Tag Archives: leftovers for lunch
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!

 

 

 

 

Daily Bento

4 Sep

 

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.

 

 

 

 

 

Daily Bento

31 Jan

taco salad bento

Do your kids love tacos?

Cam is a taco maniac. She loves them. I’m pretty sure that she could eat them every night if I let her. So why have I never put them in her lunch?

We had tacos for dinner last night and there were just enough leftovers to make a nice little taco salad lunch for her today.

It couldn’t have been easier to make too.

I just layered the cold stuff (shredded lettuce, chopped tomato, shredded cheese, and crushed tortilla chips) in her bento box, and then added some warmed taco meat to her thermos that I had already heated with boiling water.

At lunchtime, all she has to do is dump the meat over her salad, mix it up, and munch away!

For a sweet and healthy finish, she also has a few grapes.

And that’s lunch!

Happy Friday

Daily Bento

15 Apr

It’s Monday. The perfect day for a quick and easy lunch. Even though this lunch doesn’t look simple or like it came together quickly, it really did. From start to finish, today’s lunch only took me about 5 minutes to pack.

The kids had pizza for dinner last night and they both asked for the leftovers to be put in their lunches today. Personally, I don’t care for cold pizza but the kids love it and that makes things easy for me so pizza it is.

Once their pizza had completely cooled, I cut a slice into bite-sized pieces and included a couple of elephant picks to make it easier for my little one to keep her hands clean. I also added some raw spinach, an all-natural chocolate chip cookie, grapes, and a few pieces of fresh pineapple with her nickname in picks. She also has some iced green tea in her thermos to drink.

Daily Bento

22 Feb

Every now and then my husband will ask me to pack his lunch for work.

So I thought, why not include one of his lunches here on the blog?

So here is last night’s lunch, packed in an Easy Lunchbox:

 

 

In his lunch:

  • Israeli couscous with sun-dried tomatoes, feta, parsley, sweet peppers, and grilled chicken
  • A little lemon to squeeze over his couscous
  • Pineapple
  • Sliced pear
  • Dried Apricots from our Graze box
  • A Summer Berry Flapjack from our Graze box