Zoo Friends: #15

sweetPea is on spring break this week so I made a list of both sunny day and rainy day excursions. After yesterday's thunder storm, we decided to head out to the zoo. The food at our zoo is great, if you consider soggy pizza, processed chicken strips, and hot dogs that have languished under heat lamps to be food. We've learned to pack our own snacks and lunch.

In the top section are a provolone cheese zebra with nori stripes and a provolone giraffe with cheddar cheese spots. The are playing in a field of broccoli and carrot flowers. On the bottom is a rice tiger with nori stripes and cheddar ears. I added grated carrots to the rice for color. I also stuck some red grapes next to the tiger. You can see that I tried to put the grapes on both sides, but there just wasn't room. The poor fellow got the left side of his face smooshed from my attempts.

I also put together my first adult bento.

Clockwise from the top right are kiwi, purple coleslaw with carrot sticks on top, red grapes, and a leftover popover.

The Verdict: The lunches stayed perfectly packed even after being slogged around in my backpack. In fact, the first thing we did upon arrival was sprint to the far end of the zoo to catch the tiger feeding. So I know they were jostled quite a bit. I've never actually watched Pea eat one of these lunches so I was surprised at how she deconstructed it. She picked up each little piece and popped it into her mouth. She even tried to eat the features off the characters. She ate most of it in the end. She left her leaves, even though I'd packed romaine lettuce instead of spinach. She was pretty distracted though - we ate at a table beside a big playground at the zoo and her friends were calling to her to come and play.