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!

Chili On A Hot Day

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So we were excited to bust out our Thermos Funtainer today. Monkey said her lunch was still warm when she opened it at lunch and that it was DELICIOUS. This lunch was actually kept from leftovers. I like to use leftovers whenever I can! 

We had chili Tuesday night for dinner and set aside a portion for Monkey for lunch Thursday. Some might pack it right away on Wednesday, but me personally, I don't like eating the same thing all the time. If I am going to eat leftovers I like to wait a couple days before I revisit them! 

IN THIS LUNCH:

• Homemade Leftover Chili w/ Cheese on top
• Grape Skewers
• Cornbread muffin
• Vanilla Milk

I had monkey help me skewer the grapes, something that she was super excited to do! She loves helping make her lunches whenever possible and so this was an opportunity for her to do that. The skewers I actually got a huge pack of from the Dollar Tree and they work fantastically! Love em. 

Here is the lunch inside the box. I like to incorporate these pictures because sometimes I see people's fantastic pictures and just wonder to myself how it all fits in the box, or what it looks like in the box, etc.. So I like including pictures of her lunches in the box. I don't know if anyone else wonders these things, but my brain works in mysterious ways sometimes! 

I'm still working on the entry for a Dairy Free/Gluten Free week of lunches! I am very excited about that! I also have made my first shot at Jungle Juice. I wasn't a fan but Monkey said it was good. I think I will keep trying until it's something we can all handle! 

What are some of your favorite ''leftover'' lunches?

As luck would have it...because this week has a Friday the 13th one of my favorite blogs ''Becoming a Bentoholic'' is doing their usual Friday link-up party on Thursday instead! So while I was bummed I wasn't going to get to participate before, I get to now!

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!

Under Wraps

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So, I learned a valuable lesson with lunch yesterday. Do NOT put cut up bananas in the container the night before. Even if you put juice on it to help keep it from browning, it will brown and get mushy. Thereby having to trash it and put in a new banana. I hate wasting food like that so I was a bit irked by that. 

Today's lunch isn't as pretty as some other lunches, which is regrettable, but Monkey should enjoy it! 

IN THIS LUNCH: 

• Asparagus wraps w/ light cream cheese and thin sliced ham. 
• Pineapple chunks 
• Babybel cheese
• 1 Cup of Popcorn
• Fruit Smoothie feat. Banana, orange, apple, and pear (NOT PICTURED). 

This was our clearance find at Target today. A hot pink Goodbyn for $5 I was really stoked! I was only going to make 3 asparagus wraps for Monkey but she asked for a 4th (she really loves these things). Admittedly, I took this idea from a good friend Trish. She came over to hangout and craft and she brought a snack tray that had these asparagus wraps and they've been a favorite ever since! I never would have thought to make them. Thanks Trish! 

Today we also spent time talking about ''My Plate'' and how we need to represent each of the food groups in our meals. Monkey actually thanked me for giving her good meals! It was nice and she had fun talking about what she had for lunch today and where it went on the plate and what her lunch was for tomorrow (this lunch) and where it went on the plate. I think it's fun to get her involved in covering all her food groups. 

What are your kids having? 

Happy Packing! 

First Day of School!

001 - Designer Monkey

For the first day of school I have a small tradition. I like to let Monkey decide what she will be having for lunch. It sounds small but I like to give her the chance to make her own choices (once in a while :-P). I feel like on the first day it gives her a sense of comfort to know what is coming at lunch, when everything else is so new and different. So, the lunch for the first day was completed selected by Monkey. Here it is, our first  Monkey Munchables lunch (so long to our old blogging name and home). 

IN THIS LUNCH: 

• Turkey/Swiss Puzzle Sandwich on Dave's Killer 21 Grain Bread
• a mix of sunburst and grape tomatoes
• peas (albeit some overcooked!) and; 
• a mix of bananas with orange segments. 

Please forgive the terrible lighting, my kitchen light hates me! Anyway here is her designer Monkey masterpiece. I was actually rather pleased with her food choices! For those that follow my blog and my facebook you all know that Monkey's birthday was last Friday, her birthday party (a gigantic hello kitty bash) was today. She was rather disappointed that she wouldn't be having school on her birthday, so I said, "what the heck," and tossed her a Happy Birthday Pick that I found at the Dollar Tree. I think the thing that surprised me most in this lunch was when she specifically asked for the orange/banana mix. Seemed very random but I had no problem running with it. I just hope the juice from the oranges helps keep the bananas from getting too yucky by lunch (I'll check on them in the morning). These are of course our new Lunch Blox containers that I have been so ecstatic to try! 

For those that are wondering here is how her lunch fit in her box. She is having a Horizon Organic Chocolate milk (also her choosing) and up at the top there is a fork wrapped inside a leftover napkin from her Hello Kitty party today! It's also hard to see because of glare but the lid on the peas actually has a Lisa Frank sticker (I found a pack of them at the Dollar Tree as well!). 

Here is the front of her new lunchbox that she got so excited about when she opened it at her birthday party. I was worried. It wasn't the one she had shown interest in and it wasn't Hello Kitty...so I got concerned that poor Barbie wasn't gonna fly. But, she squealed with delight and hugged it to her chest, so I guess it worked out okay! 

Hope you all enjoyed our first Monkey Munchable! 

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!