BAGEL PIZZA

I was at work the other night, and it was lunch time ... I meandered over to the refigerator... Bagels, Pizza sauce, a hunk of summer sausage... so I made Bagel Pizzas

1 Bagel- split
two tablespoons pizza sauce
about 1/4 cup of mozzarella cheese
Meat- a small amount of prosciutto or pepperoni- in this case I used summer sausage- whatever your heart desires!

Layer the bagels with the sauce, cheese, meat. Heat in toaster oven at 450 degrees for 5-6 minutes. Eat!

Hot Dog-Rittos

Crispy Bean Burritos are one of my favorite things. So are Hot Dogs. So, I thinks, why not combine the two???

Hot Dog-rrittos

Frankfurter (Dinner size)
2 slices of cheese, any style
1 10"Tortilla
Toppings of your choice

Pre-Heat your ove to 350 (or your toaster oven to 300) "Par Cook your hot dog (1 minute in a microwave or boiling water should suffice) place your cheese slices on the tortilla, top with the hot dog. add any toppings you might like now (I actually like a bit of salsa on mine) Roll everything up in the tortilla, Bake on an oven safe pan for 3-5 minutes or until tortilla starts to get nice and brown.

A Bento box for your jars!

I am just fascinated with bento boxes and tiffins for carrying my lunches. Well The BNTO (pr. BENTO) Canning Jar Adaptor from CUPPOW turns any wide mouth canning jar into  two section lunchbox! I have been using a cuppow Mason Jar Commuter Mug for about a year, (dont worry, I still use Muggsly on a never ending basis) and love it, so I look forward to trying these smart little containers in my quest for a great lunch at work! And I am also thinking - what a great way to bring the dog's wet and dry food in the same container on trips!

DISCLAIMER:
I was not paid or reimburse in anyway for this product endorsement. Just like the product and thought I would share!

LunchBots... Now in Bento Box Style!

I alway wanted a bento box, but knew that Beth "Fake plastic Fish" Terry would call for my hide if I ever bought one as they only seem to come in plastic and plastic laminated wood...
Until now... LunchBots annouced now in addition to Duo and singles, they come in Trio's And Quads. Four things in one LunchBot. In addition, they now sell thermal containers. And yes all in Stainless Steel if you desire! Bento Box with no plastic!

Bring a Lunch- Part II

Yesterday we found lunch boxes and bags. Today, a few hints on saving money on them. First- reuse that lunch box from last year, or buy one at a garage sale or thrift shop. If your kid has outgrown the theme of last years box, take it out to the garage and give it a paint job. Then let junior put stickers or decorate it. Now to fill that box

FIRST- alternatives to zip lock and plastic bags.

Yesterday I mentioned Lunch Bots- these neat little tins that can hold a sandwich, some snacks, or what have you. You can also use old jars, but you have to figure out if your little lunchster is capable of not breaking them. Planet Box sells their "Big and Little dipper, stainless steel cannisters that would hold sandwiches and snacks on their website (you can order these without paying $35 for a lunch box). THe small dipper has a plastic lid and the big dipper has a stainless steel lid.For a plastic free alternative, check out the Happy Tiffin's "LunchBowls". Lunchboxes.com also features Lunch Bots as well as a variety of plastic sandwich boxes for the lunch box. While Fake Plastic Fish is probably having convulsions over the suggestion that you buy a plastic sandwich holder, it has to be your choice. I wouldn't but I ain't raising your kid. My own personal feeling on it is as long as it isn't getting thrown away, use it.

Now how about Cooling that lunchbox?

Well first let me say that Ice Packs suck. And what the hell is "Blue Ice"?? IF it gets a hole in it then that blue shit leaks all over. A little trick of mine for filling ice chests is freezing water in a plastic water bottle or pop bottle- that way you are reusing the bottle for something good! And if it leaks it isn't toxic- it's water!

It simple- fill the bottle 2/3'rds full, cap it and stick in the freezer.

Anyway I hope your little Einsteins have a great year... and tell them I said summers almost over- MUWHAHAHA!!!

What ideas do you have on B.Y.O.L (Bring Your Own Lunch)

Bring a Lunch

Click on pic to enlarge

Well august is here... time to start thinking about School! It's also time to start thinking about lunches! You know you will save a ton of money if your kids brown bag it. But what to send those great lunches you make in?
There is always the paper bag. Or the plastic grocery bag (if you want your child to get beat up a lot). Or you can make the decision to give Junior or Princess a neat lunch box that makes a statement. Your kid's lunchbox says a lot about them. I know.

The lunch box that gets you beat up!

From experience (I was the kid who had the nerdy plaid lunch box in elementary school and yes got beat up for it) What was my mom thinking?
If I was a kid today I would want a really cool lunch box. Lunchboxes.com has a lot of really cool choices. From a Jimi Hendrix Experience lunchbox to a Roy Rogers Cowboy Lunch Box . They have metal lunchboxes like when we were kids, plastic Bento Boxes and Laptop lunch boxes, tiffin's, and all sorts of reusable lunch bags.
I like the aforementioned Jimi Hendrix, but also they have a really cool lunch bag from the Kid's Konserve series- an all cotton lunch bag with napkin and sandwich wrap,a couple of snack cups and a stainless steel water bottle. Great for an eco-conscience kid. There are also Gator Tots- a company offering up personalized reusable lunch bags, backpacks and stuff.
Speaking of Bento Boxes, there are a lot of them geared for kids. LaptopLunches.com has a good variety of them. And junior can walk around like a little business person with his or her laptop style lunch box. Kind of a bento box redesigned for kids. I am not against a plastic lunch box, as I assume it will be used over and over but if you don't want to give you precious little person a bpa lunch, (NOTE: Laptop Lunch products are BPA Free) there is an alternative to the plastic bento- Planet Box.com offers a stainless steel laptop box that even comes with different magnetic stickers so little Picasso can redesign his or her lunch box everyday! And the stickers are not just for the planet box... Happy Tiffin has some unusual shaped steel tiffins to make your child (or adult) happy.
As far as lunchboxes, you could also add some extras like Lunch Bots for holding a sandwich or snacks in. I think the one lunchbot for sandwiches at a price of $15 is the cost of 8 boxes of ziplocks-or an estimated cost savings of over $50 during a school year!
A lot of choices out there. But think about it- this is something a child carries everyday. It should say something about who he is. So take some time before deciding to go out and just buying the first lunch box you see when shopping for school. That way your son or daughter won't end up with the stupid plaid lunch box that makes bigger kids want to beat them up.
And think about getting the adults in your household lunch boxes as well. Tomorrow- how to save $$$ on your lunch box!