Lunchbox look - Aug. 18-22, 2014

In a gentle but slightly condescending tone, my daughter informed me that last week's Painting the Roses Red lunch was a little sub-par. And thus last week's Alice in Wonderland theme spilled over into this week, like so much red paint on the Queen of Heart's ill-fated white roses.

Painting the Roses Red 2.0! Here we have a bucket of paint sandwich (the teensy paintbrush is my favorite) along with some red food - strawberries, grapes, granola bite, dried cherries and a few celery sticks for some crunch. The little dear was much happier with this rendition.

I'm late! This is the white rabbit's pocket watch - made quickly because I was, indeed, late. PBJ sandwich with various cheese toppers, nori clock hands, a bunny sprinkle in the center plus a few blueberries on a pick. The second tier is full of cantaloupe.

Card Guards! What I needed to make this work better was a large white heart sprinkle. Despite my extensive stash of sprinkles, this one I do not have. I'll have to keep my eyes out for them next Valentine's Day. In the meantime,  we have a stack of quesadilla cards with a side of blueberries, cucumber and popcorn chicken.

Dogs! What you see here is the side dish for a heated Thermos of leftover spaghetti. There's leftover garlic bread, a few mini meatballs, Parmesan cheese for sprinkling and some dog bone grahams. (The Thermos keeps food quite warm for several hours if you preheat it with boiling water for about 10 minutes, wipe it dry, then add hot food to it.)

Bespectacled chick! This is one of my favorite sandwiches ever. The glasses are meant to snap onto a straw (I found them in the check out lane at Michael's) so they stuck into the bread just enough to stay put. I freehanded the hair, but used a Fred cookie cutter for the outline. The eyes are giant Wilton candy eyes, layered with a green sprinkle for more detail. There's a little nose under the glasses, but it's mostly lost in shadow, and the lips are a Valentine's Day sprinkle. This lunch also has carrots, ranch dip in the pink container, blueberries, and a box of yogurt raisins accessorized with animal print washi tape.

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Lunchbox look - Aug. 11-15, 2014 - Alice in Wonderland week

I know it's crazy to cut Cheddar cheese slices into Cheshire cats and talking doorknobs, and yet I can't help myself sometimes! I like a self-imposed creative challenge, so this week was all Alice in Wonderland lunches. Down the rabbit hole we go ...

Doorknob! I drew a quick freehand template on an index card to make the doorknob, plus sprinkle eyes and a nori keyhole mouth. There's also grapes, a cucumber segment with a key design, apple slices and a box of raisins.

Cards! This one is on my redo list - surely there's a better way to show the cards painting the roses red. But here's the low-fi version - sandwich topped with cheese plus celery, strawberry hearts, leftover steamed broccoli with flower picks and a few grapes. 

Tea party! This is my favorite of the week. I freehanded the teacup. Then there's an Argyle cucumber, blueberries with a top hat pick, strawberries and a cup of lemon jello tea. The night before, I made jello and poured it straight into the silicone tea cup to set up.

Queen of Hearts! This was a quicky lunch. The queen's crown is pretty basic, so I added a few sprinkles. Then there's yogurt pretzels, steamed broccoli (cool completely before putting in the lunch box or else your sandwich will be completely soggy), a carved cucumber chunk, blueberries and a strawberry rose. To make the strawberry easier to eat, there's a pink crown fork at the top.

Cheshire cat (or Treasure cat if you're my toddler)! This was the most intricate of the week but it didn't take too long. I printed a Cheshire coloring page from the Internet and cut it out. After cutting the whole head, I added another layer with just the mouth. The eyes are sprinkles and his red nose is a rainbow chip. Then there's a few chocolate-covered sunflower seeds, blueberries and grapes, a tiny strawberry and Cheshire's stripey tail carved into cucumber.

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Lunchbox look - Aug. 4-8, 2014

School is already back in session, though I never really stopped packing lunches during the break. They were utilitarian - room temperature sandwiches and fruit tossed in our pool or beach bag, eaten with sunscreen-soaked fingers before heading back to the water. Not fancy, but was a bad meal ever eaten beachside? I don't think so, but this week's back-to-school lunches certainly are cuter.

Owl! We welcomed the school year with an owl sandwich, easily made with a circle cutter, yogurt pretzel, candy eyes, sprinkle nose and pick feet. There's also a tomato and celery sticks plus dried cherries and orange slices.

Snoopy! I used a cookie cutter to make this triple-deckler cheese sandwich and stuck on freehand fruit leather details. In the Snoopy container is peanut butter for dunking the celery. There's also raspberries, turkey on a pick and a few dog bone grahams.

Panda! Chocolate peanut butter makes a good contrast for the panda's sprinkle eyes. (The eyes are white Easter egg sprinkles and the black dots are from a Halloween sprinkle mix.) The bottom tier also holds celery sticks and teeny, hand-cut cheese cubes. The top tier holds blueberries, raspberries in a container so they don't get squished and a container holding two peanut butter pretzels.

Happy hearts! A better photographer could probably bounce the light so all of the smiles would be visible. The strawberry stems are upside down flower picks. The cheese sandwiches were all cut from the same piece of bread - the complete hearts go on top and any scraps that needed to be pieced together are hidden on the bottom. There's also carrots, turkey and raspberries, plus a side dish of strawberries.

Shark! I've made this shark lunch before but it's so easy and I had both blueberries and baby Goldfish on hand, so I had to make it again. The shark is made using a large egg-shaped cookie cutter - just use the top two-thirds. White heart picks form the teeth. There's also dried cherries and a little pail filled with turkey. Because there are so many loose pieces in this lunch, I topped it with a piece of deli paper before closing the lid to help it survive all the way to the cafeteria.

Snack! I also thought I'd show an example of what I pack for school snacks. This box is quite small - just big enough for a teacup-shaped silicone cup of crackers and a handful of blueberries on the side. I don't make classroom snacks cute, but a fun little cup doesn't take any effort.

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Lunchbox look - May 19 - 23, 2014

School's out for the summer! Here are the lunches for the last week of school. Our bento boxes will still get a workout over the summer as I pack meals for frequent pool trips, but they'll be a lot more utilitarian.

Martha Speaks! My daughter loves this show. I traced a coloring page to get Martha's shape, then added sprinkles, nori and fruit leather details. There's also snap pea crisps, celery, cantaloupe and grapes.

Peep in the Big Wide World! Another favorite show easily replicated in cheese. There's a triple-decker PBJ plus raspberries, celery, cucumber and a chocolate coin in the top tier, and lots of cantaloupe down below.

Goodbye first grade! I packed this meal in a recycled kiwi container. Unfortunately, it was placed on the classroom floor before all the children went outside for a field day. When they returned for lunch, it had been infested with ants, so my daughter bought school lunch. All the same, this is a great way to pack a disposable lunch - the food isn't squished and you don't need to use a bunch of Ziplocs. I lined the kiwi box with deli paper to keep in some moisture, but this may not be necessary in more humid areas.

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Lunchbox look - May 12 - 16, 2014

The school year is winding down, and so too is my lunch-making. This was a rather lackluster week, but I have big plans for the last week of school next week!

Birthday leftovers! The Thermos container is closed (I didn't want to lose the heat in the chilly morning), but inside is leftover spaghetti with meat sauce and Parmesan cheese. The side container holds orange slices and snap peas. The cutest thing about this lunch is the fork/spoon - ha!

Hello Kitty! PBJ with sprinkle details (that's an Easter egg sprinkle for her nose) plus snap peas and a container with sunflower seeds in the top container, and a whole mess of strawberries in the second layer. The loaf of bread I bought this week was especially light, so Hello Kitty looks more lifelike than usual, if that's even a thing.

Frogs! I hadn't used this container in a while, so it was time to pull it out. The mini frog sandwiches are made with a bear cutter, with jumbo eyes in the ear spaces. The fruit leather tongue is my favorite. The top layer also has Goldfish, a strawberry, cheese cubes and grapes. The bottom layer has all the moist items - steamed broccoli and baby carrots, plus a silicone suitcase with a piece of Easter chocolate.

Picket fence! I will definitely be revisiting this theme with a darker piece of bread and more thoughtful cutting of the pickets, but I think it's charming even as it is. PBJ with Swiss cheese fence, snap pea stalks and sprinkle flowers. There's also more snap peas, cheese, grapes and strawberries, plus a container with chocolate-covered sunflower seeds.

Legos! This was definitely a hodgepodge meal. On the left are leftover homemade chips from dinner. The green Lego box is filled with strawberries. Next are black grapes on picks, celery sticks (only the top one is slathered with peanut butter), cheese cubes and turkey slices. A mini juice container tucks neatly at the end, which is a good thing since this is a very large box. For a Friday treat, I filled a dog container with a scoop of pudding.

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Lunchbox look - May 5 - 9, 2014

Here's what was in the box this week:

Minnie! Late on Sunday night when I'm packing Monday's lunch, I often reach for easy-to-fill boxes like this one. PBJ, strawberry hearts, snap peas and baby carrots, and cheese crackers and raisins.

Kitty love! I like how this turned out, adding sprinkles inside the cutouts. Cheese cubes, PBJ, broccoli, carrots, Goldfish and a teensy strawberry. I also sent a sidecar of watermelon.

Happy! Four little sandwiches, each with their own personality! PBJ and PBH sandwiches plus Goldfish, snap peas, a carved cucumber and box with a few M&Ms. The second tier was full of strawberries.

I call this a Crunchable, a homemade Lunchable, and nothing could be easier! Four silicone cups (these ones are shaped like tea cups), each with a different food group. Triscuits and crackers; carrots and snap peas; mini meatballs and a container of gummies; orange slices.

Birthday! My favorite lunch of the year to make! Panda sandwich with sprinkle eyes and a party hat. There's also cheese cubes, snap peas, carrots, watermelon (the lunchbox lid contains a fork), orange slices and cheese crackers.

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Lunchbox look - April 28 - May 2, 2014

Sick days and teacher in-services made for another short week of lunch-making. Here's what I made:

Anna! Not my most realistic replica, but her little swatch of white hair makes me happy! PBJ in a jumbo silicone cup. Mini "toast" crackers, golden tomatoes on a leaf pick, Easter candy, strawberry hearts and a handful of snap peas.

Elsa! How cute is she? The nori headband really completes her look. The eyes are layered sprinkles with a hand drawn eyeliner (in food-safe marker) along the top. The nose is a broken Easter egg sprinkle and the sprinkle lips are from a Valentine's Day collection. There's also leftover chicken, snap peas, fresh pineapple and strawberries.

Tiger! Chocolate PBJ transforms into a tiger with a topper of cheese. (I cut all the components separately for crisp edges.) Strawberries, cheese cracker sandwiches, cucumber and leftover broccoli pulled this lunch together really quick. A barrier of lettuce keeps the sandwich dry.


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