Meijer Gardens trip #1

If you would like to see our whole trip to Meijer Gardens, please click Here

My lunch. Homemade shrimp, garlic, and spinach onigiri, red peppers, melon, and pineapple.

The boys had 3 butterfly sandwiches, organic chocolate cereal, celery and red peppers with dip, a leftover meatball, cheese, kiwi, and pineapple.

The only difference in The Colonel's lunch is that the celery is cut very thin and the meatball is cut up.

I had 5 of these to pack. So I put them in the bottom of my backpack. I loved how the Easy Lunchboxes fit in the bottom.

All 5 loaded up with room for drinks still.

Pork and his lunch.

Clark asking his father for some oranges.

Pork eating again.



Me eating my onigiri and The Colonel having some celery.



Tyke and Oma at lunch.

Every time I make onigiri I think of this song. I was introduced to this anime by Karl.

Week of Butterflies: At Meijer Gardens!

This is what lunch looked like after spending 45 minutes in a car, stuffed in a back pack being kicked by a 3 year old, riding in a wagon for 2 1/2 hours, and having a child constantly wanting to carry the back pack. Yes, it still made it! I touched nothing.

Today was a big trip to Meijer Gardens for the butterfly exhibit with Clark's preschool class. Clark rode the bus with his class and the other 3 minions and I met them there. They all had a fun time and no one grabbed a butterfly.

For the boys I packed a peanut butter and jelly butterfly sandwich with no decoration, broccoli for the ground and small pieces of cheddar cheese. The bottom tier has strawberries, grapes, carrot coins, and peanut butter. The small blue container is one of the sections out of my Sassy lunch box. It contains applesauce.

I are some of my lunch before I remembered to take a picture. I packed red seedless grapes, grape tomatoes, and tuna fish sushi. The bottom tier has carrot coins, strawberries and the little boxes have the best homemade kimchi. I also packed a pork and mushroom onigiri. Forgive the poor wrap job on my onigiri. I was using my scraps from other projects to cover it.

Back to the kimchi. I have lived in this area for about a year and a half. I missed the Asian markets in Grand Rapids. Sadly, I had not been able to find one in my area. Grand Rapids is only about 45 minutes away, but when you want only $15 worth of fresh noodles and other items and your gas to get there and back is $18, it just isn't worth it.

One day I was talking food with a friend and she mentioned a small little shop here in Muskegon. We ended up going. Valy Vietnamese Oriental Food and Gifts is at 1147 3rd st. The owner is very nice. It's not a large shop, but she sells many different things. You really need to give yourself some time to look around. She has various rice steamers (some I have never seen in the Grand Rapids shops), various rices, sauces, an onigiri mold kit, rice seasonings (6 or 7 different ones!), gifts, some frozen goods, a small selection of dishes, kids snacks, and a cooler with homemade kimchi and pickled plumbs! I have been looking for those! Just to give a heads up, she cannot accept debit or credit cards at this time. None the less, we all need to go out and support our small businesses.

Week of Butterflies: Day 3

 One more day till we go to Meijer Gardens to see the butterfly exhibit! I hope the minions are good and do not try to pick the butterflies up. Tyke really likes bugs. He is also that age where he tries to sneak everything into his pocket and take it home with him.

Once again we have a peanut butter and jelly sandwich in the shape of a butterfly. The decoration on it is done with grapes, tomatoes, 2 slivers of cantaloupe, carrots and a piece of celery. It sits on a bed of shredded cheese.

The bottom tier has a cup of peanut butter to use as a dip for the veggies and apple. I have balled cantaloupe, celery sticks, carrot coins, and sliced apple.

The decorations on the butterfly stayed put pretty well. They stood up high enough so when the lid was put on the bento, it pressed the fruit down and it stayed in place.

I was asked why I use so much shredded cheese. Why? Because for some odd reason the minions prefer shredded cheese over any other type.

Week of Butterflies day 2

The butterfly is made up of a peanut butter and jelly sandwich, match stick carrots, 2 red seedless grapes and the ends of a grape tomato. The bottom of the box has broccoli cut into minion sized pieces. On either side of the butterfly I rolled a piece of salami into a flower and also places a strawberry. The sky is shredded Italian blend cheese .

This lunch was actually one of the quicker lunches I have made. I am pretty sure I made it in just under 5 minutes for both boxes.

Day 1 in Week of Butterflies

This week Clark's class is going to Meijer Gardens for the butterfly exhibit. The other minions and I will be meeting his class there. I decided to get everyone excited for our trip and make a week of butterflies!

Today's lunch is a peanut butter and jelly sandwich. I cut it out using a sandwich cutter I found at Walmart for $2. Thin cut celery and carrots help to decorate the butterfly. Surrounding the butterfly are carrots and strawberries. At the top of the butterfly is a Samoa cookie cut in half (Girl Scout Cookie).