2 fudge-striped cookies and as an added treat, they got a Tunnocks caramel wafer on the side. Special treat from Scotland! Not pictured was their apple juice boxes.</div>
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I also made some EaisYo yogurt last night. Unfortunately, EasiYo isn't easy to find here in the States, and I'm down to my last five packets. Today's flavor is Greek & Honey, which hasn't ever been their favorite, so I added some raspberries and blueberries to the cup. I'm hoping they eat it. It's good for them. (I don't know what I'll do when I run out of EasiYo. It will be a sad day.)</div>
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In other news, I've been working on rebuilding my collection of cookie cutters (after mine got presumably stolen out of my suitcase at the airport, presumably by a cookie-loving TSA agent), and in the mail today, I received my new Star Wars cutters! Star Wars might feature in tomorrow's lunch. So glad to have some of these back again!</div>
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Lori Arnoldhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/05600443590399882818noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3190960137947537715.post-48506000611707386192014-08-18T09:18:00.001-07:002014-08-18T09:37:12.106-07:00Lunch Is Boring is Back!New school year, new blog!
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Isla started kindergarten today. The kids told me they wanted me to start making 'fun lunches' again, so I gathered up some motivation, started combing through my old photos and old blog posts, and I'm getting back in the game. I'm trying to retrieve my old posts from my old blog, but I'm having some trouble with ftp blah blah blah stuff I don't understand. Hopefully, I'll be able to import all the old files back into this blog and have all the archives available to peruse for ideas - not only for you, but for me too!<br /></div>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhPr-1gHoUatUktoyqVJWB5w0kISNqR7dZioGkZdfyaRHEGjWwadwAtExTifTbMRFU4M-h-0HfZxRlZ5v9U-1mRtcA2UKZ4NP3vcYKQO7H1cDirxzlLhSp77L4EneVZffouTluZkXJRlis/s1600/gardenparty2.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhPr-1gHoUatUktoyqVJWB5w0kISNqR7dZioGkZdfyaRHEGjWwadwAtExTifTbMRFU4M-h-0HfZxRlZ5v9U-1mRtcA2UKZ4NP3vcYKQO7H1cDirxzlLhSp77L4EneVZffouTluZkXJRlis/s320/gardenparty2.jpg" /></a></div>
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Today's lunch was a 'Garden Party' lunch. On the left, both girls had blueberries, frozen grapes (our new favorite treat) and Annie's Bunny Grahams (because it's a garden). On the right, they have a tulip-shapred ham and cheese sandwich, with a cheese tulip on top, some matchstick carrots, lettuce and cucumber (they won't even realize they've just eaten a salad!) and a Babybel cheese with a flower cut out of the wax.</div>
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<br />Inside the lid is a spoon and their names cut out in cheese. They each got a chocolate pudding and a juice box. </div>
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My favorite part today is the little felt pillow. It's a recordable message charm. For both kids, I recorded a special first-day-of-school message and put it in their lunchbox. I wish I could've found two apples, but there weren't many left to choose from. So an apple and a band-aid. Whatever. The messages can be re-recorded each day, so every now and then, I'll give them the charms in their lunchboxes with a new message. </div>
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I'm excited about getting back into bento! Maybe one day, I'll reopen my shop too. Maybe. :)</div>
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<br />Happy school year, everyone!</div>
Lori Arnoldhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/05600443590399882818noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3190960137947537715.post-30147142531224041862012-10-23T12:00:00.000-07:002014-10-01T19:22:37.308-07:00SpooktacularHalloween is approaching (ooooo-oooooh), and what could be more fun than a Halloween-themed lunch? (I suppose Christmas, Easter, St Patrick's Day...) Ah, let's face it. I just like a good theme.<br /><br /><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjM5Bk1FfgQZJK3h0d3U5skINTIZb6SoR7py2UbjVyzOKNAseCmk2ezBnjkyhHs07PtCSswffMBDt0v3LHtJx5GeyIVA9WK_mSCoFMBRcNMohMJolo1yI09Jv_KAInQC7iF8XuY7XcRjhQ/s1600/DSCF4782.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left:1em; margin-right:1em"><img border="0" height="318" width="400" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjM5Bk1FfgQZJK3h0d3U5skINTIZb6SoR7py2UbjVyzOKNAseCmk2ezBnjkyhHs07PtCSswffMBDt0v3LHtJx5GeyIVA9WK_mSCoFMBRcNMohMJolo1yI09Jv_KAInQC7iF8XuY7XcRjhQ/s400/DSCF4782.jpg" /></a></div><br />Today, Feebz had a ghost ham sandwich on white bread - storebought, lazy! - and eyes drawn on with edible ink, along with Craisins, cheese cubes, a chocolate eyeball, Monster Fingers (cocktail sausages), chopper persimmon and a hard-boiled Ghost (with sushi nori eyes). For snack she had a pineapple finger and some cheese balls.<br /><br />I told Feebz that this week she'd be getting some new things in her lunch to try, and I wanted her to try them. Remarkably, this did not result in a breakdown. She was a bit fussy about trying the persimmon, her new item for today, but of course, to her own surprise but not mine, she loved it. It's a lovely sweet fruit which I only just discovered too.<br /><br />Not sure what tomorrow's new item will be, but chances are, it'll be Halloween themed again. Whoooooo!<br /><br /><br /><br />Lori Arnoldhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/05600443590399882818noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3190960137947537715.post-36408787715937794002012-10-18T23:59:00.000-07:002014-10-01T19:22:37.319-07:00Site OverhallHi Everyone,<br />I'm in the process of upgrading the site, so please bear with me if you are unable to see the site for the next few days. I'll be back up and running as soon as possible!Lori Arnoldhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/05600443590399882818noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3190960137947537715.post-3896526920456781532012-10-17T05:26:00.000-07:002014-10-01T19:22:37.331-07:00Keto Bento Challenge 5: Number 5 Under 5?The kids have been off school, I've been sleeping in late, but yesterday I did manage another...<br /><br /><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhdfgaZUyk-l8GUbcngvTwooSiqhdp9gUKEOl7_wgxfLO6N6vDJvRlXyEz-j4AIeNA95jxsDJh5Lf_WoUCNj2BRG-sZtcYuEhX2yqaaz5CUt-jb2c-G7649hnXa8LP4L1GhRILdYhkkpgY/s1600/ketobentochallenge.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left:1em; margin-right:1em"><img border="0" height="237" width="400" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhdfgaZUyk-l8GUbcngvTwooSiqhdp9gUKEOl7_wgxfLO6N6vDJvRlXyEz-j4AIeNA95jxsDJh5Lf_WoUCNj2BRG-sZtcYuEhX2yqaaz5CUt-jb2c-G7649hnXa8LP4L1GhRILdYhkkpgY/s400/ketobentochallenge.jpg" /></a></div><br />And guys, I think I may have met my 5g carb target! Let's just see though (mental maths is not my forte).<br /><br /><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgS4VzF_csNp4mafoe73_9i9Vbv7jm46RDBuZQK9OvGgbq2BMqmKFf3CMrSr7etgg6bYVaaoAkDsSviYzmI5hm_CXFybnl62wO-tcKQgTYMOTPO6NabVY91VGXMNCy_Vq_YqbkA209nzpI/s1600/keto5.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left:1em; margin-right:1em"><img border="0" height="311" width="400" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgS4VzF_csNp4mafoe73_9i9Vbv7jm46RDBuZQK9OvGgbq2BMqmKFf3CMrSr7etgg6bYVaaoAkDsSviYzmI5hm_CXFybnl62wO-tcKQgTYMOTPO6NabVY91VGXMNCy_Vq_YqbkA209nzpI/s400/keto5.jpg" /></a></div><br />Above, you see I packed for the hubby -<br />*Irn Bru (0g)<br />*Sugarfree strawberry jelly (.5g)<br />*1 square of very dark (85%) chocolate (2g)<br />*a few cucumber slices (1g)<br />*1 boiled egg (.5g)<br />*smoked pork sausage (0g)<br />*pepperoni slices (0g) with full fat cream cheese (approx .7g)<br />*4 rashers of smoked bacon (0g)<br /><br />TOTAL: 4.7g!!<br /><br />I DID IT!<br /><br />The only complaint the hubby had was that he didn't like the cream cheese. I really hoped I'd be able to get some cheese/fat/calcium in him via cream cheese but even that was too 'cheesy' for him. If you like cream cheese though, I recommend these!Lori Arnoldhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/05600443590399882818noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3190960137947537715.post-31494545008279173242012-10-13T11:09:00.000-07:002014-10-01T19:22:37.342-07:00Yummy Scrummy Snack<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgMJ27F-5iG1_qnobfMSH8jFLlLnNo7dj3h1emkaqUfPlY33I3bhn0CJu1Sx5PukuIlF2ZxWoOw21C4MftDfP7hMfr3TfzLrIAwiCivLqaNi9VS2x8Abba5Ru9tV7z2BwvOJRjesuBy4q4/s1600/DSCF4737.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left:1em; margin-right:1em"><img border="0" height="300" width="400" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgMJ27F-5iG1_qnobfMSH8jFLlLnNo7dj3h1emkaqUfPlY33I3bhn0CJu1Sx5PukuIlF2ZxWoOw21C4MftDfP7hMfr3TfzLrIAwiCivLqaNi9VS2x8Abba5Ru9tV7z2BwvOJRjesuBy4q4/s400/DSCF4737.jpg" /></a></div><br />Behold, the Lunch Box Trifle.<br /><br />This particular version is sugar-free jelly, EasiYo Forest Fruits homemade yogurt and blueberries, but I'm sure there could be any number of variations of a Lunch Box Trifle that would delight you, your kids or whomever you make lunch for.<br /><br />And for a bit of a history lesson, here's the scoop on <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Trifle">Trifle</a>.<br /><br />Happy weekend!Lori Arnoldhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/05600443590399882818noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3190960137947537715.post-57880189410720547882012-10-12T11:18:00.000-07:002014-10-01T19:22:37.353-07:00Keto Bento Challenge 4It's time again for the <br /><br /><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhWh1YuglawwGHPYhB9QtLFR1bKFgu4hyphenhyphennUNiaVejNF1dt2tEgtil5Z-4qkFGq7-9putOY9drk17AS4oFLTxW2qfDCG07e-8I1B63eAhGWPFBBnZjJcBf-4pJQNXtF479AlvQ9wOkH60dw/s1600/ketobentochallenge.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left:1em; margin-right:1em"><img border="0" height="237" width="400" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhWh1YuglawwGHPYhB9QtLFR1bKFgu4hyphenhyphennUNiaVejNF1dt2tEgtil5Z-4qkFGq7-9putOY9drk17AS4oFLTxW2qfDCG07e-8I1B63eAhGWPFBBnZjJcBf-4pJQNXtF479AlvQ9wOkH60dw/s400/ketobentochallenge.jpg" /></a></div><br />This time I've gotten a bit more creative, not to mention a bit more cutesy (sorry, big manly man taking his lunch to work...)<br /><br /><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjxHhyphenhyphenm_eZB2lEGQOUI0Y1O2-vi6BlfKxhgGSAh397-_qHqNqyslvbuDvlSksFvA3i7R5EEbj5gIXIe8bZZBUDMQSt4CsHC9SKnEBOi0WNBjeILT1n7mXQsab_rF-mbURX1yyejagLuuXg/s1600/DSCF4734.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left:1em; margin-right:1em"><img border="0" height="300" width="400" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjxHhyphenhyphenm_eZB2lEGQOUI0Y1O2-vi6BlfKxhgGSAh397-_qHqNqyslvbuDvlSksFvA3i7R5EEbj5gIXIe8bZZBUDMQSt4CsHC9SKnEBOi0WNBjeILT1n7mXQsab_rF-mbURX1yyejagLuuXg/s400/DSCF4734.jpg" /></a></div><br />On the top tier, we have an <a href="http://cavemanketo.com/2012/02/15/faux-bread-quest-holy-grail-almond-buns/">almond bun</a> sliced in half, a hard-boiled egg, some blueberries and a tub of <a href="http://www.themeanpigbbq.com/">Mean Pig</a> Hot BBQ sauce. On the bottom, we have a bed of lettuce with two pig-shaped hamburgers (to go on the almond bun with the hot sauce) and...<br /><br />wait for it...<br /><br />Keto <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/California_roll">California rolls</a>!<br /><br />You heard me right, California rolls, keto-style.<br /><br /><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjIC4v4xYrCj-B64UuUn9Ob-9a2aBPwowensKYcVBPifj64Vs6EjS5FiArcKTwFNlL73Bu_8fVJlu6wMqeEml-GmuSgMB1nqAD51DFaOCCCNlNF4uHY8fnZK2jSNps1oCKrpRpd2y9YQUI/s1600/DSCF4732.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear:right; float:right; margin-left:1em; margin-bottom:1em"><img border="0" height="240" width="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjIC4v4xYrCj-B64UuUn9Ob-9a2aBPwowensKYcVBPifj64Vs6EjS5FiArcKTwFNlL73Bu_8fVJlu6wMqeEml-GmuSgMB1nqAD51DFaOCCCNlNF4uHY8fnZK2jSNps1oCKrpRpd2y9YQUI/s320/DSCF4732.jpg" /></a></div>These rolls consist of the usual cucumber and avocado (which, and I'm not lying, I had NO IDEA were the traditional fillings until JUST NOW when I linked to the Wikipedia article. It was a total coincidence that I just happened to put cucumber and avocado in it, which apparently are the norm. I just wanted something green and keto-friendly!) and a bit of tuna, wrapped in nori, but the secret keto ingredient?<br /><br />Steamed, mashed cauliflower instead of rice.<br /><br />It was a total gamble, and totally a creation from my own head, and I am seriously proud of it. It was my first attempt ever at any kind of California roll, and I discovered that a) I used too thick a layer of cauliflower, seeing as it doesn't mould together as well as rice would, and b) I need a sharper knife. My knives were rubbish at cutting cleanly through the nori (even though it was slightly wet, as the instructions said.) Still, for a first try, it looked not too bad, and I was dead chuffed with it. However, the proof was still in the <strike>pudding</strike> cauliflower, so I had to wait for the hubby to come home to see if they actually TASTED good. His verdict was that they were good, but very bland, and he'd have liked something spicy to go with it. So keto sushi lovers, is wasabi keto-friendly?<br /><br />Finally for dessert, I prepared sugar-free strawberry jelly, and ta da! Another keto bento.<br /><br />Now for the important part - the tally. Let's see how many (approximate) carbs there were. Note: Each item will be very approximate since so much was made by hand.<br /><br />-Almond bun (2g net carbs)<br />-Handful of blueberries (4g)<br />-Boiled egg (.5g)<br />-Hot sauce (2g)<br />-2 tiny burgers (2.5g)<br />-Lettuce (1.4g)<br />-4 California rolls (2g)<br /><br />TOTAL: 14.4g<br /><br />Hmm... that doesn't look as good on paper, but I suppose if you used low-carb BBQ sauce (which I didn't) and perhaps tried a different berry (or maybe my guess on blueberries was too high) and also if I'd actually paid attention to how many carbs were in the burgers (I'm hoping it was actually less!), then you could get a much lower carb bento out of this. I guess it also depends on how many carbs a day you are eating; the hubby is allowing himself 20g a day, so this lunch probably was too many for him... but he didn't complain!<br /><br />Next week, the kids are off school, so while I'll blog about our in-house lunches, I'll also try to get some more keto bentos sent in with the hubby to work. <br /><br />Watch this space - I WILL get under 5g one day!<br />Lori Arnoldhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/05600443590399882818noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3190960137947537715.post-86359500049741344522012-10-11T15:18:00.000-07:002014-10-01T19:22:37.364-07:00Single FileLolly doesn't stay at nursery for lunch time. She gets out at 11.30 and comes home and has lunch with me and Baby Jaguar in the house. However, she gets jealous when she sees Feebz taking a 'snack lunch' with her to school, so many days she begs me for a lunch too. She'll fish out her lunch bag and start filling it herself with random things if I don't do it myself. So today, I made her a little mini bento (which she then left at nursery and therefore totally wasted).<br /><br />But first, Feebz.<br /><br /><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhCxM-UXuqwiRiOIcf0Rp35KYfPFtt7RhzUzyPHlAr03kZdFI_PHiiS8uDb8FRqTOQ7LJZw4cFuNLnfVwTcz9PeUrBi6sxt-imG_w_IgFjGogRZbg0r4oi7s1CXvDG-ixLpGxZmfc_1F_I/s1600/DSCF4719.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left:1em; margin-right:1em"><img border="0" height="300" width="400" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhCxM-UXuqwiRiOIcf0Rp35KYfPFtt7RhzUzyPHlAr03kZdFI_PHiiS8uDb8FRqTOQ7LJZw4cFuNLnfVwTcz9PeUrBi6sxt-imG_w_IgFjGogRZbg0r4oi7s1CXvDG-ixLpGxZmfc_1F_I/s400/DSCF4719.JPG" /></a></div><br />If you have an office job, this lunch might be just the one for you... everything in neat little rows, nicely filed. That's how it looks to me anyway.<br /><br />We have sliced and filed cucumber, tomatoes (the only thing not sliced here), and plum on the one side, and smoked sausage, cheese and grapes (oh, I guess those aren't sliced either). Inside the lid we find a bit of scatter with some chocolate sweeties. <br /><br /><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjDjN4OK4zUn8Osz6b9_J6b4V_GUHWz9mOXWQ5-1OYdTZQkoPcD6HlqJvVtv9lxHnd9Ac6hpF3b4sVAmYaFMpMOvU7QhEAxbYCEeQqeVKtg02QeUJ8Bypb_BW-tYLkggeS5nmhDyTSF-U4/s1600/bananas.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear:right; float:right; margin-left:1em; margin-bottom:1em"><img border="0" height="158" width="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjDjN4OK4zUn8Osz6b9_J6b4V_GUHWz9mOXWQ5-1OYdTZQkoPcD6HlqJvVtv9lxHnd9Ac6hpF3b4sVAmYaFMpMOvU7QhEAxbYCEeQqeVKtg02QeUJ8Bypb_BW-tYLkggeS5nmhDyTSF-U4/s320/bananas.jpg" /></a></div>Then we have the 'Don't eat me!' banana. Lolly, always wanting the same, but different, wanted a face banana too, only she wanted <i>hers</i> to say 'Please eat me!'<br /><br />For Lolly's little bento, I just did slices of smoked sausage, cheese and grapes, with a plum and a slice of cheese-topped bread in the lid. It saddens me that those delicious sausages are just wasting away in her backpack in an empty nursery right now. Not looking forward to opening that box tomorrow either for cleaning.<br /><br /><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhk4qYCDwIhzLyhD8O4yhEV_SqBOIepXMe4WOo5UQM9QUZULu_GD7u6tA7BnZaHNQF-waTsuzFGGtLXRxUMgNwO54dlwywOmtpSSIBsGO753WWsX24crSVvm2v468kw9XLBeFY4JQYgZcs/s1600/clicketyclick.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left:1em; margin-right:1em"><img border="0" height="179" width="400" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhk4qYCDwIhzLyhD8O4yhEV_SqBOIepXMe4WOo5UQM9QUZULu_GD7u6tA7BnZaHNQF-waTsuzFGGtLXRxUMgNwO54dlwywOmtpSSIBsGO753WWsX24crSVvm2v468kw9XLBeFY4JQYgZcs/s400/clicketyclick.jpg" /></a></div><br /><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjxJeesGEjMskEc09e0_d-r89w7X7J9-08c4xwPuKrCSEbIeA8CSSDXmpBKq537oxd-wioR9QXFyCqLViSsli4Q0vAyGa139UEe_HwPDJs4cCyMT3DDmthqqVck8ARpBw3A2hrTX49AdTw/s1600/DSCF4722.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left:1em; margin-right:1em"><img border="0" height="400" width="300" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjxJeesGEjMskEc09e0_d-r89w7X7J9-08c4xwPuKrCSEbIeA8CSSDXmpBKq537oxd-wioR9QXFyCqLViSsli4Q0vAyGa139UEe_HwPDJs4cCyMT3DDmthqqVck8ARpBw3A2hrTX49AdTw/s400/DSCF4722.JPG" /></a></div><br />Yum. Those grapes look amazing.<br /><br />Lori Arnoldhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/05600443590399882818noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3190960137947537715.post-47547815099315600472012-10-10T12:57:00.000-07:002014-10-01T19:22:37.374-07:00Bento Art<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEirJMQZpQEvtwn_AL_PcVGdi6sGsFZGpVMZfq5ST8fr9avHu7HVmmGFbToWwhB49-uH_zuS-G20QCcN3s6DuMr3UsGl1hkcTjAT2dX45q4Bic_nGntHyQTgPXHOnu2ZbQiJd7l9cKHAPIM/s1600/feebz+bento+art.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left:1em; margin-right:1em"><img border="0" height="400" width="291" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEirJMQZpQEvtwn_AL_PcVGdi6sGsFZGpVMZfq5ST8fr9avHu7HVmmGFbToWwhB49-uH_zuS-G20QCcN3s6DuMr3UsGl1hkcTjAT2dX45q4Bic_nGntHyQTgPXHOnu2ZbQiJd7l9cKHAPIM/s400/feebz+bento+art.jpg" /></a></div><br />Lovely drawing of a bento box by Feebz! The arrows indicate which drawn food items go into the box (and the banana has an arrow pointing <i>out</i> of the box and into a lunch bag!)Lori Arnoldhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/05600443590399882818noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3190960137947537715.post-45809980194546593782012-10-10T09:49:00.000-07:002014-10-01T19:22:37.384-07:00Oh What a Circus, Oh What a Show!<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjlx2PK7ZRRK85as835gtSTo2X-0dEkTem_7VOP70GUsiBDTJq-zNyMTtwxnZ_o_BecHpiGfkof4U7QlR0cTX4-LNM2kC4SCKXdXEbvzAmgqb423CGa5DpPNS8zL1WgRz56I5z8bv8we9I/s1600/DSCF4718.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left:1em; margin-right:1em"><img border="0" height="262" width="400" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjlx2PK7ZRRK85as835gtSTo2X-0dEkTem_7VOP70GUsiBDTJq-zNyMTtwxnZ_o_BecHpiGfkof4U7QlR0cTX4-LNM2kC4SCKXdXEbvzAmgqb423CGa5DpPNS8zL1WgRz56I5z8bv8we9I/s400/DSCF4718.jpg" /></a></div><br />A prize for the first person who tells me where today's title comes from! (No Googling, cheaters!)<br /><br />Feebz insisted on making her own lunch this morning. I just helped. She made her own sandwich and picked out her own cookie cutter - possibly the most intricate one I have, the least appropriate for sandwich cutting - but it gave us the idea for a circus theme.<br /><br />A circus must be colourful and cheerful, which we tried to achieve with what we had at hand. We have two ham and cheese carousel horse sandwiches*, decorated with cucumber and cheese stars, surrounded by raisins, tomatoes and raspberries in the top tier and toffee popcorn (part of the circus idea), tomatoes, grapes and star-cut cucumber in the bottom. In the lid we put a homemade chocolate oatmeal cookie and a chewable Vitamin C tablet (we have all come down with colds). The plum was for snack.<br /><br />This next week I'm going to try to experiment with some different kinds of food in their lunches. Feebz is a pretty picky eater, so wish me luck!<br /><br /><i>*This cookie cutter was bought for Lolly's first birthday party, which was a carousel/rocking horse theme. Just thought I'd show off a bit and show you the cake I made for it!<br /><br /></i><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj9SH8rxMNfg1rYuLilp6Dzhrc6UyEeTaQ5kjt7qG0HkwGLndWYyJh1axrjR6SK5V82oOcJH34YlIFXApofLTCE4dde0Dg9fkReUorV05D5rsWinbZ0UACfOTUNjYUVmhHLj1TCYVwTgg8/s1600/carousel+cake.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left:1em; margin-right:1em"><img border="0" height="320" width="240" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj9SH8rxMNfg1rYuLilp6Dzhrc6UyEeTaQ5kjt7qG0HkwGLndWYyJh1axrjR6SK5V82oOcJH34YlIFXApofLTCE4dde0Dg9fkReUorV05D5rsWinbZ0UACfOTUNjYUVmhHLj1TCYVwTgg8/s400/carousel+cake.jpg" /></a></div><br />Lori Arnoldhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/05600443590399882818noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3190960137947537715.post-72891560786990336742012-10-09T05:10:00.000-07:002014-10-01T19:22:37.395-07:00Love Makes the Lunch Go 'RoundFor my very girlie daughter, a heart lunch.<br /><br /><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEho9WfFwa0Em8eqU6GQPyrml3W6DMWHqX0-ckqiamNpJ8V63cwwsnnJcmNyryf6ysHagxeSZAuF3QiPumHja7X3J2W5r56it63n5ZqyCQDzzVowmy76DCYLWczCm9IoKvccZBYIc6qyAzs/s1600/DSCF4712.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left:1em; margin-right:1em"><img border="0" height="300" width="400" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEho9WfFwa0Em8eqU6GQPyrml3W6DMWHqX0-ckqiamNpJ8V63cwwsnnJcmNyryf6ysHagxeSZAuF3QiPumHja7X3J2W5r56it63n5ZqyCQDzzVowmy76DCYLWczCm9IoKvccZBYIc6qyAzs/s400/DSCF4712.jpg" /></a></div><br /><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjmeDXExSaOP3PXlheyz0m5Y34i37hYHlRw_mG9w1fc1HnxFkfeIzJeOVj6-ZldM9_4Gq6fo2sdh99gMFVb4kDeG-bHX99qnhhfRerrRLnMDV_joGF3aP7Eii9kiYgD5IFFg3ML_LXbDT0/s1600/DSCF4714.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear:left; float:left;margin-right:1em; margin-bottom:1em"><img border="0" height="150" width="200" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjmeDXExSaOP3PXlheyz0m5Y34i37hYHlRw_mG9w1fc1HnxFkfeIzJeOVj6-ZldM9_4Gq6fo2sdh99gMFVb4kDeG-bHX99qnhhfRerrRLnMDV_joGF3aP7Eii9kiYgD5IFFg3ML_LXbDT0/s200/DSCF4714.jpg" /></a></div>I was running low on resources actually (shopping day and all), so I had to work with what I had. I made tuna mayo sandwiches on store-bought (!) bread cut into heart shapes. The silicone cups contain raspberries and heart shaped cucumber slices. The inner cucumber hearts were placed on top of the sandwiches, along with some tiny cheese hearts (also in the raspberries). To fill in the gaps, I placed some apple slices, the last of my box of Panda biscuits and a mini chocolate cupcake. To finish off the love/heart theme, I wrote 'I love you' in Gaelic on the banana. (I used my food pen, but actually a ball point pen works better.)<br /><br /><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjYgiHKQFZkhePo1IJBo-CfuP5QT0kF9EZsvMDxWTVUKPMOrhQxIXfHoYBRLdNXJwZEaRWZfQF-thDKZTlrC9y8yAVGULlCf8r1FbbkxSZF3Fnk1wJQqVnBFEGlg2XDoIgOIUwWmlaWMuI/s1600/20121009_125444.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear:right; float:right; margin-left:1em; margin-bottom:1em"><img border="0" height="114" width="200" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjYgiHKQFZkhePo1IJBo-CfuP5QT0kF9EZsvMDxWTVUKPMOrhQxIXfHoYBRLdNXJwZEaRWZfQF-thDKZTlrC9y8yAVGULlCf8r1FbbkxSZF3Fnk1wJQqVnBFEGlg2XDoIgOIUwWmlaWMuI/s200/20121009_125444.jpg" /></a></div>As a bonus, I found this in Lidl this morning - a chocolate mould. Lolly and I are going to make chocolate covered stuff this afternoon with it. Raisins, cherries, nuts, any other ideas?Lori Arnoldhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/05600443590399882818noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3190960137947537715.post-63360134849660493772012-10-08T12:22:00.000-07:002014-10-01T19:22:37.404-07:00Traditional With a Capital TYou know you are slightly obsessed with something when it starts showing up in your dreams... All last night, I dreamed about what I was going to put in Feebz's lunch today, and it was so frustrating; the sweet corn kept disappearing out of the bento, and the mayo from the tuna kept leaking onto everything else.<br /><br />Um...<br /><br />So anyway, upon waking from this corny (ha) nightmare, I went through to the kitchen and made just an ordinary, everyday lunch. No disappearing grains, no leaking condiments, just the Traditional Lunch. <br /><br />(I figure if you capitalize the words giving it an official title, it makes it less boring.)<br /><br /><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg8_o29qcuL0JtKshm6-IyCPMNyyURELdO-SLRPVUD5GxoQOkg7RTofls61a13c9hZATUS60-C_qsBEQR0YRewXJ_dNzlcKSg6AvbsVtsXHZ5YUVcqyyuZXOLnmtYHtDPNNNK-7LId6_VQ/s1600/DSCF4709.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left:1em; margin-right:1em"><img border="0" height="300" width="400" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg8_o29qcuL0JtKshm6-IyCPMNyyURELdO-SLRPVUD5GxoQOkg7RTofls61a13c9hZATUS60-C_qsBEQR0YRewXJ_dNzlcKSg6AvbsVtsXHZ5YUVcqyyuZXOLnmtYHtDPNNNK-7LId6_VQ/s400/DSCF4709.jpg" /></a></div><br />Here we have the ham and cheese on homemade white *with* the crusts, a bag of crisps, an orange, a strawberry soya milk, a Pepperami (for snack) and some sliced cucumber.<br /><br />Oh, and a pack of Moshi Monster playing cards. To make up for the <strike>boringness</strike> traditionalness of the rest of the lunch.<br /><br />Not very inspired, I know. But that's because it's a Traditional Lunch With Capital Letters, so it isn't meant to be original.<br /><br />That or I was sick of dreaming about lunch all night.<br /><br />Here's hoping tonight's dreams don't find me naked in public!Lori Arnoldhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/05600443590399882818noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3190960137947537715.post-82044447122336705652012-10-05T15:56:00.000-07:002014-10-01T19:22:37.415-07:00Nothing Says I Love You Like a Bad Joke<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjykbU1kus_N4yXTX2tN6AYqu15-FzCHtG9hlnIsVeENDOhwh94WfPlsKaUOotHsAXn0rfcIsuPzhQhi6SAFlPsQksvXbgPSROaSqZCJKFrJTRulpBTmlxHgra42EY2k1wnrOWnXPzhrvA/s1600/lunch+joke.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear:left; float:left;margin-right:1em; margin-bottom:1em"><img border="0" height="400" width="326" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjykbU1kus_N4yXTX2tN6AYqu15-FzCHtG9hlnIsVeENDOhwh94WfPlsKaUOotHsAXn0rfcIsuPzhQhi6SAFlPsQksvXbgPSROaSqZCJKFrJTRulpBTmlxHgra42EY2k1wnrOWnXPzhrvA/s400/lunch+joke.jpg" /></a></div>Unfortunately, I didn't manage to upload my photos from my camera onto my laptop before heading off for the weekend, so no lunch photos for the weekend. All I've got for you is an idea.<br /><br />I had a friend in school who's mom used to write little notes to her on her lunch napkin. This is a cute idea, and so is including a joke or a photo or good luck on a test. Sometimes, just a little reminder than you're thinking of them is all that's needed to make lunch special.<br /><br /><i>A few days after Halloween, Sally came home with a bad report card. Her mother asked why her grades were so low. Sally answered, "Because everything is marked down after holidays!"<br /><br />Two monsters went to a party. Suddenly one said to the other, “A lady just rolled her eyes at me. What should I do?”<br />“Be a gentleman and roll them back to her.”<br /><br />Q: Why didn't the skeleton go to the party?<br />A: Because he had no body to go with.<br /><br />Q: What do you call someone who puts poison in a person's corn flakes?<br />A: A cereal killer.<br /><br />etc.<br /></I><br /><br />Lori Arnoldhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/05600443590399882818noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3190960137947537715.post-31776516928150233942012-10-03T14:36:00.000-07:002014-10-01T19:22:37.425-07:00Keep It SimpleThis month I'm taking part in the <a href="http://octoberdressproject.blogspot.co.uk/">October Dress Project</a>. I am wearing the same dress everyday for 31 days, for various reasons (the main one being to raise money for charity!). This means that for a month, I have to think a lot about how I'm going to 'chop and change' the look of this dress each day so I'm not showing up at the school run in a plain black dress and nothing else for a month. The moroseness of it might get me a visit from the mental health team called in by concerned teaching staff...<br /><br /><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgySPfRJ5gscTVHa2gy3C3VScDyloWi3yARVumV4cE7M1cDb00JpugCuJCNUHi2ZJIuNOw_Wjr1jASlKUIpEgeoHQ18noRCpNK0BFHluLAG4o9GQyrBeZ8WC43AqxVD-cZHUDF-DJ-oOtY/s1600/1.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear:right; float:right; margin-left:1em; margin-bottom:1em"><img border="0" height="198" width="200" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgySPfRJ5gscTVHa2gy3C3VScDyloWi3yARVumV4cE7M1cDb00JpugCuJCNUHi2ZJIuNOw_Wjr1jASlKUIpEgeoHQ18noRCpNK0BFHluLAG4o9GQyrBeZ8WC43AqxVD-cZHUDF-DJ-oOtY/s200/1.jpg" /></a></div>Okay, that might be a little over dramatic, but the point is, <i>it's taking away from my bento-making time</i>. Dudes. That time I like to spend in the mornings getting all crafty with my Kraft, cheesy with my cheddar - okay, I'm stopping - is getting imposed upon by my need to accessorise my clothes in some uber-creative fashion (pun obviously intended).<br /><br />I've said that October is going to be my month to simplify - simplify my wardrobe, my belongings, my schedule - but it won't be a time to simplify my lunch (or my other craft projects). No, no, now is not the time for that.<br /><br />However, this morning, I learned a bit about simplifying style without sacrificing quality (just like with the dress project! I get it!). Lo and behold:<br /><br /><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgkGUXQq7QZOiocEAMGAt8F4K30sT5Z7YxFFt1ahGlQBiinfv0-_dnmTht1uHoq_RG9dczo3f6jydCWUIu6C5kMmnxLp7ZjSfnEeNtMkBygK4_TzwOc0wktk-_svgD2tNaBTFiR8QdGAA4/s1600/DSCF4696.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left:1em; margin-right:1em"><img border="0" height="255" width="400" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgkGUXQq7QZOiocEAMGAt8F4K30sT5Z7YxFFt1ahGlQBiinfv0-_dnmTht1uHoq_RG9dczo3f6jydCWUIu6C5kMmnxLp7ZjSfnEeNtMkBygK4_TzwOc0wktk-_svgD2tNaBTFiR8QdGAA4/s400/DSCF4696.jpg" /></a></div><br />On the top tier, we have cocktail sausages, a cheese stick, and a slice of brioche roll surrounded by tiny plum tomatoes. On the bottom tier, I had fun stuffing raspberries with blueberries and creating stripes with blueberries and orange slices. The lid contains Mikado sticks and toffee popcorn, and the Wotsits (for snack time) and the strawberry soya milk (a change from juice boxes) slotted into the bag beside the bento just so.<br /><br />When I cleaned out Feebz's lunch bag after school, the bento box was empty, ya'll. Utterly empty. That's gotta be a compliment to the chef.<br /><br /><i>Chef. Ha.</i><br /><br /><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgNU-xrsUpMYHwsoE8SWKmsPkhTfZ_cSOi0HEdyQ49B4a-KjmPeX_nSYrq6_N1wFVb5nRNIDJq8dIb-cxKo04AQwo1iQZLXnyGXN2S0bptzki21aIlMIuNpkzm7cqjeMCpLRmCaWmANUiM/s1600/3.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear:right; float:right; margin-left:1em; margin-bottom:1em"><img border="0" height="200" width="195" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgNU-xrsUpMYHwsoE8SWKmsPkhTfZ_cSOi0HEdyQ49B4a-KjmPeX_nSYrq6_N1wFVb5nRNIDJq8dIb-cxKo04AQwo1iQZLXnyGXN2S0bptzki21aIlMIuNpkzm7cqjeMCpLRmCaWmANUiM/s200/3.jpg" /></a></div>FYI: <br /><a href="http://www.justgiving.com/octoberdressproject-inverclyde">A group of friends and I are participating in the October Dress Project to raise money for Macmillan Cancer Support. All donations to this wonderful cause, very close to all of our hearts, are gladly accepted and appreciated.</a>Lori Arnoldhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/05600443590399882818noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3190960137947537715.post-86184612225015996342012-10-01T06:22:00.000-07:002014-10-01T19:22:37.437-07:00The Supermarket Game<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi8WUTHR50Qzl7ms49FCnobjt5SsTvQgs_fjAFwHO_xt5ZpMgw3t35RhdoYTGlYZPfyn1Pc0DWagwMYk_jnRrcLIzc9aj64u_GvrrXEhtCaEMUhXt5Bf9xdtOzVbkQQq0ffM2y-E5lJ5BE/s1600/scottishplainloaf.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear:right; float:right; margin-left:1em; margin-bottom:1em"><img border="0" height="247" width="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi8WUTHR50Qzl7ms49FCnobjt5SsTvQgs_fjAFwHO_xt5ZpMgw3t35RhdoYTGlYZPfyn1Pc0DWagwMYk_jnRrcLIzc9aj64u_GvrrXEhtCaEMUhXt5Bf9xdtOzVbkQQq0ffM2y-E5lJ5BE/s320/scottishplainloaf.jpg" /></a></div>This post brought to you by... my other blog.<br /><br />A few years ago, I created a shopping game to help me budget and spend less at the grocery store. Today I share this game with you.<br /><b><br />The Supermarket Game (by Lori)</b><br /><i>Pre-Game Preparation:</i><br />*Make a breakfast/lunch/dinner/snack menu for one full week.<br />*Break that menu down into a list of things to buy.<br />*Do not forget to add non-food items such as toilet roll and shampoo that you ordinarily buy with your shopping.<br /><i><br />Game Step 1:</i><br />*Break the list down into the different shops you will get each item in.<br />*Within each shop, next to each item, predict the price. You can get as detailed as you like, though I'm mathematically challenged and prefer to round up or down to the nearest 50p.<br />*Tally up each shop's price list, and this is your budget for that shop.<br />*Beside that number, tally up the number of items. This is for the bonus round.<br /><br /><i>Game Step 2 (Budget Round):</i><br />*Give yourself 1 point for each item that is priced below your prediction or exactly your prediction. You could give yourself 2 points for exact predictions.<br />*Give yourself no points for prices above your prediction.<br />*Deduct 1 point for any extra items you pick up while in the shop.<br />*Neither give nor deduct any points for items not on the list but genuinely needed.<br />*At the end, if your receipt price is under your budget or exacly your budget, you WIN the Budget Round. But if it goes over your budget, you LOSE the Budget Round. BUT...<br />*Tally up your points you accumulated from your predictions. If the number of points is close to your number of items counted for the Bonus Round, you can give yourself an A, B, C, D or F by calculating your score like in school (for example, if you get 20 out of 30, you'd get a 66%, which is a D). So you may not WIN, but you could still get an A or a B.<br /><br /><i>Bonus Round:</i><br />*This is the hardest one to win. Go back to your number of items and if you only bought that number of items or less, you win the Bonus round! Even if your budget went over and you lost the Budget round, you could still win the Bonus round!<br />Lori Arnoldhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/05600443590399882818noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3190960137947537715.post-51406326521625428872012-09-30T14:07:00.000-07:002014-10-01T19:22:37.447-07:00Bento For MummyI used to make a lot of bentos for the children when they were small if we were going to be out all day, and I made them for myself too. Below, is my favourite bento meal, for kids or grown-ups. This one is for me. (I only made it though, because I was attempting a <a href="http://www.lunchisboring.blogspot.co.uk/2012/09/may-fork-be-with-you.html">Darth Vadar avocado</a> and it... well... let's just say it went to the Dark Side. So I had a whole avocado to do something with.)<br /><br />It's ever so simple. Tuna mayo, avocado, cheese and crackers. And for fun, I added some star-shaped cucumber. Add a fork and you have a really simple and filling lunch to take out with you. <br /><br /><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjZB51yIhUBrQBuU4r1Rqy5o7nI7rhyphenhyphenaSIf9vC2KzRKTReYfPPKczsUQcpCAUvxbBFfV3GWDp8-Cw2OK-A_IlLR323fQeqlXvm31SWFplcnp1rGpqEaM_ie4iDOZRxw02cA2sZmpde0Hr4/s1600/DSCF4684.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left:1em; margin-right:1em"><img border="0" height="300" width="400" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjZB51yIhUBrQBuU4r1Rqy5o7nI7rhyphenhyphenaSIf9vC2KzRKTReYfPPKczsUQcpCAUvxbBFfV3GWDp8-Cw2OK-A_IlLR323fQeqlXvm31SWFplcnp1rGpqEaM_ie4iDOZRxw02cA2sZmpde0Hr4/s400/DSCF4684.jpg" /></a></div><br />Lori Arnoldhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/05600443590399882818noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3190960137947537715.post-42036576216465118992012-09-30T14:01:00.000-07:002014-10-01T19:22:37.457-07:00May the Fork Be With YouAs a parent, you're always asking yourself, "Am I doing the right thing? Are my children going to grow up with a sense of right and wrong? Am I teaching them what's important in life?"<br /><br />Then, every now and again, you get one of those break-through moments when you know you are on the right track.<br /><br />Like when your five year old daughter asks to watch <a href="http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0080684/"><i>The Empire Strikes Back</i></a> before bed on a Friday night. It's those kinda things that let you know you've done something right.<br /><br />So in honour of our Star Wars weekend, I baked a loaf of green oat and linseed bread (which, typically, didn't come out as green as I hoped) and made Yoda sandwiches for lunch.<br /><br />Oh by the way, notice how this is Sunday night? Yeah, I actually made lunch the night before! Such a good mum! Except I didn't iron any school uniforms, so there's that.<br /><br /><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiYY11X0r4BFqHLaRWUA1Y3BbHWTrZlxRaeAB7JUnU7pxcFN-pU5UPvlB6kTeW4A1Yw3SJ5Un5r0bWNIke9VBgjX5V2pcYJIDzhTzSJJQDb1J7HPCZwc9VOkm7og2MwJawBqyNCAYyIprc/s1600/DSCF4683.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left:1em; margin-right:1em"><img border="0" height="277" width="400" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiYY11X0r4BFqHLaRWUA1Y3BbHWTrZlxRaeAB7JUnU7pxcFN-pU5UPvlB6kTeW4A1Yw3SJ5Un5r0bWNIke9VBgjX5V2pcYJIDzhTzSJJQDb1J7HPCZwc9VOkm7og2MwJawBqyNCAYyIprc/s400/DSCF4683.jpg" /></a></div><br />Now, I had really high hopes and visions for this lunch, most of which went to the place where dreams go to die. I was going to do a Cinnamon Bun Leia, a Boiled Egg Stormtrooper and this very intricate avocado shell and rice Darth Vader (which died a horrible death in the making, but at least spurred me on to make <a href="http://lunchisboring.blogspot.co.uk/2012/09/bento-for-mummy.html">this lunch</a> too). All that made it, however, was Yoda. Which kinda makes sense, because the Force was with him.<br /><br />What you see above is a Yoda cheese sandwich, with cheese eyes (with pupils that did not work as planned - again, fail - thanks to the <a href="http://www.lunchisboring.blogspot.co.uk/2012/09/omelet-you-see-what-i-got-today.html">edible ink pen</a> which did NOT work), plum cherry tomatoes, Oddbits crackers and cocktail sausages, all on the bottom, and on the top, cucumber stars, Mikado Lightsabers, raisins, chocolate cake (which I also tried to turn into a Darth Vader, but man, it so wasn't happening!) and prunes (yes, my kids love prunes. We call them 'dried plums' and they don't know the difference). For snack, there is the granola bar and of course the apple juice.<br /><br /><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgMK3h_BBV6Gpf_aywpBd9ppeoY8HSOUZ0Qv-RQjGgMdJjsxrbiF1Vr4c8ZlHwWYG9YV_8CU45Ha0xmm2hQtO0J394Lkj8F2qWiPWkNk5WORoCZuVzP_4_n_BWPCjHpKx7oFN6HRWNAozw/s1600/DSCF4144.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="clear:right; float:right; margin-left:1em; margin-bottom:1em"><img border="0" height="134" width="200" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgMK3h_BBV6Gpf_aywpBd9ppeoY8HSOUZ0Qv-RQjGgMdJjsxrbiF1Vr4c8ZlHwWYG9YV_8CU45Ha0xmm2hQtO0J394Lkj8F2qWiPWkNk5WORoCZuVzP_4_n_BWPCjHpKx7oFN6HRWNAozw/s200/DSCF4144.JPG" /></a></div><i>(Have I mentioned my rabbit's name is Chewbacca?)</i><br /><br />This was an incredibly fun lunch to make, and there are so many ideas floating through my head, I can promise you more where this came from. Especially since I ordered <a href="http://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/3D-Star-Wars-Hand-Press-stamp-biscuit-cookie-cutter-set-/330774695594?pt=LH_DefaultDomain_0&hash=item4d03b54eaa">these</a> on ebay about an hour ago.<br /><br />(I have a serious problem with buying crap on ebay. I need support.)<br /><br /><br /><i><small>Q: How is Duct tape like the Force?<br />A: It has a Dark Side, a Light side and it binds the galaxy together.</small></i>Lori Arnoldhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/05600443590399882818noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3190960137947537715.post-44380285973393395342012-09-29T09:45:00.000-07:002014-10-01T19:22:37.467-07:00Omelet You See What I Got TodayAt some ungodly hour of this Saturday morning (about 10am or something, for goodness sake!) the doorbell rang. It was the postman. He was immediately forgiven for interrupting my lie-in, because he came bearing gifts.<br /><br />A letter from the hospital with an appointment I've been waiting on.<br />My tickets to <a href="http://www.enchantedforest.org.uk/">The Enchanted Forest</a> next weekend.<br />The brightly coloured flat terry nappies I ordered online.<br />And these:<br /><br /><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh-wK0RvXbLmVVbpTr8Zx8xgLPM5bzLqPwrFivGqkH0XinwevwRm4RZNJEpOTFEQ5equtZ9cG5BX8z9aQ28GIGzUN0mQLGzZOl_wUxwTsW761M-llPbybB768GrmWavWB7lL_fq78rCe0U/s1600/DSCF4680.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left:1em; margin-right:1em"><img border="0" height="344" width="400" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh-wK0RvXbLmVVbpTr8Zx8xgLPM5bzLqPwrFivGqkH0XinwevwRm4RZNJEpOTFEQ5equtZ9cG5BX8z9aQ28GIGzUN0mQLGzZOl_wUxwTsW761M-llPbybB768GrmWavWB7lL_fq78rCe0U/s400/DSCF4680.jpg" /></a></div><br />An edible ink pen (as in edible-ink pen, not edible ink-pen, naturally) and a set of mini cutters. These cutters are seriously mini; they are even smaller than I expected, which I am delighted about! I foresee many mini cucumber stars, cheese hearts, and ham flowers in the near future. And the hubby can expect some embarrassing written messages on the outside of his boiled eggs in his keto bentos. "u r eggcellent", "u crack me up" and "i shell <3 u 4ever", that sort of yolk. </br>Eggspect more bad puns later but for now I am egghausted and my brain is fried.<br /><br /><br /></br>(On the subject of eggs, how cool is <a href="http://egg-bot.com/">this</a>?)<br /><br /><img src="http://egg-bot.com/uploads/images/plaid_600.jpg"><br />Lori Arnoldhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/05600443590399882818noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3190960137947537715.post-66361688335419062942012-09-28T12:17:00.000-07:002014-10-01T19:22:37.478-07:00They Learn By Example6.30 came too early for me yesterday morning.<br /><br />My alarm went off six times before I actually dragged myself out of bed and fumbled my way around the obstacle course of laundry baskets in my bedroom to the kitchen. There I found Feebz, bright-eyed and bushy-tailed, already eating her self-poured bowl of Rice Krispies with sliced banana. <br /><br />I began the morning routine of unloading and reloading the dishwasher. Feebz asked what she was having for lunch. It reminded me to turn the oven on for her popcorn chicken, which I did. Through my morning haze, I continued my chores and barely noticed what Feebz was up to. <br /><br /><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiCYKCcYI3CRl7DQUYFH30UK0x_892JuqmGXJJwcpow8XRwDZhusB-ioFJotTOvbjjO4kgIJWEq5H4z7L9EY_n8ahh5ajGBwflRs6WbTBd9P6DTc6MPfgW4fuGVT1hBn_t-8Iozc02MyQA/s1600/DSCF4661.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left:1em; margin-right:1em"><img border="0" height="300" width="400" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiCYKCcYI3CRl7DQUYFH30UK0x_892JuqmGXJJwcpow8XRwDZhusB-ioFJotTOvbjjO4kgIJWEq5H4z7L9EY_n8ahh5ajGBwflRs6WbTBd9P6DTc6MPfgW4fuGVT1hBn_t-8Iozc02MyQA/s400/DSCF4661.JPG" /></a></div><br /><i>I like that this shot came out blurry. It's how I saw it too.</i><br /><br />She was making her lunch herself.<br /><br />She had gotten out the grapes, cucumber, string cheese, Wotsits and juice boxes herself. She opened the bag of Wotsits and put some in a tub. She got out the cutting board herself (and I got out the <a href="http://www.pamperedchef.co.uk/ordering/prod_details.tpc?prodId=10810&catId=99&parentCatId=99&outletSubCat=">Pampered Chef child-safe knife</a> for her) and sliced the cucumber and put it in a tub. She put a few grapes in the tub - "The chicken can go in beside the grapes", she informed me. She even got out the ketchup herself and squeezed some of it into a tub. All I did was get out the strawberries for her so she could put some of <i>them</i> in a tub. <br /><br />Wow.<br /><br />Once the popcorn chicken came out of the oven, she put that in with the grapes, and there we had it, her lunch was made. All by herself. <br /><br /><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiaQUAU3_S6C_W1ud6hGKNFxMRBQB6cxRnmQ2nf1bVVjheYV9UPB1ktg1R9Io8mTHc-iCde6zzaSPxWoO_AMm8gCEj484nHIVu6ddQ8xVY7Ocjm5CNDkYWlZ_ZF8-IO6qBjme3KODeM0bc/s1600/DSCF4667.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left:1em; margin-right:1em"><img border="0" height="300" width="400" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiaQUAU3_S6C_W1ud6hGKNFxMRBQB6cxRnmQ2nf1bVVjheYV9UPB1ktg1R9Io8mTHc-iCde6zzaSPxWoO_AMm8gCEj484nHIVu6ddQ8xVY7Ocjm5CNDkYWlZ_ZF8-IO6qBjme3KODeM0bc/s400/DSCF4667.JPG" /></a></div><br /><i>I love that she used tubs for everything.</i><br /><br />Her little sister, not to be shown up, had to make her own "snack lunch", as she calls it. (As in "packed lunch".) She took the rest of the Wotsits (in the bag), some grapes and strawberries,some chicken, a juice, and a string cheese and packed her own bento box.<br /><br /><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi2OkjNbdQPgUCiEbKk-U1tCy6CMNfZ_1vl5_CTFEGdM5ZVa-6pkicKxqvwymeMd1J07SxONH0FbIaCZj1TFHNWSjeyYZNCKyodHNVWm0ihd_uhCTMaRlQcOe8kZGDsk9LoUfAo2ykzpSc/s1600/DSCF4666.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left:1em; margin-right:1em"><img border="0" height="300" width="400" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi2OkjNbdQPgUCiEbKk-U1tCy6CMNfZ_1vl5_CTFEGdM5ZVa-6pkicKxqvwymeMd1J07SxONH0FbIaCZj1TFHNWSjeyYZNCKyodHNVWm0ihd_uhCTMaRlQcOe8kZGDsk9LoUfAo2ykzpSc/s400/DSCF4666.JPG" /></a></div><br />She also chopped a huge chunk of cucumber, but it never made its way into the box.<br /><br /><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgm8LpsBSRyz0aQ1G68Agcr_EZY23ltKL1_a38MYoYCcNJvwhKxDZqa785dHRbIX9vsqMRXyXrJ423gM_d-BwTHMFj7NGO1rBr20Nb8RtiTgwvBhOPNDloQkS4epv86aO_7T-nc1JXse_c/s1600/DSCF4672.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left:1em; margin-right:1em"><img border="0" height="309" width="400" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgm8LpsBSRyz0aQ1G68Agcr_EZY23ltKL1_a38MYoYCcNJvwhKxDZqa785dHRbIX9vsqMRXyXrJ423gM_d-BwTHMFj7NGO1rBr20Nb8RtiTgwvBhOPNDloQkS4epv86aO_7T-nc1JXse_c/s400/DSCF4672.JPG" /></a></div><br />Basically, it was a pretty easy morning for me, and thank goodness. I was not in a lunchbox frame of mind.<br /><br />And thanks to them, I got my dishes done too!<br /><br /><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiHPayqB51s9RHbWpTZ6ekvUDTRl0-aMapZZdzZmMwVLNdl80UyekGKIzk6BecadMZXTGj_mXBox-h9tq5FMdEqnsPrTqsOW-_cv_eKfNANw2mgw6yiJR41BwNK8Ttp8SzfiVoR4xtaZ7k/s1600/DSCF4670.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left:1em; margin-right:1em"><img border="0" height="400" width="300" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiHPayqB51s9RHbWpTZ6ekvUDTRl0-aMapZZdzZmMwVLNdl80UyekGKIzk6BecadMZXTGj_mXBox-h9tq5FMdEqnsPrTqsOW-_cv_eKfNANw2mgw6yiJR41BwNK8Ttp8SzfiVoR4xtaZ7k/s400/DSCF4670.JPG" /></a></div><br /><i>Two proud little girls.</i><br /><br /><br /><br /><br /><br /><br />Lori Arnoldhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/05600443590399882818noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3190960137947537715.post-77070880560696769772012-09-27T13:55:00.000-07:002014-10-01T19:22:37.488-07:00Baby Led Bento<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiFfiiCp-y5gpuNa1H28w7OwLpLCfUlI-_5TRlfn2tbWxH913lcSF3fzh71YrP5TnBAsSFEGdkhwESJZtvF0cM5Pu6FZaUHgxMni-JAk072YM5Dgv8maPO-9J71YXkp0ArkYUN7eGQhbMo/s1600/skull+crossbones+bento.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear:left; float:left;margin-right:1em; margin-bottom:1em"><img border="0" height="200" width="200" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiFfiiCp-y5gpuNa1H28w7OwLpLCfUlI-_5TRlfn2tbWxH913lcSF3fzh71YrP5TnBAsSFEGdkhwESJZtvF0cM5Pu6FZaUHgxMni-JAk072YM5Dgv8maPO-9J71YXkp0ArkYUN7eGQhbMo/s200/skull+crossbones+bento.jpg" /></a></div>Just bought <a href="http://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/Childrens-Lunch-Box-Bento-Box-With-Cutlery-4-Designs-/370552790446?pt=UK_HomeGarden_Kitchen_FoodStorage_GL&var=&hash=item5646aaddae">this</a> for Baby Jaguar. I can't believe he'll be ready to start solids in only three months! Merry Christmas, here's some turkey and dressing for your first foods...<br /><br />By the way, have I mentioned that bentos are Japan's gift to <a href="http://www.babyledweaning.com/">Baby Led Weaning</a>?Lori Arnoldhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/05600443590399882818noreply@blogger.com0