coloradobento

Preschool Snack Bento

noreply@blogger.com (EatPlayLove) — Mon, 09 Jan 2012 07:21:00 +0000

As it turns out, my youngest daughter that likes to graze all morning has been famished at school. She was trying to hit up the snack table twice in a morning, which is a no no. Her teacher requested I send an additional snack for her, in case she's hungry. Every morning, she seems to be hungry and comes home with an empty snack bento.

Please don't let this reflect on my breakfast selections, she eats breakfast. I promise!

granny smith apple sprinkled with lemon juice

sharp cheddar cheese

The Classic Returns, Breakfast for Lunch!

noreply@blogger.com (EatPlayLove) — Fri, 06 Jan 2012 15:20:00 +0000

I have no qualms with breakfast for dinner or better yet, breakfast for lunch! It's fun to put a twist on a plain old peanut butter and jelly with a waffle. Simple as pop in the toaster and go!

Organic blueberry waffle w/peanut butter & jelly

organic pretzel rods

granny smith apple

kiwi

Happy New Year, Meet My Favorite Bento Packing Inspiration!

noreply@blogger.com (EatPlayLove) — Fri, 30 Dec 2011 19:13:00 +0000

The bento blogosphere is full of such amazing talent. For months now I've been wanting to share one of my favorite bento bloggers, but just haven't seized the moment, until NOW! Sheri is someone I found via Twitter and I instantly started following her blog. Her bento packing style is top on nutrition and amazingly beautiful. I will admit, I am in awe of her! Not only am I inspired by Sheri's bento skills, but she has a wonderful warm hearted spirit. Go check her out!

How to find Sheri:
Happy Little Bento (blog)
Flickr Photostream
Twitter

Thank you Sheri for allowing me the use of your photo:
Original Photo link from Flickr

Where To Buy Bentos in Los Angeles [w/ Photos]

noreply@blogger.com (EatPlayLove) — Thu, 10 Nov 2011 10:25:00 +0000

There's a great little section of Sawtelle Boulevard in West Los Angeles that is referred to as Little Osaka. While you may find yourself wandering around a number of shops in the area, including a great grocery store, I wanted to share the best spot for bento supplies I found.

Tokyo Japanese Outlet is like a dollar store, it's stuffed with all sorts of unique goodies like skin care products, stuffed animals, stationary goods, bento supplies, and many household items. You can see what some folks on YELP enjoy about this particular location. The bento boxes they carry are very plain, but super affordable (average $5 or less). I didn't pick up any bentos, but rather some accessories such as rice molds and small hand towels.

Tokyo Japanese Outlet

West Los Angeles, Sawtelle Center

2109 Sawtelle Blvd. Los Angeles, CA

Tel: 310-914-5320

Hours of Operation:

Sun-Th 10:00-23:00

Fri & Sat 10:00-24:00

Sometimes Lunch Packing Isn't Awesome!

noreply@blogger.com (EatPlayLove) — Wed, 09 Nov 2011 19:47:00 +0000

One of the biggest mistakes of being passionate about packing healthy and cute nutritious lunches Monday through Friday, is not having fresh ingredients on hand. I'm being honest when I say as someone who LOVES packing lunch, it can be dreadful with an empty pantry. This morning it was crunch time to get the girls out the door for school and we were out of bread (well except for 4 heels). I'm not usually thrown back with no bread in the house, I simply reach for a tortilla or pasta leftovers.

No tortillas in the house. No leftover pasta, only stuffed peppers. I just couldn't see packing stuffed pepper leftovers to my 8 year old. Not only did it have a food safety issue, I feared the social impact would've been greater.

I did what anyone does in a pinch, I cut off as much of the hard end of crust as I could and ~~threw together~~ gently crafted a sandwich with almond butter and jelly. I included some frozen edamame and an apple with a little sprinkle of Italian Volcano Lemon Juice (organic) to keep it from turning brown.

Sometimes it feels good to be real and share what I consider to be a pretty lame attempt at lunch. It helps me want to do better because I know I can. Today definitely would've been a hot lunch day for my girl if the options weren't a hot dog or cheesy broccoli baked potato, two things she snubbed!

Mom, I Need A Break From Carrots

noreply@blogger.com (EatPlayLove) — Tue, 08 Nov 2011 15:21:00 +0000

I've always wanted to post a photo collage on Fridays of what my daughter's bento looks like when it arrives home everyday. At her school, they aren't allowed to dump leftovers in the compost from lunches that were brought from home. I'm not sure if this is a new rule or if it's even a rule, it's just what my daughter has mentioned. So I believe what comes home to be a true representation of how she ate that day.

The only problem I have with posting "how'd she do" today photos is that I actually have to follow through with taking them. I'm not so good with that. I see a lunch box return home and I just want to get it into the sink. I'm going to work on my follow through because I do find leftovers interesting.

I recently purchased a 10lb bag of EarthBound Organic Farms carrots from my wholesale club. I feel like we have carrots coming out of our ears, which also may be represented by the photo below.

While I love Laptop Lunches for their waste free component, sometimes something like a squeezable organic applesauce sneaks into a lunch. It's rare, but usually a indicative of what's lacking in my refrigerator or fruit bowl.

I swear that hot dog is a penguin... Bento

noreply@blogger.com (EatPlayLove) — Thu, 03 Nov 2011 19:11:00 +0000

Back in March I picked up two different hot dog shape makers. One turns a hotdog into a penguin, the other into a crab. Today I tried the penguin, can't you tell...

Organic chicken hotdog, bun, organic ketchup (joyful bear)

strawberry hearts

veggie booty

red pepper flowers

raspberries

Fruity French Toast Bento

noreply@blogger.com (EatPlayLove) — Wed, 02 Nov 2011 14:04:00 +0000

It doesn't take much thought when you glance over and see an extra piece of French Toast just sitting there. My reaction is to cut it up and put it Sj's lunch for the day. Easy enough.

Vanilla yogurt with fresh raspberries in the thermal container

grapes, carrot flowers, heart strawberries

french toast (no syrup, I figured the yogurt was sweet enough)

Homemade Egg Roll Bento

noreply@blogger.com (EatPlayLove) — Wed, 19 Oct 2011 18:43:00 +0000

I'm huge on sandwich alternative bentos. Sandwiches day in and day out just get boring to pack, not to mention to eat! We made egg rolls last night for dinner, so I just heated it up a bit and added it to the bento. In the small container above it is some Organic Tamari (wheat free soy sauce).

To make the egg rolls, we buy the pre-made egg roll wrappers in the refrigerated section of the grocery store, typically near where you'll find tofu. We shred carrots, purple cabbage, saute some Shiitake mushrooms with tofu, fresh ginger, garlic, salt and pepper, add sesame oil and tamari, and then use the filling to stuff the egg rolls. The best part of home made egg rolls, you can bake them in the oven, they get nice and crisp and it's easier to do a big batch that way! Tip, brush the outside with a little sesame oil, then they bake up wonderfully.

This is what my workspace looks like, which I typically don't show!

Egg Rolls: vegetables and tofu. Tamari in small container.

Strawberries, celery, carrots.

Organic popcorn, medium cheddar cheese, homemade chocolate chip cookie!

Bunny Playing In Nori Bento

noreply@blogger.com (EatPlayLove) — Tue, 18 Oct 2011 03:15:00 +0000

A bunny sandwich was requested today, with nori. I didn't have any strips of nori, so I just toasted a big sheet and cut it up for the sandwich to sit on, so it didn't get wet and mushy. We don't like mushy nori.

A sheet of nori, under the bunny sandwich, other 1/2 is a moon.
Sandwich is applegate ham, sharp cheddar, organic ww bread, mustard.
Red plum, grapes.

Days Like This Bento

noreply@blogger.com (EatPlayLove) — Tue, 11 Oct 2011 19:03:00 +0000

We all have them, sometimes I chose not to share, but I am today.

Bagel with cheddar and mustard, lightly toasted

cucumber slices, strawberries

Kid's ZBar

Birthday Girl Bento, Bring On The Sushi!

noreply@blogger.com (EatPlayLove) — Tue, 04 Oct 2011 04:54:00 +0000

A special request from the birthday girl, a vegetable sushi roll for lunch. Unfortunately it was not home made, my morning consisted of preparing for a sleepover and baking a cake, so it was store bought. I'm not ashamed!

Vegetable roll, brown rice, avocado, carrots, cucumbers.

Strawberries, almonds.

Birthday treat, a Hershey's Kiss.

Hardy Chili For A Growing Girl

noreply@blogger.com (EatPlayLove) — Wed, 21 Sep 2011 19:08:00 +0000

Last night I put some spaghetti sauce in a pot, added some corn, some chili spices, and a can of organic chili beans. I served the chili over pasta and dinner was ready in a flash. My oldest ate 2 bowls of the chili and requested it for lunch as well today.

This morning, I packed a hardy lunch for her, my growing girl.

Tri-colored vege pasta with vege chili

Plain greek yogurt, topped with honey

Strawberry hearts (my new favorite way to serve them)

I Can't Pass Up Mini Bananas...

noreply@blogger.com (EatPlayLove) — Fri, 16 Sep 2011 02:56:00 +0000

Oh those darling mini bananas, they seem to call out my name as I pass by the banana section of the produce department. By the way, look at how cute it is in the bento. Bento aesthetics 101, buy the cute bananas.

Organic WW bread, Applegate Farms Ham, and vintage cheddar sandie,

Cute chocolate mushrooms/cookies from Japan,

Fresh peach, Pirate's Booty, Mini banana, carrot flowers.

My husband purchased these bags for the girls, I've taken them over as lunch bags, depending on the bento I packed that day. This one features Quatchi, he was a Vancouver Winter Olympics Mascot.

Same Foods, Different Day...

noreply@blogger.com (EatPlayLove) — Tue, 13 Sep 2011 12:11:00 +0000

Yes, same foods, different day!?! You'll definitely see overlap here, although I can't complain that I am giving more nori, berries, or broccoli to my daughter. She loves them, so I just go with it! Today I packed our LunchBots, I love the size, I go wet foods with one and dry with the other, that way there is no chance for foods to get soggy.

Nectarine, raspberries, broccoli

PB&J on WW bread, bbq pop chips, and Nori snacks.

Panda, Panda, Panda, Panda...

noreply@blogger.com (EatPlayLove) — Mon, 12 Sep 2011 15:10:00 +0000

This week ends my husband's two week business trip. I miss him and his help in the morning. I desperately wanted my daughter to get hot lunch this morning, but she asked for a bento. I obliged. It was a quickie.

We received a package of goodies from Japan that my husband picked up in Los Angeles. Inside were the panda picks, so my daughter requested her panda bento as well today. Panda x 4.

Nectarine, raspberries, from our garden tomatoes,

Organic WW tortilla and sharp cheddar quesadilla, veggie Pirate's Booty.

Un-Hot Dog Bento

noreply@blogger.com (EatPlayLove) — Fri, 09 Sep 2011 15:01:00 +0000

Our kitchen project is completed, you can see the photos at Eat Play Love.

My daughter loves when she gets something unexpected in her lunch. Today it was a Organic Whole Wheat hot dog bun for the bread of her sandwich and lunch meat rolled up, instead of a hot dog. I'm not quite sure how the mustard looked when she opened it. Another surprise, Nori Snacks! I can't keep them in the house, the girls love them.

Applegate Turkey and Ham, Sharp Cheddar, Rudi's Organic Bun,

Annie Chung's nori snacks,

Strawberries, broccoli skewers, Colorado peach,

Left over salad, greens, carrots, cukes, and tomatoes.

Kitchen Under Construction!

noreply@blogger.com (EatPlayLove) — Wed, 07 Sep 2011 02:42:00 +0000

This is what my kitchen currently looks like, so I didn't pack lunch today. I won't be packing it tomorrow either. Thank goodness our school district has an incredible lunch program.

I guess I'm using the temporary construction as an excuse, as I don't need to actually cook lunch to pack it. I'm helping with the remodel, so it's just one more thing to do. Breakfast has been enough of a challenge without water in the kitchen!

I shall resume packing lunch on Thursday. Please keep your fingers crossed for me...

Day 3 No Bread, But Who Misses It?

noreply@blogger.com (EatPlayLove) — Thu, 01 Sep 2011 03:08:00 +0000

How many days can Denise go with out bread in the house? I think I could let this theme roll on for weeks. In case you are concerned I did pick up a loaf today, but not until after school.

Our school is on a five day break, so I won't be packing bentos until next week. I may have a few alternative posts up my sleeve, so stay tuned.

Organic Whole Wheat quesadilla w/vintage sharp cheddar

grapes, little love strawberry

apples w/sprinkle fresh lemon juice, raspberry panda

Organic GMO Free corn chips, salsa in the little purple container

I Forgot The Bread... Bento

noreply@blogger.com (EatPlayLove) — Tue, 30 Aug 2011 13:30:00 +0000

Yesterday, I picked up my daughter from school and we had a leisure lunch at the grocery store. We then decided it was the best time to do some shopping. Apparently I didn't walk down the bread aisle because it wasn't until this morning that I realized, I forgot the bread. Our grocery store has just gone under a major renovation, so I am still getting used to where everything is.

Lucky for Sj my husband made pancakes for breakfast this morning, so she's going to have a pancake peanut butter and jelly for her sandwich. Oops. Maybe breakfast for lunch will be a regular theme at Colorado Bento.

You may also notice, I have a few new bentos! The nice people at LunchBots sent me a set of three 100% stainless steel bentos (even the lids). Today I packed the Duo and Pico. I must add I felt like I had room to add more food if I needed, but they seem plenty full enough for a school age girl to me. Just in case you are wondering, the stainless steel divider on the inside is fixed in the center, it is not moveable like other stainless steel bentos I own from Japan. They do sell the Uno and Eco, which are just one open space, they have no divider and are larger in size.

Duo (left):

plum, carrot flowers, fig, broccoli, grape tomatoes

Pico (right):

PB&J pancake sandwich, pretzel sticks

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Disclosure: As I mentioned I received the LunchBots for free from the company to use when packing lunches in the morning. All ideas and feedback about the LunchBots are my own.

Breakfast for Lunch Bento

noreply@blogger.com (EatPlayLove) — Mon, 29 Aug 2011 16:49:00 +0000

This may have to go down as the laziest lunch I've ever packed. I haven't been grocery shopping yet for the week, so sometimes I have to get creative. Although this lunch is not my ideal, I think it's important to show those days when I am not feeling on top of my lunch packing A-game! I hope you agree.

I had a left over piece of french toast from breakfast yesterday, so I cut it in half and put some peanut butter on it and drizzled a bit of maple syrup inside. I decided to forgo any vegetables today because it just wasn't a vegetable friendly lunch. I thought bell peppers would just be too icky with this, so I kept it to fruits.

Go Go Squeeze organic applesauce

peaches

yogurt with a sprinkle of granola

French toast with peanut butter and maple syrup

Quick Bento This Morning

noreply@blogger.com (EatPlayLove) — Thu, 25 Aug 2011 14:17:00 +0000

My daughter requested macaroni and cheese this morning, but it was taking forever for the water to boil, so I went with a whole wheat cheese quesadilla instead. I put the quesadilla in a separate bento since it's warm (or warmer than the fruit and vegetables).

This is what a bento looks like when I clearly need to go grocery shopping. I could possibly squeak out one more lunch, but I need to get some fruit. Our garden helped add the red to the mix today, thank you tomato season.

Three vegetables, one fruit...

Whole wheat tortilla, medium cheddar quesadilla

carrots, organic edamame (always buy organic to avoid GMO's)

grapes, tomatoes

Bountiful Panda Bento

noreply@blogger.com (EatPlayLove) — Wed, 24 Aug 2011 14:36:00 +0000

One of the best finds I ever made for making lunch packing fun and easy are Japanese Floral Vegetable Cutters. I have two sets and they easily cut through vegetables like carrots. They are deeper and made of a sturdier metal than just regular cookie cutters. I love using my mini-cupcake silicone cups for panda, they were perfectly for the top layer.

Today I was successful meeting my fresh fruit and vegetable standard! 3 Vegetables, 1 fruit, 1 fruit strip (made from 100% fruit).

Whole Wheat bread, Applegate turkey, sharp cheddar cheese, cut with cookie cutter

Vegetable straws

Cherry Tomatoes

Carrots, green grapes, cucumbers

Mystery item in the corner? Fruit strips cut into flowers (dessert).

Lunch Packing, It's All About Color

noreply@blogger.com (EatPlayLove) — Tue, 23 Aug 2011 15:16:00 +0000

I have a thing for fruits and vegetables, on top of that I love for a lunch to be filled with a wide range of colors. If I look in a packed lunch and see too many things of one color or lacking color (palette of brown for example) that makes me nervous. I've said it before, I always try to pack a combination of three fruits and/or vegetables. The grain or carbs are just secondary in my mind.

If I see a rainbow, I feel content.

Homemade pizza w/basil from our garden!

organic green grapes

orange bell pepper

Blueberries

watermelon

I'd have to admit, that's close to a perfect lunch for me. Although, one more vegetable would make it perfect!

Dads Pack Lunches, Too.

noreply@blogger.com (EatPlayLove) — Mon, 22 Aug 2011 15:44:00 +0000

Credit due to my husband who lets me sleep in a bit longer, sometimes I wake to find lunch already packed. He doesn't cut off the crust or use cookie cutters to make cutesy shaped sandwiches. Honestly, she eats it just as well. I wouldn't send an applesauce in lunch, but I am sure Sj demanded it (they were purchased the night before). We love those applesauce pouches.

Overall well done, I'm giving him his own label (see Josh)!

Go Squeez Applesauce

Zucchini Bread

Applegate ham and cheese

Raspberries and blueberries