Wednesday, September 9, 2009

Bento Crazy! Healthy and Easy School Snacks and Lunches

2 Tier Bento Box

Last year when Corinne was in Kindergarten I used this adroable Bento Sidecar for her daily snack.

Often people think you can't fit much in there , but I was able to pack most kinds of snacks with plenty of room. Some boxes are two tier, like this one. One is a little taller than the other, and they fit together or can be used seperately.

Using these containers saved us from a lot of 'disposable' waste. One day while visiting the class at snack time I saw the amount of garbage that was produced by the children's snacks. Juice boxes, returnable plastic bottles, lot's of individual chips packets, etc!

Inside I use silicone muffin cups. I cut the height down to fit the height of the bento. You can get silicone muffin cups at Michael's, Target, specialty cooking stores and I even got a few packs at the Target Dollar Spot last year! I fit three cups in each box. I filled the three cups with all kind of things for a healthy snack.

Some things that I serve are:

Grape Tomatoes
Black Olives
Green peppers cut up
Mayo Cup of Blue Cheese Dressing for dipping
Turkey Pepperoni
Roast Beef (cold cuts) Rolled up
Mini Hot Dogs w/ small party size potato rolls*
(Hillshire Farm or Nathan's Mini Little Smokies or Hot Dogs)
Balogna cut into small circles
Orange Slices
Kiwi Slices
Strawberries
Blueberries
Rasins
Any kind of small cookie or cracker,
(I like Paul Newman's Chocolate Chip cookies)
Chocolate Kisses

*Corinne's Snack time is late in the day and the snack bags were not refrigerated.
She likes her dairy products very cold, like yogurt or cheese, so I serve snacks like that as after school snacks. Also the school had a no peanut rule so I did not use any nut products.

But there are so many things you can pack in a Bento. It's a great way to encourage kids to have the coolest (aka healthiest and most 'green') snack in the class!

Here are some cute Bentos and some good Bento Food Idea sites/blogs to get you going!

Bento Crazy Shop & Bento Crazy Blog
http://bentocrazy.ecrater.com
http://bentocrazy.com (blog)

What's for Lunch at our House

http://bentolunch.blogspot.com

Monday, September 7, 2009

Tomato Basil Salad

2 tsp olive oil
1 Tbsp red wine vinegar
1/4 tsp sugar
¼ tsp each salt and pepper
2 Tbsp chopped fresh basil leaves
4 to 8 fresh basil leaves for garnish
2/3 cup grape tomatoes
2 to 3 medium red ripe tomatoes

Wash fresh ingredients. Whisk together oil, vinegar, sugar, salt and freshly ground black pepper. Stir in 2 Tbsp chopped basil. Roughly chop grape tomatoes and add to vinaigrette. Toss to coat well. Slice medium tomatoes. In a shallow dish, arrange tomato slices in slightly overlapping circles. When ready to serve, spoon chopped tomato vinaigrette over sliced tomatoes. Sprinkle with basil leaves.

Download this Recipe Card & and blank at Box.net

These cards were made with digital graphics courtesy of
Bernadette Hunt, Scrapdragon Designs @ e-scapeandscrap

Ancient Wonders Page Kit
5 a Day Element Pack (Designer Resource)
5 a Day Element Pack - Free Sampler

Saturday, September 5, 2009

Kids Eat FREE at Your Local Ikea - September 5th - 7th

Kids Eat FREE at Your Local Ikea - September 5th - 7th! - Free Product Samples

Choose any three kid-sized items to create a meal, including 5 meatballs, mac and cheese, PBJ sandwich, kids' yogurt, 2 cookies, chocolate milk and more! No adult purchase necessary. Kids under 12 only. Value of $2.49. Participation varies. Offer valid through Saturday September 5 - Monday September 7, 2009.

Blogged with the Flock Browser

The White House Garden (VIDEO)

The White House Garden: Michelle Obama Is The First Lady Of Food Policy (VIDEO)

The video is not just fun fluff with nice shots of vegetables. In it, Michelle Obama makes historic statements about the importance of food, healthy eating, family meals, instilling children with lessons about food choices, and even more boldly, chan...ging the way America eats.

AND, you don't have to grow a garden to eat better!

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Friday, September 4, 2009

Sandy’s Recipe Booklet Kit Printable

Sandy’s Recipe Booklet Kit

This recipe booklet kit is the kit to make and preserve your recipes. Each kit is complete to make a handy 4 1/4 x 5 ½ (aprox. size) booklet with matching notes, kitchen plaque, shopping lists and a laminated recipe card holder/gift tote bag. Also makes a perfect gift for any occasion. Gorgeous images in this kit are from Gina Jane Johnson’s Paper Vignettes II.

larger image

Blogged with the Flock Browser

Monday, August 10, 2009

Summer Vegetables: Tomatoes

Tomatoes are delicious summer vegetables that also have excellent health benefits. The red color in tomatoes is more than just bright; it indicates that tomatoes are rich in antioxidants that may give your body the extra edge you need for better health and even better aging.

Tomatoes are a good source of vitamin C, vitamin A, fiber, and potassium – all for only 30 calories in a medium tomato!

Easy ways to add tomatoes into your diet:

# Add chopped tomatoes to scrambled eggs or omelettes
# Add chopped tomatoes to pasta sauce
# Top grilled chicken or fish with fresh tomato or tomato salsas
# Munch on grape or cherry tomatoes
# Pair any tomato with mozzarella cheese, basil and a touch of red wine vinegar for a great appetizer
# Slice a tomato and simply sprinkle with salt and pepper
# Serve sandwiches open-faced topped with a slice of tomato and a slice of cheese
# Add sliced tomatoes to frozen pizza
# Stuff a tomato with tuna, chicken or salmon salad
# Grill tomatoes and top with herbs and toasted bread crumbs

Thursday, July 30, 2009

Fabulous Fifties Recipe Cards

To help my friends at Escape and Scrap celebrate their 5th Birthday I created these 'Fabulous Fifties' Recipe Cards. Harkening back to the American 1950's, these were some of the popular items of the day. Click the 'Recipes' catagory to see all of our recipe cards.