Tuesday, September 25, 2012

California Ripe Olives Bento Kit - Review & Giveaway

Who hasn't heard of Bento lunch boxes?

Bento Box California Olives

I remember when I first came across these, it was actually through a friend of mine, Eden, who had the cutest boxes and lunches.  At the time my kids were in public school and I wanted to start doing the same, but then never got around to them.

Now, they are homeschooled, and even though I don't have to send lunches to school, I STILL have to prepare lunch everyday and I am now a huge fan of Bento Boxes.

A few weeks ago, I was sent a package from California Ripe Olives to promote healthy lunches as well as incorporating olives into a Bento Creation!

Bento Box California Olives

I'm always up for a challenge, especially if it includes cooking, and this one is right up my alley.  WE are an olive loving family.

Bento Box California Olives

How adorable are those little cutters???

But back to olives, I use them all the time, in dishes, in pizza, in sandwiches, to decorate etc.  Remember my Sloppy Joe Bun Buggies?  

Sloppy Joe Bun Buggy

Not only are olives delicious but they're so versatile in the kitchen. I always have them on hand, funny enough my favorite kind of black olives are the California Olives, so this was a special treat for me :)

A little more about California Ripe Olives???


 California olive growers produce more than 95 percent of the ripe olives grown in the U.S. These growers operate multi-generational family farms from the inland valleys of California, from San Diego County to far north of Sacramento County. 

From breakfast to dinner. January to December. And from every day to gourmet. Olives are as casual or as elegant as you like, adding color, texture and flavor to any meal.
 
You can “Like” us on Facebook at Facebook.com/CaliforniaBlackRipeOlives. 
 
 For more information about California Ripe Olives—including hundreds of recipes—visit www.CalOlive.org.

The wonderful bento box I was sent, is from Laptop Lunches and I love all the little compartments.

Makes packing lunches so much easier. I even use it for my husband's lunches. That tiny little one is great for salad dressing.

So, want to see what my bento lunch box usually looks like???? I may change some of the ingredients in there, but this is mostly what I like packing for the kids.

Bento Box California Olives

Sliced oranges, or apples or any other fruit I have on hand. Sandwich wraps are always a hit around here. A simple salad and in this case, some spider deviled eggs.

Wraps don't have to be complicated, I add deli meat, cheese, lettuce, mayo or ranch, tomatoes and olives. Always have the olives in there.

Bento Box California Olives

And those little spider deviled eggs? Perfect for a treat, but also for Halloween right? Nothing to it, just deviled eggs, then half of an olive for the main body and the legs are made of thinly or thickly sliced olives.

Bento Box California Olives

I could eat olives all day long. Matter of fact, I have to control myself or I'll eat the whole can.

Bento Box California Olives

So tell me, do you do Bento Box lunches?

Do you like olives, or more specifically have you ever tried the California Olives?

Guess what????

California Ripe Olives is giving away a similar kit to a winner. If you want to learn more about them, be sure to check out their facebook page.

To enter this giveaway:

- Leave a comment and let me know what your favorite kid lunches are?


Contest will run until Friday morning. Feel free to share with your friends if you think they would be interested in winning a Bento Box California Ripe Olives Kit.

 I was provided with a California Ripe Olives prize pack  to review.   All thoughts and opinions are my own.

22 comments:

  1. I have been looking for these everywhere. I've seen them all over Pinterest but couldn't find them in stores. My favorite lunches to make for my kids are mini pizzas (which are wonderful with olives!), and character sandwiches. I try and cut the sandwiches into shapes of their favorite characters and decorate with shredded lettuce, tomatoes, whatever I have on hand :) I also like doing themed lunches around holidays. I'm looking forward to creating mummy pigs in a blanket and banana ghosts ;P

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  2. I've looked for these boxes but they don't seem to have them around here. Love how you used them! We like to do the pinwheels, little salads and fruits in our lunches.

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  3. I have to say..the ol' pb&j (cut into cute shapes) is my favorite!

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  4. My kiddos are pretty basic: PB&J and PB&honey. Rotate a meat sandwich in there (crusts cut off) and they are perfectly happy!

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  5. Leftovers, cold pizza, homemade lunchables, anything that goes in a thermos, grilled chicken wraps, or anything with peanut butter!

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  6. My kids love Pb&J, chips, squeezable apple sauce and juice pouches. This is our standard field trip lunch.

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  7. we have laptop lunchboxes and love them, now mommy wants one for herself ;) one of my children will not eat a sandwich to save her life so leftovers are a go to staple for us. other staples include fruit (plums right now since our tree is finally ripe!), veg (ants on a log, cucumbers, etc) dips like humus and salsa; a yogurt or applesauce, meat and cheese and crackers, and of course a favorite, olives. seriously, i should be stock in california olives one of my kids could eat a whole can and STILL want more.

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  8. Peanut butter and fluff is our favorite here.

    I would love one of those. My husband likes "fancy" lunches but does not like things touching.LOL

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  9. I've been making pb&j ahead of time and freezing. They defrost quickly and fill my kids up. I love these bento boxes and olives too!

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  10. My son asks for pizza quesadillas all the time.

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  11. My son is only 2 so no school lunches yet but we love to pack on outings to the zoo! His favorites are fruit or any kind, pretzels and a turkey sandwich cut in the shape of an animal...thank you cookie cutters! I will try the wraps because I think he would really like those.

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  12. My 3 year old just started with packed school lunches and I'm trying out bento! He's not too into sandwiches, even cut into cute shapes, but he always finishes his fruits!
    hungrymonkey09 at gmail dot com

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  13. My Daughter is 2 and allergic to dairy, so peanut butter & jelly is the main and favorite lunch around here! I would love to win one of these bento box kits for when my daughter so we can have little picnics, and she can get excited to have tasty treats out of a super cute little box! AND, she loves olives!!! I follow your blog daily and would love to win! :)

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  14. We are a BIG olive lover family too! I have to be sure to buy extra cans. My kids have been loving sandwich wraps, wrapped in soft lavash bread (sheets). You can add whatever flavors you like. Even jam, granola, strawberries & bananas.

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  15. Honestly, we usually just do leftovers from the night before! :) It's less complicated for me. But on days when there are no leftovers, I usually make sandwiches or veggie dogs or pasta of some sort. My teenage son (who attend private school) usually takes a couple of sandwiches and some snacky things in his lunch.

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  16. My daughter loves peanut butter pockets in her lunch. The little boxes would be great to make sure nothing gets smooshed

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  17. I first learned about them from the "Vegan Lunch Box". The lady packed pretty cool lunches for her son to take to school.

    I don't pack lunches very often but I always thought these bento boxes were cool. Maybe I could/would use it for myself to pack a lunch and keep it all together. instead of a gillion different containers rattling around in a plastic grocery bag.

    My favorite lunch though is a turkey sandwich with mayo, lettuce, onion, tomato and 6 bread and butter pickles.

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  18. Good ol PB&J for my son. Or anything with cheese :)

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  19. I love how these boxes work! I have to pack lunches due to food allergies and also for nutrition information (we count carbs). I HATE sending pre-packed bags of pretzels rather than using a big bag. So much waste and it gets expensive. These little compartments are awesome! My kids love homemade sushi (nori, rice, spam, kimchee and cucumber rolled up), carrot sticks and ranch, apple slices, lunchmeat without bread. There's so much more you can send for lunch when you aren't limited to baggies.

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  20. It's hard to beat a really good sub sandwich on French bread...with olives on it, of course! :o)

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  21. all my kids want are pb&j's...and the occasional corn dog.

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  22. We love to do our own homemade lunchables. My daughter always wants all the parts of her meal completely separate (ie, don't mix the different things together) so these would be great!

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