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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Lunchbox look - Sept. 2 - 5, 2014

It was a short week for us with the Labor Day holiday. Something you don't realize until you have school-aged children is that short weeks are actually infinitely longer than a standard week. Who knew? Also, as the days get shorter, look for my photography to get progressively worse - ha! I try to make lunch as I'm preparing after-school snacks and dinner, but sometimes the Speedlite has to come out.

Apples! A recent birthday party goody bag included a sour gummy so I snagged it for a bookworm theme I'd been planning. Then my children played My Little Pony for three straight days, and Apple Jack is one of their favorite characters. She lives on Sweet Apple Acres, so I knew I needed to adjust my theme. I used a simple biscuit cutter to make the sandwich plus a leaf pick and freehanded an apple out of fruit leather. There's also peanut butter pretzels, raisins, raspberries, dried cherries and apple slices. I keep the apple from turning brown by soaking it in a ramekin of water with a squirt of lemon juice while I prepare the rest of the meal.

Magic rabbit! It's a little tough to see but the teeny grapes are nestled in my new pride and joy - a black silicone top hat muffin cup. I have coveted this for months and finally treated myself to it. There's also carrots, strawberries, a stack of cucumber slices and a sandwich with a cheesy rabbit topper. The facial details are all sprinkles - Easter eggs and simple circles for the eyes, a heart nose and another heart for the teeth  with a little cut off the tip (ever so gently, using a light hand and an X-acto knife).

Leftover pizza! I halved and stacked a piece of pizza from dinner (let it cool completely) then piled in fruits and veggies - mini grapes, cucumbers, raspberries and carrots, plus a second tier filled with watermelon. To keep the pizza dry, I surrounded it with disposable sushi grass.

Woodstock! This was super easy with a cookie cutter. There's a ham and cheese sandwich (surrounded by deli paper to make it easier to remove; strawberries; peanut butter pretzels with a teeny container holding a single raspberry, and cucumber slices and carrots.

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