Yesterday’s sandwich was a hit!
She ate all but the last two bites which were only bread.
I had one Hawaiian roll left so I filled it with thinly sliced roast beef for lunch today. Cam loves steak so I think she’ll like this one even better than the turkey sandwich she had yesterday.
I also filled her lunch box with cheese crackers, carrot sticks, a fruit and veggie strip, and a Babybel.
Cam has asked to give lunch meat sandwiches another try. Her one condition was that I must use Hawaiian bread.
So in her Lock&Lock today, she has turkey on a Hawaiian sub roll, veggie chips, and a Babybel.
I tucked a couple of pieces of panda baran from this set in her lunch to spruce it up a little.
Check that lunch bag out!
I found it in a clearance display yesterday when I was out and about grocery shopping. It was only $5 and it was the last one with owl print left!
Her school mascot is an owl and it goes perfectly with her CuteZCute owl bento box so there was no way it wasn’t coming home with me.
It’s on the smaller side so it’s perfect for her smaller bentos. Her little pink house bento box, her purple bento box from Paperchase, and her Lock&Lock all fit in this bag with just enough room left over for her drink bottle and an ice pack.
I actually used the owl bottle from this set today. I wish I had been with it enough this morning to get a picture of the whole set.
I made pizza for dinner last night so the kids took the leftovers to school for lunch today.
Along with her pizza, Cam has grapes, carrot coins, and a Whole Foods brand fruit and cereal bar that I had to cut in half to fit.
When this bento box is all stacked together, the half of the cereal bar that is on the lid goes on top of the grapes and carrots and is covered by the bowl.
Remember this container? It’s the one I found in Marshall’s last year for about $4.
I saw it there again about a month ago so if you could use one and you have a Marshall’s near you, you might want to stop in and have a look. You could also try TJ Maxx, Ross, Beall’s, or HomeGoods.
It holds more food than my daughter would ever eat for lunch but it’s perfect for the days that she needs both lunch and a snack, which is today!
For lunch/snack today she has some grapes, sliced pepper rings, chocolate covered almonds, tortilla chips, and a sandwich.
It’s well documented here on this site that taco salad is one of my daughter’s favorite lunches.
She has three tests today so I thought a big taco salad would be perfect for lunch today.
So taco salad it is!
I pack it up pretty much the same way every time. I like to chop the romaine so it’s easy for her to eat with a fork, then I add shredded cheese, chopped bell pepper, and chopped tomato in a separate container so it doesn’t make her lettuce and cheese soggy.
Then I add a few tortilla chips on the side and some warmed taco meat in her thermos.
All she has to do at lunch time is just mix everything together and she’s good to go!
She also has a little fruit in the medium-sized section for a sweet treat.
Cam’s Easy Lunchbox holds a cute sandwich, chocolate covered almonds, carrot coins, chopped celery, a few veggie sticks (I seem to have a bottomless bag), and some good advice courtesy of one of our Lunchbox Love notes.
Cam loves finding Lunchbox Love notes in her lunch every day.
In fact, when I sent her off to school without one last Friday, she was sure to let me know that going forward, that would not be satisfactory.
Whoops.
So along with today’s Lunchbox Love note, the little one has two tiger sandwiches that I made with our Cuddle Palz cutter from CuteZCute, some red pepper rings, and a few veggie straws.
The kids had pizza for dinner over the weekend so it was a no-brainer to add the leftovers to today’s lunch.
Along with her pizza, Cam has romaine hearts and sweet peppers, pineapple chunks, and dark chocolate covered almonds. I also included a fruit & veggie strip but I highly doubt she’ll get to it. If not, she can eat it while she does her homework this afternoon.
Camryn loves romaine hearts. When I make a salad, I always set aside the crunchiest bits of the romaine for her. I prefer the leafy parts so it all works out.
Since she eats them plain and I had quite a bit of those crunchy bits of romaine leftover, I used them as a little bed for her crescent rolls today.
I filled the crescent rolls with chopped salami and shredded cheddar cheese last night. Once the crescent rolls were cool, I set them on top of the lettuce, added grapes, and put a few fruit & veggie leather cut-outs in the cute container.
The only thing I had to do this morning was chop an apple, soak it in lemon water for a minute to prevent browning, pat it dry, and pack it up with a cute pick!
One of the comments that I received on Facebook a while ago went something like this:
“I’d like to see your grocery bill every week.”
This comment actually came from a friend so there was no ill will intended but I assume that what she was getting at was, since I don’t pack the same thing for lunch for my daughter every day, I must spend an astronomical amount of money.
Actually, it’s quite the opposite. I used to walk into a grocery store and think nothing of blowing most of my paycheck on groceries but that was when I was working full-time and earning a decent living. Now my job is to take care of my home and my family and although it’s the best job I’ve ever had, it doesn’t pay anything. So I’ve had to become a lot more frugal than I used to be.
I don’t like to give my daughter the same thing for lunch every day nor does she want the same lunch every day.
So how do I cater to my daughter’s love of a variety of different foods and still stay within my budget?
Today’s lunch is a great example of how I’m able to do just that. I pack leftovers for lunch whenever possible, I always buy what’s on sale and use coupons whenever possible, and I buy ingredients that I can use in multiple dishes throughout the week.
Pictured above is her lunch from today that contained leftover pasta salad from last night’s dinner which was just veggie pasta, chopped cherry tomatoes, herbs, parmesan, and a simple Italian dressing. Easy peasy.
I also tossed in some seedless watermelon chunks that I got for a crazy good deal because they were in season and on a BOGO (buy one get one) sale last week. The fruit-filled cereal bar was also purchased on sale and with a coupon. Those aren’t something that I normally buy for my daughter but I was able to get them for next to nothing and I know she enjoys finding them in her lunch from time to time.
I’m not sure if that particular friend ever reads this blog but I had suddenly remembered her comment today and this particular lunch is such a great example of a few of the ways that I save money on lunch packing that I figured, why not address it here?
So I did.
Do you have any money-saving tips for lunch packers? Let me know in the comments section below.
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We Should Be Folding Laundry 