Summer is Flying By

I will cling to the warm weather and summer fun as long as humanly possibly. I may or not be pouting and stomping my foot. I know everyone is talking about back to school, but I'm just not ready to think about the summer coming to a close. So, we're rocking the fun spring butterfly box today, August or not! Summer will not fly by any quicker than it has to, at least.

Strawberry banana Greek yogurt with fresh strawberries and slivered almonds, celery and cucumbers, Ritz crackers, turkey pepperoni, and sharp cheddar cheese.

In this lunch...

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Butterfly Bento

Sometimes, most times even, lunch is pretty simple around here. But, put that lunch in a cute box, and the transformation is instant. And, what better to represent transformations than a butterfly, right? Speaking of butterflies, we finally ordered ours. I forgot to order was waiting for the perfect time to order them, and with summer finally in full swing in Michigan, it seemed about that time. Last year, we ordered ladybugs and a praying mantis egg case along with the butterflies. That was a lot of fun, too. I'd love to find walking sticks, though. They are my favorite!

Trader Joe's nacho chips, apple, cherries, cucumber, bell pepper, smoked turkey, and cheddar mozzarella chunks.

In this lunch...

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Butterfly Box

We had bugs in our house today. Lots of them. All over the place. And it was a blast! Check out our guest post over at Melissa & Doug today to see what we were up to.
Here's a peek into our snack that we shared with them..

When it came to lunch time, we used our Bella Butterfly Snack Box again today! It also comes in a turtle design, and it has a hinged lid and divided compartments. Super cut, functional, and fun!

Cucumbers, orange bell pepper, Chobani Champions vanilla chocolate chunk Greek yogurt, frozen yogurt bugs, turkey and Swiss mini sandwiches, raisins (under the crackers), and a peanut butter cracker sandwich.

In this lunch...

Melissa & Doug Food Play Giveaway

So, besides the fact that I've mentioned them in yesterday's post, what parent hasn't heard of or used Melissa & Doug puzzles and toys? We've been incorporating them in everyday play for quite some time, but part of what I love as a food blogging mommy is all the fantastic food play options they have. We had the opportunity to feature some elements of the sets we use on a regular basis on a recent guest post over at the Melissa & Doug blog, but the fun doesn't stop there!

Melissa & Doug wooden food products offer fun, creative play for the budding baker with cookie, brownie, cake, cupcake, and other sweet sets.

Have an adventurous eater? Try the stir fry, sushi, or grill sets. (Don't mind the lovely, ancient lap tray). We use food play as a way to encourage new foods too. Who knows? I might have a new date next time I go out for a sushi night! She is already a seaweed and seafood addict, so maybe...

Of course, Melissa & Doug also have several fantastic fridge and pantry item sets, as well as cutting sets, and now felt foods too. And, for the news you've been waiting for... one lucky winner of this giveaway will receive a food play set of their choosing. The winner can choose any food play item found here and priced $19.99 or under. While we are running the giveaway just until Saturday to afford the best chance that your prize will arrive by Christmas, we cannot guarantee that delivery date, so please be aware when entering. Thanks for stopping by and good luck!

You have a total of seven options to enter the giveaway, but the first two are mandatory. Remember to comment on each thing you've done as each comment counts as an entry!
1. Visit the Melissa & Doug website, then comment on this post what food play item you might like if you were to win the giveaway. This is a mandatory entry!
2. While you are browsing their site, be sure to sign up for the newsletter. Comment here that you did, and it will gain you another entry. Be sure to leave an email address or way to verify. This is a mandatory entry!
3. Follow Melissa & Doug on Pinterest and/or Facebook and comment that you have done so (or already do).
4. Follow Zoe's Lunchbox on Pinterest and/or Facebook and comment that you have done so (or already do).
5. Follow Melissa & Doug and/or Zoe's Lunchbox on Twitter. Comment that you have done so (or already do), including your username.
6. Follow Zoe's Lunchbox blog via Google Friend Connect or email. Comment that you have done so or already do.
7. Share this giveaway however you'd like, and comment that you have shared, and where.

UPDATE - THIS GIVEAWAY IS NOW CLOSED! Thank you and congrats to our winner!

Disclaimer: I received a free Melissa & Doug product, but was in no other way compensated for this review & giveaway.  All opinions expressed are my own.  I reserve the right to choose a new winner for the giveaway if a winner does not contact me within 24 hours of being announced or contacted. Open to those in the continental US, and 18 or older only please.

Puzzling Lunch

As far back as I can remember, I loved puzzles. I love them still today... word puzzles, logic puzzles, spatial puzzles, and especially, jigsaw puzzles. I don't pretend to know all the benefits of puzzles, but I know they challenge my mind, which can't be bad, right? For me, jigsaws do even more though. I find some zen in doing them, and they help me to relax and unwind. They are fun and rewarding, too!

For me, it was natural and simple to introduce puzzles to our daughter very early on. From the beginning, we have used Melissa & Doug puzzles as part of our routine. We started with the knob or chunky puzzles, then peg, sound, and educational puzzles, and now are on to traditional jigsaws from wooden to 'room' sized floor puzzles. In fact, puzzles have given us a new nighttime routine as of late. As I mentioned, puzzles help my body to wind down and relax, and of course, they engage and tire my mind. So, we have started to incorporate puzzles into our bedtime activities for our daughter. Using puzzles to create quiet and calm before bed has been wonderful experience for all of us.

Since I had puzzles on the brain, we also had fun making a puzzle lunch today too. Feed the body. Feed the mind!

 

Kale, peanut butter sandwich, vanilla yogurt, raspberries, cucumber, Swiss and colby-jack cheese.

If you don't have a puzzle shaped cutter, you can really use any type of cutter you have on hand to make a fun, simple puzzle inspired lunch or snack. Make your sandwich or desired food as usual and cut with your choice of cutter. Then, hand cut that shape into pieces that can be assembled before eating! In this example, a snowman, you could add mini chocolate chips, mini marshmallows, or other food items to further decorate your creation after it is pieced together. Have fun!

Pizza 'Make-A-Meal'

Okay, so who doesn't love Melissa & Doug stuff? Seriously.. They really have the neatest stuff! Today we had the opportunity to sit down and play with a new product called Make-a-Meal Sticker Pad. You get to pick a place setting (there are 15 in the pad), then create a meal from over 225 stickers from every food group, including beverages and desserts. It was such a fun thing to play with. We played restaurant with ours and I ordered special meals that the kiddo had to create and deliver! What fun. On her own, she made an elaborate pizza meal on her sticker pad, so pizza lunch it was.. slightly deconstructed for fun, but pizza nonetheless.

Deconstructed pizza with bagel thins and pizza sauce on the right side, and in the left side is raspberries, turkey pepperoni, black olives, red bell pepper, and Bocconcini (mozzarella balls) sprinkled with Italian seasoning.

Daddy got sent to work with pizza sticks, packed in our Easy Lunchboxes, to have his own pizza fun too. Skewers of Bocconcini, turkey pepperoni, green pepper, and black olives, toasted bagel thins, pizza sauce, and extra 'toppings'.

And, in case you are interested in those Melissa & Doug sticker pads, they have lots of other fun ones too. I'm after the Sweets & Treats and Habitats ones next! So neat!

This lunch is linked up to Bent On Better Lunch's Lunch On A Stick Day post!