1 Baked Apple-Cheddar Quinoa Balls

BBWow, these are so delicious, and they are baby-approved! 

I came across this recipe by recommendation from one of the moms in my mommy group. Turns out it's from the Little Grazers blog: http://littlegrazers.com/apple-and-cheese-quinoa-balls/

I made our own today. I adjusted it slightly for American measurements. I also misread the cooked-quinoa amount and used the entire yield from 1 cup of UNcooked quinoa. But it worked out great. 

You'll need:

Yield from 1 cup of uncooked quinoa (so, cook 1 cup of quinoa according to package directions.)

2 medium Pink Lady apples, grated and squeezed of excess water (save the juice for a yummy drink!)

3/4 cup shredded cheddar cheese

1 beaten egg

olive oil or coconut oil

1/2 tsp salt

Pre-heat oven to 350F. 

Combine all ingredients and mix in a bowl. Portion out into balls.  I used a measured scoop. Brush with some melted coconut oil or olive oil.

Bake for 30 minutes until golden brown!

Devour! They taste like Cream of Wheat (which I absolutely love) with a hint of apple sweetness and cheddar.  So good!

26 Bento #268 - Froggie World Animal Day Blog Hop

We're hopping again! ;)  Today is World Animal Day and my bento friends and I are each doing a different animal-themed lunch today.  I selected the noble frog.

The past few days we have been enjoying some delicious deli meats courtesy of Columbus Salame.  Today we're using their applewood smoked ham, which has this really savory, smokey taste.  It's great quality and flavor!  I've been having it grilled with melty cheddar and a smidge of deli mustard.  Delish!  I've prepared it today in E's lunch as ham spirals with cute froggie picks, with a side of carrots.

We have another CuteZCute cheddar sandwich, and this time I used the adorable froggie plate for the face.  I was able to emboss the bread as well with the tool, which is such a nifty feature!

Bento #267 - Columbus applewood smoked ham spirals, carrots, cheddar on whole wheat, mini bananas and Willamette Valley Granola chips.

Pssst...I have a Willamette Valley Granola giveaway going on, click here to enter!

Now, check out what Astrid has for WAD at Lunch Fit For a Kid!  Click below.

3 Bento #265 - Butterfly Ham & Cheese

Lunch today is in a Lego lunchbox with some butterflies.  It's ham and cheddar on whole wheat, and in the butterfly shape with a LunchPunch. You can't really see the butterfly sandwich very well, but next to it is a cute silicone butterfly cup filled with organic cucumber wedges, and a mini banana.

Bento #265 - Columbus ham and cheddar cheese on whole wheat, organic cucumber, mini banana and an apple strawberry Crusher.

 

1 Bento #260 - PB&J Sushi

Yummy!  We have organic peanut butter and strawberry jelly on whole wheat today, rolled into sushi and some cheese cubes on leaf skewers.

Bento #260 - Organic PB&J on whole wheat, mozzarella cheese, carrot chips and ranch dip.

0 Bento #256 - First Day of First Grade Bento

New year!  Miss Ella started first grade today.  How fast the summer flew!  Just look how adorable she is in her school uniform.  I got the cute bunting printable from Party On! Designs as a little first day surprise, and she loved it.

For back to school lunch we have an inside-out princess tiara turkey sandwich on wheat.

I cut out some red and yellow sweet bell peppers into flower shapes for her veg.

Served it up with some ranch dip in the panda container, along with a sweet Clementine.  The oranges I've been getting the last few weeks have been amazing!  Also a little snack of Goldfish crackers and some gummy vitamins for dessert.

Packed in her PlanteBox!  This year they aren't doing snack (at least that's what I understand right now!)

Bento #256 - Turkey & cheese sandwich on wheat, sweet bell peppers, Goldfish crackers, ranch dip, Clementine and gummy vitamins.

Don't forget to enter my Bentobloggiversary bento giveaway!  Click here to enter!

3 Bento #235 - Hello Kitty Onigiri & Cucumber Rounds

Here is my very non heart-sy February 14th lunch. Why not?  I've already done a few hearts in recent bento boxes.  Also the fact that we don't celebrate, so there's that.  However, if you are looking for some really cute heart-sy bento lunches, here is a link where you can hop from one bento blog to the next for some heart-stoppingly adorable creations.  All together now {awwww!}

Why Miss Hello Kitty, why do you look so mean and mad?  Poor girl.  She must be upset that her favorite bow accessory is not showing up all that well in her mug shot.

More [novice] Baby Bel carvings and some sliced cucumbers.

Grapes and TJ's yogurt stars.

Bento #235 - Jasmine rice onigiri, Baby Bel cheese, cucumbers, grapes, dip and yogurt star biscuits.  Snack - Apple-banana spice muffin (not shown.)

7 Bento #232 - Stars & Pinwheels

Happy Friday!  Oh my gosh, craisins again??  This is the last for a while, I promise!  At least E isn't wholly sick of them yet.  These Colby cheese pinwheel roll ups are made with rolled out sliced bread.  They were falling apart a little, but they stayed together in their side of the box.  And salad!

The ubiquitous craisins in a star-shaped cup and yogurt stars!  The salad dressing is in the blue bear cup.

E and I made spiced apple muffins (Trader Joe's) with...craisins.  It's kind of a joke now, isn't it?

This is the bento box that I got from a Crocs store, totally perfect (it even came with the bow strap!)

Have a great weekend!

4 Bento #227 - The Owl & The Ladybug

 

BACK TO SCHOOL!  Today we have a super CUTE pot bellied owl PB&J sandwich with a jolly apple tum, cheese and blueberry eyes and apple beak and feet.

For the body I freehand cut the bread because I don't have a large oval cutter.  For the belly I cut one side of a Jonagold apple, and then used it as a template to cute out the middle piece of bread, and then set the cut side down on the peanut butter.  The wings are pieces of crust.

The ladybug is a Baby Bel, tab pulled off and cheese removed.  I cut out the dots with a small circle deco cutter, and then put the cheese back in.  The eyes are two of the cut out dots squished together.

We also have some really sweet and delicious fresh blueberries.  These are the best I've had in a long time!  We had some for dessert last night with sliced kiwi.  Ella actually made the salad herself, she's very proud of it and wanted some in her lunch.

Bento #227 - Organic peanut butter and strawberry jam with an apple slice, cheese & blueberries, croutons, and tossed salad.  Snack - Carrot apple Crusher and peanuts.

0 Bento #214 - Bacon Sandwich & Peaches

I am so excited, we finally purchased a gas grill for our deck!  It's been 6 years since we sold our house in Maryland and my husband decided to leave our grill.  So sad.  We've been limping by this summer with a very inadequate charcoal grill which I was fearful would burn our deck down.  This weekend I had the entire family over for grilled beer brats.  This thing is awesome!  So happy I can now go outside to grill.  What's funny is that I never actually grill steaks; I always use a cast iron skillet so that I can get a great crust on the exterior when it sears in its' own fat.  And now I can use the side burner on the grill outside and not gunk up my kitchen cabinets with airborne grease. Thank you!!

My mother-in-law brought over a bag of garlic bread sticks last night, and I thought they would be a convenient size and shape for a sandwich.  We had leftover bacon from brunch (scrambled eggs with cheese, fried tomatoes, potatoes & mushrooms, baked beans and toast!)  which fit perfectly inside one of the bread sticks, split down the middle.

There is a little bit of some black bean and corn couscous which I picked up in the fresh section at Super Target.  It's really flavorful!

I also peeled and quartered a fresh Georgia peach (just like little Miss E.)

Bento #214 - Bacon & Colby cheese sandwich, black bean couscous and a peeled fresh peach.  Snack - Apple Carrot Crusher and Kettle chips.

0 Bento #213 - Fried Rice and Edamame

Last few days have been a little hectic (small cocktail/jewelry party last night) so what could be a simpler meal than fried rice?  It's one of my go-to quick meals.  I almost always make extra rice and keep it in the fridge for a few days in an airtight container.  This rice is made with egg, ham and edamame.

I included a special treat cookie.  I made a batch of these amazing oatmeal cookies at 9pm that night.

Bento #213 - Fried rice, organic carrots, Boursin cheese, grapes and a cookie.  Snack - Banana.

0 Bento #207 - Scrambled Eggs & Ham

I think one of the best simple meals in the world is scrambled eggs.  It's even better with a little baked ham and cheese (or cream cheese if you want to just die of bliss.)  I scrambled a couple of free-range eggies with some ham and shredded cheese.

Fresh kiwi and sweet corn-off-the-cob round out this lunch!  We also have some of the Indian Spiced Nuts as part of her afternoon snack.

Bento #207 - Scrambled eggs with ham & cheese, fresh sliced kiwi, and sweet corn.  Snack - Apple carrot Apple Crusher and Indian spiced nuts.