Lunch box Round Up #12

I've really been enjoying my new lunch containers by Lock & Lock. I also purchased a container very similar to Lock & Lock's 4 square, since those seem to be out of stock everywhere. It's the perfect size for my tween daughter's smaller lunch portions. Here are last week's lunches in my new containers. 

Jambalaya, cantaloupe, salad, dressing

Mr. Right has also been enjoying the new containers and my recent consistency of packing him a lunch almost every day. This not only helps our budget, but also allows him to be extra careful about his sodium intake. Since I started packing his lunch more regularly, he's eating a lot healthier, and especially loves the flavorful salads. (As you can see, I "forked" the cantaloupe to transfer it to the container. I wasn't thinking how it might look in the pic. Oopsies.)

Boiled egg, Rosemary & Olive Oil crackers,
homemade ranch dip (in yellow container), carrots, cheese wedge,
frozen mango chunks

Homemade veggie fried rice, pistachios, clementine, raspberries

Here are a few of my other Lock & Lock containers. I love using the cylinder one for drinks. They're totally leak proof! Here's a simple lunch I made for my tween. 

Beef Lo Mein (Chinese take-out), cucumber, clementines, milk

The last 2 photos are of the 4-square container made by Kinetic. I was able to find a brand new one on eBay. They are leakproof, BPA free, and hold perfect portions for my 12 year old. She loves them! 

Pasta Salad, cucumber, clementine, Goldfish crackers,
peanut butter (to eat by itself), mozzarella cheese (in yellow container
to sprinkle on pasta salad)

Quinoa Confetti Salad, vanilla yogurt with honey, clementine,
raspberries, pistachios, chocolate candy bar piece

Which lunch accessories could you not live without?

Happy Packing!

Lunch box Round Up #11

Well, school is back in full swing and I'm very exited to be making lunches again. For the first week of school, I resorted to using a few of my tried-and-true lunch box ideas as the kids and I adjusted to the new (earlier) schedule. Thankfully, that first week went very smoothly. But last Saturday, after a nice, restful sleep, I woke up very motivated to do some make-ahead lunch prep for the following week. Amazingly, it didn't take very long at all, and boy did it pay off during this past week! The mornings were almost, dare I say... easy! I planned a menu for each day's lunch, so there was absolutely no brain work involved -- Just check the list, pack the food -- DONE. And we managed to make it out the door with time to spare. It's much less stressful that way! So here is a photo of most of the things I made, just before everything (except kale and pizza pinwheels) went into the freezer. The next day, I whipped up a batch of muffins (which they sometimes ate for breakfast), mini chocolate chip cookies and I also prepped salad ingredients. 

Make Ahead Lunch Prep

Items Pictured:

1. Marinara sauce (for dip to use with pizza pinwheels)

2. Quinoa Confetti Salad

3. Veggie Fried Rice

4. Quinoa & Brown Rice Molds (with cheesy center)

5. Spinach, Banana & Berries smoothies

6.Baked Kale Chips

7. Pizza Pinwheels

Muffin tins are fabulous for making individual portions. Just freeze, then carefully remove food from muffin cups using a butter knife, then store in a freezer bag in the freezer. Allow to thaw in fridge overnight for next day's lunch. It's helpful to put the individual portions in ramekins or small bowls for thawing. Just place the bowls on a plate and cover the whole thing with plastic wrap. 

Here are some of the lunches I made this past week.

pizza pinwheels, marinara sauce for dipping, salad,
salad dressing, mini chocolate chip cookie

The pizza pinwheels were a huge hit. This was my first time making them, and the whole family, myself included, thought they were delish. My kids both ate them cold, but I heated them up, along with the sauce... Yum.

Quinoa Confetti Salad, peanut butter balls,
blueberries, watermelon, pretzel crisps

I usually add okra to the Quinoa Confetti Salad because my kids love it so much, and also a squirt of Bragg's Liquid Amino Acids for a soy sauce flavor.

That green divider you see is from a different lunch container. It is part of Rubbermaid's new Lunch Blox series and this is part of the salad kit.

Quinoa & Brown Rice with cheesy center, squirted with Bragg's Liquid Aminos,
apple, peanut butter, blueberry muffin,
Annie's Cheesy Cheddar Bunnies, (vegetable juice -- not pictured)

Mini Quiche Cups, tomatoes, mini Triscuits,
steamed green beans, apple, (smoothie -- not pictured)

The mini quiche cups were made with eggs, chopped red pepper, chopped green onions, and mozzarella cheese. You can really tailor these to fit your taste. If you (or your kiddos) don't like peppers & onions, try broccoli, cauliflower, carrots, olives, spinach, or simply just add cheese!

I'm expanding my horizons this year and investing in some new lunch box containers, although I will still continue to use my Easy Lunchboxes as well. These are part of my new Lock & Lock Lunch box System and I absolutely LOVE THEM. What can I say, I'm a sucker for awesome containers. When these arrived in the mail, I could not wait to use them! So here is Mr. Right's lunch packed in a few of our new Lock & Lock's. (I have a few more designs coming, so you'll be seeing those in future posts.)

Italian Lemon Chicken, quinoa & rice with cheese,
steamed Brussel's Sprouts, apple, salad with olives on the side, dressing 

Lunch packed in Lock & Lock containers

Here is what comes in the set. You get 3 containers and 1 lunch box. They are not sold separately. The bottom container is deeper than the other 2. The top one comes with 2 removable dividers. The left one with the Brussel's Sprouts is one divider, and the chicken and rice make up the other (it has 2 compartments.) All items are very sturdy and well made, the containers are completely airtight and do not leak. The 3 containers fit very snugly in the lunch box, not leaving room for an ice pack or drink, but I couldn't see ever using all 3 containers at once.

Lock & Lock Lunchbox System

 Here are 2 of my other Lock & Lock products. The right one is the 14 fluid ounce round container that is just perfect for drinks. The left one is part of a round 12 piece set I bought at my local grocery store. I can't recall the ounces for this one, but it holds a medium-sized sliced apple.

sliced apple and vegetable juice in Lock & Lock containers

Lunch packed in Lock & Lock containers

This is the lunch box packed with the 2 short rectangular containers, along with the small round container (sold separately.) I didn't try to fit an ice pack in there since Mr. Right will be putting this in the refrigerator at work, but I think I could fit a thin one on the very bottom if I needed to, and still be able to zip it. I look forward to packing many more lunches in my new Lock & Lock containers!

The first 4 lunches in this post were packed in EasyLunchboxes, also one of my favorite containers. Click on over to find out how to order!

Happy packing!

Works for Me Wednesday {In the Kitchen}

Make me chop an onion and I'll cry you a river. No joke. One whiff and my eyes will be on fire and the tears will start rolling down my face. It happens every time, yet it doesn't stop me from chopping onions several times a week. My fear is that one of these days I will end up slicing into one of my fingers because by the time I get to the last few slices, I can't see!

I needed to come up with an easy solution that would allow me to chop a week's worth of onions at a time without shedding a tear. I especially love caramelized onions and since they take so long to cook, I like to make a huge batch at once. I've tried many things, and some things have worked a little, but my eyes would still end up burning for the rest of the evening, long after dinner was eaten.

But lo and behold, I have found something that works!! MATCHES! I don't know the exact science as to why it works, but I'm pretty sure it has something to do with the sulphur mixing with the gases from the onions. So here's what you do if you have this problem too.

Light a match and blow it out. (I add an extra step and wave the blown out match around the area where I'll be chopping the onions. I'm not sure if it helps or not, but it surely doesn't hurt.) Then put the OTHER end of the match in your mouth, so that the end you lit (and hopefully blew out) is hanging out. Proceed to chop as many onions as you like and whatever you do, DO NOT OPEN YOUR MOUTH. I believe this is key, so just breathe normally through your nose until all onions are chopped, scraps are thrown away, and you've thoroughly washed your hands. I do not remove the match until I've washed my hands. It really does work! Also, be sure and use the vent above your stove as it will also help absorb the gases being released by the onions.

I've been doing this for several weeks now and I'm loving having a batch of fresh, caramelized onions in my fridge at all times.

Although, a few weeks ago, I had to start doubling the recipe (no problem since I discovered the match trick!) I discovered by accident that caramelized onions are absolutely wonderful in salad! I happened to be making a salad for lunch during one of my batches of onion-cooking, and decided to try it and I'm so glad I did! I like to warm the onions before adding them. I recommend trying it!

Do you have a trick for chopping onions without crying? I'd love to hear what others do!

Happy chopping!