Lunchbox look - Dec 8-12, 2014 - Twelve Days of Christmas week 2

You don't appreciate just how bird-centric the Twelve Days of Christmas song is until you've carved all of them out of sandwich cheese.

Four calling birds! I thought I was being clever but my lunch-eater politely requested that I keep my video game birds on the computer and out of the twelve days of Christmas lunch series. Noted! There's a waxy cheese bird with tomatoes, miniature sandwich with carrots and celery, triangle sandwich with clementines and raspberries with peppermint JoeJoe. Lots of candy eyes here!

Five golden rings! Ring picks made this easy - I just stuck candied pineapple on the picks and slipped the rings around a quesadilla hand. There's also dried cherries, celery (peanut butter is only on the top layer) with sprinkles, raspberry, checkered cucumber, salami with a pick and grapes.

Six geese! More cheese birds, this time stacked on leftover pasta with Parmesan. The second tier holds carrots, apple chunks and grapes.

Seven swans! This is the end of the birds! These swans are on top of a simple half sandwich. There's grapes and raspberries, orange slices, cookie an carrots with a silicone flower to keep the sandwich dry.

Maids a milking! My vision for this lunch was a lot cuter than the finished product, though the image of a girl drinking a gallon of milk through a straw does make me giggle. There's a sandwich plus cow crackers, carrots, tomatoes and snap peas.


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Lunchbox look - Dec. 1 - 5, 2014 - Twelve Days of Christmas week 1

This is my third year of counting down the last 12 school days before winter break with a 12 days of Christmas theme. It is the first year that I realized (too late to do anything about it) that I probably should start at 12 lords a leaping and progress backwards from there.

Sweet pea! Before we start with the 12 days, we've got two other days to take care of. This theme was easy to put together from dinner leftovers and a few fun accessories from my collection. There's a lot of food variety in here! Hawaiian sweet roll with cheese topper, plus salami, leftover peas in a silicone, grapes, clementine, carrots, cheese chunk and a treat in the Lego container. The little man holding the cheese is actually from a wine glass marker set.

Hearts! One lunch accessory I haven't pulled out in a while in my heart-shaped mini sandwich sealer. It makes four hearts and a square, and seals everything nicely if you have soft bread. After that, I quickly threw in more boring winter produce - grape tomatoes, carrots and celery, clementine plus salami slices.

Partridge in a pear tree! One of these days I'm going to look up what this bird actually looks like. In the mean time, I freehanded a bird out of fruit leather and stuck it on a carved pear (dipped in lemon water to stop the browning). There's a lot going on here - Triscuits, clementine, salami, cheese cubes, kiwi, dried cherries and a peppermint JoeJoe.

Two turtle doves! I love how this turned out! That's a doubled-over piece of washi tape between the doves. They are resting on two Hawaiian sweet rolls plus there's a leftover turkey burger, tomatoes, carrots, celery and some chocolate-covered sunflower seeds. Next time, I'll be smarter and stack the two pieces of cheese rather than cutting each one individually.

Three French hens! These divided containers make lunch packing really simple. The cheese hen has sprinkle accents plus a flag pick, all on top of a bite size sandwich There's also a clementine, grapes, chocolate coin, steamed broccoli and carrot flowers.


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Lunchbox look - Nov. 24 - 26, 2014

Another short week! It's a good thing my child got two days off school so she could be there to witness me cooking the turkey with the giblet bag still inside, a fact of which she likes to remind me daily.

Autumn! It's my least favorite season but I sure do like maple flavored sandwich cookies, so it can't be all bad! There's a leaf sandwich, carrots and celery, grapes, leftover chicken and one of those great cookies. To make the carrot flowers, slice off the ends of a baby carrot and carefully cut little V-shaped notches around the sides. Mess up the first three and eat the evidence. Gently slice into coins and scatter throughout the lunchbox.

Hand turkey! I made a version of this same turkey last year, but it didn't make an impression until this year. Evidently they no longer make these simple art projects in school because my daughter complimented me on my ingenuity. The turkey's features are made from sprinkles - a heart for his crest, chocolate-covered sunflower seed for the beak and part of a candy cane sprinkle for the wattle. This lunch also has a carved cucumber, sliced kiwi, pretzel sticks, grapes and a few more sunflower seeds.

Pilgrim girl! Her pale little cheeks make me happy (they're Easter egg sprinkles) as does her prudent, center-parted fruit leather hair. Grapes, clementine, salami and celery/carrots fill in the rest of this small lunch on the last day before Thanksgiving break.


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Lunchbox look - Nov. 17 - 21, 2014

The good thing about throwing a party is, well, everything because ... well, party! There's also the vast buffet to choose from when packing your child's lunch at the end of said party. The only downside is the pink tint your lunch picture takes on when you plop that lunch right down on the centerpiece amid a sea of bubblegum pink party decorations.

Party love! This extra deep Lego box is filled Lunchable-style with lots of party leftovers. There's cake, a waxy cheese, maple bacon chips and celery in the top row. On the bottom are Ritz crackers, sliced olives, carrots and grapes. Throw in a mini fork and we're done!

Garden angel! I can't remember what I was actually going for, but that's what my daughter called this and it seemed much more fitting. Those are silicone leaves on top of a sandwich plus grapes, star cookies, leftover mixed veggies and dried fruit in the mushroom container (which is actually a recycled candy dish).

Hello Kitty! Here I again used a silicone divider as clothing. Then there's grapes on picks, cheese cubes in the metal container, carrots and celery plus a box of raisins that I ridiculously accessorized with a strip of washi tape. 

School play! These four sections each relate to a song in my daughter's school play. Quick-steamed broccoli (cooled before adding to the box), leftover pasta salad, half an apple and grapes with star cookies. For the apple, I wrote the word in toothpick across the apple and then cut around those letters with an X-acto knife.

Lion! My young actress suggested I make a lion lunch in honor of her school play's main character. This easy lion is a triple-decker sandwich in a silicone flower cup. Then there's a kiwi, carrots, tropical dried fruits, cashes, peanut butter celery sticks and grapes. 

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Lunchbox look - Nov. 10 - 14, 2014

Another short week! The beginning of the school year goes so fast and it feels like there are holidays all the time. Remind me of this feeling during the torturous slog that is April. We were busy this week so I took it pretty easy in the lunch-packing department.

Lunch on a stick! When in doubt, kids will always eat food on a stick. Except a corn dog, which my children wouldn't eat if you paid them in lollipops. Here we have ham and cheese on a stick, plus Goldfish, checkered apple chunks, tomatoes, strawberries and a few prized mini Pocky treats. I find that placing long sticks on an angle makes the rest of the lunchbox a lot easier to fill than a rigid horizontal line.

Birthday! We had a family birthday this week, so I kept the festivities going. This lunchbox is very deep, which makes it easy to pack a small apple, ham on picks, carrot sticks, strawberry and leftover pasta with Parmesan.

Rainbow! I used concentric circle cookie cutters to mark the outline for the rainbow, filled it with peanut butter and pressed on sprinkles. The clouds are popcorn kernels. There's also baby carrots, a kiwi, tomatoes, a waxy cheese and rainbow box holding rainbow chocolate-covered sunflower seeds. 

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Lunchbox look - Nov. 3 - 7, 2014 - This little piggy week

When I told my daughter about my plan to do a little piggy week, she immediately asked if I really could give her NONE on Thursday and instead she'd buy cafeteria lunch. It was genius and probably would have made her day, but instead her big bad wolf of a mother made her lunch on that day too. Life is so unfair.

This little piggy went to market ... to make his own soft taco.

This little piggy stayed in his graham cracker-covered home.

This little piggy had roast beef  ... err, bratwurst.

This little piggy had none ... until he looked in the other tier and discovered an abundance of tropic fruits and peeled vegetables. 

This little piggy cried "Wee wee wee!" all the way home, where he enjoyed breakfast for lunch.

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Lunchbox look - Oct. 27 - 31, 2014 Halloween

I usually make the next day's lunch either as I'm preparing after-school snacks and dinner, or else later in the evening. Never in the mornings - I get up early enough as it is! This strategy backfired on me twice this week, as my child had two unexpected sick days. Healthy little sister was happy to eat them, however, and before long I imagine I'll be up late making her lunches cute, too.

Crossbones! This box was an early Christmas present (for me as much as my child). It's easy to fill, though not terribly cute on this day. Meatballs, crossbones cucumber and carrots, tomatoes and a chunk of carmel apple. 

Black widow! I've been holding onto this black chocolate candy for a while and a use finally presented itself. Cutting the spider legs out of nori was a little tedious, but the rest involved tossing food into cups and on picks. Sandwich, cooked and cooled broccoli, watermelon, leftover chicken and a waxy cheese. 

Bats! I didn't put much effort into this one, since I'd already made one lunch that never made it to school.  Alas, this one didn't either. Most impressive is that I have three separate kinds of bat decorations. Cucumbers, chicken nuggets, tomatoes, waxy cheese, celery and a few cookies.

Mummy! This was another new box that I was eager to try out and the long segment on the side was perfect for a little mummy. I cut a piece of bread into thirds to make a triple-decker sandwich and wrapped it in a long strip of paper towel, with two candy eyes. Cucumber and carrots, grapes and strawberries plus a few little cookies.

Halloween cat! Isn't it funny how kids miraculously get better before Halloween? This sealed sandwich is a nod to my daughter's costume. Behind the sandwich is a checkered cucumber, waxy cheese and a few hidden grapes, plus a few carrots, cucumber chunks and black cat chocolate cookies in the front.

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Lunchbox look - Oct. 20 - 24, 2014 Halloween begins

With one (inspired but not cute) exception, this week turned into a Halloween theme. As you can see by this week's tablecloth, the inside of my house is already decorated, so bring on the holiday lunches!

Witch! The cute little broom-rider is a straw clip I recently found at JoAnn Fabric and they press perfectly into food. Here we have a homemade sealed sandwich with chocolate sprinkles, mini apple, Triscuits and cheese, grapes and a box of raisin spells.

Sand Witch! One good witch deserves another. Edamame at dinner looked perfectly witchy to me, so there's a piece of pod for the nose and the beans in a silicone cup. There's also checkered cucumber, raisins and carrots plus a few fun picks. Lettuce makes everything prettier!

Javelina! One of our favorite books is "Don't Call Me Pig" and I thought I'd recreate the main character in his spiffy glasses. It's a little obscure and perhaps not the cutest thing I've ever made, but my daughter immediately recognized it, so that's all that matters. Here we have a sandwich (the glasses are another straw clip from JoAnn Fabric), cheese crackers, waxy cheese, cucumber sticks and a mix of strawberries and grapes. I halved the grapes so more would fit. And now, back to the Halloween lunches!

Ghost! I had more elaborate ghost plans in mind, but we were out of white cheese (and who wants a Cheddar ghost?). Instead I packed a simple little sandwich with Wilton eyes and a chocolate chip mouth, celery, strawberries in a spider cup, grapes, mini apple and a waxy-cheese-o'Lantern.

Pumpkin! How easy is this? Peek-a-boo sandwich with sprinkles, cucumbers, grapes, Goldfish and a waxy cheese. An easy end to a very low-maintenance lunch week.

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Lunchbox look - Sept. 29 - Oct. 3, 2014 Disney week

In anticipation of a trip to The Happiest Place on Earth, I packed a week's worth of Disneyland lunches.

Tinker Bell! My favorite of the week, and the best part is hard to see in the photo - her mini M&M bun on top of her head. Her clothing is just silicone food dividers. There's also a grapes, strawberry hearts, cookie, carrot sticks and a waxy cheese. Even though it seems to have disappeared in her recent movies, I gave Tink a wand.

Small World! This one's a little obscure, but the little people picks completely redeem it. The cheese and sprinkle details of the Small World clock are on a decorative silicone coaster (it came precut - I'm not that crazy). This helps keep the sandwich beneath it dry with all of that steamed broccoli in the box. There's also grapes, a box of raisins and strawberries.

Mouse ears hat! You begin to question your sanity when you're cutting out mini Mickeys to put on a mini Mickey Mouse ear hat. I knew the seaweed wouldn't be eaten, but I still couldn't help myself. The hat is on top of a homemade sealed sandwich (I bought nice soft bread so it seals beautifully). Tucked behind the sandwich are grapes and a box of raisins, and on the side are carrot sticks and a checkered cucumber.

Sleeping Beauty's castle! This is traced from the Buena Vista logo and was a lot easier than it looks! I popped the fruit leather in the microwave for about 5 seconds before cutting it, which seemed to make the cutting easier. There's also a homemade sealed sandwich, grapes, leftover chicken and cucumber sticks.

Disneyland at night! I cheated and used the scraps from the previous day to decorate this lunch (who could throw away such a pretty leftover?). Because this meal needed to be disposable and room temperature, I packed it in a recycled salad container. There's a sandwich, apple slices, grapes, box of raisins, pistachios and two mini cookies.


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Lunchbox look - Sept. 22 - 26, 2014

A funny thing happened this week - my child grew an appetite. Except for one day, all of the lunch boxes came home empty. And she ate more than I did for dinner last night. It's a pleasant change - as long as she doesn't outgrow her school clothes before the end of the year. Only four meals for this short school week.

Ani-meal! Another simple Lunchable knock-off, made possible with a few cute picks. Cheese cubes, Ritz crackers and leftover chicken along the top. Grapes (halved so I could fit more), a box of raisins and tomatoes. Mini silicone cups keeps everything organized.

Pizza! The only cute thing here is the box. Inside are pizza (wrapped in deli paper), baby carrots, grapes and mini Lego containers with peanut butter pretzels and grapes.

Sheep! This was the only lunch that came back with food still in it. I tried a new sandwich - a replica of a restaurant sandwich that involves deli meat and honey mustard - and was kindly informed I should stick with peanut butter or cheese-based sandwiches. My sandwich sins were forgiven with the generous inclusion of a carmel apple Oreo plus tomatoes, apples and grapes.

Rattlesnake! These two-tiered bento boxes are so easy to fill. One side is filled with a sandwich topped with a Cheddar snake. (I first line the container with deli paper for easy removal, and fold the edges up over the snake so it doesn't stick to the lid.) On the other tier I toss a handful of tomatoes, another of carrots, box of raisins and container with the leftover fruit leather scraps.


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Lunchbox look - Sept. 15 - 19, 2014

A sure sign summer is over - there wasn't a berry to be found at any of my local groceries this week. It's hard to get excited about a season of apples, though I do enjoy carving their peels into checker boards. Everybody needs a hobby, right? This was a short week for us, so I only packed four lunches.

Autumn! Here's a leaf sandwich with a peek-a-boo leaf on the inside (I used the scraps to make the smaller sandwich tucked next to the carrots). There's also a hidden box of raisins, olives and grapes. Maybe I'm projecting because I don't like olives, but I always make sure they're well separated from other ingredients because I detest their smell. This lunchbox is actually a pencil container that looks like a box of crayons that I lined with deli paper.

Frogs! The left side contains cantaloupe and halved (gigantic) grapes. On the right are mini sandwiches (cut with a bear cookie cutter and detailed with sprinkles), plus the ubiquitous olives and carrots you'll seen all week.

Pizza! I saved a packet of Parmesan cheese from a pizzeria trip and tucked it into this lunch. There's also two miniature frozen pizzas, steamed broccoli, olives, carrots and grapes. Make sure to cool any hot foods before putting them in the box. Oh, and don't take pictures while you're on the phone or they'll end up crooked.

Tacos! It's not quite a pizza Lunchable, but this DIY taco kit came back completely empty, so I'll take that as a good sign. Leftover taco meat and beans plus shredded lettuce and cheese, olives and tomatoes were packed in the box, plus a flour tortilla on the side - how easy is that? To be honest, it was a little difficult for me since I forgot to include the tortilla in my daughter's lunch box and had to deliver it to the office in the morning. People give you strange looks when you deliver a single tortilla in a sandwich bag.

However, it is only the second Ziploc I've used this school year. A few weeks ago I bought a new reusable drink container but wasn't totally confident it wouldn't leap so I slipped it in a baggie. But as much as I'd like to get on my high horse about the virtues of packing low waste lunches, I have an embarrassing amount of plastic bento accessories, so I'm not sure how that would compare to the average Ziploc and snack pack lunch.


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Lunchbox look - Sept. 8 - 12, 2014 Sans sandwich

Even though I try to explain that the feeling is mutual, my daughter is very envious of other kids' lunches. Specifically, the dreaded Lunchables - even the name sounds amazing! And the cafeteria lunch kids get to have chocolate milk every single day and pizza twice a week! It's all so unfair! The jealousy was running pretty high this week, so I created a week of better-than-Lunchables. No sandwiches, fun presentation and by Friday she was happy to return to sandwiches. Mission accomplished!

Crunchable! That's pretty fun, right? I went for the obvious with this meal and made it as Lunchable-like as possible. The mini muffin cups hold a strawberry, yogurt raisins, grapes, crackers, cheese and ham, plus some celery along the top.

Tic tac toe! I wanted to change up the presentation of cheese and crackers, so I got out my X-acto knife and carved some game boards. Here we have ham, carrots, grapes, Triscuits, cucumber, mini grapes and teensy cheese cubes. I shave a little off the bottom of the cucumber so the lid can close.

Butterfly! This lunch got eaten twice. I left the box unattended for a moment before taking the photo and my toddler devoured half of it. There's a sidecar of watermelon plus carrots, crackers, grapes, mini cheese cubes and teensy meatballs. I thought the butterfly stood out fairly clear, but neither of the kids who ate it noticed. We'll assume they were too busy enjoying it.

Bunnies! This was definitely the cutest of this sandwich-free week. Lettuce dividers make everything prettier (and usually get eaten, too). Wheat Thins, mini meatballs, tiny cheese cubes, a checkered cucumber, grapes and carrots.

Crown! Not the cutest of the bunch but it signaled a return to the wonderful world of sandwiches. Inside the giant crown silicone cup are picks of mini cheese sandwiches. There's also grapes, containers of raisins and Goldfish, plus some delicious fresh pineapple.


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