3 Years Later

It has been three years since I last posted on this blog! Time has flown by and while life has been so busy and full of moments I have shared over facebook or instagram, I haven't had the motivation to post here. I tried to write another blog using wordpress but I eventually quit writing there, too. Honestly I was writing #sponsored posts there and after a few it felt very inauthentic, but there was so much going on in life and I was working full time in insurance and just so miserable!

I'm here today just to begin the process of sharing our lives again, Andy, the kids, and me. Over the last three years we have grown and changed so much as a family. We sold our house in Fort Smith and moved to a smaller town outside the city limits. We are only renting right now, our house hunting adventure so far has been not much of an adventure-- we are trying to take our time and find something with everything on our wish list in the school district we like. Olivia is entering her Sophomore year and Sophia is going in to 3rd grade. Olivia has a drivers permit and that is kind of scary! I got my NASM CPT, entered in to a non-traditional teaching licensure program for the state of Arkansas to become an elementary teacher (still job hunting!). Andy is recruiting for the Army National Guard full time now, and things are just moving right along!

That's the TL:DR of the last three years!

I'd like to use this space going forward for bento posts, family updates, fitness, crafts, trips/vacation planning, etc.! School starts next week so I'm pre-planning some bento themes right now and I'm going to purchase some sprinkles and edible glitter later today! SO EXCITING!

Aloha, Monday

Good morning!

I know I haven't posted in about two weeks. I don't want the internet lunch fan club to think I dropped the bento ball this early in the school year!

I haven't.

We had this family vacation scheduled

Then we had a family emergency. My youngest brother was hit by a car while he was riding his motorcycle home from work. Without going into all the details, it was a very close call and his helmet probably saved his life. He has a very long road to recovery ahead. I haven't even gotten to see him yet because Andy's been out of town for most of the days I've been able to go, and I think having the kids around would cause more stress than recovery for him.

But we are home now and things are getting back to normal (for us, but I would appreciate any extra healing vibes and prayers for my brother that you've got). I did pack a bento this morning, but I didn't photograph it because well, I'm not the best at Monday's and I had to leave rush rush early to go pick up my first Zaycon Fresh order, which I will blog about later! Great experience!

I hope you're all off to a wonderful start this week! I'll be back tomorrow! xo

Easy LunchBoxes Bento

Here we have in the Easy Lunchboxes container, our BBQ Chicken Rolls from yesterday, chocolate chip stuffed strawberries, 3 mini cookies, cheez-its, and spicy cheetohs. Not pictured Olivia has an apple sauce. I need to go buy more fruit! ;) 

Have a fab day! xo

Garlic BBQ Chicken Rolls

Hello there!

Its #MealPrepMonday and since school is back on, I did a little meal prepping for the kids', too. I'm always looking for fun recipes and creative, easy ways to get them to eat. Especially Sophia, she's so, so incredibly picky- like pretzels are her main food group kind of picky! I was going to make pizza rolls (again), but I had chicken in the crockpot for my meal prep and decided to go a different route.

You will need:
Your favorite BBQ sauce
Shredded chicken (or beef, or pork)
Mozzarella cheese
Crescent rolls
Garlic Powder

Super super simple.

My chicken breasts were already seasoned- they'd been in the crockpot all day with green enchilada sauce and green chiles.

These are pretty self explanatory, add the BBQ sauce to the roll, then cheese, then chicken. Roll up and place on a non stick baking pan.

I put a bit of mozzarella on the tops of the rolls and then sprinkled them all with garlic powder.

Easy for packing in lunches, and easy for a quick dinner, too. I wish I had put more cheese on the tops, they would look prettier with crispy cheese sprinkles! 

Check back tomorrow for our cute lunch!

Facebook | Instagram #PoiriersPlantRoots

Sweet Sophia bento

d'aaaawwww yeah, my baby is sweet! :)

Here's a sweet little bento for a sweet little baby.

In this Zak nibble tray we have

a bear and elephant sandwich made with Dark Chocolate Dreams by PB&CO

Sliced strawberries

blueberry goat cheese

black olives

cinnamon and sugar pita chips

a tiny chocolate bar from our ConsciousBox (review coming soon!)

We're leaving tomorrow to spend the weekend with my family, my cousin is getting married and I am so excited to see everyone! 

Will YUBO my Valentine?!

I'm so glad you said YES!

I'm feeling the Valentines' Day love this week. I am excited to say a huge fat THANK YOU to yubo for sending us a box to use & review!

I had been eyeing and drooling over these gorgeous boxes for ages, so imagine how happy this opportunity made me!

I love the Yubo box for so many reasons! Being eco friendly and BPA free are probably at the top of the list. Oh, and totally adorable, too. I can't wait to order custom face plates for it with Olivia's photo on them! I think the personalization options are beyond awesome.

The technical details of the yubo: Totally big enough to pack a lunch for an adult (mama might need a yubo, too!), while not so big you can't send a perfect meal for your tot. Olivia has declared the Yubo her new favorite box- which is a huge deal. She enjoys that its easy to open, and catches her friends' eyes when she uses it. We both love the little cooler plate that goes under the containers- it makes her box so much lighter (compared to days we use any other box/carrier/extra ice pack).

OH! Another huge plus for both of us- the yubo is an all in one system, which is a feature also boasted by planetbox, laptop lunches, etc., only... you don't need a separate case. That is awesome. You pack lunch in the yubo box and you carry the yubo box. No extra bags or anything! And the way the containers fit in the box (you can mix and match from the yubo site!), they're easily re-arranged so you can fit an organic milk or juice box in there. You can also purchase different types of inside containers- and extra accessories such as handles, ice plates, and lids on the yubo website.

And, as is every mother's dream... they go in the dishwasher. CHA-CHING! Winner winner, chicken dinner! LOVE!

Something you don't want to miss: yubo is now carrying Lunchbox Love on their website! Have you noticed the adorable little love notes I send with Olivia in her lunchbox? Well, now you don't have to just *wish* you had some! You can throw a set (or 7) in your virtual cart when you purchase your shiny new yubo.

Ok, enough gushing. It IS safe to say that my yubo is my, I mean, Olivia's, valentine this year. We love it! Thanks again, yubo!

MOMOCON!

As many of you know, I will be at MOMOCON this year with some of my AMAZING bento blogging friends!

I am so super excited to have been considered and chosen for this event- I have not ever attended any kind of blog networking event in my life! So this is a big thing for me, and I am *so* looking forward to being there.

To make things EVEN BETTER, my best friend Rachel is going with me. She is my biggest cheerleader in life and I am so blessed to call her my friend. I can't wait for this fun road trip and amazing weekend with her! Living in separate states has been hard :( I miss her too much!

So anyway, the theme of our class at MOMOCON is angry birds. I haven't ever done an angry birds bento before (not sure why, Olivia LOVES angry birds!), so I have been practicing. :D

essentially these are the same lunches, just plated differently. Not too bad for my first attempt. I think Olivia will be getting angry birds lunches all week next week. Stay tuned :D

Other awesome bento bloggers I'll be at MOMOCON with::: BETH, EMILY, & ERIN :)

Lovin' for a BBF mama!

Hey y'all! :)

I just wanted to let everyone know about the AWESOME give away over at Bentos On The Bayou!

Seriously- hurry over there, because there isn't much time left to enter!!

Click HERE!

Lunch Punch Give Away!!

Hooray!

I love give aways, and I LOVE the Lunch Punch! :) Who doesn't?

A lot of times, I think bento can be sort of girly. This doesn't cause a problem for me- I have two girls. Adorable little girly girls, that love getting hearts and princesses in their bento boxes. So, I think its pretty awesome that the Lunch Punch has boy friendly sandwich cutter sets. I also think its pretty awesome that they sent a set for me to give away! CRITTERS! The critters are of course, friendly for girls AND boys. What kid doesn't love an adorable elephant or puppy dog in their lunch box!?

I wish I could give every one of my readers an awesome LP set.

My favorite thing about The Lunch Punch cutters would have to be that they are STURDY and I can wash them in the dishwasher because I am a LAZY cleaning lady. I hate dishes, I hate cleaning. And these fit right in the top rack and stay in shape. 

The elephants are definitely my favorite. But, an elephant *might* be my almost favorite animal. I love them. I also love how LP cutters are often more than one piece. Being able to take the baby elephant and position it differently, or take the puppy out of its house, makes lunch a lot more interactive for kids that enjoy playing with their food... ie, EVERY kid on earth. :)

Here you see an adorable mama and baby elephant (or I suppose, it could be a daddy and baby.. let your imagination run free, haha), made from wheat bread and peanut butter. Nitrate free turkey, with pepperjack cheese "remember" (because elephants never forget!), a deviled egg (thanks, grandma!), mini pepperonis and pepperjack cheese arrows. Oh, and the cheese scraps folded up by the egg. And tiny organic licorice hearts, and a pink sour lemonade gummy (both from the whole foods candy table). This lunch is packed in the planetbox, and the tiny neon elephants came from the party goods section at walmart (wine glass toppers). 

Now, here's the exciting part! I want to give YOU a critter set!! :) 

You can enter several different ways.... The rafflecopter widget below has all the instructions. 

a Rafflecopter giveaway

Fun Food Friday

Hello, all! :) I wanted to start a weekly bento post on this blog.. for a while now! Anyway, today is day ONE and I'm excited to do it.

Fun Food Friday is a day where I will post the bento lunches I have made for Olivia (and Sophia, sometimes) throughout the week. I try to use Olivia's lunches to encourage her to eat healthy, without taking away all the "junk" or the excitement of special treats.

Black olives, mini crackers & pepperjack (cut with my funbites!), clementine, fresh pineapple

This one I actually made for my sister's husband- we all had lunch with Olivia at school Tuesday. kiwi with fruit leather stars, clementine, veggies & light ranch, mini bear & elephant cheese sandwiches, annie cheddar bunnies.

Apple, clementine, blueberries, salt and vinegar pop chips, annie bunnies, and a home-made oatmeal, nut & fruit cookie (recipe from my Grandma Connie)

cucumbers, kale chips, pineapple, guacamole with tomatoes, pb&co's white chocolate wonder mini sandwiches with blueberries on swords. easter candy.

Sharkie omega-3 gummy stick, cupcake marshmallows, nutella quesadilla, pineapple, gluten free pretzels and babybel, a few dried strawberries.

Winner Winner Chicken Dinner!

The winner of the Lock & Lock mini is Corey @ Family Fresh Meals!!

Corey please email me your color preference (orange, green or pink) to kandipoirier @ gmail . com :) along with your shipping address!

Thank you so much for playing, everyone!!

Days 1 & 2!

Hi hi hiiiii! :)

So today is DAY TWO of the Tone It Up 7 day slim down for me!! :) And I am happy to report in that it is going FANTASTIC! Yesterday I wasn't feeling so hot (I was sick most of the weekend) and that did prevent me from doing any physical activity. Today I woke up feeling awesome (thank you, doubling up on vitamins!) & hit the gym hard. My arms feel like putty. I ran, it was beautiful.

As far as food goes, yesterday I skipped M2, but I was ok. I also skipped the after-dinner chobani option. I didn't drink enough water, but my throat was so sore that it hurt to swallow! Today I'm on track with the h2O, though. :)

How is everyone doing on goals with food & fitness this week? I hope well! :)

----

This brings me to part TWO of this post. :) BENTO lunches! I pack a bento lunch almost every day for my 2nd grader. I find that this helps me encourage her to make healthier choices when it comes to food AND it makes food fun for her. A few weeks ago I purchased a Lock & Lock 2-tier "mini" box from amazon. It isn't really that mini at all. The compartments are tall and that means it can hold quite a bit of food- its absolutely perfect for an adult trying to work on or maintain portion control.

Here are the photos I swiped from amazon:

Of course, we have the pink one. Its bright, girly, and fun. :) 

Here are MY images of this box:

I love the little eco-bag that came with it.

Here's why I'm telling you so much about this box! Because I WANT TO GIVE YOU ONE!

I love bento-ing and I love food. I love being healthy. And as a mother I LOVE going the extra little mile to do something so simple (like packing a fun lunch) to make my kids feel loved. So whether you're one of my Tone It Up sisters looking to eat healthier in a fun way, or you're one of my Bento pals looking for a new box for your kiddo... Or you just happened to stumble across this blog.. This is for you!

To Enter:

Comment ON THIS BLOG POST :) why you want to win a bento box!

For extra entries: 

"Like" my facebook page HERE, then comment ON THIS BLOG POST saying that you did!

Become a follower of my blog! :) Then comment ON THIS BLOG POST and tell me!

Tweet about this give away! You could say something like "Win a L&L #bento box over at www.wearentscaredofsugar.com !" @kandiipie <-- don't forget to @ me, and then come COMMENT ON THIS BLOG POST saying that you tweeted. 

I will choose a winner using random.org ONLY from the blog comments on Friday, 2March by 5pm. So if you do all of the above, but don't comment each time, you won't have as many chances to win. So don't forget! 

That is 4 chances for you to win this cutesy little bento box!! :) 

Good luck!