Toddler Bento for the Plane Ride Home

We just got back into town from a wonderful 2 1/2 week stay in New Jersey. The weather was terrific and we gorged ourselves on the ample tomatoes and blackberries from Nana's Garden. I swear there is nothing quite like a Jersey Tomato.

I love packing bento's for plane trips, it is a fun treat to break out mid flight.

top: veggie straws, grapes, blackberries, and a cheese stick
bottom: pb & banana sandwich (and yes, its a whole one, for those who have asked if this is possible) with grape tomatoes

Toddler Donkey Bento

Yay, we finally made it to the zoo! It appears that Monday is the best day to go. No lines and ample parking.The Monkey took all of us on a whirlwind tour and it was a fun, but exhausting day.

top: watermelon with blueberries & cheddar bunnies, tomato, turkey roll
bottom: oven roasted sweet potato, pb & banana sandwich with donkey tortilla

Our Almost Visit to The Bronx Zoo

Today is
Wednesday. We had been planning to visit the Bronx Zoo since early in the week because the weather is/was cool today. (Did I mention we are out of town....) For anyone travelling to New York and planning a visit to the Bronx Zoo, let me tell you NOT to do so on a Wednesday! Or I guess I should say if you don't mind an INSANE amount of people and impossible parking/traffic, perhaps it IS the right day to go. The trade off is that on Wednesday you pretty much get into the zoo for free, donations are accepted of course.

top: carrot, cucumber, cherry tomatoes, turkey wraps, and cheddar bunnies

bottom: ham & salami pig sandwich and blueberries

After seeing the insanity that was awaiting us at the zoo, we opted for the New York Botanical Garden. It turned out to be a lovely day.

top : blueberries with watermelon, cheddar bunnies, hummus

bottom: cucumber frog on whole wheat bread, turkey wraps, carrot, and cherry tomatoes

Newest Shipment of Shinzi Katoh Has Arrived!

Our new on-line store is now open and receiving orders. Google checkout is available and offers payment via credit card through the website! Stop by and check it out: Cooking For Monkeys Storefront.

Jungle Safari Birthday Party Success!

For the Monkeys 3rd birthday we went with a jungle safari theme.

We made a life sized cut out of a safari jeep and elephant along with a large wall mural with a safari scene. The kids loved having their photos taken through the windshield of the "jeep".

After running and jumping on the Leapin Lizards equipment for an hour the kids came in to enjoy some food and drinks. They donned their safari hats and sang happy birthday for the little man of honor.

Each adventurer received a safari bento box with safari jeep PB & J sandwich, alligator carrot, giraffe and lion cheese with fruit leather accents, blueberry elephant picks, and veggie booty.

Cupcakes were chocolate with vanilla frosting and homemade chocolate stars and animal crackers.

Safari hats and binoculars were provided to spot the local wildlife. A great time was had by all, and I am certain that many kids slept soundly that night! Mine sure did!

Wildlife Camp Birthday Celebration

Today is the Monkeys 3rd Birthday!!! I made yellow cake cupcakes with chocolate frosting for his camp mates. He will celebrate again on Sunday with friends at Leapin Lizards!

Breaking News Alert!!!

So there I was walking through the Kroger 'ethnic foods' aisle perusing the shelves; ponzu sauce, soy sauce, pocky......POCKY!!! What? I no longer have to travel to the Buford Highway Farmers Market for Pocky!? My first thought was "Yay, now I can buy Pocky whenever I want", quickly to be replaced by "Oh no, now I can buy Pocky whenever I want". I mean having Pocky far away was a good control for me. Now I can fulfil a Pocky urge by a 2 minute drive, or better yet a 10 minute bike ride.

For any of you who have not experienced the simple and addictive yummy-ness that is Pocky, now is your chance to do so in Decatur.

Garden bento (toddler)

The Monkey LOVED his camp day. It was hard to get him to leave. It really looks like a fun program, I plan to be there tomorrow to check it out and celebrate his 3rd birthday!!!!

top: strawberries and blueberries, roasted yam, veggie booty
bottom: bulgur-beef bake, peas, couscous with cheese flowers , bugs and fruit leather accents (also a graham bunny)

Bi-Plane bento (toddler)

The Monkey starts a three day wildlife camp today and he is pretty darn excited about it! His favorite teacher is leading the camp and he will be participating in all sorts of fun indoor & outdoor activities including planting and animal encounters! He requested an airplane bento for his lunch.

top: cherries, blueberries, peach with cheddar alongside baked chicken with ketchup and airplane cracker
bottom: hummus sandwich with cucumber and carrot plane and broccoli

Update on Bento Boxes from Shinzi Katoh

I guess that I ordered so many boxes from Shinzi Katoh that they have to get more in from the manufacturer and they will not ship until Thursday....so it will be next week before they arrive. In the meantime I am setting up a new storefront with google checkout for when they do get here. I will keep you posted.

P.S. More bento lunches this week!