Spiderman giveaway winner!

Through high-tech hat application software, a winner has been determined...

























...Amy! Congratulations!!
I'll be contacting you shortly for your shipping info.

Here's what Amy said she'd pack for lunch:
"We are part of a homeschool co-op so my don't need a packed lunch every day but at least once a week they do need one. At least half the time the kids want pb&j. It's easy for me at least. I just got my copy of Vegan Lunchbox Around the World so I might make something from there if I'm feeling adventurous next week before our first co-op day."

Have fun packing lunch for one of your beautiful six kiddos!

Last Day!

If you want a chance to win a new Spiderman lunch set, today is the last day to enter my giveaway! I'll be closing the contest at 6pm and letting Nate will choose a winner from a hat. I'll post the winning entry tomorrow morning!

I'm now on the last days of summer vacation countdown before school starts here. 6 days for Ryan. 7 days for AJ. 19 days for Nate. (And about 384 for Maia! LOL)

It's always fun to get a little something new to surprise your child(ren) during the fall. So I ordered a few new bento items to excite the kiddos:Spongebob nestable containers were a great deal for us. The yellow 450ml size will work well for Ryan, who became hooked on Spongebob while we were in Florida this spring. He can use the blue 280ml size if he is bringing a Thermos of soup, ravioli, or ma po tofu. The orange 180ml size will be great for Nate's preschool snack, plus he loves the color orange. And the pink 100ml size is perfect for little Maia to carry a snack in.While Ryan will probably choose to use his lunchbox, I couldn't resist the set that included the Spongebob lunch bag. Then I chose some new food picks: letters (I probably should have ordered 2 sets to spell Maia's name and certain words, but they were a bit steep for plastic toothpicks), chicks & ducks, pandas, ocean animals (including a starfish, a la Patrick from Spongebob).
Should keep lunch prep and consumption lots o' fun!

But what if you're on a really tight budget? Or maybe you don't want your lunch decorated with colorful kawaii characters? Or maybe you like to pack larger lunches like salads that have a lot of air space? Then you can still create a beautiful lunch bento-style in a simple reusable plastic leftover container like the kind you find at the supermarket. Look for a variety in the plastic wrap, foil, waxed paper aisle, or in the cooking supplies aisle if there is one. Also check the $1 bins and lunchbox areas of stores like Target for good deals. Sometimes party stores, bed & bath stores, or Wal-Mart type mega-stores will also carry cheap lunch items. Craft stores and educational toy stores usually stock a few bento style items, often from Sanrio. And if you have a local asian market, check it out, you might be surprised.

Spiderman lunchset giveaway!

It's been quite a while since I've had a giveaway, so to help you get ready for the school year, here is a Spiderman lunch set! Finding girl themed bentos is easy, but if your boys don't like cars or bears you're often out of luck.


Here's the prize: a sandwich keeper, sparkly stickers, paper muffin cups, fork & spoon. The sandwich keeper did not come with outer packaging, and the fork & spoon were part of a multi-pack but have never been used.

- The plastic sandwich keeper fits a traditional sandwich perfectly, or it can be used as a bento to arrange foods neatly inside. The lid is not leak-proof, but it stays on well. If you want the image on the top to stay looking new, handwash.
- Stickers are a fun treat for kids. They can also be used to decorate a lunch note, or used with a toothpick to create a unique bento or cupcake decoration.
- Muffin or cupcake cups are handy to separate food items in a bento. Use paper ones to hold dry foods like nuts, dried fruit, grapes, mini pitas or shaped sandwiches, cookies or crackers, etc.
- A small fork & spoon set are easy to fit inside a lunchbox or furoshiki. Handwash or place in a small items basket in the top rack of a dishwasher if you must.

So here's the hoop...Answer one of the following questions in comments to be entered to win! That's it! (You will be required to provide a name & address for shipping purposes if you win.)

Question: What will you likely pack for your child's first lunch this school year?
(If you don't have kids in school, homeschool, if this is for an adult, for a gift, or if you just don't like the first question: What is your favourite sandwich?)

I will pick a winner on Thursday, Aug. 27th by random-boy-hat-#-generator, hahaha.

Spiderman & Bionicles

For April Fool's Day, Ryan wanted to have the same things his friends have whom he always says have "boring" lunches or "always throw their food away" or "just has junk". LOL. I was lucky enough to get this Spiderman sandwich box recently from someone who lives near a dollar store (amazingly the strip-mall-topia here doesn't have one). I have an extra one too for future blog candy in the next few months, so stay tuned!
Ryan's lunch: strawberry gel cup; chicken-free nuggets w/ketchup for dipping; 2 layers of pbj sandwich; steamed broccoli (I admit it, I just couldn't give my child a meal with no vegetables!).

AJ's snack: chicken-free
nuggets w/ketchup;
onion & flax pita chips;
steamed broccoli.




I definitely have boys.
Despite keeping my comic
books in the basement and
forbidding anything but
Pokemon on Cartoon Network,
Ryan still loves superheroes.
It's rubbing off on AJ as well.
They are obsessed with
building Lego Bionicles, always
saving their allowances for the
newest robotic creatures.

Ryan's top bunk is totally
decked out in Bionicles
scaling the footboard and
swinging from the light.

And AJ sleeps with them
in the bunk below, along-
side his Littlest Pet Shop
poster.

Of course Ryan still sleeps with his "Giraffey" too that he's had since he was 2 months old. Aww.

Chickpeas & Tomatoes

Tomatoes are my
absolute favourite
food, and they go
great with chickpeas
(garbanzo beans). So
without further ado,
my tomato salad
recipe:

Heirloom Tomato Salad

3-5 heirloom tomatoes
1 cup grapes, halved
1/2 cup peas, fresh is preferred, frozen okay
1 T. lemon juice
1 T. snipped chives

Cut tomatoes into bite-sized pieces.
Add grapes.
Add shelled peas. (If using frozen peas, rinse with warm water to thaw.)
Add lemon juice & chives. Toss gently & serve.

Tuesday:

Every lunch of Ryan's this week contained chickpeas. They are a healthy, tasty protein source plus many vitamins & minerals. I use chickpeas in lots of meals: bean salads, chili, chickpea curry, and many permutations of hummus.

Ryan's lunch: hummus & cucumber sandwich squares; carrot sticks; blanched spinach; yellow watermelon; onigiri "dice".

Meanwhile at home,
AJ & Nate had: udon
noodles; baked flax
tempeh; steamed
broccoli; yellow
watermelon.















At the farm in the afternoon, the boys had a great time playing in the Children's Garden while we picked up our share. The bean teepee is really high this year!

CSA farm share: 4 lbs heirloom tomatoes, 1 1/2 quarts cherry & Juliet tomatoes, 1 bunch fennel, 3 leeks, 1/2 peck apples, small bag of plums, 1 head lettuce, 1/3 lb arugula, bell peppers, pattypan squash, eggplant, 1/2 pint golden raspberries, 1 melon, 2 lbs potatoes. Not shown: 2 dozen stems of kale/collards/chard, herbs, flowers.

Wednesday:

Ryan's lunch: red gel cup; onigiri "web"; pasta salad; purple grapes; green beans w/soy cheese cubes and a tomato "Spiderman".

Husband's lunch: apple; cucumber slices; lettuce; chickpea croquette; bell pepper slices; cherry tomatoes; pasta salad.

Thursday:

Ryan's lunch: a cherry (pre-pitted); golden raspberries; green grapes; chickpea croquette; cucumber flowers; english muffin with "Pikachu" tofu omelette.

Husband's lunch:
hummus, lettuce &
tomato sandwich;
cherry tomatoes;
grapes; pasta
salad.






Friday:

Today is National Cheese Pizza Day (yes, I keep track of all those obscure holidays for bento theming purposes--check out various holiday websites like this one). I make an exception for hydrogenated oils on rare occasions, like birthday pizza parties, and day's like today, by keeping a Tofutti Pizza Pizzaz in the freezer; it is the best imitation cheese pizza that exists in my opinion.

Ryan's lunch: broccoli; cauliflower; baby corn; roasted chick peas; an orange slice; a Lake Champlain dark chocolate with almonds; Tofutti Pizza Pizzaz.

Ryan requested that I
include a napkin to
wipe his hands "in
case they get chocolate
on them". So I put an
oshibori (wet towel) in
his lunchbox today.