Christmas Tree Bento

I'll take one Christmas Tree... to go please ;)

Eliana and I have been waiting to break out the Christmas gear! I strictly do not do anything Christmas until Thanksgiving is over. I sometimes feel like Thanksgiving gets jipped! After Halloween the stores start to put up Christmas decorations and it can be easy to pass over Thanksgiving. So after our Thanksgiving we helped 'Buelo and 'Buela put up their Christmas Tree so while we made this lunch we were thinking of their tree :) Together we made this simple Christmas Tree bento in our EasyLunchboxes.

In the main compartment she had a Christmas tree sandwich, all pieces cut with a Christmas tree cookie cutter. She chose a ham and cheese sandwich on wheat bread and on top I put a spinach tortilla for the tree.  The Christmas "lights" are red bell pepper, carrots and yellow bell pepper.  The staris cheddar cheese. You can easily "glue" the pieces down with a touch of honey :)

In the upper left compartment Eliana had some vanilla yogurt in a mini-dipper with Christmas Tree sprinkles. The mini dipper is sitting in a silicone cup.

In the bottom left compartment are some cucumber Christmas Trees cut with a mini cutter, sitting on top of cucumber scraps.

Eliana was so happy to help and she loved this lunch! She actually asked for more yogurt so next time I need to double the serving :)

Our bento was inspired by our Christmas Tree Lunch from last year:

Click on the picture or link to see how we made our tree and presents :)

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November Savorfull Box Review

It's a Savorfull day in the neighborhood!

We were very excited to see our November box and we really enjoyed this month!! Every month Savorfull sends you a box, delivered to your doorstep, filled with allergy friendly foods.  Since Eliana is allergic to peanuts and some nuts we have enjoyed tasting and testing samples of new allergy friendly foods.  We have also been introduced to new products and brands too! To read more on Savorfull you can read my first review.

So what came to my doorstep?

As always, I love the recipes, pamphlets and allergy information we receive with each box. We also love the packaging! Eliana loves to use it while making crafts.  This time we actually used the stuffing to fill a box we were sending via mail! I like repurposing the packaging rather than just throwing it out :) 

Here is what was inside the November Savorfull Box:

Bob's Red Mill Gluten Free Pizza Crust Mix --While we do not have any gluten or wheat allergies in our house, I am always up to try new things! Included was a recipe from MOMables for allergy friendly Cinnamon Roll Bites to make with the Pizza Crust mix! However there is a tree nut facility warning on the label.  So if you or a family member have a serious nut allergy you would not be able to eat this-- But don't worry--my girl Keeley has you covered. Check out her post to see how to make your cinnamon rolls top 8 allergen free :)

Skinny Pop Popcorn -- All natural, cholesterol free, zero trans fat, preservative free, dairy free, peanut free, tree nut free, gluten free, non GMO AND a good source of fiber! You can't go wrong with this popcorn. And while it was very yummy by itself we decided to jazz it up and made a Peanut Free Popcorn Mix (see below)

Lucy's Gluten Free Cookies -- This box of cookies was Chocolate Merry Mint. OMG. DELICIOUS. I have nothing else to say. They were so good it was very hard to not eat them all in one sitting. We rationed them out and ate them throughout the month. They were super yummy! You could use them in a recipe... or just eat them straight out of the box like we did :)

Enjoy Life Foods Sunbutter Crunch Chewy Bar -- All Enjoy Life Foods are top 8 allergen free, made in a top 8 allergen free facility.  That extra assurance is always something I enjoy. Eliana already loves their Coco Loco bar, so she actually wanted a Coco Loco bar (from our stash), instead of the Sunbutter bar.  By default I got to eat this bar and I thought it was yummy! 

 Our Cinnamon Roll Bites:

I loved how MOMables provided a recipe with this months box! I wouldn't have thought to make cinnamon roll bites with pizza crust dough, so I love how creative that recipe was. Now I love to bake, but don't usually bake with yeast. My baking goes to cakes, cookies and cupcakes. So this was a different experience for me since I couldn't  remember the last time I worked with yeast. With the first batch I found the bites to be too dense for my liking.  However the next batch came out less dense, so I'm guessing I did something wrong :) Eliana loved them though--so they ended up being just for her, which made her super happy :)

Our Peanut Free Popcorn Mix, using the Skinny Pop Popcorn:

To make this Peanut Free Popcorn Mix We took the whole bag of Skinny Pop Popcorn and put it on a baking sheet lined with parchment paper. I added a handful of pretzel sticks, broken up.  Our pretzel sticks are peanut free and nut free, but feel free to sub a gluten free version (like these Gluten Free Pretzel Sticks from the October Savorfull box). 

I took a handful of Enjoy Life Foods mini chocolate chips (top 8 allergen free) and melted them in the microwave.  Drizzle the chocolate over the popcorn mix and allow to dry.  Break up the popcorn mix and store in an airtight container. It will last you one day--at most...from our experience ;)

Overall we loved this month.  We were introduced to new allergy friendly products that we hadn't tried before-- and we ended up really enjoying them! That is what makes Savorfull so much fun for us. We really do enjoy the surprise of what will come each month, and trying out new products and finding new favorite snacks and foods :) This month I baked with yeast! Savorfull keeps me on my toes :) I also love the variety each month.  Sometimes you get a sample sized product, sometimes a full size product.

Want to try out Savorfull??

See Savorfull's past tasting boxes here

With the promo code CREATIVEFOOD you can get:

$1 off a one month subscription,

$9 off a size month subscription or

$20 off a 12 month subscription!

If you do try it, let me know how you like it! :)

** Disclaimer: I am a Savorfull Ambassador which means I receive monthly complimentary boxes to review. 

However all opinions expressed in this post are my own.**

Simple Maple Leaf Bento

Even though I have Christmas on my mind..... Fall ain't over yet! ;) 
I figured I'd share one last fall bento before I dive into Christmas cheer :)

We've made a lot of leaf lunches this fall, and this was one of my favorites. This was a SUPER simple lunch to make. It took 5 minutes to put together, including washing and cutting the vegetables.

On the left upper compartment Eliana had two maple leaf cucumbers on top of cut up cucumber scraps.  

On the bottom left Eliana had sliced red, orange and yellow bell pepper with a leaf pick.

On the right she had a ham and cheese sandwich.  On top is a peanut free Dare Foods maple leaf creme cookie we found at the store the other day.

Those extra little touches turned this simple lunch into a special lunch. 

Eliana loved it and ate it all too. Win-win! :)

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Kid's DIY Turkey Snack

Need the perfect healthy, creative and fun snack that also gives the kids something to do so you can finish up those last side dishes for Thanksgiving? Try this Kids DIY Turkey Snack! :)

Last week Eliana and I put together this cute Kids DIY Turkey Snack. It is a great idea for the kids table on Thanksgiving, and it is also works as a healthy snack for them to munch on while all the food is being prepared :)

For your Kids DIY Turkey Platter you will need:

Ritz Whole Wheat crackers
Turkey
Cheese
Bell Peppers (red, orange, yellow), sliced
Baby Carrots
Edible Candy Eyes
Ketchup, on the side (googly gobbly thing)
circle cutter 

Directions:

Use your circle cutter to cut your turkey and cheese into circles.

Wash and cut your red, orange and yellow bell peppers.

Wash and cut your carrots. For the turkey feet cut a small round in half, to have two semi circles. For the nose use your knife to cut a triangle. For each turkey you need one triangle nose and two semi circles for feet.

Place everything out on a platter and let your kids make their own turkeys!

Keep the ketchup in a small bowl on the side and allow the kids to add their own details with a toothpick (or allow them to use fingers if they are too young for a toothpick)

You could leave a turkey snack as an example too :)

Eliana loved this snack! She had so much fun making her own turkeys! 

This is one of Eliana's turkeys:

She was so proud of her turkey and she was very specific on where she wanted to put everything... not like I know where she gets that from... ;) I think she did an amazing job! Not only did she enjoy making her own turkeys, she ate everything. Win-win situation! :)

Happy Thanksgiving! :)

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