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

Wednesday, June 29, 2011

Red, White and Blueberries!

A bento to celebrate Independence Day




  • Turkey and cheese on whole wheat roll-ups (Ave has PB&J roll-ups, of course)


  • Tomato and cucumber slices with ranch


  • Blueberries in a star shaped cup with strawberry slices


  • Honey Maid mini s'mores

All packed in my LunchBot Trio.

Pool Lunch

We're planning to spend the day at the pool so I packed a few quick lunches to take with us.










  • 4 mini PB&J flower shaped sandwiches on whole wheat




  • Carrots with ranch




  • Raspberry flowers with blueberry centers (These were Ave's creation)




  • Ranch flavored mini rice cakes

Check out What's For Lunch Wednesday for more lunch ideas.

Monday, June 20, 2011

Swim Team Snack Bento

Haley has another swim meet tonight. I'm going to feed her an early dinner but wanted to pack her some healthy snacks to enjoy between events.








  • trail mix


  • golden and red raspberries


  • whole wheat crackers with tornado shaped cheddar cheese (her swim team is "the tornadoes")


  • cucumber slices and cherry tomatoes

Check out What's for Lunch Wednesday for fun lunch ideas!

Friday, June 17, 2011

Another Bento Breakfast

We have another swim meet tomorrow which means another early morning at the pool. The bento breakfast worked out great earlier in the week so I decided to do it again. Plus, it gave me an excuse to use my new Lock & Lock boxes, which just arrived today!





Pool Day

We spent the day at the pool so I packed the girls a couple of quick bentos to enjoy while we were there.



  • 2 turkey and cheddar on whole wheat fishy sandwiches with cheddar decorations and icing eyes (Ave had PB&J)

  • Carrots with ranch

  • Red grapes

  • Mini ranch flavored rice cakes

Monday, June 13, 2011

Breakfast Bento

Tomorrow is Haley's very first swim meet. We have to be at the pool really early so I made her a bento so it will be ready to go for a quick breakfast!



  • Pumpkin chocolate chip muffin

  • Hard boiled fishy egg with a little handmade thinking bubble

  • Cheddar cheese in the shape of "OBS" which she knows means, "Give it your One Best Shot!" - I don't normally feed them cheese for breakfast, but it worked here.

  • Blackberry flower with a raspberry center

Outdoor Picnic

One of the things I'm looking forward to about summer lunches is having the freedom to think outside the box...or at least not having to fit everything into the box!





  • 2 rectangle sandwiches as the dirt/ground. Haley's is turkey and cheddar and Ave is having PB&J, both on whole wheat


  • Veggie flowers made from cucumbers, cherry tomato, radishes, celery and spinach leaves


  • Orange sunshine

Check out What's For Lunch Wednesday

Monday, June 6, 2011

LAST DAY!!

Avery's lunch for her last day of kindergarten (sniff, sniff)



  • PB&J on whole wheat with cheddar and provolone letters

  • Carrots with ranch

  • Blackberries

(They will be having an end of the year party right after lunch so I made it on the small side.)

Simple

This is Haley's last school lunch of 2nd grade. Tomorrow they have a half day and are having a pizza party. I sort of feel like I should have done something a little more extravagant for her last lunch. But, I need to go to the store and the pantry and fridge are pretty bare.



Haley saw her lunch as I was packing it in her lunch box this morning and said "OH! That looks delicious!" So, it's not all about the cutesy stuff :)






  • Peanut butter on wheat Ritz crackers

  • Carrots with ranch

  • String cheese

  • Blackberries, strawberries and blueberries (which are under the blackberries)

Sunday, June 5, 2011

All the Little Birdies

We're headed to the pool so I thought I'd pack some cute bentos to enjoy while we're there. The girls lunches were inspired by one I saw over at Cookie Cutter Lunch.





  • Haley has ham and cheese with honey mustard on whole wheat (pictured) and Avery has PB&J (of course) made into a bird house with pretzel accents and cheddar birds with provolone wings.

  • Red grapes

  • Pasta salad (Avery has a few more pretzels because she doesn't like pasta salad)

  • Carrots, cucumber and cherry tomatoes with ranch

Here's my lunch:





  • Pasta salad with grilled chicken


  • Orange slices


  • Pretzels

Thursday, June 2, 2011

Quick and Easy...

Today has been a super busy day which equates to a super quick lunch.




  • 2 pieces of pepperoni pizza, stacked (leftover from tonight's dinner)


  • Purple cauliflower with ranch


  • Cheddar cheese


  • Blackberries, raspberries and blueberries


  • 2 Hershey Kisses

Wednesday, June 1, 2011

Let the Sun Shine In!

My brain is already on summer vacation! Here is a quick summery lunch for tomorrow:








  • Salami and herb cream cheese on a whole wheat mini pita. The sun is made from cheddar with a nori face.




  • Strawberry slices and blueberries with a pink flamingo pick




  • Cucumber slices and a cherry tomato with ranch