Broken Box

I'm so bummed Jackson's first bento box is broken. Did Jackson break his box like you would think? Nope, I did, by smashing it under his stroller in the trunk of the car. Bummer, and it was so cute and fit him so well. Oh well, I may just have to order him some more :)

Monday

I'm going to stop numbering Jackson's bentos. Only because when I go to save a picture, it's so hard to remember what number I'm on! And, as much as I love to make his lunches, blogging them is another story. So, they're not really the number they seem because I am missing bentos in between!

For tomorrow, berries, cheese, Annie's Whole Wheat Crackers, and teryaki tofu, cut with a whale. I'm thinking I need to order some more cutters and this time get them even smaller so I can have more fun with them!

Jackson is watched at home either by my mom or husband, so they cut his food for him. I'm guessing if I sent him to daycare, I might have to cut up the tofu so he could eat it? I really have no idea what they would expect for an 11 month old's lunch.

Bentos #9 & 10

On our way out for the day, so we didn't know where we would end up for lunch. We always bring a lunch for Jackson just in case. You never know how good a menu is going to be for kids. So, more butternut squash, an avocado to cut up (looks bigger than it is, it's a tiny one), and some strawberries.


Same thing, didn't know where we were going to end up for lunch! Another avocado chunk, nectarine, some turkey roll-ups, and some Annies Rabbit Whole Wheat Crackers.

Quiche #9 & Recipe

I was running low on fruits & veggies (have to make a trip to TJs tomorrow!) so a spinach & cheese quiche, whole wheat mini-blueberry muffin (recipe below), and some frozen veggies that will thaw by tomorrow. Our fridge is really bare! I don't feed him corn too often, but there's really only about a teaspoon there. He usually picks out the peas to eat first anyways, the corn ends up on the floor!


So, I LOVE feeding Jackson blueberries (they are one of THE powerhouse foods), but they're so dang expensive! I've tried buying frozen bags and he just won't touch them. I don't blame him, they do have a different taste. So, I modified this recipe so I could get rid of some of the freezer stash and now I'm sure he'll eat them!

Ingredients:
1 cups whole wheat flour
1/3 cup sugar
1 1/4 tsp. baking powder
1/8 tsp. baking soda
1/4 tsp. salt
1/2 tsp. ground cinnamon
1/2 cup milk
4 Tbs. (1/2 stick) unsalted butter, melted
1 egg
1/2 cup blueberries (I think I used more like 3/4 cup)


Directions:
Preheat an oven to 400ºF. Grease or use 24 mini muffins cups.

In a bowl, stir and toss together the flour, sugar, baking powder, baking soda, salt and cinnamon. Set aside.

In another bowl, whisk together the milk, butter and eggs until smooth. Add the flour mixture and stir just until blended. Add the blueberries and stir just until evenly incorporated.

Spoon the batter into the prepared muffin cups, filling each one about three-fourths full. Bake until a toothpick inserted into the center of a muffin comes out clean, about 10 to 15 minutes. Transfer the pan to a wire rack and let cool for 5 minutes, then remove the muffins from the pan. Makes about 24 mini muffins.

I found this recipe from Williams Sonoma, cut the recipe in half and used whole wheat flour instead of white. They do taste a tad *healthy*, but still perfectly yummy.

Bento #8

Cantaloupe (with a cute little bear from my cutters!), blueberries, string cheese, and butternut squash.

I've been trying to feed Jackson so well, lots of colors from the rainbow. It is hard, because until him, I didn't realize how much of it I don't eat myself on a daily basis. So, I'm trying new things while I try to feed him healthy.

The butternut squash was a test for me. I swear I used to gag on squash when I was fed it as a child. But, I just read an article about how you can peel it with a potato peeler, cut off the ends, scoop out the seeds, cut into little cubes, drizzle with olive oil and salt, bake it at 400 degrees for 20 minutes and it gets all caramelized like "candy". Sounded good to me, and surprise, we BOTH loved it! What an easy side-dish and great leftovers for lunches!

(I bake it a tad longer and it gets a tad more crispy, reminding me a little more of french fries!)

Bento #7 & Recipe

Mini quiche to thaw for tomorrow (I think this one is chicken and jack, hard to tell), blueberries, and more sweet potato fries.


The mini-quiche recipe is from Lunch at our House blog. I was introduced to her blog from ANOTHER blogger and once I saw her lunches, I was hooked! I searched her archives and found her mini-quiche recipe, which I've made and frozen a couple batches for my school lunch last year. They're fabulous,

Here you go!

Mini Quiches
1-2 cups diced ham or chicken or meat of your choice
8oz shredded cheese of your choice
2 eggs
1 cup milk
1/2 cup Bisquick or similar baking mix

Spray a muffin pan with non-stick spray.
Cover the bottom of each cup with meat, then sprinkle cheese on top of that (maybe a couple of teaspoons of each).
In a separate bowl, combine eggs, milk and baking mix till the lumps are gone, you may want to use an electric mixer here.
Pour a little of the egg mixture over the meat/cheese mixtures till the muffin cup is filled almost to the top.
Bake 400 for 20-25 minutes or until a knife inserted in the center comes out clean.

This also works with a regular pie pan for a whole quiche, but up the baking time to about 40-45 minutes.

I usually freeze them after cooling. I pack lunch at night, so I just pop one in the box at night, put it in the fridge, and out to school the next morning. They're perfectly thawed by lunchtime.

My favorites so far are, chicken with jack, chicken with pepper jack, bacon with cheddar, and ham and Swiss.

I was really excited to find her recipe because my mother and I used to get Quiche Muffins from Paradise Bakery in the mall, after my skating lessons when I was little. The quiche muffins seemed to be just cheese and spinach and look just like how this recipe turns out. I've tried the recipe with frozen/thawed spinach and they taste nothing like the bakery's. My mom and I are now thinking that they tasted so good because they were practically all cheese. So, I'm still fiddling with that recipe. I'll post it if I ever figure it out worthy enough to post. Jackson doesn't seem to mind my testers though. It's one way I've snuck some spinach in him willingly.

(We don't have a Paradise Bakery anywhere NEAR us now though, a lot have closed down. But, they won't give me the recipe. I've tried. If you do have one, I highly recommend their Quiche Muffins, Pumpkin Muffins, and Sugar Cookies.)

Bento #6 & Supplies

Okay, my last set of supplies came in the mail today. It's hard not to get carried away! I ordered a second box for Jackson and a couple very small cutters. One is a set of 4 and the other slices a piece of bread perfectly with little trucks, including a firetruck! With my previous purchases, I think I've spent around $20-25, which is about the same as a lunchbox, so I'm happy with these purchases since they'll get use for his lunches and beyond.

Of course I had to use it for tomorrow,

Tofu, cut with a star from the new set, sweet potato fries, and pears steamed with a sprinkle of cinnamon. I feel like I'm somewhat getting a hang of the whole bento look, as this one looks pretty bland and colorless to me.