Saturday, February 28, 2009

Scrapblog

A while back I discovered scrapblog. I have found it to be an easy tool to use for making quick blog headers and digital scrapbooking projects. Free, easy to use... what's not to like?

I used scrapblog to make the header for this blog, and I really like it. I started with a template and changed some things up a bit, but I thought it really embodied the bento spirit. So there it is.

I also used scrapblog to make a little album of some of the bentos I've done. I'd like to add to this little album as I make more bentos (and archive my past ones), and maybe some day I'll print my own book of bentos. =D Maybe. We'll see.

So, even though it's in its early stages, here's my bento album from scrapblog. I didn't spend much time on it, but I did try to archive some of the bentos I've made Eliana this year. I'd like to go back and maybe add in the foods from each bento, but we'll see if that happens. For right now here's what it looks like...


Friday, February 27, 2009

Not quite sure what to call this one....

Bento

I think in my scrapblog I called it "Radioactive Men" - not because they were intended to be radioactive men, but because those cute juice heart ice cubes I put in the applesauce look like the radioactive symbol to me! Oh well... you win some, you lose some.

Anyway, this bento consists of appleasuce (with fruit juice heart ice cubes), carrots, peas, and cornbread men.

Thursday, February 26, 2009

Owl always love you...

Bento Owl

I couldn't resist the punny title! This is Eliana's bento from today. Nothing too fancy, super easy to put together. But I think it's so cute! Perhaps because I have a wee obsession with cute little owls... The silicone cups hold pasta and spaghetti sauce, topped with Tofutti and olives to make the owl eyes. The bottom is full of baby carrots and a few more olives, and the beak is a heart shaped pumpkin muffin.

There you have it. Easy peasy and cute to boot!

Circus Time!

Bento

This is a bento I made a week or two ago for Eliana. Ham elephants with fruit leather stars and hats, fruit leather circus tent flags, and a fruit spread heart on another fruit leather. Some frozen peas make up the floor of the circus tent, and the whole scene is resting atop a pile of mac and cheese underneath. Oh, and just for kicks I added some yellow sprinkles at the top of the tent. It just seemed like a fun idea. =D

Wednesday, February 25, 2009

When Dinosaurs Roamed the Earth...

Ellie's Bento 2-24-09

This is Eliana's bento from yesterday... I wanted something cute, but simple since I didn't have a whole lot of time to put it together. The base of the bento (which you can't see) is celery and peanut butter, which just bumps everything else up since I don't yet have "real" bento boxes, so mine are a little deep. Then I cut two dinosaurs from a slice of high fiber and flax bread (using a super-easy sandwich cutter) and slathered them with Simply Fruit spread. I used a yellow silicone cup filled with whole wheat pasta and "cheese" (tofutti) with a tofutti sun (cut from the slices before I melted them into the mac and cheese) for decoration. I filled in the open spaces with peas and lunch was done! Not the fanciest bento ever, but it was quick and easy, and she liked it! Here's the proof....

Ellie Eating her Bento

(The sun was the first thing to go...)

Ellie Eating her Bento

(Then the dinosaurs...)

Ellie Eating her Bento

Eventually, all that was left of this little bento was two of the four celery sticks and a few scattered peas. Yay for empty bentos!

Tuesday, February 24, 2009

Well... Here we are again....

Once again I am starting a new blog. I am finding my new bento habit is taking over my child-rearing blog, so I think it's time it has a blog of its own. So... welcome to BENTO-RIFFIC!

I love all things crafty and creative, so I figure it was only time before my newest craft involved food (in a form other than baking, cupcakes, cake decorating, or candy making...) and when you have a 2 year old daughter like I do, it's just too hard not to get sucked into cute food!

So here I am. Sucked into the cute food world of bento. But I love it. And she loves it. So let's just embrace it, shall we?

I will work on posting some of my previous bentos over here, but for right now most of them are posted on Train Up A Child. I have some other bentos I haven't yet posted, but I suppose I will be posting them here when I finally get them up.

As a SAHM of a toddler who isn't in daycare or preschool, I don't make bentos every day. I think it would be fun to get to that point, but right now I only make them for special days or when we are going out. Now that it's starting to warm up, I'm hoping we'll be getting out more often. =D

Anyway.... enough of an introduction. I think this blog makes my addiction to Bento official, and my order of bento supplies will be arriving on Thursday, which will only fuel the fire. It'll be bento-riffic!