Tuesday, January 26, 2010

Inspired Recipes for Picnics (and more)


I'm a huge fan of Mark Bittman, aka "The Minimalist" at the New York Times, so when I went looking for healthy lunch and snack ideas, his Times web page was my first stop.

I found an abundance of helpful ideas, but my favorite list of easy recipes that work well with Little Lunch Boxes was "101 20-Minute Dished for Inspired Picnics." Curried egg salad, pesto chicken rolls, grapes with feta cheese, beet salad....the list goes on and it's all fabulous.

Today I took my Little Lunch Box out to the beach where my grandpa used to surf to commemorate the one-year anniversary of my grandma's death. I packed some almonds and whole wheat pita bread in the bottom container; hummus and celery in the top; and beet salad (from Bittman's list) in a separate glass bowl with a lid (because beets are messy!). It was a perfect little lunch for one and a lovely way to remember my grandma.

This is me today at the beach. Not the best picture, but at least you know who's talking to you now.

Friday, January 8, 2010

Little Lunch Box in Time Out New York!

Little Lunch Box has received its first bit of press! Just before Christmas, Time Out New York featured this nice little blurb about us:
Many thanks to all the people that placed (and continue to place!) orders after reading about us in Time Out New York. And thanks to the people who commented on the article, too. I'm glad to know people are out there enjoying their Little Lunch Boxes!

An Introduction

Hi. I'm Colleen. Like Terri said in that last post, I'll be helping her out here on the blog, so I thought I'd introduce myself before we get started. I live on the other coast--the West one--in Los Angeles (I can see the Hollywood sign from my kitchen table). Terri and I met in 1991 where we worked at an espresso bar in Studio City, California and we've been fast friends ever since--even though she ditched me three years ago for New York City (I'm not bitter, I swear).

I homeschool my 14-year-old son (you can read about our exploits here) and I write a monthly article for our local newspaper. I aim for simplicity, green living, and a frugal lifestyle but I don't always hit the mark. That doesn't stop me from trying, though!

The idea behind the Little Lunch Blog is to provide parents with useful information on all sorts of topics, while bringing more traffic to Terri's site, thus promoting her fabulous Little Lunch Boxes. What kind of information? you ask. Well, here are a few ideas:

  • Healthy recipes (that fit neatly into a Little Lunch Box)
  • Frugal living
  • Simplicity
  • Crafts
  • Living lightly on the earth
  • Family fun
  • And anything else we want to share

So that's the basic idea. Let's get started!

Tuesday, January 5, 2010

Welcome!

Happy New Year to anyone reading this. I started Little Lunchbox as a way to pack lunch in a greener way. To cut down on waste going into landfills on a daily basis. I started packing my son's lunch this way for preschool and pretty soon other mothers were asking about his lunch boxes. A lightbulb went off in my head, and "aha" moment if you will. And Little Lunchbox was born.

I wanted to do a blog as a place to share lunch ideas and swap information with other mothers. Unfortunately, I'm not much of a writer. I'm sure you'll agree after reading this! This is where my dear friend Colleen came to the rescue. She is in fact a writer and a mother. Colleen offered to oversee the blog posts for me and help me not make a fool of myself.

So, what is Little Lunchbox? It is an online store which sells reusable lunchboxes for children (or adults who like cute boxes). As of right now I offer 6 different box designs and hope to add more in the coming months. The goal of the boxes is to replace plastic bags and individually wrapped portions of food and to cut down on waste. My son likes take his super hero insulated lunch bag, so I pop his Little Lunchbox, a cloth napkin and reusable drink container in the bag and he's set for the day. For my younger son, who wants to be just like his big brother, I pack his snacks for the day in his box and that keeps him happy while we're out and about.

I'd love to hear from you if you have any questions or tips to share on packing a waste free lunch.

Be well.