Of Foogos & Funtainers

I am at K's Bollywood dance lesson last Sunday. I see a rather interesting looking Sippy Cup. I keep looking at it as if I have never seen a sippy cup before. I stop short of wanting to grab it from the kid so I can scan it fully.

Then,I slowly start a conversation with a friend next to me whom I assum knows more about new sippy cups in the market (given she has an infant) than I.

"Is it a thermos sippy cup?" The friend nods and replies, "Yes."

Who would have thought of thermos for a sippy cup? As you can imagine, I can't wait to find out more.

"Do they come in different sizes? As in, the same colorful ones in kid-friendly lunch storage containers," I continue.

"Yes, they do," she patiently replies.

"The inside fully insulated stainless steel?" I ask. She nods her head. Enough to bring a huge smile to my face. I start dreaming. Dreaming about the empty lunch boxes that my 6 yr old would bring home, now that I can pack hot lunch. Oh, my! Hot Lunch.

I come home. Google for thermos for children or something like that. Lots of Foogos and Funtainers show up in the search. Find it on ebay for 8.95. With shipping close to 14. I compare prices on few other sites. And quickly place an order for one. Part of me also thinks, must be cheaper to buy from India. You know, those Eagle brand ones. I am sure it's already there in the market given our love affair with stainless steel lunch boxes. But, I pause and think, "who can wait another 6 months to send hot lunch to school?"

Funtainer arrives. Even has a Hello Kitty on the front, all pretty and cute. Yeah! The same mom, always full of disapproval for character merchandise and who vowed she would never send character based things to school caved in for this.

Anyways, stainless steel Funtainer it will be, for school from now on. The funtainer was packed with hot, buttered pasta and sent to school yesterday. Went to pick up K from school and obviously, the first thing I ask her, "How was your new lunch box? Was the food hot?". She replies, "Oh, ya. It was great. Just the right temperature. But, I couldnt finish the whole thing."

Well, I should have known better. At least, it was hot food she got to eat. And secondly, it's safer than plastic. And at the very least, I don't have to worry about those BPA plastic stories you hear often these days.

The way we fall prey to new sippy cups and fancy lunch containers, just so we can get our little ones to drink an extra ounce of milk or eat a few more spoons of the dhal! Oh, well, so much for our fancy, schmancy lunch box story. And we'd better keep it till college given the state of the economy. Oh, yes! :-) Even in the case that HK merchandise goes out of fashion... :-)




 

 

Added later: For Moms like me who have no clue on what's in and out of the market with respect to kids' baby products, this was the interesting looking thermos sippy cup I saw at the class that led me to the kids' lunch thermos! :-) Well, you could always read the onlines reviews and find out more as to whether they are good or bad. I don't know enough to tell you about that! :-)

Need For Speed: A Mommy's Lunch Manifesto

[This article is posted by Meeta and written by Biggie of The Daily Tiffin Note: This is an excerpt of an article from The Daily Tiffin]

I'm a mom who packs lunch. What's important to a mom? Nutrition and speed: I want to feed my family nutritious food, but spending a lot of time on every meal isn't feasible. I strive to achieve balance between the two -- losing this battle would either have me waking up hours before everyone else to cook lunch, or reaching for a Lunchable processed lunch (the face of the enemy, pictured above).

Spending an hour preparing a weekday lunch is only going to happen in my house if it's a special occasion like a birthday or holiday -- I spend my morning getting myself and a preschooler ready to go out. Although ornate lunches shaped like cartoon characters and whimsical shapes are artistic and intriguing, I know my limits. I would burn out if I tried to do that every day. For me it's got to be sustainable over the long run, which is why I make speed bentos.

Read more

Spring Food, Japanese Lunchboxes and Fenugreek

I am sure you are all wondering what do all these have in common. Well I hope it is ok to inform you here at DesiMomz that these are the latest articles on The Daily Tiffin.

Many of you probably know the gorgeous Nandita, she is doing a current series called "Inside The Indian Household." This week she discusses Fenugreek and gives a couple of her great recipes.
A new member to our team, JG has written a great introductory article for our Tiffin Tuesday session. JG talks about The Art of Japanese Lunchboxes. It's not only about Japanese food but about the concept of preparing healthy lunch boxes for your kids.
Lastly, I wrote a short piece on fruit and vegetables of the season. Spring Food discusses a few great fruit and vegetables that are now appearing in our produce sections and markets. Check it out and I would really love it if some of you would add your own fruit/veg of the season to complete the list.

Hope you enjoy the articles.