Posts Tagged ‘mandarin orange’
Hummus wrap and Halloween fun
Posted on: October 24, 2012
- In: allergy friendly | Autumn | bento | casein free | dairy free | eating local | eco-friendly | egg free | engine 2 diet | food blog | Foods | Halloween | Holidays | kids | leaf | lunchbox | meatless | no waste lunch | obento | organic | plant based | plant strong | snacks | soy free | toddler food | toddler lunch | Vegan | Vegetarian | whole food | yum
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It’s finally cooling off here at night in Florida. And by cooling off, I mean that it drops below 70 at night. I grew up in the Midwest in Minnesota so I do have weeks where I really miss the cool weather, crunching of leaves under foot and the smell of fall in the air. Hope you’re enjoying the fleeting cool weather and changing leaves wherever you are today.
Miss G, my 4 year old, has a Halloween lunch again today. She wanted a plain hummus wrap but I snuck in some julienned cucumber strips in the middle. I have these neat silicone bands that keep the wraps from coming unraveled while she’s eating. I wouldn’t recommend these for any kids under 4 ,but she manages them well. Another trick is to put the wrap in the freezer or fridge for about an hour before sending it off. It will stay put longer this way. In the main compartment with the wrap is a seckel pear, a couple of grape tomatoes and a date coconut ball on a skeleton pick. At the top left are pumpkin shaped mango pieces with a spider ring and poison bottle pick. At the top right of her Easy LunchBoxes container are some tiny golden grapes with a jack-o-lantern face of Stretch Island fruit leather on top of the silicone pumpkin cup.
For her snack today, Miss G, the 4 year old, had sliced strawberries and below is a mixture of dried cranberries, pistachios, caramel apple coated almonds and cashews.
One of my favorite things to draw on and create food art with this time of year are the mandarin oranges and clementines. They’re perfect for little fingers and fun! I just grab a Sharpie marker (they’re non-toxic) and color away. You can also just put stickers on them if you’re not inclined to draw. This one is in honor or my new bento friend Erin over at Feeling A Little Lunchy. She’s just a tad moustache obsessed, and who doesn’t love a cute handlebar moustache? Bonjour! and Happy Halloween to you too!
Little Miss Picky Eater, the 2 year old, has a LunchBots Quad full of Halloween fun today. This is the perfect bento box for wee ones, in my opinion. Just enough space for variety, keeps foods separate and hopefully less food wasted. From the top left are a clementine peeled, jack-o-lantern sandwiches with pumpkin butter, sliced strawberries, and golden grapes with a pumpkin shaped mango on top.
Things I used to make this lunch:
- In: bento | casein free | Foods | kids | plant based | raw food | Spring | Summer | Vegan | Vegitarian
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My girls are learning about Florida today. Miss G was asked to dress like a tourist at preschool to celebrate things about our state. Since I recently did two lunches showing where the state is, I decided to make things that they like & see often. The mockingbird is our state bird. We feed the birds at our house, and a mockingbird sits atop the large oak tree in our front yard and sings most days. It imitates the songs of many other birds so it’s pretty to listen to. They are also fierce protectors of their nests so if we (or the dogs) get too close, they will swoop down & chirp at us to give us a warning.
The mockingbird is made from Rudi’s Whole Grain bread. And the wings and tail feathers are the heel of the loaf. Its eye and beak are made from fruit leather. His leg & tree branches are made from pretzel sticks and the leaves are unsalted pumpkin seeds stuck on with almond butter. Next to the bird is a mandarin orange peeled at one end to make a sun since Florida is the Sunshine State. At the top left in an orange cup (the orange blossom is our state flower) is a cornbread muffin and at the top right are locally grown blueberries from King Family Farm and Market and organic raspberries with an umbrella pick. Her lunch is packed in an Easy Lunch Box.
And Miss A gets a flamingo today. Flamingo “stuff” is sold in every tourist shop in our state. When I first visited Florida over 20 years ago, I was shocked to not see one flamingo. They aren’t native here, but we see plenty of them at our local attractions. If you’re visiting here, Sarasota Jungle Gardens is a fun place to visit in Sarasota. They have many flamingos that walk around the grounds, and the kids can hand-feed them. They are also at the Tampa Lowry Park Zoo where we spend a lot of time. So even if they’re not native, we do get to see them often. It is a rare thing if we see them anywhere in the wild, and in fact they are mostly in the Florida Keys and Miami area. Other than that you won’t really see them here if you’re here for vacation.
Miss A’s flamingo was made of the same Rudi’s Whole Grain bread. I stuck some pink sprinkles on with agave nectar. The state tree of Florida is the sabal palm (also known as the cabbage palm) so her palm tree trunk is made from dates and coconut flakes, and the palm fronds are honeydew melon. At the top left are orange blossom cups with blueberries and raspberries, and at the top right is a mini cornbread muffin with a flamingo pick packed in her Easy Lunch Box.
Submarine and an octopus
Posted on: May 16, 2012
- In: bento | casein free | Foods | kids | plant based | raw food | salad | Summer | Vegan | Vegitarian
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School’s almost over for us. It’s hard to believe since the days drag, but the weeks fly. This week is a continuation of Under The Sea theme. Miss G requested a submarine. I have to admit it would be one of the last things I ever would have come up with. It was so creative that I agreed.
She has a Justin’s Almond Butter and jam on Rudi’s Whole Grain bread. I used a rolling pin to flatten the bread before hand cutting the submarine. It has fruit leather portholes. She has a date whale with coconut flakes on top next to the boat. At the top left are mango slices with a blowfish pick and at the top right are watermelon slices with a small sea turtle pick.
I didn’t feel like making 2 subs so Miss A got an octopus today. Hers was cut from a biscuit cutter and then I used the biscuit cutter to cut “legs” out of the remaining bread. His hat is a date roll with coconut flakes shaped into a hat. The eyes are candy eyes stuck on with almond butter and so is the fruit leather mouth. At the top left is a mandarin orange with a dolphin pick, at top right are watermelon pieces with an octopus baran (food separator), and in the yellow oval are mango pieces with an octopus pick.
My husband has a salad & sides to go with his lunch today. His salad is organic romaine lettuce,with a locally grown, sliced tomato courtesy of my generous neighbor (Thank you!), unsalted, raw walnuts, mini carrots and cauliflower. At the top left are dried apricots and a date roll with coconut flakes and at the top right are watermelon slices. All 3 lunches today are packed in Easy Lunch Boxes.
bentoriffic 