Halloween Inspiration/Flashback

So, with Halloween coming up right away, I figured I might as well do a throwback to some of the halloween lunches I prepared last year.  I figured there was so many cute ideas, so I did a different theme each day, all week!

Today it was orange/black pumpkin day:  I used an orange babybel and cut out a star, cheese sticks with a speckled orange and black frog sneaking on top, blackberries, and carrots with stars cut out for the snack box.

For the main lunch we have orange slices with a bat pic, her sandwich was a pumpkin (complete with a cute witch hat pic) and a slice of cheddar cheese on top with the cute pumpkin face, and cheese curls with the creepy gate pic (too much fun!)

Today was SPIDERS!!!!  Her snack box wasn't in theme, but her main lunch was the attraction.  I used an orange Babybel and painted a cute face on it, then sliced some spider legs and baked the hot dogs to make spider dogs (stuck in a few wilton cady eyes to complete). added a container of ketchup for dipping and a creepy toy spider web behind.  Then she had a side of mac & cheese with a creepy spider crawling all over!!!

MUMMY DAY!  I drew a cute pumpkin face on the top of her orange container, then jello in her orance silicone mold, and few berries and some cheese string witch brooms (pretzels for the sticks), and it wouldn't be complete without a creepy gate pic behind.  Then her main lunch had a cute mummy sandwich, and a few mummy hot dogs (hot dogs wrapped in Philsbury crescent roll dough and baked), with a cute RIP pic and some berries.....don't forget the mummy juice box! (Juice box wrapped in gauze and then a face drawn on)

GHOST DAY!!!  I used my gingerbread cookie cutter for her sandwich and dressed him up with a cheddar cheese pumpkin costume and a with hat pic (drew face on with edible pens by Wilton), then we have some crunchy cheesies with a bat pic, and a few cheese string ghosts on a bed of grapes.  Her snack container had a few carrots slices (with toy eyeballs!), and some cheesy nuts n bolts and a cute ghost pic to complete.

 GHOST DAY #2...too many cute ghosts, I had to do 2 different days!  Her snack box had a cottage cheese ghost with raisin eyes and mouth, some berries and veggies with a cute ghost pic.  Then her lunch was a creepy ghost sandiwch with a marble cheese top and fruit leather cut into the word "BOO", a cheddar cheese house and a few fun pics to dress it up.  Then her treat was a couple big marshmallows with edible faces drawn on with edible marker, and some pomegranate seeds.

Hope that helps inspire others for a fun Halloween week in lunch land!

HAPPY HALLOWEEN!!!

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Life gets busy, but you can still have some fun...

This bento was "bear" inspired, with hope of my girl learning a few little words that she can learn to read in her lunch!  We have some grapes and raspberries to cover her fruit, a homemade apple cinnamon mini muffin, and her babybel cheese in the snack container.  Then for her lunch she got a few fun small mini sandwiches, goldfish crackers in the middle and a cucumber with the bears on top!

Someone couldn't wait for me to take the picture, she was already stealing a peak of her lunch!  I treated her with a few little candies (nut free) and then the rest of the box was all about crackers and cheese!  She has decided she doesn't like sandwiches much anymore so this is proving to be quite a task to get around...sigh.  Her snack box has some cucumbers, celery and cheese (always put this in the snack box because come time for lunch its just a soggy mess from being out of the fridge too long), and then a banana (with a fun Goofy sticker) on top of some grapes.

Flower Day!!!.....Babybel with some cut up oranges to start out with, and then I cut up some Jicama and inserted red pepper centers.  Then she has a few small flower peanut butter (well, soy butter) sandwiches.  In the middle for a treat she got some all fruit, fruit snacks with a cute little ring for her to wear.

Meow, she just loves her kitty cats.....we have a ham and cheese kitty cat sandwich (complete with a red pepper bow on her ear), with two heart shaped surprise boxes.  She gets some yummy cheese nuts and bolts, with her favorite Babybel cheese.  In her snack box she has a few more red peppers, some fun cucumbers and some cut up oranges to finish things off nicely.

Jello Jigglers are back! lol...just to have some fun she has a teddy bear sandwich, with some sprinkles in the nose, some slices of marble cheese, a few jello jigglers and some cut up oranges.  For the snack box she has a fun veggie mixture of jicama, celery, and red peppers.  Followed up with some key lime greek yogurt and some swiss cheese crackers.

As we roll into April........where did March go?

Wow, I just can't believe how fast time is flying by, how is it April already?  I find myself having to brainstorm thoughts and ideas for year end teacher presents already and I am in shock!  Any good ideas for something cute, but not too expensive, but something they will actually use and not just throw to the side with all the other knick knacks?

Anyway, as the year continues on, so do the fun Bento lunches for little missy.  I haven't posted since Easter so here are quite a few to fill in that void.  Life just gets so crazy that I find I have limited computer time more and more, but I try to pop in when I can to update, and I ALWAYS take pics so I can post later at least....better late then never right?

Let's start out with St. Patrick's Day.....it landed on a weekend but we still had fun the day after at school :D She had a peanut butter clover sandwich (made using small heart cutters and then putting together, with a little green pepper in the middle), some cut up cold asparagus sprigs with a cute little green leaf in them, some chopped up cucumbers with skin on and a cute chocolate loonie for the pot of gold.  Then in her other box she got a couple red and green gummy lifesavers, some green cottage cheese and her favorite green grapes.

Today was just a goofy lunch for her:  strawberries thinly sliced with green grapes, oatmeal bear paws for her treat, a Babybel cheese with "Hi", a sealed peanut butter (nut free WowButter) sanwish with cute little face accessories and two bear paws for feet, then come diced red peppers and cucumbers

Today called for some more diced red peppers and cucumbers, with some cute kabob sandwiches (ham and cheese), some swiss cheese crackers, dried apricots, a container with some alphabits, and some strawberries and grapes.

The Giraffe is roaming in the long cucumber spears, a few cut up strawberries and some peak frean cookies. Then we have some oranges (and a hope that summer is coming with the ice cream cone pic), some Swiss Cheese crackers, some heart shaped cheese slices and leftover bbq'd ham steaks.

I got an ADORABLE new lunch container at Ikea for only $2.99!!! LOVE IT! I plan to use this on days she has a hot lunch served at school and only needs snacks packed.

Hot Lunch day at school, so we have a few diced cucumbers, diced strawberries and some cheese and crackers to finish off the bunch.  She is getting chicken boodle soup and a bun for hot lunch today.

Today we have some mandarin orange slices (tend to use those as backup if I haven't had time to get fresh fruit), real fruit fruit snacks, carrot and celery sticks with a little container of ranch dip.  Then for her lunch she has a sliced hard boiled egg, some goldfish on the side, cheese chunks and some crackers.

She wanted pancakes for her lunch today, so pancakes/breakfast it was!  I cut up some leftover ham, then cut up some chocolate chip pancakes into little squares to skewer onto swords, with a little container of syrup to dip into, and a mixed fruit cocktail to finish off the lunch portion.  The snack portion has celery and cucumber sticks, with a container of ranch dressing, some cottage cheese and a few bits n bites to finish everything off.

I started out with a flower Babybel, some bits n bites, and green grapes with a cute little grape couple in the middle.  My local grocery store made some fun rainbow bread!!! I HAD to snag a loaf to catch Lynden by surprise!  So I did a closed peanut butter sandwich with "LOVE" written on top with pics (she is really catching on to reading a lot of words), some real fruit fruit snacks, and some cucumbers and snap peas with a cute little monkey peeking through from the peas.

She had strawberry slices and purple grapes for her fruit today, a cute ham puzzle sandwich, some red peppers and cucumbers, a star Babybel and a chocolate chip cookie that her and dad made the night before for her lunch today!

The menu today consisted of some goldfish, red peppers, celery and snap pea sticks, heart shaped Babybel, then I had to use more rainbow bread with a cute little cupcake shaped sandwich, some real fruit fruit snacks and strawberries with grapes to round out the meal today

Hope some of these cute, easy, healthy options make it into your little one's lunch or at least gives you some inspiration to go that extra mile!  Only takes a bit of extra thought and its so east to do :D  Enjoy!

Hoppy Easter Everyone...

HOPPY EASTER TO ALL!! 

Hope you have a fantastic long weekend celebrating with all your loved ones.....

We have swiss cheese crackers to start things off, a little container of cottage cheese, and some cut up oranges with a cute little lamb peeking out.  Then in her main lunch she has tulip cucumbers, some carrot sticks (for Easter bunny of course!), and of course the Easter Bunny had to make an appearance!  I used a hamburger bun for the sandwich, cut out little slits for the nose and whiskers, then I used the cucumber skins to make the nose and whiskers and finished off with some long slices of cucumbers for the ears.  The eyes are edible eye candies made by Wilton :D  Enjoy!

This one was a spring fun theme as our snow beings to melt here!!  We have mixed strawberries and oranges, swiss cheese crackers and butterfly shaped cheese slices.  For her main lunch she has a butterfly sandwish with cute little heart sprinkles as the spots and a slice of cucumber peel for the middle stripe.  Then she has some cute little cucumber and carrot flowers to top it all off.

Catch up week #2.....

Still catching up from my hiatus of sickness I had.....

Week 2....I got the monthly news letter from school yesterday and they announced that this month's theme is going to be Medieval times!  So, naturally I saw this as a challenge :D

Monday:  My first attempt at a castle for the Medieval Times....I cut out a castle sandwich freehand and then added a cheddar cheese topping, with a cute little princess at the top of the castle peak and some marshmallow clouds for effect.  Then some green grapes and raspberries to top off the lunch box.  Then for the snack box I put celery and cheese (I find the cheese only stays nice until first break, if left too long it gets runny and turns into a mess so I always put in her snack box for her 10:40 break), some cottage cheese and a few swiss cheese crackers to finish it all off.

Tuesday:  Her snack box had a Babybel with my best shot at free-handing a princess crown into it, swiss cheese crackers, green grapes and raspberries and the lost princess mixed into the fruit.  Another castle in the lunch box, but this time I spelled "Castle" for her to have fun learning and seeing new words that go along with her school theme and also the lunch I made.  I free-handed the castle, had ham in the sandwich and used cucumber peels for the entry doors to the castle.  Finished that box off with some cucumbers and red peppers on skewers that were swords to keep with the theme as well.

So excited, I got Bento mail today!  I ordered these ADORABLE cutters from Zulily and got them today!!  Great household products, clothing for kids and adults, and decorating goodies too. Did I mention cheap too?..worth a look!  

Wednesday:  Today brought Lynden raspberries, a Babybel cheese, some mixed bits n Bites snack.  For her lunch I got to play with my new cutters and I must say I LOVE them!  I made the cute little sun and moon sandwiches, with a chocolate chip cookie (and don't forget a cute little puppy pic on the middle), and her favorite fan sliced strawberries with a new word spelled out for her "DOG" to go with the puppy pic.  Too much fun to make the lunches educational AND fun so easily!

Thursday:  Her lunch box today was all about crackers and cheese snack food.  I gave her some skewered ham, soda crackers with cheddar cheese slices in them, a few pieces of beef jerky, sliced cucumbers and red peppers.  Her snack box is ranges, raspberries, dried apricots and come cute goldfish crackers to finish off the mix of snack foods today.

Friday: Started out with some celery and cheese, sliced boiled egg and some cute letter shaped "Fruit Krisps" cracker/cookies (they have dried fruit in them and are pretty yummy, with a letter stamped into top of each too for bonus fun).  In her lunch I had fun with the new cutters again!  A sun and moon, with the star Babybel to match.  Then some cute crinkle cut carrots and cucumber slices to top it all off...

Voila....there is the week in review for my munchkin!

I'm baaaack.....

Wow, have I been sick lately...hence the lack of posting.  I started a new job, then on second day at the job I got Pink eye severely, then it spread to my other eye....and if that wasn't enough, I then got a horrible dry dry cough and it has lasted 3 weeks and counting now...phewf!  I am on the mend hopefully!

But, the Bento boxes still had to be made, just didn't get around to posting them (this proves that even when extremely sick and sleep deprived, fun lunches are still easy to make)....so drum roll please........

Week one in review....

Monday:  We start out with a cute little piggy sandwich with a cheddar cheese open face, then some fan sliced strawberries, raspberries and a homemade chocolate chip cookie.  The nutrition break box has some sliced cucumbers, and fun zigzag cut carrots, a boiled egg sliced nice and thin, and to finish off there is a cup of cottage cheese.

Tuesday:  We started with cottage cheese, sliced cucumbers and fanned strawberries.  Then for the main lunch we had a de-crusted peanut butter sandwich with a cute flower pattern stamped into top and a hippo sticking out, then some sliced peppers.  To finish off there is a few pieces of beef jerky and some raspberries.

Wednesday:  My girl is LOVING spelling and seeing how words are spelled lately, she is on the verge of reading so I thought I would help out with that in her lunch to have some fun.  We have a homemade chocolate chip cookie, some raspberries and a cute little kitty cat pic peeking out.  Then we have some peppers and celery slices with a container of ranch dip and of course "CAT" spelled out for her to read.  For the main lunch I sliced some apples and soaked them in lemon juice to keep them from browning, added sliced strawberries, a cute heart cut out of the babybel cheese and a heart shaped sandwich with the cut out heart on top to finish it off.

Thursday:  We started with some raspberries and strawberries, a few Peek Frean cookies, and sliced peppers.  The main lunch is a ham puzzle sandwich with some cute critters sticking out. Then a few beef jerky pieces and a Babybel cheese to finish it off.

I can't count the times I get comments about "how do you have time to do those lunches", "those must take forever", "you must have only 1 child, that explains it" etc...but honestly, these lunches are SO easy to do and so much fun for the kids.  It is just a matter of putting a little bit of flair into the lunch, that's all.  I always try to include into each day a veggie, fruit, cheese, some carb fillers and perhaps a little treat so that it is well balanced.  But if you notice, I pretty much use the same things all week long, but just display them in fun different ways to spice things up but keep it budget friendly as well......hopefully this is helping you to get inspired!