Planetbox Part II: A NEW Product Review

You may remember a few months ago that a posted this review on the PlanetBox lunchbox. Well guess what?! They have a new member of the PlanetBox family...the Shuttle! I was super excited when the great people of PlanetBox contacted me to do a review of their newest addition! The new Shuttle is adorable and perfect for small meals or snacks! It comes with an awesome carrying case just like the Launch and Rover designs. I just love the playful prints that come with this new series of lunch boxes. Kids will find them super appealing :) It is also important to note that the Shuttle system can easily accommodate a small icepack for meals that need to be kept cool!! Click here to see the other colors and designs!

Also just like the Rover I reviewed previously, the Shuttle comes with a great set of magnets to spruce up your stainless steel compartment lunchbox container! They can be easily removed when it's time for the lunchbox to be cleaned. My daughter's favorite color is purple so this set was amazingly perfect for her!

The Shuttle lunchbox come with two compartments in the main container as well as a tall dipper. This container is great for packing smaller lunches or large snacks. The larger side easily fits a sandwich. The tall dipper is great for fruit or veggie dips or to hold small snacks. I love that these can be cleaned with ease by placing in the dishwasher!! 

I created a healthy lunch for my soon-to-be kindergartener that included a peanut butter and banana whole wheat wrap and array of organic fruits...strawberries, blueberries, raspberries and apples!!

This container holds enough food for me to feel full and satisfied as well. It's great for smaller appetites :)

My daughter loves her new PlanetBox Shuttle. My older daughter has the Rover but this is the perfect size for my 5 year old! She is really looking forward to taking her new lunchbox to Kindergarten in the fall!!

I packed this great snack for one of our days at the pool! I used the larger side to pack a delicious fruit salad with organic peaches, blueberries and grapes. The smaller side held cheddar bunnies and I filled the tall dipper with chunks of cheese! The Shuttle is a great lunchbox to carry to playdates in the park or days at the pool. It allows me to have a nutritious snack for the kiddos to nibble on during break times!

She had to sneak a bite before heading to the pool, lol! We LOVE our Planetbox lunch boxes! The new Shuttle is a fabulous addition to an already amazing product line! Also don't forget to check out PlanetBox's Share-A-Box page where you can view meal and snack ideas as well as share your own food ideas in your PlanetBox!! It's a great resource :)

*Planetbox supplied me with the Shuttle Planetbox system for the purpose of this review. However all the views and opinions expressed within this post are my own.  I only share products I would be happy to use with my own family.

Healthy Lunches Made Easy Courtesy of Planetbox: a product review

I have mentioned in previous posts that our family is on a journey to cut out processed food and eat more local and more whole foods. We buy organic as much as possible, buy grass-fed/pastured meat and eggs from local farms that don't use hormones or antibiotics, visit our farmers market for produce, and read every ingredient label on store bought products looking for items with just a few simple ingredients as well as those that don't have GMOs. It's a very overwhelming learning curve with so many things to consider when making food choices for your family. The majority of our store bought groceries come from Trader Joes, Earthfare, Whole Foods or our local health food co-op called Deep Roots Market. We are not perfect but we are doing our best to keep processed food out of our home as much as possible. I cook dinner from scratch most nights of the week but coming up with fun and healthy lunches that my kids will actually eat has proved to be a challenge...until now. I discovered an amazing lunchbox system called Planetbox! This is no ordinary lunchbox! This is a high quality, non-toxic stainless steel lunchbox with multiple compartments that allows you to pack a healthy and balanced meal that is very visually appealing! The one piece tray makes it incredibly easy to clean too! Just pop it in the dishwasher!!

There are actually two versions of Planetbox, the Rover for smaller appetites, and the Launch for larger appetites. Both come nestled within their own carrying case. This is the Rover Planetbox system...which in all honesty can hold enough food for anyone. I chose the Rover because it is perfect for sending lunch to school with my kiddos. This great carrying case includes a stretchy front pocket that is the perfect size for a water bottle or juice box.

Each Planetbox Rover comes with your choice of magnets to help personalize your lunchbox! My girls LOVE these fairy magnets! They had to take turns taking them off and putting them back on...over & over & over again, lol!

I absolutely LOVE that the Planetbox Rover has 5 compartments. It also includes 2 separate containers (Big & little dipper) to hold dips, yogurt, or an additional snack. The big dipper fits perfectly in the front flap pocket of the carrying case if your child need an extra school snack...or, either dipper can fit inside the box itself. Kids like to have choices when they eat and this lunchbox allows them to have a healthy variety of foods. Having everything compartmentalized also makes it look yummy and fun. Even my husband said he wanted to take this to work for his lunch...he didn't even care that it was pink! (BTW...pink is just one option...there are multiple colors to choose from!)

The possibilities are endless with the lunches you can create using a Planetbox. During the kids spring break I let them each take turns using the Planetbox. They were fighting over who was going to get to use it so it was declared that they all must share it, lol! I created this lunch for my son Hayden (he wasn't as thrilled with the pink, lol). His lunch includes:

2 hardboiled eggs (from local pastured chickens)

organic hummus and baby carrots (Trader Joes)

pita chips (Trader Joes)

organic celery and raisins with homemade peanut butter (made only from roasted unsalted peanuts)

trail mix that includes dried fruit, nuts and a bit of chocolate (from bulk bin at Deep Roots Coop)

He really liked this lunch...except for the carrots. He's not a big carrot fan but I was trying to get him to branch out.

I made this lunch for Halle. Her meal included:

whole wheat wrap with peanut butter (homemade) and organic bananas
organic cheese (grass-fed cows) puzzle pieces (my kids are more likely to eat things cut into shapes!)
organic baby carrots with homemade veggie dip
organic apple slices
a few annie's bunny fruit bites

She liked this lunch except she wouldn't eat the bananas in the wrap. She didn't like them mixed with the peanut butter. And again...she wasn't a fan of the carrots. Halle is my pickiest eater. I'm struggling to get her to try new things.

This was another lunch I created and in all honesty this is more in line with a typical Halle lunch. It's hard to get her to eat veggies. Baby steps I guess. This meal included:

Peanut butter on 100% sprouted whole wheat bread...cut into dolphin shapes (again my kids like shapes)
organic unsweetened applesauce
organic cheese puzzles (from grass-fed cows)
Annie's Organic cheddar bunnies (I realize these aren't a great choice but this is what she'll eat right now)
2 Annie's chocolate bunnies and a couple chocolate chips as a treat

And of course Ella had to test out the Planetbox as well. She got to try it once the kids went back to school. Her meal included:

peanut butter and organic strawberry conserves on sprouted whole wheat bread
organic apple slices
organic banana slices
Annie's honey bunny grahams
Annie's bunny fruit bites for a treat

Planetbox now offers a great new application on their website where you can get meal ideas from other Planetbox users as well as share your own meals. Share-A-Box is a great place to go if you are short on ideas or just don't know where to begin. You'll find lots of creative lunch solutions in one easy to browse location. The application also has an area called Plan-It-Box where there is a diagram of the tray and you can click on each individual compartment and Planetbox will give you image after image of food ideas for that compartment! How cool is that?! Definitely check it out!

I absolutely love the Planetbox lunchbox system and am pretty sure that we will be needing 2 more of these so that each kiddo can have their own. It really does make packing lunches so much easier and the kids tend to try new things when their food is presented in such a fun way!

*Planetbox supplied me with the Rover Planetbox system for the purpose of this review. However all the views and opinions expressed within this post are my own.  I only share products I would be happy to use with my own family.

What's for Dinner: Cheesy Quinoa Vegetable Bites

These quinoa bites were a HUGE hit with the whole family! The kids begged me to make these again while they were eating them and I am more than happy to oblige to their request. This recipe is super easy to make and a healthy vegetarian option (not vegan as it does have cheese and egg). They would also be a great healthy finger food for a party. The kids loved that they could pick these up with their fingers to eat them. Great kid appeal!! And the hubby approved too!

Cheesy Quinoa Vegetable Bites

2 cups cooked quinoa
1 cup shredded carrot
1/2-1 cup chopped spinach
2 green onion stalks chopped
 2-3 garlic cloves diced
1-2 tbsp cilantro chopped
2 large eggs
2 tbsp whole wheat flour
1/2 tsp sea salt
1/4 tsp pepper
1/2 cup cheddar

Mix all ingredients in a bowl and spoon into greased muffin tins about 1/2-2/3 full. Bake at 350 for 20 min. Yum!! You can dip these into a sauce of your choosing if you prefer (maybe a homemade marinara or ranch). We served with a simple side of roasted parmesan broccoli. (drizzle broccoli with olive oil, salt, pepper, and chopped garlic. Bake at 450 for 12-15 minutes and then add some grated Parmesan before serving. (I often heat an extra minute to melt it a bit)

Sorry for the instagram pic but the kids were ready to eat, the hubby was working 5 hours late and I didn't have time for regular photos. I love Instagram...total time saver ;)

What's for Dinner: Mahi Mahi with Corn & Cucumber Slaw

I've been doing a lot of experimenting in the kitchen this year in an effort to branch out with my cooking and try new things. I am crafty with many things but culinary art is not one of my talents. Since we are trying to eat healthier, eat local foods, and cut out processed "foods" as much as possible I have been cooking from scratch almost nightly, about 6 days a week. It has been a fun learning experience so far! Tonight's dinner was exceptionally yummy so I figured I'd share the recipe I found via pinterest. The original recipe is found here. Earthfare had a great deal on wild-caught Mahi Mahi this week so we picked up a couple pounds. We actually don't eat a lot of fish simply b/c I'm not a huge fish person...but like I said, I am branching out. Remember the portobello mushroom revelation from my Valentines Day dinner? Well, same thing happened tonight. I normally don't really like fish but this was delicious!! Super easy too! I guess the saying is true...Mahi Mahi, the fish so nice they named it twice!!

 Pan Cooked Mahi Mahi with Corn & Cucumber Salsa

• 1 inch thick Mahi filets (skin on)
• 1 teaspoon paprika
• 1 teaspoon garlic powder
• 1/2 teaspoon chile powder
• 1 teaspoon black pepper
• 1/2 teaspoon kosher salt
• 1 tablespoon butter

 Combine spices and rub onto both sides of your Mahi Mahi (including skin side). Add butter to a cast iron grill pan on med to med-hi heat. Once butter melts and sizzles add your Mahi filets skin side down. Cook both sides about 4-5 min each until meat is flaky. The skin pulled away from the fish once mine was cooked through.

Corn & Cucumber Slaw

• 1/2 cup fresh corn kernels (or thawed from frozen)
• 1 cup cucumbers, peeled and small diced
• 1/4 cup red bell pepper, small diced
• 1/4 cup red onion, thinly sliced
• 1 teaspoon cilantro, minced
• 1 tablespoon jalapeno, minced
• 1 tablespoon apple cider vinegar
• 1/2 teaspoon salt
• 1/2 teaspoon black pepper
• 1 teaspoon raw honey
• 1 teaspoon cold pressed olive oil

Mix all ingredients in a bowl and allow to sit for 20 minutes so flavors can mingle and get to know each other :) Spoon slaw onto cooked Mahi and admire the prettiness! Then enjoy!!

And in case you want to make the roasted asparagus...

Roasted Asparagus

Line asparagus in a single layer on a baking sheet. Drizzle with olive oil and sprinkle with kosher salt and pepper. Bake at 425 for 20-22 min until they start to brown. If you have really thick asparagus you may need to blanch them prior to roasting so that they will cook entirely. Roasted asparagus is a staple in our home and is absolutely delicious!!