Back To School with yubo for my Bigger Boy!

This Back To School lunch I made for Pickle may be the last one of his that I blog! He's decided that now that he's in middle school, he's too old for themed bentos & shaped sandwiches, and wants plain lunches.  But I packed him this one (possibly) last special lunch anyways :)

He has a Babybel cheese with a check mark carved in the wax, Oreos with a chalkboard pick stuck in the frosting of one, yogurt with chocoladehagel (sprinkles), a notebook paper peanut butter sandwich embellished with food markers, stacked atop a second plain sandwich, & a Lunchbox Love note.

Everything pictured plus a drink, napkin, & spork is packed in his new, more grown up, yubo tote. It's less bulky than the yubo lunchbox, but still the perfect size for all the yubo containers, & more:

The yubo ice pack fits perfectly in the new soft-sided Tote, along with the same container combination as can be packed in the hard-sided yubo, as well as additional yubo container(s), accessories and/or a drink.

Something else that's new for middle school is that Pickle doesn't have an aide sitting with him,  encouraging him to eat tidily & helping him pack up when he's finished.  He likes to squish his food - it's an autism/sensory thing - plus he's neither the neatest of eaters, nor very good about remembering to put the lids back on his containers, & frequently brings home a messy lunch bag covered inside & out with smushed Oreo smears & spilled yogurt. So I was pretty thrilled with the ability to completely unsnap the yubo Tote & wipe it down, or even machine wash it. No scrubbing crud out of seams, yay!

I really like that when the yubo tote is completely unsnapped it becomes a placemat. Having a messy kid myself makes me more than a bit squeamish about eating on shared surfaces... who knows what germs are lurking there ready to leap onto my lunch, heheh... so this is a great feature for me :)

See all the lunchboxes & accessories yubo has to offer at getyubo.com

● ● ● ● ●

Just in case anyone's wondering about the bottle in Pickle's lunch, it's this:

It's called Bot-L, by Fred & Friends, & it's one of his favourites.  I like it well enough - it doesn't leak - but it's not insulated, & I have to hand wash it...
so I don't love it quite as much as Pickle does ;)

Disclosure: I received no monetary compensation for this post. I was offered a complimentary yubo tote to review with no obligation to endorse. This post does contain affiliate links to products I used. All opinions & images are my own. 

Back To School Giveaway: Lunchbox Love!

I love our Lunchbox Love for Kids notes, they're a fun way to connect with my sproutlets while they're at school, and we often enjoy discussing what their cards said when I pick them up.  They sometimes tell me that their whole lunch table enjoyed the fun trivia or joke as well :) I'm so pleased to be able to share some of that Lunchbox Love fun, with a giveaway! 

The folks at Say Please have generously offered to send one of my readers 4 volumes of Lunchbox Love for Kids, & the 2 volumes of the new Lunchbox Love for Kids Riddles! That's 72 Lunchbox Love notes, awesome!

We love the new Lunchbox Love for Kids Riddles!

Just like the original Lunchbox Love for Kids, the new Riddles cards feature positive messages on the front, but instead of a fun fact or joke on the back, these cards feature a tricky riddle (and answer) that's sure to entertain your child & their lunch companions :)

You may recognize this lunch I packed for Bella,  I shared it earlier this week in a round up of lunch box note bentos, but I didn't mention that the Lunchbox Love note I included is from Volume 1 of those new Riddles :)

Bella & her siblings had fun trying to guess the answer to the riddle on the back of her Lunchbox Love, & made some funny guesses before Bella got it! And the message on the front made her smile right away :)

Do you know a riddle, joke, fun fact, or sweet sentiment you'd like to see on a Lunchbox Love note? Share it in the comments at the bottom of this post, then enter the Giveaway via the widget below:

a Rafflecopter giveaway

Connect with the Lunchbox Love community via the Lunchbox Love Blog 

or follow them on Twitter ● Facebook ● Instagram ● Pinterest & Google+

Message in a Bento: 11 Lunch Note Ideas

When I pack my kidlets a bento I'm sending them to school with more than a nutritious & waste-free lunch... packing their favourite foods with fun touches also sends the message that I love them & want them to enjoy their meal! And it doesn't need to be fancy to be fun; simply adding an amusing or encouraging note is enough to brighten their lunch & their day :)

I love including a Lunchbox Love note ♥ Each colourful card has a positive message on one side, a joke or fun fact on the other. My sproutlets tell me the whole lunch table enjoys them - hooray for sharing the Love!

 In this lunch:  Watermelon & cantaloupe, cereal & pretzel snack mix, cheddar tortilla spirals, a heart-shaped hard-cooked egg, & symphony tomatoes, packed in Laptop Lunches.

A bananagram is an a-peel-ing way to slip in a note :) Did you know you can write on a banana's peel with something pointed, like a toothpick, & your message will turn brown by lunchtime? I'm sure I got a bunch of smiles with this silly pun message for my sproutlet who was getting over a cold.

 In this lunch:  Babybel cheese with smiley face cut-out, banana, crackers, mini turkey pepperoni, golden & orange carrots, grapes, & pistachios, packed in Laptop Lunches.

No artistic ability was needed to make this confidence booster!  I used Wilton alphabet cutters to add some encouragement to my nervous about starting middle school 6th grader's sandwich :)

In this lunch:  Peanut butter sandwich, cantaloupe,  apple wedges & caramel dip, & Babybel cheese with star cut-out,  packed in Laptop Lunches.

Make an impression with a stamped sandwich! Cookie stamps can also be used on bread! I have a cookie message set for embossing words & phrases, even more fun ... fondant stamps would work just as well :)

In this lunch:  Embossed peanut butter sandwich, apple wedges, strawberry hearts, & yogurt with rainbow marshmallow bits, packed in Laptop Lunches.

7 more ways to leave a message in their lunchbox:

• Food markers. Write a note on their sandwich, cookie, or cheese!
• Alphabet crackers or cookies. Glue them to a granola bar or across a sandwich with honey :)
• Alphabet bento picks. Stick them in almost anything to spell out a message. I use mine a lot! There is 1 of each letter per package so I got 3 sets to have enough letters.
• Include a little chalkboard, like these Lunch Box Scribbles.
• Dry erase marker. Make a test mark on your lunchbox first, in a spot that won't be seen, just in case. 
• Write on erasable stickers made for labeling food!
• You can always write a message or draw a picture on a piece of note paper, or if you use them, paper napkin (like this dad!), plastic baggie (like this dad!), or paper lunch bag (like this dad!). 

●  ●  ●  ● 

☺ This post contains affiliate links to the tools used to create these lunches.

Back to School Bento Basics & Blooming Bento

If you asked me for a tip about packing bento lunches, I'd probably tell you ...
You don't need to spend a lot on bento tools & accessories - spend some time playing around with what you have on hand first! You may discover you already have more bento-worthy tools than you thought - and the most important tools - your creativity & ingenuity - are free ♥ 

But I know you want the fun bento stuff anyways, so be sure to do the Bento Bloggers & Friends Bento Basics Giveaway Blog Hop! 

I skipped the bento picks & went back to basics to make this simple flower-filled EasyLunchboxes bento. I made the cheese sandwich flowers with a cookie cutter from the Wilton 101 Cookie Cutters set I've had since I began making bento.  I've gotten so much use from this set! It has the complete alphabet, numbers, animals, vehicles, sports, seasonal & holiday shapes, flowers, hearts, stars, & more... a little of everything. I also cut some carrot blossoms, arranged grapes in a flower design, & filled a Tupperware Smidget with candy-coated chocolate sunflower seeds for a colourful treat:

The small blossoms are organic rainbow carrots! They came in a bundle with the usual orange carrots, plus yellow & purple ones (which have gold centers!) They're so pretty ♥ They all taste pretty much the same to me though, I don't think I'd be able to tell them apart in a taste test :) To make the carrot blossoms, I sliced a couple of rounds from the end of each carrot & cut it into a flower shape with a vegetable cutter.

 

To make the grape flower I arranged a few on their sides in a silicone baking cup, nestled one in the center of them, & filled the surrounding space with grapes of another colour. Cherry or grape tomatoes work well too :)

Before I put the lid on the EasyLunchbox, I added a colourful cloth napkin to the main compartment. Tip: use a cloth napkin to fill space & keep food from shifting. Lastly, I tucked in colourful Lunchbox Love note, to brighten my sproutlet's lunch & day :) And I did remember to put the lid on the Smidget!

Most of the stuff I used to make this lunch: 

 

●  ●  ●  ●

So, going back to my beginner to bento tip...  to help you get started building your bento toolbox from what's already in your kitchen, I've made a list of items that come to mind :)

Bento Tools & Accessories Already In Your Kitchen!

• A sharp paring knife is all you need to make striped cucumbers, checkered apples, & carrot stars.
• Drinking straws can be used to cut out tiny circles, ovals, & crescents for details & features.
• Tweezers are handy for placing tiny details where they go. 
• Cookie cutters can be used to cut sandwiches, cheese, lunch meat, & some fruits & veggies.
• Cookie stamps can be used to make impressions in bread, and even some fruits, like watermelon.
• Cupcake picks make awesome bento decorations! Save some from all the parties you give & go to :)
• A melon baller makes fun fruit shapes, & tiny rice balls (onigiri).
• Vegetable crinkle cutters can be used for more than veggies :)
• An empanada (dumpling) press makes fun filled mini-sandwiches.
• Cocktail picks & drink stirrers make great skewers.
• Bottle caps & medicine cups do double duty as circle cutters.
• Play dough cutters & accessories make brilliant bento tools! 

I'm sure there are more I'm forgetting, too. So while all those cute bento picks & themed cutter sets are fun to collect & use, you can take your time acquiring them while you use what you have. As you develop your skills & discover your style, it'll be easier to decide which items you really want  :)

●  ●  ●  ●

And hey, maybe you'll be a winner in the Bento Bloggers & Friends Back To School Bento Basics Giveaway ... the Grand Prize is a $70 gift voucher to BentoUSA ... what a bento shopping spree that would be!

Even if you don't win a prize, you'll get valuable tips from the Bento Bloggers & Friends that will make the blog hop worth your while - it'll be a bento learning experience :) Now, pay attention, here's how to enter: 

Take note of the letter & number on the blackboard puzzle piece below. Next, click the button beside it to hop to Lunches Fit for A Kid to see what tips Astrid has for you & get the next piece in the puzzle. Keep hopping & collecting puzzle pieces until you get to the Bento Bloggers & Friends blog, where you can enter the Giveaway! You'll need to put all your puzzle pieces in numerical order to spell the answer to a mandatory question in the Rafflecopter widget, then follow the instructions there to get more entries. Good luck!

   

More details about prizes & stuff in the Bento Bloggers & Friends blog post. Now go! Hop!

Back To School: Bean Sprout & Bella

The sproutlets went back to school today! New First Grader Sprout got her Back to School themed Go Green Lunchbox as requested:

She has a notebook paper peanut butter sandwich, Fig Newtons speared with an apple pick, Red Delicious apple wedges, yogurt with ABC & 123 sprinkles, raspberries & strawberries with a 1 pick (for 1st grade), and iced tea to drink.

Bella said she was looking forward to an "epic" lunch for the first day of 5th Grade. Uh oh. Just a wee bit of pressure there, heheh. I was pressed for time and hadn't given it much thought to it ahead of time, but I did my best :

She too has notebook paper (made using food markers), but hers is a Fold-it flatbread pizza sandwich, filled with marinara sauce & cheese. She also got sunburst tomatoes on a star spear, cantaloupe, cucumber & carrots with Read & Write food picks, and little apple cups filled with dried strawberries & a couple of Chocorooms pretzel treats, atop a couple of Fig Newtons. Unsure if it qualified as "epic",  I added a note to the sandwich for good measure :)

Pickle requested a plain square peanut butter sandwich, yogurt, string cheese, and Oreo. No need to photograph that ;) And Beanstalk wanted the school lunch! Birdie's not back in preschool yet, and a good thing too - I am out of practice at time crunch lunch packing!

●  ●  ●  ● 

Stuff used to make these lunches:

Edible Geekery : A Star Trek Lunch is Cool For School!

Beanstalk went off to school with a cool space themed PlanetBox lunch. He has beef jerky in the Little Dipper, fruit leather, a satsuma orange, space shape Goldfish crackers, little chocolate covered "asteroids" for a treat, & a Star Trek phaser peanut butter sandwich surrounded by mini starburst sandwiches:

I've been itching to use these new Star Trek cutters from ThinkGeek!

They're actually cookie cutters, but I'm no baker, I'll be using them for sandwiches :) I'll have to get creative with using the scraps though, they aren't the ideal size for bread... I asked Beanstalk which one he wanted today and he chose the phaser, which leaves the most bread behind, so I made the stars.

I usually include a cloth napkin with lunch, placed over the sandwich cut-outs. It keeps them from shifting, and keeps the crumbs from migrating too :) I did that after I snapped the pic. And the Horizon chocolate milk box went in the pocket of the PlanetBox Rover bag, with a little ice pack that you can't see :

The PlanetBox Rover is just his size & style. And off he goes!

Back To School: Yubo Review & Giveaway!

Boy do I have something fun to post about today! A yubo review & giveaway! I'm so pleased that one of my readers will get to enjoy this unique lunchbox system for free! 

We've been using our yubo for a few weeks now.  It's one of my favourites to pack, and I think it's Pickle's all-time favourite to take lunch in. He wants to take it every day, but sometimes he has to share with his little kindergartner sister, Sprout :)  Here's a fun yubo lunch I packed for her:

Sprout has PB & chocolate PB sandwich spirals (a fun way to fit a sandwich in a small space ♥ click here for my sandwich spirals tutorial), plus carrot blossoms, pluots, kiwi, yogurt, & raspberry applesauce. 

Yes, 2 runny things! No, I'm not at all concerned about them spilling and making a mess in the lunchbox - the inner containers are definitely tried and true leakproof :) In fact, when Pickle took this Snoopy lunch (below) he dropped it while running across the schoolyard - on the pavement - and everything in his lunch, including the yogurt, remained intact! 

●  ●  ●  ● 

Now, back to telling you about the yubo!

The yubo lunchbox is made up of the lunchbox frame, handle, outer walls (or lid and bottom if you prefer), and 2 faceplates. The handle can be attached anywhere along the outer frame. The faceplates can be changed, and yubo has many to choose from, including holiday designs - you can even get them personalized with names and/or photographs! 

The yubo Deluxe comes with it's own custom ice pack, a large square & 2 small round containers. They're just the right size for a yogurt :) Some yogurt cups are a perfect fit too (see below). You can also purchase additional yubo containers & accessories, like the medium-sized ones in Sprout's lunch (top) and the drink holder attached to the frame of Pickle's yubo (above).

The inner containers are easy for my kidlets to open & close, and they don't leak! And even if they don't put the lids back on when they pack up from lunch, and yogurt ends up all over the inside of the lunchbox, it's all right - it comes apart easily for cleaning - but not too easily - it can survive typical kid roughness. I can tell Pickle's takes some abuse judging by how dirty it is when he gets home, but that's okay - the whole thing goes in the dishwasher! 

Our yubo lunchbox is in demand! 

You might remember in my Back to School post, I mentioned that there was more to the story of our hectic morning? Well, it might have appeared as if we had 2 yubos, when in fact,  we only have 1... There was a bit of a battle over that yubo :) I had packed an adorable apple bento in it, for Sprout:

Now, the yubo is Pickle's favourite - but I hadn't meant for it to belong to any one person, I thought the sproutlets could share it, so when it came in the mail and Pickle asked "Is that a new lunchbox for me?",  I said "Yep, it's for everybody!"...  I thought he understood ...

I was mistaken though ... when Pickle saw Sprout's apple-themed First day of school lunch packed in his new favourite lunchbox, he was quite upset. Remember, he's autistic, and doesn't switch gears as quickly as some kids, and he was stuck on taking that yubo for his first day. So, since Sprout only had a half day for her first day of Kindergarten and didn't really need to take a lunchbox, I took her lunch out and repacked it for him.

Luckily, I'd bought some extra inner containers, so it was a quick fix :) And clearly I was going to need to buy another yubo!

But guess what? The folks at yubo are so awesome, they offered to squelch the squabbling for me by sending me a 2nd yubo with one of their new Hallowe'en faceplate design and I'll have a coupon code to offer those who entered the giveaway a special discount on those! Eek! So you'll be seeing Hallowe'en yubo lunches very soon, and then get another chance to win one of your own. And if you just can't wait, go and check them out on the yubo website, or Follow them on Facebook to get all the updates.

Things I Love

• Containers don't leak.
• Lunchbox and containers are easy for kids to open & close.
• So easy to clean - love that the whole thing is washable, and in the dishwasher too! 
• Versatility - I love being able to arrange the inner containers different ways, with different sizes, yet all fitting together.
• Changeable faceplates & overall look make it fun & unique.
• Ice pack perfectly sized for container.
• Availability of additional inner containers means I can pack portions ahead of time for faster mornings.

Things I Don't Love, but can live with :) [updated 1 year later]

• Drink holder attaches with velcro, which may wear out... or not :)
  [1 year & many washings later, still holding strong]
• Multiple small containers & lids means more things to open & close & try not to lose. [we've not lost any yet!]
• Slightly bulky, especially when drink holder added. Kids don't seem to mind though! [carried vertically it feels much less bulky] It does fit in their backpacks though.

Overall, I love the design of the yubo! It's eco-friendly, practical, and fun.

Yubo is Sproutlet Approved!

And now, the Giveaway! The folks at yubo have generously offered to give one lucky reader a personalized Deluxe Yubo lunchbox of their choice! 
a Rafflecopter giveaway

Disclosure: I was provided with a Deluxe Yubo lunchbox to review. No other compensation was given.  All opinions, descriptions,  and images are my own, with the exception of the Yubo logo.