2014 -- 028

Happy Valentine's Day! I will be totally honest I did think about what kind of lunch to make for several days. I thought about all the cute hearts, x's, o's, envelopes, conversation hearts, roses, and anything else I could pin to this holiday. I came up with some ideas but truly just couldn't figure out how to make them happen (that happens a lot, I get grand visions and lack the tools or skills to create them LOL). So, instead Monkey got a lunch made with lots of love that really isn't all that festive. I think she's still going to really enjoy it though. 

IN THIS LUNCH: 

• Bagel sandwich with cream cheese and blackberry jam,
• Brussels Sprouts (leftover from dinner) sprinkled with dried cranberries (there are some throughout, promise it's not just 5 little cranberries!), 
• Almonds mixed with white chocolate chips for a treat, 
• An orange and;
• A juice box. 

Luckily, thanks to pinterest and other fantastic bloggers I will get to oogle all the creative and cute lunches that I didn't make and will wish I had thought of myself! Are you packing your kiddos any fun treats for the v-day lunches? 

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! 

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!

Bottom of the barrel

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Okay, so I don't know about you, but I don't get to go grocery shopping till this weekend. That means figuring out what I have left, figuring out what's about to spoil, and making the most of what I have left! Today's lunch does just that! 

IN THIS LUNCH: 

• Mini bagel Sandwich w/ cream cheese and pepperoni [not much cream cheese left so wanted to use it up! There's still a few mini bagels but gotta get them used before they mold, and the little pepperoni slices will be dating in about a week or so]. 
• Strawberries [actually JUST broke down and bought these yesterday and already they're squishing]
• Organic Vanilla Yogurt w/ Fall Sprinkles [The yogurt will be dating in a few days]
• 2 pickles [Monkey just wanted some pickles]
• 100% Juice Pouch [not pictured] 

How do lunches workout for you when you're ''getting to the bottom of the barrel''? Do they live up to the normal lunch standards or do they get a bit like this one? Haha, it's still a great lunch full of flavor and good stuff, but it's definitely not as well planned out as my normal lunches. 

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!

Hot Lunch for a Chilly Day

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So we are up for another warm lunch. I think that I am a big fan of packing warm lunches but there is one thing that I didn't take into consideration when I started planning hot lunches. The sides that I serve with them have to be things that don't need to be kept cold. While I've seen a tutorial on how to pack both in one box, I don't have the same kind of box they have so if I pack a hot lunch, I have to have sides that can be warm too. So far not a problem but I think this could lead to repetitive sides down the road. 

IN THIS LUNCH: 

• Annie's Organic Macaroni & Cheese w/ leftover ham (cut into chunks), and some peas. 
• Apple Sauce with Cinnamon 
• Juice Pouch

I L-O-V-E cinnamon. It smells fantastic, it brings memories of holiday foods, and it's a natural way to help prevent spiked in blood sugar. I love that about it. It's a fantastic spice and I have always been a fan of warm applesauce with cinnamon. Our Mac N Cheese is packed in our Funtainer and the applesauce is in our Nude Food Mover. The sad thing, Monkey said that this lunch wasn't very warm when she got it at lunch in spite of  the fact that I had preheated the container with boiling water and that I had just made the food in the morning and heated it till it was steaming piping hot before putting it in the container. Blegh. Oh well. Maybe I didn't preheat with water long enough. 

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! 

Wrapped Up To Go -- Love, Mom

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So Monkey LOVED the pirate themed lunch. When I picked her up from school she actually thanked me for packing her lunch and asked if she could have one of the chocolate gold coins that she had saved for after school. Well, after a compliment like that...and the self control to save a chocolate for later, who could say no? I'm just glad she liked it. Today's lunch was a bit thrown together. I've been feeling a bit green around the gills. I suspect the little sea monkey is to blame! Lol. Smells of the food in the kitchen is killing me so yeah...luckily my fiance really helped me out by making most of it while I directed. :) 

IN THIS LUNCH: 

• Pizza Wrap (in foil w/ [eye][heart][u] pictogram and some stickers)
• Sliced Plum
• Baby Corn (w/ pepper) and;
• Organic Chocolate Milk

Some of the originally planned items got scratched due to queasy tummy! The Pizza Wrap was made with tortilla, tomato paste, mini pepperoni, cheese, and sliced olives. They were put on a baking sheet at 400 until the cheese melted. Then rolled it up and wrapped it in tin foil. Decided to write a little pictogram on her wrapper since she's recently figured out how to read simple ones.

This lunch is part of the 15 minute Friday link-up. Make sure to check out some of the other great lunches by clicking the button below.

What do you all pack when you're just not feeling up to making a lunch? 

Happy Packing!

Arrgh! Talk Like a Pirate Day!

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Yarr! It be ''Talk Like a Pirate Day'' for all ye land lubbers who didn't know! Welcome aboard the blog hop ship, The Flying Lunchman!!  Alright, that's the extent of my pirate but it was a good effort yeah? Today is my very first blog hop with the Bento Bloggers & Friends and I am super excited to participate! I grappled with whether or not to ''pirate-ify'' (yeah, my new word!) my already planned lunch...or come up with a totally new idea! Well, even though I couldn't find all the materials I wanted, I decided to stick with the plan and just pirate it up a little!

IN THIS LUNCH: 

• Mini Pitas w/ Krab Salad & Lettuce ''boats''. 
• Orange Segments (to prevent scurvy)
• Gold Dubloons!
• Cheese water and a goldfish :P

This was my first attempt at using my food markers and while I am not happy with the cheese I think in general the effect of the two blog hop ships came out alright. Monkey saw the lunch and immediately knew what they were and was super excited about it. So it made me feel a little better. 

Be sure to check out the next lunch on me ship the Flying Lunchman by clicking the pirate flag below! It's my shipmate Amanda from Food Family Fun! Yo ho! Next lunch ahoy! Once ye return from your trip at sea, click here for the second flag, tharr the 16 lunches of Black Bread's Revenge be!

What's your little Pirate eating today? 

Happy Packing! YAR!

Goodbyn Strikes Again!

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So, with some help from the fiance the Goodbyn managed to make it into another lunch! The weekend totally flew by and it was surprising to me! I want this time to slow down, I'm already feeling wicked tired (probably from being 15 weeks pregnant) and I am not wanting school, for me, to start back up just yet...but it is rushing this way. I'm toying with starting a section for my lunches/snacks again since on some days I will need to be taking them. Well, I hope everyone had a good weekend and that they are getting their lunches packed for tomorrow morning! I can't believe week 2 of school is starting for my little Kindergartner. Additionally, I've started the rough draft for my post about gluten-free/dairy-free lunches (don't think I have flaked or forgotten people!). 

IN THIS LUNCH: 

• Apple Sandwich w/ Sunflower butter and Organic Shredded Coconut. 
• Butterfly Crackers
• Medium Cheddar Stars
• Green Beans
• Organic Strawberry Milk

Monkey actually really loves these apple sandwiches and I wish I could take credit for them. I actually got the ideas from one of my favorite food-making mamas to follow, Lisa over at 100 Days of Real Food. They also have a 100 Days of Real Food Facebook that I subscribe to both on my personal page and on my Monkey Munchables page. I love seeing all the great food, recipes, and finds she has. I'd suggest checking out what it's all about. 

Otherwise I am very excited about this lunch but worry slightly that it might be a little light for Monkey. Oh well, if we have to have an after school snack I saved some of the extra apple bits for her to eat! :-)

I'm also looking forward to my first blog hop as a Bento Blogger Friend which will be coming up on THIS Thursday, so keep a watch out!

Also, this lunch is part of the Meatless Monday Link-Up. Feel free to check out other great Meatless meal options by clicking the button below. :)

What is everyone else packing for tomorrow? 

Happy Packing!

Edible skewers!

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So, it's finally Friday! Hooray. Week one of Kindergarten will be over today! We usually like to do a treat day once a week and well, today seemed like a good day for it. She has been super positive all week and has really taken to the new routine in general! She even thanked me for packing her good lunches which felt like such an epic win! This week we also participated in a Link-up party with Bentos on the Bayou. There's a link-up button at the bottom that you can go check out all the great 15 minutes or less lunches! 

Haha, okay here's the lunch with all the closed up containers. Teased all my Facebook readers with this one as a ''sneak peek'' for today's lunch. I'm glad you all had a good sense of humor about it! Also it was a good excuse to show the cutie ladybug container. :P 

IN THIS LUNCH: 

• Turkey/Swiss Roll-Ups (with pretzel skewers),
• Ants on a log (made with sunflower butter and raisins), 
• A sweet pepper w/ a little cream cheese (this is a new food for Monkey), 
• Orange segments and;
• Tapioca Pudding (for treat day). 

So, I'm still getting used to new containers. We tried several containers to figure out the best way to configure all the items. This seemed to be the best way, we're still going to be doing some trial and error for a bit here while we get used to using new containers. I also love the idea of using the pretzel rods as edible skewers. I would have liked to use less containers overall, but it worked out in general I think. 

Here's her lunch in the box with OPEN lids. Haha. Here you can see her mini juice box w/ 100% juice box. We pick up 4 packs of these little guys at the Dollar Tree. I'm really impressed sometimes by the products that they pick up there and have available. Sure we could get he juice boxes full of high fructose corn syrup, but on the same aisle they have these gems! Woot. 

Here's the link for the link-up party! 

Happy Packing!

New Tools & Goodies

So, yesterday my Monkey had her 6th birthday! I can't believe it. While we're gearing up for tomorrow's birthday party I have also be ''gearing up'' for lunch packing which starts Monday! I have been very blessed to have a wonder fiance that indulges my lunch habits so some of these were gifts from him! I'm excited to share with all of you the new 'swag' (that's the word the kids are using these days right? Lol).

Of this picture I won't lie I am most excited about the Gourmet Writer markers! I have been wanting them for about a year now and I am stoked to be able to make little faces and doodles on her food safely! Before I was limited to oranges and bananas (anything she'd be peeling the skin off). The large carrot is also neat. It has an opening for carrots as well as a top that will store dip! The top three items were Dollar Tree finds! I love my Dollar Tree. While Monkey's birthday was Friday she wanted to get to experience a birthday school lunch so I picked up the cupcake liners/pick combo pack for just a buck. I find LOADS of great themed items there. Next to it is a lunch punch that removes the crust and will seal the sandwich into a little pocket like those ''Uncrustables'' sandwiches the school's serve. Only we can feel good about using better for our children ingredients! Nothing questionable here.

We also got our long awaited Funtainers. I'll be honest the cost is what held me back last year. At $15 a pop I wasn't ready to make that kind of commitment. I bought cheaper alternatives. The food one broke and the cup leaked. I wasn't pleased. It would probably have just been easier to just shell out the money for the more durable containers. I've heard nothing but great things from other bloggers that use them so we bit the bullet. The awesome part, the drink container we were able to get for about $9 since it was on clearance at Target when we went now that their major back to school sales are over! If you can't tell my Monkey is a HUGE Hello Kitty fan (that party I mentioned tomorrow, Hello Kitty themed).

Okay, Hello Kitty popped her head in for another picture! I couldn't decide how I wanted to format them. Anyway, here you can see the large stack of our Lunch Blox containers that I am super stoked to try out for the school year! They come with a variety of sizes and the salad container came with a divider that fits into the other containers which is awesome! I enjoy the colors and the fact the containers have fitted ice packs that came with them (not pictured because they're in my freezer)! On top of Hello Kitty Funtainer is hard to see but there is a clear little cup w/ lid. While I was at the party store I stumbled across the ''jello shooter'' containers. I thought they were the perfect size (about 2 oz) to put in with the lunches to section off crackers, dip, or anything else I really want! They also fit (with lid) inside the Lunch Blox containers, which is a win/win for me!

Last but not least are the monkey themed napkins from the Dollar Tree (told you I love them). Again I haven't invested in cloth napkins. I'm sure people have noticed that I am not totally waste free in my lunch packing everyday, but I aim to be eventually. I just have to slowly make my investments over time because of a tiny budget! Something I am sure many mom's can relate to.

What are your new lunch packing items that you're excited to get to use? If nothing new, do you have a favorite lunch packing item already? What do you like about it?

Happy Packing!