Sunday, March 10, 2013

Somewhere "Clover" the Rainbow Bento - and "Green With Envy" yubo Giveaway


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I was extremely excited to get my new green yubo lunchbox with the medium oval-shaped containers and an attachable drink holder sleeve. I already had pink and blue yubo boxes, each with a large square and two small circle containers. Plus ice packs. Now my collection is complete! Muahahaha! [Wait, what? They make orange and black boxes too? Hmmm...]
yubo


Baked Pancakes, powdered sugar; organic  raspberries, carrots, golden beets, sugar snap peas, blueberries;
Greek honey yogurt, dye-free sprinkles, chocolate coins (water in drink bottle)

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Somewhere "Clover" the Rainbow: I made some Baked Chocolate Chip Pumpkin Pie Pancakes using my shamrock muffin pan (this was before we went gluten-free. But I have it on good authority you can sub a GF flour mix 1:1 for the flour in the recipe!) I put some organic powdered sugar in the mini shamrock sauce container, since I didn't want to deal with the mess of syrup. Plus she's just as happy with less sugar this way!

Cloudy Skies: I packed some Greek honey-flavored yogurt in one of the small containers to be a "cloud" under the "rainbow." I put some India Tree Nature's Colors "Carnival Mix" jimmies sprinkles in the little rainbow sauce container to sprinkle on top.

Taste the Rainbow!: To make a rainbow, I used one of the medium containers and lined up some organic raspberries, orange carrot and golden beet flowers (cut with a flower veggie cutter,) sugar snap peas, and blueberries.

Pot O' Gold: I was super excited about this one! It turns out the mini Pot O' Gold I got at a party supply store ages ago fits perfectly in a small container slot in the yubo box! So I added a few gold foil chocolate coins (I found small bags both at a party store and at Target's Dollar Spot. They were by Fort Knox, and had no artificial ingredients. Not fantastic ingredients, mind you. But nothing Z reacts to.) 

I stuffed a cloth napkin inside to help fill it, plus Little Z could use it to keep her hands clean!

Also shown are my new green drink holder and a Lunchbox Love note (now available at getyubo.com too!) The cloud trivia was perfect for this lunch. Since I couldn't find one about rainbows...
Her new Thermos Funtainer bottle (Z chose the Lalaloopsy one, naturally!) fit perfectly in the neoprene drink holder. But it was a tad snug. She might have a hard time getting it back in by herself. 

What Mama Thinks
Yays
I love the versatility of the yubo's inner containers. Basically, there are 6 "spots." The large container takes up 4 spots, mediums 2, and the smalls 1. So depending on what you're packing, you can change and customize the configuration to fit the needs of each lunch! 

The different interchangeable faceplates are also super fun. They not only allow for fun changes for seasons or themes, but also allow the lunchbox to grow with your child's changing likes and cuteness tolerance.

Everything comes apart, which makes for easy washing! And dishwasher-safe is always a plus with me! I like that even the ice pack is dishwasher safe - I haven't ever seen any other dishwasher-safe ice pack.
And because they make a custom ice pack to fit inside the box, you don't need a separate insulated bag to hold everything!

Mehs
Due to their very versatility, it means that there are a bajillion parts to wash and keep track of each time. You don't need to wash the whole box and ice pack every time, unless they get goopy, but even just washing the inner containers can add up to a lot of bits to worry about. (Especially if your Hubby does the dishes and they don't all get washed in the same load, so one gets put away in the Tupperware cupboard by accident, and another gets put "somewhere with your bento stuff." But the third gets put with random stuff he doesn't know what to do with so leaves on the counter for you to sort out, and maybe falls behind the baby's bottle drying rack so you don't find it for a while... And that's if you're lucky enough that the lids stayed with the bases for each one!)
Totally worth it though, for the ability to customize.

I had a hard time with the drink holder. I love that it attaches on the outside, but because it can't be kept chilled, you're pretty much restricted to water or juice. The neoprene will insulate it a bit, and you can get insulated drink bottles too. But I still wouldn't trust putting milk in there, unless I knew that she would drink it all up at lunch time. (And that I'd remember to rinse it out immediately after she got home! But that's a keep-the-bottle-from-getting-skanky issue, and nothing to do with the holder, really.
It may have been just user error, but I also had a difficult time getting the holder attached onto the side of the box. Maybe with more practice it won't be so difficult. But the straps seem to be a bit wider than the holes, and you have to thread them through four layers of neoprene total, plus the holes on the side of the box.
And my insulated thermos was a tad large for it. And many of our water bottles are even wider. So I'd have to find the perfect bottle to fit, so she could take it in and out herself.
But - the fact that it attaches on the outside means that her drink won't get left behind somewhere, since she'd notice the empty drink holder flapping on the side! And it won't get lost somewhere in the bottom of her backpack. Nor would we need a separate bag to hold everything to keep her lunch and drink together.

The custom ice pack that fits inside the box means one more thing I need to keep in my freezer at all times - unless I plan ahead well enough to remember to put it in the night before. But it means I don't need to worry about a separate insulated bag!

I don't really have any "Boos," since they're all upgraded due to being worth the hassle!
Okay, no wait. I do have one Boo. The box is carried vertically instead of flat, so I have to plan for that when designing and packing the lunch. I can't have items that won't hold up to being tipped sideways and jostled around. Not a problem for this lunch though! And most things that might be an issue could be solved by packing a cloth napkin inside that container to help keep everything in place.


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"Green With Envy" Giveaway!
You know you want one! So in the spirit of St. Patrick's Day, yubo has offered to send one lucky winner a GREEN yubo lunchbox set with a non-personalized faceplate of their choice! (Set includes outer box (including lids and handle, of course!) and ice pack, plus one large and two small inner containers!)

a Rafflecopter giveaway

Disclaimer: I received the green yubo with "Peace" faceplates, three medium containers, and a green drink holder from yubo to review. But I said "Heck, yeah!" because I really love these lunchboxes! I'm at the point now where we have so many bento boxes, I have to really want it to allow another one into my home, no matter how free it is! I'm no longer so cheap and easy!


Tools of the Trade
You can buy yubo, yubo accessories, and Lunchbox Love notes at getyubo.com!
 

      

  Biting the Hand     

56 comments:

  1. This comment has been removed by the author.

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  2. I LOVE the cupcake faceplate, so stinking cute!

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  3. I would choose the Candy Faceplate set.

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  4. My girls would LOVE the Peace Faceplate Set :)

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  5. We would love to win the Under Construction Faceplate set! Great giveaway and what an amazing lunch!

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  6. I love the Purple Butterflies faceplate set!

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  7. Black with monsters faceplate So cool!

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  8. Kristin Troska: Monsters!

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  9. The monsters or the fire truck would ROCK my son's socks!

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  10. What a great giveaway! The purple butterfly faceplate is adorable!

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  11. We would love the monster faceplates!

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  12. I love the monster and peace faceplates. I wonder how difficult it would be to fashion an elastic strap to go around the outside for carrying...

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    1. I can't for the life of me remember where I saw it but, there was a post about a mom running a ribbon from the sides across the top so her little one was able to carry it flat. She didn't make it seem like it would be very hard at all. :)

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    2. It was Stephanie at Pocket Full of Buttons, I think!

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  13. Thank you for hosting the giveaway! The fairy princess faceplate set is lovely!

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  14. OMG, my girls would FREAK fr the Peace one!!! i LOVE, LOVE, LOVE Yubo!!!

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  15. Adore the peace lunchbox but what kills me is the gorgeous rainbow of fruits & veggies. LOVE this bento!

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    1. Thanks Sarah! I'm glad it turned out the way I had envisioned it...As I didn't really have a backup plan! Haha!

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  16. What a great giveaway! I would choose the Pirate one!

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  17. My daughter says the Peace ones

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  18. My son would like the Cars & Trucks Faceplate Set.
    pamelajmcbride at yahoo dot com

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  19. I would select the Pirates Faceplate Set.

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  20. Awesome - My Daughters favorite color is GREEN! Go Irish!

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  21. I like the Purple Butterflies! Love your bentos.

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  22. Hi,
    Would love to get the Space one for my boy :)

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  23. Very interesting lunchboxes! I am new to this and would absolutely love the monster faceplates for my monsters! They are all about scary things and pokemon! LOL! You need a lego one! :)

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  24. I would love the shark faceplate for my little boy! He LOVES sharks!

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  25. I would choose Purple Butterflies Faceplate Set. Was looking for the one with the owls, but they don't have that one. ;)
    Thank you for the giveaway. And I LOVE your bentos.
    (Tanya Rubezhov)

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  26. My son likes the Sharks faceplate. It's not "little kid" stuff. =)

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  27. I would love the shark faceplate for my son!

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  28. tough one - shark or monsters or purple butterflies.

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  29. tough one - shark or monsters or purple butterflies.

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  30. Nice giveaways! I wish I could find similar in the market for my son.

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  31. The faceplates are so cute!!!! I would probably pick monsters, or construction. maybe pirates. yeah pirates. ooooh, i dont know i want all of them!!!! :)

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  32. Love Yubo! We would choose the Fruit Stand faceplates :)

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  33. HI! I like the pirates...or skateboards...or pirates. I'd ask my son. His current lunchbox is duct taped and I was hoping it would make it until the end of the year. This would help.

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  34. How cute! The little monster one is perfect for our "little monster!"

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  35. My daughter loves the purple butterflies, I liked the Surfer Girl!

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  36. The PEACE faceplate. Thanks for great contest!

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  37. Oooh, so hard to decide. I'd go for the candy, the cupcakes or the purple butterflies faceplates. So cute! and your lunch is beautiful!

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  38. My daughter would love the Fairy Princesses! : )

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  39. I totally need more oval containers, I love them. I would choose a gray with little monsters yubo, I don't have that colour!

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