Showing posts with label Babybel Cheese. Show all posts
Showing posts with label Babybel Cheese. Show all posts

Tuesday, September 25, 2012

MOMables Week, Lunch 3

Tomorrow's lunch is similar to a few things that we've tried before but different too.  The trick is to flatten your bread with a rolling pin.  Thanks to MOMables for coming up with such fun things to make for lunch.    ps - tomorrow is Johnny Appleseed's birthday so we threw a few references in for that too.
Our main entree is Italian Sushi.  It is salami with cream cheese on whole grain white bread.  I think that these may become a regular request.

Our vegetable side is purple cauliflower for Bean and cucumbers for Molly.  Bean's has a small container of ranch dressing for dipping.

Our vegetable side is a checkered apple in honor of Johnny Appleseed's birthday.  We learned this skill from our friend Jenn at Bento for Kidlet.

Our dairy side is a Babybel Mozzarella cheese.  We cut an apple shape out of some of the red wax for Johnny Appleseed.

Finally, our dessert is Chobani Champions Vanilla Chocolate Chunk Greek yogurt.  YUM!
*This is a screen shot of the MOMables menu for today. 

Wednesday, September 5, 2012

2 Different Lunches

There are days when the girls are so happy to have the same thing and then there are days when they don't exactly agree on the menu.  Today, we are doing a repeat for Molly and something different for Bean.
Molly enjoyed today's lunch so much that she requested more/bigger pieces of our Healthy Banana Bread with whipped cream cheese sandwiches for her main entree.

Her veggies are cucumber slices.

We mixed blueberries and prune plums for her fruit.

Finally, her dairy side is a Babybel with a little bear cut out of it.
Bean's main entree is a peanut butter and jelly sandwich.  We used one of our new Lunch Punches to cut out a fun little cupcake and then we used our food safe markers to decorate it. There are a few rainbow goldfish swimming around her sandwich in case she is still hungry.

Her veggie side is cucumber slices, just like Molly.

The fruit mix for Bean is prune plums and strawberries.

Finally, her dairy side is a Babybel with a little heart cut out of it.
Tomorrow is blue day in Bean's Kindergarten class so we skewered some blueberries and added an Archer Farms blueberry and pomegranate 100% real fruit bites.
Food Sandwich Cutter set of 4 Sweet ShapesJapanese Bento Food Pick Cute Circus Animal 10 PJapanese Bento Box Accessory Heart Fork Food Pick 12 Pcs

Thursday, August 30, 2012

Angry Birds Lunch

This is the first Fun Friday of the school year.  If you are new to Molly's Lunch Box, Fun Friday is the special day when we include a fun treat in our lunch boxes.  Sometimes it's a cookie, sometimes it's candy but it's always delicious.
Our main entree is a salami and cheese sandwich on a sun dried tomato wrap.  We're calling it the launching pad for the Angry Bird.  Our Angry Bird is a Babybel mozzarella cheese that we used a round cookie cutter to peel the bottom of the red wax off.  We used a straw to cut out the eyes and our food safe markers to embellish the eyes and eyebrows.  Finally, we cut a small piece of colby jack cheese (used in the sandwich) for the beak.

Our vegetable side is a green salad with ground cherries (part of the tomato family) and a side of creamy French dressing.

Our fruit side is peaches and raspberries.  Both girls really like this combination of fruits.

Finally...the Fun Friday treat!  Angry Birds graham crackers and Angry Birds gummy fruit snacks.

Have a great weekend and Happy Labor Day!


Wednesday, June 20, 2012

Camping Lunch

When the girls at Bento Bloggers and Friends came up with a summer lunch themed blog hop (see below), I jumped right in. *pun intended* This is a fantastic group of ladies that make incredible lunches for their kids and even some of them make lunches for their husbands.  They are all a great source of inspiration.

When given the theme of a summer lunch, I was torn between doing something like the summer lunch that I made for Molly at the end of the school year and something new.  I thought about some of our favorite summer activities and our theme was born.  Camping!
Our main entree is a peanut butter and jelly sandwich.  We cut our sandwich into a triangle and used our food safe markers to create our camping tent.

Our vegetable side is campfire peppers.  We cut pieces of yellow, orange and red peppers into flames, stacked them and put some kindling, a/k/a pretzel sticks, at the bottom.  These were a big hit.

Our fruit side is a banana, a sleeping bag banana.  We cut the banana in half and wrapped it with a fruit roll up.  Then, we added some chow mein noodles for crazy bed head hair.  Finally, we used our food safe markers to add a sleepy face.  *note: the moisture from the banana makes the fruit roll up very sticky and messy, but still yummy.

Our dairy side is a Babybel cheese.  We cut out a little tree shape in the red wax.  We are always surrounded by big beautiful trees when we go camping.

Finally, our dessert is roasted marshmallows.  We put mini marshmallows on pretzel sticks and used the burner from our gas stove to toast the marshmallows.  All three of the kids LOVED this, especially because they could eat the stick. ☺

*This tray is from Target and the cup filled with water is from Ikea.

Now, head on over to visit the incredibly talented Shannon at the awesome What's For Lunch At Our House by clicking on the blog hop link below and keep hopping for some great summer lunch inspiration.


Thursday, May 31, 2012

Dance Recital Lunch

Molly and her sister will be performing tomorrow night in their dance recital.  They are both very excited.  Molly will be in a ballet number and a tap number.  She loves her tap costume (black and blue with little black sparkles) and her ballet costume looks like a beautiful pink and yellow flowing flower.  They both get to wear make-up...REAL make-up and Molly's little sister just loves make-up.  (Daddy's not a fan of the make-up but he agrees that they look beautiful.)

We've made a very special dance themed lunch for the special day, along with a very special Fun Friday treat.
Our main entree is a peanut butter and jelly sandwich.  We used our ballerina cookie cutter to cut it out and our food safe markers to decorate it.  (Not my best effort.  It's quite an odd shape.)

Our vegetable side is star shaped cucumbers.  We know that Molly will be a star tomorrow night!  We used our micro cookie cutter to cut these little stars out.

Our fruit side is strawberries.  We used a larger star cookie cutter to cut these out.  We also added a ballet slipper ring to this container.  Molly will be so excited because she is giddy about rings every single time we put one in her lunch.  (We have one for her sister too!)

Our dairy side is a Babybel cheese.  We used the same micro cookie cutter that we used for the cucumbers to cut out a tiny star from the wax.

Finally, our Fun Friday treat is ballet slipper cookies.  We dipped nutter butter cookies in pink chocolate, let them set and then added some white chocolate embellishments.  Cute and delicious!

Sunday, April 29, 2012

Post Party Lunch

Today, we celebrated Molly's 1st Holy Communion.  She was aglow in her beautiful white dress and veil and had a smile about a mile wide.  She was so proud to be receiving this sacrament and sharing it with her family and friends.

After mass, we had a whole slew of people at our house for a party with lots of yummy food and great conversation.  Luckily, there were a couple of leftovers and that made Molly's lunch very easy for us.  The other great thing about having a party at home, my house is still relatively clean.  Bonus!
Our main entree is linguini salad.  Molly's Nana makes the yummiest linguini salad and we were very excited when she offered to bring some to the party.  Molly requested that there be only olives and cucumbers and not any of the tomatoes or onions that were in the salad.  That was not a problem since Nana put in whole grape tomatoes and larger chunks of onion.  Thanks, Nana!

Our vegetable side is ants on a log.  We used some of the leftover celery from our veggie tray and added natural peanut butter and some dried currants that we got from our NatureBox.  Such a delicious and wonderful way to enjoy new and healthy snacks delivered to your door every month.  Enter the code NATURE to get 25% off of your first order.

Our fruit side is a clementine.  We were going to give Molly some leftover pineapple and strawberries but she asked for this instead.  It works for us!

Our dairy side is a Babybel cheese.  We weren't sure if there was quite enough protein in Molly's lunch and one of these is always a great source.

Finally, our dessert is a Chobani Champions Verry Berry Greek yogurt, by request.  Molly just loves her Cho!

Thursday, April 12, 2012

Pizza Friday!

When I was growing up, one of our traditions was to have pizza on Friday for dinner.  I don't know if it was payday or if it was just the easiest thing to do at the end of a long week, but we really enjoyed it.  We figured, why not give it a try for Molly's lunch?  Here you go...
Our main entree is turkey pepperoni pizza.  We purchased a pre-made crust and added sauce, cheese and turkey pepperoni.  We're so excited to hear Molly's reaction.

Our vegetable side is a garden salad.  Another one of our traditions was to have a big salad with our pizza nights.  It makes sense because that way, there was always a vegetable on the table.  We also added a side of light Italian dressing.  It looks like a lot from this angle, but it is less than a tablespoon.

Our fruit side is sliced strawberries.  They are on sale at the store right now and the sweetness and flavor keep getting better and better.  We can't wait to go pick our own this summer!

Our dairy side is a Babybel cheese.  We figured that Molly might need a little something extra and this is a perfect fit.

Finally, our Fun Friday Treat is a small package of M&M's and some Smarties.  Molly's Nana was the candy giver this year for Easter.  We were happy add some of these sweet confections for a special treat.

Tuesday, April 3, 2012

Easter Week Lunch 2

We've cooked up something fun for lunch tomorrow.  We were reminiscing about last year's Easter lunch and decided to use it for our inspiration.
Our main entree is a bunny pizza.  We used Pillsbury Simply Biscuits for our crust.  It is a very simple biscuit recipe without any added anything.  We like that idea.  We added a mozzarella/provolone shredded mix, olives for eyes and turkey pepperoni for a nose and mouth.

Our vegetable side is a cucumber that we cut with a flower cookie cutter.  We think that Molly will really enjoy the new shape.

Our fruit side is sliced strawberries.  We added an Easter Bunny pick to keep with our theme.

Our dairy side is a Babybel cheese.  We used our star shaped micro cookie cutter to cut a star shape out of the wax.

Finally, our dessert is vanilla yogurt with some Easter egg sprinkles on top.

Thursday, March 29, 2012

Lenten Lunch

This will be the last Friday lunch at school in this Lenten season.  As Catholics, we don't eat meat on Fridays in lent and this can cause some creative thinking for our meal planning.  Tonight was definitely one of those times.  After a great workout, Mom was very tired and my brain wasn't wanting to cooperate with any creative thought process.  Luckily, there was just enough creativity left to crank something out for Molly's lunch.
Our main entree is a cheesy pretzel sandwich.  We sliced a pretzel roll (it was kind of thin) in half and added some spicy/sweet deli mustard to it.  Then, we added a slice of smoked Gouda just to make it taste that much better.

Our fruit side is baby bananas.  You may see these in the grocery store and wonder about them.  We can tell you, they are delicious.  They are much sweeter than a regular banana but the flavor is wonderful, not like a mushy banana.  Molly couldn't wait to have these in her lunch.

Our dairy side is a Babybel Cheese (for extra protein) and a Chocolate Chunk Chobani Champions Greek yogurt.  Molly asked for the chocolate chunk variety so we went right ahead and gave her what she wanted.

Finally, our Fun Friday treat is Biscoff Biscuits and Biscoff Spread.  They are all natural and taste sweet and incredible. We figured that Molly could either dip her biscuits in the spread or use her spoon to spread it on.

Monday, March 19, 2012

Repeat!

Molly was so happy with her lunch today that she requested the sandwich in her lunch tomorrow.  Luckily, we had enough left over that we were able to fulfill her wishes.
Our main entree is an Irish Soda Bread sandwich with whipped cream cheese.  This bread is a generations old recipe and we've added our own little touches to it to make it our own.  As I've said before, this generation is making it whole wheat.  Grammy's generation added golden raisins and Nana's generation added regular raisins instead of just currents.  No matter what generation, it's delicious!

Our vegetable side is a romaine lettuce salad with a small amount of light Italian dressing on the side.  We also added a Babybel Cheese as per Molly's request.  We cut a small heart out to show her how much we love her.

Our fruit side is a sliced kiwi.  Molly said that the Kiwi Leprechaun tasted so yummy that she was craving a kiwi again.

Finally, our dairy/dessert is vanilla yogurt with a sprinkle of Trader Joe's Elegant Cocoa Pearls for a special touch.

Thursday, December 15, 2011

Field Trip Lunch

Molly is going to Old Economy tomorrow.  I remember going there when I was a child.  It is so much fun and they do it up so nicely.  The old time German traditions are so much fun and the fantasy of Christmas from a different country just ups the excitement level.

Since it is field trip day, we are packing a sack lunch with a twist.
Our main entree is a salami and cheese sandwich.  We used a holly leaf and berry cookie cutter to cut it out.  We then used food safe markers to decorate them a little bit.

Our vegetable side is sliced carrots.  Molly said that these are easier to eat than sticks so we're making it as easy as possible for her.

Our fruit side is apple slices.  We quartered a small apple, cored it, then used our crinkle knife to cut it into smaller pieces.

Our dairy side is a babybel cheese with a little star cut out of it.

We are sending in a small bottle of water for her to drink.

Finally, our fun little treat is a small rice krispie treat.  We made these for a play date that Molly's little sister had yesterday and Molly is the lucky recipient of a left over treat.

Here are a few pictures of Molly's lunch bag.  She asked us to make it fancy so we did our best.






Front of the bag.












                                                Back of the bag.

Monday, November 21, 2011

Last Day Before Thanksgiving

Our house is filled with the flurry and excitement of the holidays.  Molly's little sister having her preschool feast tomorrow and she can't wait.  Molly can't wait to have a few days off and neither can her Daddy.  We are all ready for some extra time together as a family. ☺

Happy Thanksgiving to Everyone!
Our main entree is Chickarina soup.  It is similar to Wedding soup but has a different, larger, pasta.  Molly has been requesting this for a while after we had it for dinner with some sandwiches.

Our vegetable side is carrot chunks.  We used our crinkle knife to chop up the carrot stick.  Its a fun different way to serve carrots.

Our fruit side is a D'Anjou pear and some pomegranate arils.  These are a huge hit in our house.

Our dairy side is a Babybel cheese and it is being served with some Triscuit thins in Chili flavor.  We figured that this would be a nice addition to Molly's lunch.

Finally, our special Thanksgiving treat is M&Ms.  We had a few of these left in our special treat jar and thought that Molly would really enjoy them.

Wednesday, October 26, 2011

Fall Fun

We've been having so much fun getting into fall this year.  Our annual visits to our favorite pumpkin patch, state park and candy store are all done.  Our Halloween parade, costumes and decorations are all done and there are only a few more things to do before the big day.  We can't wait for pumpkin carving, school parties and trick or treat with the annual screening of "It's the Great Pumpkin, Charlie Brown."

Tomorrow's lunch has a few Halloween touches to it too, just to keep Molly in the spirit.
Our main entree is peanut butter and nutella sandwiches.  It was such a hit today that there was a request for it again in tomorrow's lunch.  We cut these out with pumpkin shaped cookie cutters and put faces on them with food safe markers.  We added a small witch hat to the smaller pumpkin for fun.

Our vegetable side is carrots and hummus.  Molly said that it was so delicious today that, again, she requested it for tomorrow's lunch.

Our fruit side is green grapes.  We were tempted to peel them like zombie eyeballs but decided against it just in case they shriveled up over night.

Our dairy side is a Babybel cheese.  We carved out a fun jack o'lantern face on it for Molly.

Finally, our dessert is peach yogurt.  We buy a large variety pack of yogurt for Molly's Daddy and he was nice enough to share one with Molly. ☺

Monday, September 26, 2011

Something New

Our local grocery store intrigued me today by offering new and exotic fruits.  I had seen some of them before and some, I hadn't.  Most of these were pretty expensive and if I'm going to dip deep into my budget, I want to make sure that I at least like it.  We went for the least expensive variety of "fruit" so that we could all try it without breaking the bank.
Our main entree is mini-ravioli pasta salad.  We cooked up a bunch of Trader Joe's dried mini cheese ravioli for dinner and saved some for Molly's lunch.  We added black olives, light shredded mozzarella, turkey pepperoni and light Italian dressing.

Our vegetable side is a garden salad.  Molly loves black olives so we added a few extra to her salad.  On the side is more of her favorite light Italian dressing.  We figured it would go nicely with the pasta salad.  We added a Babybel cheese on top for extra protein.

Our fruit side is our "something new".  We decided on a pepino melon.  These originate mostly in South America and are really neat looking.  The pepino melon is small, like a large lemon and the skin is a pale yellow with dark purple stripes.  Pepino translates into cucumber and it is a very good translation.  The flavor (minus the skin, which is edible but not very tasty) is a mix between cucumber, pear and banana.  Very interesting.  The texture is soft, like a cantaloupe so it was easy to cut with our crinkle knife.  We're excited to see what Molly's verdict it.

Finally, our dessert is unsweetened applesauce.  Molly has been asking for this lately and since the pepino melon isn't all that sweet, we figured that it would be a nice addition to her lunch.

Monday, September 19, 2011

Classics Are Always Good

This is a very busy week at our house.  The girls started Faith Formation (a/k/a CCD) tonight and their Daddy is a Catechist (teacher) at the church so everyone was really excited to get things started.  This weekend is the semi-annual Consignment Sale at Molly's little sister's preschool so I will be busy helping there this week.  Also, Molly's Daddy and I are lucky enough to be seeing Wicked this week in downtown Pittsburgh.  It is one of my all time favorite Broadway musicals and the theaters here in Pittsburgh are amazing.  There is not a bad seat in either Heinz Hall or the Benedum Center.  We have something on the calendar everyday this week but, we will do our best take a breath and enjoy it.  ☺

Tomorrow's lunch started out with a general idea for sides but I didn't think of the main entree until I was almost done with everything else.  Then it hit me, nothing is better than a classic!
Our main entree is a peanut butter and grape jelly sandwich.  PB&J is good any day of the week.  We used whole grain white bread, added the peanut butter, Trader Joe's No Sugar Added Grape Jelly and used a large butterfly and a small butterfly cookie cutter to cut them out.

Our vegetable side is a green salad.  We added a few pieces of red and orange bell pepper and some black olives.  We are serving Ken's Steak House Light Italian Dressing on the side.  We've also added a Babybel Cheese to this container for some extra protein.  We used a micro cookie cutter to cut out a heart on the wax outer layer.

Our fruit side is a sliced McIntosh apple.  It's that time of year here in Western Pennsylvania.  There are apples and pumpkins galore!  These McIntosh apples are petite with a wonderful sweet and tart flavor.

Finally, our dairy/dessert is a Chobani Champions Greek Yogurt in Verry Berry.  Molly will be so excited when she sees this.  She has really taken a liking to these and isn't seeming to get bored with them.  This makes us very happy since they are so good for her.