The Goodbyn Girls

Summer is approaching!

2011-05-30T13:25:00.000-07:00

Hey there - we are still here! Promise! There has been a lot of personal "stuff" happening for all the goodbyn girlies recently (you know how it is with family and things) and lunchtime has just fallen into the bog standard routine with us all forgetting to take photos and share! :) We hope you don't mind waiting.

With summer on the way, Goodbyn's everywhere will start to get filled with delicious salads and fresh fruit. It's a great time of year - especially when you open your box to so much colour! You might remember Nena's post recently about how to build your own salad but here are a few more salad links you might enjoy....

Jamie Oliver Salads
Salad Recipes
Salads for any occassion
Killer Salad

10 lunchbox ideas

2011-04-27T22:28:00.000-07:00

Hi all, just a quick update with a fun link for everyone.

10 Lunchbox Extras That Go Beyond Yogurt Tubes and Fishy Crackers

I've used many of these myself, and the Annie's snacks are a HUGE hit with my picky two-year-old.

Have a great week!

Taco Salad

2011-04-06T09:13:00.000-07:00

Today's lunch consists of a simple taco salad with veggies/fruit and dip.

I used some leftover taco meat with romaine lettuce, grated cheddar cheese, diced tomatoes, onions and orange peppers, crushed tortilla chips and I used DH's drink container to keep some Catalina dressing in so that the chips didn't get soggy.

It's easy to give leftovers a makeover with a little creativity and a Goodbyn!

Thanks for stopping by!

Mini Quiche

2011-03-23T09:37:00.000-07:00

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!

2011-03-17T09:26:00.000-07:00

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

2011-03-16T12:42:00.000-07:00

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

2011-03-10T09:00:00.000-08:00

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!

2011-03-09T06:37:00.000-08:00

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!!

2011-03-08T07:46:00.000-08:00

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!!!

This just in....

2011-02-25T12:05:00.000-08:00

To say we're excited is an understatement!

Goodbyn now has a little brother! The Bynto. Oh. Isn't he adorable!?

30% smaller than the Goodbyn original, with 3 compartments instead of 5 plus stickers and another bottle!

Check them out here.

We can't wait to try them out!

Valentines Day Revisited

2011-02-15T07:26:00.000-08:00

If you read this blog regularly, you know I am a big advocate of using leftovers for lunches. It just makes my life so much easier. The bonus is that everyone eats much better too! Today's post is about two different lunches I prepared for my boys.

For my son's Valentines Day lunch, I decided to go with the red theme. He would kill me if I got too lovey and put hearts in his lunch, so that left me with few options. lol In his Goodbyn we have the colour red; leftover spaghetti in tomato sauce, a strawberry yogurt tube, red jello, strawberries. We also have sliced cucumbers, goldfish crackers, green grapes, a cheese string and granola bar (under the yogurt tube).

Now for the husband's lunch. He doesn't have a Goodbyn so we make do with containers. A tradition with us is for me to cook him his favourite meal on Valentines Day. So Indian Butter Chicken it was! I also pan fried up some red pepper and garlic parathas to go with his chicken and rice. I send the chicken and sauce separate from the rice so that the rice doesn't get mushy. The bonus to this dish is that it tastes even better the second day.

Do you have any special Valentines or special occasion recipes that you like to prepare? Share with us!! We would love to hear about fun new recipes that can double as lunches.

Leftovers Times Two

2011-02-14T19:54:00.000-08:00

Today's lunch was pretty simple. Jamie made delicious spaghetti and meat balls for dinner last night, so in the bento they went for today's lunch. I'm not sure what he did different, but they were exceptional, and the aroma fill the apartment for hours.

Also included in the bento: garlic bread, mini-salad and dressing, Capri Sun Roaring Waters, grapes, and vanilla cookies.

We had about two cups of plain spaghetti left over, which I just couldn't see tossing, so it was my responsibility tonight to come up with something to do with them. It was the least I could do since Jamie was standing out in the cold while Emy was at softball practice.

I have to tell you, I wish I had taken a picture of dinner because it was delish! And, I literally just threw it together . . . impressive for me, because I just don't "throw dinner together". I'll jot down my little recipe so you can give it a try if you like.

1 boneless/skinless chicken breast, cubed
3 eggs
2 cups prepared pasta of your choice
1 cup frozen peas
1 teaspoon rosemary
salt and pepper to taste
olive oil

Scramble the eggs and set aside. Sauté cubed chicken breast and rosemary in olive oil and season with salt and pepper to taste. When the chicken is cooked through, add the prepared pasta and frozen peas to the pan and mix until everything is heated through. Add scrambed eggs and toss until mixed thoroughly. Add more salt and pepper to taste.

That's it. Simple and delicious. It took about 30 minutes and served 4 to 5 people.

Be Prepared

2011-02-08T07:13:00.000-08:00

Your best defense is a good offense. Meaning preparing things ahead of time will get you through your busy week without as much stress. We all have busy schedules and find it hard to pack healthful lunches for our families. It is just too easy in today's chaotic life to just hit a fast food joint instead of planning ahead for lunches.

I have some easy steps to help eliminate the lunch packing stress.

1. Prep veggies and fruit ahead of time. On Sunday, I grocery shop. This means that when I come home, I spend some time washing, peeling and cutting fruit and veggies. I keep a big container of cut veggies in my fridge at hand so I can just grab a hand full and throw it into the Goodbyn. Wash your apples, grapes etc ahead of time. There are some fruits that will not hold up to prep such as strawberries. Use your own judgement, but a lot of veggie and fruit prep can be done ahead.

2. Meal Plan. If you know what you are having for supper, you can plan for leftovers in your lunch. Say you have chicken fajitas for supper...this would make awesome chicken wraps for lunch the next day. No stress at 6am to figure out what the heck you are going to put in your lunch for the day. This not only saves you time but it saves you money. Here is a printable planner you can use http://www.your-printable-planner.com/7-day-meal-planner.html

3. If you can, pack most of your lunch the night before and keep it in the fridge. This also helps to eliminate that feeling of panic at 6am. Nobody likes to have to deal with lunch before you have even had a cup of coffee. If your kids are old enough, get them to help.

4. Your freezer is your friend. If you have leftovers that you did not plan for...freeze them for later. If you bake cookies one week, do a double batch and freeze the second batch for later. I do this a lot with banana muffins. They hold up in the freezer very well and it is a treat that both my husband and kids love.

I think that the less we stress about lunch, the more likely we are to keep packing better lunches and making better food choices for our family.

Here is my recipe share for the week courtesy of my friend Patti H.

Banana Bread (yeilds approx 2 loaves or 24 muffins)

1 1/4 C white sugar
1/2 C margarine
2 Eggs
1 1/2 C mashed over ripe bananas
1/2 C Buttermilk (or regular milk minus 1 1/2 tsp...add 1 1/2 tsp of white vinegar to the milk to sour it)
1 tsp vanilla
2 1/2 C flour
1 tsp salt
1 tsp baking soda
1C of blueberries or walnuts (you can omit if you like)

Preheat your oven to 350. Cream your sugar and margarine. Add the 2 eggs and beat until the mixture lightens a bit. Add your bananas, buttermilk and vanilla. Combine your dry ingredients and add to the wet. Mix until combined. Fold in your blueberries or nuts. I use a silicone loaf pan for this but if you are using a regular loaf pan, grease it before adding your batter. Bake at 350 for 45 minutes to an hour for a loaf...approx 26 minutes for muffins.

Super Bowl Inspiration

2011-02-07T20:26:00.000-08:00

This is NOT a healthy lunch. My inspiration was Super Bowl snacks. :shrug: At least, I figured, the kids would like it. Actually, for our Super Bowl snack 'dinner' we had nachos and bruschetta topped with a delectable tomato salad . . . but, since we didn't have any of that yummy stuff left over, the kids got this stuff for lunch instead. HA!

Yeah, I'm not to crazy about how it looks, but I'm pretty certain a good bit of it was happily consumed.

Included in the bento: Capri Sun Roaring Waters, peanut butter/marshmallow quesadilla bites, orange slices, cucumber/carrots/celery with ranch dip, chips, baked ham cup, and barbecue beef slider.

Oh, and a few Red Hots that Emy begged me for.

WTG packers!

Empty Space

2011-02-03T09:33:00.000-08:00

When I first got my Goodbyn I made it my mission in life to fill it to the brim with delicious foods. It was (and still is) so much fun to prepare a homemade lunch. I was scared of empty spaces in the box, worried it might not look as pretty! LOL Seems a funny thing - but it really was a case of "ooh what can I fit in that space".

Now - I'm not so worried! I embrace the empty spaces in my lunchbox - so I don't want a drink today, I won't take one. I can see a purple base where my silverware is - never mind. I have plenty of other things to worry about - my lunchbox isn't one of them ! :)

I have empty spaces in my lunchbox sometimes and I'm okay with that!! :)

(goodbyn today contains ham, cheese and beetroot salad. Canned peaches and a coconut cake)

Comfort Food Lunch

2011-02-01T06:36:00.000-08:00

Ask someone "What is your favourite comfort lunch food?" and a lot of people will be replying with tomato soup and grilled cheese sandwiches. When I was a kid, I was a walker. Meaning I was home every day for lunch and this combo was possible for me. It still is possible even if you pack your child a lunch to take to school.

My son is not big on sandwiches but he LOVES grilled cheese. So I figured I would try to see if it held up in a lunch box. So first thing in the morning I put on a pot of tomato soup and primed his thermos with boiling water. I threw together a grilled cheese sandwich. While I was standing there, it had occured to me that it may get soggy in the lunchbox if I put it in warm. So I just cooled it off on my baking rack before packing it away into his Goodbyn. Apparently it was perfectly fine when it was time for lunch! It was room temperature and perfect to go with his hot soup.

In this Goodbyn lunch is a grilled cheese sandwich, cucumber slices, baby carrots, dill pickles, jello cup, Babybel cheese, granola bar, brownie and a thermos of tomato soup.

Variety is the spice of life

2011-01-27T14:22:00.000-08:00

Have you ever thought about use of colour in your lunch box? It's one thing I try to do every day. I try to get the whole rainbow spectrum, or as much of it as I can in my goodbyn. Not only does it mean I get a nice selection of flavours to savour, but its good for you and is really appealling to the eye. Whenever I have a colourful lunch box it always starts my mouth watering in anticipation!

For this lunch I have Raspberries, Mango, Kiwi, Flapjack, Yoghurt, Sausage roll, Potatoe Salad, Beetroot, Lettuce, red cabbage, tomatoe, coleslaw and cucumber. So thats - Red, Yellow, Green, Brown, White, Purple and Orange. I also like to brighten things up with colourful silverware too.

Here are some interesting articles on the health benefits of colourful food:

Article One
Article Two
Article Three
Article Four

How about some ideas for different colourful foods to include in your next goodbyn box - why not try for one in each colour!

Orange and Yellow
Red
Green
Blue and Purple
White

OOoh and one last link - check out these photos of colourful food!! CLICK HERE very inspiring!

If you are looking for a fun thing to do on Valentines Day - you could even include all red foods in your goodbyn! Or How about an all green lunch box for St Patricks Day!

Easy Lunch Rescues

2011-01-26T09:20:00.000-08:00

Hi everyone! I've been a bit MIA since December. You can thank this adorable little girl for that:

In other words, I have been the most airheaded forgetful human being on the face of the planet. I barely know what month it is, let alone day of the week! lol
Regardless, I have been trying to find ways to make my life a little easier in the lunch packing department, and I have some quick ideas to share with you all today.

Helpful Tips:

When I make dinner, whether it be a casserole or just chicken breasts and rice I try to make at least 1 extra portion, which makes packing a lunch that much easier! Also, if there is more than 1 portion it can double as lunch for those of us at home. This one may seem like common sense to a lot of us, but you would be surprised how much time and money this can save!

I keep junk food OUT of the house - except for certain occasions. I don't know about you, but anytime there is junk food in the house, I tend to eat that and then I don't feel like making a real, healthy dinner or lunch for the family. Healthy meals can be just as simple and quick as junk food, so keeping the junk out of the house has made it easier for me to be creative and come up with delicious and fun meals for my family. If you don't know where to start, Leanne Ely over at Saving Dinner has some great ideas. Sign up for her menu mailer, or just her free newsletter. I have gotten some wonderful ideas for snacks, lunches, dinners; ways to make everyday favorites healthier - you name it! I also just got an email saying everything in her catalog is 20% off today with the proceeds going toward helping FeedingAmerica.org in their quest to provide food to under-nourished children and families in the US.

When I buy fresh fruit from the market, I immediately come home and wash and cut it up. I keep it all in a rubbermaid container in my refrigerator sort of like a "fruit salad" of sorts. I usually throw in some melons, pineapple and grapes. This is great because I can just grab a handful to throw in one of my DH's Goodbyn compartments, or for a snack for my 2 year old son... or myself! And I can cut up an apple or a banana to add to it if I want. It has been a huge help not having to worry about washing and cutting up fruit every day.

Freezer meals! I love freezer meals! I will make up a large batch of say, chicken fingers (it is so much easier to prep them all at once than to have to make separate batches every time I feel like making them). Then I can just pull the small baggie out of the freezer and throw them in the oven. It's an easy and nutritious way to fill a Goodbyn with something yummy and fun. I often do this on Mondays because we eat at my inlaws' house on Sunday nights (read: no leftovers, and I am lazy on Monday mornings! lol) and the cafeteria at my DH's work serves chicken fingers on Mondays... so this way he doesn't feel left out. Besides, my homemade chicken fingers are way better than those fried ones at his work! lol

My last tip for you today is to meal plan! I find that when I meal plan it takes the guesswork out of packing lunches. And that way if I pull out some leftovers and I don't know how old they are - I can check my calendar and I know exactly when I made it! Realistically this only takes me about 10 minutes a week, and I do it every week the day before I go grocery shopping. That way I can take into account what I have in the pantry already and head to the market for whatever else I need.

I hope these tips have helped a bit. And I will be back next week with a yummy lunch to share! Happy snacking my friends!

Nena

Leftovers to the Rescue

2011-01-25T19:19:00.000-08:00

Jamie made the yummiest pot roast last night . . . and some delicious buttermilk dinner rolls from scratch that he found on Ruhlman.com. We've always figured a successful dinner can easily translate into a yummy lunch, so today the kids had pot roast, mashed pots, and some of that delicious homemade bread!

Also included in the bento: carrots, oranges, Capri Sun Roaring Waters, peanut butter cookies.

Easy Twist on Ham and Cheese

2011-01-24T19:40:00.000-08:00

One summer, back before I ever contemplated attempting creative lunches, I sent the kids to daycare with a ham and cheese sandwich almost every, single day. Gosh, they were so tired of it by the end of the summer I thought I'd never be able to serve them one again.

So you can imagine how apprehensive I feel now when I need to throw a simple ham and cheese lunch together. My solution was pretty easy actually. By rolling out the bread slices and cutting off the crusts I can offer the sandwiches with enough of a twist to throw the kids off the scent of monotony!

Also included in the bento: chips and dip, Capri Sun Roaring Waters, grapes, orange slice, strawberry, cherry tomatoes, chocolate cake with chocolate syrup.

Monday night's leftovers

2011-01-24T16:30:00.000-08:00

So you made too much spaghetti for supper. Oops! Now what to do with it all? Make "Spaghetti Pie" of course! It is usually a big hit with kids. All you need is your leftover spaghetti noodles, your leftover sauce, a couple of beaten eggs and some grated cheese. I use a marble chedar but you could use whatever cheese you prefer.

First off... preheat your oven to 375 and lightly grease your casserole dish or tarte plate. Mix your leftover noodles and sauce together and let cool to room temperature. Add a couple of beaten eggs and about half of the cheese (maybe 1/2 - 3/4 C) and mix to combine thoroughly. Pour into your tarte plate or casserole dish and give it a firm push down with your spoon. Top with remaining cheese and bake at 375 for about 25 minutes. Let cool and slice into wedges or squares. This is a yummy alternative to just having leftover spaghetti in your lunch!

Cozy Fruit?

2011-01-18T06:24:00.000-08:00

What is the one thing that we all dislike about bringing in an apple or pear in our lunch? It rolls around, it gets bumped and bruised. Frankly, nobody likes bruised fruit. So what do you do?

You make one of these fruit cozies! I do NOT know how to knit anything but a basic stitch but I do have a Knifty Knitter from Provocraft. I just used the smallest loom and made a tube. Closing off the top after I got a desired length. Weave a ribbon through and voila, fruit cozy! You can also sew one if you were so inclined. Even if you are not the crafty kind, I do have a quick and easy solution! A wool sock! Granted I would probably use a NEW one lol...but you could even dress it up a little. Add some ribbon, bling, google eyes...the possibilities are endless!

P.S. I have one of these made to give away to a lucky someone. I will put the names of everyone who comments on this post into a hat and choose! I will choose a winner Feb 1st.

Have fun with your food!!!

Goodbyn on a budget!

2011-01-13T14:50:00.000-08:00

When I originally purchased my first goodbyn it was for 3 reasons.

I wanted a bit more variety in my lunches and something healthier than a dodgy pre packed sandwich from a shop which I ended up throwing half away - wasting it because it tasted weird.
I wanted to pack my lunch in a box that I could re use again and again to be better for the environment.
I wanted to save money. I was spending a fortune on lunches and packing my own was the only way to save!

I made the decision and got my goodbyn and haven't looked back. My household now owns 4 Goodbyns!

The problem is, as I have found, trying to get a variety in my lunches can sometimes proove difficult - I mean its all very well if you can have something different everyday, but I was finding my quest for variety was meaning I was buying more lunchtime type foods when I went shopping. Whilst I was enjoying the different tastes everyday, more food meant more chance for it to go to waste / out of date / mouldy!! I now preplan my lunches for the week so I don't over purchase when I go shopping and whilst I do have some variety in the main part, the rest is the same but presented in a different way.

Take this week for example. I managed to get a great deal on yoghurt, mango and kiwi when I went shopping and so I have enough to last a weeks worth of lunches and snacks for the rest of the family too.

I started the week with a simple cheese and carrot salad for my main. I put the orange yoghurt in the left compartment and cut the kiwi into small pieces in the right compartment. I also had some left over banana bread I had made at the weekend and a few of the last grapes.

The following day I moved the yoghurt to the right compartment (this time vanilla) and cut the kiwi into round slices (instead of small pieces like the day before). I also have a passionfruit a flapjack and left over pasta from dinner which I have added some sausagemeat from our fridge and a few slices of pepper to.

I got lazy the next day and didn't wash up so I used a different box! :) The kiwi was cut up fine but this time added to the right compartment with some chopped mango. The vanilla yoghurt jumped across to the left side again. I also have a custard tart. We had chicken fahitas and salad for dinner the night before and so the chicken salad was the leftovers from that - I had planned a fahita to go with it but there were none left after dinner!

And then finally I added some fruit compot to a yoghurt and put that in the left side compartment. This time I cut the kiwi into thin slices and added chopped mango and a chocolate bunny. I had another flapjack too. The main course was left overs from my dinner the night before - rice with homemade sweet and sour chicken.

Because all the main parts of my lunches were leftovers from dinners, you could argue that I spent nothing on that part of my lunch. I only really purchased the yoghurt, mango and kiwi which makes for a cheap week of lunches.

I guess what I am trying to get across in this post is that you shouldn't worry if you are eating the same things in your lunch box everyday. It makes complete sense if you are on a budget or simply don't want to waste food. Try and mix things up even a little bit like I have - change compartments; cut food up differently; combine foods differently to alter the flavour just a little bit. You will be really surprised at how such a simple thing can make all the difference and the goodbyns are perfect for this very reason!

I love taking lunch to work now. I enjoy the food I pack, it makes me more organised, I feel healthier and more alert and I simply save money!

Quick Fix

2011-01-11T09:03:00.000-08:00

My son is a picky eater. Here is one of my quick fix lunches that I know most kids would enjoy. Today's lunch consists of the ever so fun pigs in a blanket!

As much as I would love to make my own pastry for these...it is Pilsbury to the rescue!! I simply wrapped some chicken hot dogs with crescent roll dough and baked them off at 350 until golden. They are perfect for dunking into tomato soup (which is in the thermos) and a welcomed change to your average soup and sandwich combo lunch.

In the Goodbyn lunch today: Two pigs in a blanket with ketchup on the side, strawberries, dill pickles, Crush yogurt, Baby Bel cheese, tomato soup (thermos), a few small chocolates and a container of water.

There are plenty of alternatives to just the plain pigs in a blanket as well. You can use sausage instead of hot dogs. You can add cheese and make cheesy dogs. You can even do chili cheese wrapped crescent dough...these you have to make sure you seal REALLY well so you don't get oozage. The possibilities are endless when you have some ready made dough at hand. Let's hear some of your favourite ways to use your crescent roll dough!

Hot Pockets

2011-01-10T20:10:00.000-08:00

Had to show off this delicious lunch from last week!

The Our Best Bites recipe for homemade hot pockets was scrumptious. The bread by itself is quite tasty and super simple. I've made it a couple times more already--once making it into rolls and once as a braided loaf. Jamie wants me to make a simple loaf we can use for sandwiches. And Carly, one of our readers, commented that it's just as good with whole wheat flour. You should definitely give it a try if you're into baking bread.

Also included in the bento: chocolate chip granola bar, grapes, oranges, salad, poppy seed salad dressing.

Peach Crisp

2011-01-06T14:31:00.001-08:00

Happy New Year everyone! I hope you had a wonderful Christmastime. Sadly I was ill as were most of my family so we had a pretty quiet one this year. As a result we didn't actually go out to the store for 5 weeks!

Thank goodness for my food storage supply - it came to the rescue when I was in need of a quick desert to cheer us all up. Now I know we're not all in the mood for any more baking but this was SO super easy and tasted delicious that I just had to share. Your basic ingredients are these:

a can of peaches and a white cake mix - this also works well with yellow cake mix too.

Tip the whole can, juice/syrup as well into a baking tin and add a cup of sugar - mix it around. If the juice doesnt cover the peaches add a little water to just cover them.

sprinkle over a teaspoon of cinnamon powder - you don't need to mix it in

Pour on the boxed cake mix making sure to cover everything, poke a few holes in it so the juice can come through when cooking. Add 1 cup of butter dotted over the top and a sprinkle of cinnamon for good luck

Bake 180 for about 25 mins or until brown and crispy

Serve it hot with ice cream and then the following day serve the left overs in your goodbyn - it was just as nice cold as it was hot!

Also in the goodbyn today - a salad of lettuce, tomatoes, cucumber, spring onion and sliced left over beef. Plus a serving of dried apple.

Balancing Act

2011-01-04T08:50:00.000-08:00

Sometimes it is hard getting back on track after the holidays. The kids get used to the junk food that seems to be abundant during this time of year. Trying to give your child, husband or yourself something healthy AND something that is enjoyable can be hard sometimes. Especially right after Christmas. It is all about balancing the good for you foods with the treats. Let's face it, we all like a treat now and then.

Today's lunch is one of the staple meals that I KNOW my son will not complain about. An empty lunchbox at the end of the day is a happy belly. Of course, it is all about using those leftovers too! When I make spaghetti sauce, I normally make enough so that the boys (son and husband) can take some pasta with them the next day. Spaghetti and meat sauce, sliced cucumber, carrots, dill pickles and a Babybel cheese round.

For the balance...he THINKS he is getting a treat with the Crush yogurt. It is something fun for him to eat yet healthy. I would rather not have the litter in the lunch but he does bring home his containers for washing and recycling. The granola bar too is something fun he normally doesn't get in his lunch. It is still a treat but has some healthy aspects to it. Now for the full treat. Two cookies....store bought. For shame I know. But with all of the holiday cooking I have done recently, I do not feel like baking...this is going to have to do. I have a 9 year old boy who eats like a horse and has low blood sugar problems, so on occasion I have to put another small snack on the side. Today I put in giant Goldfish crackers for him to munch on in class.

For those concerned about the tomato sauce staining the Goodbyn, don't sweat it. I have had this box for over a year now and NO staining at all. If you wanted to reheat the spaghetti (my son likes his cold, straight from the Goodbyn) I would suggest putting it into a different container. Nena has posted about these awesome Wean Cubes that fit perfectly into the Goodbyn and can be removed for a quick reheating.

Happy New Year everyone! Let's get back on track!!!

Happy New Year!

2011-01-03T09:54:00.000-08:00

Today is the day the company I work for decided to take off for the New Year holiday. So as it’s technically a holiday for me . . . I didn’t want to ruin it by waking up and making lunches for the kids. :-D

I did wake up early though, because I have lots to do. One of which is to help get our food budget back on track for the new year. We tend to relax during the holidays by eating out more, which is perfectly fine for me because Jamie cooks almost every day and he certainly deserves a long break. But when we put a pen to paper and figure how much we’ve spent—it hurts. Especially when we realize we could have eaten breakfast, lunch, and dinner for six months on the amount of $$ we spent on eating out and random food shopping over the last two months.

When we look at it like that . . . it’s not so difficult to jump back on track.

One thing we’ve learned that is crucial to eating well and maintaining our grocery budget is that food cannot be random. We MUST plan a menu. I’m completely jealous of the fab cooks who can walk into the kitchen and throw a meal together from what looks like nothing. I have tried to do that, but I always end up with some variation of chicken & rice or tuna mac. And mediocre chicken & rice or tuna mac at that! So menus are important.

Luckily, this does NOT have to be a huge chore because there is SO much inspiration on the Internet! I’m working on our menu for the week right now, so I’ll share my finds with you here. I’m looking for ideas that will work well for dinner and then translate/transfer easily into a bento.

MON Dinner/TUE Lunch: Salad / Homemade Hot Pockets –

http://www.ourbestbites.com/2009/07/kids-week-homemade-hot-pockets.html

TUE Dinner/WED Lunch: Quesadilla Pie –

http://www.realsimple.com/food-recipes/browse-all-recipes/quesadilla-pie-10000001587000/

WED Dinner/THU Lunch: Lemon Rosemary Chicken / Green Beans / Croissants –

http://www.saveur.com/article/Recipes/Lemon-and-Rosemary-Chicken-Pollo-Arrosto

THU Dinner: Leek Potato Soup / Salad / Bretzel Rolls –

http://www.foodnetwork.com/recipes/alton-brown/leek-potato-soup-recipe/index.html

http://smittenkitchen.com/2006/10/salt-cross-buns/

FRI Lunch: PB&J

SAT Dinner: Homemade Pizza

SUN Dinner/MON Lunch: Ehhh, I’ll work on that next Saturday night. LOL

I’ve got my recipes printed, my next task is to put together a quick shopping list. Jamie will mark the list for the items we already have and head to the store for the rest. Now, it’s time to get some dough rising for tonight’s dinner . . .

Breakfast for lunch

2010-12-17T03:51:00.000-08:00

I'm a big fan of breakfast foods, and so I decided to take breakfast for lunch in my goodbyn. I've got some Stonyfield Banilla yogurt, 2 tangerines, a bagel, laughing cow cheese, smoked salmon, and granola. My granola is in a baggie so it wouldn't get soggy in the yogurt. If you like banana, you must try the Banilla yogurt! It is so delicious.

Jamie Oliver's Ministry of Food

2010-12-09T07:12:00.001-08:00

Unless you don't watch television, you all have probably heard about Jamie Oliver and his work. Finally a chef to use his celebrity for the good of food....REAL food. Not all of us love to cook, not all of us cook gourmet food, not all of us have the money to cook "fancy". Jamie is on a mission to change the way we look at food. To get people into the kitchen to cook simple and healthy meals for ourselves and our families. His Ministry of Food campaign has spread beyond England and he has branched out to Australia as well.

He recently did a web cast where many Aussies cooked along with Jamie...Jamie also answered questions live. I wanted to share this web cast with you all. It is an hour long but it really is worth the time. He prepares Piri Piri chicken, lemon rice and a salad. He also talks a lot about the ministry of food. I think if more people embraced his philosophy on food, we all would be better for it.

Enjoy....

Ministry of Food Australia - Webcast

2010-12-09T07:12:00.000-08:00

Chicken Salad Croissant-wich

2010-12-08T07:43:00.000-08:00

So I made a delicious holiday-themed bento this morning, and when I went to take a photo of it, my camera batteries were dead. And if you think this pregnant woman had any idea where she put the extra battery and charger you would think wrong. I am completely useless when it comes to remembering things lately. So instead, I am going to post an older bento of mine. In fact, the very first bento I ever packed for DH. I was so excited to use his Goodbyn the first day. This is also a great idea for using up some post-Christmas poultry, or even some of that Thanksgiving Turkey you still have kicking around in your freezer. Man, I'd hate to be a Turkey this time of year.

So for the "main event" we have a Croissant that I made some yummy chicken salad to tuck inside. I put the chicken salad in a separate compartment to prevent the croissant-wich from getting soggy. The chicken salad is super easy to make. Arby's in the US used to have these awesome Chicken Salad Sandwiches on their Market Fresh menu. Not a word of a lie, any time I went across the border I HAD to go to Arby's to get one of these sandwiches. Canadian Arby's didn't carry them even after we got the Market Fresh menu. Then, a couple of years ago while down in Utah, we arrived at Arby's. I was eagerly awaiting my favorite sandwich only to find out that they no longer carried it!!! I was pretty upset. Needless to say, I decided to try and copy it myself, and this is my version. It's not exactly right, but it's pretty close. Unfortunately, I haven't been able to find a replacement for that delicious bread - so I usually use a croissant. Why? Well, because I love Croissants! lol

I always make a big batch of this with any leftover rotisserie chicken or a roast turkey or anything that we happen to have. I also don't have measurements. Sorry. I am one of those "a little of this, a little of that" kind of cooks! lol

Tear up the chicken/turkey into small, bite sized pieces. You will need some red grapes, halved; craisins; celery, chopped up into small pieces; sliced almonds or walnut pieces; and miracle whip or mayonnaise. Toss all the ingredients in a bowl and mix. I add the mayo a spoonful at a time until it reaches the consistency I want. It changes depending on how much chicken I have.

Anyway, this is a delicious and slightly sweet addition to your bento rotation. I hope that you like it if you try it! The photo is so deceiving, unless you have a Goodbyn you don't realize how big that area is, and that there is quite a bit of chicken salad in that little compartment! DH ended up having too much to put in his croissant.

Also included in this Goodbyn, a pear, sugar snap peas, licorice, a juice box, and a little love note! lol

Anyway, I hope you all have a fabulous week and that this gave you some ideas on how to use up some of your own leftovers, or how to think outside of the (brown) bag; at least when it comes to sandwiches!

Nena

Holiday Baking

2010-12-07T06:38:00.000-08:00

First off, I apologize for not having a lunch post today. I totally flaked on a Christmasy themed lunch this week. So instead...I want to share some yummy sweet recipes that I find myself making during the holidays. And what kid doesn't appreciate some cookies in their lunchbox?!

One of my favourite cookies of the holiday season is ginger snaps. My grandmother used to make these all the time...the smell of ginger, cinnamon and molasses....yummy!

Gingersnaps

3/4 cup margarine

1 cup white sugar

1 egg

1/4 cup molasses

2 cups all-purpose flour

1 tablespoon ground ginger

1 teaspoon ground cinnamon

2 teaspoons baking soda

1/2 teaspoon salt

1/2 cup white sugar to roll your cookies in

Optional ingredients: chopped candied ginger OR zest of one orange

Preheat your oven to 350. Cream the butter and sugar together until smooth. Add egg and molasses and mix until combined well. If you are adding orange zest or candied ginger I would add to the wet now. Mix together your dry ingredients (minus the sugar for rolling). Add your dry ingredients to the wet ingredients and mix until incorporated. You are going to have a dense dough that you can roll into balls. Roll into 1 inch balls then roll the balls into the sugar. I have used decorative sugar for this as well and it gives the cookie extra crunch since the sugar crystals are so large. Regular granulated sugar works just as well. Place your cookie dough balls onto an ungreased cookie sheet about 2 - 3 inches apart. Bake for 8 - 10 mins. Cool on a rack and done!

The next recipe also holds some wonderful childhood memories. Shortbread cookies! I love these buttery, crumbly, sweet cookies. The best and most easy recipe I have come across so far is the one that comes off of the Canada Cornstarch box.

Shortbread Cookies

1/2 cup cornstarch

1/2 cup icing sugar (aka confectioners sugar or powdered sugar)

1 cup flour

3/4 cup butter, softened

Preheat your oven to 350. Sift the cornstarch. flour and sugar together into a bowl. Mix your room temp butter into your dry ingredients. Form into 1 inch balls and place on an ungreased cookie sheet....I use either a silicone baking mat or parchment paper because I don't want them to brown much. Flatten the balls with a fork or the bottom of a drinking glass that you have dusted with icing sugar so it won't stick to the cookie dough. Bake for 15 - 20 mins.

You can change up these cookies with some lemon zest in the dough or top with some candied cherry pieces.

These recipes are peanut free and safe for school and work lunches!! Happy baking!

Holiday Inspiration

2010-12-06T18:45:00.000-08:00

I need some serious inspiration. I know a lot of people won't be packing lunches over the holiday break--but for those of us who have to, we might as well put together some charming bentos to lift our Christmas spirit!

I love all the stars in this cute bento lunch! It's an easy and perfect way to add some sparkle to your lunch.
I giggled when I came across these adorable Santa and Rudolph chicken nuggets, click the link to see how they are made. Too cute.
It's hard to resist an adorable Snowman. The perfect shape for a sandwich.
You have to check out all the cute holiday bentos over at Hapa Bento, lots of inspiration in the form of Rudolph, snowmen, presents and stockings . . . how fun!
And we can't forget the Gingerbread Man with presents made of apples, we can't have Christmas without him.

There are great bento ideas for holiday inspired lunches around the web. I can't wait to try some of these examples. What will you be making? Please share your lunches with us!

Winner Winner Chicken Dinner!

2010-12-02T21:29:00.000-08:00

We are proud to announce our winning entry in our Goodbyn Giveaway! (winner was chosen by random draw) We loved seeing all of your lunches over the past couple of weeks and I hope that you keep sharing your wonderful ideas with us in the future too! Together we can keep creating fun, eco friendly and healthful lunch ideas for the whole family. Stay tuned for more fun challenges, ideas and the occasional giveaway! But on to the important news.....

Drum roll please........

The winner of a brand spankin' new Goodbyn lunch box is Missy Wainman! Missy...if you could contact me at ubergoober333@gmail.com with your mailing address, we will get your Goodbyn mailed out to you!

(photo shown is not the actual giveaway Goodbyn. They are my personal lunchboxes)

Chicken with Mango Salsa

2010-12-02T09:24:00.000-08:00

I'm snowed in today and feeling a little blue, so decided to make my absolute favourite all time lunch - EVER! Its super healthy too !

Here's what you need to make 2 portions:

2 whole wheat flour tortillas
1 chicken breast
cumin and oregano
Onion
red pepper
cheese
mango
tomatoe
avacado
garlic
jalepeno
red onion
lime

seems a lot but this is so easy to make.

Simply sprinkle about 1 tsp of cumin and oregano on your chicken and cook this on the hob with your white onion and red pepper (which you need to cut into strips). Whilst this is cooking, cut up the mango, tomatoe, avacado, garlic clove and red onion into small cubes add the juice of a lime and throw in a couple of jalepeno peppers - depending on how much heat you like. Mix this well, add some salt and pepper to taste. I also like to sprinkle on some chilli flakes! :)

When your chicken is done, add this to the tortilla, add a couple of spoons of salsa and sprinkle on the top with cheese. Roll it up and hey presto! I had some salsa left and love it so much added more on the side.

Also in this goodbyn: grapes and more mango, orange slices and 2 oat cookies

Better Late Than Never

2010-12-01T20:22:00.000-08:00

I always say . . . sometimes anyway.

Sorry for the late post, but I've had a rough couple of nights and I've been draaaagging. And the frozen strawberry margarita to help me relax isn't helping. Well, actually, it's helping pretty well. :-D

All righty then, my Goodbyn bento for the day, chock full of yummy chicken nuggets and egg noodles. So easy to cook up in the mornings!

Also included in the bento: Capri Sun Roaring Waters, carrot cake cupcake, strawberries dusted in sugar, cherry tomatoes, cucumbers, greenbeans.

Recipe Share

2010-11-30T07:03:00.000-08:00

Today's recipe is a fun one and may just be the incentive your kids (or adults) need to eat and ENJOY meatloaf.

What you will need for my Meatloaf Cupcakes:

Meatloaf Ingredients

1 package of lean ground beef

1 tbsp of Dijon mustard

1 tbsp ketchup

1 small very finely minced onion

2 cloves of garlic finely minced or crushed

1 large egg

1/2 C bread crumbs (or more depending on how wet your mixture ends up from whatever veg you use)

salt and pepper

Here is where we sneak in veggies....

1 smallish carrot shredded
5 or so mushrooms minced
1/2 C shredded zucchini

Basically you just mix all of that together and fill muffin tins with the meat mixture. Bake at 350 for about a half hour or until the meat is fully cooked through. You can adjust the recipe to your liking, increase it for larger families or use your own meatloaf recipe. (Photo courtesy of Food Network Canada)

Topping:

Mashed potatoes

Cooked carrots

Cooked peas

sliced red pepper

shredded cheddar cheese

After the mini meatloaf cupcakes are cooked. Remove from the pan and top with mashed potatoes (icing) and then let the kids decorate the tops with the other cooked veggies! These are also very convenient for lunches.

The change up for this recipe is that you can use the meatloaf recipe just to make meatballs for lunches as well. Most kids like the dippable factor. Here I used meatballs and served them with roasted potatoes, green salad with ranch dressing, snickerdoodle cookies, strawberries, orange slices and a couple of dill pickles.

Don't forget our Giveaway!!! You still have time to enter!

Wean Cubes

2010-11-29T09:41:00.000-08:00

So today is going to be a little different. We all had a pretty hectic weekend and a lot of us didn't end up having to pack a lunch for today for one reason or another, and so I am doing a post without a bento!!! (shock). But I promise you all that we will be back with wonderful lunch ideas for you tomorrow!

Today I wanted to do a review on a wonderful little product called the Wean Cube.

Now, I found the Wean Cube because Stacy, my good friend and fellow Goodbyn Girl, posted a lovely link on facebook a while back to their facebook page, and I instantly fell in love. Anyone who knows me will know that I am a sucker when it comes to almost any healthy alternative for the environment, my family, and my wallet. And that is why I initally fell in love with the Wean Cubes. And then they turned out to be even more awesome than I imagined!

We are often asked what we do about food in our Goodbyn that needs to be reheated. We all have different methods (some of us have kids who prefer cold/room temperature food, but that doesn't work with DH! lol) and my solution was a glass container that I have that fits perfectly into one of the main sections of my Goodbyn that I can fill with whatever DH needs to reheat so that he can simply pull it out, reheat it, and we are both happy.

Cue the Wean Cubes:

Originally made as glass baby food containers, the Wean Cubes are the perfect size to fit inside a Goodbyn. They're great for anything from ranch dressing (for dipping carrots, or for putting on a salad at lunch - avoiding the dreaded soggy salad; and frees up a section in your Goodbyn for more delicious goodies) treats, a small helping of mashed potatoes or soup - if you can dream it up - you can probably fit it in the Wean Cube. Or, if worse comes to worse - you could always use it to store homemade baby food! (I am a homemade baby food freak! I love making it! I will be honest - this might be one of the biggest excitements I have about the new baby coming! lol). Or just to keep cheerios from spilling all over the inside of your purse.

The Wean Cubes are made of durable glass with a silicone sealed lid. The lid also has wonderful Smart Clips that lock the lid on and keep food where it is supposed to be. The cubes are 100% BPA, PVC, Phthalates, and Plasticizer free. They also stand up to extreme hot and cold temperatures! They can go from your counter, to the fridge, to the freezer, to the microwave, and then right into the dishwasher! Could it get any easier? There are measuring lines right on the container that help those Goodbynners who are monitoring their food intake for one reason or another and come in 4 beautiful colors. They hold up to 4 fluid ounces and come in packs of 4.

These are a great alternative to the plastic baggies you might use in addition to your bento. The Wean Cubes definitely get two thumbs up from this member of the lunch bunch for being environmentally responsible, kid safe, durable, and budget friendly!

For more information, please click on the photo above, or visit their website here. Their blog is also incredible with all sorts of tips and recipes on it! Definitely worth checking out.

Expect the Wean Cubes to be making an appearance in our lunches soon. And stay tuned over the next few months... you never know when another great giveaway could appear.

And don't forget - tomorrow, Tuesday 30th of November is your LAST CHANCE to enter our giveaway for a free Goodbyn of your very own. If you haven't entered be sure to do so ASAP! Trust me, you wouldn't want to give up your chance at winning one of these awesome bento lunch boxes!!! Check out the info here.

Happy lunching.

Nena

Goodbyn's Black Friday Sale

2010-11-27T12:23:00.000-08:00

I just wanted to inform everyone that Goodbyn is having a wonderful Black Friday sale that will be going on until Monday, November 29.

Go to http://www.goodbyn.com and you can get ALL of Goodbyn's products at 25% off. Just enter promocode "holiday2010" at checkout.

It's a great time to pick up your first Goodbyn, or an extra one.

Have a wonderful weekend everyone!

And don't forget, there is still time to enter our giveaway for a FREE Goodbyn. Check out the post here for more details.

Nena

Pizza Friday!

2010-11-26T06:06:00.000-08:00

The Thanksgiving holiday is keeping my American friends very busy this week. So I am posting again :)

Today's restaurant inspired lunch is another kid friendly one and a very EASY one to prepare. If your family is anything like mine, they love pizza! Instead of ordering in, make these really quick and easy mini pizzas. All you need is some kind of flat bread (Greek fluffy pita, naan), english muffins or hamburger buns, cheese and pizza sauce (spaghetti sauce works in a pinch too). I find that the pitas that you use to stuff for sandwiches don't quite work as well as the more dense Greek pitas or naan (Asian and Indian flat bread). Here in this lunch I used naan.

I usually make mine up the night before so that in the morning all I have to do is throw them in the lunch box. Today's Goodbyn contains flat bread pizza, cheese string, dill pickles, carrots, cucumbers, cereal bar, couple of cookies and fruit salad (strawberries, watermelon, cantaloupe). Boy you can fit a lot in there!

Restaurant Inspiration

2010-11-25T12:41:00.001-08:00

Firstly I would like to start by wishing all our American followers a happy Thanksgiving, hope you have a wonderful weekend.

Secondly - I would like to share my goodbyn for Nancy's "restaurant inspired challenge".

I adore Indian cuisine, I like spicy food ! My favourite restaurant is an Indian chain called the Red Chilli. It didn't take me long therefore to decide on my menu for my "restaurant goodbyn"

I have Chicken Tikka with rice as my main, poppadoms and mango chutney as a side, I've added sliced pineapple as a fruit and a lemon cheesecake slice for desert. A little extravagent for a Thursday Goodbyn but totally delicious - and after all , today is thanksgiving! LOL

Here's how I made the Chicken Tikka, it's super easy.

Have a great day and don't forget you still have a few days to enter our challenge to win your very own goodbyn!

Restaurant Inspiration - Asian Fusion

2010-11-24T08:29:00.000-08:00

For this week's lunch we are all doing Restaurant Inspired food. Well, I also wanted to celebrate our home team's return to the Grey Cup here in Canada. The Roughriders are headed to the Grey Cup against Montreal, a rematch of last year - and my entire city is alive and vibrating green and white! So I wanted to incorporate that in my lunch somehow. Cue the bento:

So my restaurant inspiration comes in my top two compartments. In the top compartment I have my own take on these fantastic lettuce wraps that they serve at a pub I used to work at (random that they serve lettuce wraps at a pub, yes, but that is why it is "asian fusion" lol). All you need for these is some romaine hearts - I used the ones from close to the middle of the lettuce heart - they have more of a "C" shape that makes it easier to pack in a lunch. If you are serving them at home you can use any of the leaves, as you are eating them right away.
The filling is cooked cabbage, green onions and rice with ground round. Flavored with a bit of garlic and soy sauce. I have made them with ground turkey as well and they are delicious. But I was feeling a vegetarian flavor to this. I sprinkled some shredded cheese over top just to add a bit of extra flavor.

The second compartment, traditionally where you would put the drink, was the perfect size for quartered green onion cakes. Which are surprisingly easy to make. My family loves this simple addition to a stirfry or soup. To make green onion cakes you will need:

3 cups bread flour
1 1/4 cups boiling water
2 tablespoons vegetable oil
sea salt and pepper and garlic to taste
1 bunch green onions, finely chopped
2 teaspoons vegetable oil

Then all you have to do is:

Use a fork to mix flour and boiling water in a large bowl. Knead dough into a ball. Cover bowl with plastic wrap; let dough rest for 30 to 60 minutes.
Evenly divide dough into 16 pieces. Roll each piece into a 1/4 inch thick circle using a rolling pin or your hands. Brush each circle with oil, season with sea salt, pepper, and garlic and sprinkle with about 1 teaspoon of green onions. Roll up, cigar style, and pinch open ends together to form a circle. Then roll the dough in your hands to form a ball after that; then roll each circle flat to 1/4 inch.
Heat 2 teaspoons oil in a large skillet. Fry cakes until golden brown, about 2 minutes on each side.

Also included in the bento is a Rider "cupcake" (I am a health nut - it is actually a delicious fibre filled muffin with some icing on it! lol). I made a dozen to send to work with DH. Some baby carrots, and tiny little mandarin oranges. Restaurants always love to serve "mini" things, and so I thought the mini oranges and carrots fit well. lol

Hope you enjoyed my post and it inspired you a bit for you own lunches this week! There isn't much time left, so don't forget to enter our contest to win your own Goodbyn!

Nena

Restaurant Inspiration - Sushi

2010-11-23T05:32:00.001-08:00

Sushi...not such a kid friendly restaurant meal. Most kids make faces at the thought of eating raw fish or seaweed. I know a lot of adults who do too. lol I personally love the stuff and make it at home. My son will only eat veggie rolls and my daughter will not go near it with a ten foot pole. My spin on sushi involves a lot of fun, kid friendly treats! All you really need to know how to do is make Rice Crispy treats!

Step 1: Make rice crispy treats according to box instructions.

Step 2: Pour out treats onto a buttered piece of parchment paper.

Step 3: Flatten out the treats into a thin rectangle.

Step 4: Add any candy you want to the middle that is pliable. I used orange and chocolate Tootsie rolls that I stretched out as well as a folded up piece of Fruit Roll Up.

Step 5: Roll up your sushi using your parchment paper to lift, roll and press down on your sushi roll. Wrap it up in the parchment paper and toss it in the fridge so it slices easier.

Step 6: Remove from fridge and wrap it in fruit roll ups. Slice into rounds with a serrated knife and serve.

I also made some home made crunchy chicken strips. I sliced chicken breast into fingers. I continued the rice theme and decided to use the Rice Crispies as the coating for the chicken strips as well. I dredged them in a beaten egg, then into corn starch, back into the egg then into some seasoned (salt, pepper, paprika and garlic powder) crushed rice crispies. I then shallow fried them in a cast iron pan and done. These end up very crunchy and delicious! In today's Goodbyn there is Crunchy Crispy Chicken strips with ketchup for dipping, Baby Bell cheese, cucumber slices, Kool Aid Jammer, thermos of noodle soup and dessert sushi.

Don't forget about our GIVEAWAY!!! You still have time to get your entry in!

Restaurant Inspiration

2010-11-22T10:23:00.000-08:00

Nancy challenged the Lunch Bunch to create bentos this week that are inspired by some of our favorite dishes from restaurants. I asked the the kids what they thought they might like to have for lunch today . . . and they all agreed, "KEMAH!"

They love the sliders from the burger joint we like to visit down there. Jamie and I love them too, they are mouth-watering. Unfortunately, we realized after a visit last weekend that our favorite little hole in the wall down near the boardwalk has closed. We are pretty darn sad about that. So this challenge came at just the right time, because we apparently need to learn to make our own delicious sliders and waffle fries.

By the way . . . we forgot the waffle fries for the bento. D'oh!

Also included in the bento: Capri Sun Roaring Waters, chips, lettuce and tomatoes, orange slices, and strawberries dusted in sugar.

"The Big Salad"

2010-11-19T03:24:00.000-08:00

Remember Seinfeld, when Elaine just wanted a "big salad"? That always cracked me up.

I also love a big salad. Recently, they added some Saladworks restaurants close to where I live. At first, I thought it was too expensive, but then I bought one of their salads and I was hooked. You get enough salad for about 2 meals.

The Big Salad is kind of a diet buster though. By the time you add the meat, the cheese, the egg, the dressing...well, let's just say you have consumed enough calories.

My favorite salad at Saladworks is called the Bentley. It has ham, swiss, turkey, eggs. I substitute crispy chicken and avacado for the ham and turkey. The other night, I made some oven fried chicken, and so I thought I would try to make my own version of this salad.

My version has a lot less calories, simply because less of it fits in the goodbyn. I had some cheese, some crispy chicken, tomatoes, lettuce, and my beloved avocado. I halved the avocado and wrapped it in Saran Wrap, and put it in another compartment, so it wouldn't get brown before lunchtime. I included some fat free salad dressing, and of course, the best part of a SaladWorks meal: a nice, soft whole wheat roll with margarine. Good eats!

Food Storage

2010-11-18T08:32:00.000-08:00

I am big on food storage for a number of reasons - mainly because it saves money in the long run, but also because it means there is always something on hand to eat, even if I didn't manage to get to the shops on time!

Some people are worried about using food storage thinking it isn't always healthy and it's not very appetising or its a chore / mundane. Not so!

Check out my Goodbyn Today:

I have canned pears to which I have added some dried apple chunks and a handful of sultanas.
Cheese Crackers.
Left over rice from dinner with a little leftover salad
Homemade (with food storage) Oat Flapjack

It has a really Autumnal Feel about it and was totally delicious. Over the coming weeks I will be looking at food storage products in more detail.

In the meantime, why not check out our challenge and you could win yourself your very own Goodbyn!

Pinwheel Sandwiches

2010-11-17T07:55:00.000-08:00

It would seem I am the sandwich queen, as most of my lunches contain sandwiches. I promise, one of these weeks I'll post something different! But in the meantime, here is a far more fun and creative way to serve a sandwich.

In the top section of my Goodbyn you can see some adorable little pinwheel sandwiches. They are actually incredibly easy to make! Start with two pieces of bread for each sandwich (there is one sandwich in the photo - I ended up making another one, just in case DH was really hungry) and roll each flat with a rolling pin. I used Dempsters Ancient Grains for these particular sandwiches. It worked well, but my homemade bread usually works a lot better.
Next, spread the bread with Miracle Whip or Mayonnaise. Then add cheese (I use shredded cheese, which can get a bit messy, but I like the taste of it better) to one piece of bread. Next, add a tiny thin layer of mayo or butter on top of the cheese just to get the meat to stick to it, and add your meat. I usually use ham or turkey.
Next, you will want to put the other piece of bread on top, slightly askew, and roll it up. You'll want to have a piece of plastic wrap at the ready so that the rolled sandwich doesn't fall apart. Roll it in the plastic wrap and you'll want to throw it in the freezer for at least 30 minutes. At the end of the 30 minutes, remove the sandwich and the plastic wrap and cut into equal pieces to make the pinwheels. The trick is to cool the sandwich enough that it won't fall apart when you are cutting it. So trust me, keep it in for the entire 30 minutes or you'll end up eating most of the sandwich off the cutting board! lol

Also included in the bento, a simple fruit salad with kiwi, mandarin orange and green grape. A vanilla yogurt with a little container of granola on the side; a KoolAid Jammer; Cheese cubes, Swiss & Marble Cheddar; and a Chocolate Chip Cookie.
One of my favorite things about the Goodbyn is that lovely little section next to the drink compartment. I will use it to add a little love note, or, on days like today when there is a lot of dairy in DH's lunch, I will throw in a couple of lactaid pills. I find that if it is right in the lunch, it won't be forgotten, whereas even though DH has a bottle at his desk at work, he tends to forget to take them. I am sure the case is the same with most of your kiddos. So just a quick thought - if your kids have a medication they have to take at lunch, adding it to that cute tiny little section of their Goodbyn is a wonderful way to ensure they remember to take it!

With that I am off! We'll see you next week! Happy lunching!

And if you haven't yet, be sure to enter to win your very own Goodbyn lunch box with our launch month giveaway here.

Nena

Fun for Picky Eaters

2010-11-16T09:59:00.000-08:00

I am sure there are many parents out there who have kids who are quite particular about what they eat. Fussy eaters can definitely be frustrating at times. I figured I would share a fun lunch that I think would agree with many of those particular kids and it is fun too!

We started off with a couple of oatmeal chocolate chip cookies, sliced cucumber, sliced strawberries, cubed cantaloupe melon and a hand full of Doritos. Those are all pretty kid friendly foods that most children enjoy. The "fun" comes in with hot dog octopus (or is that octopi or octopusses? lol) resting on a bed of left over macaroni and cheese. I added ketchup because that is just the way my son prefers his but you can omit it if you like. It added an extra gross factor with my son who said it was bloody octopus. (boys are so weird lol)

To make the octopus, all you need to do is make some cuts lengthwise into the hot dog for the legs. Make sure you leave about an inch to an inch and a half at the top for the head. Boil your hot dogs as usual. As they cook, the legs curl up. Easy peasy and your kids will be the talk of the lunchroom!

Pineapple Dump Cake Recipe

2010-11-15T11:13:00.000-08:00

For JenK and anyone else who has never made one, it's SOOOO easy.

Ingredients:

1 box Yellow Cake Mix
2 cans Crushed Pineapple
2 sticks Butter
1/2 cup Brown Sugar

Mix the brown sugar into the crushed pineapple. Dump mixture into a baking dish (7x11 or 9x13, dependent on how thick you prefer your cake). Dump the cake mix over the pineapple mixture completely covering it. You'll only use about half of the cake mix. Melt the butter and then pour over the cake mixture until it's completely covered. Bake in a 400°F oven for approximately 30 minutes or until the top of the cake is golden brown.

I prefer pineapple, but this recipe could be used with any fresh fruit, compote, or chutney. This is an incredibly quick dessert and is super rich, so a healthy spoonful over a scoop of vanilla ice cream is more than plenty to satisfy your sweet tooth.

That's a Wrap!

2010-11-15T08:29:00.000-08:00

Or a taco, but since it they don't have regular taco stuffings, maybe a wrap is more appropriate. Or how about I just call them yummy?

These wraps were super easy to make with browned ground beef. I mixed a bit of ranch dressing in some cream cheese to spread on the tortillas, sprinked the seasoned ground beef and chopped green onions and rolled. I love what convenient vessels tortillas are. I made sure to send a fork though . . . just in case they were messy.

Also included in the bento: Capri Sun Roaring Waters, grapes, orange slices, strawberry, cucumber, celery, and carrot sticks with Ranch dip and strawberry star pastries.

Another "3C's" lunch

2010-11-12T06:28:00.000-08:00

Last week, as you may remember, we posted our first giveaway. We are giving away a free Goodbyn to a random participant who shows us what they have done with our "3 C's" challenge: Carrots, Cucumbers and Cheese. I didn't have my example up in time. Been making lunches but have not found the time to photograph. Anyhow, this week, I made another "3C's" lunch. I made a little crudite of carrots, sugar snap peas, and cucumbers, with some dill dip on the side, some cheese cubes, and a whole wheat pita with hummus. Some of my colleagues have joking called these kinds of lunches my "picnic" lunches. But I'm on Weight Watchers, and I have come to enjoy having a little of this, a little of that in my lunch. Also, I find that eating this way takes a little longer, which helps me feel fuller when I eat. In Weight Watchers points, the veggies are worth 0 points, the cheddar cheese cubes are 3, hummus is 2, dill dip is 3, and pita counts as 1. So I have a whole meal here, for just 9 points, and I find I can't even eat it all.

So, there you have it! Link us up to your lunch using these items, and you could win a free lunchbox!

Rememberance Day Goodbyn

2010-11-11T09:31:00.000-08:00

Today in the UK (and other countries) it is Rememberance Day.

In my family we have a traditional cake that we eat at this time and it's a tradition that has been handed through my family. I believe it was my great grandmother who started the tradition and the family story is that having little in her kitchen cupboard she wanted to create something special for her family to celebrate the lives of those lost (quite a few in our family alone), the first world war being over and she had a very sweet tooth (something I have definately inherited!) and fancied a cake for pudding that evening!! :)

She decided upon a cake with the consistency of bread - for two reasons (1) she was very religious and believed in the symbolisim around bread and (2) she had a lot of kids to feed and a stodgy cake went a lot further and filled those hungry kids up!

It is a tradition on Rememberance Sunday in the UK to lay wreaths at the Cenotaph in London, I am proud that many of my relatives take part in the March as they are still active members of the Royal British Legion.

photo taken from wikipedia

Here is how to make the cake:

You will need: 1 can of pineapple rings, some glace cherries, 10oz/275g brown sugar, 1lb/450g of flour, 4oz/100g butter, 2 eggs (or powdered eggs if fresh not available), 1tsp nutmeg, 1tsp cinnamon, 8fl oz of milk

I apologise for the old school English measurements but you can convert them here if you need to!!

Melt 2oz/50g of butter in a pan. Add in 4oz/100g brown sugar and a tablespoon of pineapple juice from a can. Stir and pour the mixture into the bottom of a baking tin

On top of the syrup in the tin, add pineapple rings to cover the base. The pineapple ring represents the poppy wreath and the red cherry in the middle is a symbol of the blood spilt in the war. Set the oven to Gas 4/180c/350f

Put all the other ingredients into a mixing bowl and mix together to make a cake batter

pour this ontop of the pineapple rings and bake in the oven for about 45 minutes. It should come out looking something like this.... (with a crispy base)

Immediately turn it upside down onto another larger baking tray so the syrup runs over the top of the cake.

You are meant to leave it too cool but at this stage I love to cut a piece and eat it hot with some icecream!

When it is cool you can then add a slice to your Goodbyn and enjoy it for your lunch! :) A nice slice of rememberance day cake!

Also in my lunchbox today is a salad of baby leaves, cucumber, red and yellow pepper, spring onion, leftover breaded chicken and radish. I have some mixed fresh fruit of pineapple, kiwi and blueberry and some beetroot and parsnip crisps!

Just a reminder too - We have a giveaway happening on our blog right now!! You could win a Goodbyn of your own - check it out HERE.

Winter Wednesday Corn Chowder

2010-11-10T14:14:00.000-08:00

Hi everyone. I am so sorry this post is going up so late in the day. By now you have probably picked up the kiddos from school, washed out those lunch containers and are already thinking about tomorrow's lunch. Perfect!

Last night we had our second snow of the year - and I think this one is sticking around. We were lucky enough that our first big storm thawed within a few days, but this one doesn't seem to be going anywhere anytime soon. *sigh* So I packed something to warm my DH from the inside out for his lunch today:

Today's lunch includes a delicious leftover Greek Chicken breast from last night. You will notice I popped it in a cute little glass pyrex dish to make it simple and easy for DH to lift it out and microwave it if need be. Carrot sticks, yogurt & granola (sent in a small container separately so the granola doesn't get soggy) an apple, a KoolAid Jammer and some cold pasta salad. My pasta salad is SUPER easy to make. I just cook up the pasta, or use leftovers; cut up whichever veggies I want in it - usually carrots, peppers, a few baby tomatoes - and toss it in some Kraft Greek Feta and Oregano dressing. Voila! It is delicious and I get a ton of compliments on it. Now all my friends will know my secret! lol
I also sent a thermos with some Corn Chowder I whipped up last night when it started to snow. It is a super easy and very delicious recipe and I thought it would help keep DH's toes warm.

Don't forget that you only have about 3 weeks left to enter to win your very own Goodbyn! Hop on over to our contest post here. Or click on the link in the tabs above!

Have a great Remembrance Day to my fellow Canadians, and a good Veterans day to my US friends tomorrow. Take a few moments to remember those who have done so much for us and given us the freedom and liberty we enjoy and sometimes take for granted!

Nena

Lunchable Leftovers

2010-11-09T06:11:00.000-08:00

Quite often I find myself planning my son's lunch around the previous night's supper. I find that this not only saves me time and money but he gets something other than a boring sandwich for lunch at school the next day. We have yet to pack a sandwich this school year. Leftovers CAN be your friend.

Depending on who you are packing your lunch for, you can very easily incorporate last night's dinner into your lunch the next day. It doesn't matter if you are using a Goodbyn or even packing bento style or not. It is easy to use your leftovers!

This lunch was inspired by the previous night's meal. We had Swedish meatballs, roasted potatoes and salad. My son loves these items room temperature so there is no issue with reheating. I refrigerate over night and pack them cold in the morning. There is always the option of removing the items from the box and throwing them in the microwave for 30 seconds as well.

I packed meatballs (I omitted the sauce), roasted potatoes, small container of ketchup for dipping, a salad with ranch dressing, dill pickles, orange slices, strawberries and snicker doodle cookies. This lunch not only used leftovers but is also totally litterless. I included a big water bottle on the side to get him through the day.

My share:

Swedish Meatballs

1lb ground beef
1/2 lb ground pork
1/2C finely chopped onion
3/4 C bread crumbs
1 egg beaten
1/2 C milk
1 tbsp chopped parsley
1 tbsp Worcestershire sauce
2 tsp salt
1 tsp pepper

Soak bread crumbs in the milk for a couple of minutes. Mix all of the ingredients listed above and form into meatballs. Place on a sheet pan and bake at 350 for 30 minutes, turning frequently.

Sauce

1/4 C veg oil
1/4 C flour
1 tsp paprika
1 tbsp salt
1 tsp pepper
1 C boiling water
3/4 C sour cream

Cook first five ingredients together to make a roux. Cook for a minute or two, stirring constantly. Whisk in the hot water and sour cream. Mix until smooth and the sauce thickens a bit.

Put the meatballs into a casserole dish and pour the sauce over. Bake an additional 20 minutes at 350.

These meatballs without the sauce freeze wonderfully. This way you can make a big batch for your freezer and will only have to quickly whip up the sauce for a quick supper and a tasty lunch for the following day!

Enjoy!

Time for Pizza

2010-11-08T09:53:00.000-08:00

We were totally caught off guard with Sunday's time change. I don't recall getting any warnings about falling back an hour this year. Maybe we're just not watching enough TV. An easy cure.

Anyway, time was important this morning because I decided to make homemade pizzas for our lunches and I needed to wake up about a half-hour early. Jamie set the automatic timer on the oven to turn on at 5:30. Only thing is, he forgot to change the clock on the stove. So at 4:30 AM we're up trying to figure out what that smell is.

That smell is . . . an oven that needs to be cleaned. But I digress.

Dough is so simple to make I decided to make it from scratch this time, which I did before I went to bed so it would be ready to roll out, load up, and bake. I can't eat processed tomatoes anymore, so Jamie has been perfecting his tomato skills. He roasted some cherry tomatoes--added salt, pepper, garlic, olive oil, thyme, and oregano--to create a homemade sauce for our pizzas. After adding some fresh chopped tomatoes, pepperoni and mozzarella this morning, I threw them in a 500°F oven and baked them for 8 minutes and voila!

They are delicious. If I do say so myself.

I know people will think I'm crazy for waking up early to make pizza. But it's really quite easy so please don't be intimidated if you want to give it a try . . . whatever time you make it!

Also included in the bento: Capri Sun Roaring Waters, grapes, orange slices, strawberry, cucumber, celery, and carrot sticks with Ranch dip and pineapple dump cake.

And just a reminder, don't forget about our giveaway. CLICK HERE TO WIN A GOODBYN BENTO!

Our First Giveaway!!!

2010-11-03T08:26:00.000-07:00

Happy November everyone!

I am so so so excited to be able to announce The Goodbyn Girls' VERY FIRST GIVEAWAY! That is right! In honor of our "grand opening" we have decided to giveaway a Goodbyn to one of our lucky readers!
So... how exactly can you get your lovely hands on a fun new way to pack your lunch? Simple... Our first challenge: The 3 Cs!

So here's how it works:

Have fun packing your lunch bento-style. I am not saying you need to already have a goodbyn to participate in the challenge. There are tons of ways to pack a lunch bento style. Think of a Japanese bento box. When we originally started planning this blog I didn't have a Goodbyn myself, but I had several glass pyrex storage containers that I used to pack my DH's lunch in. I still considered it "bento style." Basically, think "inside the box" (bahahaha!) and try to make it as eco-friendly as you can! Let's see how creative you can be!
Your bento lunch must include each of the 3 Cs: Cucumber, Carrots, and Cheese.
Take a photo of your bento lunch and post a link to it using the button at the bottom of this post. It can be a blog entry, a facebook photo (please use the "public link" found at the very bottom of the page when linking us to a FB photo so that we can see it regardless of your privacy settings/whether or not we have facebook ourselves); or whatever else you can think of - if we can see it, you get an entry!
Post your the link here before 1 December, 2010, after which we will be doing a random drawing from all entries. There will only be 1 entry per person. Thanks!

Easy enough, hey? Let your creativity flow and have fun with this challenge! We can't wait to see what you come up with. Don't live in the US? Don't worry, neither to I (or Georgina or Stacy! lol). Please participate. If you live on the Earth you can participate in this challenge! We are willing to ship it anywhere. And to help get your creative juices flowing - here are some examples from the lovely Lunch Bunch!

Georgina

Georgina had cucumber and grated carrot sandwiches with cubed cheese
peaches, bacon crisps and vanilla cake.

Lesle

Carrot Cake Cupcake
Strawberries dusted with sugar
Cucumber spears and cherry tomatoes with ranch dip
Cheese ravioli with a Brussels sprout/pecan/bacon topping
Red and Green Grapes.

Stacy

Leftover lasagna
Danino yogurt drink
Baby Bell cheese
Red Grapes
Dill Pickles
Carrot sticks
Raw green beans
Cucumber slices
Strawberries
Water

So there you have it! You have the entire month of November to come up with something fun and different for your lunch and the chance to win your very own Goodbyn! And of course, be sure to become a follower and check back here throughout the month for more fun lunch ideas!

Nena

Election Day Bento

2010-11-02T09:37:00.000-07:00

Well, I tried anyway. In honor of election day I thought about some American favorites, like hot dogs, corn on the cob, and apple pie. And then I modified them.

This Goodbyn is full of carbs so I decided to forgo the buns and wrap the hot dogs in tortillas. What can I say, we're from Texas . . . it works for us. The kids love corn on the cob too, so I made sure to cut them in manageable pieces for the quick lunch they have at school. I also made a pastry with a store bought pie shell. The stuffing was made from scratch with fresh strawberries, sugar, and cornstarch. Jamie liked it so much he said I should make a gallon of it. I'm pretty sure that's not going to happen. :-)

I used a star shaped cookie cutter to make the pastries. I think these would have worked fine if I had used a larger star. As it was I couldn't seal the sides very well and ended up with "bleeding starfish". Yummy? Well, they weren't great to look at, but they did taste good.

Also included in the bento: Capri Sun Roaring Waters, grapes, orange slices, cucumber and carrot sticks with Ranch dip and cherry tomatoes.

Candy Corn Pizza Bread

2010-10-29T17:45:00.000-07:00

For a fun Friday lunch I decided to surprise my husband with a few treats in his Halloween Goodbyn.

A made him a simple deli sandwich, but used a groovy ghost cookie cutter to give it a little more character. I also made some pretzels that I covered in white and milk chocolate and covered in Halloween-colored sprinkles. They were simple to make and absolutely delicious (I won't lie - I made a few extra to eat myself!).
My favorite little addition was the Candy Corn Pizza Bread. I used the Quick Mix from my blog to make a simple pizza dough, spread some ranch dressing over it and put mozzarella cheese in the middle and orange cheddar around the edges. I made it look like candy corn by cutting it into wedges.
The middle section where your drink container fits I used to put an orange and some carrot sticks. As well as some dip for the carrots, and some Reece's Pieces on the side compartments. I also sent him with a small container of mixed fruit. A simple and fun lunch, but one that made him smile with the addition of a silly little Halloween joke tucked in the corner.

I hope you all have a wonderful Halloween weekend! Thanks for stopping in for our Ghostly Friday Goodbyns! If you are wanting the recipes for either the chocolate pretzels or the Pizza dough you can find them both on my blog, Thoroughly Modern Me.

Nena

Quesadilla Ghosts

2010-10-29T09:44:00.000-07:00

Jamie put the kids' lunches together today. Ian feels he's a bit to old to have a Halloween themed bento, but Max and Emy are still game. So today Jamie used our larger ghost cookie cutter to make some quick specters out of cheese quesadillas.

Cute and yummy.

Also included in the bento: Capri Sun Roaring Waters, grapes, orange slices, strawberries lightly dusted in sugar, cucumber and carrot sticks with Ranch dip and marble cake.

Halloween Goodbyn for the Office

2010-10-28T08:00:00.000-07:00

I've absolutely love all the ideas the other lunch bunch members have created this week. I can't get enough of the cute mummies - My lunch idea is a little more for the grown ups though - or teenagers perhaps - in fact this lunch is for grown ups who want to please their inner child!! LOL (I still like a little bit of cute to brighten my day!)

I take my lunch to my work, in an office. This is my desk and where I eat my lunch! Lunch is the best part of my working day!

I have found since I have owned my goodbyns that people are more interested in what I eat for lunch everyday! My colleagues ask me what I have, ask how I made things etc. It's a real talking point and as soon as I slip the lid off someone is peeking in! Most of the time they express how disappointed they are in with their own lunches, ooh and ahh over mine and I just smile and tell them to get a goodbyn!

Anyway, I digress! I am here to share my Halloween themed lunch with you!

For my sweet I have a small key lime cheesecake. Lime is a great for Halloween because of the bright green colour. I've also added a paper napkin with a Halloween design on. It's the little things that make lunch that little bit extra special!

For my main I have samosa which is filled with potatoe, spinach, peas and green beans with lots of lovely Indian spices. Again I chose this because it is mainly green and fits with my theme. The little Happy Halloween sign I picked up really cheaply - it is actually a cake topper but the perfect size to fit in the goodbyn. I also got some pumpkins and skeletons too and plan to use them for the rest of the week. Again, its a simple little touch that I think elevates my lunch from the "normal" and kind of states plainly what I was trying to achieve!

Its worth checking out your food shops for halloween themed items. I found these little crisps (potatoe chips) made in the shape of spiders webs.

And of course, it wouldn't be Halloween without a little candy! These little eggs are from cadbury and consist of a skull chocolate head filled with red caramel! Mmm delicious! :)

I've added to my goodbyn lunch with a fruit salad and some cucumber and pepper too.

I hope that inspires you to create your own Halloween themed lunch this week!

Pumpkin Time

2010-10-27T15:05:00.000-07:00

Another bento filled with Halloween spirit!

We used leftovers from last nights dinner to stuff pumpkin-shaped biscuits. I used the canned biscuits again to save time--they work so well. We had Sloppy Joes last night and they were yummy. Jamie's recipe is great for sneaking some vegetables into the kids' diet and they are never the wiser. He chops up carrots, onions, spinach and celery in the food processor. Mixes and cooks the veggies with ground beef. And then coats the concoction with a sauce made of brown sugar, ketchup, Worcestershire and vinegar.

Delish I tell ya!

I rolled out the biscuit large enough to cut two 3.5" pumpkins, topped one side with a tablespoon of Sloppy Joe mix and layered the other side over the mixture, sealing the sides with a bit of water. Jamie suggested I make steam holes, which I did with a toothpick. After brushing over them with a little bit of egg, I sprinked some kosher salt and popped them in the oven per the package directions.

They came out so cute. Thank goodness!

Also included in the bento: Capri Sun Roaring Waters, strawberries lightly dusted with sugar, crackers, cheese stack, cucumber and carrot sticks with Ranch dip, and marble cake.

Halloween Inspiration

2010-10-26T20:02:00.000-07:00

I love the world wide web . . . there are so many sights to see and so much inspiration . . . here are some great Halloween bento ideas I found recently. Let us know if you try any of them!

I came across some adorable Vampire Bats made of Cheese. Who knew bats could be so cute? I think I'm going to give them a try this week.
I thought this Frankenstein Broccoli Rice Ball was too cool, and so easy to make. I don't think you'd even have to add facial details for the kiddos to recognize the character. Just remember to use sushi rice to get the perfect sticky texture . . . and Jamie suggested using spinach for hair if there is no nori in the kitchen.
It's all about the mummies this Halloween. I'm totally digging this Cheesy Mummy using String Cheese. How fun is that?!
And for dessert, sweet! Yummy Banana Ghosts! I have everything necessary to make these goblins in my kitchen right now. They'd make the perfect sweet treat for this Friday's lunch.

Mummified Muffins!

2010-10-25T17:07:00.000-07:00

OK, they are really cupcakes but how fun are these! You don't need to be a pro to make these either and they take no time at all. I whipped these up this afternoon as I was making supper.

What you will need:

1 cake mix (along with the ingredients listed on the box)

1 tub of white icing

Paper cupcake liners

Candy for the eyes (I happened to have a box of Wonka Runts handy)

Pastry bag with a flat tip (I used Wilton #47)

If you don't have a pastry bag or tips, you can definitely improvise and just use a plastic sandwich bag filled with icing. Snip off a small bit of one corner of the bottom of the baggy after you have filled it and voila, you have yourself a piping bag.

Bake cupcakes according to the instructions on the box. Let cool completely before icing. All I did was messily pipe icing into crisscross, haphazard strips leaving bare spot for the eyes and mouth. Adorn your spooky mummy cupcake with some candy for eyes and you are done! The whole family will love them! In this Goodbyn lunch I packed for my 9 year old son we have a thermos of chicken noodle soup, water container, strawberries, grapes, cheese round, yogurt drink, pretzels, dill pickles and a Mummy Muffin.

The Mummy

2010-10-25T10:28:00.000-07:00

It's lunch time! Our first Halloween Goodbyn of the year is packed with yummy mummies.

It's crazy simple to make dough, but I made this lunch even easier by using canned biscuits--rolled out with a wee bit of flour so they don't stick to the counter, and then quickly sliced into thin strips with our trusty pizza cutter. I randomly wrapped the biscuit strips around a hot dog (you can use a tiny bit of water to help secure the dough edges so the strips don't unwrap). I decided at the last minute make some eyes with bits of raisins, and baked them per the biscuit directions.

Just a little Halloweenie (D'oh!) fun in the Goodbyn today.

Also included in the bento: Capri Sun Roaring Waters, grape salad, chips, Halloween pretzels (from Grandma, so I'm not sure what they look like), cheddar cheese cubes, cucumbers, and Ranch dip.

Welcome to the Goodbyn Girls Blog!

2010-10-20T12:31:00.000-07:00

We're a group of friends who love our Goodbyns and want to help each other, and you, come up with some great ideas to fill up those bentos!

The five of us met online on a scrapbooking message board, so we have some similar creative interests . . . but we hope to bring our own perspectives to this blog considering we're making lunch for a variety of individuals. Something we'll probably always have in common is that we're all busy-busy, and we agree--packing our lunches bento style is good for the environment, good for our families, and good for our wallets.

This blog is geared toward our beloved Goodbyn bento, but we hope you'll bookmark us even if you pack your lunches in a different kind of box, because good food is good food no matter what type of container it travels in.

We plan to host a challenge every month so we can see your creative and delicious lunches, and of course, make new friends. We'll also be giving away a Goodbyn here and there so stick around for the fun!

A LITTLE ABOUT US:

Georgina :: I am from London in the UK. I purchased a Goodbyn (or 4 when I fell in love with it) because I wanted to pack my lunch for work in an environmentally friendly way and save some money at the same time. I love using long term food storage in my Goodbyn and am always on the lookout for new and exciting recipes to try. You can find my lunches here: http://www.goodbyn.blogspot.com/ or my personal / crafty blog here: http://www.itsjusttoorandom.blogspot.com

Lesle :: I hail from Houston, Texas in the U.S. We (but mostly my beau Jamie) pack lunches for me and our three kids. My focus for this blog will be menu planning; quick, from-scratch lunches for busy households; kid friendly; and something special for the holidays. You can read more about our bentos on my blog at http://www.leslemora.com/bento

Nancy :: I live in Pennsylvania. I actually own 5 Goodbyn lunchboxes! I started with three, one for each member of my family, and because we sometimes forget them at work, I bought some spares. Each day, I make 1-3 lunches. One is for very picky seven year old, and is usually a peanut butter or cheese sandwich, one is for me, and mine has to be on the light side, and one is for my husband, who is on a high fiber diet. I am excited to get started on the challenges and break out of my lunch rut!

Nena :: I'm from Saskatchewan, Canada. I was finally able to track down a Goodbyn after drooling all over my keyboard staring at photos online for a long long time. Needless to say I am VERY excited about it. I am a Beatles-loving hippie who promotes peace, love, and helping the earth stay green... as well as keeping more green in my wallet! I work from home and have a two year old son and another on the way, so I only pack lunch for my husband. I also live where there literally is sometimes snow 9 months out of the year. So my Goodbyn lunches tend to be healthy, hearty meals for the hungry husband! If you want to hear more about me and my crazy life, as well as read some other money-saving menu ideas you can check out my blog at http://naturallynena.blogspot.com/ but I will warn you it's pretty random - just like me!

Stacy :: I'm a stay at home mom of two from Southern Ontario, Canada. We, as a family, have been on a quest to simplify our lives and SLOW down. I enjoy vegetable gardening and preserving. I also enjoy cooking and will focus my lunches on leftovers and picky eaters. Lesle was the first person to introduce me to the Goodbyn and I have been hooked ever since she graciously sent us our first boxes. She had heard about how my son's elementary school is quite eco-friendly and promotes litter-less lunches. The Goodbyn has been my savior. No more washing 8 containers, no more losing lids and no more needless packaging and waste! If you want to read about my family's quest, come visit us at http://simplifying-the-simpsons.blogspot.com/ I will TRY to update the blog more often!