Culinary Adventures with Camilla

This is a sponsored post written by me on behalf of  Dreamfarm  and  PackIt .   All opinions are my own. Dreamfarm  sent me their redesigned Oni knife and  PackIt   sent their Freezable Classic Lunch Box to try out and review.* These two products breathed some fun into our lunch prep and my Enthusiastic Kitchen Elf was eager to try give them a whirl...then he stole the lunchbox right out from under me! Oh, well, I guess that means it's a winner, right?  The  Oni  quickly became our go-to knife for prepping lunches. It's a handy size that falls between a cumbersome chef knife and a tiny paring knife. The shape of the blade allows you to scrape every last bit from a jar without scratching it; the top edge of the knife is rounded, like a butter knife, so you can spread with it; and the bottom edge is sharp, so you slice with it. There is a plastic wrap slicer built into the handle. I have to admit: we didn't try that. But, li...

Last month, I wrote an article for the Sunday Supper Movement about Winning the Lunchbox Wars . In the piece, I recounted a recent conversation with my husband and a lesson I had learned: the bag matters. It goes like this... Last week my husband complained about the fabric bag I sent his lunch in. "Do you have another bag I can use?" he queried as I placed containers into a fabric bag adorned with little kid-faces and the words YUM YUM YUM. What? You don’t like my bag?! “I work with guys…” he trailed off. Were you not listening when I explained to the boys that it doesn’t matter what other people think as long as you like it?!? "Okay, well, I don’t like it." And that was the end of that. So, I let all three of my boys - my husband and our two boys - pick their lunchboxes. There are so many options these days. Some have gel to keep the lunches cold. Some have multiple compartments to keep food separated. This is an easy concession to m...

School began for us this week. And every year, I ponder the same thing. I ask: "How do I get my kids to pack their own lunches?" Don't get me wrong; I'm not talking about making the food, or even wrapping the food. I'm talking about taking the pile of food that's on the dining room table at their spot and putting it into a bag. That's it. I was dreading the onset of the Lunchbox Wars v.2015. But  PackIt provided me the perfect solution to my problem: Get a cool lunch bag! Earlier this summer, PackIt sent the boys the bags of their choosing, for the purpose of reviewing the products. The boys checked out the website, grabbed their rulers, considered the options, and made their selections. We received the bags in time for the boys to try them out during a few day-camps and, as I mentioned, we started school this week. So, we've used them for a couple week's worth of lunches. The novelty might wane eventually, but for now, I'm relishing ...

This week the #SundaySupper crew is posting about Back-to-School. We've been back to school for almost two weeks now, but the lunchbox battle rages on...all year long. So, I'm happy to participate and get ideas for quick and nutritious breakfasts and lunches. The most important thing for me during hectic school weeks: revampability. What I mean by that is how much effort it takes to revamp leftovers into something else...that is palatable cold the next day. I'm sharing a recipe that I marinate on Saturday, have Jake grill on Sunday, serve for Sunday dinner, and revamp into school lunches on Monday. Here are my boys on their first day of school with one of our best little buddies who just started kindergarten at our school! And I'm hardly calling this a recipe because you just used whatever is your favorite part of the chicken, favorite marinade, whatever pasta shape you want, your favorite salad dressing, and whatever vegetables you have on hand. It's very, ver...

The reality is setting in: summer is over. And after 8 years I am finally winning the lunchbox wars! Here's a poem that a friend wrote about me - just in case you had any doubt that I am a kitchen witch... There once was a really mean mother Who was evil to two little brothers "Nothing deep-fried!" She yelled as they tried To eat food just like the others. But, in all seriousness, we have had years of tears. Years, I tell you. My boys are  not  picky eaters. They eat escargot for goodness sake. They pluck lettuce from the ground and shove it in their mouths. They love kale. But, for some bizarre reason, they didn't want to eat like that at school. They were closet-foodies. Each and every year we fought about what went into their lunchboxes. My all-time favorite comment, from R, was during 1st grade: "Mom, can you please pack the leftover pad thai and take it to Nonna's so I can eat it  after  school? I really want to eat it. But I wan...

When Jennifer of Peanut Butter & Peppers asked for some blogging help this summer, I offered to do a healthy lunchbox post as we all get back into the swing of school. Thank, Jennifer, for having me! Click to read my post: here .

From my Lunchbox Wars linky , Erin from Making Memories with Your Kids shared a recipe for Hard Boiled Eggs Served with a Smile . I thought: what a great idea! And I, promptly, ordered some from amazon ; I got the star, heart, bunny, bear, fish, and car. So, for the first day of school, last week, I decided these would make a nice surprise. I gave them each one at breakfast to which Dylan asked, "WHY does my egg have a smile?" Then I figured the bear looked close enough to a wombat...so I included that in his lunch with a note that read: enjoy your wombat egg. In hindsight, I should have been accurate and written: enjoy your wombat- shaped egg. Because my lil' wombat-phile was mortified that I might have possibly cooked a wombat fetus and tried to serve it to him. Oye. When the egg came home untouched, I asked why. He told me, horrified. Riley laughed and said, "Silly goose, wombats don't lay eggs. They give birth to a live wombat baby!" Need...

I asked - here's the call for recipes - and you answered! Thanks for all the great lunchbox-filling suggestions. I will definitely be adding these to my rotation this school year. I already bought the egg molds! Hard Boiled Eggs with a Smile from Making Memories with Your Kids Chicken Bacon Tomato Lettuce Wraps from Making Miracles School Lunch Tips and Ideas from Chef in Disguise Thanks for the ideas! Erin from  Making Memories with Your Kids Rebekah from Making Miracles Sawsan from Chef In Disguise

The reality is setting in: summer is almost over. And I am steeling myself to the advent of the Lunchbox Wars , year seven. Seriously. My mini-foodies don't like to stand-out in the lunchroom. Their adventurous palates are reserved for our house for some reason. Here's a poem that a friend wrote about me - just in case you had any doubt that I am a kitchen witch... There once was a really mean mother Who was evil to two little brothers "Nothing deep-fried!" She yelled as they tried To eat food just like the others. So, I'm asking for your recipes and hope that this little exchange helps inspire you as well. We can all use new, kid-approved lunches, right?!?

What!? Summer's almost over!!!? Say it isn't so. School is back in session in a couple of weeks which means a few things for us: (1) less time during the week for tabletop travel, though I do promise at least two or three meals from our Cooking Around the World Adventure ; and (2) the advent of the Lunchbox Wars, year seven. My boys are not picky eaters. They eat escargot for goodness sake. They pluck lettuce from the ground and shove it in their mouths. They love kale. But, for some bizarre reason, they don't want to eat like that at school. They are closet-foodies. And each and every year we fight about what goes into their lunchboxes. My all-time favorite comment, from Riley, was during 1st grade: "Mom, can you please pack the pad thai and take it to Nonna's so I can eat it  after  school? I really want to eat it. But I want a peanut butter and jelly sandwich at school...just like the other kids."  Really?!? What's wrong with pad thai? So sand...