Tag Archives: Easy Lunchboxes

Daily Bento: Dinner

31 Jul

I thought it might be fun to shake things up a bit and serve Cam’s dinner to her bento style.

I took the same food that would have been on her plate and arranged it in her Easy Lunchbox instead.

Unfortunately, I couldn’t get to my camera and had to snap the pic with my phone.

Ugh.

Is that pic killing your eyes too?

I apologize.

 

 

For dinner in her ELB, Cam had a turkey meatball sandwich with homemade bbq sauce and melty cheese on a teeny whole wheat bun, fries, organic apple wedges, broccoli, cauliflower, and red pepper strips.

 

 

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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.

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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:

             

 

 

 

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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.

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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.

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Daily Bento

31 May

Summer vacation.

Or what I refer to as: Three seemingly endless months of incessant whining about how there’s nothing to do and there’s nothing to eat and how hot it is outside and how we never go anywhere…

Can’t wait.

My husband and I dread summer.

Sure we’re all tired of the homework, the endless things that need to be filled out and returned to school, last-minute book reports, IEP meetings, waiting in the car lane every afternoon, getting up earlier than any person should be required to get up to make sure the teenager eats, grooms himself, looks presentable, doesn’t forget his lunch, and doesn’t miss his bus and summer does allow us a welcome break from all that.

But couldn’t it be a shorter break?

There’s just something about your kids sticking their heads in your fully stocked fridge and/or pantry every half hour and then yelling across the house “Mooooooom, there’s nothing to eat in here” that will drive even the most sane, put together woman to the brink of madness.

It also gets hot – really, really hot and humid here in the summer. So you have to hit the park or the beach or any other outside activity early in the morning, otherwise you risk burning to a crisp or passing out from heat stroke.

Been there, done that. No thanks.

Don’t get me wrong. We’re very lucky to live where we do.

We have quick access to parks, beaches, amusement parks, zoos, aquariums, movie theaters, libraries, and museums. But the novelty of those places wears off all too soon.

We’re also right next to a very popular summer vacation destination so the traffic becomes horrible and the crowds are almost unbearable everywhere you go. It’s easier on my sanity to just stay inside.

My kids have just three days of school left.

Those three days are filled with parties, movies, games, and an outside water play day for my daughter.

My son gets to take exams.

He sure got the bad end of that deal.

Since today is Cam’s last Friday of the school year, I made her a colorful and fruity Friday lunch.

She’s basically having ice cream for lunch next week so it seemed like the right thing to do.

 

For lunch today, she had a fruit salad that contained organic strawberries, pineapple, organic grapes, and organic cherries. She also had french green beans, cheese, crackers, and a slice of a banana bread/carrot cake hybrid with salted caramel glaze that I whipped up two nights ago.

The banana bread/cake contains carrots and pineapple so it’s pretty much a salad in its own right as well.

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Big Kid Bento

30 May

Today is a first.

I’m posting my oldest child’s lunch.

Can I still refer to him as a child if he’s old enough to drive?

That fact makes my brain hurt. It’s just weird. Wasn’t he just 7 last week?

I can’t even handle it. He’s like this huge teenaged person with a man-voice that still plays video games and watches cartoons, so child seems like the appropriate term here.

Anyway, he’s always been a lunch packer.

I could give him money for school lunch (which would be a lot cheaper) but he’d most definitely buy pizza and pop-tarts every day and that kind of diet isn’t good for anybody.

He’s not so good at making wise choices when it comes to food.

He’s also an Aspie (a term of endearment for someone with Asperger’s Syndrome) so for many years, he would eat the same lunch every day.

Every. Single. Day.

Sandwich, chips, cookies.

That’s it.

No fruit, no veggies, no variation.

The only exception to this rule was if pizza, chicken fingers, or a sugary treat of some sort were involved.

It’s hard to get kids to try new foods but it’s next to impossible to get a kid with Asperger’s to do it.

And even if you’re lucky enough to make that happen, it will almost always end in tears, gags, or vomits (if not all three).

Nobody needs that drama.

All that changed over the last couple of years.

I became super persistent about getting him to try new things and I finally wore him down.

I’m no quitter.

Of course there was whining, crying, and gagging in the beginning, but over time the process became easier for both of us and he has a much more varied diet these days as a result.

Now, let’s talk lunch!

 

I try to make bread at least once a week. The recipe I use is fabulous because it’s so versatile. That one dough recipe can be turned into cinnamon rolls, garlic & herb rolls, swirled breakfast bread, pizza crust, hoagie rolls, sandwich loaves, and so many other things. One day I’ll get around to posting it on this site.

I like to take that dough, roll it out, top it with all-natural lunch meat and cheese, roll it back up, slice it, and bake it. Pretty much the same way you would make cinnamon rolls (see, versatile).

D just pops them in the microwave at lunch time and in about 20 seconds they’re all warm and soft again with crispy meat on the edges and melty cheese in the center.

Nuthin’ wrong with that.

For lunch today, he had two of those meaty/cheesy spiral thingies, fresh pineapple, and some Big Cheez-Its.

 

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Daily Bento – Better Late Than Never

16 May

bento 003

This was Camryn’s lunch on Tuesday. I just didn’t have the time to get it posted until now.

This lunch was packed in Cam’s Good Lunch Box by Sugarbooger. The super cute one with the owls on it.

In the box, are two little business bear sandwiches with organic fruit leather cut-outs on top, a cheese stick, organic strawberries, and tortilla chips.

Let’s discuss the box, shall we?

I haven’t had it too long so I can’t really go into too much detail about how long it lasts, how durable it is, yada yada, you get the idea.

I can tell you that we’ve only had it for a couple of months and the plastic on one of the locking sides is already coming away from the container :(.

I’m not sure if this is because I wash it in the dishwasher rather than hand-washing it or if it’s just thin plastic but it is a little disappointing.

I’m not a hand wash kind of gal. So I tend to chuck things into the dishwasher pretty haphazardly and hope for the best.

I would have never made it as a housewife during the pioneer days, or the colonial days, or really any days before the late 50’s when dishwashers became a thing that regular people had in their kitchens.

I do have another theory that removes all blame from my shoulders…

When stored flat in Cam’s lunchbox, it’s a pretty tight fit and I have a sneaking suspicion that she crammed it in her lunchbox while one of the locking sides wasn’t locked causing it to catch on the edge of the lunchbox, and in turn, ripped away from the container a little.

That makes a lot more sense.

Yep.

I’m going with that.

I will say that the dishwasher is doing no favors to the cute owl print on the lid. So if you ultimately purchase one of these containers, do yourself a favor and hand wash the lid. Don’t be like me.

These containers are a little smaller than an ELB. Here’s a handy visual:

ELB vs. Good Lunch Box

It has one large section and two smaller but equally sized sections. I love containers with built-in dividers because that means that I don’t have to use silicone cups, baran, or any other dividers if I don’t want to.

These dividers do not go all the way up to the lid so it is not leak-proof. If the box is carried vertically there’s a good chance that food can be mixed if it is small enough to fit through the gap between the lid and the dividers.

Also, a whole sandwich will not fit in the large section which I know is a big turn off for some people. You just need to cut the sandwich and stack it to get it to fit, no biggie.

All in all, I do like this box. It’s cute, it was affordable, it’s the right size, did I mention it’s cute?

 

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Daily Bento

15 May

Today’s lunch: Chocolate hazelnut sandwich cut in half with organic fruit leather bunnies placed on top, two pieces of cheese, organic strawberries, and veggie chips all packed in an Easy Lunchbox (ELB).

In keeping with the super official recent theme on this blog of what works for us vs. what doesn’t, I’d like to share my opinion of Easy Lunchboxes with you today.

And here it is…

If I had to recommend only one lunch container to a friend, out of all of the containers that I own, it would most likely be the ELB’s.

Shocked?

I hear ya. That statement doesn’t make a lot of sense if you’re a regular reader of this blog. I haven’t used them very often for Cam’s lunch this year but my son, on the other hand, brings his lunch to school every day and has used an ELB religiously with only a couple of exceptions this school year.

He packs his lunch in an ELB at night and throws it in the fridge (most of the time, literally).

In the morning, he puts his ELB in his insulated lunch bag along with a drink and off he goes.

I wash them in the dishwasher after every use and they’ve held up beautifully. No cracks or stains. They look as good now as they did when I first got them.

More reasons why I ♥ ELB’s:

  • They are versatile and practical. No fancy bells and whistles or various parts to keep track of.
  • They fit in most lunchboxes
  • They are easy to clean
  • They are affordable
  • They are durable

And at only $13.95 for a pack of 4, they will pay for themselves over and over again because you won’t need anymore baggies or small containers.

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Daily Bento – Blast From The Past

22 Mar

The funk has invaded our house.

Both of the kids are sick and both have very different ailments.

The oldest is dealing with a stomach bug while the youngest has a respiratory infection.

How does that even happen?

Camryn has been eating small meals throughout the day so I didn’t make a fancied up lunch yesterday or today.

I did however remember a certain lunch that I made for her over a weekend last month that I never posted.

I actually can’t believe I’m going to show it to you because honestly, it’s not my best work.

Camryn must have agreed because when she saw it she said “Mom, that pig looks crazy.”

She’s right. There’s a creepy look in his cheesy eyes.

Cam was going through a pretty serious Angry Birds phase a few months ago so I thought it would be fun to surprise her with an Angry Birds lunch.

The only problem was that I wasn’t real sure what those pigs and birds looked like. I only played it once, ages ago after several minutes of pleading from my husband and daughter.

I’m not into the vidja games which makes me the odd man out in my household.

Call me crazy, but as a SAHM I can usually find something more productive to do like cooking, cleaning, or child rearing than sitting around playing video games.

I’m not knocking anyone that does sit around and play those games all day, go for it if that’s your thing – no judgement. But I have a really addictive personality and I have no doubt that if I started playing, even if just for fun, I would soon be hooked and before you know it, my house would look like a cross between the second half of a Harlem Shake video (you know, where the kids are on the counters with mixing bowls on their heads) and one of those houses on Hoarders.

Not pretty.

Plus, it would be kind of hard to justify my not working if my husband had to do all the housework and work a full-time job at night because I was obsessed with getting to the next level of Halo or Assassins Creed or Zelda or whatever it is the kids are into these days.

Yeah, I’d say my reasoning is pretty solid.

So back to my dilemma, I looked on the interweb and luckily those pigs are everywhere. Plus, we had some Angry Birds graham crackers and their little faces were all over the box.

So there’s really no excuse for what I’m about to show you.

Sigh…

 

 

I’m telling you, that’s a Halloween mask waiting to happen. Take note costume manufacturers.

I believe that behind that psychopathic glare is a chicken sandwich. His eyes were made out of mozzarella cheese stick slices and food grade marker. The mouth and eyebrows were made out of organic fruit leather. His teeth were also made from mozzarella cheese.

I also put strawberries, pineapple, cheese stars, fruit leather letter cut-outs, and Angry Birds graham crackers in this lunch.

 

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