Handy Pandas Bento

Monday, 10/22/12 - We haven't been able to go to the baby class at Little Gym because each location near us only offered one time slot for the littlest babies, and one conflicted with Z's preschool, and the other with E's. So we skipped most of September and October, until E finally reached 10-months-old and could move to the next class, with more time slots! This was our first day in her new 10-19-months class with {much} older kiddos. So I packed our EasyLunchboxes, since Z would need a lunch to eat between Baby's gym class and preschool.

I randomly chose panda picks after putting grapes in a flower cup. I just wasn't feeling Halloween-y!

Handy Pandas

Sensible Foods Dried Corn, red grapes, ham on artisan Rosemary Bread, string cheese nibblets, Horizon Organics milk

It all started with the flower cup. I've seen someone put one in the medium compartment of the EasyLunchbox before, so when I was deciding what I wanted to do with her lunch, I kind of glommed onto that idea. Then I arranged the grapes to look neat and tidy, like seeds almost. Or whatever those fluffy bits are inside the petals on a daisy. Since I didn't have the cute little insect picks that I want, I went with pandas. They like flowers, right?

I decided to finally try the Sensible Foods Dried Corn sample that I got in my Love With Food box a few months back. I put them in a silicone cup to help fill the space more, and to add a splash of color.

The artisan Rosemary Bread is Z's and my favorite. We often eat half the loaf right there at the farm, if we're not in a hurry. Our favorite part is the stripe of kosher salt across the top. Yum! I put some ham on her bread, and instead of slicing cheese, I filled a scalloped cup (from World Market) with some string cheese nibblets instead.

I rounded her lunch off with a Horizon Organics milk box (I believe their cows have a GMO-free diet, and because they're organic, I don't have to worry about hormones and pesticides and whatever else building up in my pint-sized cutie over time.) Plus a re-usable cloth napkin from Red Poppy Crafts on Etsy. 4/$5 (plus shipping) is pretty awesome, and she has so many cute prints to choose from! I had to buy a special box just to house my growing collection! I don't have any panda ones, so I chose a black and white dalmation or cow  print to at least keep the color scheme going.

She ate everything but the dried corn. She didn't like it, which surprised me. It was very sweet and tasty. But possibly for her it was a texture issue, since she tends not to like dried or freeze-dried fruit, and it may have gotten a little chewy after sitting in the fridge overnight. *I* managed to eat it up without a fuss though!

Mama's Lunch

Buttered Rosemary Bread, concord grapes, cherry tomatoes; red lettuce salad with canned
beans, grapes, weird-looking cauliflower, Parmesan, raisins, chia seeds, and dried edamame

I housed the soy beans, chia seeds, raisins, and grated Parmesan in my Mini Dipper. I can't remember the name of that weird alien-looking cauliflower, but when I saw it at the farm stand, I HAD to have it!