It’s back to school week here on Wendolonia! I’m going to be bringing you a new article focused on lunch-packing every day this week.

Today’s topic: Kid-centric Food Blogs!

Photo courtesy of Another Lunch

Another Lunch

Melissa from Another Lunch is one of my favorite bloggy buddies and her site always offers up something fun and inspirational. She puts together themed bentos and muffin tin lunches for her kiddos that are super-creative, but simple to execute (once she’s passed on her clever ideas).

Cooking with My Kid

Cooking with My Kid is one of those wonderful 365 projects — a mom cooks a new dish with her young son every day for a year. The dishes are usually pretty simple but they’re chosen to introduce her boy to new flavors and ingredients. She helpfully lists out which steps her son helped with for each recipe. The site is new to me, but I can’t wait to try some of them out with my kids.

Nurture Baby

Though Augie is well out of the baby food stage, I still check in with Nurture Baby from time to time for ideas for toddler-friendly dishes. I particularly liked the Bebe Bolognese — as did my boy — and I loved having small portions in the freezer to pop into his lunch box on day care days.

Meal Makeover Moms

I discovered the Meal Makeover Moms via their weekly podcast, but their website is a source of great family-friendly recipes too. The difference between these woman and many other food bloggers though is that they test the heck out of their original recipes before they release them out into the wild. As a result, every recipe of theirs that I’ve tried has been top-notch — and my kids have eaten (almost) all of them too!

Gourmet Mom on the Go

The Gourmet Mom on the Go isn’t a bento site per se, but it offers up some insanely cute serving ideas. A sandwich shaped like a lion with a grated carrot mane? How freaking cute is that? The recipe archive on this site is enormous, so no matter where your tastes lie, you’re bound to find something your family will enjoy.

Hungry for some more inspiration? Check out my list of favorite bento blogs!

What are your favorite blogs with ideas for feeding the kiddos?

More from this series:

• Monday: Lunch Box Ideas (with a free downloadable list for your fridge!)
• Tuesday: Lunch Packing Gear
• Wednesday: Sandwich Adventures
• Thurdsay: Kid-centric Food Blogs
  

It’s back to school week here on Wendolonia! I’m going to be bringing you a new article  focused on lunch-packing every day this week.

Today’s topic:  Lunch Packing Gear

I’ve written quite a bit about the boxes I use to pack my kids’ lunches, but I thought I would highlight some newer lunch packing products that have piqued my interest:

Laptop Lunches 2.0 Bento Kit

Laptop Lunches released a new line of their Bento 2.0 kits earlier this month and I’m dying to get my hands on one. I’ve been using and loving our original Laptop Lunches kit for over a year now. I like the fun colors and the cute bags that come with these new sets but what’s really cool are the reconfigured inner boxes. Three of the boxes have lids now and you can also buy an additional set of Bento Buddies that allow you a lot more flexibility when packing lunches.

Lucky Cat Bento Box

We already have a Panda box in this shape, but my cat-loving kids would go nutso for this Lucky Cat Bento Box. Plus, it’s red! So cute!

Eco Lunchbox Three-in-One

Eco Lunchbox makes this cool stainless steel box that’s kind of a cross between a stacking style bento and a traditional tiffin. It has two layers that are the perfect size for a kid’s bento, plus a smaller box that can be used inside the box to contain wet stuff or outside the box to hold an extra snack.

Totoro Bento Box

Our whole family loves the movie My Neighbor Totoro, and I’ve had my eye on this Totoro Bento Box for quite a while now. It’s just the right size for a preschool lunch and it comes with handy removable inner cups too.

So Young Mother Lunch Box

I love, love, love this scooter lunch box from So Young Mother! In theory, I have my eye on it for my toddler who is obsessed with our neighbor’s Vespas, but honestly I’d be perfectly comfortable carrying my lunch in it too.

Star Wars Cookie Cutters

These Star Wars Cookie Cutters have been around for awhile now, but I can’t get them out of my head. They make the best looking sandwiches, and they’re sized just right for a bento box lunch. Check out this fantastic Darth Vadar lunch that Melissa from Another Lunch made with them! The red honey stick/light saber gets me every time.

Niko Niko Face Punch

I love the face punches I’ve been using for bentos, but this Niko Niko Face Punch set is somehow even cuter than the ones I have! Use the punches to decorate sandwiches, rice balls, or just about anything.

Want more ideas for bento gear?

Here are a few other places to look for bento gear:

Amazon:

Amazon has really stepped up their bento offerings in the last few months! I have assembled an Amazon store with some of my favorite bento box supplies and a few bento related books, or you can also just dig around on Amazon on your own to see what you find.

J-Box:

J-Box also has a huge collection of bento supplies at their store in a range of prices. Some of my favorite boxes are from their store.

I should probably mention that I have affiliate relationships with J-Box and Amazon. If you follow my links to those stores and make a purchase, I will receive a small percentage of the purchase and you will be helping to support this website. Thanks!

More from this series:

• Monday: Lunch Box Ideas (with a free downloadable list for your fridge!)
• Tuesday: Lunch Packing Gear
• Wednesday: Sandwich Adventures
• Thurdsay: Kid-centric Food Blogs

It’s back to school week here on Wendolonia! I’m going to be bringing you a new article  focused on lunch-packing every day this week.

Today’s topic: what to pack in the lunch box!

The same scene plays out every weekday morning in kitchens across the country: a tired parent leans forward with one arm holding the refrigerator door open, eyes scanning the shelves for something to pack into a lunch box. What do we have in the house? What do we have that’s healthy? What do we have that he will eat?

I’m faced with the same daily questions and after months of starting from scratch — and getting into ruts — I finally decided to write down all the foods my sons like that can be eaten cold or at room temperature. I asked friends and blog readers to send me their suggestions as well and came up with a fairly comprehensive list.

Not all kids will eat everything on here of course (my son wouldn’t touch carrot sticks if his life depended on it) but even the pickiest eaters will find some things on this list that they’ll enjoy.

Make your life easier on hectic mornings Download a printable version of this list, print it and stick it to your fridge for instant inspiration:

Wendolonia Lunch Box Idea List – PDF

Carbs/Tummy-fillers

• whole grain crackers
• pretzel sticks
• mini-muffins
• goldfish crackers, cheddar bunnies or other snack crackers
• pretzel thins
• bagel chips
• mini-rice cakes or rice crackers
• cooked ball of rice
• leftover pasta — toss with some chopped veggies and vinaigrette or a little olive oil, garlic salt and parmesan.
• granola bars
• banana bread, zucchini bread, or other quick breads
• cereal bars
• dry cereal
• mini-bagels
• hot dog buns, hamburger buns or dinner rolls
• garlic toast
• pita bread — I usually toast these so they don’t get soggy. Mini pitas are fun or you can cut a big one into wedges.
• leftover pancakes or toaster waffles — mini-waffles go over especially well.

Fruits

• apples slices or chunks (dip in pineapple juice to prevent browning)
• berries — strawberries, blueberries, raspberries
• cherries
• grapes
• bananas
• melon chunks — watermelon, honeydew or cantaloupe
• dried fruit — raisins, dried cranberries, dried apples, banana chips, etc.
• canned peaches or pears — drain and rinse with water to remove excess sugar.
• applesauce
• pineapple chunks
• orange or clementine wedges

Veggies

• carrot sticks
• sugar snap peas
• red bell pepper strips
• cucumber slices
• celery sticks
• grape tomatoes
• steamed green beans
• steamed broccoli spears
• frozen peas — run them quickly under warm water to start them thawing
• frozen corn

Proteins

• leftover meat from dinner cut into chunks — you can send almost anything: roast chicken, pork roast, chicken legs and carne asada leftover from tacos are all things my kids have enjoyed.
• chicken or turkey sausage with bbq sauce or catsup for dipping
• deli meats — turkey, ham, salami
• beans
• peanut butter “sandwiches” made with crackers or graham crackers
• taquitos with salsa for dipping
• baked tofu
• quesadillas
• mini-burritos
• mini-pizzas — top mini-pitas with sauce, cheese and pepperoni
• hard boiled eggs

Dairy

• yogurt
• cheese cubes
• cheese slices
• cottage cheese
• string cheese, Laughing Cow, Babybel or other small single-serving cheeses

And then there are sandwiches, of course! But we’ll talk about those more later in the week.

Don’t forget to download and print this list! I’ve made it easy for you:

Wendolonia Lunch Box Idea List – PDF

What do you send in your kid’s lunch? Do you send something with your kids that I’ve left off this list?

More from this series:

• Monday: Lunch Box Ideas (with a free downloadable list for your fridge!)
• Tuesday: Lunch Packing Gear
• Wednesday: Sandwich Adventures
• Thurdsay: Kid-centric Food Blogs

I’ve had a few questions from readers asking how some of the different bento boxes in my collection work. I know it can be difficult to get a good idea of how these guys fit together and to judge their size from the still pictures you see online, so I’m planning to do a series of short videos to show the boxes in action.

First up is a video showing a stacking bento box:

Here is a close-up view of the bento box that I’m showing in the video:

And here are some examples of lunches that were packed in the box you see in the video:

Amazon has recently started carrying boxes similar to this one that are really cute. I especially love the pink bunny box:

It was an exciting week in Luncholonia because Mama got some new, fun, goodies to play with. Oh yes, I did!

Monday:

Over the weekend Wyatt and I attended the Help A Mother Out play date fundraiser and we received a bunch of free samples at the party. One of them was a bag of gluten-free snack sticks and Wyatt begged me to put them in his snack box on Monday. Those went to school with him along with some strawberry friends. The sticks all came home, I believe, which is what I thought might happen. They weren’t really my cup of tea either.

Tuesday:

Tuesday, lunch and snack were combined in one box: garlic naan and catsup sandwiches cut into star shapes, grape tomatoes, grape…uh…grapes, strawberries, a babybel cheese with an elephant cut out of the wax and baked tofu.

The toddler’s lunch box had chopped grapes, roasted turkey breast slices that I rolled up and cut into strips, steamed broccoli and leftover penne.

Wednesday:

Wednesday’s kindergarten lunch box had a few grapes, turkey roll-ups, banana bread, a big honkin’ strawberry and a single slice of clementine.

What? What’s that you say? Oh, you noticed something different about this bento box? Why yes, you are correct! That box is in the shape of a car! To be more precise, it’s in the shape of a police car. Cute, huh? It came in a box of goodies from JBox.com on Tuesday night. To say my kids are thrilled with it is a bit of an understatement.

Have you ever wondered what would happen if you wrote on a hard-boiled egg with food markers and then left it in the fridge over night? Well, now you know: your awesome Batman drawing seeps and in the morning your egg has a picture of clown Batman on it.  Hopefully, your kindergartner will be too busy eating strawberries and clementines to notice how janky it is.

Augie Bear got a very pretty lunch on Wednesday, if I do say so myself: Israeli couscous mixed with chopped roasted red peppers, sauteed salmon chunks, chopped mango, and a heaping helping of veggie medley.

Huh? Oh, you think that bento box looks new too? Why yes — it is!

This is another one of my new boxes (also from JBox). It comes with apples, cherries, strawberries and a polar bear on the lid. And if you can’t read the writing on there, it says “Syrup o’clock”. Which is fitting, because at our house it’s always syrup o’clock.

Thursday:

Thursday’s lunch featured strawberries, a half a whole wheat hot dog bun, baked teriyaki tofu cut into star shapes, frozen peas and some pita crackers.

“Another new bento box,” you say. Yes! Yes it is! And this baby might just be the cutest of the bunch:

OMG! Have you ever seen such a cute panda bear head in your life? Let alone, one that you can stuff with lunch foods? I can hardly stand it.

Snack was in a super-boring square box. It had the other half of that bun and a hand full of grapes.

Now, before you get all jealous of me and start thinking to yourself, “Man! Shes has all these cute bento boxes and her kid eats all his lunch every day!!” I want to show you something. This is what came home in those super cute bento boxes at the end of the day yesterday:

The panda box is bad enough, but I want you to look closely at that snack there, then scroll up and look at picture of what I sent off in the morning.

Go on now. I’ll wait.

I don’t even think he opened it! Some of those grapes are in the exact same place that they were in the morning.

Wendolonia: keepin’ it real.

Friday:

Friday’s snack box had a half a banana, two teriyaki meatballs, and some pita cracker. Wish me better luck on the snack consumption today. Please?

Don’t forget to enter the OOTS! Lunchbox giveaway! Comments are open until Sunday night.

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Disclosure: I receive a small percentage of revenue from JBox purchases that are initiated from links on this site. The bento boxes in this post were purchased using that revenue.

The giveaway stuff is all the way down at the bottom but the review is good too, so don’t just skip over that, K?

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If you’ve been reading this blog for anything length of time, you may have picked up on the fact that I’m a bit of a lunchbox freak.

No really — it’s true!

I’ve met very few lunchboxes that I haven’t wanted to fill up with tofu, strawberries and a whole wheat roll, so when the folks at OOTS! contacted me to see if I wanted to try out their Lunchbox Deluxe system, you can be sure I jumped at the chance.

An Overview:

The OOTS! Lunchbox is a hard-sided box with a removable, semi-transparent lid on the top. The version we got was bright green with a purple strap. The lid of the Lunchbox is shaped to keep a water bottle in place under an elastic strap. The deluxe version comes with five inner containers — one big and four small.  It’s made of  BPA-free and phthalate-free polypropylene plastic and safety tested for lead. I washed the inner containers in the dishwasher several times and they didn’t warp. The company says that the inner containers are microwave safe too, but I haven’t tried that so I’ll just take their word for it.

The first thing you need to know is that if you filled up all five of the boxes this set comes with, you will be sending WAY too much food to school for your average kid, especially if you’re only sending him off with lunch. I found that using three of the the boxes — the big box for lunch and the two little ones for snacks — was just right.

I left out the remaining two boxes and that worked pretty well because it gave me a little extra space at the top of the box to pack a drink. It also gave me room for a couple of ice packs — one on top of everything and another sandwiched in the middle of the stack of boxes.

You can still fit an ice pack in the box if you use all the containers, but you would need to use one of the thin, gel kinds because there is only about a half inch of clearance between the inner containers and the top of the lid when it’s fully packed.

Another thing to know is that if you are planning to pack your lunch bento-style, this system will present you with a few challenges. The inner containers are almost twice as deep as the bento boxes I normally use which made packing the food tightly enough to keep it from moving around and mixing together difficult. My beloved silicon baking cups only reached about half-way up the sides of the box, so they didn’t work too well as food separators. The handles that are built into the box lids make it easy to lift the inner boxes out of the lunchbox, but they stick down more than half an inch into the containers so I found myself removing food a few times in order to get the lids on tight.

That being said, having so many separate boxes — all with lids — makes it pretty easy to pack a lunch for kids who don’t like their cheese and crackers to touch their blueberries. If I weren’t a crazy bento-addict I think this would be a non-issue.

Another thing that I loved about this lunchbox is that it holds our wide-mouthed Thermos perfectly. You can see by this photo that the Thermos is exactly the same height and diameter as two of the little inner containers stacked on top of each other. I suspect this is a happy coincidence, but they couldn’t have made this a better fit if they tried. This makes the OOTS! Lunchbox even more flexible and useful than it already is.

Some of the things I particularly liked about this product:

• It’s good-looking — This lunchbox looks cool! It’s sleek and stylish enough for an adult to use, but the bright colors of this lunchbox are cheerful and kid-friendly too. Wyatt thought it was awesome and his five-year-old friends did too. True story: one of Wyatt’s buddies saw him using it at lunch time and asked his mom to ask me to show it to her so she could buy one for him.
• It holds a lot of food — You can really pack a lot into this box. I could easily fit lunch for myself and both of my kids into this box so it would be useful for outings to the park or zoo or what have you. An adult could load it up with lunch and snacks for a full day
• It’s flexible — You can pack as many or as few of the inner boxes into it as you like and configure them in a few different ways. And don’t forget that you can slip a thermos into it and still have room for the big container and two little ones.
• It’s easy to clean — I popped the inner containers in the dishwasher and gave the big container a rinse at night and I was all done with clean-up. No hand-washing required!

Some of the things I didn’t particularly like:

• The lids aren’t water-tight — While the lids fit snugly, they are not water-tight. I would not be willing to pack applesauce or yogurt in them — especially for a backpack-swinging kid.
• It’s big — The OOTS! Lunchbox takes up most of the space in my five-year-old’s backpack and because it’s hard-sided you can’t squish it if you need to squeeze a few more things in the bag.
• An ice-pack isn’t included — I’ve noticed that ice-packs are often an after-thought with these big lunchbox sets and this one is no exception. When the box is fully loaded, you can make an ice-pack fit but it needs to be a small one and there isn’t a lot of wiggle room. I would also worry that the cold from a pack — even if you stick it between the inner boxes — wouldn’t keep food items that were farther away from it cool enough to stay safe in a backpack until lunch time. An adult taking this lunchbox to work would probably have access to a refrigerator, but kids rarely have that luxury at school. It would be fantastic if OOTS! would add a custom ice pack to this set to help insure food safety.
• It’s not cheap — The price of the OOTS! Lunchbox Deluxe is $46. It’s beautiful, well-designed, and sturdy and I don’t think that’s a crazy price to pay for a product of this quality. If you add up how much money you save bringing your lunch to work or school instead of buying it, you could quickly justify the cost of this lunchbox…for an adult. But for a kid…I don’t know. I would find it really hard to drop that kind of cash on a lunchbox for a boy who has lost three jackets in as many months. That being said, Wyatt has never lost even a decorative pick from one of his lunches, so maybe I would buy him something like this. I guess it would depend on the kid.

In Conclusion:

I’ve packed several days worth of lunches in the OOTS! Lunchbox Deluxe and both Wyatt and I have enjoyed the experience of using this cool system. It was easy for me as the lunch-packer and fun for my five-year-old as the lunch-eater. I predict that this lunchbox will be used regularly for quite a long while.

And now for the good part!

The good people of OOTS! have generously offered to give one of you an OOTS! Lunchbox Deluxe of your very own! You even get to pick the color!

To enter: Leave a comment below telling me what sorts of posts you’d like to see more of on this blog, Wendolonia. More bento stuff? More crafty stuff? More fattening cake recipes? And if you have any specific questions you’d like me to answer, I’d love to hear them. I’ll choose one random entry from those that are submitted before Sunday, May 9 at 11:59 pm PDT and announce the winner on Monday morning. (U.S. addresses only — sorry.) Good luck!

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Disclosure: OOTS! sent me an OOTS! Lunchbox Deluxe to test out for this review and I liked it enough to tell you about it.