Patriotic Prechool Bento + Shake Test!

I didn't plan on making a patriotic bento today, but it evolved into one when I noticed all the foods I'd packed were red, white & blue... so I stuck a paper American flag in one of the cheese pieces and voilà! A 4th of July-worthy preschool bento lunch or sampler snack tray :)

Birdie & Sprout shared this colourful sampler for an afternoon snack:

• red, white & blue Goldfish crackers
• mozzarella string cheese
• strawberries
• blueberries
• yogurt for dipping
• dried strawberries
• yogurt-covered raisins

Packed in their Zak! Designs Dr. Sears Nibble Tray

Shake it up! 

I packed yogurt in the detachable EZ Freeze dip section of the Nibble Tray specifically so I could do a shake test with it. A reader had recently asked: "Does the attached tray travel well with the body or come unattached easily? [Her child] is a lunchbox swinger and banger, so everything has to be very sturdy!" I didn't know... so I decided to put it to the test :)

 

The "leaf" dip section attaches securely to the "pineapple" main section with tabs on the leaf that clip into slots on the pineapple. The lid of the main section actually overlaps the clips so when it is filled and sealed, the dip section cannot come unattached, even when overturned, as shown in the pic above. The lids seal well too. To see if the Nibble Tray could survive being jostled about in a schoolbag,  I filled it, sealed it, then shook it up, on video :

I just love our Nibble Tray, and so do my little ones! 

Disclaimer: This is not a sponsored post or solicited review. Descriptions, video & opinions are my own,  given purely in response to a reader question :) This post does contain affiliate links, because, if you're going to buy one based on what you've seen here, why not toss a few coins my way!

Rainbow Week : Green Day!

Our Rainbow Week continues with my favourite colour:

Green

Bella's Green Day lunch is a green salad with striped cucumbers, diagonal sliced mozzarella, a striped Granny Smith apple, and green grapes. This one was easy since she likes most greens! But sadly, not kiwi.

It's Groundhog Day! Sailor Boy's groundhog saw his shadow, so went back to sleep in his bed of lettuce...

6 more weeks of winter... I thought so. I made this lunch last night, but I had a feeling winter wasn't over yet, so I cut a snowflake out of a Babybel cheese - my first embellished Babybel :) In the main compartment of his Easy Lunchbox Sailor boy gets chicken kebabs again - this time atop a green salad, and with mandarin oranges. The small green container is filled with salad dressing - and that's a Light My Fire spork, they're great. Mister Groundhog is made of refried beans, with dried chile features and provolone teeth.

Pickle got frog prince & fairy princess peanut butter sandwiches made with sandwich cutters from the Lunch Punch Sand*wishes set. 

Rainbow

Birdie & Sprout's Green Day rainbow muffin tin meal was a yogurt & fruit bar!

I set out plain yogurt and a flower muffin tin filled with mango, banana, kiwi, strawberry & blueberry stir-ins, and a graham crumb & milled flaxseed "cookie crumble" topping. I gave them each a bowl and spoon and let them scoop their own yogurt and add their own fruit. 

They loved it! They were totally digging the "cookie crumble" too, and I was feeling pretty smug about sneaking the flaxseed in there :) Both girls were munching as much fruit as they were putting into their bowls, and still ate what was in the bowl when they finished filling it. They got yogurt and fruit all over, so I did have to put my camera up and sit at the table with them to assist. It was messy but fun.

I did take a quick snap of Birdie's bowl - second helping! Look at that messy mixture - both their bowls looked like that - and they ate it up! Now, if I had served them something that looked like that, they would have declared it "yuck" and refused it, but since they made it themselves...  :)

I was all excited to see Birdie add some kiwi, that was one of the 2 fruits I was almost certain they wouldn't touch. But if she actually ate any, it was by accident - she picked that big chunk back out. Ah well, she gobbled up everything else in her bowl, even the mango, which was the other fruit I didn't think they'd eat, yay!  I'm definitely going to let them do this again... but next time, they'll be wearing smocks :)

More Rainbow Fun!

Did you read my review of the Rainbow Kit?
I didn't mention that there's a Today I Ate A Rainbow Song!
Birdie & Sprout will sing it for you:

Isn't it cute?!  Want to hear it again? Visit The Today I Ate A Rainbow Song Page! to see it performed by Hannah, rainbow eating daughter of Kia, who created Today I Ate A Rainbow!  My Sprout wanted to sing it solo too:

Enter my Today I Ate A Rainbow! giveaway

 for a chance to win your own Rainbow Kit!