It’s almost Halloween, and I’m sharing the cutest little ghost that I packed in ZoĆ«’s lunchbox last week. Because you gotta look boo-tiful, even if it’s spooky season, right? 
Come take a bite of this Cute Ghost Bento!
Face-to-face school is finally back on, so that means I’m also back to packing lunches for ZoĆ«. I missed making character bentos the past two years (hello, pandemic and online classes!), so I’ve been making more bentos for her lately. To get her into the spooky spirit, I made this hauntingly cute surprise in her Yumbox.
How I Made the Cute Ghost Rice:
Step 1: Shape the Rice
To start off, I scooped some cooked white rice and shaped it into a little ghost. I used cling wrap to prevent the rice from sticking to my fingers. Once the rice is inside the cling wrap, it’s pretty easy to mold and shape. Kind of like molding play dough, really.
Step 2: Add the Nori Details
I used nori (roasted seaweed) for the face details. Using my handy tiny scissors, I cut out the shapes one by one. This usually takes the longest, so a little patience is always needed. I then assembled everything on the rice, using bento tweezers or a craft knife.
Step 3: Add Blush and Hair Bow
To give the ghost rice a flushed and finished look, I added some blush by dabbing on some beetroot juice on the cheeks, then inserted a bow food pick on top of its head. The cutest!
Done and ready to assemble!
To complete the look, I gave the ghost some arms and a little Halloween banner food pick.
I packed the cute ghost rice on a bed of lettuce and a serving of ZoĆ«’s favorite beef sukiyaki. For the sides I added steamed broccoli, “pumpkin” carrots (which I carved by hand), some grapes, and a couple of sour gummy worms.
Yum! What a spooktacular treat!
I made a quick Instagram Reel making this bento. Check it out here.
For more of my food art and bento creations, check out Ā #foodartbyannings onĀ Instagram.
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Zoƫ requested something adorable for her baon, so it was time to bring out the narwhal.
I shapedĀ the body by hand using white rice, dyed blue using red cabbage. To make the colorful horn, I used turmeric rice, and sugar beets, then used nori to make the eyes and mouth details. Swimmingly delightful!
In the other compartments, I added liempo, cucumber slices, dragon fruit, and heart marshmallows. Narly and yummy!
For more of my food art and bento creations, check out #foodartbyannings onĀ Instagram.
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Check out the Little Outrageous Little inside her Yumbox!
Rise and shine! Say Hello to LOL Surprise Doll Dawn!
To create LOL Surprise Dawn, I used brown rice for her face. Her pink hair was shaped using white rice mixed with sugar beets juice, while her yellow headband was dyed using turmeric. I then made her eyes using rice and the details using nori. Adorable!
Completing the packed lunch, I added orange peel chicken from Auntie Arnie‘s, broccoli, kiwi, and marshmallows. Yum!Ā A fun and cute little meal, perfect for my Little Outrageous Little!
For more of my food art and bento creations, check out #foodartbyannings onĀ Instagram.
]]>To celebrate, I made a quick bento for ZoĆ«’s lunch at home today. Check it out!
To start off, I gave the girl’s face a light brown color by mixing white rice with a bit ofĀ adobo sauce. Her body is colored pink using white rice mixed with beets juice. IĀ then used nori to make her hair and her face details. To make her Independence Day ready, I gave her a small Philippine flag attached to a food pick.
For protein, I added the Philippine’s unofficial national dish and ZoĆ«’s favorite: pork adobo. To complete the meal, I filled the other yumbox compartments with broccoli and grapes. Yum!
For more of my food art and bento creations, check out #foodartbyannings onĀ Instagram.
]]>When your daughter has an obsession with those adorable L.O.L Surprise Dolls, you better expect to get an L.O.L themed party request. A DIY party filled with glitz, glamor, and fun? I say, challenge accepted!
Come check out and unbox our Lil Outrageous Little’s Birthday party!
The Party Invitation
I designed the party invitation taking inspiration from L.O.L. Surprise Doll’s cute and colorful fashion. Sweet, fun, and girly was the goal, so the striped pink background and the use of mint green to complement it, was a no-brainer. I also edited and customized the header with ZoĆ«’s name to make it resemble the L.O.L. logo. ZoĆ«’s short three-letter name was a bonus, as it fused perfectly into the original logo!
To complete the design, I added fancy tot Bon Bon from the Cosplay Club of L.O.L. Series 2. With her lilac glasses and bright sense of style mirroring ZoĆ«’s own looks and personality, she was just the perfect fit!
The L.O.L. Party Decor
Since we had the party at my parents’ tiny garage, I set up a small dessert table and made it the focal point of the celebration.
The backdrop features a DIY balloon garland using pink, blue, and white balloons in various sizes. The intention was to make it appear like a flowing river of L.O.L. Surprise balls, enough to make any girl scream with delight!
At the center of the wall, I designed a round “ZoĆ« is Seven!” banner (printed on sintra board) to look like a faux L.O.L. Surprise ball. Flowing under it, I added pink chiffon, to give the entire look a soft and flowy texture.
To dress the plain white dessert table, I tied a colorful tassel garland around the front of the table. It gave it just enough glam and pizzazz. And the gold foil tassels? It definitely added that needed shimmer and shine, perfect for this fashion-forward Birthday bash!
The L.O.L. Cake
For the dessert table’s centerpiece, we ordered this customized 8″ L.O.L. cake from Canvas Cake Studio. We used the same cake for ZoĆ«’s candle-blowing party at school the day before our house party, so we opted for a non-edible cake to make sure it would last. The dummy fondant cake features a zipper detail like those found on L.O.L.’s packaging, with the “ZoĆ« is Seven” logo front and center. For the main cake toppers, we chose three L.O.L. dolls made of fondant: Bon Bon, Posh, and Sis Swing.
The L.O.L. Cupcakes
For our store-bought strawberry cupcakes, we simply added candy sprinkles, then placed L.O.L. Surprise Doll toppers printed on Ā card stock. Cute and simple!
Mini L.O.L. Cookies
These mini L.O.L. cookies feature ready-madeĀ royal icing toppers from Caketopps. The toppers are perfect to top on cupcakes, but just like ZoĆ«’s Moana Birthday party, I added them to my homemade mini sugar cookies, for a quick and fun treat!
L.O.L. Sugar Cookie Treats
These L.O.L. Surprise Doll sugar cookies are from The Little Whisk. Aren’t they adorable?!?! Maggie makes the prettiest and yummiest cookies! I just added the customized cookie bag tags and they were perfect little treats for ZoĆ«’s friends!
The Costume
Our little seven-year-old doll! To go with the running theme, we chose L.O.L. Surprise Doll Bon Bon as inspiration for her costume. I didn’t have time to copy and customize the entire outfit, but I made use of stuff we already had at home to DIY the look.
I started off by adding yellow bows to a purple tutu that ZoĆ« had lying around at home, then paired it with a white top. I then dyed her tights pink and blue using food coloring, then bought her yellow ballet flats for the added pop of color. ZoĆ«’s purple glasses completed the look, effortlessly. She looked fun, colorful, and was definitely dressed to impress!
DIY L.O.L. PiƱata
This party’s major DIY was this L.O.L. Surprise Bon Bon piƱata, all made from scratch, because I just couldn’t resist! Using old cardboard boxes and lots of colorful crepe paper, this pull-string piƱata was a huge hit! Doesn’t it look fab, too?!?Ā (I’ll post a tutorial on how to make this soon!)
Bounce Fun
Since the party was an intimate celebration with just a few family and Ā friends, we opted not to have the typical party games, and set up a little bouncy castle instead. We wanted something different, and the kids sure had a lot of fun bouncing around! The Birthday Girl sure was pleased!
ZoĆ«’s L.O.L. Surprise Party, though small and pretty simple for a seventh Birthday party, was fun, colorful, and dolled up with pretty party decor. It was everything ZoĆ« wished for, and everything this DIY-loving momma wanted to achieve–the sweetest and most gorgeous surprise for our Lil Outrageous Little!
Check out how I made this colorful meal.
I always use natural food coloring in my food art to ensure Zoe’s meals are as healthy as possible. For this unicorn bento, I used turmeric and red cabbage to make yellow, blue and pink coloring. Making each color is pretty easy and takes very little time, too.
To Make Natural Food Coloring:
Yellow:Ā Add a little bit of turmeric powder to warm water. Mix until you reach desired yellow color.
Blue:Ā Slice and boil a bunch of red cabbage leaves in water until liquid turns reddish purple. Strain out the cabbage. Take the colored liquid and add a pinch or two of baking soda until it turns blue.
Pink:Ā Using the same reddish purple liquid from the boiled red cabbage, add a few drops of lemon juice until color turns pink.
The unicorn’s head and ears were shaped using plain white rice. The colorful mane was made by mixing white rice with the natural pink food coloring and the blue food coloring, then shaped onto the head. For the horn, I mixed a little bit of the natural yellow food coloring with rice. To finish off the unicorn, I used nori for the eyes and mouth, and added a tiny pink marshmallow on the cheeks.Ā
To make a complete meal, I added chicken nuggets, slices of carrots, and kiwi. Healthy, colorful, and yummy!Ā
With this fun unicorn meal, eating the rainbow couldn’t be more magical!
For more of my food art and bento creations, check out #foodartbyannings onĀ Instagram.
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The bento-making workshop, held at Rustan’s Makati, was conducted by none other than Kat Maderazo ofĀ Bento by Kat.
I’ve been creating food art and character bentos for ZoĆ« since she was two years old, but it was a treat to be able to sit down and learn a thing or two from the country’s very own bento guru. ZoĆ« was also thrilled that she got to make her own packed meal. She enjoys watching me work on her school baon, so she was happy to be able learn how to do it, too.
Kat taught us how to mold and shape an alpaca with rice. See how focused and delighted Zoƫ was during the workshop? She really got in on the bento-making. She listened intently to the instructions, and made sure we followed everything to a T.
Our finished product: The cutest baby alpaca! We shaped and made the alpaca’s body and tail using white rice mixed with a bit of soy sauce to give its light brown color. For the face we used flattened white rice, nori for the details, and a dot of ketchup on both cheeks to give it a rosy glow. We wrapped two tiny balls of rice in nori to make the hooves, then cut two small carrot triangles for the ears, and used red bell pepper for its bow. To make it a complete meal, we added some chicken nuggets, grapes, broccoli and star-shaped carrots, too. Yum!
Super proud of her baby Alpaca, ZoĆ« couldn’t hide her excitement!
We packed our alpaca bento inside ZoĆ«’s new yumbox panino from BrightBrands PH.Ā The yumbox panino in gramercy pink came personalized with her name, too! ZoĆ« adores it! We reckon the decal stickers, designed and made by Sticky Business MNL, looks absolutely adorable. Enough to bring some sunshine amidst the gloomy Manila weather the past few weeks!
Refreshments were served in the form of some happy food byĀ The Bunny Baker. The table, filled with delicious corndogs and pink lemonade, kept ZoĆ« going back for more. They were really good!
To get us ready for the school year, BrightBrands PH and their partners armed us with these personalized essentials:
- Yumbox Panino from BrightBrands PH.
- Decal Stickers by Sticky Business MNL.
- Spoon and Fork Set by Design And Engrave.
- Insulated Lunch Bag from Esheart PH.
- Swell Bottle fromĀ Rustan’s.
Photo by Spark Studio.
Cheryl Sy, the brains behind BrightBrands PH. She formally ended the workshop by thanking us for helping share the word about the yumbox, but really, we are just as thankful to her for bringing to our shores the joy of preparing food for our little ones.
Thank you Cheryl and BrightBrands PH for the fun afternoon! ZoĆ« and I had such a lovely time bonding over two of our absolute favorites– bento-making and the yumbox.
With the happy moms and little ones during the workshop. Photo by Spark Studio.
Would you like to learn how to surprise your little ones with the cutest bento creations, too? Follow BrightBrands PH and watch out for their future workshops. Your kids will love you more, promise!
Bright Brands PH
Facebook:Ā https://www.facebook.com/BrightBrands.ph
Instagram: @brightbrands.ph
Email: [email protected]
Bento by Kat Ā | Ā Ā Rustan’sĀ Ā | Ā Ā Sticky Business MNL
Esheart PH Ā | Ā Design And Engrave Ā | Ā The Bunny Baker
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Check out what hopped inside the Yumbox!
The rabbit’s face, legs and ears are all shaped using white rice mixed with Adobo sauce. You may simply use brown rice, too. The cheeks are white rice formed into two tiny balls. I then cut ham for the nose and both ears, and used nori for the eyes and the whiskers.Ā To finish off the bunny, I cut and shaped a tiny slice of carrot and attached it to a leaf-shaped food pick.
To make a complete meal, I added Pork Adobo below the rabbit, and filled the other compartments with ponkiat, cucumber slices, and edamame. Yum!
For more of my food art and bento creations, check out #foodartbyannings onĀ Instagram.
]]>With Halloween coming in two weeks, it’s time to up your lunch-packing game. Make your little one’s school day ghoulishly good by addingĀ a spooky surprise inside their lunchbox. Here are a few freaky bento ideas that are to die for!
Ghosts, mummies, witches, monsters and graveyards, I’m sharing some of my bento food art creations that are perfect for a little scare.
Green Little Frankie made an appearance in this not-too-spooky lunch. The Frankenstein onigiri Ā is made of rice, mixed with some pureed green peas, and nori for all the details. I packed it inside the yumbox with some lechon kawali, carrots, cucumbers, pretzel sticks, and then finished it off with some sour gummy candy strings.
Boo y’all! A simple ghost sandwich, with cheese on top and nori for the details. I also filled the snack box with some crackers, pretzel sticks, and marshmallows.
The Wicked Witch of the West! I blogged the details of this avocado snack plate HERE.
A Mummy Sammie! A simple round Nutella sandwich, with nori and white bread for the eye details, and strips of cheese for the mummy wrap. I finished it off with some pretzel sticks and grapes, paired with some spooky eye picks. Just enough cuteness to keep the fright away!
A ghostly graveyard for this fa-boo-lousĀ snack box! Nutella coffin sandwich over a bed of cucumber strips, ghost marshmallows, pretzels, and some sour gummy crawlers. Creeeepyyy!
Who said all witches were bad? This adorable witch has some yummy spells brewing inside this yumbox lunch. Witch onigiri made of white rice, nori, cucumber strips, and ketchup. I packed her with some herb-crusted chicken tenders, carrots, cucumbers, kiwi, and some sour gummy crawlers.
Ready to give your kids a spooktacular lunch? Try any of these lunchbox ideas and treat them to a fang-tastic meal! Go on, these creepy yummies will disappear like magic, for sure!
]]>Our criteria for the perfect lunchbox? Durable, compact, colorful, kid-friendly, leak-proof and one that would make packing food easier. We checked out several different containers, but there was only one that fit the bill– The Yumbox!
The Yumbox is a leakproof, bento-style lunch container that teaches kids healthy eating habits through balance and portion control. It is compact, lightweight, and durable, made with all food-safe materials.
We got our yumboxes from Brightbrands PH, and we are totally in love with them!
The Yumbox Panino
The Yumbox comes in a variety of sizes and compartment options. For ZoĆ«’s packed school lunch, we chose the Yumbox Panino. It has 4 pre-portioned illustrated compartments, its size, just perfect for packing a full and healthy meal. The compartments are awesome, as each one serves as a guide for portion control. I can easily fill up each space with healthy varieties.
I regularly make character bento (charaben) food art in ZoĆ«’s packed meals, so the Yumbox Panino, with its bigger compartment on the left, gives me plenty of room for creativity. It’s so versatile that I can easily move food around the different compartments, depending on the design I want to create and the food that I want to serve.
For this Yumbox lunch I prepared Zoƫ an owl rice onigiri, herb-crusted chicken tenders, mangoes, carrots, green beans, and a side heart marshmallows.
The Yumbox MiniSnack
For Zoe’s 15-minute snack break in school, we use the Yumbox MiniSnack. It’s considerably smaller in size, with 3 smaller compartments, but it’s deep enough that you won’t have problems packing it with options. For this snack, I was able to squeeze in a peanut butter sandwich cow, ponkiat, strawberries, and some pretzel sticks.
What I love the most about the Yumbox is that the containers are leakproof. Yumbox’s unique single lid seals all food wells individually. I can finally pack yogurt together with ZoĆ«’s other snacks, without worrying about spills! No mess!
Food really stays in place inside the Yumbox. I never have to worry about food spilling over into the other compartments. For sauce lovers, that means you can also add sauces and dips into the smallest food well, with no worries!
I also love how colorful the containers are. We have Yumbox Panino containers in both Kawaii Pink and Bijoux Purple, and the Yumbox MiniSnack in Cherie Pink; the bright colors really add excitement to each packed lunch. Just look at how fun the meal looks!
Even when I don’t make character bentos, meals still look pretty fancy inside the Yumbox.
And its so pretty, even the husband wanted his own Yumbox packed lunch, borrowing ZoĆ«’s Panino in Kawaii Pink! Who says pink are only for girls? Heh!
The Yumbox containers areĀ BPA-free and phthalates-free, so they are definitely safe for kids meals. They areĀ lightweight and compact with a latch that’s easy to open, even for my little girl’s tiny hands. Plus points for their detachable trays, because it makes them easy to clean, and they can even be mixed and matched!
We love everything about the Yumbox, but the best part of all? Seeing the delight in my daughter’s eyes every time she sees her packed meals!
The idea of having a selection food to choose from inside her lunchbox really excites her. She enjoys her meal times in school, and she has been coming home with empty containers! Sigh! Seeing my little one happy? That’s all it takes to keep my mommy heart full! Thank you, Yumbox! Thank you, Brightbrands PH!
Want your own Yumbox? They are available in the Philippines throughĀ BrightBrands PH (email them atĀ [email protected]), or you may find them atĀ Rustan’s Department Stores.
Bright Brands PH
Facebook:Ā https://www.facebook.com/BrightBrands.ph
Instagram: @brightbrands.ph
Email: [email protected]