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18 Jan

I hope you guys are ready to talk lunch because I have three lunches to share with you today.

WE SHOULD BE

We had steak salad for dinner the night before so I added some of those leftovers to Cam’s veggie burrito bowl (Yes, this is the same batch of this stuff I told you about 2 weeks ago – I’m really behind on posting).

I know it doesn’t look like much food but there is steak, roasted sweet potatoes, black beans, corn, sweet peppers, tomatoes, romaine and cilantro in that one section alone! That section came home completely empty.

I wasn’t sure how well cold steak would go over with Camryn but it turned out to be a hit!

WeShouldBeFoldingLaundry

This lunch was what I like to call a clean-out-the-crisper lunch. I basically take whatever straggly produce we have left in the crisper at the end of the week (in this case it was tomatoes, strawberries and pineapple) and add a grilled cheese sandwich that I make that morning before school.

Grilled cheese has become one of my go to Friday lunches because at this point in the week, we’re usually down to just a slice or two of cheese.

I always sprinkle on a little garlic salt after I spread butter on the bread. That little addition really steps up a simple grilled cheese sandwich.

I paired both lunches with some corn chips and a thermos of water and sent them off to school!

WeShouldBeFoldingLaundry(1)

This last lunch was for the Mr. It contained a chicken breast, roasted veggies, roasted and smashed potatoes, and fresh tomatoes.

Nothing fussy or complicated. I just shoved what was left from dinner into an Easy Lunchbox, added a little extra salt and pepper, and it was good to go!

 

 

 

 

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26 Oct

 

Kicking off the first day of this week’s Halloween lunches is this blurry witch lunch!

In her Yumbox Panino, Camryn has two witch sandwiches made with cookie stamps and corn chips that look like witches’ fingernails (probably).

She also has grapes, a broccoli monster, and for a sweet treat, a few pieces of cereal that kind-of, sort-of look like little monsters.

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22 Oct

Halloween Bentos

Can you believe that Halloween is almost here?

Where did this year go!?

If you’re a lunch-packer in need of some spooky lunch inspiration, I’ve got you covered.

Most of these lunches don’t require anything more than inexpensive cookie cutters, stickers, and a few Halloween-themed treats easily found at your local grocery store, but you certainly don’t even have to go that route.

All you really need is a little creativity. Just use your imagination and maybe some things found around your house to create your own creepy lunches for your little creepers!

Here (in no particular order) are my ten favorite Halloween bentos to get ya thinkin’!

Halloween Lunch Ideas for Kids

  1. This ridiculous lunch that I made for the Mr. that turned out to be a huge hit at work. Go figure!
  2. Bat and blood snack box. Pomegranate arils make great edible blood drops… just sayin’.
  3. Exuberant Pumpkin Bento! I still say they look more like bell peppers.
  4. A Vampire-themed bento is a must!
  5. Skeletal Bento. Super cool and only slightly spooky!
  6. This Bat-tastic Bento complete with peeled grape eyeballs, bat sandwiches, bat carrots, bat pretzels and even a chocolate bat! Give me a theme and I’ll run with it! 😉
  7. Witchy Bento with homemade tortilla cats, a cheesy broom and guacamole potion!
  8. Creepy Crawly Buggy Bento. Ew!
  9. Monster Mash Bento. I still love how this one turned out. I mean, Gummy toes. Come on.
  10. Last but not least, one of my personal favorites, Last Year’s Halloween lunch.

And if you’re in the mood to make your own Halloween food picks, I’ve got you covered there too. It’s easy, promise!

Halloween bento picks

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2 Oct

chicken salad with greens and veggies bento

Happy Friday!

Let’s talk lunches.

The lunch/snack bento pictured above was for my husband. It contained chicken salad (shredded rotisserie chicken, celery, apple, dried cranberries, scallions, dijon mustard, light mayo, lime juice), spring greens, zucchini cut with fall-themed cutters, baby carrots, and super spicy hummus in the small container.

I also tucked a couple of squares of dark chocolate into his lunch box for a late-night treat.

He eats dinner before he leaves for work so he doesn’t need anything heavy at work. Just something light with a little protein to get him through the night.

Camryn also has chicken salad on a bed of leafy greens and baby carrots, but she isn’t into hummus so I left that out.  Horizon organic cheese crackers, grapes, and chocolate covered pretzels round out her lunch.

Friday is spirit day at school so her lunch box is proudly rocking her school mascot today.

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20 Sep

salad with shredded chicken bento

Sometimes when it’s crazy hot out, nothing sounds better for lunch than a big salad. Luckily, my kiddo loves salads so last week when the temps were in the mid 90’s, sending her off to school with a salad in her lunch box was a no-brainer.

In this simple salad lunch from last week, Camryn had mixed spring greens, cilantro, sliced carrots, tomatoes, shredded cheese, a shredded chicken breast, corn chips, and strawberries.

The chicken breast was leftover from dinner the night before.  It simmered low and slow in salsa verde, chicken broth, and a little taco seasoning, so it had lots of flavor and was still plenty moist by lunch time the next day.

I also packed a small brownie in a separate container but that came home uneaten. This container however, was mostly empty.

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4 Sep

For lunch today, Cam has some super cute little chocolate hazelnut sandwiches that were made with these cutters, pretzels, carrot sticks, pineapple, and mandarin segments.

The picks are from this set.

Happy Friday!

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Daily Bento

1 Sep

 

Camryn made this lunch which basically consists of odds and ends from our fridge.

In her super cute new cheeseburger bento box she has alphabet pasta, corn, and half of a very large chicken breast that I diced for her. She insisted on a cilantro garnish. She always insists on a cilantro garnish.

In the smaller tier, she has tomatoes that were tossed with a little salt and pepper.

And in the smaller box, she has mandarin segments.

It doesn’t look like a lot of food but the larger tier of that burger bento actually holds quite a bit. I was pleasantly surprised.

And because I believe that a girl needs different bags for different things, she brought her lunch to school today in this lunch bag.

 

skip hop cat lunch box

 

It’s on the smaller side but it holds most of her lunch containers. Even Easy Lunchboxes!

The only downside to this bag is that it is pretty slim so depending on the lunch container/ bento box you use, you may not be able to fit a thermos or water bottle.

In that case, I just put Cam’s thermos in her backpack. No biggie.

 

 

Daily Bento

31 Aug

 

Let’s go ahead and discuss what you’re all already thinking, shall we?

Yes, those are new picks and you can find them here.

Seriously, though – that slice of pie looks huge in this picture. I know.

I assure you, it’s really a much smaller piece than it seems. I blame the whole thing on perspective or my lackluster early morning photography skills.

Yes, pretty sure it’s one of those things.

My shortcomings aside, the kiddo has a thermos full of chicken apple sausage, roasted potatoes, and sweet bell peppers. In her adorable pink house bento, she has mandarin slices, and a monstrous piece of chocolate pie. 😉

We packed it all up, along with her water bottle in our new purple insulated lunch bag from Easy Lunchboxes.

Since today is its maiden voyage, I thought I’d share some hastily snapped pictures with you.

 

Easy Lunchboxes Insulated Cooler Bag

 

Everything fits with plenty of room to spare.

 

Easy Lunchboxes Insulated Cooler Bag

 

Once her cooler bag arrived, I took Camryn to the craft store and let her pick out stickers and a few iron-on appliques to decorate her bag.

 

 

She used fabric glue to attach the appliques which was much easier than actually ironing them on.

 

 

They’re not all perfectly straight but she had a great time decorating her bag and it gave us half an hour or so of artsy craftsy girl time.

 

 

 

 

 

 

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Daily Bento

25 Aug

 

For lunch today, Camryn has cheese pizza rolls, a little salad leftover from yesterday, a mandarin, and an apple.

I love making pizza rolls for the kids because they come together so quickly and easily. I actually make them while I’m cooking dinner, set them aside to cool while we eat, and package them up while I’m cleaning up after dinner.

Lunch is in our new Yumbox Panino.

 

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Daily Bento

24 Aug

 

It’s the first day of school!

For her first lunch as a fourth grader, Camryn has a hearty salad that contains romaine, spring greens, chicken, pasta, bell pepper, corn, tomatoes, and orange slices on the side.

For dessert, she has a ridiculous brownie with fudge on top and a few pieces of her favorite candy pressed in for good measure.

I normally wouldn’t send candy to school for lunch but first days can be tough so… over-the-top fudgy candy brownie it is.

I hate to admit it but it took me forever to figure out what I was going to do for today’s lunch. I finally settled on some scrapbooking stickers that I bought with a 40% off coupon yesterday at the craft store.

I stuck them onto the inside lid of her bento box so they’ll be a cute surprise when she opens it up.

How cute is that pencil pouch sticker!?

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