A Royal Lunch for the Royal Wedding

In celebration of the royal wedding, I made a royal wedding bento. (It's always fun to have a theme, right?) ;)

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  Sandwich on a whole wheat mini bagel (Haley has salami and herb cream cheese and Ave as PB&J). The crown is made from provolone with fruit leather "jewels". The rings are made from cheddar with a provolone diamond. (Ok, I know that doesn't look like Kate's ring, but I didn't think they'd recognize hers).



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  Strawberry hearts (to celebrate their love...awwwww)



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  Cucumber slices



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  Pretzels



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  Mini Snickers

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

Spring Flowers

• Flower sandwich (Haley has turkey and cheese and Ave has PB&J) with a provolone flower with a cheddar center.


• Carrots with ranch


• Blackberries with a flower pick


• Strawberry yogurt with a strawberry/blueberry flower
  

April Showers Bring Cheese Flowers

It's another rainy day. So, a rainy day lunch seemed appropriate:

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  PB&J on whole wheat rain cloud sandwiches with mini M&Ms for rain drops.


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  Cheddar cheese flowers with icing eyes and a food safe marker for the mouth


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  Strawberry flower with a blackberry center


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  Peas

Mega Post

Joanie, thanks so much for missing me! I was just logging on to post when I saw your comment and it made me smile. Sorry I've been MIA for a few days. I hope everyone had a wonderful Easter.

Monday's Lunch:
Can you say "throw together what's in the fridge?" That's what this lunch was. I was tired after a long day of Easter celebrations and I hadn't been to the store. It's not much to look at but Haley said it was delicious :)

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  Pulled pork (leftovers from Saturday's lunch) with BBQ sauce on the side


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  Peas


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  Fruit kabobs


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  Mini snickers

Tuesday's Lunch

This lunch was SO much cuter in my head than it turned out. I was really disappointed in the mane and tail. I could NOT get the gummy worms to roll out flat. But, the girls loved it and that's what counts!

• Unicorn Sandwich (Haley had turkey, cheese and honey mustard on whole wheat and Ave had PB&J (shocker) on whole wheat). The tail and mane is made from a gummy worm with an icing eye and the end of a pick for the horn.


• Blackberries


• Carrots with ranch


• Jelly beans

Wednesday's Lunch

On Saturday Haley is celebrating her First Holy Communion. She is VERY excited about it and counting down the days. So, I made her a bento to celebrate it. (Hopefully I won't get in trouble for sending a religious themed lunch...nobody said anything about the Easter one so hopefully this one will be fine too.)

• Salami and herb cream cheese on a whole wheat mini bagel. Challis and host made from cheddar and provolone, respectively. The cross on the cup is made with a food safe marker.


• Carrots with ranch


• Babybel with a cross cut-out


• Red grapes


• Hershey kisses

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

Butterfly Garden

The girls are off school today for Easter break so I thought it was a great opportunity to create something outside of the box (ha ha!). I'm looking forward to summer lunches when I can be creative but not necessarily confined to their boxes.



Another lunch inspired by Cookie Cutter Lunch

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  PB&J on whole wheat butterfly with a carrot, cheddar and provolone circles and yellow picks for decoration


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


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  Apple flowers (also yummy dipped in peanut butter)


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  Peach yogurt with a raspberry center

Remembering the Reason for the Season

I've done bunny bentos, Easter egg bentos and chicky bentos, but for my last bento before Easter, I thought I'd do one to help remind Haley of the reason for the season.

• 2 salami and cheddar on whole wheat lamb sandwiches (stacked) with provolone wool and ear and cucumber peel nose and eye.


• Steamed broccoli with a sheep pick


• Red and green grapes


• Babybel cheese with a cross cut-out


• Reeses pieces eggs
  

Spring Things

Tomorrow's lunch is full of flavor and colors!

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  Roll-ups on whole wheat (Ave has PB&J (pictured) and Haley has turkey and cheese with honey mustard). Cheddar "spring things" (flower, bunny, duck, butterfly)


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  Cucumber slices and carrots with ranch


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  Raspberries and blackberries


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  2 Hershey Kisses

Easter Egg Bento

This is not one of my favorites but it will do ;)

• Salami and herb cream cheese on a whole wheat mini pita decorated with provolone and cheddar to look like an Easter egg.


• Strawberry slices and blueberries


• Carrots with ranch


• Reeses Pieces eggs

Spring Has Sprung!

It is a GLORIOUSLY beautiful day here today -- we've got to enjoy it because it's supposed to be raining and back in the 40s this weekend. BAH HUM BUG! But, we'll take it while we can!

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  Turkey, cheddar and honey mustard on whole wheat with cheddar and provolone flowers.



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  Strawberry slices and blackberries



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  Pasta salad with cherry tomato tulips



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  Carrots and cucumber slices

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

Here Comes Peter Cottontail

We're back to Easter Bentos! They both have the exact same lunch for tomorrow. It's packed in the Sassy On the Go box.

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  2 PB&J sandwiches on whole wheat (stacked). Bunny is made from cheddar with a provolone egg and ears, nori eyes and a sprinkle nose. I used curly parsley as Easter grass, to stabilize it.


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  Carrots with ranch


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  Berry yogurt with a blackberry garnish


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  Red grapes with bunny picks


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  2 chocolate eggs

Mr. Mouse

I don't think saying I was inspired by this lunch over at Cookie Cutter Lunch does it justice -- I pretty much just re-created it! But, I thought it turned out super cute. Who wouldn't enjoy eating this pretty lunch? :) This lunch was packed in one of the Ziplock divided containers. I am intrigued by the Easy Lunch Boxes but I don't think the girls' would enjoy taking them to school (they wouldn't want to take a different lunch box to accommodate their size). But, I am considering them for my summer bentos. I decided to get a box of the Ziplock containers to try them out before committing to the ELB.

• PB&J on whole wheat cut into the shape of a mouse (or bunny...whichever you think). I used a heart shaped cutter for both and just cut the heart in half for the ears. Cheddar for the ears and the face (small easter egg cutter for the inside of the ears and a small heart for the mouth), carrot sticks for the whiskers, cherry tomato nose, and icing eyes.


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  Strawberries and blackberries


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  Cucumber slices and cherry tomatoes with a cup of ranch


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  String cheese

Peek-A-Boo Chicky

I'm back to Easter bentos for tomorrow's lunch :)

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  2 turkey and cheddar on whole wheat sandwiches (stacked) and a chicky/egg decoration made from provolone and cheddar. Chicky's face, peering out of the egg, is made from carrot (beak), icing eyes, and cucumber peel (eye brows)


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  Cucumber slices and ranch


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  Blackberries


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  Pretzels


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  2 chocolate eggs

Not very exciting...

Ugh - I need to get to the store. I feel like this is just a hodge-podge of food! But, here ya go:

• Hard-boiled egg shaped into a bunny (the flash sort of washed him out but he turned out really cute) with salt and pepper shaker.


• 2 peanut butter and wheat cracker sandwiches


• Steamed broccoli


• Strawberries


• Babybel cheese with a bunny cut-out


• Peeps bunny

Haley LOVES hard-boiled eggs - Although she will often have one for breakfast, I've never attempted to send them for lunch because she likes them with salt and pepper and I didn't know how well the salt and pepper would hold up on the egg in her lunch box all morning. PROBLEM SOLVED! Check out this adorable individual salt and pepper shaker that I found at World Market!

Banning Homemade Lunches?!?!

I saw this posted on Wendolonia's facebook page: http://news.yahoo.com/s/yblog_thelookout/20110411/us_yblog_thelookout/chicago-school-bans-homemade-lunches-the-latest-in-national-food-fight

As she said, I'm sure this rule was made with good intentions but I'd be FURIOUS if I was banned from making my child's lunch!

News Article

Check out this great story, Boxes Beat Brown Bags, about bento lunches featuring lunches from yours truly! Thank you Ellen for writing such a great article!

We're Going to the Zoo, zoo, zoo...

I decided to take my youngest and her best friend to the zoo this morning. So, I threw together a couple quick lunches to take with us. (Again, keep in mind the pantry is almost bare!)

• Peanut butter on wheat crackers


• Green grapes with an elephant and giraffe pick


• Carrots with ranch


• Cheddar cheese cut into elephants


• 2 Hershey kisses

Love Birds

We've had a busy weekend of birthday celebrations so I'm going to be scraping the barrel for tomorrow and Tuesday's lunches. But, here's what I came up with for tomorrow:

This lunch was packed in the "lovely" box.

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  Ham and veggie cream cheese on a whole wheat sandwich thin. Cheddar birds and a strawberry fruit leather heart.


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  Babybel cheese with a heart cut-out


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  Green grapes with a heart pick


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  Carrots with ranch


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  2 chocolate eggs

Chicky!

Back to Easter bentos! Tomorrow's lunches are pretty much the same. They just have different sandwiches and are packed in different boxes. This lunch is packed in the Sassy On The Go box:

• Ham and veggie cream cheese in a whole wheat pita. The chicky is made from cheddar and his egg is made from provolone. He has a carrot nose and icing eyes.


• Carrots with ranch


• Strawberry slices with a blackberry center


• Reese Pieces Easter eggs

This lunch is packed in the "lovely" box:

• 2 PB&J on whole wheat sandwiches (stacked) with a cheddar and provolne chick decoration


• Carrots with ranch


• Strawberry slices


• Reeses Pieces Easter eggs

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

Happy Birthday Bento

Today is my youngest's 6th birthday so we made her a birthday bento to celebrate! This lunch is packed in the "lovely" box.

• 2 PB&J on whole wheat cupcake sandwiches (stacked). Cupcake decoration is made from cheddar and provolone cheese, a CHERRY tomato, and some sprinkles.


• Cherry tomato balloons


• Cucumber slices with ranch


• Red and green grapes - a couple with faces made with food markers and party hats


• 2 starbursts

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

Another Easter Bento

I started this lunch without a clue as to what I was going to make. I pulled the bag of mini pitas out of the pantry and thought "I wonder if I could make a basket out of that." This lunch is packed in the Sassy On The Go box.

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  Whole wheat mini pita Easter basket filled with ham, veggie cream cheese, provolone and cheddar Easter eggs and a little lettuce for Easter grass.


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  Peas


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  Strawberries and blackberries with bunny picks


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  2 Girl Scout Trefoil cookies

Which Box?

I know it's sometimes difficult to tell which box I'm using and several people have asked me about it. I added a name and picture of each box that I have to the "FAQ" page of this blog and I will try to remember to mention which box I'm using in each post. Hopefully that will help :)

Tuesday's Lunch

I have lots of yummy fresh fruit this week and instead of doing a fruit salad, I wanted to make fruit kabobs for the girls' lunches. Unfortunately, I currently only have one box that will fit the drink stir sticks that I use for kabobs. This lunch is packed in both tiers of the Happy Balloon box.

• PB&J roll-ups with a cheddar bunny decoration with cucumber features


• Cucumber slices and ranch


• Fruit kabobs


• Hershey kisses

April Showers...

...bring flower lunches! It is a VERY rainy day today. So, I thought I'd brighten Avery's day a little with a happy flower lunch. This lunch was inspired by 2 lunches (V is for Vase and Tiptoe Through the Tulips) I saw on Cookie Cutter Lunch (one of my favorite blogs!).

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  PB&J flowers with mini M&M centers stuck into celery stick "grass" with a side of peanut butter (for dipping the celery in). (It's really annoying me that I didn't do equal tulips and daisies...oh well, next time!)


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  Cherry tomato and cheddar flowers


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  Tulip strawberries and pineapple and blueberry daisies


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  A purple bunny peep...because her sister got one and that wouldn't be fair ;)

Hoppy Monday!

Haley will be hopping into the week with another bunny bento!

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  Ham and cheddar with honey mustard on a whole wheat sandwich thin


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  Carrot sticks with broccoli tops* and ranch


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  Red and green grapes


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  Purple bunny peep in a bunny cup

* I can't take credit for these carrots. Unfortunately, I can't give credit for them either! I saw them on a blog somewhere but I can't remember where! Anyway, they were really easy to make. I simply used a veggie peeler to shape mini carrots a little. Then I added a broccoli floret to the top using a green pick. I think they turned out really cute!