Posts Tagged ‘cantaloupe’
Gluten Free Pasta bentos
Posted on: January 31, 2013
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My favorite pasta place in town, Peperonata Pasta in Sarasota, FL has started making gluten free, egg free, soy based pasta, and we love the fun shapes! I buy it at the Saturday Farmer’s Market fresh. These creste shapes are made to look like a rooster’s comb, and my kids love them!
I cooked the pasta and then stirred in some seasoned black beans, steamed broccoli and topped with black olives. Included are honeydew melon and cantaloupe balls and a silicone cup of red grape tomatoes in my 4 year old’s Easy LunchBoxes container.
A simple fruity snack box went off with Miss G today too. In her LunchBots Uno, she has watermelon, strawberries, pineapple and kiwi slices.
Little Miss just turned 3 has a smaller version of the same gluten free pasta with black beans and broccoli with black olives and a rainbow of fresh fruit in her LunchBots Duo with sliced kiwi, pineapple and watermelon pieces. Both girls have ice water daily with their lunches.
Just read a great quote that I loved so I’m sharing it below. Happy Thursday!
PLEASE CLICK BELOW TO VOTE FOR ME ONCE A DAY FROM EACH IP ADDRESS! CONTEST GOES UNTIL FEBRUARY 7TH! THANK YOU!
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Who doesn’t love ice cream? I do…until it makes me sick, or…well, now I just eat coconut milk ice cream sparingly. I thought it would be fun to make colorful ice cream scoops for lunch and pretend like we’re having it as a special treat.
Miss A (3 years old) has an Easy LunchBoxes container with tiny ice cream cone sandwiches on Rudi’s brand Cracked Wheat bread. I used a small pastry plunger cutter to make them. I do press the bread a bit before cutting, cut the shape and then press the plunger VERY firmly to get the fancy imprints in the bread. Then fill them as desired. Above the sandwiches in the pink cup is jasmine rice with balsamic glazed chickpeas. Next to that are some orange “scoops” of cantaloupe and some dried apricots. In the top left compartment are honeydew melon balls and in the top right are more “scoops” of watermelon.
Miss G has been asking some days to help make her lunches. Sometimes it’s in the mad rush of the morning, but she loves to cook and help so I try to accommodate whenever I can since I know she’s more likely to eat it if she makes it. She chose flowers for the above lunch in her Easy LunchBoxes container. She wanted chocolate almond butter, but we settled on regular almond butter and blackberry jam on Rudi’s Cracked Wheat bread. She also wanted to poke holes in them so she chose a tiny clover shaped cutter for the middle. Above the sandwiches are flower cups of dried cranberries and cashews. In the top left are grape tomatoes which she eats by the container and in the top right is an apple shaped apple which I made for her. I soaked it in the juice of half and orange for about 10 minutes before packing to prevent browning.
For snack time today, Miss G packed herself some sliced cucumbers, flower cut watermelon shapes, an apple cinnamon flower muffin and raspberries in lettuce silicone cups packed in her LunchBots Uno.
Please click on each photo to see where I purchased the tools I used to make this lunch:
Elves and trees
Posted on: December 12, 2012
- In: allergy friendly | bento | casein free | Christmas | dairy free | eating local | eco-friendly | egg free | engine 2 diet | Foods | Holidays | kids | lunchbox | meatless | no waste lunch | obento | organic | plant based | plant strong | raw food | school lunch | snacks | soy free | toddler food | toddler lunch | Vegan | Vegetarian | whole food | winter | yum
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My 4 year old has elves watching her for lunch. These look more like Keebler elves than Christmas elves to me, but she doesn’t know. They are sitting on a crust of their Rudi’s Whole Grain bread. At the top left are small carrot Christmas tree sandwiches filled with Justin’s almond butter and in the top right compartment are watermelon trees cut with a tree shaped pastry plunger that I found in a set at Target and packed in her Easy Lunchboxes container.
Miss G’s snack today was a container of Sabra hummus with dried sour cherries in the bottom, Newman’s Own pretzel sticks and cashews in the bottom. In the top tier are dried apricots stuffed with carrot trees and surrounded by raisins. On the right side are cantaloupe trees.
Little Miss 2 year old is back to school today with a LunchBots Quad. From the top left are watermelon Christmas trees, raisins, cashews and carrot trees, cantaloupe holiday trees and 2 mini Santa sandwiches on Rudi’s Whole Grain bread.
Things I used to make this lunch:
Let it snow!
Posted on: December 5, 2012
- In: allergy friendly | Autumn | bento | casein free | Christmas | dairy free | eating local | eco-friendly | egg free | engine 2 diet | food blog | Foods | Holidays | kids | lunchbox | meatless | no waste lunch | obento | organic | plant based | plant strong | school lunch | snacks | soy free | toddler food | toddler lunch | Vegan | Vegetarian | whole food | winter | yum
- 7 Comments
My girls have never seen it snow, but they think it’s magical stuff and love the idea of playing in the snow. I decided to make them snowflake lunches to make it feel like winter at lunch. It’s still in the 80s here so it’s as close as it will get! The snowflake sandwiches are almond butter on Rudi’s Organic brand whole grain bread. I used a tiny star cutter on the top and filled the small star with Christmas colored sprinkles. One either side are honeydew melon and cantaloupe stars. In the top left compartment are dried cranberries with a Crimson Gold organic apple in the middle. In the top right compartment are pineapple chunks with a watermelon snowflake on top packed in her Easy Lunchboxes container.
Both kids had the same snack today. They had Osem Bisli onion ring snacks which I found in the Hanukkah end cap at my local Target store. The kids loved them. Also included were little apple cinnamon Christmas tree muffins. The bento boxes are a set of Paperchase stacking boxes that Target is carrying right now.
Miss G has a similar lunch, but she loves tomatoes. She has the same snowflake sandwiches on Rudi’s Organic whole grain bread with mini tomatoes, cantaloupe and honeydew pieces. In the top compartments, she also has dried cranberries, a Crimson Gold apple, pineapple pieces and a cantaloupe snowflake packed in her Easy Lunchboxes container.
- In: allergy friendly | Autumn | bento | casein free | Christmas | dairy free | eco-friendly | egg free | engine 2 diet | food blog | Holidays | kids | lunchbox | meatless | no waste lunch | obento | organic | plant based | plant strong | school lunch | snacks | soy free | toddler food | toddler lunch | Vegan | Vegetarian | whole food | winter
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I don’t know about everyone else, but I’m definitely in the middle of the holiday scramble of trying to pull it all together. This time of year although festive can cause a bit of stress too. Hoping that everyone is finding some joy in all the details.
My four year old has a raspberry colored Goodbyn Bynto today packed with a CuteZCute pig. I love this sandwich cutter kit for its ease of use and a TON of options. There will be a few in packages for friends and family this year from me! I used Rudi’s Whole Grain bread, Justin’s brand maple almond butter & jam. I also added some shiny sprinkles behind the eyes & snout for color. Dried apricots and a Crimson Gold organic apple surround the sandwich. In the middle compartment are mini carrots, pineapple pieces and cantaloupe chunks. And in the top are raspberries and a silicone pig cup of whole cashews on top.
Close up of the CuteZCute pig.
For her snack today, Miss G has a LunchBots Duo packed with tomatoes, crackers and a seckel pear in the left compartment. On the right is an apple cinnamon Christmas tree muffin, an Apple Pie Larabar and dried cranberries.
Little sis has a spaceship lunch in her LunchBots Quad. From the top left are dried apricots, a Crimson Gold organic apple and a Stretch Island fruit leather crescent moon, rocket shaped cantaloupe pieces, raspberries and mini carrots and small space ship sandwiches on Rudi’s whole grain bread.
Things I used to make this lunch:
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- 67 Comments
I promised to do a giveaway when I got to 1000 likes on Facebook. I didn’t forget! This Thanksgiving, I’m grateful for many things, family, friends, a wonderful house and neighborhood, my group of bento bloggers who have been so supportive, and I’m also grateful for you. Yes, YOU! I started this blog as a way of helping a handful of friends with creative ideas, and now there are almost 1100 people on Facebook alone that follow bentoriffic, over 600 on twitter (bentoriffic) , over 600 on Instagram (bentoriffic), over 500 on Pinterest and the list goes on. I really am grateful that you care, comment, read and offer suggestions. I’ve gone from carnivore to vegan, inspired and creative to some days just throwing it together like we moms do some days. I appreciate you sticking with me through it all. THANK YOU!!!
These are the only turkeys my kids are eating this year. I used pie crust cutters I had from last year as sandwich cutters.
My 4 year old’s lunch is a flock of turkeys on Rudi’s Whole Grain bread stuffed with almond butter. Above the turkeys are a sliced kiwi and cashews. In the top compartments are pineapple, honeydew and cantaloupe pieces packed in her Easy LunchBoxes container.
My 2 year old from the top left has raspberries, 2 of the same turkey shaped sandwiches on almond butter, maple leaf shaped watermelon pieces and dried cherries, Marcona almonds with maple leaf dried apricots on top packed in her LunchBots Quad.
DETAILS OF THE LOOT!
I decided on 2 separate prizes for the giveaway.
The first person will win the following:
1 complete set of Easy Lunchboxes
1 CuteZCute cutter kit
2 sets of cookie cutter shapes and 3 sets of bento picks
The first drawing is open to residents of North America only.
The second prize will be a $35 credit to spend at Bento USA by All Things For Sale and is open to readers worldwide.
All you have to do to enter to win is leave me a comment telling me what you are grateful for this year and in which country you live. Please make sure you leave me a way to contact you, please!
Both winners will be chosen when the contest ends on Wednesday, November 28th at 11:59pm by random.org. You will have 72 hours to respond or a new winner will be chosen.
Polenta heart bento lunches
Posted on: November 15, 2012
- In: allergy friendly | Autumn | bento | casein free | dairy free | eating local | eco-friendly | egg free | engine 2 diet | food blog | Foods | gluten free | Halloween | Holidays | kids | leaf | lunchbox | meatless | no waste lunch | obento | organic | plant based | school lunch | snacks | soy free | toddler food | toddler lunch | Vegan | Vegetarian | whole food | winter | yum
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The Quinoa Corporation makes packages of premade polenta. They’re perfect for a last minute dinner or snack. The polenta they make is USDA certified organic, kosher, gluten free and fat free with no funky additives. It comes in all different types, plain, flavored with garlic.
They also make yummy pastas with corn and quinoa and fun shapes for kids. For today’s lunches I used their blend of corn and quinoa for added protein. I like to cut shapes for the kids out of 1/2″ slices. I also cook the leftover scraps for me to eat. I either bake or grill the polenta on the stove top. It’s pre-cooked so there’s no worry about it not being cooked long. I cook it long enough for it to be firm and picked up by little fingers without falling apart. Below are quinoa polenta hearts baked in a skillet on the stovetop over medium heat for about 10 minutes on each side. In her mini dippers container is barbeque sauce for dipping. next to the polenta hearts are a cup of raspberries and a pick of yellow grape tomatoes. At the top left are heart shaped watermelon pieces and at the top right are cantaloupe hearts packed in her Easy LunchBoxes container.
For her snack today, Miss G has a LunchBots Uno with a sweet potato pumpkin shaped muffin at the top left, 2 Crimson Gold mini apples, slices of local Florida oranges with a lion pick and snow peas.
Miss A has mini leaves in her LunchBots Quad. From the top left are watermelon leaves, cantaloupe leaves, quinoa polenta leaves and a peeled clementine surrounded by dried apricots.
Things I used to make this lunch:
Lunch for a princess
Posted on: November 13, 2012
- In: allergy friendly | Autumn | bento | birthday | casein free | dairy free | eating local | eco-friendly | egg free | engine 2 diet | food blog | Foods | kids | lunchbox | meatless | no waste lunch | obento | organic | plant based | plant strong | school lunch | snacks | soy free | toddler food | toddler lunch | Vegan | Vegetarian | whole food | yum
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Mom’s had her hands in the Play Doh collection again. I found a mini Cinderella crown cutter in the Play Doh stash so I’ve scoured it off and I’m using it for lunches now. Miss G has a princess sandwich today cut with a LunchPunch sandwich cutter. She has yellow and red grape tomatoes surrounding the sandwich. At the top left are crown shaped cantaloupe pieces with a princess wand pick and at the top right are kiwi slices with a tiara on top packed in her Easy LunchBoxes container.
For her snack today, my 4 year old has a Happy Tiffin stainless bento filled with sliced mangos, a peeled clementine, 2 Crimson Gold tiny apples and whole cashews.
My 2 year old had leftovers from last night. She had plums, carambola (star fruit) spaghetti squash with marinara sauce topped with dairy free parmesan and pineapple chunks packed in her LunchBots Quad stainless lunch container.
Happy lunch packing!
Things I used to make this lunch:
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- 6 Comments
It’s almost trick or treat time. I wish I could say that I’m ready, but I’m not. My kids’ costumes were ordered and still haven’t arrived. I am throwing a party in my front yard this year with my neighbor so we can feed the kids healthy food, play games and wear them out a bit before trick or treating. We did the same last year, and they were pretty full from healthy food before all the candy so it was a success! We made almond butter and jam sandwiches, fresh fruit, vegetable sticks with dip, hummus and pretzels and ice water. Any fun ideas that you all are planning? I’d love to hear your ideas!
My 2 year old has a jack o lantern sandwich made from the heel of the bread loaf and filled with pumpkin butter spread. She also has black olives, cantaloupe pumpkins, dried apricot pumpkins and at the top left is a nut and seed mixture with dried cranberries complete with zombie hand and tombstone. At the top right is a peeled clementine packed in her Easy LunchBoxes container.
Little Miss G (4) has a similar lunch today. She has the same jack-o-lantern sandwich, a jack-o-lantern clementine, pumpkin shaped dried apricots and trail mix of nuts and berries in her Easy Lunchboxes Mini dipper container. At the top left is a seckel pear and at the top right are pumpkin shaped cantaloupe pieces packed in her Easy LunchBoxes container.
And for a snack I packed a Happy Tiffin stainless bento with raspberries, a clementine ghost and the round container full of cashews.
Happy weekend, everyone!
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Welcome to Monday. I’m off to a slow start today trying to tackle a big to-do list, and I’m late posting lunches! Hope everyone enjoyed their weekend. Miss G was the only one in school last Friday so I’m posting her Friday lunch.
She had Soy Boy ravioli at the top left. I sent vegan parmesan “cheese” not shown for her to sprinkle on her pasta. At the top right are cantaloupe pieces with a jack-o-lantern pick in them. And in the bottom container are sliced strawberries and grape tomatoes.
For her snacks Friday, she had black seedless grapes at the top and a develish clementine with horns. At the bottom is a half of a grim reaper green apple surrounded by cashews, walnuts and raisins.
Stay tuned for a big Halloween/Fall themed blog hop on Wednesday to get some awesomely fun food ideas!
bentoriffic 
