Easy Lunchboxes, Not Just For Lunch

We are so blessed that Molly and Bean are very open to eating a very large variety of foods.  Unfortunately, CJ (3 years old) isn't quite there yet.  He is by far the pickiest kid we have and pretty much refuses any vegetables that you put in front of him.  Last night for dinner, I decided that maybe a little creativity would help expand his palate.  I used and Easy Lunchbox to make it even more fun for him...and easier for me.

CJ is really into rocket ships and is always talking about going to the moon so we decided to go with it.

Our main entree is peanut butter and jelly sandwiches.  We used Trader Joe's white whole wheat bread, Peanut Butter and Company's The Bee's Knees peanut butter and Trader Joe's reduced sugar organic blueberry preserves.  We used our rocket ship cookie cutter to cut them out and then decorated them with our food safe markers. 

Our vegetable side is Trader Joe's shredded carrots.  A little goes a long way with CJ and vegetables so we tucked about a tablespoon worth of these under each rocket ship with some showing on the bottom to look like the flames.

Our fruit side is a granny smith apple.  We cut out 3 stars with a small cookie cutter and then chopped the rest.

Our dairy side was milk which is not shown in this photo. 

Finally, we found Pepperidge Farm Goldfish Space Adventures and had to add them to complete the theme.  There are yellow stars and moons, red space ships and the orange goldfish.  

VERDICT: It worked!!!  He ate just about everything with only a few apple slices, a couple of goldfish and a couple of carrot pieces left.  

   

Back to School Lunch Essentials List

It’s that time of year again.  The store shelves are lined with back packs, pencils, crayons, paper and tons of back to school accessories.  Let’s not forget about lunch though.  There are lots of things available to make your child’s (or your) lunch fun and healthy.  *I’ve included several links and some discount codes within this post.*

1.      The Lunch Box

We have been using the Laptop LunchesLunch Box for the last few years.  It is a great system and although it seems a bit pricey, this is our third year using the same one and we’re still going strong.

*I would recommend any of the 2.0 Kits or Systems by Laptop Lunches. 

*I would also recommend getting a set of Bento Buddies so that you would have the option of a large container and a couple of the smaller ones in case one was in use or dirty.

*I would recommend the Laptop Lunches plastic drink bottles.  We’ve never had any leak problems with them.

My Bento Blogger Friends also can’t say enough good things about Easy Lunch Boxes.  They are BPA free, light weight and dishwasher/microwave safe.  We can’t wait to try them.

*They also have a carrier that keeps lunches cold and it is easy to clean.

*There are 4 boxes in each set so you’ll have one ready without having to run the dishwasher every day.  (We pretty much do anyway though. J)

*They are now going to be carrying Mini Dippers so that you can have a leak proof small container to put in your Easy Lunch Box for dips and salad dressings. Plus, we’ve heard a rumor about another leak proof small container to hold things like applesauce, yogurt and cottage cheese.
****UPDATE****  We LOVE our Easy Lunch Boxes and use them so often that they are always in the dishwasher.  They are great for leftovers for grown ups and lunches for kids.

2.      The Drink Container/Thermos

As I mentioned above, we’ve had great luck with the Laptop Lunches plastic drink container and would highly recommend it.

We have a Thermos drink holder with a straw.  Molly takes that to use in the classroom when she has a cough or if it’s really hot.  (With the teacher’s permission, of course.)

We also have a Thermos food jar for warm foods like soups and pastas.  These stay warm from the time we load them in the morning until lunch time. (*note: we fill the Thermos container with hot water while microwaving the food that will go into it.  Then, we dump the water and fill the Thermos with the food.  It seems to help with keeping things warm.)

3.      Keeping It Cool

We’ve been asked by several readers how we keep Molly’s lunch cold during the hot months of school.  It’s pretty easy with the Laptop Lunch Box because there is a small pouch in the carrier that can hold an ice pack.  There is also room in the Easy Lunch Box carrier so that the ice pack is right on top of the lid and keeps the food cold.  We’ve used the blue gel kind and also ones that look like ice cubes.  The biggest thing is to get something that lies rather flat.  Molly is in charge of putting her ice pack in her lunch in the morning and putting it in the freezer when she gets home.

4.      The Fun Stuff

We are lucky enough to have an amazing bake shop very close to our house and they have a great supply of cookie cutters and cupcake picks.  Our kids will eat more of something if it is cut out in cute shapes and decorated.  If you don’t have a place like this near you, check out your local craft store or the internet.  We have purchased a lot of things from AllThings For Sale. 

Here’s a list of our recommendations:

            *Cookie cutters for sandwiches.

            *Mini or micro cookie cutters for fruits, vegetables and other produce or sandwiches.

            *Silicone cupcake liners. They are nice for separating foods.

            *Cupcake picks, food safe rings or bento utensils.

            *Food safe markers

            *Sprinkles (dye free if your child is sensitive)

            *Lunch notes (available at Lunch Box Love or you can hand write them) (ps - use coupon
              code MOLLY to save 15% off Lunch Box Love Notes)

            *Cloth napkins

            *A container to put everything in (it’s important to be organized so that you can make 

              your lunches quickly and easily)

5.      A Plan

We try to write out a weekly menu but sometimes that becomes difficult when we get busy.  We usually look at the grocery store ads and start there so that we know what is on sale and what we have on hand.  If that seems like too much, there is a website called MOMables that does it all for you and even includes recipes and a shopping list.  We’ve used it and have had wonderful results.  They even have sample menus on their site to see if it would suit you.  *Stay tuned for a MOMables giveaway within the next few days!*

Theme lunches can be fun too.  We will look at our cookie cutters or cupcake/bento picks and go from there or look at the school calendar for inspiration. (ie: yellow day or Dr. Seuss’s Birthday)  We also look at the school lunch calendar just to see if we can make something similar but healthier. (ie: pizza or chicken nuggets)

6.      The Food

Like I said, we usually have a plan but there are some staples that are always good to have on hand.

            *Natural peanut butter/Sunflower Seed Butter

            *Low sugar jam/jelly/preserves

            *Whole grain or gluten free bread

            *Hard Boiled Eggs

            *Applesauce

            *Yogurt/Greek Yogurt (We like Chobani Champions)

            *Cheese sticks or Babybel Cheese

            *Cooked whole grain pasta (for pasta salad or to heat up with sauce)

            *Bagged salad

            *Baby carrots

            *Frozen or canned vegetables

            *Apples (we like MacIntosh or Empire because they don’t brown as quickly)

            *Fresh fruits and vegetables that your kids like (we usually have berries, peppers and 

              cucumbers in our refrigerator at all times)


Feel free to ask any questions below and have a great new school year! ☺

Theme Week Lunch 4 - 3rd Grade!

We were going to save this lunch for the last day of school but Molly will be celebrating her un-birthday at school on Friday so we decided to switch up the last two days.  We can't believe that the 2nd grade is almost over and our big girl will be a 3rd grader in a few short months.  It is so exciting to think about all of the fun things that she has to look forward to next year.

Our main entree is a cheese quesadilla.  We melted cheese between two flour tortillas, cooled it down and then used a number 3 cookie cutter to cut out lots of 3s for our favorite soon to be third grader.  There is a side of Trader Joe's salsa verde for dipping because it is one of Molly's favorites.

Our vegetable side is cucumbers.  We have a small number 3 cookie cutter that we used to cut these out.

Our fruit side is green grapes, blueberries and apricots.  We used the same small number 3 cookie cutter to cut out the apricot to keep up with our theme.

Finally, our dairy/dessert is a Chobani Champions Chocolate Chunk Greek yogurt.  This is Molly's favorite yogurt so we had to include it.  We used some small Post-Its on the lid that say, "Look Out 3rd Grade, Here Comes Molly!"

One more lunch before summer vacation!!! ☺