Saturday, September 1, 2012

Keep it Simple—Lunches

Homemade cheese scones, fruit, cucumber • Blue Cupcake photo

My friend Trés Juliee* does not live a simple life (hey, she has kids) but she continually reveals the beauty in simplicity that pares life down to the important essences. Where I dream up ways to layer and enmesh (and complicate), she says, "Let's just go." Where I "add just one more thing" and again "wait—one more," she says, "Ça suffit"—that's enough, keep moving, let it be beautiful on its own.

And so it is with her kids' daily lunches: Simple, just enough. Whole, organic foods. Beautifully and easily presented.

 By request from the kids: Snacks for lunch, with iced water bottle • Blue Cupcake photo


She uses Rubbermaid LunchBlox** to create her bento-style container, which she says fit perfectly into Liam's and Oceane's Pottery Barn Kids lunch bags.** I've used LunchBlox as well, and—except that they are plastic, which isn't great for the environment—they're great. I have liked the sizes and shapes of the containers: They are lightweight and easy to find (Target), and the packaging says they are "BPA free."

Noodles with peanut sauce, fruit, nori snack • Blue Cupcake photo

Juliee has decided to post a photo of each day's lunch fare online, to help inspire other parents packing lunch boxes in the morning. She's not big on "kiddie" food, so I'm looking forward to ideas for my own box lunches as well.


For the summer heat and a loose tooth, the soft lunch: Couscous with raisins, yogurt, nori snack, fruit • Blue Cupcake photo


Follow Trés Juliee and Blue Cupcake on Instagram here or search for  "blue_cupcake" on Instagram to see her daily lunch posts, and more. And please check out her yummy blog with her beautiful cupcakes and cake creations! My not-so-secret hope is that it all is published in a spiral book one day, with a few recipes and a LOT of indexing, for quick and easy lunch inspiration.

 Hummos and pita, crudite, fruit snacks, fruit slices • Blue Cupcake photo


*To help with privacy, nearly everyone here gets a code name.

**Trés Juliee, Blue Cupcake and this blog do not have any affiliation with Rubbermaid, Pottery Barn Kids, Target, or any of the food manufacturers or growers pictured here.

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