Magical shapes and noms

When i lived in Spain my favourite fruit was "chiwimoya" Well that's how i used to say it anyway. And i've been sad ever since as i can't seem to find it anywhere in this country. The other day i was wandering around the internet when i came across a post called "20 fruit i bet you've never tried" Or something like that. Sadly i didn't save the URL if so i would link it. But alas i didn't. So i appologise for that.
The major problem i had was spelling it wrong to start with!

Yeah it's a cherymoya also known as a custard apple. Because apparently it has a slight taste of custard. Maybe it's just me but i don't remember it tasting like that at all! It's the texture of a ripe pear. Well softness anyway. The flesh is delicious and amazing. I want one right now! As for the taste, it's hard to describe. Try describing what an apple tastes like without comparing it to an apple. Difficult isn't it!

This fruit was also on the list. Yes, it was number one. Apparently the most amazing thing in the world. As my image states it is miraculin, a sugar substitute which makes it miraculous. But the fruit being sweet isn't a miracle. The fact that the sweetness somehow sticks to your tongue and your sour receptors think you're tasting something sweet for a good while after eating it. Apparently there are tasting parties in the US where people eat the miracle fruit then a variety of other food to see how it effects their flavour. I want to eat a lemon after one of these. Imagine a sweet lemon!
The best contribution of this fruit that i can think of is as a diet aid. Fat people love sweet foods right? Just get them to eat some of these before i nice tasty fruit or vegetable salad. Yum.

Now on to the less exciting but equally pleasing non-edible things i've found.

It's an umbrella shaped like a heart! I've wanted one of these for a while but never known where to get one. Apparently (according to google) there's loads of places which sell them on the internet, in a variety of colours too. I want a baby pink one please!

These are keys, in weird shapes. I like the gun one best. There were a lot of other ones but these were the coolest as the actual key part is included in the design of the key. Some were like mickey mouse with a key jutting out of his head. Not as cool.

I'm just throwing this in because i like it. Fairy lights are awesome!

Now moving on to another topic. Bento! I've shown you bento boxes before, but what can truely make a bento box is the accessories.

These picks are some of my favourites. You can turn food into a balloon, flower, umbrella, ring or chicken drumstick. Turn a cherry tomato into an apple or a couple into cherries. If anything is going to make your kids eat healthy foods it's these!

How adorable are those hats! Now i want to give all of my food faces just so i can give them hats!
You really do need to wander over to all things for sale, it's an American site but all of their products are so cheap. If i ever get kids i'm going to buy their stock in bulk!
They have everything from bento boxes, cups and hard boiled egg molds (they're amazing!) to sandwich cutters, stamps and nori cutters.

Anyway have fun getting lost in all the kawaii bento items they have. Before i go i have to mention that my brother bought me a kawaii ice cube tray which makes animal shaped ice-cubes! I'll take a picture one day and show you. I love it!

Bento and creative meals

There is one way to make your kids eat more healthy food. And that is by making it look cute and fun. One lady who does this perfectly is Jill Dubien. I recently discovered her blog Meet the Dubiens and i love it. She's got a page for crafts, one for general recipes and another for fun food. Which i have to admit is my favourite.

Another thing i love about her blog is that she has some recipes that are owls. Here's a glimpse at a few of my favourites.

They're rice crispy treats! Anything chocolate does it for me.

And a savoury sandwich, it's so simple to make it and because you use the entire slice of bread there's no waste.

Her's one of her creative projects that i liked.

It's one of those IKEA tables. She just took of the legs, stapled on some Owl fabric, then just screwed the legs back on. Perfect for her little daughters tea parties.

Cute food also includes characters like this guy i told you about a few days ago.

I would eat those cookies right up. Well if you can remember i also said that he features in a lot of Bentos. When i was little if all food came in bento form i would have no trouble eating it. And because it's supposed to look nice that means a lot of colours. For lots of colours you need a lot of fresh vegetables. So so healthy and kawaii!

I found both of these images on Flickr. The diversity of bento boxes is amazing. Like the first one you can have a base of food, like a sandwich, rice, pasta, salad. You name it anything. Then just place an adorable character on top and a cute side. Simple.
For those who are more creative you can shape rice and eggs even! These are some of my favourites!

One of my favourite bento makers on Flickr has to be Sheree She makes the most adorable bento boxes ever.

The sun is an egg with a cheese ring around it. The rainbow is peppers and the clouds are white cheese with apple skin cheeks. I love the way she uses food picks too. Just look at the cherry tomato in the back transformed into an apple.

She can also form rice, like these cute bears and chick. They're characters from a show i think. Don't remember which one though. Using stamps also helps decorate your food, like the ham stars. The pink circles are Japanese fish cake (Kamaboko). It always seems to be pink. Yay.

I want one of these piggy bentos! very very badly, they're just so squee!

Looking at all of this creative food makes me want to get creative. And one of the things i think i'll be good at is puddings. I found one that i'm pretty sure i could copy without messing it up too badly.

It a mini banana split! How kawaii is that! Whoever thought of it is a genius. The only thing it's missing is icecream but it makes up for that with the squirty cream on top.

Now off i go to have lunch. And feel like my food is totally inadequate in comparison.