Free Gardening kit from Annie's

We LOVE Annie's Homegrown products. Mady adores the chocolate bunnies and I'm addicted to the Snack Mix - but all their products are yummy!
Now you can get a free Gardening Kit from Annie's Homegrown with 2 upc codes! Mady will love this!
Click here for the details.
Please allow 8-10 weeks for your Root 4 Kids gift pack. Offer good while supplies last.

Bento :: Getting started

I had a great question from Helena today...

I have been looking at bento for awhile, but I've been discouraged because most of the bento sites are a little too complicated for me. I don't do Japanese very well and I haven't found great directions for it. Do you have any suggestions on how to get started? Thanks so much!

And I do have some suggestions! :)
I don't do Japanese very well either {I eat a Pescetarian/vegetarian diet} - and my granddaughter is a VERY picky eater.
I have a very limited "spend on fun stuff" budget by choice so I often make due with what I have or can get inexpensively. And, since I like cute, the bento gadgets spending spree could easily get out of hand if I'm not careful and thoughtful about it. :)

So... how to get started then? While it's true there are many sites that cater to the Kyaraben {character} bento designs there are many that are a bit more subdued and realistic for many of us. One great trick is to invest in some cute picks {depending on the age & version - boy/girl - of your child, or your own interests} and cute the lunch up that way. As you can see in the previous post the Bento I made for PWT was just left-overs presented in a way that was unique for her. I imagine as she gets used to this I'll have to up my game a bit but for now it seems to be working.

The only Bento gear I currently have is shown below:

For DH {Although I frequently give him some of the cute items too lol}:
Lunchbot - won in a giveaway
Lock & Lock container - Walmart, Amazon, + a less sturdy version from Dollar Tree. These come in various sizes + their lunchkits are cool.
Insulated bag - promo item from Yoplait {forgot to put in pic}

Cute:
Heart containers - Dollar Tree {pkg of 6 - maybe more. I forget}
Mini cookie cutters - had forever {star, butterfly}
Princess Crown cookie cutter - Amazon
Animal Picks - Amazon
Critter containers - Dollar Tree {2 in a pkg. - baby stuff aisle. Also have Panda + Hippo + they come w/ a spoon! lol}
Dora sandwich box - Dollar General years ago
HK sandwich box - Sanrio store about 20 years ago - seriously!
Small boxes - Dollar Tree {12?/pkg}
Magic Washcloths make great Oshibori - Dollar Tree
Muffin silicone cup - Amazon
Sandwich cutters dolphin + heart - Walmart or Amazon

You can also use craft punches for nori {seaweed} and the end of a straw {or end of a cake decorating tip} for cutting small circles from cheese/lunchmeat. Use an Xacto knife for cutting apples and other things into cute. Cookie cutters will cut bread, cheese, etc. and leave an imprint on harder foods so you have a guide for finishing the shape with a knife. If your lunch includes rice you can also use a cookie cutter to mold it into a cute shape then place in a silicone muffin cup.
Many tools can be found in the cake decorating sections of craft stores {you know the ones with 40% coupons! - which we don't have. boo} - fondant shape cutters are great for veggies!

I'm told that Dollar Tree even has seasonal tins {like in the shape of a bunny or butterfly for instance} that make great boxes for Bento! So getting a stash of stuff doesn't have to be costly. You probably have some of these things already lurking in your kitchen.

And here are a few blogs to get you started thinking about what to put inside your bento!

Bento Central - LOVE the toadstools and snail lunch. Includes recipes.
What's for lunch at our House - has a linky on Wednesdays where you can find more blogs! Uses regular ingredients - boy & girl bentos.
BentoTV - Lots of good info.
Mothering Corner - more elaborate but can be simplified; good ideas.
Cute Food for Kids - Love this site!
Bento Fabulous - cute ideas and not over the top time consuming. Love her monster strawberry + shroomies!
And of course BentoBloggy who I linked to in a previous post.

That should keep you busy for a bit. :) And now I have a sink full of dishes yelling at me so... happy bento surfing!

Disclaimer: This post contains to links that will result in me receiving a tiny kick back from Amazon if someone were to purchase something through said links. If someone was to do such a thing I'd be very appreciative. :)

Why Bento Rocks

{Photo from flickr}
Well... besides the obvious CUTE factor. :)
My 3 year old granddaughter, Princess Wild Thing, doesn't like to eat most days. She just doesn't. Oh, she'll eat chips and crackers if you let her, and 2 or 3 things that she likes. sometimes... but she won't eat FOOD usually. She went through a spurt where all she wanted was Sonic Cheeeese Sammiches. But then changed her mind. She's done that with other "foods" but now... she doesn't want anything unless it's pretty much totally useless.
So... I decided to try Bento.
In case you aren't familiar with Bento - in Japan it's basically a "sack" lunch. It's packed in such a way that the food items are packed in closely together, as in the photo above, and won't shift when toted around. For kids, and some adults, there are all kinds of cute containers, food picks, and just all kinds of CUTE accessories. Many containers feature anime characters {Totoro! HK!}, baby animals, or Sakura blossoms, ect.
In Japan they also pay close attention to foods that need to stay away from other foods, the lunches are usually enjoyed at room temp and normally include all the food groups to make a healthy lunch; because of this it's helped many looking to loose a few pounds or correct their portion sizes.
There are many blogs in the 'verse singing the praises of Bento, and they all routinely share their lunch ingredients with readers. Some contain traditional Japanese foods, some are Americanized, some do a little of both, and some... are over the top with their cute and creative designs.
I'll be sharing some of these sites in the near future - as well as some info for those who are wanting to stay away from plastic no matter how cute.

So... Princess Wild Thing... {excuse the beyond horrible pic! She's not wanted to be in pics lately - better ones next time. promise}
I have a few Bento-y items hanging around so last tuesday I decided to try her out with a simple Dora sandwich container, a small heart container, and a pink silicone muffin wrapper. She requested a Sonic Cheeeessse sammich so I gave in. BUT I cut it into 5 mini-stars with a cookie cuter and topped them with 2 cute picks: A meow and a woof. So, those went into the Dora box along with some unsweetened applesauce {muffin wrapper}, 6 Annie's Bunnies {the heart box} and a little mermaid spoon {her choice}. I let her set her table space with a towel {napkin} and a small candle {a Waldorf-y thing}. We lit her lunch candle, I gave her the box, I sat with her to eat my lunch... and to my amazement she ate.it.all! I was excited!
Disclaimer:
I also wasn't above a little bribery; earlier we were at the store and she latched onto a Hello Kitty Pez. I usually don't let her grab onto things but being a huge HK fan myself... I gave in, but told her she would have to eat her lunch first. Now, Nana doesn't do candy but after lunch I filled it with her choice of the 2 candies - and she hated it. She even told Poppy today how she spit them out. lol. Honestly, when she choose the Pez I don't think she even knew that candy was part of the toy and she's perfectly happy with her HK head on a stick. lol.

Then today, thursday {pic above}... She had eaten some cereal for breakfast* so I waited a little longer to bring out lunch. This time there was some left over taco insides that she normally likes {one of the few things} so that went into a muffin wrapper with a little cheese on top, her bunnies that she loves jumped into the heart container {she knows to eat these last}, 2 corn chips {which she didn't actually eat surprisingly enough}, and 4 banana slices with her woof and meow picks in them. We lit her lunch candle, she chose a spoon {purple this time}, and... score again! She ate!

I watch the Princess on Tuesdays and Thursdays so once or twice a week I'll post an update on how we are doing. :)

*She will sometimes eat a granola bar in the mornings but generally doesn't eat breakfast I don't think. And this hasn't been ALL my doing. Her parents are working on not giving in to her begging for the chips and HFCS enhanced granola bars that are in the kitchen {her dad is a lover of junk food} and report that she is breaking that habit nicely - which leaves room for actual food in her tummy.

Bento Rocks

I'm a fan of cute. Which usually means I'm a fan of Japanese things because, lets face it, the US is lacking in cute in a big way.
Because of this I've been known to get lost in, what I call, Bento-hell frequently. Reading and devouring all the cute Bento blogs out there {Blogs replaced my former magazine addiction - hey, it saves resources} and this is one of my favs: Bentobloggy. And I'm always amazed at what her kid eats - we struggle to get Princess Wild Thing to eat anything. Altho' her new love I hear is Pepperoni straight from the package. lol.
But back to Bentos!
While I don't have kids at home to pack cute things for anymore... I have been known to put cute in dh's lunchbox. He's such a good sport!
This is also a great way to portion control your food if you are trying to watch that, or to get a good ratio of protein, carbs and whatnot.

Want to get started and learn more about Bento? You're in luck! Bentobloggy is having a giveaway of cute!
Head HERE to enter! And while you are there check out the rest of the blog for inspiration on your next bento, or maybe even just your next regular meal.

We have a problem Houston...

And it's called Monsanto. And GMOs. And the FDA. I could go on and on but, lucky for you perhaps, I won't. I will, however, ask you to click over to a friend of mine's blog to read more. She wrote it so well and has a ton of info - so why reinvent the wheel so to speak. Head over and do what you think is right. Informed consent is imperative these days in regard to what we put in our bodies whether it be vaccinations, or food. Knowledge is power.
And by all means, if you do nothing else - watch Food, Inc. Please. and thanks!

Simplify your space

There are many many popular blogs about "Living Simply". About Downsizing and not having as much stuff. Sometimes its motivated by life changes that were not by choice: job loss for instance. But sometimes its motivated by changes we choose to make in our lives for whatever reason. George Carlin even did a wonderful skit once about how we have too.much.stuff.
When we moved from our 2400 sq. foot house in a small town to a 1400 sq. foot home in the country it was amazing the amount of stuff we got rid of, and we are still getting rid of things. Things we've accumulated over the years, but mean nothing to us.
We even have plans for the future to get rid of more stuff and downsize even more! It's almost like a game now... lol. Do I really need that? Can I re-purpose that? Can someone else use this? In the future we hope to build a home that is less than 1000 sq. feet; a place where everything has a dual purpose. Shockingly we probably won't even have a kitchen table! lol. We just don't use the one we have and I have this thing I call Flat Surface Filing Syndrome - if there is flat surface I'll put stuff on it. lol. So, no kitchen table. I might have a ledge thing in between the kitchen tho', you know something like bar tables and stools. Maybe. I figure we'll just go to mom and dad's if there is a gathering - they have plenty of room. :)

What are your favorite ways to re-purpose something or your favorite dual-purpose items?

Inspired by Finn Amber Necklace giveaway!

I wanted to let everyone know about a new giveaway I just found over at Hip Mountain Mama {she has all sorts of cool things so be sure to look around her sites}

The lucky winner will get to choose an Inspired By Finn piece of jewelry from the shop {16" or smaller}.

Not familiar with Baltic Amber or Hazelwood? I don't have any experience with Hazelwood but would love to try it out on my mom who has a few of the ailments it is supposed to help, however, my granddaughter has worn her Baltic Amber necklace since she was about 3 months old {She's 2.75 years old now}! She never had any major drama with teething - just some drool. lol. I'm a major believer in Baltic Amber. Head over to Hip Mountain Mama and maybe you can win one & become a believer too!
{for more info check out the Inspired by Finn website}