God Bless the U.S.A!

In preparation for President's Day, Avery has been learning all about our presidents and some of our Nation's landmarks. Today, she was looking through a huge box of cookie cutters I just found in my basement (woo-hoo!) and saw this bell. She said "That's the Liberty Bell! But, it needs a crack." So, I decided to make that the theme of her lunch:

• PB&J on whole wheat Liberty Bell sandwich with a cheddar crack.
• Peas
• Keeping with the USA theme RED strawberries and BLUEberries
• Cheddar starts
• Silver and red hershey kisses

Hey Chicky!

Today. while I was enjoying my own bento-packed lunch all by myself (ahhh, savor the quiet), I decided to look through some of my favorite bento blogs for new inspiration. There are so many insanely talented people out there! I'm honored that you all are taking the time to look at my blog.

Tomorrow's lunch was inspired by one of my favorite bento blogs, Another Lunch. Isn't this little chick adorable? So simple but so cute. I love his fruit leather feathers :)

• 2 turkey, cheddar and honey mustard on whole wheat bread sandwiches (stacked) with a little chick made from provolone, cheddar and strawberry fruit leather.
• Strawberries (with a cute little chicken pick)
• Cucumber slices and carrots (the carrots are under the cucumber)
• Cheese stick (confused?)
• Chocolate heart

The square cutter I used on the sandwich was too big to make 2 full squares but it left way too much to throw away as scraps so I hid the partial piece on the bottom and filled in the space with piece of string cheese.

Need more inspiration? Check out What's for Lunch Wednesday

Tuesday's Lunch

Tomorrow's lunches were really quick and easy. Since they are basically the same lunch, I just photographed them together.

• 2 slices of pizza (leftovers from our heart shaped Valentine pizza. I would have taken a picture of it but it ended up looking more like a cow's hoof than a heart. That's ok though - we had a good laugh!)
• Steamed broccoli
• Red grapes or a clementine with a grape center
• Cheese stick
• Conversation hearts for dessert
  

Valentine Lunch

Avery doesn't go to school on Mondays so she's home with me today. Here is her Valentine lunch:

• PB&J sandwich in the shape of the sign language sign for "I love you" -- MUCH happier with how this one turned out.
• Cucumber slices with heart shape cut outs and a heart shaped cup with ranch. She likes seeds and all so I gave her both parts.
• Strawberry hearts
• Cheddar hearts

She ate every bite and finished her meal with her personalized valentine cut-out cookie from Aunt Kim.

Creative or Creepy?

I thought I'd come up with a really fun and unique idea for a Valentine's lunch. But, it turned out a little creepy. Maybe the nails aren't right? I'm not sure. Anyway, do you see what I was going for?

Update: I figured out what I didn't like about the nails...They are too wide. I trimmed them a bit more so you can see a little bread on either side. It looks much better.

• PB&J sandwich in the sign language sign for "I love you"
• Red grapes
• String cheese
• Carrots and cucumber slices
• Chocolate heart

Valentine's Breakfast

Since we won't have time for a big breakfast tomorrow, we decided to do breakfast for dinner tonight! The girls LOVE breakfast for dinner and were even more excited when they saw that I made it "bento" (i.e. pretty) ;)

• Heart shaped pancakes with strawberry topping and a whipped cream heart
• Sausage hearts
• Strawberry hearts
• Strawberry yogurt

(They also has scrambled eggs but I forgot they were still coming when I plated and took the picture)

Think Summer!

I don't know about you, but I am OVER winter! The groundhog had better be right this year because I want an early spring! (Ok, tantrum over)

Today is especially cold so I thought I would combat Old Man Winter a bit by making a sunny summer bento :)

• Turkey and cheddar on a whole wheat mini pita with a cheddar sunshine. The sun's face is made from cucumber peel.
• Red grapes with a drink umbrella (left over from her birthday cupcakes)
• Carrots and cucumber slices
• Candy flip-flops (also left over from her birthday cupcakes)