GF: A little fun for your lunchbox
Remember me whining about lunch? Problem solved.
Any of you with kids (even those of you like me whose child resides INSIDE your own head rather than sharing a bathroom with you) may appreciate this.
I found some egg molds on ebay the other day and I just had to have them. Not just ONE set…but two. My nephews nearby have already begun to enjoy them too.
These egg molds come from Japan and are used to make bento-box lunches for kids. Bento boxes are becoming more and more popular in the US (as evident by Tupperware even creating a divided container for lunches, etc similiar to those of traditional bento boxes). From what I’ve been learning from friends in Japan, reading and seen online, it appears that creating gorgeous bento boxes with fun shapes is QUITE the parenting hoo-hah and competitive. Now.. that part of this, is NOT up my alley. But making a cute, fun lunch just because?? I’m all over that!
These egg molds use large hard boiled eggs. When the eggs are still HOT out of the boiling water, you peel them quickly (and carefully so as not to get burned!) and set the large, hot egg into the mold and carefully close the cover. Once you finish putting all of the eggs into the molds, you can either (1) put all the molds into cool water or (2) put the egg molds into the refrigerator. Either way, let the eggs cool for about 10-15 minutes. Then, carefully lift and remove the mold (it comes off rather easily if you are gentle).
And.. wa-lah! You have lunch entertainment! What a fun surprise for a kid to open their lunch box and find a car! or a star! or a fish! Really – too fun, huh?
And for those adults out there, lemme just say this. As a Celiac and someone whose lunches have not been identical to my colleagues, they already expect me to have something different in my lunch box. Usually this is greeted with curious eyes and many comments about my delicious smelling lunch (really .. try eating cold tunafish sandwich next to me when I’m munching on seafood risotto! I dare ya!). So showing up with a car-shaped hard boiled egg atop my salad was greeted with giggles and big smiles by my math-teaching colleagues.
Gotta love it. And boy… car-shaped hard boiled eggs really DO taste better!
There are a lot of great sites to help you get started with “bento box lunches” and the packing is SO Gluten-Free Friendly! I think I’ve been packing a bento LONG before I knew what it was! Here are a two of my favorite sites to help get you started:
I hope you get a chance to try this. It’s quite fun!
Happy GF Eating =)
Kate