Another Sinchies Smoothie

What's a girl to do when she finds chocolate milk reduced while doing the weekly groceries and she's got a craving? Well you've just got to go with your gut don't you?

Chocolate milk, banana & peanut butter. Whizzed in the  blender until well combined. . .

. . . and served in a Sinchies! How delicious. I had planned to take some to work the next day, but after having a sample it didn't quite last!

Don't forget today is your last day to enter our current competition where you can win a Sinchies starter pack by entering my competition in this previous post.


~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.

Cross Sandwich

I must admit this one isn't entirely out there, especially seeing as we'd been using this cutter to make pie shells for dinner, but Miss M asked for a cross sandwich. Simple & easy!

Cutter available from affiliate Bento USA in the sidebar.

Don't forget to enter our current competition for a Sinchies Starter Pack. Details in this previous post.

~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.

Dinner Bell Sandwich

I did tell you Miss M was asking for some strange sandwiches of late didn't I? I suppose it keeps me on my toes and keeps my creative centres ticking over. But seriously - a dinner bell sandwich?

(On a side note don't you just love our old dinner bell?)

I flattened some bread & cut off one corner. I then laid some ham & cheese inside before rolling into a cone-ish sort of shape. Secured with a pick. Not the prettiest of sandwiches, but it made her happy :-)

Don't forget to enter our current competition for a Sinchies Starter Pack. Details in this previous post.

~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.

Water Bottle Sandwich

More in this series of strange requests, Miss M decided she wanted a sandwich like her orange water botttle. . .














I used a snowman cutter, cheese offcut & a pea in my attempt to recreate her favourite water bottle. How do you think I went?

Don't forget to enter our current competition for a Sinchies Starter Pack. Details in this previous post.

~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.

House Sandiwich

I mentioned the other day Miss M is getting a little creative with her requests for her sandwich. This time, she asked for a house. This is what I came up with. . .

The doors are made from the cheese & ham offcuts. The roof tiles are also ham offcuts.

Don't forget to enter our current competition for a Sinchies Starter Pack. Details in this previous post.

~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.

The Very Hungry Caterpillar

 Happy Birthday Eric Carle!

Miss M has been asking for some strange things in her lunch box lately (more of those this week) but when she asked for a caterpillar I knew exactly what to do!

Our ham & cheese caterpillar sandwich was cut with a small circle cutter and the head is a cherry tomato with some little picks.

I used my super small circle cutter to cut holes in:
one Ice-cream cone, one slice of cheese (not Swiss like the book though), one slice of salami, one sausage (cheerio), and one nice green leaf (piece of lettuce).

Have you read a book today?

Don't forget to enter our current competition for a Sinchies Starter Pack. Details in this previous post.

This lunch is linked:

~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.

I'm Away Today, Painting. . .

the Roses Red again :-) I think this has to be about my popular post to date. Thank you for all the 'hits'

I'm so happy to be able to guest post today over at Diana Rambles. Have you checked out some of her fantastic crafty ideas? Not to mention clever lunches & fabulous link-parties!

Pop over & send some Loving Lunches Love :-)

Don't forget to enter our current competition for a Sinchies Starter Pack. Details in this previous post.

~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.

Fig & Almond Torte

One of my favourite recipe books is my Microwave Stack Cooking Book by Virginia Hill. I use it for those nights when you just want a quick easy dinner, or like on this occasion, a treat.

There's normally a few of these in the freezer to add to lunches (both Miss 's & mine) and these ones I used my Sinchies as a piping bag to decorate.

Don't forget you can enter to win a Sinchies starter pack in this previous post.

This lunch is linked. . .

~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.

Pumpkin Soup & Sandwich Crust Croutons

With the weather turning colder, what better time to start talking soups?

Do you have a favourite? I find it difficult to go past a good old traditional Pumpkin Soup. Especially when it's creamy & rich. I'm sure there's a trick to picking the perfect pumpkin for a soup, but quite frankly I just buy whatever's on special that week!





Then you have the 'how do I transport this?' question. I've started taking mine to work in my 200ml Sinchies.

You can win a starter pack of Sinchies in our current competition in this previous post.

I was going to save this for a series on using sandwich crusts, but here we go anyway ;-)

What do you do with your sandwich crusts/offcuts? If you cut your bread before applying any spread, or if you use a filling like our favourite ham & cheese it's easy to save your offcuts & freeze.

I have a couple of tried & true recipes that we have regularly now that we no longer take our offcuts to the park to feed the ducks, and croutons is one of my personal favourites.

These long crusts are perfect for dipping into the Sinchies.

I simply fry thawed crusts over a medium heat in *lots* of butter & garlic powder, turning until all sides are golden & they are suitably crunchy. I do tend to add more butter as I go so I'm not entirely sure how much I use - suffice to say this is not a diet recipe ;-)

Allow to cool before storing in an air tight container if not using straight away. Best used within a day of cooking for texture.

This lunch is linked. . .

~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.

GoGo Juice & Sinchies Tricks

Yesterday we launched our latest giveaway thanks to Sinchies and I mentioned my favourite smoothie recipe. I though today I'd give you a more detailed recipe & a more detailed view of the use of these great food pouches.

Loving Lunches Gogo Juice

The basic quantities for this recipe change every time I make it, but for a guide:

• 1 medium banana
• pulp from 1 passionfruit
• flesh from 1 mango
• 1 cup (250mL) pineapple juice
• 1 tray (12 cubes) ice

Throw everything into a blender & blitz until you reach the desired consistency. If you want it thicker, try adding more ice or mango. If you want it thinner, add more pineapple juice.

This will make about 2 1/2 cups (600-ish mL) which is enough to enjoy for afternoon tea with plenty left over to fill a 200mL Sinchies for lunch the next day.

This time I used the 140mL for something different.

You want to make sure you have the 'foot' of the pouch open - it took me a little while to figure this one out fully. Open the zip lock & stick you hand in. You can also turn the pouch upside-down and sperate the plastic that way. You can see my fingers holding the foot open here.









Your Sinchies should be able to stand up by itself

Fill with your goodies until you reach roughly the bottom of the spout. Now is a good time to make sure you have the lid on correctly if you haven't already done so. This is when I like to 'tap' the contents down by gently dropping the Sinchies onto the bench a few times - similar to popping bubbles from a cake.

Now you can continue filling until you reach the top of the spout, or roughly the top of the words in the logo. (This applies for all sizes, not just the 140mL)

And you're ready to  close your ziplock. If you overfill you run the risk of mess squeezing out the top of your Sinchies as you zip it. You can see I've had a little squish through here. Also be careful that the ziplock is correctly closed. I got some passionfruit seed caught in mine but noticed before I made too much of a mess of myself :-)






My sister sent me some of these little Heinz spoons from NZ. I'm not sure if hey were simply a promotion there or if they are available for purchase here. I know I've seen Cherub Baby ones in baby stores in Australia.

As you can see they fit perfectly on the Sinchies.

As you squeeze the pouch the contents oozes out of the small hole in the back. I found that some of my mango wasn't pureed quite enough to slip out of the tiny spoon hole (which is how I found out I had passionfruit seeds stuck in the ziplock) but I had no problem sucking it directly out of the Sinchies.

I'd recommend if using the spoons with the Sinchies that you have a very smooth puree on the runny side. Having said that, I never used an attachable spoon when Miss M was younger & used to squeeze the contents onto a long handle baby spoon. I found this way I was able to keep the contents on the front of the spoon (rather than the back like this one) which was easier & cleaner at the time.

Don't forget you can enter to win a Sinchies starter pack! Simply fill in the Rafflecopter form in this previous post.

I will be linking this lunch to Adipose Diet's Stick to It Sundays where you can find great recipes that fit onto a Sticky Note! (I know mine if photo sized, but if you take out the picture I think it would go close)

This lunch is linked. . .

~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.

Food Pouches are a Cinch with Sinchies - Review & Giveaway

Have you gotten on the food pouch wagon yet? It's great here! Packing those squishy things is just such a. . . Sinch!

Yoghurt with Mango Jelly & Passionfruit

I first bought food pouches quite a few years ago thinking I'd be able to use them for purees, but then Miss M decided she wanted finger food & I moved them to the back of the cupboard & back of my mind.

When I heard about the relaunch of the Sunshine Coast Sinchies food pouch (and pending bubba number 2) I knew I had to give them another try.

At first all I could think to pack is yoghurt, being as that's what I'd give to Miss M now in a food pouch from the supermarket, but seriously how expensive are those things? I must admit when Miss M was younger & not into milk much I always had a long life yoghurt pouch in my handbag while we were out & about.

Smoothie

Then after sending my trial pouches to daycare for a few days & loosing one (boo hoo!) I started using them for myself. I can't say I'm big on plain yoghurt. I like some texture & flavour going on. So I layered my pouch with passionfruit & some left over mango jelly. Oh my! I'm not sure what I looked like, but I sure felt like a kid again sucking & squishing the yoghurt mix. Perhaps it was the sensation of soft jelly being slurped up, or perhaps it was the whole 'straw' thing, but I thoroughly enjoyed that lunchbreak!

Now I'm thinking. . . what else can I pack in this? Smoothies!

I do have a favourite smoothie mix (check back tomorrow for deatils). Years ago a work colleague named it my 'Gogo Juice', so that's what we call it now. Each season I make sure we stock the freezer with mango and passionfruit. I use pineapple juice and we can generally get bananas all year round. Although no two mixes are ever exactly the same, they always taste good! I've been trying to increase my fruit intake and I've found this is one way I can easily get my 2 serves of fruit in each day.

One afternoon I made a giant sized smoothie & packed some leftovers into a 200mL size Sinchies. Popped this into the freezer over night & left in the fridge at work the next day. Come lunch time it was the perfect consistency. Not too frozen & not too thawed. It was so good I did it again the next day! This time I packed into a 80mL sized Sinchies and packed that into my Tupperware sandwich keeper plus. You can see how it will squish into the space generally reserved for a popper quite easily. Oh the possibilities!

Pumpkin soup with fresh cracked pepper

And just when I thought I was settling into a smoothie groove, we got a cold snap. So what is one of my favourite cold weather lunches? Why soup of course! I made a big batch of pumpkin soup & packed it into Sinchies for my lunch. You do have to be careful to make sure the lid is screwed on correctly before filling, otherwise you could end up with pumpkin covered benches - oops! Also, ensure you don't overfill. When you go to seal the pouch you run the risk of pushing the contents out the top.

Buttercream Icing

I thought I'd fairly well exhausted the uses for food pouches when I saw this brilliant idea on the Sinchies Facebook Page - using the pouch as a piping bag! So simple! I think next time I'll use the 200mL size though. I find it a bit easier to fill & clean.

Speaking of filling & cleaning. . .

There is such a great community of Sinchies lovers out there and everyone willingly shares their ideas & experiences. Some have found ingenious ways to fill, clean & dry these little wonders.

Filling suggestions include using a funnel from your local motor accessory store, a cut down soft drink bottle, a Tupperware piping ball, a piping bag, a spoon. And then of course there is the official Sinchies funnel. To date I've had reasonable luck with pouring straight from my cooking container or using a spoon :-)

Cleaning, well there is the dishwasher option, but for those of us still handwashing, I've found using a baby bottle brush the most effective.

Drying creations I've admired include over the tops of cutlery, in a baby bottle drying rack, and on top of skewers.

Loving:

• Clear pouch so you see what's left &whether or not it's clean
• Standard size spout that is compatible with commercially available food pouch spoons
• BPA free
• Recyclable!
• Freezer safe
• Dishwasher safe
• Available in a range of sizes (80mL, 140mL, 200mL, 1L)
• Not just for yoghurt! Use for smoothies, soups, jelly , custard. . . sauce & gravy. . . even toiletries!
• The incredible community of Sinchies lovers :-)

Loving a little less, but liveable:

• It takes a little getting used to the spout being on the side of the bag rather than the top
• These are not recommended for use in the microwave.
• A little awkward to fill the smaller sizes without the proper equipment
• Can be difficult to clean fatty residue (like buttercream icing). You need really hot water & a generous amount of dishwashing liquid if doing this by hand. 
• Like toothpaste there always seems to be just a scrape of something left in the bag

Overall:

I'm quite impressed with these food pouches and can see us using them well into the future. I can see extra use when baby starts on solids too with the screw top fitting neatly with commercially available screw top spoons. With the larger sizes now available I can see use for them with a wider audience, not necessarily just for children, but for the whole family.

Now for the fun bit! You can win a Sinchies starter pack including one each of the 80mL, 140mL, 200mL & 1L Sinchies, a Sinchies funnel and some spare lids by following the instructions on the Rafflecopter form below.

• As per Terms & Conditions entrants must be subscribed to at least one of Loving Lucnhes' 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 claim 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 & Sinchies who generously provided the prize/s for this competition as well as a complimentary set of 'Sinchies' for review. All opinions expressed are my own based on my personal experience with the review item/s.

Simple Puzzle

I love puzzles!

I was so excited when I ordered my puzzle Lunch Punch, thinking of all the mix & match creations I could come up with. . . peanut butter & jam; ham & cheese; vegemite & cheese; mixed breads. But to be honest with just Miss M eating I've stuck with just the one filling.

I also love that I can fit the crusts down the side of the box & know that Miss M will most likely eat them during the day (we're lucky like that)

The LunchPunch is available through affiliates Neat2Eat & Bento USA. Links in the sidebar.


~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.

Ham, Cheese & Tomato Flowers

I found these old pics and thought I'd share :-)

Some days I struggle with what to send for our 'something else', especially when I plan to send leftovers but dinner doesn't go down well. On those days I sometimes send a spread sandwich (like Vegemite or jam) and then send some ham & cheese as 'something else'. This day I also sent some cherry tomatoes in our Take & Toss Bowls.










I also found this little sandwich topped with cherry tomatoes & corn. I didn't hear how soggy the bread got, but I think for future I'd place the cheese on top of the bread to create a barrier between the bread & tomatoes.

~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 Fit for a Queen

Cookie cutters aren't just for cutting things - they make great moulds too!

This cute little cutter was a gift from my sister-in-law for our Little Princess, so how better to celebrate the Queen's Birthday long weekend?

Here we have home made chicken nuggets (I will get around to posting the recipe/tutorial one day, I swear!) served with a mix of white & brown rice and topped with a tomato sauce jewel (mini silicon mould)







Our ham & cheese sandwich was cut using a LunchPunch available from affiliates Neat2Eat & Bento USA in the sidebar.


Did you get up to anything exciting over the long weekend?


~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.