The Kid, aka Cheese Lover, aka Cheese-a-tarian, in his recent school project: ‘What would you do with $100?’ he said, “I’d buy cheese.” Good lord. I could think of a lot better things to spend $100 on – but whatever. And this is why he loves this dish. It’s cheese-y with a cheese-y Goldfish cracker topping. Perfect for your big-spending cheese lover.

Goldfish Mac n’ Cheese recipe, here.

Seriously. Japanese bento accoutrements are the best things in the universe. So cute. So little. So useless.

We believe in ‘breakfast anytime’ around here. Waffles are one of the Kid’s absolute favorite foods. I’m sure it’s just a vehicle for syrup.

So why not have waffles packed in his lunch too? A few strawberries, a side of potatoes – breakfast, er lunch, fit for a king! It made him so happy he asked if he could have them for lunch everyday. Uh, not quite kid.

Chocolate Chip Waffles
Mochi Waffles (moffles)
Cinnamon Vanilla Waffles

Recently when I went to King’s Hawaiian, I picked up a few treats to take home. While they are known for their sweet bread and pastries, what you may not know is they also sell Rainbow Bread.

Rainbow Bread is a specialty from Hawaii, but you can’t always find it just anywhere. I think it’s really fun and cute! However the Kid does NOT like this bread because it isn’t sweet, it just…tastes like bread. What’s wrong with that?

Anyway, it comes in these funky psychedelic colors and I just think it looks fun in his lunch. He was not amused and asked for his sweet bread back. Oh well. Party pooper.

The kids are back to school and boy are they NOT feelin’ it. Every morning is a struggle, I don’t blame them, I know two weeks off is a long time AND their brand new Christmas toys are waiting at home. Still, life moves on so suck it up. You’ve got a lot of school ahead of you kids.

Not only do I have to pack the Kid’s lunch for school, but snacks too. While I am generally opposed to pre-packaged things, I do use them for the kid’s snacks, as they are individually wrapped and fairly sturdy. Once in a while I try to surprise him by putting in a little something different.

Today I made a matcha roll cake. Roll cakes are waaaay easier than you’d expect, don’t be afraid of them. This one is a green tea cake and the filling is a sweetened red bean. The cake is stunning in color, not overly sweet – and heck, doesn’t it just look like something Yoda would eat for snack??

Matcha Roll Cake recipe, here.

I’m telling you the kids LOVE this stuff. It’s sort of ridiculous how much of this they eat. It’s light, tasty and goes great with everything. I like it on it’s own, but the Baby loves it with chicken apple sausage.

My favorite part? There is no red sauce to clean up like with regular spaghetti. You should look under the Baby’s dinner chair. It’s like a massacre under there…

Lemon Spaghetti recipe, here.

The Kid requires a lot of snacks. Snacks for kindergarten, snacks for daycare – he’s a growing boy. I try to give him one healthy thing (fruit, carrots) and one treat. Strawberry Pocky was a good go to since he had a chocolate allergy – and they sorta look like lightsabers too.

Getting the Kid to eat meat is tough. He doesn’t care for it, but he’s becoming iron deficient. It’s not that he won’t eat it altogether, he is just particular about the meat he chooses to eat. One that I can always count on is kalbi. The sweet of the marinade that gets caramelized on the grill makes it hard to resist. I cut it off the bones, and chop it into super teeeeny pieces. It seems the larger cuts of beef just don’t do it for the Kid, it has to be bird-size.

I always serve it with a little rice and this time I put in some edamame, just in case he decides to go on an anti-meat strike at least there’s something else too.

Kalbi ribs recipe, here.

Apparently Yoda’s off the carbs, because it’s just pieces of ham and cheese today, tho – in star shapes, of course. It’s amazing how just 2 minutes with a small cookie cutter can make the world a cuter place.

Food that looks like something else is fun, but maybe not when it’s snails. I love these faux-cargots cause they crack me up – but the concept of a roll-up or wrap is nothing new. They are perfect for packing in a school lunch and the Kid loves anything in a tortilla!

Faux-cargot recipe, here.