106, 107, & Grub for the Hub!

Okay so this morning was definitely feeling like a Monday! This meant I would have rather been sleeping than getting up to face the day. Which also means that I wasn't feeling too inspired to make lunch. Who hasn't had that morning? With that in mind I needed something simple, fast, and no busting out bento tools! Here's what I came up with.

Definitely not the belle of the ball but it'll hit the spot for lunch! 

IN THIS LUNCH:

• Meat and Cheese Rolls ups (No tools today so I used a pretzel to skewer!)
• Pretzel Rods
• Tomatoes
• Peppers
• Apple Sauce w/ Cinnamon 

There you have it! Lunch number 106 is a no muss and no fuss sort of deal. 

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After I after I had a chance to wake up and got home from dropping Monkey off at school I was feeling....a tad inspired! So I decided to make lunch for tomorrow. This of course has something new added to it. My husband got a new job and will be needing me to pack his lunches too! I'm really excited about this and look forward to sharing the journey of packing lunches for both of them with you!! 

Here's what we got for our lunches tomorrow! 

So, for packing both their lunches I wanted to make this as streamlined as possible! So, I used most of the same ingredients to pack both with a few unique twists for each of them. 

Daddy's Lunch [On the Left]: 

• 1/2 Sandwich -- Garden Vegetable Cream Cheese, Turkey Pepperoni, Sliced Turkey, and Swiss. 
• Salad -- Mixed baby greens, pepper rings, and feta [As my husband says, "Feta makes it bettah!"] w/ Balsamic Vinaigrette. 
• Pretzel Rods
• Banana Bread Larabar 
• I packed the other half of his sandwich in a plastic baggy on the side for his break. 

Monkey's Lunch [On the Right]: 

• Pinwheels [Swiss Laughing Cow, Mixed Baby Greens, Pepper Rings, Turkey Pepperoni, and Sliced Turkey lunch meat]. 
• Scooby Snacks Graham Crackers
• Celery with Garden Veggie Cream Cheese
• Pear halves with cinnamon

Essentially, I took Daddy's salad and sandwich and put it in a wrap for Monkey! Then with the leftover pears, I pulsed them in the baby bullet a few times and made chunky pear sauce [Like applesauce] and gave the baby half for lunch and the other half is saved in the fridge.

Happy Packing! 

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Monkey has been enjoying her first week back at school and I'm finding the quiet extremely odd! I'm glad she is reconnecting with friends and getting back on a schedule. Today for lunch I wanted to offer her some of her favorite foods

IN THIS LUNCH

• Pretzel Thins
• Rolled Turkey Lunch Meat
• Baby Carrots
• Tomato Slices
• Mozzarella Slices
• Watermelon Chunks

What are your kids favorite foods?

Happy Packing!

New School Year!! 2014-2015

It's that time. The time when we all scurry to the office supply store and stock up on pencils, paper, fat line markers, and watercolors. As of now, Monkey is tucked into bed, all of her school items labeled with her name, her outfit for tomorrow all stacked together, and her lunch is put together and waiting in the fridge to be lovingly tucked in her lunchbox in the morning.

At which point I'll probably still be in my pajamas, hair not brushed, with a squirmy baby on my hip and a caffeinated beverage in my hand not certain if I remembered to actually put an ice pack in the box with her lunch or not. Those perfectly polished moms hopping out of their mini vans and SUVs that will undoubtedly give me the evil eye can stuff it! I'll just be happy my darn shoes match (this is a problem that happens more often than I'd like to admit).

I don't know about you but with each coming school year I start worrying over what I'm going to be packing for Monkey! This will be my third year packing her lunch and we both really enjoy it. I also get the satisfaction of knowing what she's eating and she gets the satisfaction of bragging (she tells me she does this often. I should discourage it, but I just can't bring myself to haha).

This year I decided to use the school menu for inspiration! Yes, I love Pinterest and Facebook but I also know that Monkey wants to be like her friends. The older she gets the more this will probably become my reality. So, I sat down with the school lunch calender with pen in hand and went to work circling the items that I figured I could make myself. Her first day of school lunch could have been the pencil shaped sandwich I was planning to commemorate her first day of first grade, but it's not.

According to the school calender the kids will be having Teriyaki Chicken and Brown Rice. Well, from what I remember of school food, it'll be Chicken-like product and moist cardboard. But, I know that sometimes, a similar lunch just makes Monkey feel like she's like everyone else. So, I obliged. To make life easy on myself we had Rice Bowls for dinner and I just made a little extra so we could put her lunch into her box while we plated dinner.

LUNCH PACKING TIP: Anytime you can just make extra dinner and put a portion in the box while plating, do this! It saves time and effort and works out really well most of the time!

IN THIS LUNCH

• Rice Balls
• Veggie Mix - Peas, Carrots, and Zucchini (Monkey suggested we add bell peppers in the future). 
• Teriyaki Chicken
• Pineapple Chunks
• Chocolate Almond Milk (not pictured)

So tomorrow for school this is what my almost seven year old will be having for lunch. She doesn't know it yet, but her father and I are sneaking a brownie into her lunch too as a first day of school surprise! :) 

What are you all packing? 

Happy Packing! 

Sneaky Lil' thing

So a while back during a Roald Dahl blog hop by the Bento Bloggers & Friends there was a fantastic lunch posted by Organized Bites for The Witches (one of my favorite Roald Dahl pieces) and I fell in love with this cute little kiwi mouse she made. I thought it was totally clever and I decided to try my hand at making my own little kiwi friend today. It's not as good as hers but both Monkey and I still really enjoyed it. Please do check out her post HERE.

But, here's my lunch. :)

IN THIS LUNCH: 

• Leftover chicken from last night's dinner
• Grape Tomatoes
• Kiwi
• Popcorn
• String Cheese
• Chocolate Almond Milk (not pictured) 

Happy Packing!! 

April 7th -- A New Bento Box

So maybe it's dorky but I was super excited to put this together. I found a fantastic new bento box at Target and let us just say, it's got me lunch inspired! Been dying to use it for a few days and here is what we've got.

UPPER LEVEL: One clementine, some grapes, two strawberries, string cheese, and pretzels.

LOWER LEVEL: Meat/lettuce roll ups, mixed greens salad with almonds, dried cranberries, and catalina dressing with tomato hearts.

Happy Packing!

March 31 - April 4: Round Up

Life certainly has gotten hectic lately! We've begun homeschooling and have added a new baby to the family which has been keeping us all busy and tired! However the lunches must go on. It is one of the things I truly enjoy doing and gives me something to look forward to. If you'd like to see the lunches daily, make sure to like us on Facebook. You can catch the weekly lunch round ups here :)

3/31

IN THIS LUNCH: 

Leftover Enchiladas

Corn on the Cob

Orange

2 Fig Cookies

4/1

IN THIS LUNCH:

Salad w/ Catalina Dressing

Annie's Organic Mac n Cheese

Shrimp

Blueberries

4/2

IN THIS LUNCH:

Chicken Nuggets w/ BBQ Sauce

Cottage Cheese

Orange

Banana

Hello Panda Cookies

4/3

IN THIS LUNCH:

French Bread Sandwich

Leftover Peas

Frozen Raspberries (from last summer)

Strawberries

4/4

IN THIS LUNCH:

Seafood Salad (was on a fantastic sale) w/ Crackers

Lima Beans

Blueberries

Orange

Cheddar Cheese

Happy Packing!

2014 -- 016

A Laptop Munchable

So, I got my Laptop Lunchbox a while ago and I haven't used it nearly enough! I love the versatility but knew that my daughter struggled to open the outer containers as well as the inner containers. When I realized that this Monday was a teacher in-service day, initially I was a bit bummed. Not because I wanted to usher my child off to school, but because I wouldn't be needing to pack a lunch! Then it hit me that it would be the perfect opportunity to give my little monkey some practice with her laptop lunchbox with me nearby to help if she needed it (fingers crossed she's got it down herself now!). 

IN THIS LUNCH: 

• The main compartment has a pasta salad with rotini pasta, cut mozzarella balls, sliced grape tomatoes, and sliced olives with a little bit of pesto. 
• In the blue compartment we have star, flower, and heart shaped cucumber cutouts.
• In our orange section we have a little flower made of orange segments and a blackberry center. 
• Our drink is an organic chocolate milk. 

When Monkey saw this lunch she was thrilled with the little orange flower and pointed out how I had constructed it and was thrilled I made cucumber shapes again. She smiled and hugged me and expressed how much she liked the flower and my making her lunch. All the smiles, hugs, happiness, and better nutrition than school lunches make this hobby so worthwhile. If her expression alone doesn't make the two minutes it took to make that little flower worth while, I don't know what would! BOO to the Bento naysayers! :-P

Happy Packing!!

2014 -- 015

The Quick and Easy "Classic"

By the time lunch making rolled around last night, I was exhausted. Gotten up at 2:30 for work, went to my full day there, then rushed to an ultrasound appointment, spent way too long at the bank, and of course nabbed monkey from school, and went to game night which I have been missing. Was a nice day but oh so tiring! My awesome husband stepped up to make a lunch for me since I was so tired so he decided to ''go with the classic'' sandwich. :-P All I did was tell him what to put with it. He even took the picture. :-)

IN THIS LUNCH: 

• Whole Wheat Bread with Sunflower Butter & Blackberry Jelly, 
• Tillamook Pomegranate Blackberry Yogurt w/ sliced almonds,
• Raisins and one prune
• 100% Juice Box (not pictured)

This lunch is part of the 15 minute Friday link up. Make sure you check out all the other fantastic lunches.

Happy Packing! 

2014 -- 010

New Containers!

So I have been crushing on those lunchboxes that have the built in ice packs in the lids for some time. Well, my husband apparently spotted them on clearance and nabbed them for me! I love that he sees lunch containers and thinks of me (and enables my lunch making craziness hobby). When looking at my monthly lunch menu I was not seeing anything that really would showcase the new box! What's a girl to do? Plan a new lunch obviously! I had some pita that needed using up anyway...

IN THIS LUNCH: "Homemade Pizza Lunchable"

• Whole Wheat Pita, cut into slices
• Tomato Sauce
• Cut up pepperoni slices (it's only about 4 whole slices, but they were too large for the pita so I cut them down smaller). 
• Mozzarella Cheese
• For the treat (monkey likes to point out the store bought lunchables always have a treat) is a lindor truffle. 
• On the side is no-sugar added applesauce with cinnamon on top
• Served with Organic Milk (not pictured)

Fantastic marketing has gotten kids to really love the lunchable and the convenience is something that parents can enjoy for sure. But for the cost to me it's just not worth the buy. They are usually pretty expensive for the little bit of food they're getting and I don't always feel great about what is in them. This lunch only required about 1/2 a pita, 4 slices of pepperoni, a few TBSP of tomato sauce, and a small amount of shredded cheese. They're definitely cost effective and only take a few minutes! I am so glad I started making my own. 

I'd love to see all your homemade 'lunchables'! Please feel free to share. :) 

Happy Packing!

First New Year Lunch!

Back to the Lunch Making Routine

So, I've been slow about updating the Facebook but even less so here, things in life got crazy as they often do. Of course lunches were still being packed and devoured but time to update, take pictures, etc... just didn't seem to present itself. Small update for those that follow my blog, I'm nearly 32 weeks pregnant with my 2nd little monkey! In October (about when the posts stopped) I had to pick up a job which has me getting up at 2:30 a.m. and honestly, the sleep deprivation and illness has been getting to me (not pregnancy illness, I just keep getting colds etc). With the new year, one of the things I wanted to do was try to get back into the blogging habit with making lunches. I really enjoy it so what's an hour out of the day? Haha. 

IN THIS LUNCH: 

• Sunflower Butter/Jelly Puzzle Sandwich,
• Grape Tomatoes
• Chobani Champions Yogurt Tube
• Banana
• Organic Chocolate Milk

This lunch is part of the Meatless Monday Link up! Make sure to check it out and see all the other Meat Free options. 

Treat Day!

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We are still going through training week and I am finding that I am super tired and definitely needing to make a trip to the store! So today we have another improvised lunch featuring whatever I could find in my pantry and fridge. I think in general it came out alright!! It also features a monkey made treat for treat day! 

IN THIS LUNCH:

• Mini Bagel Sandwich
• Mixed Greens Salad w/ tomatoes & Pomegranate Blueberry Vinaigrette
• Unsweetened Applesauce with Cinnamon
• Small piece of cake (made by monkey!!)
• Kefir Smoothie

This box came home almost empty! There was just a little bit of salad left after school and you know, I am okay with that. She at a good 85% of her salad. She was thrilled to see that her treat had made it into a box. Overall this is a lunch I would even pack for myself! I think it looks and sounds delicious.

This lunch is part of the ''What's for Lunch Wednesday" Link up. Be sure to check out all the fabulous lunches by clicking the button below.

What are your favorite treats to toss into a box? 

Happy Packing!

Spookable

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So today I started training at a new job as well as entered week 2 of my college classes. Needless to say it has been a super busy time in my house! I actually forgot (I know, I can't believe it either), to make her lunch the night before so we were throwing something together this morning. Monkey was happy to help by choosing the picks she wanted to use! 

IN THIS LUNCH: 

• Chobani Champions Yogurt Tube (Dragon fruit flavor)
• Crackers
• Turkey & Swiss Roll Ups
• Baby Carrots
• A banana
• Horizon Organic 1% Milk 

Monkey decided she'd like a different pick for each roll up. I totally didn't mind! So we got a cute little Frankenstein, a skull, a ghost, and bat. Totally fun and all picked up from the Dollar Tree. I think all my bases were still covered for food groups, but I didn't like how rushed and hectic packing in the morning feels. Just not fun. I'll be attempting to get that lunch packed the night before. 

Happy Packing!

Halloween Lunches are Here!!

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So one of my absolute favorite things about October is that we get to start doing fun Halloween themed lunches! They don't all get crazy, like today's lunch, but they do get to have a little Halloween flair! The holidays are my absolute favorite time of year in general, but I also think that's when the creativity starts coming out too!! Here's what monkey had for lunch... 

IN THIS LUNCH: 

• Thick cut ham skull & cross bones w/ medium cheddar cut outs
• Crackers
• Strawberries & Bananas
• 2 whole wheat fig cookies
• Organic Chocolate Milk

I'm also loving the adorable Dollar Tree napkins I picked up for this month! Monkey has actually enjoyed the napkins being packed in the lunch. Last year I never packed napkins and apparently there were several times she could have used one. I have contemplated making my own fabric napkins in different themed fabrics so that we're not wasting so much...but I'm not sure where to start on that... Not sure what fabric would be best to use...and furthermore how many I would actually need to include a napkin everyday! Anyone that has insight on this I would definitely appreciate some tips! I don't want to buy already made napkins, I'd like to make them myself. Thanks. 

Happy Packing!! 

Last September Lunch

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So, it's the end of the month and we are getting to the ''cabinet creative'' time of month I like to call it. We all go through it I think. When you're at the bottom of the month's groceries and you're suddenly a culinary MacGyver. Tonight we had noodles, leftover frozen turkey meatballs, and cream of mushroom soup. It looked a lot like stroganoff but tasted nothing like it haha. Monday lunch is just as MacGyvered as dinner was, but a little food time creativity will be continuing on till we go grocery shopping again on the 6th. :-P

IN THIS LUNCH: 

• Sunflower Butter/Apple Butter Bagel Sandwich
• Organic Apple Slices
• Babybel Cheese
• Raisin/Almond 'trail' mix. 
• Organic Vanilla Milk (not pictured). 

She was still up when I made this one and she was pretty excited about it! There was a few apple slices leftover and some more raisin/almond mix so I decided since tomorrow I would be heading to class I'd salvage these leftovers from her lunch and make my own little snack for class (no one likes a grumpy hungry preggo!)

IN THIS MOMMY MUNCHABLE:

• Leftover Apple Slices from Monkey's Lunch
• Raisin/Almond 'trail' mix. 
• Medium Cheddar pieces
• Popcorn and;
• A tiny bag of mini gummy bears

I was actually looking forward to my snack tomorrow! I even washed my metal reusable water bottle, got it filled, and chilling in the fridge. I have been very bad about eating so far this pregnancy. I mostly snack and even that isn't very often...I blame my sensitive nose and the nausea but this snack looks appetizing even to me! I'm looking forward to eating it. 

This lunch will also be part of the Meatless Monday link-up party. Make sure to check out all the fantastic lunches. :) 

Happy Packing!

Look, Grab, Pack

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So I'm calling today's lunch, ''Look, grab, pack'' because I didn't pack it last night! I got tired, went to bed, and this morning remembered that I didn't pack a lunch for Monkey! Instead of throwing in the towel and letting her have school lunch today (who know's what they're having and what kind of gunk it's made with) I did a ''look, grab, pack''. So simply, you look at what you got in the fridge, try to cover all your food groups, and run with it. No pre-plan (the pre-planned lunch I didn't feel like making). So here is what Monkey got today!

IN THIS LUNCH:

• Fruit: Cut Apples, Sunburst Tomatoes
• Dairy: Vanilla Yogurt (also protein) w/ fall sprinkles, String Cheese (also has protein), Milk (not pictured)
• Veggies: Baby Corn
• Grain: Butterfly Crackers
• Protein: Sunflower Butter (not pictured for dipping apples and crackers). 

As I started I was thinking about fall and how I am a bit sad to see summer go. So accidentally, we've got a goodbye summer (the single purple butterfly silicon cup) and hello fall (all the colors and the sprinkles). The sprinkles by the way are green, orange, and have little brown pumpkins which I picked up in my Target's dollar area! I think in general we covered all our bases and it's a lunch that should come home empty.

Don't forget to check out ''What's for Lunch Wednesday" to see a bunch of fantastic lunches!

Have you ever made a look, grab, pack lunch? What was it? :) 

Happy Packing!

Leftovers!

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So for today's lunch I decided to use a new container! This little beauty I picked up at the Dollar Tree and is intended to be used for things with dip. Well, me...I think I could put anything I want in the ''dip'' container. So I did! I put her dessert in there! I'm also thinking it would fit a mini muffin, yogurt, cottage cheese, applesauce, dips of any type, maybe a hard boiled egg, etc... I think it's a great little container!

IN THIS LUNCH: 

• Rice cooked in chicken broth w/ carrots and peas
• Garlic and herb roasted pork loin 
• Mixed berries [defrosted] including: raspberries, blueberries, and blackberries
• Dessert: 6 Hello Panda Biscuit Cookies.
• Strawberry Honey Kefir [not pictured]

Shockingly this was actually last night's dinner but Monkey said she wouldn't mind having it again for lunch today. Usually she's not a fan of leftovers so soon (neither am I) but she was totally on board with this (so it must have been good!). 

Just wanted to include this so you could see that the dip section has it's own little lid to keep it separated from the other foods. After I put the top lid on I used a hair tie to wrap around it. I wasn't sure if it would open in her box or not, so I just wanted to be safe! 

Breakfast Lunch

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If there is one thing my Monkey loves, it's breakfast. Whether it's at actual breakfast time, lunch, dinner, or snack, she doesn't care. Today will feature the first breakfast lunch of the 2013-2014 school year! I don't know about your kids, but pancakes are ALWAYS a good thing in my house. Now that we're getting so close to fall I have been chomping at the bit to start working with pumpkin again, a family favorite around here. Usually the standby pumpkin recipe in this house is Honey Oatmeal Pumpkin Muffins. If you click the name of them it'll take you right to our recipe! They're delicious, made from scratch, aren't made with granulated sugar, and typically don't last long in this house! If you haven't tried them I would STRONGLY recommend them. Today however we tried something different! 

These might look like the Honey Oatmeal Pumpkin Muffins you see on the recipe page but they aren't!

IN THIS LUNCH: 

• MOMables Mini Pumpkin Pancakes Recipe (I made them into mini muffins!) w/ syrup
• Orange Segments (1 small orange)
• Cottage Cheese w/ pepper (approximately 1/4 cup)
• Organic White Milk

So while making this lunch it made my house smell AMAZING. I didn't follow the recipe EXACTLY. It just says ''milk''. I assume that means conventional cows milk which we don't drink anymore. I used my unsweetened vanilla almond milk and they still turned out great. Also, instead of making cute little pancakes out of them, I sprayed my mini muffin pan, added approximately 1/8 cup of batter to each spot, and baked at 350 for about 12-15 minutes. I simply used the toothpick method to assess them. They're delicious and if you are looking for a new pancake recipe I think this one is a winner! 

What's your favorite ''breakfast lunch''? 

Happy Packing!

Tuna Fishwich

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So, the asparagus wrap lunch was a big hit. The only thing that came back was a little bit of the 4th wrap that she had asked me to pack (I knew she only would REALLY eat 3 comfortably, but live and learn). I've started bouncing flavor combo ideas for "Jungle Juice" off my fiance and he's really responsive to it and helping me come up with ideas. I am hoping to have a ''rough draft'' to give monkey on Thursday with the Chili. If you aren't on Monkey Munchables Facebook, we posted a pic of tonight's dinner which is a sneak peak of Thursday's lunch! 

Here's what we are going to have for Wednesday's lunch! 

IN THIS LUNCH: 

• A fish shaped Tuna sandwich
• Baby Carrots w/ side of Ranch
• Medium Plum
• Goldfish

I don't know how you make your Tuna salad for sandwiches but when I make this for Monkey (I hate tuna personally) I do drained tuna (that was packed in water only), I use a micro-grater to grate in celery, and a little squirt of mayo (salt/pepper if desired). It sneaks in another little bit of vegetables and Monkey is none the wiser! 

Here is her lunch in the box with her Hello Kitty birthday napkin and her Organic Strawberry Milk. This girl LOVES strawberry milk. I personally don't think I would like drinking milk with a tuna sandwich, but hey, to each their own! I fully expect some of those carrots to come back tomorrow. She never eats all her carrots when I send them, but the fact she eats them at all makes me happy.

This lunch is also part of a Wednesday link up! Feel free to check out all the lunches!

What are you all having? 

Happy Packing!