Daiso Goodies

Are you enjoying your holidays? We're having a great time, and although I'd love to say I got to go shopping for these goodies myself, alas I had to send my personal shopper (thanks Sis!)

Some cutlery for next year (Miss M will have to take her own cutlery to prep)

More cutlery for next year.

Gorgeous little heart picks - I'm thinking Valentine's already!

And a little music to brighten your day :-)

I actually requested these thinking I would use them for Honey's Teddy Bear Picnic birthday party, but had too many ideas, and not enough time :-)

Oh the wonders of a growing collection!

Details of my tools & toys can be found on this page.

~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 my personal experience with the product.

Bento USA Haul 2014

Apologies in advance for the photos. I'm currently having some technical difficulties, blergh!

But on a happy note. . . would you like to see what a $US70 voucher at (affiliate) Bento USA will get you? I spent my Christmas and another gift voucher recently and ended up with quite the haul! All this was about $US65, plus shipping. Why mention that? Skip to the bottom of the post for the good bits ;-)




As you can see you can fit an awful lot of fun stuff effective tools into one box.

And you can win a $US70 voucher to spend too! Today is your last day to enter. Click the image below for details :-)

Would you like to win a Kambrook Soup Simple for yourself? Details in this previous post.

Details of my tools & toys can be found on this page.

~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 my personal experience with the product.

Snack Boxes

Super quick Flashback Friday today as I get busy shaking this flu.

This little snack box is filled with a trail mix to take on a day outing. Biscuit pieces, pretzels, sultanas, a cheese stick, Little Bellies cereal and a Little Bellies Choo Choo bar.











I was kind of stoked when I discovered my pocket sandwich maker was the perfect fit for this little lunchbox!

Super quick & cute to boot!

Details of my tools & toys can be found on this page.
~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.

Bento Haul

I had every intention of posting my Introducing Solids part 2 piece today, but the flu has other plans, so instead I found these pics of some bento goodies I've been meaning to post. My goodness is it really a year since I bought this lot? Gee time flies!

These however are brand new. I got to pop in very quickly (seriously - it was ten minutes) to Daiso a few weekends ago. I was very restrained and would have dearly loved to fill our luggage with bento boxes and any number of clever inventions. Instead, I grabbed these four beauties. I've already used the collapsible funnel to fill some Sinchies food pouches. So much nicer than the half a soft drink bottle I have been using :-)

Holy cow - this stash is from late 2012!


Details of my tools & toys can be found on this page. (I haven't updated it yet to include these finds - that's also on the list of to-dos)
~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.

Daiso Goodies

I've heard many wonderful things about Daiso and their vast array of bento goodies. They arrived in Australia last year & this year they made it to Queensland! Luckily I have a sister who is willing to Skype me while checking out the range & is happy to throw together a shopping basket full of treats before coming to visit. And with everything in store being $2.80, it's so easy to figure out how many cuddles we owe ;-P

Lunchbox with moveable divider. This one is quit deep and I haven't gotten around to using it yet, but I can see it being very useful for packing lunches for myself. It holds about 500mL. According to the packet it is freezer (to -20C) & microwave (without lid) safe. No go for the oven, and there's another symbol which I'm assuming is a dishwasher, which is also out of bounds.

Detail Carving Knife. I used this for the first time while making Professor Inkling for International Talk Like a Pirate Day and I was quite happy with it.

Silicon transport moulds. I've only used these as snack dividers so far, and really can't complain. They're a very fine silicon, so I'm not sure about baking with them. The packet says they can handle microwave, hot water, oven & dishwasher. (NB the vast majority of the packet/s are written in Japanese, but generally have pretty self explanatory images.)

More silicon moulds like above, just different shapes.

Bunny & Bear silicon moulds.  (You get either the 2 bunnies, or the 2 bears in a pack) These are thicker than the little guys above and you can get an idea of size from Captain Barnacles in my International Talk Like a Pirate Day lunch. I got a little excited & ripped the packaging for these before really reading it. It seems they're good for the oven, microwave & freezer (-40C-230C), but I'm afraid I can't shed any more light on the official details.

Pretty picks, and for $2.80 per pack, guess which ones are now being sent to daycare?

More pretty picks

Cute animal picks

More cute animal picks

Transport picks

Nori stamp cutter. Again the fist time I'd used this was for my International Talk Like a Pirate Day lunch. Check out Peso's eyes :-)
I've never really done much with nori apart from wrap sushi in it, and even that I haven't done very well. This was easy enough to use & seemed to cut fine. For the small amount of nori I would/will be using I think it will be fine. It's making me think about my regular craft stamps, if only I could remember where we stored them in the move. . .
If you do/intend to do a bit of nori work, check out this fantastic review at Bento, Monsters.

Large silicon bands. I've used some smaller ones for wrapping burgers for Miss M and thought these might fit better. I haven't had the opportunity to try yet, and I realise they are designed more for keeping your lunchbox together than your food :-) According to the packet they  can withstand temperatures from -20C up to 220C, so good for freezer & microwave.

Sadly we've already lost one of these. I sent the elephant to daycare with some sandwich balls in it. Miss M thought she was doing the right thing by throwing the plastic in the bin *sigh*. These have been moved the 'park only' stash now.
I'm a little confused about whether or not you can use these in the microwave (not that I currently have any intentions to). The packet states it has a max temp limit of 80C, but also says 'Please do not use it with the direct fire, the oven, the oven toaster, and the microwave oven.' I'd say play it safe & use it for cold/room temperature things only.

Now to start on the shopping list for my sister's next visit. . .hmmmmm. . . . ;-D


Details of my tools & toys can be found on this page.

~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.

Toys and Tools

I've had a few questions about where to get some of the toys tools I use to make my lunches a little special for Miss M. Some I've been lucky enough to win, others I've inherited, been gifted, or purchased. The ones I've purchased have come from different places ranging from my local $2 shop, to Tupperware parties, garage sales, promotional gift-with-purchases, and specialty cake, catering, kitchenware, and Bento suppliers/shops.

I started off with some BBQ egg rings (that I used as giant cookie cutters) and just my kitchen knife with a little creativity. Then I remembered a pack of cookie cutters I'd purchased years before that was hiding at the back of the cupboard.

My first 'purchase' was some of Lunch Punch limited edition gift with purchase promotion with Bega in early 2012. (If you'd like to ask the Lunch Punch to bring this set out, you can let them know on Facebook in this thread)

I started entering competitions on Divine Finds and was lucky enough to win a voucher from Kawaii Kids which I then spent on some little lunch boxes. Then I won the Bento Bloggers & Friends Talk Like a Pirate Blog Hop treasure hunt! You can check out that first big haul of goodies here. Soon I started to discover Bento suppliers in Australia. Between them & new affiliate Bento USA I really haven't looked back, although I have looked a little sideways at times (I do love a re-purpose ^-^).

I have started a page where you can see products with links to where to purchase where I can provide them. It's across the top, or you can check it out here.

Here are some Australian Bento stores you may like to visit. If you do, let them know that Loving Lunches says Hi!

~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.

Lions & Tigers & Pandas. . . Omai! (Giveaway)

Well, no lions or tigers, but there is a panda in this post. . . and there is a giveaway too!


I was very excited recently to discover another Australian Bento supplier! Omai Australia is a small family business based in NSW and they have recently joined the social media whirlwind. If you are about on Facebook, Twitter, or Pinterest, pop over & share some Loving Lunches love with them :-)

The wonderful people at Omai Australia are giving you the opportunity to win a fabulous lunchbox. How do I know it's fabulous? Well they sent me one to try. . .

Both Miss M & I were both super excited to receive our parcel in the mail. I gave Miss M the pleasure of opening it & she was thrilled to find a lunchbox inside - and even happier to find it was a 'polar bear'. That was soon corrected & she discovered the ice pack which I had to pry from her fingers to take this photo.

The 2 lids are on the left, the 2 bases are on the right. In the centre you can see the elastic band that holds everything together & the ice pack.

Alas the ice pack has been hi-jacked (Miss M had an 'ouchie' that only panda could fix) and is now somewhere very safe. Somewhere even mummy can't find, even after hours of searching *sigh*

I can't read the information on the box, but if anyone can translate I'm happy to post it :-)

I ended up taking this to work a few days this week & was amazed at how much it holds. I was also surprised that I had no spillage and nothing got damp that shouldn't have been. This got me thinking so I decided to do an experiment. I filled the lunchbox up with water, assembled (with strap done between the ears, not Pat Rafter style) & turned it on it's side (over the kitchen sink) Unfortunately it did leak the water. I found that it leaked less when it was held with ears pointing to the ceiling than the other directions (this way was a slow drip whereas ears down was almost a flow). Intrigued, I repeated the experiment with yoghurt - no leaks at all! I even gave it a good shake to ensure there was yoghurt in the 'leakiest' spot & no leak! So if                  

used the top box as a cutter for the pancake = perfect fit

 you are planning on sending something of a water like consistency (eg. salad dressing) I would recommend using a separate container inside the lunchbox, just to be on the safe side.

Loving:
*Comes in 5 cute characters (Kitty, Bear, Frog, Panda & Pig) so everyone can have the same, but different
* Comes with a shaped icepack (which I sadly didn't get to play with - thanks Miss M)
* Microwave safe
* Fits in the door of the fridge (at my work at least)
* Actually fits in quite a bit of food - more than you would think

same food on a plate

* Easy to open (even for 2.5yr old Miss M)
*You can easily pack a single layer if 2 is too much
* Fairly liquid safe, but I'm not going to say leak proof. (see note above)

Loving a little less, but liveable:
* Parts can go missing (thanks Miss M)
* Difficult for Miss M to put strap back on when done
*doesn't quite fit in my usual 'day out' handbag - a good excuse for a new bag, don't you think?

same food in Tupperware square round, 400mL

Overall I quite like this lunchbox and know it's going to come in very handy. I think it might even get moved to the Mummy cupboard :-) We've already taken it to the park & Miss M's little friends (and their mummies) were quite intrigued by it & keen to see what was inside. Even some of the fussy eaters showed an interest in some things they normally wouldn't look twice at. I actually struggled to fill it the first time I packed it as it holds *so* much!

I had every intention of packing a lunch & then serving it on a plate to show exactly how much this container holds. . . but then I forgot. You can get a fair idea from these pics of breakfast (pancakes with bacon & maple syrup) that I packed in it this morning. Please forgive the 'bitzer' pancake, we ate all bar one of the pancakes so I had to use the pikelets I made for Miss M's snack.

Roly Poly sandwiches

Roly Poly sandwiches and cereal

dried fruit with Sush-ezi ANZACs

mint balls, carrot, dip, yoghurt
salad with cute picks & dressing in a bottle
(picks & sauce bottles available from Omai.com.au)

mint balls, cheese shapes, carrots, cake, yoghurt
salami, cheese, tomato sauce (x2), party pies (x2)

My cake was a little tall for the box

dip, carrot, yoghurt

mashed potato, carrot, chicken, bean

 These Instagram photos were taken at work so you can see how the food travels. All in all no spills and nothing got damp that shouldn't have been :-)

 Lunchbox in the fridge at work

I've been waiting for an excuse to bring out my panda picks & sauce bottle. I had these in my collection already, but by happy coincidence they are part of the Omai range. I have included the links above

**EDIT**
I couldn't resist so I weakened & ordered the 'kitty' box as well. This time I put the ice pack straight in the freezer before Miss M could steal it. Gave it a trial run today & the results are in! I froze the ice pack & packed yoghurt, carrot sticks & dip in the top; party pies & sauce in the base. Ice pack in the lunchbox on our way out the door & 4 hours later my yoghurt was not quite room temperature. I'm satisfied with that, seeing as I did nothing special to keep the lunchbox cool other than put the ice pack in. There are of course options of freezing all or part of the yoghurt & dip/s as well as storing in a cooler bag for those with schools :-)
Kicking myself I forgot to take pics :-S

Now for the fun part!

Simply follow the instructions in the Rafflecopter form below & you will be in it to win it!

* As per Terms & Conditions entrants must be subscribed to at least one of each of Loving Lunches AND Omai Australia's social media (or email updates where applicable). You may subscribe to more than one of these. 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 chosen
* Full Terms & Conditions can be found here

Note - Open to Australian residents only

a Rafflecopter giveaway

Disclosure: This is not a sponsored post. This post was written for Loving Lunches & Omai Australia who generously provided the prize/s for this competition. Full Terms and Conditions available here.