Healthy Eating Starts at Home: pizza

October 10, 2013

Pizzadilla!

Food for your Lunchboxes!

My schedules had been crazy busy for the past weeks. How have you been? I honestly miss blogging a lot, as I have tons of lunch pictures on my camera. And I'm trying my best-est to upload them on my computer to start blogging the kids' lunches once again. Bare with me. This busy momma has so much on her plate right now. We will soon catch up and get back on track.

The kids are requesting for PIZZA lunch. I don't have the needed ingredients for the crust, so I have to think of a way to deliver it in the best possible alternative. Then I thought of PIZZADILLA. Why not? I have all the ingredients to stuff it. Back in November, I featured Pizzadilla for the very first time on my blog before it became famous. I was even undecided whether to call it Pizzadilla or Pizzawich. If you missed that post, check it out here!

This lunch is very easy and quick to prepare. I have an electric griller that does the trick for me each time. It's all about warming both sides of the flour tortilla before even spreading the marinara sauce over, then add cheese, pepperoni, olives, mushrooms, etc. You can eat it like we normally eat a pizza, or top it with another warmed flour tortilla. Flip. Wait till cheese has melted, and tortilla is slightly toasted and crisped. Then serve/pack.

Prep ahead of time!

Wash and pre-cut fruits and vegetables the night before.
Decide which lunchbox to use and have all the silicone cups, picks, utensils, napkins, and other gears ready on the kitchen countertop by night.
Refill water bottles and refrigerate them. If you're using non-thermal bottles, you might want to consider to freeze them overnight to double as icepack for lunches, and be thawed in time for recess and lunch, and still cold. Consider that for warmer weathers though.

We need lunch ideas as well. We are open for suggestions. If you have any lunch that you would want to be featured on my blog, please send me an email along with your name, the lunch picture and description. I will gladly feature your creation! All lunch credits belong to you.

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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.
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February 12, 2013

A Week of BIG and SMALL Bento School Lunches

It's been a whole week of crazy schedules last week, when blogging is not a part of it. I was called to work twice during the weekday, and once on a weekend. Then the rest of the days were volunteer duties in school. Well, like it or not, but I am that one of those crazy parents who love to volunteer their precious time for their children's classes, no matter what the duty calls for. And, I honestly LOVE it. It feels good to be needed. It satisfies me all the way. What's worst? I was invited to be a part of the PTA-Board Committee the following school year. Of course, I finally accepted after constant invitations for a year now. So get ready for the drama!

Asian Fried Rice

This lunch was inspired by Momables' menu plan. I have been sending varied rice meals to school, but never thought of making use of Asian Seasoning which is an equal mixture of soysauce and sesame oil drizzled onto the rice as you stir-fry.

My girly-girl, Missy A adores flowers. And, she eats anything shaped in florets. So in her 2-tiered bento box, courtesy of Bento USA, I packed 3 Asian Rice shaped in florets by making use of a 4-shaped onigiri maker {found at the end of this post}, grapes and Oreo cookies on flower-shaped bento cups.

On Mr G's Aqua-lidded Easy Lunchboxes, he got a similar lunch and sides except its cuteness. No more cute shapes for my 4th grader boy. He just wanted me to toss everything in his box. Glad I could still make use of my silicone cups though.

Breakfast Sushi Rolls

Sushi is one of the best rice meals sent to school without the need of any utensils. May not be the easiest one to make for most, but once mastered, you'd be hooked like a PRO. Right now, I'm challenged to make the inverted sushi rolls, which Nori sheets are placed in between the rice and the filling. Are you in?

On Missy A's Goodbyn Mix and Match Box, she had half of the amount of sushi roll Mr. G got on his EasyLunchboxes {below}. Both got apples for fruit sides. The only difference was that Missy A got hers chopped up, while Mr G 's apples were chunked up. Broccoli florets for my veggie loving swimmer, and a choco chip cookie for my sweet tooth little fairy.

DIY-Pizza Bagel Lunchables

Addicted to pizza lunchables? Why not DO IT YOURSELF. It's easy. All you need is any type of bread. I have used pita breads, thin bagels, thin wheat round breads, and pocket breads. I even tried Pillsbury's pizza dough, and they worked just fine. I send them pre-toasted to get the crusty taste of a pizza crust. They taste better. Then pack it with shredded cheese of your choice, meat toppings, marinara sauce, and a fruit. Don't forget the spoon to scoop up the hearty sauce and spread them onto the bread crust.

On Mr. G's EasyLunchboxes, he had shredded 4 types of cheese (Mozarella, Parmesan, Cheddar, & Monterey Jack), spaghetti sauce, and turkey pepperoni. On his other compartment, he had some strawberry hearts.

Bagels

Since we had a stash of bagels at home, I thought of sending in bagels for Thursday as well. I worked on this day, so something quick and easy was highly favored. Another easy and simple lunch to go by on rush mornings without compromising healthy nutrition.

Missy A's Goodbyn Mix and Match containers was filled with PB & J bagel thins, 2 heart bento picks of red globe grapes, and a strawberry on a heart shaped cup.

On Mr G's Easy Lunchboxes, a ham and cheese bagel was accompanied by some strawberry wheels and dill slices. Best of all, it held a special Lunchbox Love Note to send this lunch with a burst of LOVE.

Leftover Dinner

I was called to work again, so Friday's lunch was just a leftover pizza dinner. It was homemade though, so it wasn't that bad after all. I was thinking of packing a different lunch, but the kids insisted on pizza. So it was pizza all the way with a little fruit heavy for Mr G {Aqua ELB}.

On both of the kids' EasyLunchboxes BRIGHTS, they both had each one's portion size of pizza and oranges. On their smaller compartments, Mr G {aqua lid} had kiwi and Missy A {pink lid} had whole wheat fishy crackers swimming on a yellow cup.

It was a long and winding lunch making last week.

So glad you were able to drop by today.

Thanks for stopping by!

All bento accessories are purchased through Bento USA,

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

Other tools are also available thru My Amazon Affiliate Link:

Thank you for your support!

January 25, 2013

Pillsbury Pizza Crust - A Semi-Homemade Meal

Have you ever wondered how easy it is to make your own pizza? Well, I am so thrilled to announce that I had the grandest time to make one of my own this morning just before school. You heard that right, just before school. And it took me less than 20 minutes to prepare and bake them from scratch (with a little help) this morning.

I discovered Pillsbury's Pizza Crust just last Monday when I was shopping alone at Target. Saw it at the fridge section along with cookie doughs and eggs. This is why I love to shop alone. I get the chance to trail along each and every aisle, and read on every food labels on my long list.

This lunch is what I consider semi-homemade because it wasn't really made from scratch. I had a little helper. The pizza crust was pre-made. So if you have any food allergy issues, you might want to consider reading the label first.

Start with pre-heating the oven to 400 degrees F. Grease any size of cookie sheet. I lined mine with aluminum foil for easy clean-up.

Next, Open! It takes a little trick to open the package, but I made use of a spoon to push onto the marked line to pop open. Then peel away till you get the dough out of the can.

Third, Unroll onto cookie sheet and press to desired thickness. Pre-bake the dough to 8 minutes.

Lastly, spread with 1/2 cup of pizza sauce. I used seasoned Spaghetti Sauce, as always. Then top with cheese and other preferred toppings of your choice. Make sure that if you're adding meat, they're cooked already. So if you're considering to make this for school lunches, pre-cook all meat toppings. Also plan how you want the toppings distributed. Return them in the oven, and bake for another 8-10 minutes. Since my crust is pretty thick, I left it in the oven for a full 10 minutes for a crunchier crust, unless you want them soft and chewy.

My kids love bacon, pepperoni, and mushrooms. Missy A is not huge on pepperoni so I have to leave the other half free of pepperoni, or she might not eat them. Everything else is equally distributed.

Day 9: I am Thankful for Bento

A Pizzawich/Quesadilla Tutorial

{courtesy of CuteZcute}

I may sound so vain with this post. But really I have to admit that I am grateful that man created bento. Bento has truly played an important role towards our food choices and eating well.

Bento has brought me to blogging and discover foodie blogs which nurtured my food choices for my family. Not all healthy, but I always choose the lesser evil. I have learned to read nutrition labels and ingredients. We do not belong on the nut-free, dairy-free, vegan, whole grains only, or diet-restricted family. We eat everything we want and crave for. No restrictions. But the rule is always in moderation.