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12 Jul

 

Maybe this has already been done.

Maybe it hasn’t.

Original ideas are really hard to come by these days.

Seems like every time I come up with something super creative and fantastic, one quick virtual trip to Pinterest reveals that someone else has already beaten me to it.

So I guess what I’m saying is that I probably shouldn’t take full credit for this one but I’m going to anyway since I’ve never seen it done before and I don’t feel like searching the web to find out if I am in fact the originator of this super idea.

That seems time-consuming and since my dirty dishes haven’t yet figured out how to get into the dishwasher by themselves, I figure my time is better spent doing more constructive things… like housework.

I saw Cam’s pencil box sitting on the table this afternoon and thought maybe it would make a decent bento box.

I mean, why not?

They’re super cheap (you can usually find them for under a dollar), they fit in a lunchbox,  they’re easy to open and close so they’d be great for younger kids, and they’ll hold a full lunch.

They also come in all kinds of colors and many times you can find some with kid friendly designs on them.

Seems like bento material to me.

Maybe you’ve been wanting to get into packing lunches this way but didn’t want to spend the money on a bento box, picks, silicone cups, and all the other little accessories that go along with it.

I get that.

Things can get out of control fast. Just look in my kitchen cabinets.

Oh wait, you can’t.

Well, if you could you would see that things here are out of control.

Bento stuff has taken over my kitchen.

Someone should probably put their foot down…

Anyone else hear crickets chirping?

So… I made lunch and put it in a pencil box. It’s pretty darn cute even without any bento accessories like picks, baran, or silicone cups.

I flattened some paper cupcake wrappers and tucked them under the sandwich only because this crayon box was used but you certainly don’t need to do that. I also used a cupcake wrapper to hold the pea crisps but again, that was only because the box is used.

If you didn’t have cupcake wrappers you could use wax paper, construction paper, a paper towel, or a napkin.

The cheese stick works just as well as a sheet of baran. A piece of fruit leather, a granola bar, or a rolled up napkin could just as easily serve the same purpose.

 

The anti-bento bento. A bento-style lunch packed using no actual bento accessories, yet still remaining fun, creative, and trash-free just like a regular bento lunch.

* Since pencil boxes weren’t made to hold food, it may be hard to find one that is BPA free.

Measuring Up!

7 Jul

When I started out on my little bento packing adventure some time ago, I remember stalking other bento blogs spending lots of time online trying to figure out which bento box to buy, which lunchbox it would fit into, and how it compared in size to other boxes.

It was exhausting.

All the manufacturers gave dimensions which is great, but what I soon learned early on when I first started packing lunch this way, is that you also need to account for a drink, utensils, napkins, and an ice pack.

And… manufacturer’s dimensions can be wrong.

I’m talking to you Toys R’ Us.

10x8x8 does not equal 10x5x8.

If you pack a juice pouch every day then you should be all set. Those things pretty much fit anywhere.

But, if you’re like me and you need to pack a thermos or other resealable drink container, you need a little bit more info to go on.

I also think it’s helpful to actually see how everything compares in size and how it all fits together so I put together a little visual that I hope will be helpful to anyone who may be setting off on this lunch packing adventure for the first time this school year.

Last school year we packed lunches in a lunch bag from L.L. Bean for my son, and a “lunch pack” from Garnet Hill for my daughter.

I took a few pics of each lunch bag with our larger bento boxes in them so you can see how everything fit.

But first, let’s size up those boxes!

From top to bottom:

Lunchbots Trio

Good Lunch Box by Sugarbooger

Spencer Bento Box by PBK

Laptop Lunchbox

Easy Lunchbox

Goodbyn Bynto

As you can see, the Bynto wins out in the length category due to it’s handle. Width goes to the Laptop Lunchbox.

Here they are packed in my son’s L.L. Bean lunch bag:

L.L. Bean Collage

The only box that would not fit is the Laptop Lunchbox which wasn’t an issue for us because he carried an Easy Lunchbox exclusively in his bag last year.

He would also put a small water bottle or juice box (when we had them), an ice pack, and a napkin in his lunch bag every day and they all fit. There was a little bulging in the front of the bag but it zipped just fine.

This bag has a handle on top and is meant to be carried upright so keep that in mind if you’re looking for something to carry your kiddos’ lunches flat.

This lunch bag is pretty average in size to most other lunch bags I’ve seen and trust me, I have seen them all.

Now, onto Cam’s lunch box.

Everything fit with room to spare for a drink, an ice pack, a napkin, and utensils when she needed them.

The Spencer Bento box and the Laptop Lunchbox fit snugly but still left room for a small juice box.

And there were even some days when I just put her water bottle or thermos in the pocket of her backpack if I couldn’t get them to fit.

I feel that I should also tell you that I LOVE this lunch bag! It’s extremely well made and worth every penny and the pattern on it is adorable. It still looks brand new after a year of abuse use!

Right now Garnet Hill is offering a free lunch pack with the purchase of a matching backpack which is a great deal. Their backpacks are a little on the pricey side at around $34 for the smaller one but they are extremely durable and come in some adorable patterns this year.

I hope this helps some of you who may be starting your back to school shopping. If you have any questions, feel free to ask in the comments section below.

Lunch for the 4th

4 Jul

7-4 lunch

 

For lunch today Camryn had a BLT on a hot dog bun (BLT dog?) It’s so much easier for her to eat that way. Bacon is straight, hot dog buns are straight, how did I not think of this before?

She also has some cheesy cut-outs made to sort-of resemble fireworks and of course she had to have a cheese pig since there’s bacon on her sandwich. 😉

In the smaller sections she has apple fries, some star-shaped cereal, and a scoop of homemade mint chocolate chip ice cream with a few rainbow sprinkles on top.

Happy 4th!

Breakfast for Lunch

26 Jun

bento 005

 

We had pancakes and sausage for dinner last night and I was sure to make a few teeny tiny pancakes for Cam to have for lunch today.

Why is breakfast so much better at lunch or dinner time?

I mean I never want a bowl of cereal for breakfast but I can always eat it for dinner or an afternoon snack.

What’s that about?

My kids go nuts when I tell them we’re having breakfast for dinner.

It’s like we’re breaking a rule but it’s o.k. because I’m the mom so I can totally do that.

In her ELB are those four left-over pancakes from dinner last night. I flavored them with cinnamon and a little vanilla. She also has some all natural breakfast sausage in her silicone pig (I couldn’t resist), a few slices of an organic apple, some maple syrup for dipping, and some organic raisins.

I always make pancakes from scratch because it’s so easy there’s really no reason not to. Here’s the recipe I always use. It’s never failed me.

Ingredients:

1 cup self-rising flour

1 cup milk (I use almond)

1 beaten egg

1/2 Tbsp sugar  (optional)

tiny pinch of salt (optional)

Directions:

Whisk dry ingredients together until combined. Add wet ingredients and whisk just until combined. A few lumps are o.k.

Heat griddle or pan to medium.

I like to keep a little bowl of melted butter next to my stove to brush the pan with between pancakes but you can also use non-stick spray if you need it.

Drop desired amount of batter onto your pan. I use an ice cream scoop but you can also use a squeeze bottle which makes it really easy. Don’t have a squeeze bottle? Wash out an empty ketchup bottle.

Cook on first side until bubbles appear on top. I usually take a little peek underneath before I flip to make sure things are nice and brown. Cook about 30 seconds to a minute more on the second side and then plate it up!

I usually get 6-8 regular sized pancakes out of this batter but you can easily double or triple it if you need more. As long as you have equal parts self-rising flour and milk, and an egg, you have pancakes.

You could also add to the batter:

2 Tbsp melted butter

nuts

chopped fruit

sprinkles

chocolate chips (or any other kind of chips really)

vanilla

pumpkin puree

nutmeg

cinnamon

preserves

melted chocolate

greens or protein powder

Daily Bento

18 Jun

 

For lunch today Cam had two crescents that she filled with Applegate Farms all-natural pepperoni and colby jack cheese. She also had some organic gala apple wedges, broccoli, and organic fruit snacks.

My kids love crescent rolls and they make a super quick lunch. Just fill the crescents with their favorite meat and/or cheese, pop them in the oven, and about 10 minutes later, lunch is ready!

Daily Bento

14 Jun

 

For lunch today, Camryn had a grilled cheese sandwich cut into a cupcake shape using our Lunch Punch, organic strawberry mango fruit snacks that I found on clearance yesterday (Yay Target!), an apricot, and a few cucumber slices.

 

 

Items used in today’s lunch:

             

 

 

 

Daily Bento

11 Jun

Just popping in to quickly share today’s lunch.

In her ELB, Camryn had brown sugar deli ham roll-ups, a mozzarella cheese stick cut into thirds, a few Spring Ritz crackers, broccoli, and a parfait made from yogurt, strawberries, dried cranberries, almonds, and granola.

8 Jun

 

Hi guys!

Just popping in over the weekend to share a quick bento that I packed the hubs for work last night.

He has dinner with us before he leaves for work every night so he likes to keep his snacks pretty light.

Just a little protein and some veg and he’s good to go.

In our Lunchbots Trio, I packed two organic cage-free hard-boiled eggs, low-fat cottage cheese, broccoli, and a few snap pea crisps.

In a separate container (not pictured) he also had black beans flavored with cilantro and lime.

That’s it!

Happy weekend 🙂

 

Daily Bento

6 Jun

rainy day lunch

I’ve said it before but unfortunately, gloomy days make for gloomy pictures.

Tropical Storm Andrea has been hanging out at our house since last night.

It’s been raining pretty much non-stop here for the last 15 hours and we’ve been under a tornado warning all day.

Good times.

Not to worry though. All my laundry is done and I washed my hair this morning.

I wouldn’t want you guys to see me on the news wearing dirty clothes with greasy hair if my house gets carried away by a water spout.

Never mind the stocking up of survival things like canned goods and batteries.

Priorities.

That might sound crazy to some of you but most native Floridians I know don’t get too concerned until we’re dealing with at least a Category 3 situation.

For us, a tropical storm is just another rainy day.

It’s a perfect day to read a good book, watch some movies, blog something, and just hang out with family. As long as you stay away from the windows, off the streets, and out of the water you’re good.

I will say that Andrea needs to carry on up north so I can get out to the store before my kids eat us out of house and home.

I watched the two of them tear through a family sized box of Cheez-Its last night like it was their job – after they had cleaned their plates at dinner and had dessert.

Hollow legs much?

Things aren’t looking good for my food budget.

In Cam’s lunch today she had Annie’s organic mac n’ cheese, organic strawberries, organic grapes, and sugar snap peas with a little sea salt.

Last Day Of School Lunch

5 Jun

last day lunch

We’re officially on summer vacation here as of about an hour ago.

I had to make a cute little lunch for Camryn to celebrate her last day of kindy.

She had a turkey sandwich kitty, organic fruit leather “last day” cut-outs, grape tomato balloons, organic grapes, broccoli, and Annie’s organic cheddar bunnies.

Just as I suspected, most of her lunch came back uneaten because her class had an ice cream party right after lunch.

In fact, I highly doubt any of them ate their lunches today because the conversation in the car this afternoon went something like this:

“Mom!!! Mrs. Kane only had vanilla ice cream which I don’t like but that’s okay because she had chocolate syrup, and whipped cream, and rainbow sprinkles, and flower sprinkles, and you’re not gonna believe this but she had chocolate sprinkles with rainbow sprinkles mixed in, and we had cupcakes  with YOUR favorite color icing, and we had capri suns and kool-aid… I didn’t have any kool-aid but I had two capri suns because it was hot so we were allowed!”

Luckily we don’t live far from the school.