Bento-logy

Happy St. Patrick's Day!!

2012-03-15T10:26:00.004-07:00

2 shamrock-shaped sandwiches (stacked) with a shamrock pick

Pasta salad

Carrots and broccoli with ranch

A Rainbow of fruit (strawberries, cantaloupe, pineapple, kiwi, blueberries and red grapes)

Green Hershey kisses

Luck of the Irish!

2012-03-14T14:21:00.003-07:00

I was going for a colorful rainbow look here with a splash of shamrocks :)

2 shamrock-shaped sandwiches with a leprechaun pick dancing on top

Carrots with ranch

Blueberries with a shamrock pick

Rainbow goldfish crackers

Chocolate gold coin

Spring is in the Air!

2012-03-14T14:18:00.002-07:00

2 butterfly-shaped sandwiches with cheddar dots

Red grapes with a flower pick

Sugar snap peas with ranch

Hershey Nugget

U.S.A.

2012-03-11T16:23:00.003-07:00

My youngest asked if she could pick the theme of her lunch and came back with the cookie cutter of the United States. So, this is what we came up with:

2 USA-shaped sandwiches (stacked)

Babybel with star cutouts

Blueberries

Sugarsnap Peas and cherry tomatoes with ranch

Hershey's Nugget

Flower Power

2012-03-07T12:41:00.003-08:00

5 flower-shaped mini sandwiches

Garden salad with Italian dressing

Orange slices

Hershey Nugget

A Lorax Lunch

2012-03-06T11:05:00.005-08:00

You know you might be obsessed with bento lunches when you see a movie trailer and think, "He'd be awesome out of cheddar and provolone!!"

Circle sandwich with the Lorax made from cheddar and provolone, with icing eyes and a sprinkle nose.

Broccoli "trees"s with ranch

Strawberry slices and red grapes

Hershey's Nugget

I Scream, You Scream, We All Scream for ICE CREAM!

2012-03-06T09:10:00.003-08:00

Too early to think of summer?

2 ice cream cone-shaped sandwiches (stacked), decorated with the crust of the bread and colby jack cheese

Carrots with ranch

Blackberries with an ice cream pick

2 Thin Mint cookies

Dr. Seuss Bento

2012-02-29T17:01:00.004-08:00

There are so many adorable Dr. Seuss lunches being posted out there so I thought I'd join the bandwagon. I got a lot of inspiration for this lunch from Jennifer at A Flexible Life.

Green eggs (ok, I know in this picture that hard boiled egg looks blue. But, trust me, it's green) and ham

Carrots with ranch

Blackberries

Babybel cheese with a "Thing 2" cut-out

White chocolate and M&M "green eggs"

Salt and Pepper shaker (for the egg)

Name Game

2012-02-28T12:19:00.004-08:00

I'm so mad at myself! I had a super cute idea for a Leap Day lunch and COMPLETELY forgot about it when I was making this lunch for tomorrow!! Oh well...I guess it will have to wait 4 more years ;)

Sandwich on a whole wheat bagel thin (cut and half and stacked). I cut her name out of colby jack cheese.

Broccoli with ranch

Blackberries and raspberries

2 Hershey Kisses

Mickey Mouse!

2012-02-28T12:16:00.004-08:00

I just got home from my second Disney Cruise of the year (I know, I'm blessed...and a little spoiled!) and was still in the Disney mood when I made yesterday's lunch.

Mickey Mouse-shaped sandwich

Mickey shaped cheese crackers (that I got on the cruise)

Carrots with ranch

Red grapes

2 Hershey Kisses

The Kissing Hand

2012-02-22T10:05:00.001-08:00

I'm going out of town for a few days and leaving Daddy in charge. I made one last lunch before I go. This lunch was made with the story "The Kissing Hand" by Audrey Penn in mind. If you aren't familiar with the story, it's about a little raccoon that is nervous about going to school for the first time because he's going to miss his mommy. So, his mom gives him a kiss on his palm (a kissing hand) that he can put up to his cheek and think "Mommy loves me. Mommy loves me." whenever he feels lonely or misses her. We exchanged "kissing hands "before they left for school this morning and hopefully this lunch will remind them that mommy loves them.

Hand-shaped sandwich with a strawberry fruit leather heart

Blackberries with a love pick

Carrots with ranch

Hershey's Nugget

Under the Sea

2012-02-20T13:55:00.001-08:00

Circle sandwich (made with the Pampered Chef sandwich cutter) and a dyed provolone dolphin.

Broccoli with ranch and a sea star pick

Red grapes with a lobster pick

Pretzel snaps

Hershey's Nugget

Star Power

2012-02-20T09:09:00.000-08:00

I didn't realize until I went to post this lunch, how much it looks like the one I made last Thursday! Oooops. Oh well, I don't think the girls will mind.

They are out of school today but are participating in a gymnastics clinic and needed a packed lunch.

3 star-shaped sandwiches with a cheddar star

Carrots and cucumber slices with ranch

Babybel with star cut-outs

Raspberries with a star pick

Pretzel snaps

Hershey kisses

All Smiles!

2012-02-16T15:26:00.001-08:00

2 smiley face sandwiches (stacked) with cucumber peel features

Carrots with ranch (ranch cup is under the cookie)

Babybel with a face cut-out

Strawberry slices with blackberries

Lemon iced sugar cookie

Spring Has Sprung!

2012-02-15T12:52:00.000-08:00

Ok, I know that is wishful thinking but we can dream!! Maybe it's the beautiful Valentine's Day flowers that are sitting on my table and counter but something put me in a spring-time mood today so the girls' lunch reflects that:

"Daisy" sandwich with a cheddar center

Red grapes with a flower pick

Carrots and cucumber slices with ranch

Wheat Thin Toasted Chips

Nestles chocolate heart

Conversation Hearts

2012-02-13T13:08:00.001-08:00

Last Valentine's bento of the season!!

3 heart-shaped sandwiches with Conversation Heart picks

Carrots with ranch

Blackberries and raspberries (if you really use your imagination, and close one eye, you can sort of see a heart of raspberries in the middle of the blackberries)

Babybel cheese with heart cut-outs

Nestles Crunch chocolate heart

2 of Hearts

2012-02-08T13:42:00.000-08:00

Turkey and cheddar sandwich on a whole wheat bagel thin (halved and stacked) with cheddar and strawberry fruit leather hearts

Peas

2 strawberry hearts and blackberries

2 Dove chocolate hearts

Another V-Day Bento

2012-02-07T12:51:00.000-08:00

Peanut butter and wheat cracker sandwiches

Apple slices and peanut butter (I dipped the apples in lemon juice/water to prevent browning)

Broccoli

Cheddar hearts

Dove chocolate hearts

Hugs and Kisses

2012-02-06T12:47:00.001-08:00

2 heart-shaped sandwiches with cheddar "X" and "O"s

Kiwi and blueberries with kiwi "X" and "O"s

Carrots, cucumber slices and a cherry tomato heart with ranch

Hershey Kisses

Love Bug

2012-02-05T13:56:00.000-08:00

2 heart-shaped sandwiches (stacked) with "Love" and a bug picks

Tomato and cucumber slices with ranch

Heart-shaped cantaloupe and raspberries

Dove chocolate hearts

Love Letter

2012-02-01T11:22:00.000-08:00

I saw this idea on a couple other bento blogs and thought they were so cute.

Letter shaped sandwich with a fruit leather heart seal.

Carrots with ranch

Red grapes with a "love" pick

2 Dove Chocolate hearts

Hearts

2012-02-01T06:21:00.000-08:00

3 heart shaped sandwiches, stacked. For a little "something", I put a small heart of darker brown bread in the center of the top sandwich.

Peas with a cherry tomato heart

Pineapple and blueberries

Toasted Wheat Thin Crackers

Hershey Kisses

Valentine's Day Bentos

2012-01-30T12:21:00.001-08:00

The first real Valentine's Day bentos:

- 2 heart shaped sandwiches with fruit leather hearts

- Blueberries with a strawberry heart

- Babybel with heart cut-outs

- Broccoli

- Dove Chocolate Hearts

Same with a different type of sandwich, fresh broccoli vs. steamed and cheddar hearts instead of Babybel.

Snowman

2012-01-25T12:42:00.001-08:00

4 peanut butter/cracker sandwich made with snowflake shaped crackers

Cucumber and tomato slices

Blackberries and raspberries

Powdered Sugar doughnut snowman, decorated with a candy corn and chocolate chips

Rainbow Smiles

2012-01-24T12:39:00.000-08:00

Salami and herb cream cheese on a whole wheat bagel thin, halved and stacked. I colored the rainbow using food safe markers

Cauliflower "clouds" with ranch (SO annoyed that I bought purple cauliflower instead of regular white this week...White would have made better clouds but I had to go with what I had on hand.)

Babybel cheese rainbow, halved, stacked and decorated with food safe markers

Strawberries

Veggie Straws

Hershey Kisses

Simple Lunches

2012-01-23T12:20:00.000-08:00

Still getting adjusted back to "the real world" so the lunches so far haven't been overly creative or complicated.

Ham and cheese on a mini croissant (I know, I know...Whole wheat is way healthier but it's okay to splurge every once in awhile)

Blackberries and raspberries

Peas

Babybel with a heart cut-out

Hershey kisses

Ham and cheese roll-ups made with whole wheat

Carrots with ranch

Veggie straws

Red grapes

Hershey Kisses

Bon Voyage!!

2012-01-11T06:43:00.000-08:00

I'm back!!! We just got home from a week in the sunshine! We went on a Disney Cruise and it was W-O-N-D-E-R-F-U-L!!!

The week before we left, I made a couple of cruise themed lunches.

Sandwich made with the Pamper Chef sandwich cutter with a provolone life preserver ring. I decorated the ring using food coloring and a paint brush
Pretzel snaps
Clementine with a blackberry center
Cucumber and tomato slices
Peanut Butter Snickers

2 palm tree-shaped sandwiches (stacked) decorated with a food safe green marker
Peas
Blackberries
Cheddar "sunshines"
Buckeye (or if you are boring a "peanut butter ball")

Star Student

2012-01-11T06:33:00.000-08:00

Ok, one more lunch before my break...

My oldest was "Star Student" this week. So, I made her a lunch to celebrate:

Ham and cheese sandwich on a whole sandwich thin (halved and stacked) with a provolone and cheddar star.

Carrots with ranch

Red grapes

Hershey kisses

I'll be back!

2012-01-09T14:28:00.000-08:00

I'm taking a little break. But please don't forget about me! Check back the week of January 23rd for lots of bento ideas!

Angry Birds Pig

2012-01-05T18:23:00.000-08:00

Today's lunch was inspired by one I saw Hawai'i's Bento Box Cookbook, Bentos and More for Kids.

Angry Birds Pig Sandwich - Salami and cheese on whole wheat sandwich thin with provolone and cucumber accents.

Red Grapes

Cucumber slices and cherry tomatoes with ranch

Hershey Kisses

Simple and Easy

2012-01-04T14:38:00.000-08:00

This Mama is operating on about 3 hours of sleep and has a splitting headache. SO, this lunch was quick and easy. But, hopefully it will still be yummy and nutritious!

Peanut butter and wheat cracker sandwiches

Strawberries

Broccoli with ranch

Cheddar flowers

Aunt Ginny's homemade fudge

Happy New Year!

2012-01-03T20:05:00.001-08:00

Welcome to 2012, everyone! Here's a lunch to celebrate the new year!

2 party hat-shaped sandwiches (stacked) with provolone and cheddar decorations

Cheddar cheese numbers

Carrots with ranch

Grape kabobs

Hershey Kisses

Candy Canes

2011-12-19T12:38:00.000-08:00

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.

Gifts

2011-12-18T13:45:00.000-08:00

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

Stocking Stuffer

2011-12-15T13:12:00.001-08:00

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

Gingerbread House

2011-12-14T11:45:00.000-08:00

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.

Football Bentos!

2011-12-13T11:19:00.001-08:00

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.

The Big Man Himself

2011-12-12T11:38:00.001-08:00

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

Snowmen!

2011-12-11T12:05:00.001-08:00

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)

Gingerbread People

2011-12-08T19:14:00.001-08:00

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

Wreath

2011-12-07T18:02:00.001-08:00

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

Peas

Blackberries and raspberries

Mint Hershey Kisses

Frosty

2011-12-06T05:29:00.001-08:00

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

Ornaments

2011-12-04T14:30:00.001-08:00

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

Peace

2011-12-01T12:10:00.001-08:00

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

Welcome Elves!!

2011-11-30T12:05:00.000-08:00

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...

2011-11-30T05:32:00.000-08:00

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.

O Christmas Tree

2011-11-28T19:21:00.001-08:00

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!

2011-11-28T05:25:00.000-08:00

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

Give Thanks!

2011-11-21T13:25:00.000-08:00

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!!

Turkey Feathers

2011-11-16T17:14:00.000-08:00

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

Turkey Day is on It's Way!

2011-11-15T12:18:00.000-08:00

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

Flower Power

2011-11-14T17:35:00.000-08:00

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

Gobble, Gobble

2011-11-13T17:32:00.001-08:00

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

Quick and Easy - Pizza Puffs

2011-11-10T08:28:00.001-08:00

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

Happy Leaves

2011-11-09T12:31:00.001-08:00

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

High Fashion and Barbie

2011-11-08T13:29:00.000-08:00

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 ;)

Teddy Bear Picnic

2011-11-07T12:36:00.000-08:00

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

2011-11-07T05:24:00.001-08:00

Leaf-shaped sandwich with cheddar and fruit leather leaves

Brociflower with ranch

Sliced strawberries

Pretzel snaps

Mini Nestle Crunch bar

Birds in a Bird House

2011-11-03T11:47:00.000-07:00

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

Happy Birthday Bento!

2011-11-02T10:54:00.000-07:00

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

Field Trip Bento

2011-11-01T09:48:00.000-07:00

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

Puppies for the Author Visit

2011-10-31T17:42:00.000-07:00

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:

Last Halloween Bento!

2011-10-30T11:35:00.001-07:00

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

Bat to Basics

2011-10-28T05:18:00.000-07:00

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

Itsy Bitsy Spider

2011-10-26T12:44:00.001-07:00

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!

Candy Corn Lunch

2011-10-25T11:47:00.000-07:00

Hopefully the girls will enjoy this sweet treat lunch:

2 candy corn-shaped sandwiches (stacked). The "candy corn" on top is made from a piece of provolone that I colored yellow with a food safe marker and then put a strip of cheddar in the center for the yellow/orange/white effect.

Carrots with ranch

Red and green grapes with a "Happy Halloween" pick

Candy corn (of course!!)

It's Haley's turn to eat lunch with the principal. She's a dog fan so we made her a puppy theme lunch.

2 ham and cheddar puppy-shaped sandwiches

Carrots with ranch (in a puppy cup)

Red and Green grapes with puppy picks

Hershey Kisses

Check out the following link for other lunch ideas!

Ghostly Lunch

2011-10-24T11:54:00.000-07:00

The girls have slightly different lunches so I'll post a picture of both:

Turkey and cheddar on a whole wheat sandwich thin with a provolone ghost. His features are made from cucumber skin.

BOO-berry yogurt with fresh BOO-berries, meant to look like a ghost face

Celery with peanut butter

Red grapes with ghost pick

Black and orange Hershey Kisses

PB&J on whole wheat cut out with the Pamper Chef sandwich cutter topped with a provolone ghost with cucumber features.

BOO-berry yogurt with fresh BOO-berries, meant to look like a ghost face

Clementine with a ghost pick

Build-Your-Own "Ants on a Log" (i.e. celery sticks, peanut butter and raisins)

Black and orange Hershey Kisses

Going Batty!

2011-10-23T16:35:00.000-07:00

2 circle sandwiches (H has ham and cheddar and A has PB&J) with a bat pick. (If you look closely, you might see that I used a Wilton Cookie Stamp of a bat on the top of the sandwich, but I didn't think it showed up well enough (it's actually more visible in the picture than it is in real life))

Salad (H has a regular garden salad and A has a spinach salad) with orange tomatoes and Italian salad dressing. I carved one tomato to look like a jack-o-lantern.

Strawberry slices with blueberries on bat picks.

Pretzel snaps

String cheese

Happy Halloween in LunchBot Trios

2011-10-19T16:32:00.001-07:00

Ham and cheddar roll-ups

Carrots, cucumber slices and ranch

Strawberry slices

Cheddar pumpkins

Twix candy bar

PB&J pinwheels

Carrots, cucumber slices and ranch

Cheddar pumpkins

Clementine jack-o-lantern

Twix candy bar

Bats and Spiders and Lunch...Oh my!

2011-10-18T12:44:00.001-07:00

2 bat-shaped sandwiches (one daughter has ham and cheese with honey mustard and the other, PB&J, of course!) I decorated the bats with icing eyes and a red sprinkle for the mouth.

Steamed broccoli in a spider cup with a "Boo!" pick. Ranch for dipping is in the yellow cup.

Babybel cheese with a bat cut out

Red and green grape kabobs on spider and bat picks

Candy corn

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

Boo-tiful Lunch!

2011-10-17T13:14:00.000-07:00

Ghost-shaped salami and cheese or PB&J on whole wheat sandwich topped with a tortilla ghost. (I was going to top it with a provolone ghost but the slice of cheese wasn't large enough.)

Blackberries with a ghost pick

Carrots with ranch

String cheese ghost

Candy corn

Jolly Jack-O-Lanterns

2011-10-16T12:05:00.001-07:00

Normally, the girls have identical lunches, except for the type of sandwich. But, these lunches ended up a little different so I thought I'd post a picture of both.

H's Lunch:

Turkey and cheddar on whole wheat. She has a cheddar jack-o-lantern accented with brown crust for the stem and a leaf pick

Cucumber and orange tomato kabobs on pumpkin picks with ranch

Strawberries with a pumpkin pick (H doesn't like clementines)

Candy pumpkins

A's Lunch:

Ave isn't a fan of large pieces of cheese on her sandwich so instead of doing the cheddar pumpkin, I just used the cut-outs from H's sandwich to decorate Ave's sandwich. I also decorated hers with brown crust for the stem and a leaf pick.

A Clementine jack-o-lantern

Cucumber and orange tomatoes on a pumpkin pick

Candy pumpkins

Pumpkin Patch

2011-10-13T16:49:00.000-07:00

Salami and herb cream cheese in a whole wheat mini pita with a cheddar pumpkin and lettuce "grass"

Tomato and cucumber slices with ranch with a scarecrow pick

Blackberries

Pumpkin candies

Check out the following link for other pumpkin themed bentos!

Wacky Witch

2011-10-12T13:10:00.001-07:00

Witch-shaped sandwich. I used cucumber peel for her hat and broom stick, cheddar for the band on the hat and the broom, carrot sticks for hair, icing eye and a red sprinkle for her mouth.

Carrots and ranch

Cheese moon with a witch pick

Red grapes with a witch hat

Mini Milky Way

Scary Skeleton

2011-10-11T11:28:00.001-07:00

Hopefully this lunch won't be too scary to eat!

2 skeleton-shaped sandwiches (stacked). His face his made from fruit leather. Nori would have worked better but I didn't have any.

Cucumber slices with ranch

Blackberries with a skeleton pick

Babybel with a skeleton cut out. His face is made from cucumber peel.

Mini Milky Way

This girls have a new principal at their school this year. She spends almost every lunch period in the cafeteria interacting with the kids (which I love). Almost every day she checks out the girls lunches and comments that she wishes I'd make her one too. I assumed she was kidding but I ran into her the other day and she mentioned it to me. So, we made plans for her to have a bento lunch with the girls. I hope she likes it!

2 ham and cheese pencil sandwiches with a marshmallow eraser.

Carrot and celery sticks with ranch and a "school" themed pick

Red and green grapes with picks that say "Learn" and "Write"

Twix bar

Nutty for Acorns!

2011-10-10T14:34:00.001-07:00

Hopefully the girls will go nuts for their lunch!

4 acorn-shaped sandwiches on whole wheat. I used the heel of the bread for the tops of the acorns.

Broccoli with ranch

Red and green grapes on acorn picks

String cheese

Hershey kiss/vanilla wafer acorns

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

Jack-O-Lantern Bento

2011-10-05T12:26:00.000-07:00

My first, of what I'm sure will be many, Halloween bentos of the season.

Salami and herb cream cheese on a whole wheat bagel with a cheddar jack-o-lantern. His face is made with dyed provolone.

Carrots with ranch

Grapes with pumpkin picks

Babybel cheese with a pumpkin cut out

Hershey Kisses

Harvest Pumpkins

2011-10-05T12:23:00.001-07:00

Pumpkin shaped sandwich on whole wheat

Sliced strawberries

Steamed broccoli with ranch

Cheddar pumpkin

Hershey Kisses

Check out the following link for other lunch box ideas!

Autumn Leaves

2011-10-04T14:09:00.001-07:00

2 leaf shaped sandwiches (Haley has salami and cheese and Ave has PB&J) colored with food safe markers

Carrots with ranch

Red grapes with leaf picks

Hershey kisses

Smiling Faces

2011-10-03T12:49:00.001-07:00

Hopefully tomorrow's lunch will make them smile :)

Ham and cheddar roll-ups on whole wheat with cheddar and provolone faces. All features are made from cucumber peel.

Green grapes

Tomato and cucumber slices with ranch

Babybel face with cucumber peel face

Mini Milky Way

Honey Bee

2011-10-02T13:19:00.001-07:00

Salami and herb cream cheese on a whole wheat bagel with a provolone flower and a bee pick.

Raspberries

Mixed berry yogurt with a raspberry/blueberry flower garnish

Carrots with ranch

Mini Reese's Cups

Check out What's for Lunch Wednesday for other lunch ideas.

First Fall Bento

2011-09-28T12:27:00.000-07:00

4 "acorn" sandwiches (stacked in 2s)

Pretzel snaps

Steamed broccoli and ranch

Babybel with acorn shape cut out (Ave has 2 acorn shaped cheddar cheese pieces)

Green grapes

Lunchable

2011-09-27T14:46:00.001-07:00

Peanut butter/wheat cracker sandwiches

Carrots and ranch with "cherry" tomatoes

Strawberry slices and blueberries

Chocolate pudding (I'm going to send a small container of sprinkles for them to add at lunch but if I put them on now, they will melt).

Theodore J. Bear

2011-09-26T13:52:00.000-07:00

Salami and colby with yellow mustard or PB&J on whole wheat "teddy bear" sandwich. His features are made from brown crust, icing eyes, and a food safe marker.

Cherry tomatoes and ranch

Cheddar "teddy bears"

Red and green grapes

Mini Twix

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

A Little Fishy

2011-09-25T14:46:00.000-07:00

Today's lunch was a piece of cake thanks to these new sandwich thins by Pepperidge Farm. Haley went to the grocery store with me this afternoon and spotted them and thought they were a "must have".

Ham and cheddar with honey mustand OR PB&J on a "Goldfish" sandwich thin

Goldfish crackers

Blackberries with a fish pick

Carrots with ranch

Mini Milky Way

Flower Power

2011-09-21T19:22:00.001-07:00

3 flower shaped sandwiches (stacked)...Ave has PB&J (of course) and Haley has turkey and colby jack, both on whole wheat.

Steamed broccoli with a flower pick

Strawberry yogurt with a strawberry/blueberry flower

Red and green grapes

My Heart Belongs to You

2011-09-20T09:55:00.001-07:00

PB&J on a whole wheat bagel with a fruit leather heart

Carrots and a red pepper heart with ranch

Red grapes with a heart pick

Chocolate pudding with "XOXO" sprinkles

The little cups I put the pudding in is a new item I picked up at my local bento store the other day. The come with little plastic lids. I don't think they'd seal something super liquidity or runny but I *think* it will work for pudding.

Roll-Ups

2011-09-19T11:16:00.000-07:00

These are not the prettiest roll-ups I've ever made but they will do and they will taste just as yummy!

Salami and cheddar roll-ups on whole wheat. (Ave has PB&J, of course)

Build-Your-Own "Ants on a Log" (celery sticks, raisins and peanut butter)

Strawberry slices and blueberries

Mini Milky Way

Go Buckeyes!!

2011-09-15T12:05:00.000-07:00

The weather today definitely feels like fall and with fall, comes football! So, tomorrow's bento supports our Buckeyes!

2 salami and cheddar on whole wheat "football" sandwiches. I decorated the football with the crust from the bread and a little provolone cheese.

Steamed broccoli with ranch for dipping and a super cute OSU pick that my wonderful sister-in-law bought for me...check out her amazing food blog.

Blueberries with letter picks that spell "Go Bucks!"

Babybel Buckeye

Mini Twix candy bar*

*I wish I had the time to make to make chocolate peanut butter buckeyes today. They would have been the perfect dessert for this bento...and then I could have eaten the rest! ;)

O-H!
Check out What's for Lunch Wednesday for more lunch ideas!

Lock 'N Lock

2011-09-14T12:36:00.000-07:00

Tomorrow's lunch is packed in Lock 'N Lock.

Peanut Butter cracker sandwiches

Cucumber and roma tomato slices

Strawberry yogurt with a strawberry heart

Strawberry slices and blueberries

Cut the Rope

2011-09-13T13:11:00.000-07:00

When I saw this cute lunch on What's for Lunch at Our House I knew I had to try to create a lunch inspired by Cut the Rope - it's one of the girls' favorite games on the iPad. I was really happy with how it turned out, which is good after yesterday!!

Avery has a PB&J on whole wheat and Haley has a turkey with veggie cream cheese on a sandwich thin. The monster is made from cheddar, with provolone teeth and hard boiled egg and cucumber peel eyes. The candy/rope is made from a Spree and a piece of linguine that I colored with a food safe marker.

Raspberries and blueberries

Peas

Pretzel snaps

Mini Milky Way

ParentMap Magazine Article

2011-09-12T16:42:00.000-07:00

I'm pretty excited that my blog was featured in a ParentMap Magazine article, along with Shannon at What's for Lunch at Our House and Another Lunch and Kristen at Cookie Cutter Lunch and several others. Talk about being in good company!

Smiling Faces

2011-09-12T16:32:00.000-07:00

Well, they can't all be winners! I'm so embarrassed by tomorrow's lunch that I almost didn't post it.

Today has been one of those super crazy days. I usually don't multi-task when I'm making lunches (except for the occasional phone call). As weird as it sounds, making lunches is my time...when I get to be creative. Well today, I didn't have any time for that. While making lunches today I was going over spelling words with my youngest, checking my oldest's math homework, and starting dinner. This is the result :(

Turkey and cheddar on whole wheat with the face made from cheddar, red pepper, carrot and icing eyes.

Plum slices

Carrots with ranch

Babybel with cucumber face

Pretzel snaps

You're the Apple of My Eye!

2011-09-11T12:23:00.000-07:00

2 apple shaped sandwiches, stacked (H has ham and cheese and Ave has PB&J, both on whole wheat). H has a dyed piece of provolone on top. Avery doesn't like the provolone so I just colored her stem with a color safe marker.

Mixed veggies with ranch for dipping

Red grapes with an apple pick

Babybel cheese decorated to look like an apple using a pretzel stick, green pepper and icing eyes (These cookie pops from Family Fun were my inspiration for these).

Mini Twix

Check out What's for Lunch Wednesday for other lunch time ideas!

Kitty, Kitty

2011-09-08T11:23:00.001-07:00

A fellow bento-ing friend mentioned that she recently used play-doh cutters as cheese cutters for her son's bento lunch....HELLO!?!?! Why did I not think of that before?! I have a box of play-doh supplies sitting on the shelf of my laundry room. I used the kitten cutter for tomorrow's lunch:

Salami and cheddar on a whole wheat sandwich thin with a provolone kitten. The kitten's features are made from cucumber peel, whisker eyes, and pink sprinkles.

Peas

Raspberries, blackberries, and blueberries with a kitten pick

Cheddar cheese cut into a kitty shape

Mini 3 Musketeers

Sweet and Simple

2011-09-07T12:24:00.000-07:00

Tomorrow's lunch is sweet and simple:

Pinwheel sandwiches (Haley has ham, cheese and honey mustard and Ave has PB&J, both on whole wheat)

String cheese (halved and stacked)

Strawberry slices and blackberries

Broccoli with a cherry tomato center with ranch

Mini Milky Way

Spicing it up!

2011-09-06T08:56:00.000-07:00

As you may have noticed, my youngest in NOT very adventurous when it comes to sandwiches. The girl loves her PB&J! Now that she's in school every day and packing almost every day, I'm a little worried she's going to get burnt out. So, when I saw these pepperoni pizza puffs on Shannon's "Featured Friday" over at 'What's For Lunch at Our House', I knew I wanted to give them a try.

3 Pepperoni Pizza Puffs with pizza sauce for dipping

Tomato, cucumber and mozzarella (well, technically it's string cheese) salad with Italian dressing

Seedless black grapes

Mini Twix bar

Sweet Treat

2011-09-05T10:25:00.001-07:00

Who says you can't have an ice cream cone for lunch?

2 sandwiches (Haley has turkey and cheddar and Ave has PB&J, both on whole wheat) stacked. I used the crust of the sandwich to make a waffle cone, provolone cheese for the ice cream, a cherry tomato for the cherry, and some sprinkles.

Carrots with ranch

Raspberries and blackberries

String cheese (halved and stacked)

Dove chocolate

Check out other fun lunches at What's for Lunch Wednesday!

All Things For Sale Give-a-way

2011-09-02T09:41:00.000-07:00

I know there are a lot of bento newbies out there who could benefit from a give-a-way. Heck, even us "old timers" like getting new stuff! So, check out the give-a-way All Things For Sale is offering!

You Are My Star!

2011-09-01T11:38:00.000-07:00

(Sorry the picture quality is so poor. )

Turkey and cheddar on whole wheat sandwich thin

Peas

Cantaloupe and blueberries

Pretzel snaps