droolicious : meal time

Charming Little Prince Plates

Lisa Estall — Mon, 16 Mar 2009 09:38:00 GMT

Popular children’s book The Little Prince is now made into plates!
Your kids can enjoy a meal and read the story in one sitting.

Imported from France, the plates are $11 each. I think they are very cute!

Sold at My Sweet Muffin.

Edible Bunny Art? Sorta...

Cathy Hale — Sat, 14 Mar 2009 01:00:00 GMT

Not into plush bunnies, frilly baskets and such? How about giving your kids a functional Easter treat instead? Check out this beautifully illustrated placemat from Imagination Mats! (Okay, so it can't be eaten, but it can be eaten upon!) One side features Emily Green's creative designs (laminated!) and the other side is a blank canvas for imagination. Washable markers can be wiped off with ease. There is a minimum purchase of 3 mats. Retails for $13 each at Arte Bebe.

Star Kid: Where Does Isla’s Olive Stow Her Snacks?

SunnyChanel — Mon, 09 Mar 2009 22:20:00 GMT

Where does Isla Fisher’s 16-month-old daughter stow her snacks? In her Kids Konserve Butterfly Waste-Free Lunch Kit. This set features a 100% recycled cotton lunch sack, 2 round food containers, a squiggle cotton napkin, a stainless steel beverage bottle, and a food kozy. It’s good for the environment, good for your kids and good for any and all mealtimes. You can pick up one of the Butterfly kits here for $42.

Via:Celebrity Baby Blog

Every Lunch Box Should Have Some Happikins

Lisa Estall — Fri, 23 Jan 2009 22:49:00 GMT

I adore these cotton napkins from Happikins!

I was sent the creatures and critters set which includes five cotton napkins with really cool patterns. Turtles, snails and frogs decorate each beautifully patterned cloth. It also comes with a cool little zip up pouch for the napkin to stay fresh and fits neatly into your child's lunch box. The inside of the pouch has a...

wipe down surface so you can write little notes to your child in eraser pen! The USA made napkins are machine washable and dryer safe. The set is available from Happikins.com for $29.95. It would make a cute gift for some lucky kid and for a few bucks more, you can get monograms added to make them really personal.

Snack Ball-A-Day Giveaway!

Cathy Hale — Wed, 14 Jan 2009 17:00:00 GMT

As parents, we tend to see lots of cool baby stuff on a regular basis. Knitted cup cakes, Bamboo diaper covers, hats with animal ears and the list goes on. Last year, I met the Boon Snack Ball and fell totally head over heels for it. Why? I'm not quite sure. And maybe it's lust, not love. Either way, I'm still smitten with these clever little snack orbs. I'm always eager to share them with other families too. In fact, we gave them out as party favors at my son's birthday party.

Thanks to the lovely folks at Boon, YOU can win one too! For the next five days, we'll be giving away a Snack Ball-A-Day. To enter, send your full name and email address to us at babblecontest@gmail.com. Please put "Snack Ball" in the subject line. On Sunday, January 18th, we'll choose five winners at random from all of the entries. Good luck!

Free Food For Babies Born on Jan. 1, 2009

Lisa Mulcahy — Wed, 07 Jan 2009 15:30:00 GMT

To launch its 2009 “Advancing Nutrition” program this baby food maker is offering free food for New Year’s babies.

It might not be a lot, a $5 coupon it fact, but these days every little bit helps. So if you gave birth on January 1 cash in on Beech-Nut’s website.

No Space for a Huge High Chair?

Cathy Hale — Sat, 13 Dec 2008 20:00:00 GMT

If you have multiple little mouths to feed every day and not enough room for multiple big high chairs, Phil & Ted’s makes a spiffy portable seat that might be exactly what you need. The Metoo Seat & Eat Travel Seat is a lightweight, portable high chair that is as practical as it is simple.

Made of high quality aluminum & nylon, it fits easily onto most tables and provides an instant place for your youngster at meal times whether at home, a restaurant or on vacation. And your little ones will love eating at the same level of mommy and daddy. Since it attaches to the table, there is no messy tray to clean up! The seats colors are navy blue, red or black. $50

Warm Up with a Shinzi Katoh Teatime Set

Heather Kuldell — Sat, 23 Aug 2008 17:41:00 GMT

Not ready for the sweaters, scarves and jackets out in stores? Perhaps a cup of tea would be more appealing. Or hot chocolate. Or any drink that would give you an excuse to use a Shinzi Katoh Teatime mug and dish set. The snack dish nestles on top of the mug, which has no purpose but looks cute. Katoh’s bento boxes and accessories are a hot item among collectors, but good luck finding a place to ship here. As it is, the teatime set comes from a UK site. The combo will set you back £10.75, or about $20.

Build Your Own Lunchopolis

Heather Kuldell — Fri, 22 Aug 2008 14:49:00 GMT

I know I keep harping on greener lunch-box options, but as a parent, it’s one of the simpler things you can do to cut down ongoing expenses and garbage. So here’s my last lunch box for you to consider for the school year: Lunchopolis.

It’s sorta like “Laptop Lunches” — one sack holds smaller reusable plastic containers inside so you don’t have to use plastic baggies or single-serving containers. The outer container is a lead-free, insulated bag that measures 12 inches by 7 inches by 9 inches so you have room for all four of the plastic containers, the water bottle and your own ice pack.

The plastic containers are three different but stackable sizes: 1 “whole” size (for sandwiches, etc.), 1 “half” (for a side) and 2 “quarter” (for small snacks). The Lunchopolis site also features some quick recipes and lunch suggestions, though most of it is a tad too sophisticated for my kindergartner. (Someone’s kid will eat an olive tapenade?)

Available at Your Guide to Green for $29.99 in blue, pink or lime.

Tips for the Picky Eater from The Toddler Cafe

SunnyChanel — Tue, 24 Jun 2008 16:01:00 GMT

My toddler is going through an interesting phase. She’s fasting. Not for a political issue or because she’s doing one of those colon “cleanses”, no, she’s just more interested in drawing, playing or torturing our dog instead of consuming any kind of food. All our usual menus are met with a pushing of the plate or a furious shaking of the head. Enter the cookbook The Toddler Café – Fast, Healthy, and Fun Ways to Feed Even the Pickiest eater. Recipes like the Banana Hot Dog, Swamp Soup and Treasure Triangles will entice your toddlers with their originality, tastiness and fun. The recipes include “Toddler Tips” to make eating even more enjoyable with interactive activities. Tonight we’ll try the Minty Pea Pops and the Monster Mash, Hopefully this will convince her meal time can indeed be as fun as playtime. By Jennifer Carden from Chronicle Books $14.95

Japanese Food Containers Are a Lunch Box Alternative

Chris Ford — Mon, 12 May 2008 11:06:00 GMT

After finding the Japanese wooden toys made by Decole last week I've been checking out their other products, and I've found another good one. These plastic food containers are far from necessary, but they are cute and might be good enough to use as a lunch box.

Made in two different colors and designs, each container is 5.5" wide x 4" tall and are dishwasher and microwave safe. There's no handle to carry them around, but for young pre-schooler it could make a fun nursery school lunch alternative. And unlike the Pot-au-feu, these are available in the U.S.

Decole Food Containers, $13 each from SugarPineBeauty.com

Mini Bear Smile Skillet Makes Food Cuter

Heather Kuldell — Sun, 11 May 2008 15:12:00 GMT

My household doesn't have time for big breakfasts during the week, but we like to make up for on Saturdays and Sundays. Our favorite? Pancakes. Stacks and stacks and stacks of pancakes. I'm not sure making breakfast cuter makes it more delicious, but it does get some extra smiles from the diners. This mini bear smile skillet spruces up pancakes, eggs or other easily shaped food.

Available at fredflare for $18.

Svan Chair: A High Chair for the Entire Childhood

Chris Ford — Mon, 04 Feb 2008 18:15:00 GMT

One of the things that Jessica Alba got from Tyra last week is a high chair I think I've seen, but have never really checked out. The Svan Chair looks like it hits all the marks of good baby furniture: functional, convertible as your child grows, beautiful to look at and, considering how long you'll use it, reasonably priced.

Aside from looking good, the best feature of the Svan Chair is how it grows with your child. It starts out as a normal chair with a tray, then when the tray is removed and you can sit your child at the table without fear of having them fall out. Then the seat can be lowered as your child grows. Plus it has a foot rest, giving restless swinging legs a place to be. It's not the cheapest chair at $250, but considering how many years it will be at your kitchen table, it seems with it to me.

Svan High Chair, around $249.95 (find a retailer at SvanUSA.com).