Happy Fall

• 4 mini leaf-shaped sandwiches, made with cookie stamps
• Carrots with ranch
• Raspberry and blueberries with autumn themed cupcakes picks in a pumpkin cup
• Babybel cheese with a leaf cut-out
• Hershey kisses

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

This post contains affiliate links.  

Simple Sandwich Roll-Ups

• PB&J Roll-ups
• Carrots and a cumcumber slice with ranch
• Red grapes with flower picks
• Babybel cheese
• York Peppermint candy

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

Shiloh

My daughter's class has been reading the book Shiloh, by Phyllis Reynolds Naylor, aloud after recess each day.   I often get a short recap of what happened in the lives of Shiloh the beagle, Marty and the mean Judd Travers, as part of her answer to my daily question, "What happened at school today?"

Today, as a special treat, they get to watch the movie based on the book so I made her a fun lunch to go along with the theme.

• One large dog bone sandwich with the letters spelling out "Shiloh".  I made 2 small bones to add more sandwich.
• Red grapes with the puppy cupcake pick
• Broccoli with ranch and a dog bone pick
• Pretzel sticks
• Hershey Kisses

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

This post contains affiliate links.

Beaker from the Muppets!

I came across this lunch on Pinterest and thought it was absolutely adorable.  I'm not sure my version did the original justice, but I didn't show the original to my daughter so she was thrilled with my version ;-)    My daughters LOVE the Muppet Show so they thought this lunch was especially fun.

• Beaker Sandwich Wrap, decorated with carrots for the hair, provolone and food safe marker for the eyes and mouth, cherry tomato for the nose and a cucumber peel tie.  There are actually 2 wraps, stacked.  
• Broccoli with ranch, and a Kermit the Frog cupcake ring
• Grapes with a Miss Piggy cupcake ring
• Babybel Cheese
• York Peppermint Candy

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

This lunch contains affiliate links.

Honey Bee

My mom got me a set of Williams Sonoma spring-themed cookie cutter/stamps last year for Christmas.  In the middle of December, I wasn't thinking bug and flower themed lunches so they got pushed to the back of my bento closet.  I recently rediscovered them and I LOVE them.  The detail that I can get with the stamps is amazing.  I honestly don't think they need the food marker detail but my daughter loves helping me by coloring her lunches with the markers.

• 2 bee-shaped sandwiches (stacked), decorated with food safe markers
• Babybel Cheese with "B-E-E" letter picks
• Raspberries in blueberries in a bee-shaped silicone cup
• Build-Your-Own Ants on a Log (i.e. celery sticks, peanut butter and raisins), decorated with a bee and flower pick
• York Peppermint candy

In addition to the product links above, here are some of the other items, or similiar items, I used when creating this lunch:



This post contains affiliate links.

Smile!

Today's requested theme was "Smiley Faces".  So, this simple lunch is what I came up with:

• 2 smiley-faced sandwiches (stacked).  I made the face using cucumber peel and this nori cutter.
• Carrots and ranch
• Pretzel thins
• Babybel cheese with a smiley face cut using these cutters
• Strawberries with a smiley face pick
• York peppermint candy

In addition to the product link above, here are some of the other items, or similar items, I used when creating this lunch:

Owls

Today's requested theme by the middle schoolers was "owls".  I'm keeping it simple with this owl sandwich made from a circle cutter.   The part I cut from the top of his head is what I used to make the wings.

• 2 owl-shaped sandwiches, stacked.  Decorated with an eye pick and heart pick.  I used carrots for his feet and beak.
• Green peas
• Blueberries with an owl cupcake ring
• Pretzel sticks
• Babybel cheese
• York peppermint patty

In addition to the product links above, here are some of the items, or similar items, I used when creating this lunch:

This post contains affiliate links.

Panda Mania

As I have mentioned in earlier posts, my oldest daughter started middle school this year.   She was pretty adamant that she didn't want "cute" lunches anymore, which was fine.   Well, last week she came home and said that she was telling her friends about "what I do" with lunches and they were intrigued so she wanted me to make her a cute lunch.  She specifically wanted me to recreate the Koala lunch that I had made for her younger sister a few days earlier.

Apparently her new friends LOVED her lunch and now, not only is she back on board with cute lunches, but her friends are sending in theme requests.  Today's requested theme was "pandas" so here is what I came up with.

• 2 peanut butter and honey Panda sandwiches, created using the Animal Palz cutting system and decorated with food-safe markers
• Cheese stick
• Red grapes with a panda pick
• Broccoli with a panda pick
• Hershey kisses

In addition to the product links above, here are some of the products, or similar products, I used when creating this lunch:



This post contains affiliate links.

Fiesta Ranch Chicken Salad

We broke away from the sandwich zone for today's lunch.   It's one of our favorite summer dinners and it occurred to me that it would make a pretty good school lunch too!

The salad contains:

• Salad greens
• Grilled chicken
• Corn
• Black beans
• Cheddar Cheese
• Ranch dressing
• Tortilla chips (which are intended to be crunched on top but she will probably eat them on the side)

*The recipe also calls for salsa but my daughter doesn't like it on hers so I didn't include it in her lunch.

Her lunch also contains strawberries and blueberries.   I added an eye pick because eyes make everything cuter!

In addition to the product link above, here are some of the other items I used when creating this lunch:

This post contains affiliate links.

School Days

Sometimes I am really thankful that my daughters don't follow bento blogs.  Because if they did, they would not be nearly as impressed with today's lunch.   Today's lunch was completely inspired by this lunch made by my friend Rina at Bento School Lunches.  I didn't even change the math equation!!  I want to make sure to give her credit for her adorable lunch...but I'm not going to share it with my girls ;-)

• PB and honey sandwich made on whole wheat bread, decorated with food safe markers to look like a piece of notebook paper.  I used strawberry fruit leather and Wilton's number cutters to make the math equation
• Strawberries with a school-themed pick
• Carrots and celery with ranch
• Cheese stick decorated with markers (I know I have seen this idea somewhere but can't find where to give credit.  If you know, please leave a comment)
• Hershey kisses

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

This post contains affiliate links.

Cuddle Palz Sammie

Loving our new Cuddle Palz cutting system!   This lunch took less than 10 minutes to make....maybe closer to 5 minutes. It was FAST!

• PB&J made to look like a bear using the Cuddle Palz cutter and food safe markers
• Carrots with ranch
• Red grapes
• Hershey kisses

My middle schooler wanted pizza pinwheels again -- easy peasy!

• Pizza Pinwheels with marinara for dipping
• Carrots with ranch
• Red grapes
• Kit Kat candy bar

Here are some of the items, or similar items, that I used when creating these lunches:

This post contains affiliate links.

PB&J Roll-ups and a Deconstructed Turkey Bagel

For those that may be new to my blog, you will soon learn that I have 2 different eaters.  Although both my girls love fruits and veggies, my youngest daughter does not like any type of cold meat.  In addition, she absolutely loves peanut butter.  So, she almost always has a peanut butter sandwich, in some form, in her lunch.  Whereas my oldest daughter is more adventurous and will eat lots of different things.   So today I made PB&J roll-ups as a fun change to the traditional PB&J sandwich for the youngest.  My middle schooler wanted a deconstructed turkey/veggie cream cheese bagel.  She will most likely eat the turkey by itself and then have the bagel with cream cheese separately.  But, she has the option to assemble it into a sandwich, if she chooses.

• PB&J roll-ups on a "So Sweet" skewer
• Peas
• Strawberries and blueberries
• Wheat Thins Popped
• Oreos

• Whole Wheat mini bagel with veggie cream cheese and turkey
• Peas
• Strawberries and blueberries
• Oreos

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

This post contains affiliate links.

1 Lunch, 2 Different Ways

As I've mentioned in previous posts, my oldest is in middle school now and doesn't want "cute" lunches.   No problem!   Here are both my daughters' lunches for today.  As you can see, they are the exact same lunch.  I just added a couple cute touches to make my younger daughter's an owl themed lunch and kept my older daughter's plain.  Everyone is happy!

Both lunches contain:

• PB&J made using the Pampered Chef Cut N Seal
• Cucumbers and cherry tomatoes
• Red grapes
• Pretzel Sticks
• Hershey Kisses
• Lunchbox Love Note

To make the owl sandwich, I decorated the sandwich with more cucumber slices for the wings and eyebrows and carrot for the beak and feet.  I used these eye picks for instant cuteness (that won't melt like sugar eyes sometimes do!)

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

This post contains affiliate links. 

Cuddle Palz!

Earlier this summer we received the newest product in the CuteZCute product line, the Cuddle Palz, to try. Similar to the other CuteZCute products, the Cuddle Palz is super easy to use and provides instant cuteness to any lunch!  The 2-sided cutter and stamps allow you to make many different combinations.  I have a feeling you will be seeing many Cuddle Palz lunches on our blog!

Koala Lunch:

• Koala PB&J made using the Cuddle Palz cutting system.   He is holding on to a piece of celery.
• Celery with peanut butter
• Grapes with a koala pick
• Pretzel sticks 
• Hershey kisses

Again, my middle schooler doesn't want cute lunches anymore.  So we kept it simple:

• Pizza roll-ups with marinara for dipping
• Peas
• Red grapes
• Oreos

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

First Day of School!

After taking the summer off, we are back in business as today was the first day of school!  I now have a middle schooler (ACK!) and a 4th grader.  The middle schooler has requested "no more cute lunches" but we are going to continue to pack "bento style" because it's environmentally friendly.

My 4th grader specifically requested a "pencil lunch" for the first day:

For my 6th grader, we kept it more simple:

Both lunches contained:

• PB&J Sandwich.   For the pencil, I just used food-safe markers to decorate it.
• Carrots or Broccoli with ranch
• Raspberries
• Oreos 

Plus, I included a Lunchbox Love Note to let them know I was thinking of them!

Listed below are the items, or similar items, I used when creating this lunch:

This post contains affiliate links.

Keeping It Simple

Wow, it's been a long time since my last post!   Life has been SO busy recently!  I'm sure you can relate!!  We've still be packing and keeping it cute, but I haven't been feeling overly original or taking the time to photograph.  Sorry about that!

Today's lunch I kept simply on purpose.  I thought about adding icing eyes, a bow pick, and whiskers, which would have been cute.  But, I really liked the kitty simple too so I went with that.

• A kitty and heart shaped sandwiches (There wasn't space to cut out 2 kitties but I didn't want to waste that much sandwich so I found a smaller cutter to use up the remainder of the sandwich.  We can call it Kitty Love)
• Watermelon kitties with blueberries
• Sugar snap peas and grape tomatoes with ranch
• Chocolate

This post contains affiliate links.

Bunny Buddies!

Bento Tip of the Day :  Icing eyes make everything cuter!

• 2 bunny shaped sandwiches decorated with icing eyes, sprinkles (nose), spaghetti noodles (whiskers) and bento picks I got from Bento USA (see link to the right)
• Broccoli with ranch and a "Happy Easter" pick
• Pineapple and strawberry slices with a bunny pick
• Dove chocolate eggs

This post contains affiliate links.

Bunny Tushie

Completely inspired by this adorable lunch at Kitchen Fun with My 3 Sons, I made this bunny tushie bento. My girls thought it was hilarious and it was quick and easy to pull together.

• Bunny Tushie sandwich made from using the Pampered Chef Cut N Seal and a small oval cookie cutter for the feet.  I decorated it using a mini marshmallow and food safe markers.
• Strawberry halves with a "Happy Easter" cupcake pick
• Carrots and ranch - I decorated one of the mini carrots to look like a big carrot by shaving off one end into a point and topping it with a spring of broccoli
• 2 Dove Chocolate Easter eggs.

This post contains affiliate links.

Bunny Hop

• 2 bunny-shaped sandwiches (stacked), decorated with an icing eye, a snowflake sprinkle for the tail, and egg sprinkles for the nose and ear.  
• Carrots and ranch, decorated with a bunny cupcake ring
• Strawberries with a "Happy Easter" cupcake pick
• Russell Stover candy

See below for some of the products, or similar products, I used when creating this lunch.

This post contains affiliate links.

Spring Has Sprung!

Hello!  Sorry for the long delay between posts.   We just got back from a lovely vacation and am trying to get back into the swing of things!  

It feels like Spring is finally starting to sprout around here!

• 2 flower-shaped sandwiches, stacked
• Watermelon flowers with a flower stem pick
• Broccoli and ranch with a ladybug and flower pick
• 2 Girl Scout cookies

In addition to the product links above, see below for other links to products I used when when creating this lunch.  

This post contains affiliate links.

Easter Finds at "Regular" Stores

This has been a great week for bento finds!  I found these cute Easter supplies at "regular" stores! The Bunny cookie cutter/stamp was only 97 cents in Walmart's Easter section and I found the adorable egg molds in the Kroger seasonal department for under $3!

I used the cookie cutter/stamp to create today's lunch.  This lunch was so simple.   The cookie stamps are such and easy quick way to add a touch of cuteness!

• 2 bunny-shaped sandwiches (stacked) and a "Happy Easter" pick
• Red grapes with a bunny pick (which is actually a game piece from an Easter game I found at the Dollar Store a few years ago)
• Peas
• Jelly beans (she gets the retainer this afternoon so it was her last lunch with jelly beans for awhile)

Listed below are some of the items, or similar items, I used when creating this lunch.

This post contains affiliate links.

Here Comes Peter Cottontail!

With St. Patrick's Day behind us, it's time to move on to Easter!   I love making Spring/Easter bentos!   This bunny bento couldn't have been easier!

• 2 bunny-shaped sandwiches (stacked), decorated with a marshmallow to look like a bunny tail
• Strawberry slices with an Easter egg cupcake ring
• Broccoli and ranch with an Easter Bunny cupcake ring
• Jelly beans**

**My daughter got her braces off last Thursday but has to get a permanent retainer put in on Wednesday so she only has only had a few days to eat without food restrictions.  So, we've been pretty free with the jelly beans and popcorn this week!

This post contains affiliate links.

Luck of the Irish to You!

A couple more St. Patrick's Day lunches to celebrate!

Both lunches have:

• Shamrock shaped cucumbers with ranch in a clover sauce cup
• A rainbow fruit salad with a pot of gold cupcake pick
• Pretzel crisps
• Gold chocolate coins

The top lunch has 2 shamrock shaped sandwiches decorated with little shamrock picks

The bottom lunch has turkey and cheese on St. Patrick's themed picks.

Click on the product links above or see the Amazon links below for the products, or similar products that I used when making these lunches.

This post contains affiliate links.

St. Patrick's Day Bento Lunch

Rina's St. Patrick's Day snack on Bento School Lunches was my inspiration for this St. Patrick's Day themed lunch:

• Peanut Butter and fresh strawberry sandwiches made using the FunBites Cube It and skewered on St. Patrick's Day themed picks
• Red grapes with a shamrock cupcake pick
• Cucumber slices
• Hershey Kisses

This post contains affiliate links.

Simply Spring!

The last few days have brought us our first signs of spring!   Granted, snow is in the forecast
for tomorrow. But, for today, we are savoring the blue sky, sun and jacket weather.   I think days like these are God's way of telling us "Hang in there!"

I was feeling the spring fever when I put together this simple springtime lunch:

• 2 butterfly-shaped sandwiches (stacked) made using a butterfly cookie stamp
• Carrots with ranch
• Strawberries with flower picks
• 2 Dove chocolate eggs

In addition to the product link above, here are some of the other items, or similar items, I used when creating this lunch:

This post contains affiliate links.

Minion Monday

It definitely seems like there is  Minion Madness going around out there...Minions can be found everywhere! And now they are in our lunchbox.    This lunch was inspired by several different lunches that I've seen recently including these: Eats Amazing, Bent On Better Lunches, and Glory's Mischief.

• 2 minion shaped sandwich, decorated with fruit leather, icing eyes and flour tortillas.
• Carrots with ranch
• Red grapes
• Girl Scout cookies

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

This post contains affiliate links.

Girl Scouting is fun!

This has been a busy week for Girl Scouts around our house!   We've had a field trip to the Humane Society, a cookie booth, cookie pick-up and delivery and the Father/Daughter Luau dance!   So, Girl Scouts was on my mind as I was making lunches today.

• 2 Trefoil-shaped sandwiches (stacked) decorated with a Girl Scout cupcake pick
• Carrots with ranch
• Red grapes with letter picks to spell "fun"

and of course it wouldn't be a Girl Scout themed lunch without a Girl Scout cookie for dessert!

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

This post contains affiliate links.