Saturday, February 16, 2013

XOXO - Hugs and Kisses!


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Since I wasn't packing a bulky bread, the Lunchbots Trio (Red Lid) was the perfect fit for this lunch. Everything's all snuggly and cozy together... without actually touching!

Hugs and Kisses!
Applegate uncured turkey hot dog with cheddar cheese, strawberries, "Everything Bagel" pretzels, carrots
Monday, 2/4/13 - I had initially thought about skewering cheese Xs with the uncured hot dog Os, but this cheese is pretty crumbly, so I probably would just have gotten mad and thrown things. Cubes it is!

Berry Kisses: I'm so glad I figured out how to make the heart-shaped strawberries. Most techniques I see I just can't quite get the hang of. But these have been a success! You just cut the stem off in a V instead of flat across the top. Then slice in half to make two hearts. Just as quick and easy, if not easier, as lopping off the stem and cutting into quarters. And the halves help you fit more into a lunch than when leaving them whole.
I got a second pack of the letter picks just in time! This wouldn't have been the same with only one "XO."

Xs and Os: I chose the Rold Gold "Everything Bagel" pretzels as her grains option (yeah yeah. Not whole grains, I know. But our bread is extra grainy, and I use all kinds of weird grains in dinner, like wheat berries and quinoa. Plus brown rice. So I don't feel so bad with the occasional "enriched wheat flour" treat.) I didn't really want to cut a zillion little carrot Xs, so I just cut sticks for her to make into Xs! And separated them from the pretzels with a small silicone baran (the one with Xs on it, of course!)

I managed to fit a whole Applegate uncured turkey hot dog (cooked for 30 seconds in the microwave first, to kill off potential listeria) on four heart skewers, along with some slabs of cheddar cheese.
I used mini letter cutters on some extra cheese to keep with the XO theme. These letters are really hard to work with when you have crumblier cheese like cheddar. Fruit leather probably works fine, and softer cheese like mozzarella might not crack and break as easily. But nothing fits it to poke the cheese out, so I end up gouging it to death with a toothpick! Luckily both of these letters look the same flipped over! And the Os held together enough you don't notice all the splits... This set is also the only one I've found with mini numbers too, so probably worth all the hassle.

Little Z was thrilled... with her "Tic Tac Toe" lunch! Haha! Doh! I think they hadn't ended up having time for snack at school that day (which always pisses her off,) so she asked for ketchup and Ranch when she worked on it during her lunch hour. Then she polished off everything except part of a hot dog skewer and a few carrot sticks. Mama ate the leftover carrots, and Baby helped with the hot dog and cheese (I hate hot dogs. Even the uncured ones with recognizable ingredients!)

Tools of the Trade
Cloth napkin from Red Poppy Crafts on Etsy.
   


2 comments:

  1. Lovely! Thanks for the tip on the strawberry hearts, I've been chopping the tops off before doing the V, will try your method next!

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