Bento #67

Teriyaki chicken & pineapple meatball pieces over jasmine rice with mixed veggies & beans on a leaf of romaine, mango fruity pudding.

Yesterday was pizza day at school (yeah!!) and I know, not much variety today as I'm still sick so it's sort of what's in the house and quick. Maisie really enjoyed this bento though as she finished 99% of her rice and veg and left only one tiny piece of meatball and half of the lettuce leaf. Glad to see that she's eating again!

Bento #66

Chicken salad & cheese on wheat octopus, melon fruity pudding, broccoli & ranch dressing dip.

I've been sick with a cold and I think Maisie may be under the weather too as she only ate a bite off of each octopus leg and a tiny bit of broccoli. The fact that she didn't eat any of the pudding makes me think she's not feeling 100% as the pudding is her favorite part. She did eventually eat the pudding and a bit more of the broccoli but for the most part she just wasn't in the mood to eat much of anything today.

Bento #65

Chicken salad & romaine on a multi-grain wrap, mango fruity pudding, Cotton Cup Sweet.

The only thing that Maisie actually ate was the mango pudding. I'm going to guess that she wasn't that hungry at lunch time because she's had the wrap sandwich before and loved it and who could pass up a candy ice cream cone? For the remainder of the day Maisie really didn't want to eat so I may try this bento again sometime in the future and see if she does better with it.

Bento #64

Surimi & steamed broccoli with ranch dressing dip, Cotton Cup Sweet and strawberry fruity pudding.

Maisie loved this meal and devoured everything!

Bento #63

Hommus and cheese on wheat Thomas sandwich, steamed broccoli, strawberry fruity jelly, chocolate covered chocolate marshmallow, ranch dressing dip.

Only about 1/3 of the sandwich remained uneaten today.

Bento #62

Chicken salad & romaine on wheat sandwich cut in thirds, grape fruity pudding, steamed broccoli, roasted pepper with jalapeno hommus*, two Pocky sticks.

* If you haven't tried this brand and especially this flavor of hommus, you should give it a try as it's the best I've ever had and honestly I think it better than what make at home and what I make at home is pretty awesome so this one honestly rocks!!

I don't think that Maisie was particularly hungry at lunch time as she only ate 2/3 of the sandwich and the Pocky sticks. Later in the day she did eat a little of the broccoli & hommus as well as the pudding. For dinner she wanted pancakes so that's what I made for her and even there she only ate a couple of silver-dollar sized ones. Not a stellar day eating wise but hopefully tomorrow will be better...Or maybe she's still coming down from the cake, cake and more cake high of the weekend.

Bento #61

Pasta Bolognase, grape fruity jello, Cotton Cup Sweet, grapes.

Maisie ate all but a couple of pasta twists and one grape, another successful meal.

Bento #60

Meat fritter, fish fritter, tongue, corn with sauteed spinach, Korean chop chae.

Only a little of the chop chae and about half of the meat fritter remained so this meal was a hit with Maisie.

Bento #59

Bombolin cookie, grape fruity pudding, homemade baked mac & cheese.

I'm desperate to go shopping as we now have no Maisie approved veggies or fruit in the house!! I also need some new ideas for Maisie's bentos as I feel like I'm in a rut. Thankfully tomorrow is pizza day at her school so maybe I'll be able to stock the pantry, re-group and make something interesting for Maisie's bento on Thursday...Shoot, maybe even Eammon will get something interesting and different in his bento.

Even though it looks like not much of a meal, his bento actually had a huge portion of mac & cheese. Maisie did a great job eating only returning home with a small amount of mac & cheese leftover.

Bento #58

Homemade baked mac & cheese, broccoli with ranch dressing dip, Bombolin cookie dried fruit & nuts, grape fruity pudding.

A few nuts and a tiny amount of the mac & cheese went uneaten.

Bento #57

Broccoli & ranch dressing dip, pork & cilantro dumplings, quail eggs, dried fruit, Bombolin cookie and melon fruity pudding.

Maisie loved this meal, returning home with only two tiny bits of dried fruit remaining in her bento box.

Bento #56

Julienne carrots with an orange glaze, curried Israeli couscous, steak, dried fruit, Bombolin cookie and grape fruity pudding.

A few teaspoons worth of the couscous came home along with probably 90% of the steak. I had hoped that she would eat the meat but I truly didn't have high hopes for it to happen. I had some of the couscous for lunch today and WOW am I ever surprised that Maisie ate as much of it as she did because sitting over night it developed a real kick. I'm guessing it was those extra large jalapenos along with the extra curry powder I added, but it's oh.so.good!

Bento #55

Ham, cheese & spreadable Laughing Cow cheese roll-up sandwiches, broccoli with ranch dressing dip, mini eclair, melon fruity pudding, grapes.

Today one of the sandwich rolls and two little broccoli florets came home with Maisie but she eagerly finished them off before we headed out in the rain (yes, rain in drought parched Atlanta!!) to gymnastics.

Bento #54

Rustic chicken & potato gratine, steamed broccoli with ranch dressing dip, grapes, Auto Land Biscuits, Bombolin cookie, strawberry fruity pudding (this is the top of the pudding container which is usually seen upside down in Maisie's bentos as a star shape looking oh so cute.)

For a while now I've been noting what Maisie's actually finishing from each bento and I've gone back to my posts and edited them to show what was eaten and what was passed over. In looking back I'm amazed to see that broccoli and dip is always finished no matter how much I give her! Generally if something is to return home uneaten it's dessert! Is this my child?!?!?

Today's bento came home with about a Tablespoon of chicken & potato gratine and a wee bit of dip so she ate a good meal.

I want to thank Amy for giving me the heads up regarding the Lotte Group chocolate-filled Koala cookies which were recently recalled in Hong Kong, Macau and Canada because of melamine contamination. Because Maisie was on Chinese formula for the first 15 months of her life, the cookies and all the Chinese products that she's ingested through the years, I will be having her checked when I take her in for her 3 year physical. Hopefully she'll be lucky and will have avoided exposure and have no problems. On that note, I can't believe that in just 10 days Maisie will be three!! Three, where has the time gone???

I have added a followers link in my side bar and I'd love to have those who follow this blog sign-up to follow along. Wishing everyone a great day!

Bento #53

Powdered sugar coated brownie, grapes, ham & cheese with boursin sandwich, broccoli with ranch dressing dip.

Maisie ate every drop of food today and even licked clean the dip container!

Bento #52

Noodles with Chinese 5-spice chicken, sauteed spinach and yogurt cilantro cream sauce, steamed broccoli, Bombolin cookie, Grape fruity pudding, grapes.

Maisie ate only about half of the chicken noodle mix and told me that she missed her dip for the broccoli today.

For Ani, I get the pudding at the one of my local Asian markets and for the eggs, I have a mold to make the various shapes.

Bento #51

Broccoli with ranch dressing dip, chicken & corn dumplings, grapes, mini eclair and melon fruity pudding.


This is Maisie's newest box which I just love, it's so stinking cute!! Here it is with everything tucked in place and the final piccie is of it closed and ready to go.

Half of one dumpling, most of the eclair and a couple of grapes remained uneaten after lunchtime but Maisie finished all of it off as a snack after her nap.

Bento #50

Auto Land Biscuits, mini eclair, melon fruity pudding, hard boiled eggs, mini pancakes & baked beans.

Maisie returned home with two uneaten eggs and a few baked beans. She ate one more of the eggs and the remaining beans, as well as some additional ones, after her nap.

Bento #49

Grapes, strawberry fruity pudding, Bombolin cookie, pepperoni pizza on a bed of steamed broccoli & ranch dressing dip.

Maisie polished off all but a thumb-sized piece of pizza. My girl LOVES her broccoli!

Bento #48

Grapes, Auto Land Biscuits, strawberry fruity pudding, mini eclair, hard boiled eggs, apple fritter bread & mini pancakes.

Half of the eclair and one grape remained uneaten from this bento.

Bento #47

Florecitas, powdered sugar covered brownie, melon fruity pudding, "kiddie sushi" of chicken hot dog wrapped in boursin cheese and bread, broccoli & ranch dressing dip.

The brownie and two Florecitas were left after lunchtime but were eaten on the drive home.

Bento #46

Two powdered sugar coated brownies, trail mix, grapes, curried shrimp on jasmine rice, broccoli & ranch dressing dip.

Two shrimp, one brownie and some peanuts went uneaten from this bento.

Bento #45

Peanut butter "M" sandwich with 3 M&Ms hidden inside, two powdered sugar coated brownies, grapes, broccoli & ranch dressing dip.

Maisie devoured every drop of this bento, she even licked the dip container clean!

Bento #44

Pepperoni pizza, grapes, baby banana, powdered sugar coated brownies, two peanut M&Ms.

Maisie returned home with the grapes, the banana and the brownies uneaten. She did eat the grapes and one brownie for snack but didn't like the banana.

Bento #43

Chicken korma over jasmine rice, broccoli & ranch dressing dip, Bombolin cookie, Florecitas, red & green grapes.

The red grapes and the Bombolin cookie went uneaten from this bento.

Bento #42

Peanut butter dumpling sandwiches with one M&M hidden in each one, powdered sugar covered brownie square, chestnut & white chocolate creme cookies, broccoli and ranch dressing dip.

I'm on a roll right now with broccoli and dip so I'm going with it for as long as possible.

Maisie ate all of this bento except about 1/4 of one sandwich and the brownie but she finished what remained on our drive home.

Bento #41

Powdered sugar covered brownie square, white chocolate creme cookies, two peanut M&M's, two Hello Kitty pesto & grilled chicken on sour dough sandwiches, broccoli, ranch dressing dip.

One Hello Kitty sandwich came home uneaten from this bento.

Bento #40

Pork & beans, broccoli, Florecitas, strawberry fruity pudding, trail mix.

A couple of peanuts went uneaten from this bento.

Bento #39

Grape fruity pudding, brookie, mixed dried fruit, spaghetti bolognese, broccoli, Parmesan cheese is in the bear furikake container.

Half of the spaghetti and most of the brookie went uneaten from this bento.

Bento #38

I asked Maisie what she wanted in her lunch and she requested M&M sandwiches, treat, yogurt and fruity pudding. She loves making and decorating the dumpling sandwiches and if she's going to eat them, I have no problem making and packing them.

Dried cherries, mango fruity pudding, brookie (1/2 brownie, 1/2 chocolate chip cookie), M&M peanut butter dumpling sandwiches decorated by Maisie, yogurt.

The M&M sandwiches are actually peanut butter with ONE M&M hidden in the dumpling. She's always so excited when she bites in and finds the hidden treat.

Bento #37

Maisie had to bring a red apple to school today. I figure that they're doing some project with the apples but I don't know what. So just to be fun I decided to do a little apple themed lunch.

Grilled ham & cheese on wheat "A", letters made from apple fruit leather dusted with shimmer dust, cheese apple with green onion stem & leaf. Under the sandwich clockwise from top: carrot sticks, two-bite brookie (1/2 brownie, 1/2 chocolate chip cookie), dried apple slices, melon fruity pudding.

A dried apple slice and the apple shaped fruit leather remained in Maisie's box when she returned home.

Bento #36

Dark Chocolate Dreams Peanut butter dumpling sandwiches decorated by Maisie, carrots, strawberry fruity pudding, trail mix, GoGurt.



A carrot and the almonds returned home with Maisie from this bento.

Bento #35

Dried apple slices, white chocolate creme cookies, banana pudding, ham & cheese stars, baby carrots.

Maisie wasn't feeling well this day and I ended up picking her up from school within an hour of dropping her off. She did eventually eat the pudding and a tiny bit of the ham & cheese but most of this bento ended up in the bin.

Cast your vote...Please!

So voting has begun over at Not Exactly Bento's competition and as I mentioned in an earlier post, I submitted two of Maisie's bentos. So here I am begging asking you to go check out all the entries and cast your votes. If you happen to fall head-over-heels in love with Maisie's which are bento entries #52 & #53, I would sure love and appreciate your vote!! According to the rules you may vote for up to three of your favorites by leaving a comment with the bento entry numbers (#52 & #53) of your choice in the post linked ~~>HERE<~~ and just a reminder, in case you missed it or I forgot to mention it earlier, Maisie's bentos are #52 & #53!!

It seems that most of the bentos are geared towards adults and so many of them look delicious and beautiful. But since I'm making bentos for my fussy little girl I can only look, admire and learn. For now I'll be sticking to Maisie friendly foods but hopefully one day I'll be making more diverse bentos. Thanks for taking a look and for voting.

Bento #34

Thomas & James grilled ham & cheese on wheat sandwiches, Florecitas, banana tapioca and dried cherries.

One sandwich and a couple of the Florecitas returned home with Maisie but she ate everything up once waking from her nap.

Bento #33

Quail egg mice, chicken & vegetable dumplings with Hello Kitty carrot flowers, Florecitas.

Everything down to the last carrot flower was eaten during lunchtime.

Bento #32

Today was Maisie's first day back at school and thankfully she had a wonderful day. This is a new bento box for her and she loves it. Her bento included quail eggs on a nest of udon noodles with medium-sweet soy sauce, sesame oil and sesame seeds, a slice of kamaboko, chicken and vegetable dumplings, grapes and Florecitas.

The grapes, half of the kamaboko and a few Florecitas went uneaten from this bento.

Bento #31

No bento for Maisie today as we had plans to meet up with friends for some playtime and then lunch out at one of my favorite lunch places This is Eammon's bento made from leftovers from last night's dinner. Rendang chicken curry on Jasmin rice. Trail mix, dragon fruit and dried mixed fruit.

Bento #30

More of a snack bento today as we were going to be having a very early dinner. Grilled cheese on wheat crab, crab crackers and the final two bite brownie.

A few of the crab crackers went uneaten from this bento.

Another contest

Not to be deterred by my no joy showing in my first submission to a bento contest, I have now entered my second bento contest this time over at Not Exactly Bento. I was allowed two submissions so I entered bento #27 and bento #28. Once the voting begins I'll be back begging for your vote!! Please wish me luck!

Bento #29

Maisie *LOVES* Thomas so I bought her some new Thomas bento boxes and supplies.
Percy & Thomas Dark Chocolate Dreams on wheat bread. Auto Land biscuits, two bite brownie & dried cherries.

I used shimmer dust with a dry paint brush and stencil to make the Percy and Thomas designs on the sandwiches.

Maisie ate every bite of this bento.

Bento #28

Beef ravioli, steamed broccoli, nuts & raisins and yet another two bite brownie.

Maisie has decided that she likes peanuts, almonds and cashews and thinks of them as a big treat. I have also found that because the beef in ravioli is so finely ground and there's not too much in there, Maisie's decided that she likes them and hey, it allows me to get some meat into her, yeah!

A couple of the ravioli went uneaten from this bento.

Bento #27

This was lunch by request. Maisie said she wanted chocolate circles and chocolate brownie. I did convince her to add some dried cherries, pineapple and papaya.

The two bite brownies that have been in Maisie's lunch for the past number of days are not home made. I have made them in the past using a silicon mini-muffin pan but I find them a pain to make so I generally just purchase them.

Bento #26

Cheese pizza, carrot coins, dried pineapple & cherries, two bite brownie.

Bento #25

White Chocolate Wonderful on wheat octopus, dried cherries, two bite brownie, carrots, Laughing Cow cheese.