March 31, 2012

Bento Weekly Round 20

For the week March 26-30.

It's the last week before they go on a break. I am one of the happiest in our household since I get a needed break from preparing bento lunches.  Well not exactly, since I'd be having the kids with me at home all week long. And we'll still be eating. Or perhaps it's about sleeping in longer that relieves me. And this time I don't need to stress about what to pack. I can just serve whatever I cook for lunch. They tend to be less picky when we're home. I guess it's the comfort of eating with family and in a place you love the most that made the big difference.
Shrimp Meatball Bento with organic sweet baby carrots and watermelon on the side.
Spring rolls with my sushi rolls and strawberries.
Hamburger with lettuce and pickles on a wheat thin, edamame and mixed fruits.
Their favorite Chinese sausages on brown rice, edamame & strawberries.
Hotdog bun, kiwis and strawberries.

Next week would be SPRING BREAK so I might be posting how we ate our lunches at home or on the go. I'll try to post daily if I could. If not, I'll do it in one post by Friday. 

Have a safe break, everyone! 

March 30, 2012

Children's Museum

Today was my daughter's preschool fieldtrip to the La Habra Children's Museum. Two things were required: school shirt = CHECK and a sack lunch = UNDECIDED. I prepared 2 types of bentos enough for both of us. I made sure to pack all of her favorite foods so she would have choices in case her appetite won't cooperate.


I packed chicken nuggets with tangerine oranges and BBQ sauce on my little smidget. On my other bento box, I packed her favorite pineapple bread, strawberries and kiwi. I showed it her and she gave me 2 signs of approval. Her thumbs up and her huge smile. Perfect I thought! All set.
The kids were all lined up at the entrance of the museum as we purchased all the tickets for all the preschoolers, aides, and parents.  Parents paid for their own tickets.

 We were awed as we get in the museum. It was filled of wonderful stuffs that kids would love to touch and play with.  Full of stuff toys and motorized trains that run underneath it.  Very catchy indeed. Everyone got so excited.

Guitars, violins, pianos and other musical instruments are either hanged on the wall or laid down the ground for the kids to try and take pictures with. These are all working instruments. And the preschoolers had so much fun playing their own little music.  Everyone waited for their turns nicely as I watched and captured the moments. All pictures went to the school's page for parents to see.  Everything that went to my blog has the minimal exposure of kids for privacy-sake.
Here's one picture of a fellow parent who actually tried her feet on the incredible piano mat. It was fun, and everyone had their turns.
Above is a huge table of a train village that train lovers dreamed of. There were huge selections of cultural dress ups from some parts of the world too for girls  everyone to enjoy.

 
There is a wild exhibit of animals as well. This was when the kids got scared and hesitant to get in the room.  The animals looked so real.  It took time for them to warm up and pose for the camera. Everyone took the time out to explore and observe the animals very carefully.
We love the dance workshop.  It's the best ever. The preschoolers were divided into 2 different activities to try. This was one of the two, the other was the art activity. I'm so glad my daughter chose this coz it was fun to see them groove along the music. The instructor was spectacular.  I could see parents strut a move too. I was able to take a video of this coz it's quite impossible to capture this on a still image without a blur. Everyone's grooving like a pro. A definite awesome-ness!
The treehouse that connects to the stairs behind it. This is one of my favorite spots here. I'm glad that they haven't put it down since 3 years ago I was here. It's still beautiful and well-kept :) I have pictures of my kids on this treehouse.
 The picnic lunch where everyone brought in a sack lunch.  Most brought Lunchables and store-packed lunches. My girl was distracted to see that she's the only one who had a home-packed meal. She was a bit hesitant to eat her lunch. I told her that it's not what the other kids brought. It's about what mom packed for her and sealed it with love. I had to remind her that home-made meals are healthier because we know how it was prepared, and what it was made of. I should have been more creative with my lunches to her next time. If I created it with shapes, she could have been prouder to eat it with friends. 

March 28, 2012

Tropical Berry Shake

I always try to feed my little kiddos with after school snacks as healthy as possible. They usually wanted something refreshing and uplifting after a hard work in school.  Normally, we'd stop by Jamba Juice to get either one of their Fruit and Veggie Shake, All-Fruit Smoothie, or just the whirl'ns. But we need a little break to that. And decided to make our own instead.

You must be wondering what a Tropical Berry Shake is comprised of. It's actually just a blend of strawberries, bananas, and tropical fruit sherbet with milk and ice.  This is absolutely full of anti-oxidants and Vitamin C.  And it's also packed with calcium and potassium.  A scrumptious way to regain all the lost energy at school. 

My son has come up with the name because of its taste. It's a blend of berries and citrus fruits.  And it's yummy. I pour in about 8 oz of milk per serving to make sure they get the recommended daily dose of milk. Then I add in about 4-5 cubes of ice just to give the icy texture of a shake.

Recipe:
4-5 strawberries
1/2 banana
1 scoop of Tropical Sherbet IceCream
6-8 oz of milk
4-5 cubes of ice

Blend together till all ingredients are well-blended.  It should appear like the one on the right.

I am using a bullet type blender so my ingredients are pre-measured according to my bullet-type container. This should yield about a little over two 4oz cups, or one 8oz cup. My son could finish one whole serving, so I make another batch for my daughter. And, we share the ♥.  This is especially good for warm weathers, or just after any strenuous & exhausting activities.  You can add a scoop of protein powder for adult drinks.  It's good after Zumba or any high impact exercises.

March 23, 2012

Bento Weekly Round 19

For the week March 19-23

Packing lunches from home is easy.  What's tough is planning the combination meals that goes in the box each day. That's why there are some repetitive bento items in every box that he brings to school.  That is inevitable, because he mostly request items he loves to eat more often than the others.

When I started this 8 month challenge to continue what Healthy Eats originally started, my goal is for him to eat healthier other than the store-bought Luncheables.  As I mentioned before, he literally brought varying packs of Luncheables for his entire 2nd grade, if he's not eating from the school cafeteria.  And that is sad because he wasn't getting much nutrition as compared when I have packed healthier meals for him back then.  So thanks to Healthy Eats for bringing in the Brown Bag Challenge that served as an eye-opener that anyone could have eaten healthier in a fraction of its cost.  You just have to choose the right and most natural ingredient to compose your lunch meals.
Teriyaki Beef Sushi Rolls with edamame and mixed berries on the side are one of his most favored lunches in history.  So when we get an abundance of berries from the market, I see to it that they make it to this lunchbox while they're still fresh and sweet.  
This is my Turkey Cracker Lunchmeal with hotdog and Nori that my son loves munching on till they're all gone.  It's one of my newest item. I figured he kinda misses his Luncheables,  so I would have to recreate it to satisfy his cravings. I told him that whatever he finds in the market can be easily created by all moms. MOMS are created to be ingenious and innovative in the kitchen to keep her family well-fed with an influx of nutrition.
Shelled or unshelled, edamame has become his favorite veggie item in his bento.  And I'm glad because it's very low in Sodium. It is also a good source of Dietary Fiber, Protein, Thiamin, Iron, Magnesium, Phosphorus and Copper, and a very good source of Vitamin K, Folate and Manganese. Wow that's a whole lot to consume :) To neutralize the palate, I like packing some citrus fruits as well with meat/seafood in his bento. Fruits always make a good dessert after a fulfilling meal.
Another life-saver when planning my school bentos are the dimsums. They never disappoint. They are a pleaser when it comes to my children. They just love it no matter what the day is.  I think since dimsum is in their roots, it just feels soothing when they have consumed some. 
I always keep a stock of chicken nuggets on my freezer for days when I have very low or limited pantry supplies, or when my son just crave for it.  I either fry or bake them. They taste differently for some reason. Perhaps due to the added fats. Strawberries and some slices of pears make up a good and healthy addition to the nuggets. Keeps him hydrated throughout the day. Of course I give him a bottle of cold water in addition to the juice pouch that he'd often bring with him.
I'm glad the week's over and it's time to unwind and get on my Zumba class tonight. Fridays are Zumba Night with my friends. It's always nice to get fit while making fun with a few good friends. It truly relaxes the mind and body.

March 22, 2012

A Dose of Tazo

I used to be so addicted to espresso dark coffees that my day won't just shine bright enough without a shot of it.  Well gone are those days. I have switched to herbal teas to soothe the cravings and has done me well for the past 2 decades of my life.  I still drink coffee but on occasions only.  Usually on cold winter mornings at my yoga class while chatting with friends.  But when at the comfort of my own place, I always turn to Tazo.  I know they have so much flavors to try, but China Green Tips is, so far, my most favorite cup of tea.

March 16, 2012

St Patrick's Day

I always have the habit of going online and search for awesome ideas for a certain occasion/holiday. Most preschools would normally celebrate it by wearing green and bringing in food items which best represents the occasion.  For St. Patrick's Day, I sent my preschooler wearing a green shirt and a green bow with a white skirt. Her choice by all means. My 5-yr old girl has a mindset of her own...especially with clothes. 

This year we weren't asked to bring in foods.  The school might be taking in charge of the whole celebration this time. So there were no pictures to share from school today.  What I have here were collection of St. Patrick's food ideas by Family Fun Magazine.  I'd love to feature them in my blog so I could share with my readers what I found.  Easy meals to prepare either for school or for snack time.  They may be a little too sweet for a healthy diet.  But a little bit of something won't hurt.  Actually most of the time they're healthy too.  Besides it's not that we eat them everyday.  If you're interested, click on the picture and that should link you directly to their site.

Happy St. Patrick's Day!

Bento Weekly Round 18

For the Week March 12-16

It's been 6-1/2 months and I'm still brown-bagging. 

My son is a great challenge for my 10-month challenge for myself. There had been days, sometimes weeks, that he'd be choosy on what I sent him.  But whenever I give him the opportunity to eat in school, he'd say yes all the time but will always come home with an empty lunch box.  And tell me that my foods were so much better than the ones found at the cafeteria. HUGE smile for me and a huge hug for him.  I love my boy so much, and that's what keeps me sending him to school with home-cooked/packed meals. Especially with the news spreading around that school has been feeding our children with pink slime meats.  Unbelievable!
We're fortunate to have found sweet ripe blueberries and strawberries in the market on Sunday for his bento this week. So I just added a stick of oven-baked corndog to complete Monday's meal.
Tuesday, I had the chance to make one of my eggroll again so you'd definitely see this on his bento probably on Thursday again if he asked for it.
Mini cheese pizza bagel, this time without any bacon on it. Cheese crackers and strawberry wheels on the side for his Wednesday bento.
As predicted, Thursday would be another batch of my eggrolls.  But this time with my home-made sushi rolls, and some steamed broccoli too.
Friday is St. Patrick Day! I tried to make it a green meal to celebrate it, but he opted for a home-made luncheables. It's my first time to make use of a cookie cutter on turkey delis and cheese to duplicate Luncheables' meal. I must admit, the kids loved it! They were thrilled to see new shapes and look on my traditional meals. Perhaps, it's time to start now. Still I added some green colors to commemorate the occasion. I think edamame and roasted nori sheets were nutritious additions to this meal.

Weather forecast would be rainy and cold this weekend.  So keep all activities indoors while having a great deal of family fun. Enjoy!!

March 14, 2012

Bento Idea: Turkey & Cheese Cracker

I have been experimenting on how I could evolve the look of my lunches.  My son seem excited each time he sees new way of presentation in his lunchbox. But he made clear to me that he definitely wouldn't want to see any kind of artistically-looking bentos that he sees on other blogs.  He says they're awesome, but not for him.  He doesn't want all the boys to talk about his food in school. He probably doesn't want to bring much distraction at the lunchroom. Well then, fine with me coz that would be easier to prepare. And I'm glad he wanted to stick to our simple bentos but healthy. 

I was thinking that maybe if I duplicate items which he sees in-store, it would probably bring a new twist to what I normally pack.  I would just have to be more resourceful and imaginative on my presentation.  For now, I have thought of duplicating the Turkey & Cheese Luncheables. I would just have to make use of a round playdoh shape cutter that went officially to my bento supplies. Its size were perfect to the size of the Ritz cracker.  And the kids loved it so much. So this meal would be seen more often now in my school bentos.

March 9, 2012

Bento Weekly Round 17

For the week March 5-9.
Spam brown rice sushi rolls with corn and mangoes on the side.
Hotdog in a bun from JJ's. We love their sweet bread.  It complements any filling you add in.  And mangoes for today.
Hamburger on wheat thins with ketchup on the side.  He opted for broccoli than the lettuce with orange slices on the side.
The famous mayo and mustard with turkey deli on wheat thins. His favorite and came home with an empty lunch box. He loves mangoes these days.  And that's why you're seeing this fruit more often than the others.
Today I was able to convince my son to bring mac and cheese, which he normally would eat at home only. For whatever reason that may be, I don't know. Would it be one major characteristic of an extremely picky eater? He got chicken nuggets as well and some asian pear slices. BBQ sauce on smidgets. He went back with mac and cheese leftover of course. Do you have any suggestion how to make this mac and cheese a favorite bento item? I tried bacon on it but he'd rather have it plain. There should be one that you know of and share it to me.
Related Posts Plugin for WordPress, Blogger...