03.01.2011

I think I'm running out of ideas...
I didn't post anything due to the fact that I was recycling my lunch ideas... 


Thday's Lunch...

Finger Musubi
Kamaboko
Scrambled egg
Veggies in ranch sauce
Oranges pieces
and Vita Gummies

I made the musubi by mixing the rice with minced veggies, anchovies, and kamaboko. This is one of the ways I can get Chloe to eat variety in one bite!

02.15.2011

Chicken Nuggets
Veggie egg rolls
Mini veggie musubi
Kamaboko with minced veggies
Waffle fries with minced veggies and cheese
Hello Kitty Nectarines

Today's lunch is pretty much self explained.
For the musubi, I added lots of minced veggies
and I had some veggies left after adding it to the musubi so I added to the fries and the kamaboko. To my surprise, she ate all the kamaboko along with the veggies!

02.14.2011 Happy Valentine's Day~

Heart Musubi
Kamaboko
Apples
Cherry Tomatoes
Organic Cereal


Made the musubi using bamboo rice. I added some marinara sauce to the rice for a bit of sweetness to neutralize the grassy taste of the bamboo rice.(and also to make the rice pink... well in this case, it turned out orange)
Molded the rice into a heart shape.
I also added some cheese so I can put a Valentine's day message to Chloe.
I used organic ketchup for the wording.

I also cut the Kamaboko and apple into hearts.

For the cherry tomatoes, i added some xylitol and brown sugar to give it a bit of sweetness.

Chloe's new favorite snack is the happy face cereal I got from Whole Foods. It actually comes in a box with Elmo's face. Not too sweet so I don't mind giving it to Chloe often!

Happy Valentine's Day!

Valentine's Day goody bags and gifts for Chloe's friends, teachers, and staff at her preschool. Chloe did the stuffing of the bags and the taping, while I did the finer details. I had to finish them while Chloe was sleeping. If she was up, there was no chance for me to finish it. I did not include any candies in the goody bags or the gifts. I put small packs of rice crackers for Chloe's friends, rice crackers and hand sanitizers in a blinking red cup for her teachers, and rice crackers, nuts and seeds for her school office staff in a recycled mayonnaise jar.

Valentine's Date



Makitti & Chloe

My Hubby decided to treat us girls to a Valentine's day lunch.
He'll be busy working tomorrow so we decided to celebrate a day early.
Since Chloe and I are big fans of Hello Kitty, Tommie made reservations to Makitti.
Makitti is where Smorgy's buffet used to be.
It's a Hello Kitty themed buffet restaurant.
They don't call the cat Hello Kitty, They call it Makitti.
The staff gave us a brief info about the character.
The restaurant is Makino Chaya family, and they bought the Makitti Character for $80,000.00 from Sanrio.
So they call it Makitti (Makino Kitty? lol)
Everywhere in the restaurant had something Hello Kitty.
I was hoping to see some Hello kitty or Makitti molded sandwiches or something.
They did have a kitty cake but it was for display only :(
All the staff in the restaurant was friendly except for this one woman who was working in the dessert section.
I dunno if she was having a bad day or if she just didn't like us... but she ignored us three times!!!
(at Makitti, you are only allowed to take 2 desserts at a time, and you have to let the staff know what you want, and they'll give them to you. )
I hope the next time we go and see her, hopefully she'll smile a bit more!
Chloe wanted to take a picture with Makitti character, and to take a picture with Makitti is $10
I personally think is overpriced, but Chloe really enjoyed taking the picture so... I guess it evens out.
(Our daughter's happiness is more important than an overpriced picture! haha!)
I'm hoping we can try the dinner next time.... Looking forward to try the all you can eat abalone.. ;)
Overall, the food was okay.
The table setting and the interior is kinda on the cheaper side.
Try not to go on rainy or windy days since it's not 100% indoors...
It's covered seating but it's in an open area like Willows and outside seating like Pagoda buffet.
P.S. Parking available at Miramar Hotel. $2 gets you 2 hours of parking.
I think it's like $3 for 30 mins for parking in Waikiki unless you are able to find street parking.
(street parking is $3 per hour)



02.11.2011 Bear sandwich

Bear Sandwich
Corns
Orange wedges
Fish crackers


Since it's Friday, I made PB & J sandwich.
Used Bear mold to cut off the crust and used deco pens to color in the ears, eyes, nose and mouth.
The mouth came out too funky... almost clown like!
I was rushing and rushing is never good!

Tea Time

Our First Tea Party!
I got a Tea Set for Chloe and decided we should start a tea party. I thought it was a good way to teach Chloe good manners and also a way for us to sit down and have a chat. Instead of actual tea, We drank juice and instead of macaroons (which i prefer, but too worried about the mess after) we settled for organic cookies. The cookies are from Whole foods and they are in happy face shapes!
Chloe learn how to pour slowly and little bit at a time, and to sip little bit at a time. The manners only lasted like 3 mins., we spent rest of the time talking and pouring the juice all over the tray!
We did have fun, and I'm trying to include in our daily activities until... forever!
I'm already looking forward to tomorrow's tea party!

02.10.2011 Yakisoba

Yakisoba
Asparagus
Fried Beef Steaks
Orange Wedges

I wanted to make musubi today but the rice came out too dry... ( I got a new rice cooker and I'm still experimenting with it) So I decided on Yakisoba, aka fried noodles.
For the veggies, I added chop suey mix which you can easily find in any grocery market. I also added 2 celery stalks (thinly sliced). I cooked the veggies in a bit of grape oil in my wok. when they are tender I added some spam and kamaboko, and cook thoroughly. Next I added the Yakisoba noodle and cook until the noodle is tender. Last step is to add sauce. Today I added soba sauce - about 3 tablespoons due to the fact that I added more veggies than the noodles. The picture you see is not what I packed for Chloe but what is left over after packing into the vacuum container.
The fried beef steaks are from Sam's club. I didn't fry them but I baked them in the oven. It tastes like Tonkatsu... I added some tonkatsu sauce for Chloe.  I also added some pieces of asparagus for Chloe to try. ( She's not really into asparagus) I'm thinking maybe I should add some cinnamon powder to the oranges next time. They didn't have any flavor at all.

02.08.2011 Musubi & Fish Sticks

Ebi flavored musubi
Fish sticks
Nectarines
Finger biscuit
Veggies

I added some cheese cutouts to the musubi.
I added a plastic divider so that the fish sticks don't stick to the musubi.

02.08.2011 Second Part

Forgot to add the second part of Chloe's Lunch.
I like to buy fresh blueberries and keep them in the fridge. They last like forever, and when I pack them for lunch it keeps other fruits cold.
I think by lunch time, the blueberries get soft but still cool.

Chloe is not really a meat eater, but she'll sometimes eat it... it's really a hit or miss. I tried giving her spam in flower shapes. To my surprise, she ate most of it!

Finger biscuit is her all time favorite, we always keep them in stock and she never gets sick of them. (Funny tho, it hardly has any flavor- my hubby says it tastes like cardboard, but Chloe loves em!

02.08.2011 Diamond Inari

Inari
Veggies
Spam Flower
Tangerines with
Blueberries
Finger Biscuit


I like to make Chloe's Inari into a Diamond shape due to the fact that it's smaller, and less mess when she's eating on her own.
I used sushi rice and added some wild rice and flax seed when cooking the rice. (always soak the flax seed and wild rice hrs before)
I also added my usual minced veggies to the rice.
The Inari mix I buy has everything including the rice seasoning. But I like to use my own seasoning (little bit of apple vinegar and mirin)

I added veggies as decoration and to my surprise, Chloe ate it all!

02.07.2011 Chloe's Lunch

Mini Sushi
Fish Sausage
Tangerines
Takuan
Fish Crackers


This was my first attempt making mini sushi. This is actually beyond mini.... more like the circumference of of my thumb. (and I have really small fingers)
I added some flax seed when making the rice for added nutrition. (the flax seed must be soaked in water at least 3 hours ahead of time, and it does get slippery when it's soaked)
For the inside, I added fish sausage, takuan, and cheese. The cheese will melt and give the sushi a nice creamy taste to the rice.  The hard part about making this is since everything was sliced thinly, and in miniature size, rolling it into a nice circular shape.  One thing I'm worried about is that the nori I used today seemed thicker than regular sushi nori, and I hope Chloe can chew it well.

02.03.2011 Chloe's Lunch

Chicken Nuggets
Veggie Egg rolls
Waffle fries
Nectarines
Broccoli
Organic ketchup



Easy Lunch Today. Feeling super lazy... Mickey Mouse Shaped chicken nuggets (Costco), Waffle Fries and Veggie Egg rolls are from Sam's Club. They were all baked in my toaster oven.
I cut out some cheese in flower shapes for nicer presentation but the cheese as you can see is melted and by the time Chloe eats lunch she won't know if it was a cheese flower or cheese blob...
I also used the flower cutter to cut the nectarines.
Added some broccoli and ketchup for the dip.

02.02.2011 Chloe's Lunch

Rotini with tomato sauce
Flower apples
Veggie burger patty
Finger biscuit

Sauce for Rotini: I used tomato sauce with minced broccoli. I steamed the broccoli and used my Ninja Blender to mince it. I also added some shredded chicken breast to add some protein.
I topped it off with some shreadded cheese for added flavor.

I used about half of a veggie burger patty (aka Boca burger) I cooked it well and brushed some BBQ sauce for flavor and cut into small pieces.

Swagbucks

I found a website that gives you points every time you use their search engine.
It's called Swag Bucks . You can use their points to redeem prizes or gift cards. I recently used mine for amazon gift cards. or you can get cash sent in to your pay pal account. It's free to join and you get points everyday! Try it!

02.01.2011 Chloe's Lunch

Musubi
Takuan
Sausage with cheese
broccoli
pineapple
finger biscuit








I made today's musubi by combining crushed baby anchovies, ebi (shrimp) powder and a bit of sesame oil.
I needed to use sesame oil today due to the fact that my rice was too dry... I think I put too little water when I was cooking it. I don't know if Chloe likes the rice pink, or if she likes the ebi flavored musubi... So I went ahead and used my last packet of ebi powder and made the musubi. The musubi looked kinda empty, so I added some facial expressions out of cheese. (the cutter was bought from Marukai) 

I used fish sausage added slits and cooked them, brushed with organic ketchup and used the left over cheese as a topping. (hate when food goes to waste!) Since the sausage was hot, the cheese kinda melted a bit on top. ( Chloe east anything with ketchup or cheese!)

I added some takuan slices on the side along with the rice so the food won't move around as much.

01.31.2011 Chloe's lunch

Mini Musubi
Sliced Sausages
Pineapple
Takuan
Carrots & Celery


I made the musubi by combining shredded nori, sesame seed, and crushed baby anchovies. I like to add anchovies because it's packed with calcium and has a salty & sweet flavor with a bit of crunchiness to it.

I used regular sausage, thinly sliced it and pan fried it with a bit of grape oil.
When it's all cooked, I brushed organic ketchup on the sausage.

I put the musubi and the sausage slices on a bed of cabbage. ( Chloe also eats the cabbage)

The carrots and celery were steamed and I used the veggie cutter to cut the carrots and I cut the celery into small pieces. I used ranch sauce and mixed the veggies.

01.28.2011 Chloe's Lunch

Bear, star, and heart shaped musubi
Veggie Egg rolls
Mickey Mouse Chicken nuggets
Star and Heart apples
Corn
Finger biscuits



The Musubi was made by mixing shrimp powder furikake (bought at Marukai) and tiny bits of Kamaboko with the rice. The shrimp powder furikake is the reason why the rice is pink. (Pink is Chloe's favorite color)

Veggie egg rolls are from Sam's Club. They are mini sized and I cut it in half (angled slice) so Chloe can eat them with her fingers.  I used my toaster over to bake them instead of deep frying.

The Mickey Mouse shaped chicken nuggets are from Costco, and I really like these nuggets because they used Whole Wheat as the breading. It has more of a golden color when it's cooked and it tends to be more on the crunchy side. Plus it's in a fun mickey mouse shape!

Instead of using my usual silicone cups, I put everything on a bed of shreadded cabbage.
Wondering if Chloe will eat it too...

I used cheese as a food divider... lol I guessing it's gonna melt with the rice but I have a feeling it'll melt before lunch. It might sound gross, but rice and cheese tastes pretty good. Chloe likes it. It's like a east meets west kinda thing I guess. (pasta and rice are both starch with basically no flavor, so... why not?)

I used the same rice mold to cut the apples. Had to cut them thinner, but hey, it worked!

01.27.2011 Chloe's Lunch

Veggie & Chicken Rotini on Tomato Sauce

Steamed Carrots with Ranch Sauce

Finger Biscuits

Melon Balls

Kamaboko

I actually wanted to do a cream sauce rotini, but I found out I was out of cream sauce.

Didn't wanna go out 7 in the morning to buy it. So I decided to use tomato sauce.

I used my Ninja Express to chop up the veggies (steamed ), then I used my hands to shred the chicken (breast meat). I mixed the veggie and the chicken in the already simmered tomato sauce. I added shredded cheese to the sauce for flavor.

When the rotini was done, I mixed the rotini and the sauce and poured it into Chloe's container.

I used the fruit scooper (don't know the exact name for it) to make melon balls. They are very quick and easy and looks nice!

01.26.2011 Chloe's Lunch

Hello Kitty Shaped PB & Jelly Sandwich

Chicken Salad

Yak Shik ( Korean Mochi Rice)

Corn

Hello Kitty shaped apple pieces

I used a Hello Kitty Sandwich mold that was given to me as a Christmas Gift.

I made the faces by using cocoa powder.

The Yak Shik, (the brown thing on the picture) is made by first soaking the mochi rice for several hours and cooking it with the Yak Shik mix you can easily buy at Korean markets. The mix is basically corn syrup, cinnamon, dates, and pine nuts, ginger extract, and water. Once the rice and Yak Shik mix is mixed, I cooked it in the rice cooker. I made a whole batch ahead of time and froze them into small servings.

The Chicken Salad was made by using Chicken breast (cooked ahead of time) and steamed veggies (I used broccoli, cauliflower, and carrots) I put the chicken and the veggies in my ninja blender. I finalized it by mixing the salad with a touch of fat free ranch sauce for a creamy texture.

The Apples were cut by using the Hello kitty cutter (bought from ebay)

01.25.2011 Chloe's Lunch

Fried Noodles
Kim Chee Fried Rice cubes
Corn
Pineapples

I made the Fried Noodles by first chopping up some Kamaboko and scrambled egg (made ahead of time) into small pieces.
I heat the wok and added a bit of grape oil to the pan so the noodles won't stick to eachother.
I added some minced garlic for flavor and add the Kamaboko and eggs, next add the noodle (bought mine at Sam's club).
once the noodles look tender, I added soba sauce to taste. There are various sauces you can use for fried noodles. My favorites are the Oyster sauce and Soba Sauce. I know that when you are using it as soba sauce, you mix it with water, but when I use it as fried noodle sauce, I use it straight out of the bottle. I think I used about a table spoon for 1 package of noodle, but if there are more veggies or more meat, it calls for more. I'm really bad at giving measurements for all the stuff I cook, I trust my instinct and it never fails. lol

The Kim Chee fried rice cubes- cut the Kim Chee into small pieces, squeezed out the excess juice, cut up some small pieces of spam, and stir fried the kim chee and spam with bit of oil on med heat, and add rice, and mix them well. Next I add a bit of organic ketchup to make it more red and also to neutralize the spicy kim chee. Once the ketchup is mixed well, set it aside for a few mins and mold it! I used the tiny square molds.

01.24.2011 Chloe's Lunch

Inari stuffed with minced brocoli and carrots
Shreadded Takuan
Seasoned Fish balls (sliced)
Broccoli
Peaches

I stuffed the Inari with rice, brocoli and carrots.
The brocoli and carrots were steamed ahead of time and I used my Ninja Blenger to mince them. I also scooped the rice ahead of time and set it out (covered so the rice doesn't get hard) a bit before stuffing the Inari.
I mixed the rice with a bit of apple vinegar and mirin to get that "sushi rice" flavor.
I just mix a bit of it because chloe does not like strong flavors.
For today's Inari, instead of stuffing it the usual triangle way, I stuffed less rice and made it into a diamond by joining the corners together. It is a smaller piece but more appealing for a toddler to eat (hopefully).

Few weeks ago, I bought a Saladacco from Amazon.com and have been experimenting with it.
It makes veggies into this angel hair like creation. I bought this one and so far no complaints.
http://tinyurl.com/6c8q7c9 -> link to my Saladacco that I bought at Amazon.

So I used my Saladacco to make angel hair Takuan. and I cut them up into sections so it'll look like Takuan noodles. lol

The fish balls and Shrimp balls were boiled and cut into small pieces. I use 50/50 Sweet Chili sauce and Organic Ketchup as sauce. I think i used about a teaspoon each today. I used 2 fish balls and 2 shrimp balls. I topped it off with some sesame seed.

I had some broccoli left over so I decided to pack them -to fill space ;)

I usually don't like to give Chloe canned fruit, but didn't have anything besides banana, so I gave this canned peaches a go.
I don't like the heavy syrup so I submerged the peaches in ice water drained the excess water off and cut them into pieces.

01.21.2011 Chloe's Lunch

Rotini in basil pesto sauce with veggies
Steamed organic baby corn with fat free ranch sauce
Pears cut into flower shapes
Fish cake

The Basil Pesto sauce was bought from Target, and in the sauce I added veggies ( corn, green peas, and string beans). The veggies were first steamed and then I used my Ninja Express to chop them up.
The fish cake was cut into birds but I don't think it matters to Chloe because she'll eat the fish cake regardless of shape or size.
Pears are from Palama Market, and The organic baby carrots are from Whole foods.

Snow Factory

We finally went to snow factory and did a taste test. The small runs about $3 but it's actually huge for small. Chloe got the Passion Fruit, but it tasted more like orange flavored cough syrup. Almost too sweet... I got the Coffee flavor and I really liked it. Not too sweet, not too bitter. Just right. It did not taste like the traditional coffee ice cream, but instead, it did taste like coffee snow.. Kinda like coffee flavored cotton candy.. But colder.
The regular size runs about $5 an u can mix 2 flavors. I think I'll try that with my hubby this weekend.
This place doesn't provide you with Spoons, instead, they give you forks.
I think it works out pretty well.
Another advantage of the Snow Factory is that they have free dry toppings! They do have fruits and mochi toppings for 50 cents each, bug you can have Oreo crumbs, Cookie crumbs, and Chloe's favorite, Gummy Bears free! I think there's about 8 to 10 free toppings!
The atmosphere is nice and clean and I think they'll even take your picture to post on their wall!
Try to avoid lunch and dinner hours, the parking gets really packed...
Overall, it's a good place to relax and hang out. I believe they have free WIFI there.
Will post more pics this weekend!

Oliver's Labels

http://oliverslabels.com/erinlee

I ordered some labels for Chloe's stuff that will be used in her Preschool.

Found this Canada based company that is unlike any other label companies.

If your child loses a shoe or her sippy and someone was to find it, they can simply go to Oliver's Labels website and enter the code on the label, and it automatically contacts you via e-mail that your lost shoe, sippy, etc is found!

They also have various designs not only for kids but adults as well.

Check this site out!

01.20.2011 Chloe's Lunch

Tofu salad sandwich
Fish sausage
Oranges
Broccoli

For the Tofu salad, I used organic firm, used my fingers to crumble it and drained it on a colander for couple of hours in the fridge.
While it is draining, I used my ninja blender to chop celery, carrots and cucumber. Gently squeeze excess water from the veggies.
In a good sized bowl, combine veggies and the drained tofu and mix them well with mayo and mustard or honey mustard to taste. Add dash black pepper and salt to taste.
I used a bear shaped mold and used cake deco pen for the facial features.
Oranges pieces were cut so that no white parts are present,
The broccoli were steamed and dunk in ice cold water to preserve the green color.
Fish sausages were boiled and cut into small pieces and mixed with a hint of organic ketchup.

01.19.2011 Chloe's Lunch

Musubi with cheese face
Yak Shik( Korean mochi rice)
Egg flowers
Tangerines ( skin peeled off)
Broccoli with cheese flowers
Konyaku with quail eggs ( these are Chloe's favorite)

I mixed diced baby anchovies and a dash of furikake to flavor the musubi. I used cheese for the faces. I like to use cheese because they stick to the rice well.

Yak Shik can be bought pre- made at Korean markets but I found a Yak Shik mix and made it for the first time.
Yak Shik is a caramel like flavored sweet mochi rice. It is a filling snack or even dessert. If you buy the pre mix like I did, all the directions are on the package in English!

I bought the egg omelet from a Japanese market and cut them into flowers. Realized my eggs taste better... Won't be buying again from this store!

I still have dome Konyaku and quail eggs left and since this is one of Chloe's favorite, I included this again.

I hope she eats the broccoli and cheese.... She used to love them but her favorites changed... :(

01.18.2011 Chloe's Lunch

Tri-colored noodles seasoned with sesame miso sauce.
Mickey mouse shaped chicken nuggets.
Veggie egg rolls
Konyaku with quail egg whites
Orange pcs with blueberries
Finger biscuit

I bought three different colored noodles and mixed them. I was surprised at how pretty the colors were. The noodles were bought at various Korean markets. You can use any salad dressing as the noodle sauce but Chloe likes the sesame miso sauces.

The Mickey mouse chicken nuggets are from Costco and the veggie egg rolls are from Sam's Club.

I made the Konyaku and the quail egg marinade by boiling soy sauce, piece of Korean radish, a thick piece of wakame, a dash of mirin and water to taste.
When the sauce starts to boil, put the Konyaku and quail eggs ( already boiled and peeled) in the marinade and simmer for half an hour. When cooled, cut& served. Leftovers can be refrigerated and served cold. We like it better cold. This is also one of Chloe's favorite dishes.

Oranges were cut into small pcs and I buy blueberries in bulk, wash them and freeze them. This way they last longer and I can ea. Them frozen or thawed.

01.14.2011 Bento

01.14.2011 Chloe's Lunch
Hello kitty shaped PB&J sandwich ( mold sold at marukai and I used cocoa powder for facial details)
Mini fish sausage links with a hint of organic ketchup and relish
Organic edamame
Hello kitty apples ( cutter bought from eBay)
I think I cheated today... Fastest lunch I made so far!!!