Mini Quiche

Just a quick recipe share today folks.  This is a delicious little recipe that my family enjoyed every Christmas morning when I was a kid.  Well, when I got married I decided that it is way too delicious to just eat once a year, and started making it more often.  These are great for Goodbyns because they are almost better cold than they are hot, and they are cute and fun.

Mini Quiche:

You will need:

• 2 dozen tart shells
• 8 slices of bacon, cooked and crumbled
• 1 cup of swiss cheese, grated
• 3 large eggs
• 1 1/2 cup 18% coffee creamer
• 2 tsp dry onion flakes
• 1/ tsp pepper
• 1/8 tsp nutmeg
• dash of sea salt

Preheat oven to 350*
Beat eggs until frothy; add cream and spices and mix well.  Set aside.
Line a cookie sheet with foil, and arrange tart shells on it.  Divide cheese and bacon among tart shells.
Pour egg mixture into shells over cheese & bacon until they are approximately 3/4 full.
Bake in oven at 350* for approximately 30 minutes, until tops are golden brown and puffed slightly.

I hope you enjoy this recipe as much as my family does!  It's always a big treat when I make these, and the prep work is very minimal.  I love how easy they are to make, and the generous amount it makes.  They also freeze extremely well (if you manage to have a few leftover, that is).

And don't forget there is still a little time left to enter to win your very own Bynto!  Check out our give-a-way here.
Happy lunching,

Happy St Patricks Day!

Hows this for some green inspiration! Looks apetizing huh! LOL This goodbyn has avacado dip, cucumbers, spring onions and tortillas to dip. Kiwi and grapes, key lime cheesecake and some green candy melts. Yum!

You still have time to share your green lunches with us and be in with the chance of winning a bynto of your very own!

Build Your Own Salad

Within the last few months my darling little boy who previously would eat just about anything you put in front of him has turned into the dreaded Picky Eater!  I have found that one of the ways I can get him to eat things he might not otherwise eat is to let him "make it himself."  Now, as you can imagine with a two-year-old this can get quite messy.  But from what I have gathered from fellow Moms with darling little boys, no matter what age they are, there is something about making it yourself that makes their meal far more appealing.  And trust me, this doesn't change even when they get to be husbands with kids of their own.

So for today's lunch I sent my hubby to work with a build your own chef salad (you should have seen the delight on his face when he saw the contents of his Goodbyn).  This is definitely one of his favorites to eat, and my favorites to make (because it is SO EASY!)
I started with spinach.  I am sure if you look at some of my other posts you will see that my family eats a lot of spinach.  But it is a super food!  Chalk full of vitamins, minerals and antioxidents it is an excellent choice for the base of a salad.  If your kiddos don't like spinach, try slipping it in among their other greens.  You'd be surprised what they will eat when it is mixed up with some of their other favorites.
I cut up some mushrooms, cucumbers, tomatoes, carrots and threw in some sun-dried tomatoes. in the middle compartment.  Along with some lightly seasoned chicken breast (I cook up a big batch of this and separate them into smaller containers in my freezer so I can just take out a new container each week.  It's a great thing to have on hand for salads, wraps and quick stirfrys); sliced ham, and a hard boiled egg in the bottom compartment.  A little light mozzarella cheese and some sweet vinaigrette completes this lunch.
It's fun because it allows for some choice.  My DH can put on as much or as little of anything as he wants, and I feel good because he is eating a healthy, filling lunch.
If you are worried for younger children and their ability to "toss a salad" together inside their bento, go ahead and send a plastic bowl with them.  This way they can take things out of their Goodbyn and mix it up without making a big mess.
I am hoping you enjoyed my post today.  Be sure to check out Georgina's awesome St. Patty's Day Post tomorrow; and if you haven't already, stop by our new Giveaway to see how you can win one of the brand new Byntos!  Happy lunching!    
Thinking outside of the bag,

Grow Your Own

I love this time of year! You can normally find me, quite literally - full of the joys of Spring and as such I am often found in my garden, growing my own fruits and vegetables. I'm excited to see some of my chilli peppers starting to grow already!

Freshly home grown fruits and veggies are absolutely perfect for your lunchboxes and if, like me you are "into" long term food storage then a garden is a wonderful extention to your supply.

I'm not here to preach to you about the benefits of fresh food you have grown yourself - you already know about the food crisis in the world right now, the increase in food costs, the health benefits to you and your family, the taste of fresh food picked and eaten straight away, the impact on your families carbon footprint, the destressing an evening in your garden can give you..... A garden is a very personal thing - you either get passionate about it or you run for the hills when someone even mentions growing your own!  I just want to remind you that now spring is on it's way, you couldn't find a better time to start a garden!

I appreciate that not everyone has acres of land in which to grow enough food to sustain their family, however there are many ways in which you can make the most of what space you do have. I love to square foot garden and all of my plants are in pots so I can move them around the garden as I need to. Others like to go the full hog and dedicate a larger space. Whatever you choose - think about this Summer when you will be able to add delicious homegrown food to your Goodbyn's! Yum

Here are a few websites you might find useful if you were thinking of starting your own garden up:

My Square Foot Garden
How to start a vegetable garden
Planning a vegetable garden
Organic Gardening
Vegetable container Gardening

I hope that some of these links will help and inspire you! Good luck!

Ohh and don't forget - whilst you are thinking of green fingered gardening tips, why not take part in our green themed bynto giveaway by sharing your green themed boxes with us!

Quinoa, Zucchini, and Carrots... Oh My!

So it has come to my attention, and I am sure I am not the only one who has noticed this, that us here at the Goodbyn Girls seem to LOVE meatballs.  One of the reasons they are a favorite in my house is because they are one of those handy little foods that happen to be a great hiding place for healthy little bits and bites - and my suddenly picky toddler is none the wiser.  The meatballs featured in my lunch today hide such delectable items such as Quinoa, Zucchini, and Carrots... oh my!  (Check out the recipe on my blog here)

Going along with the green lunch theme, Everything in my lunch is either organic, locally sourced, or both!  Talk about going the extra mile!  I have some delicious mini carrots and cucumbers, gingersnap cookies (don't worry all, I didn't actually send 3 cookies with my DH to work - it just looked better that way for the photo!  lol.  Come on, I can't spoil him THAT much!)  A lovely spinach salad with sundried tomatoes and bean sprouts, and a homemade cranberry and almond popcorn mix.

My husband takes a giant thermos of water to work, so I rarely have to send a drink besides that, which always leaves me a bit of extra space.  I like this meal because it is healthy and fun.  The popcorn mix helps satiate those with a sweet tooth (which may just keep them away from the vending machine longer), while providing them with the nutrients of cranberries and the protein of almonds.  While pairing some healthy, fibre-rich salad with a tangy homemade dressing gives a little added interest.

Thanks for stopping by everybody.  And remember to check out our March contest.  The folks over at Goodbyn are giving us one of their awesome new Byntos to give to one lucky reader!

Thinking outside of the box,

It's GIVEAWAY time!!

So...if you are a fan of the Goodbyn lunch box, you may have already heard the news!  The Goodbyn now has a little brother called the Bynto!  It is a perfect size for smaller bellies, snacks and light lunches.  The wonderful people at Goodbyn have generously offered us an itty bitty Bynto to give away on our blog!  So...what do you have to do to get a chance to win you ask?

Well, since Goodbyn is advocate of the environment and recycling AND St Patrick's Day is coming up, we are having a GREEN theme!  Your mission, if you choose to accept it, is to create a lunch that is fully GREEN.  Now for the catch.  Your lunch has to be fully litterless with no packaging in the container that is non recyclable AND you have to use the colour green somewhere in your lunch.  You can go all out and make your WHOLE lunch green if you wish.  Have fun with it!! 

You will have until the end of March to complete your lunch, take a photo and post a link to your photo here in the comments section.  We will then randomly choose a winner from the people who have successfully complied with the requirements of the contest.  The winner will win their very own cute little Bynto in their choice of colour.  Winner will be announced the first week of April.  Make sure that you leave us a way to contact you if you are the winner.  Post the link to your blog an email address so that if you are the winner, we have a way to let you know. 

Good Luck Everyone!!!