I’ve written about bento box lunches before. Japanese moms really go nuts with bento box edible art, and what they come up with is rather intimidating.

So when I came across Gentle Bento (thanks to The Attached Mother) I was relieved. Maybe I could actually try this! I love her examples of Kiddie Bento, too – it looks like something Lucie would come up with, though hers would have more princesses and kitties. (Wonder where she got that Hello Kitty bento box. I’ll have to look for something like it next time we go to the Asian market.)

For more bento box inspiration, check out Jennifer McCann’s book Vegan Lunch Box based on her blog of the same name.

Did you know that the seasons change in the oceans as they do on land? Ocean Seasons by Ron Hirschi and illustrated by Kirsten Carlson, explores seasonal changes in the Pacific Ocean. Like on land, spring brings new plants and baby animals. Plankton lights up the ocean in the summer. Autumn winds blow across the sea, and humpback whales swim to warmer waters in winter.

The “Creative Minds” section – a feature of all Sylvan Dell Publishing books – explores the ocean’s food web and its plants and animals. Creative Minds and the Sylvan Dell website are great resources for teachers and homeschoolers. The website features an Ocean Seasons teaching activities PDF that further explores the book, vocubulary, animal classification, and humpback whale migrations. The website also has a page of learning links about kelp, sea creatures from the book, the ocean food web, and whale migration.

So what food to pair with Ocean Seasons? Let’s try an update on the tuna fish sandwich from the U.S. Tuna Foundation. They recommend this back-to-school recipe as a healthy alternative to mayo rich tuna salad sandwiches on white bread. Plus, it’s a easy way to get fish and some Omega 3s into your kid’s diet.

Scoop-It-Up Tuna Salad
Makes 2 Servings

Ingredients:

1. One 6-ounce can solid white or light tuna in water, drained and flaked
2. 1 small carrot, shredded (about 1/2 cup)
3. 3 tbsp. light canola mayonnaise
4. Salt and pepper
5. Scoopers: Baked tortilla chips, cucumber wheels, mini whole wheat pitas, celery sticks, and whole grain crackers

Directions:

1. Combine the tuna, carrot, mayonnaise, and salt and pepper to taste in a medium bowl and mix well.
2. To pack for a school lunch, place the tuna salad in a plastic container with a tight-fitting lid. Keep it in an insulated lunch bag with a ice pack.
3. Pack “scoopers” in separate containers or baggies.

I am so over summer.

Last week I found Nathan and Lucie in a death struggle over a video. They were screaming in each other’s faces and had tears running down their cheeks. Who are these savages?

My house is gross.The kids have been treating it like one giant garbage can, leaving juice boxes and wrappers on the floor. When I found a candy wrapper among my workout clothes I nearly cried.

So with 10 days to go before school starts, it’s all I can think about. And judging by my blog traffic, seems that my readers are looking for back-to-school recipes and lunch box ideas. So here some links to help you out.

Back to School Snacks and Lunches:

• Healthy Snacks for Kids – not just for after school, lots of these recipes are lunchbox friendly
• Lunch Box Rules
• Lunch Box: PB&J Makeoever – PB and Apple Sandwich? Boy that sounds GOOD!
• Lunchbox Ideas – back to school lunch box and snack ideas from About.com
• Back To School Fun with Food from Reader’s Digest
• Back to School Recipes from Epicurious – if your child’s a vegetarian, check out the Southwestern Tofu Wraps
• Some ideas from the Snack Food Association (who ever knew there was such an organization?)

Breakfasts

• Back to School Breakfast Ideas – FabulousFoods.com knows that a good breakfast is important!
• Make Ahead Breakfast Recipes – Pressed for time? Try these recipes from About.com. I love their ideas for overnight crockpot recipes – what a great idea!
• Quick and Easy Back to School Breakfasts – smoothies and shakes are a great way to save time in the morning. If you have a sport shaker bottle, you can drink them in the car on the way to school. Muffins are a good on-the-go breakfast, too.

Do you have a favorite lunch box, after school, or quick breakfast idea? Share it below!

Summer is nearly over and school’s about ready to begin. I noticed that my readership dropped this summer. At first, I thought it was because you were all running off to the beach. But now I’m guessing that turning My Readable Feast into a mostly writing blog, with some book reviews and recipes, wasn’t as successful as I hoped. Lesson learned. (And if you have suggestions about what you’d like to see at My Readable Feast, please feel free to leave them in the comments section below.)

So no more writing prompts and Tuesday haiku. Instead, let’s go back to what this blog was all about – books and food!

With that said, are you looking for some school lunchbox ideas? Last year around this time I posted information on:

• The art of the bento box – how traditional Japanese lunch boxes can inspire our school lunches
• What’s in your lunch box? – with a recipe for Rachel Ray’s Turkey and Black Bean Tostadas

Frankly, I’m a bit concerned about what to feed Nathan this year. Some of the old standbys, like fruit rollups, are going bad in the pantry. Plus, Nathan has become a “pasta-terian” this summer – he doesn’t eat meat or vegetables, only noodles and eggs.

Luckily FamilyFun.com has a whole section devoted to Back to School food ideas. I guess there’s always Nathan’s favorite PB&J, but how can I make it more exciting? How about peanut butter and jelly stars? This looks like a great way to sneak in some whole wheat bread into Nathan’s diet, too.

Peanut Butter and Jelly Stars

Ingredients:

1. 2 slices white bread
2. 2 slices whole wheat bread
3. Peanut butter
4. Jelly
5. 1 1/2-inch star cookie cutter

Directions:

This is different than the directions on the FamilyFun.com site. From the comments it seems too hard to spread the peanute butter and jelly after you cut and swap the stars. Maybe making the sandwiches first, then swapping mini-star shaped sandwiches would be better? I’d have to experiment. Maybe try a simpler shape like a circle would be easier. It’ll be messy, too, but the results will certainly be cool.

1. Make two PB&J sandwiches by spreading peanut butter on one wheat and one white piece of bread. Then spread jelly on one wheat and one white piece of bread. Make one wheat sandwich and one white bread sandwich.
2. Carefully use mini cookie cutters to cut puzzle pieces out of white and whole wheat sandwich. Swap the whole wheat shapes with the white, then press them into place.

Everyday With Rachael Ray magazine had a terrific idea for taking the boring out of school lunch. How about creating kid-friendly bento boxes? The website features three easy to make recipes, including this one for dessert. (It would make a great party finger food, too.)

Candy Sushi
From Every Day with Rachael Ray August – September 2006 issue
1 serving

Ingredients:

1. 4 large marshmallows
2. 1 tablespoon unsalted butter
3. 1/2 cup rice cereal
4. 2 cherry or strawberry twists, such as Twizzlers
5. 2 fruit roll-ups

Directions:

1. In a small saucepan, melt the marshmallows with the butter over low heat.
2. Add the rice cereal and stir to coat; let cool slightly.
3. Cut the cherry twists to the length of the fruit roll-ups.
4. Unroll the fruit roll-ups and peel off the plastic film. Place half of the rice cereal mixture on the edge of each roll-up.
5. Place the twists in the center of the rice mixture and roll up the candy sushi.
6. Cut into 2-inch pieces.

If you like the idea of creating bento boxes for your child’s lunch (or maybe yours!) check out The Vegan Lunchbox. Jennifer is writing a book based on her blog, too.

Until then, you may want to explore the world of bento boxes via these books:

• Bento Boxes: Japanese Meals on the Go – traditional bento recipes, easily recreated
• Simple Menus for the Bento Box – Western cuisine presented in an aesthetically Asian manner
• Cafe Japan – good book for beginners.

If you’re intrigued to give bento style lunches a try, you may want to order a Zojirushi Mr. Bento Stainless-Steel lined Lunch Jar ($36-42). This would be a great way to pack a healthy lunch for school or work with everything from soup and steamed rice to fish.

Lunchboxes.com sells a bento box that features a main compartment that holds five smaller containers of varying sizes to separate different lunch foods. Some have covers to keep liquid food in, while the other containers can hold solid foods in place by the fold-down lid. Theirs comes with a spoon, fork, and guide to nutritious eating. It’s available alone for $19.50 or as a kit with a high-quality insulated carrying case and water bottle for $29.50. This is a great one for the kids to use.

I’m going back to Weight Watchers once school starts to loose the, um, 15 pounds I’ve packed on since last October. This will be my reward for going back and losing the first 5 pounds. I’m going to check out my local Asian markets first, to see what kind of bento boxes they stock.

 For more bento box recipes and inspiration go to:

• Recipe*Zaar’s Back to School Special: Bento Box (or Lunch Box) Recipes! – lots of links to recipes and great photographs, too.
• PBS Food on Onbento – Obento is another word for bento. Click through the pages to see some incredible pictures of work by Yayoi Brown, a mom and obento maker.