Australia Day

A belated Happy Australia Day to everyone. 

This is what I sent to daycare last year to celebrate Australia Day. This year we're in a new town and a new daycare so the current request is for Pingu Sandwiches everyday :-)

Here we have a Union Flag made of blueberries, cheese and plums

And some small ham & cheese stars decorated with a craisin star.

Wishing everyone a safe & Happy Australia Day


~J

Disclosure: This is not a sponsored post. This post was written for Loving Lunches. No product was received for this post. All opinions expressed are my own, based on personal experience with the product.

Ice Cream Party - part 4

This week I've shared some treats from Miss M's birthday party last year (you can catch up on those posts here, here & here). Today I bring you the Piece de Resistance. . . a giant ice cream cone cake!

And this is how it started:

I did a double layer chocolate mud cake, iced with chocolate icing & covered with wafers.

Then topped with ice cream frozen in a Tupperware container (from the same range as the Jel-Ring, just a different shape)

Add *lots* of Cottee's Ice Magic; heaping helpings of tinned whipped cream, sprinkle with Blackwood Lane Rainbow Choc Chips, and top with a Jaffa 


~J

Disclosure: This is not a sponsored post. This post was written for Loving Lunches. No product was received for this post.

Ice Cream Party - Part 3

I have already shared with you the savoury dishes from Miss M's ice cream themed birthday party here and here - now for the sweet stuff :-)

 Cheesecake cones

• Mini waffle cones filled with cookies & cream cheesecake mix (recipe here, just add a packet of crushed Oreo biscuits)
• Topped with Arnott's Dark Chocolate Royals

Marshmallow cones with shortbread toppers

• Mini ice cream cones filled with home made marshmallow
• Shortbread biscuits held on top with a smear of icing The recipe I used came from Trade Wind Tiaras, but I can't remember the exact changes I made to it - all the more reason to try it again some day soon :-)

Ice cream cone cakes

• Grandma's basic vanilla sponge served in flat bottom ice cream cones 
• topped with lots of icing & sprinkles

And served in an upturned Watermelon end:

• Fruit balls on flamingo skewers
• As well as some grape-sicles

~J

Disclosure: This is not a sponsored post. This post was written for Loving Lunches. No product was received for this post.

Ice Cream party - part 2

Previously I'd mentioned that Miss M had an ice cream themed birthday party last year. Continuing on from this I bring you the remainder of our savoury dishes:

Bite Size Pizzas

• Mini Toasts (like these)
• tomato sauce
• cabana
• cherry tomatoes
• cheese

As you can see I did an assortment of combinations:

• cabana & cheese
• cabana & tomato
• tomato & cheese

I also made mini hot dogs but neglected to take any photos :-( If you could kindly imagine a dinner roll sliced down the middle with a cheerio/mini saveloy inside, topped with mustard and/or tomato sauce I would greatly appreciate it :-)

~J

Disclosure: This is not a sponsored post. This post was written for Loving Lunches. No product was received for this post.

Ice Cream Party - part 1

I can't believe it's almost Miss M's birthday again! We had a small party last year with an ice-cream theme & I'm so proud of all the food that I'm going to show it all off over a few posts.

First thing's first - finger sandwiches! Using ice cream cone biscuit (cookie) cutter here we have:

• Butter & sprinkles (aka fairy bread)
• Vegemite & cheese spread
• Strawberry jam & peanut butter (aka peanut butter & jelly)

• ham & cheese
• ham & tomato
• cheese & tomato

~J

Disclosure: This is not a sponsored post. This post was written for Loving Lunches. No product was received for this post.

Lunch Box Experiment (Part 3)

I showed you a typical lunch for Miss M in this previous post & how it packed in the Sistema Quaddie, and the Tupperware Sandwich Keeper Plus  here. Today we see what it looks like in the Decor Tellfresh Quarters.

As you can see it doesn't fit nearly as well, but this is to be expected seeing as the Decor Tellfresh Quarters only holds 980ml compared to the 2.75L that the Sistema Quaddie holds.

Again with a little juggling I was able to fit most of the lunch in, although it would require cracking the sweet biscuits and dropping the drink and a cracker.

Overall I plan to continue using our Sistema Quaddie. Especially since I discovered that the Quarters sections fit inside (a little snug, but manageable)

And of course seeing as my cute little Panda & Tiger boxes from Omai also fit nicely in place of the square rounds. . .











. . .as does this little Piggy from Kawaii Kids.

Thank you for joining me in this little experiment, I do hope you've enjoyed it as much as I have.


Don't forget to enter our current competition for a chance to win your own FunBites cutter. Entry details & product review can be found here & here

~J

Disclosure: This is not a sponsored post. This post was written for Loving Lunches. No product was received for this post. All opinions expressed are my own, based on personal experience with the product.

Lunch Box Experiment (part 2)

I showed you a typical lunch for Miss M in this previous post & how it packed in the Sistema Quaddie. . . on with the experiment! Which other lunch boxes would all this fit into?

I tried my Tupperware sandwich keeper plus (which is what I normally use for myself), and at first glance it wasn't very promising.

Also the fact that the yoghurt container didn't quite fit in the corner piece. These are supposed to be leak proof compartments, but perhaps it's because mine are so, let's say 'well loved', that I don't quite trust liquids to stay separated.

A little juggling and I did manage to squeeze most of this particular lunch into this box. If I'd let the cheerios defrost, they would have pushed down a bit easier, and the sweet biscuits may have fitted in with the savoury without the little box. Moving the yoghurt to the larger compartment did mean that the lid closed properly this time.

Tune in later in the week to see how this lunch fits into the Decor Tellfresh Quarters.

Don't forget to enter our current competition for a chance to win your own FunBites cutter. Entry details & product review can be found here & here

~J

Disclosure: This is not a sponsored post. This post was written for Loving Lunches. No product was received for this post. All opinions expressed are my own, based on personal experience with the product.

Lunch Box Experiment (Part 1)

Our first day at our new day care I decided to do an experiment. This is a fairly typical lunch box for us these days. (Admittedly I cheated and used store bought in this lunch more than I normally would)

Here we have (clockwise from top left) 4 cheerios, yoghurt, crackers/cheese/pepperoni, kiwi fruit, biscuits, popper/juice box, sandwich (I used Brumby's bread today for the size)

Not pictured is the piece of fruit also sent for morning tea.

One of the main issues in my search for the perfect lunchbox is finding something large enough to take enough food for Miss M to last the whole day. We've been blessed with a fantastic eater in this one and she normally has no problems eating what I consider to be a large quantity for an almost 3 year old. Like most people there are days when she eats more or less, but I like to make sure she has plenty available seeing as she stays in day care so long (up to 9 hours some days, but that's mostly because she refuses to leave ^_^)

 It took some experimentation, but all this fits nicely into her Sistema Quaddie (NB, we have the large, not the slimline).

On top she has a drink, fruit & a treat.
Inside she has 2 small containers (a snack & a yoghurt) and 2 Tupperware 200ml square rounds (a sandwich & 'something else', normally leftovers)

The small containers came from a $2 shop, but I can't remember which one, sorry. The square rounds came from eBay as they are not part of the regular Australian range.

Tune in later in the week to see how this lunch fits into my other favourite lunch boxes. You'll be able to click through to the posts here and here when they are published.

Don't forget to enter our current competition for a chance to win your own FunBites cutter. Entry details & product review can be found here & here

~J

Disclosure: This is not a sponsored post. This post was written for Loving Lunches. No product was received for this post. All opinions expressed are my own, based on personal experience with the product.

Fun Bites Review & Giveaway ( Part 2 Luv-It)

 I introduced you to my FunBites Cube-It in this previous post and today I'd like to introduce you to Luv-It. . .and I do!

I purchased the Cube-It cutter from Lunch Boxes with Love a few months ago & FunBites were kind enough to send me a Luv-It to try as well.

As the basic features of sturdiness, size, weight, rocking cutting action are the same as the Cube-It, I decided not to repeat myself & instead, just take lots of pretty pictures.

Regular bread

With the silly season & moving house this is the first real chance I've had to play with my new toy.

As you can see the overall size is still a little off from being a perfect double-fit with the bread I tend to use, but there are opportunities to cut extras and get creative.

The first sandwich I did ended up being all bundled in together as we rushed out the door on errands for the morning. When we arrived at the park Miss M & I had a great time creating shapes from all the pieces, but I forgot to take any photos, sorry :-(

Did you ever do Tangrams at school? I remember loving them! Well, they are a puzzle after all :-)  While the shapes you get from the Luv-It aren't quite your traditional Tangram shapes, you can certainly have a good time re-creating some classic characters.

And sturdy! Check out the carrot & celery I cut below, and the apple that Erin cubed over at Feeling a Little Lunchy. I must admit I think Anna's carrot hearts at Becoming a Bentoholic a bit prettier than mine :-)

Brumby's bread

2nd cut Brumby's bread

Brumby's bread

If you missed the nitty gritty of my review last week, here it is for you:
One technique I've heard of but haven't tried yet is to prepare your sandwich with the top slice of bread removed. Cut the top slice, then with this still in the cutter, cut the base of the sandwich. To be honest I didn't really have any issues cutting the sandwich made whole anyway, but thought I'd pass on the tip (thanks to Cristi at Bent on Better Lunches for that one)

Loving:
* Possibilities limited only by your imagination
* Dishwasher safe (although hand washing is recommended)
* Sturdy & solid
* The popper piece!!
* Suitable for use on a wide variety of foods
* BPA free
* Creates perfect little bite-size pieces
* NEW LOVE - these cutters are symmetrical making it easy to flip & swap pieces across multiple lunches

Loving a little less, but liveable:
* Hand washing recommended (although you can wash in the dishwasher)
* The overall size is too small for our regular bread, but too big to get two full cuts out of a slice

Overall:
I can see us using this cutter a lot this year, and not just for sandwiches. Fruit and cakes/slices would work beautifully with this and they make brilliant toddler bite sizes. So quick & easy to cut such a great range of foods. I love the Cube-It and Luv-It and thanks to the wonderful people at FunBites you have the chance to win one all for yourself!

All you have to do is follow the instructions on the Rafflecopter widget below to be in the draw. (NB This competition is also included in this previous post, and you are more than welcome to enter on either post)

* As per Terms & Conditions entrants must be subscribed to at least one of Loving Lunches' social media or email updates. It is highly recommended that the email address you enter the give-away with matches the email address/ID you follow with, otherwise your entry can be difficult to verify.
* If  the winner does not reply to clam their prize within two (2) working days, they will forfeit and a new winner drawn
* Full Terms & Conditions can be found here

Note - Open to Australian residents only





a Rafflecopter giveaway

Disclosure: This is not a sponsored post and no monetary compensation was provided nor offered. This post was written for Loving Lunches & FunBites who generously provided the prize/s for this competition as well as a complimentary 'LuvIt!" sample for review. All opinions expressed are my own based on my personal experience with the review item.