Garnish, Garnish, Garnish!

Rice with sesame and nori sprinkles, deviled eggs, steamed broccoli drizzled with olive oil.

Or, "Something from Nothing." This was the lunch we packed the first day back from our trip. Before going to bed, I pulled two balls of rice out of the freezer and boiled and molded two eggs. There was a very small broccoli crown in the bottom of the crisper drawer and a few carrots left from the trip, which I hid; you will see why. In the morning it was a quick job to heat the rice while deviling the eggs, and the broccoli steamed on top of the rice. (I use a saucepan; others prefer microwave.) The bottom lunchbox shows the initial garnish: sprinkles on the rice and paprika on the eggs. It looks fine, right? But the top box shows what happens if you add a pop of contrast--it looks so much better, and it took just a second to slice one baby carrot for a diagonal orange stripe and sliver a few almonds for the broccoli.

Make a habit of keeping something green and something orange/red in the fridge, and you will always have a visual contrast. This morning's lunch was party leftovers: Leftover cheese made into quesadillas, with a leftover chunk of pate in a blue silicone cup. The contrast was a dab of yellow mustard on the pate, toasted nori in a small pink silicone cup, and a few cucumber slices tucked into the last corner. The colorful silicone cups are a bit of a cheat--you'd like your kids to actually eat the colors of the rainbow--but on a morning when the cupboard is bare they can provide the visual pop that helps make the lunch visually appealing.

Natalie from Minnesota asks if silicone liners can be reused, and the answer is yes! Eventually they might tear, but they usually get lost first. Meanwhile, they provide years of service. Moms who bake can use the muffin-sized ones to make tiny casseroles, quiches, apple crisps, and other diminutive lunchbox treats.