Disclosure: This blog post was commissioned by Capri-Sun. I was compensated for the cost of ingredients and for my time spent creating and photographing this lunch.
This fun celebration bento lunch idea was created for the Capri-Sun Fruit Crush #PackedLunchLove campaign. You can read all about the campaign and find my list of 10 simple lunchbox life 'hacks' by clicking here.
According to recent research carried out by Capri-Sun, more than a third of parents (35%) have made an extra effort with packing lunch on their child's birthday, so I've created a special celebration lunch box for those special occasions! This lunch takes a little longer to make than the others, however it is still fairly quick and easy to create - just 15 minutes. If you follow the step by step instructions that I've outlined below you can easily make a delicious healthy lunch with the wow factor!
15 Minute Celebration Lunch
Ingredients
- 1 large egg
- 1 slice brown bread
- 1 slice white bread
- 100g cream cheese
- ½ small cooked beetroot
- mini tomatoes (tomberries)
- chunk cucumber
- 1 clementine
- small handful red grapes
- 2 small gold chocolate coins
- 1 Capri-Sun Fruit Crush pouch
Equipment
- star shaped egg mould
- set nesting circle cutters
- 1 patterned paper cupcake case
- silicone cupcake cases
- candle cupcake picks
- smiley face cookie cutter
Method
Prep in advance: The night before, hard boil the egg. As soon as the egg is cooked, carefully tip the hot water out of the pan and replace it with cold water. Quickly peel the egg whilst it is still hot, dipping it in and out of the cold water as you do so to avoid burning your fingers. Dip the egg mould in cold water to help avoid sticking. Place the egg in the bottom half of the mould whilst it is still hot. Pop the lid on, and press down gently to mould the egg. Gradually increase the pressure, pushing the two parts of the mould together firmly. Clip the mould closed. Place the mould into a large bowl of cold water and leave for 5-10 minutes to cool completely, then pop the mould into the fridge to set and stay cool overnight.
In the morning: Take the egg mould out of the fridge and carefully open it. The egg should be shaped to the mould in a star shape. If your egg was on the large side you may find that some of the egg has squished outwards from the mould. Don’t panic! This is quite common and easily solved. Simply trim the excess egg from around the shape with the tip of a small sharp knife as shown below and discard the trimmings. Carefully remove the egg from the mould and place in a silicone cup. I used a star shaped cup, but a plain circle would also work.
Next, make the cake sandwich. Start by whizzing the beetroot together with the cream cheese to make your pink pretend 'icing' You could skip the beetroot and use plain cream cheese if preferred, but I think the pink colour looks great and it's a fun way to sneak in some extra vegetables!
Take a middle sized circle cutter and use it to cut two circles from the brown bread and one from the white.
Starting with a circle of brown bread on the bottom, spread a thick layer of pink cheese over the circle. Top with the circle of white bread, and add another layer of cream cheese. Top with the second circle of brown bread.
Take 3 or 4 tomberries and cut them in half. Use them to decorate the top of the cake sandwich, securing them in place with little dabs of cream cheese (if you can't find tomberries, then blueberries would also work in their place). Add a candle cupcake pick to the top of the sandwich. This will help to hold it together as well as decorating it.
Take the patterned paper cupcake case and turn it inside out so that the pattern is facing upwards. Place the sandwich on top of the cupcake case and carefully transfer it to the lunch box.
Next, assemble the rest of the lunch. I packed this lunch in a cute strawberry shaped Japanese bento box, but you could use any bento box of your choice.
Start by popping the silicone cup containing the star egg in the lunch box. Next, peel a clementine, then carefully separate the tops of each segment, leaving the bottoms still joined to make a pretty flower as per the photo below.
Take a chunk of cucumber, then using a small sharp knife, cut around the outside of the cucumber in a zig-zag pattern as in the photo below. Pull the two pieces of cucumber apart - they should look like pretty cucumber flowers or stars.
Place the clementine and cucumber into the box. Fill in any gaps between them with red grapes. Pop a couple of gold coins into the centre of the clementine. Add a few more candle cupcake picks to decorate.
Using a smiley face cookie cutter, cut a happy face from slices of cucumber skin and pop onto the egg to complete the lunch.
Pack the lunch box in a lunch bag with the Capri-Sun Fruit Crush.
If you'd like to see the other four fun and easy lunches that I created for the Capri-Sun Fruit Crush #PackedLunchLove project, click here. You can also find out more about the project and my list of 10 lunchbox life 'hacks' by clicking here. For more information about Capri-Sun Fruit Crush, visit the Capri-Sun website.
Grace
Safety note: Knives should only be used by parents/guardians, or by supervised older children when safe. Take care to show children equipment and decorations pictured are non-edible.
Disclosure: This post contains some Amazon affiliate links; I may receive commission on items purchased through the links.
15 Minute Celebration Lunch
Ingredients
- 1 large egg
- 1 slice brown bread
- 1 slice white bread
- 100 g cream cheese
- ½ small cooked beetroot
- mini tomatoes (tomberries)
- chunk cucumber
- 1 clementine
- small handful red grapes
- 2 small gold chocolate coins
- 1 Capri-Sun Fruit Crush pouch
Instructions
- Prep in advance: The night before, hard boil the egg. As soon as the egg is cooked, carefully tip the hot water out of the pan and replace it with cold water. Quickly peel the egg whilst it is still hot, dipping it in and out of the cold water as you do so to avoid burning your fingers. Dip the egg mould in cold water to help avoid sticking. Place the egg in the bottom half of the mould whilst it is still hot. Pop the lid on, and press down gently to mould the egg. Gradually increase the pressure, pushing the two parts of the mould together firmly. Clip the mould closed. Place the mould into a large bowl of cold water and leave for 5-10 minutes to cool completely, then pop the mould into the fridge to set and stay cool overnight.
- In the morning: Take the egg mould out of the fridge and carefully open it. The egg should be shaped to the mould in a star shape. If your egg was on the large side you may find that some of the egg has squished outwards from the mould. Don’t panic! This is quite common and easily solved. Simply trim the excess egg from around the shape with the tip of a small sharp knife as shown below and discard the trimmings. Carefully remove the egg from the mould and place in a silicone cup. I used a star shaped cup, but a plain circle would also work.
- Next, make the cake sandwich. Start by whizzing the beetroot together with the cream cheese to make your pink pretend 'icing' You could skip the beetroot and use plain cream cheese if preferred, but I think the pink colour looks great and it's a fun way to sneak in some extra vegetables!
- Take a middle sized circle cutter and use it to cut two circles from the brown bread and one from the white.
- Starting with a circle of brown bread on the bottom, spread a thick layer of pink cheese over the circle. Top with the circle of white bread, and add another layer of cream cheese. Top with the second circle of brown bread.
- Take 3 or 4 tomberries and cut them in half. Use them to decorate the top of the cake sandwich, securing them in place with little dabs of cream cheese (if you can't find tomberries, then blueberries would also work in their place). Add a candle cupcake pick to the top of the sandwich. This will help to hold it together as well as decorating it.
- Take the patterned paper cupcake case and turn it inside out so that the pattern is facing upwards. Place the sandwich on top of the cupcake case and carefully transfer it to the lunch box.
- Next, assemble the rest of the lunch. I packed this lunch in a cute strawberry shaped Japanese bento box, but you could use any bento box of your choice.
- Start by popping the silicone cup containing the star egg in the lunch box. Next, peel a clementine, then carefully separate the tops of each segment, leaving the bottoms still joined to make a pretty flower as per the photo below.
- Take a chunk of cucumber, then using a small sharp knife, cut around the outside of the cucumber in a zig-zag pattern as in the photo below. Pull the two pieces of cucumber apart - they should look like pretty cucumber flowers or stars.
- Place the clementine and cucumber into the box. Fill in any gaps between them with red grapes. Pop a couple of gold coins into the centre of the clementine. Add a few more candle cupcake picks to decorate.
- Using a smiley face cookie cutter, cut a happy face from slices of cucumber skin and pop onto the egg to complete the lunch.
- Pack the lunch box in a lunch bag
Notes
If you enjoyed this post and would like some more packed lunch inspiration, head over to the creative bento lunches section here on the Eats Amazing blog where you’ll find over 450 fun packed lunch ideas, enough to keep you going all the year around!
If you’re a Pinterest user, I’d love you to pin this post! You could also pop over and follow my lunch themed Pinterest boards for lots more fun and healthy lunch box ideas for kids; Kids Lunch Box Ideas & Packed Lunch Ideas.
Leave a Reply