TWO - Complete Lunch Gear Giveaway

A Back to School Event & 2nd Year Bloggiversary

It's August....and it's Back to School!
I hope everyone had a wonderful summer break.

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We did! As a matter of fact, we also had a break bento-ing and packing lunches till the last week of July, when I had to tow the kids with me to work, coz Dad visited my brother in Chicago.  I work early in the day on a daily basis. So I had to pack breakfast for the kids, and we ate out at noon on our way to their summer swim classes. 

School resumes in August, so do Gavin and my birthday. Not only that, but it's the 2nd year of my blog as well.  So there's a lot to celebrate at this time of the year.  I thought of throwing a huge giveaway for everyone to enjoy, with the help of my thoughtful and generous sponsors, who have helped me all throughout my lunch packing years.

I know that we are all very busy preparing & shopping for school uniforms/clothes, shoes, supplies and the likes.  We're not even done yet.  So I'd like to give you a break by taking good care of the lunch gears. I am hosting 2 giveaways in one. All packed with everything you might need for school to pack meals in a stress-free way.

Don't they look so lovely with a little help from our sponsors? Even the pickiest kid will eat whatever food is served.

Are you ready? I am giving away 2 winners of:

• EasyLunchboxes:  your choice of Classic or Brights, and a cooler bag.  The #1 best selling lunchboxes on Amazon.com. The only lunchbox I trust that is dishwasher and microwave safe.  
• Momables: 3 Months Free Subscription that will help you with healthy packed lunches each time. It includes weekly menus of 5 recipes, with shopping lists, packing tips, pictures.  Great for any type of diets especially for family with food allergies.
• Lunchbox Notes: The credit card sized love notes I send to show my love when packing lunches for my family.  The only notes that were written with positive words, filled with encouragement which helps boost self-confidence and self-esteem.
• FunBites Cutters: The cutters I use to cut foods in bite-size pieces in a snap.  Even kids can do it. It's safe, no metal blades attached.  Your choice of Squares, Hearts or Triangles. Just let me know.
• $15 Bento USA giftcards: to buy your choice {not mine} of bento accessories.  It is where I get most of my picks, silicone cups, vegetable cutters etc. Indulge yourself.

Yes! You read that right.  2 random winners for each prizes mentioned. 2 for my 2 year Blog anniversary.
2 for a Back To School Event & A Bloggiversary.
And that's even more reasons to celebrate & get treated well!

I will only be asking you of 2 things:

• Please enter thru my Rafflecopter and do all the mandatory entries as a way of thanking my sponsors.  You miss one, all your entries will forfeit.
• And please help promote. Tweet daily. Each tweet adds up as one entry. Sharing in Facebook on a daily basis helps in your chances of winning.  Promoting is not mandatory, but it will not open till you're done with other mandatory entries.  Come back daily to tweet for another entry.

The following giveaway is open only to US residents.  

No international entry please.  

Giveaways will ship separately. 

They will come directly from the retailers.

Winners will be notified via email.  You are given 48 hours to respond before another winner is chosen.  If you have any question, feel free to email me and I will get back to you shortly.

THIS GIVEAWAY IS NOW CLOSED.
CONGRATULATIONS TO THE WINNERS!!

a Rafflecopter giveaway

If for any reason, my rafflecopter widget wouldn't work, 
please leave a comment so I could fix it right away.
Comments are moderated so they wouldn't show up till approved.

Check out other Back To School Events happening right now at Bento Bloggers and Friends website. You might not want to miss them too. The more entries, the more chances of winning.

Goodluck to Everyone!  May the most entries win :)

All bento accessories are available through Bento USA,

the cheapest and most complete online bento products in the USA.

Other bento gears are also available thru My Amazon Affiliate Link.
Thank you for your support!

Back To School Event Part II: FUNBITES {Review & Giveaway}

It's time for another BACK TO SCHOOL Giveaway.

This is part 2 of 2.

Since I have an incoming Kindergartner, I thought FunBites would be the best BACK To SCHOOL giveaway since one of our duties for lunch packing would be chopping fruits, sandwiches or anything into bite-sized pieces to make lunch-eating mess-free and worry-free.

In my experience of lunch packing, my children eat better on containers when they are already chopped up to bite-sized pieces. They are not only best on toddlers and preschoolers, but also perfect on to-go meals for school-aged kids.  It's wonderful when utensils are not quite required to eat when on the go.  I love to serve them on plastic skewers, or cute fork picks, when dipping is required.  It gives them the ease of eating without a single mess.  It adds special appeal too when arranged and presented in a creative way.

FunBites cutters come in 2 different looks: Cube It and Luv It.  Both have the ease of manipulation.  They are user-friendly. They're great for pancakes, sandwiches, cheese, fruits and more.  Cutting is a breeze.  

Here's all you need to do:

Place the cutter on top of the food, without the popper top. 

Grab the handles on both sides of the cutter. 

Firmly rock it down from side to side to cut through the food.  

You don't need to be gentle. Press hard if you need to.  

Insert the popper top, push down as you lift the cutter up from the food. 

Arrange the cut food as you please to make an appealing lunch.

The generous FunBites have given me the greatest opportunity to give out (1) FunBites cutter of your choice: CUBE IT or LUV IT to one of my lucky readers.

To enter, I have set up Rafflecopter for a fool-proof entry.  Just follow the instructions and you should be fine. Not all entries are mandatory, but I would appreciate it if you do give this giveaway a shout-out on Facebook and Twitter.

Thank you very much!

~Marie

 a Rafflecopter giveaway

*Disclaimer: I was provided with a FREE Cube It Cutter to facilitate my review. No other compensation was received and the opinions expressed herein are purely mine.*

Back To School: Get Ready...Be Prepared!

I've been meaning to post a back to school event for quite a while now but I just couldn't get myself organized. I am actually holding a series of giveaway for all those getting their stuffs ready for school. So keep watch of it. I have cool giveaways you wouldn't want to miss.

Everything is related to school lunches.  I know that many have criticized the bento world.  Like we have too much time to do cute lunches for our kids. But truth to be told, we don't. We're like any ordinary moms who are advocates of healthy eating presented in a whole new perspective. Welcome to the BENTO World!!

Here's to get you started:

Bento Boxes & Bags:
Purchase all the needed supplies like bento containers & bags, preferably something your child would want to use and eat on.  That's important because it will encourage and motivate them to eat healthier.

We're making use of the Easy Lunchboxes this year.  And I will be holding a giveaway very soon. So stay tuned if you're interested to try out the best and most economical lunchbox system I've found so far.

Menu Plans:  

The key is planning ahead of time.  Here are some pointers:

Make a weekly calendar of main entree and sides (fruits, veggies or treats) ready by Friday to give you ample time to shop for the ingredients. 

Cook all food items at least the night before so it doesn't add up when packing it in the morning.  It's best to pack at night especially if you're not a morning person.

Pre-cut fruits, veggies, and other treats to add appeal to your lunches.

When making big batches of hamburgers, chicken nuggets, eggrolls, meatloaves, and the likes, divide and store them in containers so you thaw per consumption only. 

Refer to your school's cafeteria monthly menus for ideas. Ask your children what they like best. Make a home-made version of it with the use of healthier ingredients.  This is very favorable on families with allergies.

Refer to frozen store-bought pre-packaged meals to get ideas on what to pack. I'm not recommending to purchase them but just to give you an idea that the option is varied and endless.

You can also sign up for MOMables to help you get started with a plan and go from there. I learned to make my own version of pre-packaged lunches through them. So in my honest opinion, it's worth the try. And we're keeping them. I'm holding a giveaway for MOMables at the end of the month to celebrate my blog anniversary. So stay tuned for that too.

Bento Accessories:  

Gather up your supplies to complete the Bento idea.  Remember you don't need to make it beyond your skills. Just keep it simple but appealing so as not to stress you out. Make use of accessories to jazz it up, then you'll learn your way in once the creativity kicks in.  I get most of my supplies through All Things For Sale since they always cost at a fraction of its price, unless you find something similar in the Dollar Store. That works too.  You can shop locally at any Japanese Bento outlet located on Malls or Japan Town if you have any in your area. Daiso and Marukai are 2 other places to frequent for bento supplies.

• Make use of silicone cups, or baran sheets as dividers when using undivided bento boxes.
• Make use of bento picks/forks instead of regular utensils.
• Make use of cookie cutters to add shape on your lunches. You can start with playdough cutters, sandwich crust cutters, or bite-size cutters, such as FunBites, to make the meals kid-friendly. (I have a giveaway for that too as part of my Back-To-School Event.)
• Make use of bottle sauce/dip containers when sending in dressing, salsa, dips, ketchups and sauces.

Pack with Water Bottles: Don't forget to hydrate. Shop for insulated water bottles to keep cold drinks cool for longer hours especially on warmer weathers. Or if you prefer plastic spout reusable bottles, you can fill and freeze them overnight, for another purpose of an ice pack to keep foods fresh.

• You may also freeze yogurts, and juice pouches for the same purpose. They will thaw by lunchtime.
• Choose 100% juice rather than from concentrate when choosing juice pouches.  That's a healthier option.

EXTRAS: Don't forget to label. Label your bento boxes, lunch bags, and water bottles.  It's the best way to keep track of your belongings when you misplace them in school or left them on school bus, after school care, daycare. I'm sure you would want each one of them back.

I guess that's about it.  I hope this helps in some way.  Any questions? Please leave a comment and I will answer them as honestly as I could. If you want to see the lunches I've sent, you may find them under Bento Galore.

Happy bento-hunting!!

~Marie

Disclosure: All images found herein belong to the said company/manufacturer.  They were used for visual purposes only.  I have not received any compensation for my recommendations.  Recommendation is solely based on my personal  positive experiences with the said company.