Jack-o-lantern Bento

We made it to the orchard this weekend but failed to pick a pumpkin (it started to rain)... So with no actual pumpkins in the house yet we decided to put pumpkins in our lunch!

This was such a simple lunch to put together! In the main compartment of our EasyLunchboxesEliana had a ham and cheese sandwich on a sun dried basil tortilla, cut with a pumpkin cookie cutter. We went a long with our Pumpkin Patch Lunch theme and put some sliced green peppers and snapea crisps surrounding the sandwich.  To make your Jack-o-lantern you can use some edible food markers and draw a face. 

In the top right Eliana had some yogurt.  I saw the brilliant idea of freezing yogurt into shapes on Keeley McGuire and on Bent On Better Lunches this past summer and we've been doing it ever since. We always have some in our freezer stash now. Eliana had a frozen pumpkin yogurt on top of vanilla yogurt (recipe and tutorial here!)

In the bottom right Eliana had a pumpkin cinnamon streusel muffin. This is one of our favorite muffins! Both Eliana and I love muffins and pumpkin and cinnamon. Put them together? deliciousness. So of course we made extra and put them in the freezer to savor them longer ;) I already like to make my muffins in silicone cups. It not only reduces waste (you throw out the paper liner all the time!) it also makes makes the muffin cuter. Anything looks cutter in a silicone cup :)

But somehow I feel like this lunch is missing something.... it doesn't seem Jack-o-lantern-y enough...

aha! Now it is a Jack-o-lantern bento! :) I know, I know... I'm so silly. I simply love these pumpkin silicone cups. I found them at Christmas Tree Shops. They have a face in the bottom, so when you turn your muffin around it is a Jack-o-lantern! It was such a simple way to make this lunch more fun :)

Here is what I used to make this lunch (or similar):

I link up.

Pumpkin Patch Lunch

Heading to the pumpkin patch to pick a pumpkin? We made this simple lunch to celebrate some pumpkin picking -- which we hopefully we will be doing this weekend!

This lunch would be perfect after a day at the pumpkin patch! And it is so simple to make. We will definitely be making this lunch again :)

The big pumpkin is a ham and cheese quesadilla cut with a pumpkin cookie cutter. The tiny pumpkins are also ham and cheese quesadillas cut with a mini pumpkin cookie cutter. You can draw the details on with edible food markers.  I had made one large quesadilla with a sun dried basil tortilla.  I cut out the shapes for Eliana's lunch, and the rest was for me in addition to my salad :)

The pumpkin patch is made up of cut green peppers and Snapea Crisps.

We actually haven't picked or carved pumpkins in a looong time! Eliana wants to do that this year and so do I! Since I am not skillful in that way at all, we'll need to rely on the artistic ability of David :) Or we could just decorate them on the outside.. OR a little bit of both! :) 

When we went apple picking in September there were a million pumpkins out at the orchard. But for some reason I felt it was too early (and perhaps too hot-- it was over 70 degrees that day!) for pumpkins. So we didn't pick one that day. Hopefully we have some nice weather this weekend and can pick a few pumpkins! 

Here is a picture of Eliana when we went to the orchard in September:

Happy Pumpkin Picking!

Creative Food Supplies:

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Special Announcement!

I am sooooooo excited to announce that I am going to be a part of the MOMables team! You can now find me at MOMables as a contributing blogger!

What is MOMables? Simply put: Mom made, simple, easy and nutritious fresh school lunches made in 10 minutes or less. For just $0.22 cents a day! Each Friday paid subscribers receive a new weekly menu plan including a shopping list! It is so easy to use and it is very easy to adjust the meals to accommodate food allergies if necessary.  Here is an example of what you would have access to as a paying subscriber:

Every week you have access to awesome lunches that are quick and easy to make. Each lunch has your ingredients, directions, tips if necessary, and a picture. That is right. A picture of every single lunch. I am so visual so I LOVE that part! I also love how a shopping list is included so you don't have to think about what ingredients you need. Just print it out and go shopping! Here is a sample menu. Of course you'll hear more about MOMables in the weeks to come! :)

My posts on MOMables will be different than my posts here.  I will still be writing about creative food, but more about how to be creative with your food and incorporate more vegetables into recipes and such. I will save my creative fun lunches for here :)  I had guest blogged earlier this year with my Carrot Zucchini Bars. Seriously the most perfect desert bar that your kids WILL enjoy and they are packed with vegetables!

I am so honored to be a part of a wonderful team.  MOMables is all about making healthy lunches for your children.  And that is exactly what I try to do for Eliana, of course with a creative twist :)

So go head on over to MOMables and check out my first official contributing post!!!

*squeal*

Cheesy Stop Light Rice

So remember to stop by at MOMables and check it out! Or better yet, sign up for a week of MOMables and a FREE newsletter and you'll get awesome posts sent to your email!

I may sound like a broken record: but SQUEEEEEEEEEE! So excited! :)

A Bug's Life Lunch Part Four

This is A Bug's Life Lunch Part Four: Bento style :) 

A bento is basically food in a box. And this bento box is a favorite of ours :) They are smaller but they are the perfect size for Eliana, who doesn't always eat the biggest lunches.  They are two tiered, stack easily and an elastic bento strap holds it all together.  I've been using them for months now and I'm finally getting a picture up of them on the blog! Eliana loves that she can open everything herself without any help.

So continuing with our Back To Nature Crazy Bugs Macaroni & Cheese we made another lunch :)

In the bottom tier (top in the picture) Eliana has her Crazy Bugs Macaroni & Cheese in a Flower Silicone Cup.  Beside the cup are some frozen peas (will defrost by lunchtime) and rolled ham skewered on some cute bug bento picks.

In the top tier (bottom of the picture) she has sliced strawberries with two more cute bug bento picks.  The white lid makes the top tier leak proof from our experience. I've put yogurt and applesauce in that tier and never had a leak :)


Don't these A Bug's Life Lunches make you think of spring?! With this *freezing* weather lately (and by freezing I mean in the 50s and 60s) I was happy that we made some warm spring time lunches :) 

(Check out A Bug's Life Lunch Part One, Part Two, and Part Three)

**Stay tuned for A Bug's Life Lunch Part Five!**

Here is what I used to make this lunch:

I link up.

1,000 Facebook Likes Giveaway!

On Wednesday Creative Food reached 1,000 likes on Facebook!!!!
I wanted to take the time to again thank you for liking Creative Food and for following our blog! I appreciate every single like, every reader, and every comment on this blog. Over these past few months I have watched my blog grow and it is only because of you! so THANK YOU!

Eliana is thankful for all the likes too!

I love that making Creative Food has helped Eliana eat healthier and has encouraged her to eat and try new things! When I started making Creative Food I honestly never thought I would end up loving it so much. But I do. Hubby thinks I'm borderline obsessed. But that is not the point ;) 

So to celebrate reaching 1,000 likes and to thank you 

Creative Food is teaming up with All Things For Sale for giveaway!

So what is the prize?! 

Pandas Pandas Pandas! Eliana's hat gave it away! ;)

One lucky winner will get one Panda Sandwich Cutter Mold and one pack of 8 Bento Panda Picks. A total prize value of over $18.00! I hope you like pandas ;) We certainly do in this household! My grandma loved all things panda and loved oriental decor so my mom inherited a lot of panda figurines--even a panda cookie jar! I grew up surrounded by cute pandas. They are simple adorable. I mean seriously. Have you not seen this video?

Eliana and I were so excited to try out the Panda Sandwich Cutter Mold and panda picks! We made a Panda Themed Bento in our EasyLunchboxes:

For this lunch I made two different panda sandwiches, one with oatmeal bread and the other with whole wheat bread. They were both filled with Chocolate Soynut Butter. Behind the pandas are celery leaves.

On the upper left Eliana had some blackberries with two cute little panda picks. She chose blackberries because pandas are white and black :)
On the lower left she had some cut up cucumbers with two more panda picks.

The low down: Eliana and I love the Panda Sandwich cutter mold. It is soooo simple and oh so easy to make the cutest little panda sandwiches! You simply press the bread stamp down on both pieces of bread. Choose your filling and put filling inside the panda head outline on one slice.  Put your sandwich together, place it inside the base and push the cover down. And voilà! your little panda has become a sandwich pocket! The sides are sealed and the filling stays inside (be careful not to overfill the sandwich or else the filling could ooze out!) You could also choose to just use the base and the cover and make shaped pocket sandwiches.  If you add the right details you could turn the sandwich into a bear, a pig, a frog... the options are endless :)  This sandwich cutter mold is a huge hit already with us!

(wondering what to do with those extra bread scraps after making some panda sandwiches? Save them if you don't eat them right away! You could make French Toast Sticks or you could make French Toast Casserole! or even make your own croutons!)

This lunch took less than 15 minutes to make including washing and cutting of the fruits and veggies. You could take more time and add details but I love how simple and quick it is to just use the mold. The picks are also super adorable! Take note that they are tiny and have a sharp point so they may not be suitable for toddlers. 

Here is my little panda with her panda lunch!

Eliana apparently has been preparing for a panda lunch as she has been wearing her panda winter hat all day every day the past few days. Even if it was warm out lol. It matched perfectly with her panda lunch so we had to take a pciture! Pandas everywhere!!

If you love pandas and want to make some cute panda lunches enter below!
**This giveaway is now closed**

a Rafflecopter giveaway

**This giveaway is now closed!**

This giveaway closes Wednesday October 10 at 12:01 am EST. The winner will be randomly selected through the Rafflecopter and announced on Wednesday. The winner will receive an email notifying them of their win. The winner will have 48 hours to respond to the email to claim the prize or they will forfeit their prize and another winner will be selected.

GOOD LUCK!

A Bug's Life Lunch Part Three

This is Part Three of A Bug's Life Lunch: Muffin Tin Meal Style :)

A Muffin Tin Meal is a meal served in muffin tins, and in this case frog muffin cups.  I found these cute frog silicone baking cups at Christmas Tree Shops.  ((Please see more amazingness about Muffin Tin Meals at Muffin Tin Mom!))

This was a super easy way to this simple meal even cuter :)  Continuing through our box of Crazy Bugs Macaroni & Cheese I decided to make a Bug themed muffin tin meal. Frogs eat bugs.. so why not make a Froggy Bug themed Muffin Tin Meal?! :)

In the upper left Froggy: we have our Crazy Bugs Macaroni & Cheese

In the upper right Froggy: cut green seedless grapes

In the lower left Froggy: thinly sliced celery underneath some "ants" on a log ("glued" with Creamy Honey Soynut Butter) If you prefer "flies" on a log you could add some sunflower kernels for wings (see example here). I was out of nut free/peanut free sunflower kernels so we went with ants on a log instead :)

In the lower right Froggy: Honey Cinnamon baked Chickpeas (we take a can of organic chickpeas, rinse and drain well. Dry them out on a paper towel. Put chickpeas on a parchment paper lined cookie sheet and bake until crispy. Toss the hot chickpeas with honey and cinnamon. Then put back into the oven for about 10 min. No real measurements of ingredients or time-- super simple and easy to do though! We have made other flavors too. It is a favorite snack of mine and Eliana's! We make a batch every other week about :))


(You can check out A Bug's Life Lunch Part One here and A Bug's Life Lunch Part Two here)

**Stay tuned for A Bug's Life Lunch Part Four!!**

Here is what I used to make this lunch:

I Link up.

Moo Cow Bento

A few weeks ago Horizon Organic sent us some goodies and we have been enjoying them! And just so you know: apparently when milk is in a milk box it tastes so much better (according to Eliana) ;)

This "Moo Cow" bento was super simple and very quick to make:

So I had needed to pack her a quick lunch and decided to use my Lock and Lock box (the exact model I believe is discontinued but I linked a similar one below.) I got the idea from Cristi at BentOnBetterLunches to put the milk box in the Lock and Lock. I love how everything fits in together so nice and snug all in one box!!

Eliana had a soynut butter sandwich (stacked) with "Moo" written out in cheese with my alphabet cutters in the upper right compartment. The "M" looks a little wonky to me but Eliana didn't seem to mind. I wonder if I used the "W" instead of the "M". Its going to drive me crazy for days but the point is she liked it.. and not that I am a crazy perfectionist...

Below the sandwich is the cucumber cow.  I sliced down the two sides of the cucumber so that it wouldn't roll around in the lunchbox. Then I used a mini cow cutter on the cucumber peel. On the left she has her Horizon Organic chocolate milk and one of her favorite treats, an Enjoy Life Chewy Cocoa Loco Bar.

It was sooo nice that this all came together so quickly. Sometimes you just need a super quick lunch. And I love how the milk box fits perfectly in here. I do mean love. Perfectionist crazy woman speaking here :)

Here is what I used to make this lunch (or similar):