Shaun the Sheep's friends

Here is a special bento box for Shaun the sheep fans :) There are Shirley the eating machine (made of strawberry sandwich, nori, white crabstick, and black sesame seed) and Timmy the little cute baby (made of hard boiled egg, nori, white crabstick, and black sesame seed).

And for the side, I prepared "tulip" sausages and baby carrot with the leaves.

Triangular Sandwich

Details as below :

In this box, I prepared :
1. Triangular sandwich with ham, cheese and lettuce filling
2. "Bear paws" hard boiled egg
3. "Penguin" sausage
4. Apple "checker"
5. Baby carrot

And in this box, I prepared :
1. Triangular sandwich with ham, cheese and lettuce filling
2. "Penguin & crab" sausages
3. Baby carrot
4. Kiwi fruit

Clown Doll and Shy Rabbit

I baked zucchini slice (recipe below) and it turned out pretty yummy. But my little one didn't want to bring it to school because it was too tricky for him to eat. He wanted something that is easy to grab with his little fingers instead, which is fair enough I think :)

Zucchini slice

Ingredients
2 zucchini, grated
1 large onion finely chopped
3 rashers bacon finely chopped
1 cup of corn kernel
1 cup tasty cheese grated
1 cup self-raising flour
1/2 cup of oil
5 eggs
Salt/pepper
You will need

GLAD Bake

Method
Preheat the oven to 170*C. Grease and line a lamington tin with Glad bake.
Put zucchini, onion, corn, bacon, flour and cheese in a large bowl. Add oil and lightly beaten eggs, and mix. Season with a little salt and pepper. Pour into lamington tin.
Bake it for 35-40 mins until golden and set. Allow it to be cool slightly before cutting.

So, for my little one I prepared :
1. Ham & cheese sandwich with rabbit stampede (nori, cheese, black sesame seed, nori, and red apple skin)
2. Apple "checker"
3. Carrot sticks
4. Kiwi fruit

For my eldest son, I prepared the clown doll :
* The head is made of hard boiled egg, nori, carrot cheeks, and broccoli for the hair.
*  Zucchini slice for her body with carrot ring for the button
* ham & cheese rolls, and carrot sticks for the side.

And at the other box : apple "checker" for recess

Croissant Bento

My kids never say no to croissant, it's their favorite for all the time. Details as below :

For my kindy son, I prepared :
1. Cute long nose doll (ham & cheese croissant, crabsticks, nori, and tip of Dutch carrot)
2. Polkadot hard boiled egg
3. Cheese sticks
4. Kiwi fruit
5. Carrot sticks and carrot leaves for decoration.

And for my year 2 son, I prepared :
1. "Fish" croissant (ham & cheese croissant, cheese, crabstick, and nori)
2. Broccoli and carrot
3. Halves hard boiled egg
4. Banana

A Man with a Hat

This box consists of :
1. A man onigiri with a carrot hat (white steamed rice, nori, crab stick, and carrot)
2. Tamagoyaki
3. Garlic prawn
4. Broccoli

And a banana for recess

Onigiri with Salmon Furikake

This box consists of :
1. Rice Onigiri with Salmon furikake
2. Tamagoyaki (egg rolls)
3. Chicken soboro
4. Fried rice vermicelli
5. Spring onion, mint leaf and "flower & butterfly) carrot slices.

Stuffed Wholemeal Sandwich

I prepared stuffed wholemeal sandwich with pork floss filling. Here are the details :

For my eldest son, I prepared :
1. Stuffed wholemeal sandwich (with cheese and nori)
2. Two halves of hard boiled egg
3. Crab sticks
4. "Checker" Granny Smith apple

For my little one, I prepared :
1. Stuffed wholemeal sandwich (with cheese and nori)
2. Zucchini slice
3. Cheese pod and sticks
4. Kiwi fruit

Onigiri Bear

It's been awhile since I used my rice mold. It's my last resort when I kinda run out of ideas :) The box contains :
1. Onigiri Bear (white steamed rice, cheese, crab stick, and nori)
2. Fride rice vermicelli with vegetables and fish balls
3. Crab stick
4. "Checker" Granny Smith apple
5. Mint leaf

You may find similar rice mold in the link below :

Sausage and Sandwich Rolls Bento

My kids love to eat sausage and sandwich rolls. Refer here on how to make it.
Details of each box as below :

For my little one, I prepared :
1. Sausage and sandwich rolls
2. Corn kernel
3. Cheese pod
4. Carrot sticks
5. Granny smith apple slices

For my eldest son, I prepared :
1. Sausage and sandwich rolls decorated with nori
2. Corn kernel, carrot sticks and mint leaf
3. Coconut & milk jelly
4. Granny Smith apple slices

Taobao Cute Panda

This box consists of :
1. Taobao panda (white steamed rice, nori, crab stick)
2. Sausages
3. Chicken rolls
4. Carrot sticks and mint leaf

Tooth Fairy and Tooth Superstar

My little one complained about his sore tooth, so I brought him to dentist yesterday. It turned out that he had big hole between his teeth and needed a filling for it. He was really brave for his first time visit to the dentist even though he had injection as well. That's why I made a tooth superstar wearing a graduation cap for his sandwich.

His big brother is having two wobbly teeth as well, and he can't wait to have a visit from a tooth fairy. So I made a picture of a tooth fairy with wings and magic wand for his croissant.

Details as below :

For my eldest son, I prepared :
1. Tooth fairy croissant (with eggsheet, nori, cheese, and carrot)
2. Broccoli and lettuce
3. Sausages
4. Corn on the cob
5. "Shells" shaped jelly

For my little one, I prepared :
1. Tooth superstar sandwich (with cream cheese, salmon, and dill filling, decorated with eggsheet, nori, and carrot)
2. "Car" shaped jelly
3. Cheese pod
4. Kiwi fruit

Sweet Flatbread Bento

I remember when I was little, I love to eat "kue leker" back home. It's like crepes with banana, choco powder, and caster sugar. You can add cheese as well for extra flavour. Here I made it with Paratha (a pan-fried Indian flatbread) with Nutela spread, banana, and cheese and it tastes pretty good :)

I made some for the kids' school lunches. Details as below :

For my eldest son, I prepared :
1. Sweet flatbread (paratha, banana, Nutela, and cheese)
2. Corn on the cob
3. "Shells" shaped jelly
4. "Hatched chick" hard boiled egg (with sesame seed and carrot)
5. Broccoli
6. "Rabbit" apple for recess

And for my little one, I prepared :
1. Sweet flatbread (paratha, banana, Nutela, and cheese)
2. Corn on the cob
3. "Heart" shaped jelly
4. Cheese pod
5. Kiwi fruit

Fish and Mouse Bento

Details as below :

For my kindy son, I prepared :

1. Sausage roll (puff pastry, tomato ketchup, sausage, and cheese)

2. Corn on the cob

3. Fish-shaped coconut & milk jelly

4. Lettuce

For my year 2 son, I prepared :
1. Sausage roll (puff pastry, tomato ketchup, sausage, and cheese)
2. Corn on the cob
3. "Transportation" shaped coconut & milk jelly
4. "Mouse" hard boiled egg (with nori and carrot)
5. Broccoli

Caterpillar Sandwich

This bento just requires less than 15 minutes to prepare. It consists of :
1. Ham & cheese sandwich with red part of crab sticks
2. Hard boiled egg decorated with nori and angel hair pasta for the head
3. Broccoli and lettuce
4. Banana for recess

Fruit Bars Bento

This is my second week in Nutrition Australia Women's Program‏. I learnt about food spending. Analyze your food spending into 3 categories :

1. Eat most (e.g. breads, cereals, rice, pasta, flour, fruit, vegetables, legume, baked beans & lentils)
2. Eat moderately (e.g. lean meats, chicken, fish, eggs, nuts, milk, cheese & yogurt)
3. Eat least (e.g. butter, margarine, oil, sugar, biscuits, cake, chocolate, crisps, soft drinks, coffee/tea, salad dressings, sauces)

We should allocate our food spending to match with the healthy living pyramid. Here are the steps :
1. Work out the weekly food budget for example : $150
2. Divide it into 10 parts, for example : $ 150 / 10 = $ 15
3. Allocate it for Eat least : 1 x part = $ 15
                         Eat moderately : 3 x part = $ 45
                         Eat most : 6 x part = $ 90

By then, we would be able to eat healthier and also save money.

And they gave us fruit bars recipe perfect for lunchbox or after school snacks. I quite enjoyed the flavour, it's so easy to make and also healthier because of the sugar that comes from dried fruits & apples only, and no preservatives. Here is the recipe :

LUNCH BOX MEDLEY FRUIT BARS
by Nutrition Australia WA
makes 16
preparation time 15 mins   cooking time 20 mins

Ingredients :
* 3            apples, peeled and roughly chopped
* 1.5 cup   mixed fruit, dried
* 2 cups    whole oats
* 1/2 cup   wholemeal self raising flour
* 3/4 cup   unsweetened dessicated coconut
* 2            eggs, lightly beaten
* 2 tsp       cinnamon powder

Method :
1. Place apples in medium saucepan with 1/4 cup of water and cook until soft. note: don't allow apples to cook dry, add a dash of extra water if necessary.
2. Roughly mash apples with a fork, and allow to cool slightly
3. When cool, combine apples with dried fruit and cinnamon, and mix together
4. Add all the remaining ingredients to the bowl and mix until combined
5. Tip mixture into a greased or lined shallow baking dish, and press down evenly
6. Bake at 180C for 20 minutes, or until golden and firm to touch
7. Leave to cool and slice into 16 bars
8. Store leftover bars in airtight container

Finally, for the lunch box, I packed :
1. Fruit bars
2. Cheese pods
3. Sausages
4. Lettuce, broccoli, and "flower" carrot

Doggy Rolls

I spotted Tip Top rolls at the supermarket isle yesterday and wanted to give it a try. It's so soft, yummy, and ideal to turn it into this 'doggy' for the kids' school lunches.

This is how to make the dog :
* cut the rolls into two, then fill it with lettuce, ham & cheese
* ham for ears and tongue
* cheese  and nori for eyes
* black olive for nose
* crab stick for the ribbons
* angel hair pasta to stick the ribbons and ears on the rolls

In this box I prepared doggy roll and apple "checker" for my eldest son

And for my kindy son, I prepared doggy roll, "carved" apple, and strawberry yogurt

Rabbits in a Meeting

In the blue box, I prepared :
1. "Rabbit" onigiri (white steamed rice with Salmon furikake filling, carrot, angel hair pasta, and black sesame seed)
2. "Rabbit" sausages (sausages, angel hair pasta, and black sesame seed)
3. Broccoli, lettuce, and carrot

In the other box I prepared watermelon cuts for his recess.

Another Chicken Wraps

One of the kids' favorite for lunch is chicken wrap. I just marinaded the chicken with soy sauce and lemon, mixed it with corn flour and fried it until turned brown. Put together with lettuce, shredded carrot and cucumber, BBQ sauce and cheese for filling.

Here are the details :

For my eldest son, I prepared :
1. Chicken wrap
2. Two halves of hard boiled egg, sprinkled with black sesame seed
3. Broccoli and "flower" carrot
4. Sultanas

And for my little one, I prepared :
1. Chicken wrap
2. Carrot sticks, carrot "flower" and hard boiled egg
3. Lettuce and crab sticks
4. Watermelon cuts

Minions Onigiri

My kids watched Despicable Me 2  on weekend and they can't stop talking about Minions. They're of absolute cuteness! And for a little surprise, I made Minions for my eldest son's lunch. Details as below :

1. Minion Onigiri (white steamed rice coloured with turmeric, nori, white egg, black sesame seed, and fried Angel hair pasta)
2. Stir fried baby corn and mushroom
3. Hard boiled egg and black sesame seed
4. Crab sticks
5. Broccoli, lettuce
6. Pear cuts for recess

Monster Sushi

This is the last Halloween theme for this year. I made "monster" sushi with crab stick and cucumber filling, and decorated it with carrot and nori for the nose and eyes.
Details as below :

1. "Monster" nori
2. Pork meatball with ear wood mushroom
3. Two halves of hard boiled egg
4. Carrot sticks and lettuce
5. Apple "checker"

Mr.Frankenstein and Count Dracula

Another Halloween theme, Mr. Frankenstein and Count Dracula. Happy halloween everyone, hope you get lots of treats, not tricks :)

I made Count Dracula bento for my little one, it consists of :
1. Ham & cheese croissant with Count Dracula picture on it, I cut it from nori and used cheese for the face and buttons, and black sesame seed for the eyes.
2. Corn on the cob
3. Kiwi fruit
4. Red grapes
5. Carrot "flower" and lettuce

For my eldest son, I prepared :
1. Ham & cheese croissant with Mr. Frankenstein picture on it. Again I cut it from nori and used cheese and black sesame seed for the face and eyes.
2. Corn kernel (instead of corn on the cob, easier for him to eat, as he just lost his front tooth)
3. "Ghost" hard boiled egg with nori for eyes and mouth
4. Cheese and ham rolls
5. Asparagus, carrot sticks, and lettuce

Bird on the Nest

I had leftover noodle for my eldest son and my little one is really fond of Cruskits crispbread with sour cream, smoked salmon, and dill lately, so I prepared those for their bento. Details as below :

For my little one, I prepared :
1. Cruskits with sour cream, smoked salmon, and dill
2. Red grapes
3. Kiwi fruit
4. Corn on the cob
5. Carrot sticks and lettuce

And for my eldest son, I prepared :
1. Noodle with chicken, mushroom, spring onion, corriander leaves and choy sum
2. Corn on the cob
3. "Bird" hard boiled egg (nori, and carrot)
4. " Heart" shaped milk jelly
5. Lettuce
6. Red grapes
7. Pear cuts for recess