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

Friday, March 29, 2013

Fun Easter Lunch Using FunBites!

I have seen several adorable lunches packed in this style on other bento blogs.  But, I just didn't think it was practical for the girls to take to school.   They are off school today for Easter Break so what better time to serve them up some Easter fun for lunch?!  I wish I would have video taped their reactions when they saw it...it made any extra effort COMPLETELY worth while! :)

 
  • Sandwiches using the FunBites "Cube It" cutter
  • Carrots and broccoli with ranch
  • Blueberries and Strawberries with a "Happy Easter" cupcake pick
  • Cheddar bunnies decorated with food safe markers, icing eyes and a sprinkle nose
  • Goldfish/Pretzel fish
  • Hershey Miniature candy bar
It's all packed in an egg carton and plastic Easter eggs.
 
FunBites is offering 25% off your entire order.  So, if you don't have one of these fun cutters, now is a great time to buy!  Just go to their website, www.funbites.com, and use code:  Springintofun
 
Here are some of the items I used when creating this lunch:
 
 


Thursday, March 21, 2013

Wednesday, March 20, 2013

Before and After

So, which came first, the chicken or the egg?

In the case of this lunch, the chicken came first.   I think I was originally inspired by Family Fun to turn a hard boiled egg into a chick.  But, I can't find the link online.  If anyone happens to have it, let me know and I'll update this post.

  • 2 sandwiches (stacked) decorated with cheddar, provolone and food safe markers
  • Hard boiled egg, decorated with carrots and food safe marker
  • Carrots with ranch
  • Red and green grapes and a chick cupcake ring
  • Hershey's Miniature candy bar
It was my daughter's idea to add the egg shell (which I sanitized) and the cracks on the cheese egg.  I love when their creativity surpasses mine!

Here are some of the items I used when creating this lunch:


Bento Lunch

Thursday, March 14, 2013

Lucky To Have You!

I pulled one of the pizza rolls out of the freezer again.  Easy peasy!


In addition to the product links I've included above, here are some of the other items I used to create this lunch:


Cat and Mouse

My oldest daughter specifically requested a kitty themed lunch for today.  She even suggested that I use the Cute Z Cute.   I saw this mouse hard boiled egg on Pinterest and have been excited to make it.  I thought, what goes better with a kitty lunch than a mouse?!

 
 
  • Kitty sandwich made with the Cute Z Cute and bow
  • Hard boiled egg mouse decorated with carrots, spaghetti noodles and icing eyes
  • Carrots with ranch
  • Red grapes and kitty picks
  • Hershey's miniture candy bar
     
  • In addition to the product links I've included above, here are some of the items I used in this lunch:
     

Wednesday, March 13, 2013

Gold at the End of the Rainbow

Sticking with the St. Patrick's Day theme:

  • 3 shamrock-shaped sandwiches with shamrock picks
  • Carrots and ranch
  • Rainbow of fruit (red grapes, blueberries, green grapes, pineapple, clementine and strawberry)
  • Pretzel thins and Nutella
  • Chocolate gold coin
In addition to the links above, here is another item I used to create this lunch:

Tuesday, March 12, 2013

St. Patrick's Day

I'm starting to get into the St. Patrick's Day mode around here....
 
 
Here are some of the items, or similar items I used when creating this lunch:
 

Monday, March 11, 2013

Sweet Treat

Can I admit something?  When I first heard about Easy Lunch Boxes, I didn't understand what all the hub-bub was about.  I figured they looked just like the Ziplock boxes, we're more expensive and wouldn't fit in the girls' normal lunch boxes.  It wasn't until I won some in a giveaway that I truly understand why everyone loves these boxes so much!!  There is NO comparison in the quality of the ELBs compared to the Ziplock or Gladware counterparts and they are so easy to use (they take less brain power to figure out how to pack in them).  Granted, they don't fit in their normal lunch bags, but the girls don't seem to mind carrying the ELB insulated lunch bags so I worried about that for nothing. 
 
  • 2 ice cream cone-shaped sandwiches
  • Multi-grain tortilla chips with homemade salsa
  • Celery and peanut butter
  • Blueberries with ice cream cupcake picks
  • Hershey's miniature candy bar
Here are some of the items, or similar items, I used when creating this lunch:
 
Click on the BentoUSA ad to the right to find the sauce cup, large silicone cup and the ice cream picks!

Friday, March 8, 2013

Somewhere Over the Rainbow - Wizard of Oz Blog Hop

With the new Wizard of Oz movie coming out this weekend, my bento buddies and I decided to do a blog hop to celebrate. 

I don't know much about the new movie, other than it's a prequel to the original.  So, I stuck to the original and themed the girls' lunches after the main characters of the original movie.



  • 2 slipper shaped sandwiches (stacked) decorated with ruby slippers cupcake pick
  • Cowardly Lion made from white American and cheddar cheeses, cucumber peel and icing eyes (He ended up looking more thoughtful or confused than cowardly, huh? But, you get the idea.)
  • Broccoli with ranch and a Scarecrow cupcake pick (the ranch is under the lion)
  • The Tin Man is represented by vanilla yogurt with editable silver glitter and a strawberry heart
  • "Over the Rainbow" fruit kabob (purple grape, blueberries, green grape, pineapple, clementine and strawberry)
Now you can follow the yellow brick road to the next lunch on our hop over at Bent On Better Lunches

 photo BBF-YellowBrickRoad.jpg
Here are some of the items I used when creating these lunches:


Top of the Mornin' to Ya!

This lunch literally took less than 5 minutes to make.  When I made the pizza roll-ups last week, I froze most of them.  I just popped one out of the freezer last night and by this morning, it was thawed and ready to go.   Add some sauce, a veggie, a fruit and some cupcake picks to "cute it up"  and BAM! - That's lunch!  Easy, easy!

Here are some of the items, or similar items, I used when creating this lunch:

Thursday, March 7, 2013

Brunch for Lunch ~ Bento Style

As I mentioned, my girls had a snow day yesterday.  Although they were super excited to have a surprise day off, they were a little disappointed that they were missing out on Brunch for Lunch which was the lunch the school cafeteria was offering yesterday. So, to make up for it, I made them a Brunch for Lunch bento!

 
  • Mickey Mouse shaped chocolate chip baked pancakes and syrup.  Click here for the recipe.
  • Blueberries with strawberry hearts
  • Heart shaped hard boiled egg with Donald and Daisy picks (my other daughter got the Mickey and Minnie picks)
  • Vanilla yogurt with a Mickey ring
Here are some of the items I used when creating this lunch:
 
 

Kid Created Bentos!

My girls had a snow day yesterday so they made their own lunches!  They were very excited to have me post them here.

 
  • Sandwich decorated with a piece of white American cheese.  She used food safe markers to color the chick and egg.
  • Carrots
  • Strawberries and Nutella for dipping

  • Sandwich decorated with food safe markers.
  • Broccoli with ranch
  • Strawberries with Nutella
Here is a link to other kid created bentos!
Here are some of the items they used when creating these lunches:
 
 

Click on the BentoUSA ad to the right to find the sauce cups!

Wednesday, March 6, 2013

Pizza Roll Ups

Sorry I have been behind on posting this week.   This is actually last Friday's lunch.   Friday's are "pizza day" at school so my oldest took our own version.

I don't know what to call these things...pizza roll-ups?  pizza pockets?   I made them by rolling out pizza crust and topping it with mozzarella and chopped pepperoni (just like you were making a pizza, without the sauce).   I cut the pizza into 8 triangle pieces and them rolled them up (like you would a crescent roll) and then squeezed the edges together. 

  • Pepperoni pizza roll up with pizza sauce for dipping
  • Cherry tomato, cucumber and mozzarella kabobs
  • Raspberries
  • Thin Mints
Here are some of the items I used when creating this lunch:

Click on the BentoUSA ad to the right to find the flower and bug picks.