Bento Box Lunches for Kids

My 3.5 yo son started a summer day camp this week.  I have to pack him a lunch each day so a few weeks ago I started researching my options. I knew I wanted stainless steel because it's sturdier, healthier and overall more environmentally friendly than plastic. I found a few different options and finally settled on this one:

It's a LunchBots Trio.  They also have an Uno, Duo and Quad.  Each one has the number of separate compartments reflected in its name. I decided on a Trio for my son. I am so glad I did! We love this little box!

I will admit when I first got it I was a little skeptical because it's so small. I was wondering how all the pictures I'd seen online could be real. Surely this little box couldn't hold all that food. I was soooooo wrong! Here are the first 4 bento box lunches I've ever made for my kid so you can see how much it holds.

Bento #1: garlic & kale rice, chicken with homemade BBQ sauce, tomatoes, roasted sweet potato slices and organic blue corn tortilla chips

Bento #2: sauteed green beans, veggie meatballs (this recipe), sliced almonds, cheese, and tomatoes.

Bento #3: steamed broccoli, tostones {twice fried plantain slices} cooked in duck fat, ketchup, cheese and kiwi

Bento #4: garlic & herb roasted potatoes, bakes whole wheat spaghetti & meatballs, kiwi, banana, tomatoes

I've been posting these pics daily on my Facebook page and have received a great response. I'm glad I can inspire others to cook healthier meals for their kids just by sharing a few pictures.

This is so much fun! I will admit... I look forward to packing his lunch every night. He helps me pack it and gets to choose what he wants in it.  Sometimes they aren't as balanced as I would like but it's all fresh, homemade and organic so I will let him get away with some stuff every once in a while.

I also love the mini cupcake silicone liners to help keep the foods separate. These are the ones I ordered:

Some online resources I really enjoyed while learning about bento lunches are:

http://justbento.com/

http://lunchinabox.net/

http://happylittlebento.blogspot.com/

Do you pack bento style lunches for yourself, kids, or partner?

Click HERE to get your own LunchBots. 

3 Easy Lemonade Recipes

It's June in Florida and that mean blueberry picking time! My kids LOOOOVE blueberries in anything.  But one of their favorite ways is in their lemonade.  A refreshing drink that is a much better alternative to store-bought juice boxes.

In this video I show you how I make my plain lemonade recipe and then two additional variations with blueberries and fresh mint. I also share tips on getting your kids involved in the kitchen. You'll even get to see my kids helping me make the lemonade!

My kids helping me squeeze lemons- Jonathan, 3.5 yrs and Allie, 20 months.

Click HERE to watch the video tutorial.

Meatless Meatballs!

We're not vegetarians but I love to try all kinds of new recipes.  So, when I cam across Chef John's meatless meatball recipe on YouTube I just had to try it! To watch his recipe click HERE.

my veggie meatballs out of the oven

 To get them equally sized I used a small cookie scoop.

Dinner is served! Veggie meatballs with organic whole wheat spaghetti. Yummmm!

These meatless meatballs are beyond yummy! They taste like they have meat in them and the texture is just perfect! My hubby and the kids enjoyed it and I have plans to make a large batch and freeze some for quick weeknight dinners.

Let me know if you give it a try and any changes you make to it!

How to Make Rock Cakes

For my second video in the Invade London special going on on YouTube I had my 2 yr old help me make some yummy traditional British snacks called rock cakes.  They are called rock cakes because they kinda look like .... well,  rocks.

My recipe varies a bit from traditional recipes but they are just as yummy! It all comes together in one bowl and there is no fancy way to scoop them out. I just use a spoon and drop globs of it on my baking sheet. It's a great way to get kids involved in the kitchen.

Click HERE to watch the video recipe now... or you can view it below if you are reading this post on my blog.

I love pins!

Ingredients:

My ingredients vary a bit from the traditional recipes you may see elsewhere online so this video recipe is for me to share with you how I make my version of rock cakes.

1/2 cup whole wheat flour
1/2 cup all-purpose flour
1/2 tsp of double acting baking POWDER... not baking soda
1 stick of butter (4 ounces)
1/4 cup of sugar
pinch of salt (added to flour mixture)
3/4 cup of mix-ins (dried berries, chocolate chips, nuts.. whatever you want)
1 egg
2-4 Tablespoons of milk (I use almond milk, but any milk will work

Preheat oven to 400º F or 200ºC. Add 1 stick of butter to a bowl and let it come to room temperature. Combine flour, salt and baking powder in a bowl and then add to the butter.  Combine with two forks until you get a mealy mixture of broken up chunks of butter fully coated with flour. Add sugar and mix-ins and stir to combine.  Then add one egg and stir to combine.  Now add 1 tablespoon of milk at a time while mixing to combine the batter into a somewhat sticky dough.  Take a spoon and dollop  spoonfuls onto a non-stick cookie or baking sheet. 

Bake in a PREHEATED oven at 400º F or 200º C for 12-20 minutes. Keep an eye on them because every oven is different.

Enjoy!

Stuffed Eggplant

Our Spring/Summer garden is off and running!  I'm growing this fabulous heirloom variety of eggplant called Listada de Gandia. It's from Spain and it is growing beautifully in our Florida soil.

 Isn't it amazing?

They are white with streaks of a rich plum purple color. I've never really cared for eggplant flavor or texture but these are soooo yummy! If you're thinking I must be lying...let's just say, my 2 yr old and 8 month old love it too!

After I picked all these the other day I had to come up with something for dinner and decided on stuffing them.  They were A-MA-ZING and the hubby requested I make these again.  They were a hit in my house and I hope this recipe will inspire you to head to your local farmer's market and support some organic growers of eggplant because nothing compares to a homegrown and local veggies!

Super easy to make... here goes:

1. Drizzle 1 tablespoon on olive oil in a saucepan and brown about 1 lb of ground meat (This is optional. I used ground beef)
2. Add 1/2 cup chopped onions and 2 cloves of minced garlic. Cook until meat is fully cooked and onions are soft.
3. Add any other veggies of your choice to meat mixture at this time- I used tomatoes from the garden.
4. Preheat oven to 375 degrees.
5. Wash and slice about 4-5 eggplants lengthwise in half.
6. Use a spoon and scoop out the center and reserve.  Don't go to far with the spoon because you don't want to break through the skin.
7. Chop up what you scooped out of the eggplant into 1/2" cubes and add to meat mixture.  Cook for 2-3 minutes.
8. Add salt, pepper, cumin powder to taste.
9. Scoop meat mixture into eggplant boats and bake on a flat baking pan at 375 degrees for 20 minutes.
10. Garnish with chopped parsley and enjoy!
TIP- I like to slice a sliver off the bottom of the eggplant boats so they sit flat on my baking pan without rolling around. 

I love pins!

Whole Wheat Banana & Almond muffins

After playing around with several recipes I finally created my version of these very yummy and healthy muffins.  I posted a picture to my facebook page and have since received a ton of requests to post the recipe so here it is... just for you!

Ingredients:
- 1 2/3 cups whole wheat flour
- 2 teaspoons baking powder
- 1 teaspoon salt
- 1 egg
- 2/3 cup brown sugar
- 3 tablespoons butter
- 1/3 cup almond milk
- 2 ripe bananas
- 1/4 cup applesauce
- 1 cup chopped almonds (3/4 in batter, 1/4 for sprinkling on top)
- 1/4 cup flaxseed
- 1 teaspoon ground cinnamon

Directions:
1. Preheat oven to 350 degrees F (180 C)
2. In a bowl combine flour, salt, baking powder and cinnamon and set aside. 
3. I use my Vitamix but you can use a blender for this. Combine egg, sugar, butter, almond milk, bananas and applesauce into blender.  Process briefly until all ingredients are thoroughly combined.

4. Pour batter into dry ingredients and mix with a spoon until combined.

5. Add 3/4 cup of chopped almonds and flaxseed and combine.

6. Pour batter into loaf pan, muffin pan or any pan you want.  I like to sprinkle a little brown sugar and the remaining almond crumbles on top of each muffin before baking. Note: You need to adjust the time you leave it in the oven based on what kind of pan you use.  For example, I use this Flexipan pan that makes 6 mini loaves basically and I leave it in the oven for 35 minutes.  If you use a 12 muffin pan I would leave it for 20-25 minutes and just check them to see when they are done.  If you put it into a bread loaf pan you should start it at 45-50 minutes and then check.

That's it! Hope you enjoy! Feel free to pin it too!

Turkey Bacon Green Beans

With Thanksgiving right around the corner here in the U.S. I decided to post a quick and easy recipe tutorial today for a side dish that anyone can whip up and take to a potluck Thanksgiving dinner.

We make green beans often at my house and my husband loves it with the crunchy bacon bits.  I fool him and use turkey bacon instead of the real stuff.  Once its crispy and chopped up he can't even tell the difference and I cut back the fat by 50%.  Win-win for everyone.

Ingredients:
1-2 lbs of green beans (I use frozen here but fresh works also)
turkey bacon (or bacon of your choice... you can even omit this ingredient altogether)
salt
pepper
olive oil
water


Directions:
Step 1: Crisp up bacon-
- add 1 tablespoon of olive oil to a pot on medium high heat
- Chop bacon into bite size pieces and add to pot
- separate bacon with spoon or tongs
- cook on medium/high heat for 8-10 minutes or until crispy
- drain on paper towel and set aside

Step 2: Cook green beans-
- add frozen or fresh green beans to same pot used to crisp bacon
- add 1/4 cup of water and cover
- cook on high for 5 minutes, stirring occasionally
- uncover and cook another 5 minutes until most of water has evaporated
- add some bacon bits and stir
- serve on platter and top with more bacon bits.

Click here to watch the VIDEO RECIPE