mommy + me lunch box

mini flower ham and cheese sandwiches celery with peanut butter and fruit snack/bites (100% fruit) I can't think of anything else to say today... so.... how about an... Impromptu giveaway!   GIVEAWAY IS NOW CLOSED! (EDITED) In honor of Mommy+Me hitting 200 likes on Facebook (squeal!),   I'm giving away a 2-tier bento box! I was going to wait until I write my 100 post in 2 weeks...  or my 1 year blogiversary next week...  but I'm not a very patient person. Winner will win this cute new cute  2-tier bento box! All you have to do is comment at the bottom of the page and answer this question: What is your (not your kids'!) favorite lunch? Not sure what the giveaway Blogger legalities are, but I won't force you do anything else,  and your comment below will be an entry for this giveaway.  Open to US residents only due to shipping costs.  Please like my Facebook page   if you haven't already.  Feel ...

jelly sandwich, edamame, cheesestick watermelon, cherry yogurt My daughter can finally have PBJs at school (we were nut-free for preschool last year) and she asked for "just jelly sandwich."  She chose her favorite Chobani cherry Greek yogurt and a cheese stick for protein. Packed in one favorite boxes, Laptop Lunches bento lunch box .

I was packing Miss C's lunch while eating a hardboiled egg for breakfast. After scooping her hummus into a dipping container, I smeared the remaining hummus from the knife onto my egg... ding!  * LIGHT BULB * What if I mashed up the egg yolks with hummus? So I unpacked the 2 eggs I had packed for my snack, sliced each one, scooped the egg yolks out. I mixed in about 2 tbsp of prepared red pepper hummus. and spooned it into the egg whites. Next time I will add a splash of olive oil to thin out the consistency and add some relish similar to this  Hummus Deviled Egg  from Sabra. Hummus is a great alternative to mayonnaise, and you can even leave out the egg yolks altogether if you wish. Hummus Deviled Eggs

The rest of Miss C's first full week of Kindergarten:  Sloppy Joe (Jane? since its a girl?)  green peppers w/ranch, and cantaloupe Googly eye stickers make a sandwich less boring, right?  packed in an EasyLunchBox  Leftover Ham and Pineapple Pizza tomatoes, cantaloupe and strawberry yogurt w/blueberries packed in a square Lock&Lock Pita and roasted red pepper hummus hard boiled egg (white only), carrots, fruit medley packed in a Goodbyn Bento Box

My lunch below is grilled salmon, grilled asparagus, steamed green beans and strawberries. But let's not talk about my food right now. Let's talk food photography. A few months ago, I bartered a home-cooked dinner for quick photography tips from my friend Josh . He also teaches classes at a local college and museum, so I know he knows his stuff. He gave me a few pointers about flash vs no flash, using natural light, ISO stuff, and other technical camera stuff. Well, over the summer, I did not blog much, and my iPhone camera became handier than my bulky Fujifilm FinePix camera. (Oh, how I wish for a Nikon DSLR...) I forgot all that camera settings stuff we talked about.  Another problem is natural lighting. Last year, preschool started at 9am, so by 8:30am, the sun has risen; even though I had to lug all the lunches to our master bedroom window on the other side, I get great natural light. Now, Miss C have to be ready around 7am. The sun is barely up at 6:45am, and when Day...

My first souvenir purchase in Florida during our vacation was a Mickey sandwich press. Then we went to Whole Foods to meet a fellow bento blogger, Sarah of Bentoriffic , where I passed by a Laptop Lunch bento display. I couldn't help it. I had to have one.  Mickey imprinted ham and cheese sandwich, simple salad w/tomatoes and ranch, yogurt w/diced strawberries, hummus with pita chips The salad, hummus, and yogurt little containers had lids. I did not buy a bag specifically for the Laptop lunch box, and most of my bags were too small for it. It fit in a regular rectangular lunch box, but did not have room for her drink or ice packs. It had to travel upright in a ThirtyOne thermal tote. Miss C reports that the containers did not leak, and that she ate all her salad.  My husband will not like it because there are more containers for him to wash. (Can I say again that I love that man? You'll probably get sick of reading that, if not already. haha!) Her...

Second day of Kindergarten. The elementary school is not nut-free.  I'm assuming they will have a table separate for those with allergies, and when I asked, the teacher said that there are no allergies in her class. So Miss C can enjoy her PB&J sandwiches again. The nut-free alternatives for peanut butter were okay. She wasn't fond of Sunbutter unless I mixed it with chocolate syrup. Speaking of chocolate, we are absolutely in love with Nutella, a chocolatey hazelnut spread. So yummy. In moderation. And I may or may not have eaten Nutella by the spoonfuls out of the jar.  Nutella pocket sandwich cherry tomatoes and mozzarella kabobs strawberries and blueberries and half a Clif brownie bar

I forgot to post my lunch last Friday. It does not look like much, but I have to have morning and afternoon snacks/mini meals which typically includes a protein and veg/fruit (not pictured).  I'm trying this healthy eating thing along with working out. It's going really well. I'm not doing any specific "diet". Just trying to eat healthy. I'm trying to get 5-6 meals daily. Minimizing processed food. Minimizing grains, pasta and rice (which is difficult for this Filipino girl).  Lots of veggies and occasional fruit and focusing on protein intake with good fats like olive oil and avocados.  My exercise regimen Insanity ® (day 43!) along with bootcamp Mondays and Wednesdays, and Zumba on Tuesday nights.  Today's lunch: and check out a new addition to our collection. This 2 tiered bento box is super cute! 

No... I did not cry. It was an all smiles morning! Because of my super late post last night, I skipped my 5am workout in lieu of depositing towards my sleep debt. I set an alarm at 6:00 am. Miss C woke me up at 5:58 am. I asked her to go to her bedroom and change clothes. She came back to my room at 5:59 am. No lie. This girl usually takes 10 minutes to put on socks! Excited is an understatement. At 6:45 am, while I was still fighting with the camera settings since I have no natural light that early in the morning, putting lunch box inside her bag, she kept telling me to hurry because she might miss the bus (which was scheduled to arrive between 7:15/7:30). At 7:25, she stepped on that bus, sat down and waved at me through tinted windows. Despite the lump in my throat, I waved back. My baby is in Kindergarten. Seriously? 1st lunch of 2012-2013 school year! Miss C requested ham and cheese sandwich rollups,  carrots with ranch, blueberries, and a couple gummi wo...

Last year, I started out with only a couple boxes and cookie cutters. My first lunch looked kinda plain. As the year progressed, our lunch/bento collection started growing. I started following other bloggers and gave me ideas on what other products are out there. Then I found All Things For Sale ... like a kid in a candy store... Q (s) : What do you use for packing lunches? How do you organize/where do you store them?   A: At first, our lunch supplies fit into a little cupboard in our kitchen. Then our collection just grew astronomically that I used one of those big Sterilite plastic tubs. Last weekend, my husband put together this cabinet/drawer combo specifically for our lunch stuff! (I love that guy!)  The pictures on the left show most of the lunch boxes we have.  As for the tools I use, I pretty much use anything in my kitchen. I use sandwich cutter, my cookie and fondant cutters from my cake decorating supplies, molds, chopsticks, toothpicks,...

Miss C is going back to school in 10 more sleeps. How can it be possible that my baby is 5 and going to Kindergarten... to the "big kid" school... on a "big kid" yellow bus. (Did you notice though that school buses are orange?)  Anyway, I thought I’d write a couple posts this week on how to get started, my favorite bento/lunch boxes and tools, and other tips. Today, I’ll focus on food.  In a couple days, I will show you my supplies and my favorite lunch making tools. Hello Kitty lunch box Q:   What kinds of food do you pack? A: Anything! From sandwiches to leftovers, I pack pretty much whatever is on hand.  I use the USDA’s Choose MyPlate as a guideline on what to pack. I try to pack the 4 major nutrition blocks: protein, vegetables/fruits, carb/grains.  Sometimes, I add a treat like fruit snacks or candy. My child pretty much eats a variety of food, so I try to pack food that she has already tried and I know she likes. I don’t put something she has...