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 -- 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!!