Making Lunch Fun, One Box at a Time

ben·tol·o·gy (ben t äləjē) Noun : The study of making nutritious and fun lunches for my daughters.

I get a lot of inspiration from other blogs. So, in hopes someone might get some inspiration from me, I've decided to post some pictures here.

This will bring health to your body and nourishment to your bones.Proverbs 3:7-9

Monday, December 19, 2011

Candy Canes

It's hard to believe this is my last school lunch in 2011!! The girls are off school for the holidays starting tomorrow -- woo hoo!!!





  • Bagel sandwich on a mini whole wheat bagel with a provolone and cheddar candy cane.

  • Babybel with a candy cane cut out

  • Fruit salad (blueberries, raspberries, pineapple and strawberries) with a candy cane pick

  • Peas

  • Hershey Kisses*

* I was going to include a mini candy cane for dessert but I was afraid they wouldn't have time to finish it and would be forced to throw it away before going out for recess. In fear of that being traumatic, I opted for Hershey Kisses instead.

Sunday, December 18, 2011

Gifts

Did you know at the time I'm writing this post, it's 6 days, 7 hours, 9 minutes and 41 seconds until Christmas? I know that because my girls are keeping up to the second tabs on it! To say they are a wee bit excited would be a wee bit of an understatement!

Two more days of school!!!! Here's what they will be having for lunch for one of them.



  • 2 gift-shaped sandwiches (stacked) with a fruit leather bow

  • Grapes and raspberries in a Christmas Tree shaped cup

  • Spinach and cherry tomato salad with Italian dressing, on the side

  • Cheddar Christmas trees

  • Hershey Kisses

Thursday, December 15, 2011

Stocking Stuffer

Hopefully she'll be stuffed by this stocking!





  • 2 stocking-shaped sandwiches with provolone and cucumber peel decorations


  • Babybel with a stocking cut-out


  • Strawberries and blueberries


  • Cucumber slices and carrots with ranch


  • Hershey kisses

Wednesday, December 14, 2011

Gingerbread House

My youngest is giving a presentation on her favorite family tradition. The topic she chose was our family tradition of making a gingerbread house. So, I made her a lunch to celebrate! I think both of the girls will love it because they get to eat their dessert (the candy decorations) first! ;)




  • "Gingerbread" sandwich, decorated with white chocolate*, gum drops and other candies left over from making our real gingerbread houses.

  • Cheddar "gingerbread men"

  • Cucumber and tomato slices with ranch

  • Blackberries


* I used white chocolate instead of icing because it hardens and peels off of the bread. That way they can eat it separately rather than as part of their sandwich.



Bento Lunch

Tuesday, December 13, 2011

Football Bentos!

Ever since last year's Super Bowl, my youngest has been a huge Green Bay fan and my oldest has been rooting for the Steelers. My husband went to the Packers game on Sunday and is coming home tonight with presents that I think my youngest will want to wear to school tomorrow. I picked up a Steelers t-shirt for my oldest, so she wouldn't feel left out. So, because you know I love a theme, I made their lunches to match their new digs!


Go Packers! (or Go Green Bays!, as my youngest says)




  • 2 football-shaped sandwiches with provolone accents

  • Carrots with ranch

  • Red grapes with a "Packers" pick

  • Cheddar footballs

  • Hershey kisses
Go Steelers!



Pretty much the same as above except that it's a circle sandwich decorated with dyed provolone. I could have totally done the symbol better (more uniform) but I was feeling lazy.

Monday, December 12, 2011

The Big Man Himself



  • 2 Santa-shaped sandwiches (stacked) decorated with provolone cheese, strawberry fruit leather and icing eyes

  • A clementine with a raspberry center

  • A "Christmas Tree Forest" made of steamed broccoli with ranch

  • String Cheese

  • Mint Hershey Kisses

Sunday, December 11, 2011

Snowmen!




  • 2 snowman shaped sandwiches. I used food safe food coloring for the hat, mini chocolate chips for the eyes, a carrot nose, mini M&M buttons and pretzel arms.


  • Cheddar snowmen


  • Carrots with ranch


  • Red grapes


  • Mini powder sugar doughnut snowman face (with mini chocolate chips for the mouth and eyes and a candy corn nose)

Thursday, December 8, 2011

Gingerbread People



  • 2 Gingerbread shaped people, accented with cheddar cheese, cucumber peel, and mini M&Ms

  • Carrots with ranch

  • Babybel cheese

  • Blackberries and raspberries

  • Mint Hershey Kisses

Wednesday, December 7, 2011

Wreath



  • Wreath-shaped sandwich with a dyed cheddar bow and mini M&M "berries"

  • Peas

  • Blackberries and raspberries

  • Mint Hershey Kisses

Tuesday, December 6, 2011

Frosty





  • Snowman shaped sandwich with a carrot nose (of course), food safe black paint for the hat, icing eyes and a candy scarf.


  • Kiwi and blackberries


  • Steamed broccoli with ranch


  • String cheese


  • Mint Hershey Kisses

Sunday, December 4, 2011

Ornaments

The inspiration for this lunch is Christmas tree ornaments!








  • Peanut butter/wheat cracker sandwiches

  • Cucumber slices and carrots with ranch. The cucumber ornament is decorated with cream cheese, peas, and tomato

  • Raspberries and blackberries with an ornament pick

  • Babybel cheese

  • Hershey mint kisses



Bento Lunch

Thursday, December 1, 2011

Peace



  • Ham, turkey, cheddar and honey mustard roll-up

  • Steamed broccoli with ranch

  • Apple slices with ranch (I sliced one half of the apple length-wise and used a tree and star cookie cutters to remove the peel to form a Christmas tree. The apple slices are beneath)

  • Mint Hershey Kisses

Wednesday, November 30, 2011

Welcome Elves!!

Our Elves, Dasher and Cupcake, come every year on December 1st. The girls have been counting down the days until they come. So, why not have a bento lunch to celebrate their arrival back from the North Pole!



Here are what Cupcake and Dasher look like:





The Cupcake inspired lunch:




The Dasher inspired lunch:




  • 2 Elf shaped sandwiches (stacked). Their hats are provolone cheese that I painted (using a paint brush) with gel food coloring. Their cheeks are also food coloring that I painted on. Their eyes and mouth are cucumber peel and a bit of extra bread for their noses and ears. Their hair is made from the crust of the bread.

  • Strawberries and blueberries with a candy cane pick

  • Carrots with ranch

  • Reeses peanut butter bells

Pretty Snowflakes, Pretty Snowflakes...

In celebration (Bah-hum-bug!!) of our first snow, today's lunch has a snowflake theme. At least the girls are excited about the snow.




  • PB&J sandwich cut out with the Pampered Chef sandwich cutter and provolone snowflakes.

  • Raspberries and blackberries with a snowglobe cupcake pick

  • Peas

  • Dove chocolate

**I was afraid this lunch was a little small so I threw some pretzel snaps in by the sandwich after I had taken the picture.

Monday, November 28, 2011

O Christmas Tree

I am not happy that these shorter days are affecting my ability to take pictures in natural light. Sorry for the picture quality!





  • 2 Christmas tree shaped sandwiches (stacked) with mini M&M ornaments and a cheddar star


  • Strawberry slices with a Christmas tree pick


  • Cheddar trees


  • Cucumber and tomato slices with ranch


  • 2 Reeses bells

Let the Christmas Bentos Begin!

Now that Thanksgiving is behind us (I hope everyone had a wonderful one!) it's time for Christmas themed bentos. I'm starting them off with a Rudolph themed lunch.





  • 2 reindeer shaped sandwiches with crust antlers, a cherry tomato nose and icing eyes.


  • Carrots with ranch


  • Red grapes with a Christmas tree pick


  • Hershey Kisses

Bento Lunch

Monday, November 21, 2011

Give Thanks!



  • Ham and cheddar roll-ups with "Give Thanks" letter picks

  • Blackberries and raspberries

  • Steamed broccoli with ranch

  • String cheese

  • Cornucopia snacks (i.e. Bugles)

Happy Thanksgiving Everyone!!

Wednesday, November 16, 2011

Turkey Feathers

My inspiration for this lunch was Tommy the Turkey.


  • 2 circle-shaped sandwiches with a carrot beak, icing eyes and an apple skin gobbler
  • Apple slices with peanut butter
  • Carrots with ranch
  • Hershey Kisses

Bento Lunch

Cute TDay Bento
 
Click here for links to other Thanksgiving Themed lunches:
 

Tuesday, November 15, 2011

Turkey Day is on It's Way!

And here's a lunch to celebrate:



  • 2 Turkey-shaped peanut butter and honey sandwiches (stacked) with cheddar foot and beak, fruit leather gobbler, and an icing eye

  • Strawberries and blackberries

  • Carrots with ranch

  • Mini PB Snickers bar



Cute TDay Bento

Monday, November 14, 2011

Flower Power

Another quick and easy lunch...





  • Peanut butter cracker sandwiches

  • Clementine flower with strawberry center

  • Roma tomato and cucumber slices with ranch

  • Cheddar cheese flowers

  • Pretzel snaps

  • Mini Milky Way

Sunday, November 13, 2011

Gobble, Gobble



  • Whole wheat mini bagel with salami and herb cream cheese decorated with a turkey ring.

  • Pineapple, blueberries and strawberry slices

  • Carrots with ranch

  • Mini Snickers bar


Cute TDay Bento

Thursday, November 10, 2011

Quick and Easy - Pizza Puffs



  • 3 Pizza Puffs (see Recipe tab) with pizza sauce for dipping (Note: they are frozen in this picture but they will be fine by lunch)

  • Carrots with ranch

  • Blackberries and raspberries

  • Babybel

  • Nestle Crunch

Wednesday, November 9, 2011

Happy Leaves




  • Herb cream cheese and salami on a whole wheat mini bagel


  • Colby Jack cheese leaves with cucumber faces


  • Cucumber and tomato slices with ranch


  • Pineapple and blueberries


  • Hershey Kisses

Tuesday, November 8, 2011

High Fashion and Barbie

My youngest is SUPER in to Barbie so I think she'll get a kick out of this lunch:



  • 2 high-heel sandwiches (stacked) with a fruit leather bow

  • Blackberries with a "Barbie" pick

  • Steamed broccoli with ranch with a lipstick pick

  • 2 Hershey Kisses

My oldest is NOT in to Barbie. However, I didn't want to make her a completely different lunch. So, we're saying her's is "High Fashion":





  • Same lunch...no Barbie pick ;)

Monday, November 7, 2011

Teddy Bear Picnic




  • 5 Teddy Bear-shaped sandwiches made with my new sandwich cutters....Thank you Vicki!


  • Carrots with ranch


  • Raspeberries with a teddy bear pick


  • Teddy Bear-shaped cheddar cheese


  • Mini Teddy Grahams

Autumn Leaves




  • Leaf-shaped sandwich with cheddar and fruit leather leaves


  • Brociflower with ranch


  • Sliced strawberries


  • Pretzel snaps


  • Mini Nestle Crunch bar

    Bento Lunch

Thursday, November 3, 2011

Birds in a Bird House

I'm taking a little break from the fall themed bentos.



  • Bird House-shaped sandwich. I used the brown crust to accent the house and decorated it with cheddar birds.

  • Carrots with ranch

  • Grapes with a bird house pick

  • Nestle Crunch bar

Wednesday, November 2, 2011

Happy Birthday Bento!

Happy Birthday...to me! You know how I love a theme, so I made a bento to celebrate my birthday :)









  • 2 party hat-shaped sandwiches with cheddar and provolone decorations




  • Clementine with a clown pick




  • Carrots and cucumber slices with ranch




  • Snickers bar


Bento Blog Network

Tuesday, November 1, 2011

Field Trip Bento

H's class is going on a field trip and she needs a completely disposable lunch. I had remembered seeing "field trip lunches" over at Happy Little Bento and thought it was a great way to pack a bento style lunch in a disposable container.



I started out with a strawberry container which I washed and then lined with parchment paper. Instead of my standard silicone cups, I used paper jumbo-sized cupcake liners. The picks I used came from a box of 100 so I'm ok if they get tossed (this time).




  • Peanut Butter and jelly on whole wheat (it won't be refrigerated so I didn't want to send anything that might spoil).


  • Cucumber slices with cherry tomatoes


  • Red grapes


  • Kit Kat bar


All closed up and ready to go! (I actually added a piece of parchment to the top too to help keep everything packed in and because there are holes in the top of the container.)



This is pretty much the same lunch but packed in a more "normal" way.


  • PB&J on whole wheat in the shape of a teddy bear

  • Cherry tomatoes, cucumber slices and ranch

  • Red grapes

  • Mr. Good Bar

Monday, October 31, 2011

Puppies for the Author Visit

Tomorrow, the girls' school is hosting a visit from the author Sandra Phillipson. In preparation for the visit, the whole school has learned about the author, read her books, made artwork and other various projects. Many of the main characters in her books are dogs. In fact, 2 of her dogs are coming with her tomorrow. The girls are VERY excited! So, in celebration of her visit, I made doggie bentos:





  • 2 bone-shaped sandwiches with fruit leather hearts

  • Cheddar "Scottie dogs"

  • Carrots with ranch

  • Strawberry slices with blueberries on puppy picks

  • Dog bone-shaped graham cracker sticks.

Check out the following link for other lunch ideas:


Bento Lunch

Sunday, October 30, 2011

Last Halloween Bento!

Wow, where did the month go? I can't believe Halloween is already here!



  • Peanut butter cracker "spider" sandwiches (peanut butter on whole wheat crackers with pretzel stick legs and icing eyes)

  • Peas with a spider pick

  • Babybel "spider"

  • Raspberries with a spider pick

  • Yogurt covered pretzels

Friday, October 28, 2011

Bat to Basics

I had a crazy busy day which equals a very simple lunch:





  • Turkey and cheddar with honey mustard on a whole wheat sandwich thin with a cheddar bat. The bat's face is made from cucumber peel.

  • Sliced strawberries with a bat pick

  • Carrots with ranch

  • Mini Milky Way

Wednesday, October 26, 2011

Itsy Bitsy Spider



  • 3 spider-shaped sandwiches with icing eyes

  • Cucumber and tomato slices with ranch and a creepy spider pick

  • Sliced strawberries

  • String Cheese

  • White chocolate spider web*

*Ok, I know my "web" looks more like a snowflake but hopefully in context they will know it's a web. On the bright side, I'll have to remember the snowflake idea come January!