A bunch of lunch, all at once.

Today is the first day of Lilly's Christmas break, so I figured

I'd post the lunches she's had for the last week or so.

She was sick last week (again) and missed two days of school.

Here's her lunch for the days she was actually well enough 

for school and ate home lunch.

Turkey and cheese sammies

Christmas pretzels with roasted garlic hummus 

Grapes

Christmas cookies

Juiceheads strawberry banana smoothies

Packed in the GoGreen Lunchbox

Christmas shaped PB&J sammies

Christmas pretzels with Babybel Swiss cheese wedge

Chocolate strawberry granola

Grapes

Cliff kid Z bar in chocolate brownie

Vanilla pudding with sprinkles

Juiceheads strawberry banana smoothie

This is one day that Lilly said she wished she would've had more

time at lunch to eat it all. :)

Christmas tree PB&J sammies

Christmas cookies

Raisins

Celery (with Ranch dip in the Christmas tree container)

Red & Green M & Ms

Horizon organic lowfat milk.

Chobani Vanilla Greek yogurt

M&Ms (in the snowman container)

Snowman shaped sammies

Pretzel thins with Babybel Swiss cheese wedge

Strawberries

Horizon organic lowfat milk

☺

Two days, Lilly wanted to eat school lunch and the other two

lunches were just tomato soup and mac n' cheese, so no pics.

We're off school until January 2nd, so have a very Merry Christmas!

No lunch post today.

Last Friday, the awful happenings at Sandy Hook Elementary School

left so many hearts broken forever.

I can't imagine what those parents and the entire community

must be going through.

I explained to Lilly what happened and her first reaction was

shock and then anger.

Anger that someone could do something so evil.

But we must focus on the lives lost that day,

the brave educators that gave their lives

to try and save the children in their care.

And the people who acted bravely to prevent further loss of such precious lives.

May they all never be forgotten.

Nyan Cat and other stuffs.

I'm so glad it's Friday!
Lilly ate school lunch one day this week, and macaroni

and cheese another day (no pic),

but here are the lunches for the rest of the week!

Bagel slices

Mozzarella cheese

Turkey pepperoni

Marinara

Buddy Fruits blended strawberry

Juiceheads strawberry banana smoothie (not pictured)

☺

Gingerbread girl shaped PB&J sammie

with four gingerbread marshmallows

Colby cheese squares

Dried strawberries

Penguin crackers (in the little gingerbread man box)

Gingerbread man cookie

Milk (not pictured)

☺

Nyan Cat PB&J sammie

Colby cubes

Chocolate strawberry granola

Carrots

Cucumber (with music note pics)

Ranch dip (not pictured)

Apple juice (not pictured)

☺

This lunch is special.

It's not exactly how I pictured it when I thought I'd make it for her,

but I really wanted to cheer her up.

She's had a tough week.

A playground fall left her with two busted up knees

and the drama with her bully is still happening.

I had a phone conference with her teacher and she

assured me she would take the necessary

steps to end the bullying.

I sincerely hope she does.

Anyway, the theme here is Nyan Cat.

If you aren't familiar with Nyan Cat,

you can watch the super popular video here:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=QH2-TGUlwu4

Lilly LOVES this video.

I can't explain why she (or countless others)

are so enthralled by this Pop-Tart, rainbow emitting cat.

She just loves it.

It's drawn in 8-bit style (which is Lilly's favorite),

it's set to a Japanese song (also one of Lilly's interests),

and it's a cat.

I guess I do understand why she likes it so much.

☺

I'm not super happy with how this turned out.

It was late and I decided on a whim to make it.

I WILL attempt a better, more aesthetically pleasing Nyan Cat

bento in the future!

This week's lunches.

This week, we packed lunch four days!

One day was just tomato soup, so no pic.

Here's the other three.

PB&J rectangle sammies

Freeze dried apple slices

Stila strawberry bits

Peach applesauce

Cheddar pretzels

Babybel cheese

Milk 

Angry Birds triple-decker PB&J sammie

German chocolate marshmallows

Angry Birds graham crackers (only the piggies)

Celery w/ranch

Sugar Free Vanilla yogurt

Juicy Juice Apple juice

1UP turkey & cheese sammie

German chocolate marshmallows

Colby Jack cheese cubes

Cheddar penguin crackers

Freeze dried apple slices with a Mario mustache

Mario fruit strip

☺

Very few lunches.

Today's post is showing two lunches: Last Thursday and today.

Lilly has only asked for home lunch TWICE in the last two weeks.

She says she wants to be like her friends

and eat at school.

I was trying to step back and let her try things

because it's a new experience and she's just getting into it.

But it's not working.

She has been STARVING the last couple of days

when I picked her up.

She doesn't like this or that on the lunch menu.

Yesterday, she only ate a clementine.

That's it!

I told her as much as she may want to

just eat what her friends eat,

she can't function without a proper lunch.

This is the last day before Thanksgiving break,

but after that, we'll be going back to home lunches 

at least four days a week.

I can make sure she's getting enough to eat

and I know what she's eating.

Here's Thursday's lunch.

Two ham & cheese leaf sammies

Cubed cheddar and mozerella

Grapes

Goldfish crackers

Buddy Fruits lemon tartlet

Juiceheads strawberry banana smoothie

☺

First off, the lemon tartlet.

Lilly specifically asked for this in the supermarket.

She did NOT like them.

They're not listed on the manufacturer's website,

which is odd, but they also came in raspberry.

Not a repeat purchase here, though.

Here's today's lunch.

PB&J double layer turkey and leaf sammies

Mini Babybel cheese with leaf cutout

Goldfish crackers

Dried strawberries

Sun Rype fruit & veggie strip

Juiceheads Berry smoothie

And a Hostess cupcake (!)

☺

I normally don't buy the cupcakes because I bake quite often

and I'd rather she eat home baked things.

I hope you have a wonderful Thanksgiving!

Lilly asked for a salad...

Today's lunch is a little bit of a surprise.

Lilly asked for a salad.

I was so surprised that she asked for it.

She'll eat salad from time to time, but usually only when it's 

part of a larger meal.

Salad w/ranch dressing

Dried strawberries and bananas

Cocoa almonds

Carrots

One Hershey Kiss

Minute Maid Grape juice

☺

I found a little baking set at my local Wal-Mart last night.

I opened it before I thought to get a picture, but it's AWESOME.

It's a Christmas baking set for children that comes with an 

apron, a small rolling pin, a spoon, a spatula,

and the best part...

 LOTS OF SILICONE CUPS!

It came with the big star (the other star cups are from Amazon),

 a gingerbread man, a Christmas tree,

two larger than normal silicone cups, two regular size and two mini.

All for a total of $6.97 before tax!
VERY good deal, if you ask me.

☺

Check out your seasonal isle at Wal-mart to find it!

Fewer Bentos than I'd like.

Happy Wednesday!
Lately Lilly has been asking to eat school lunch.

She's actually tried a few things she normally wouldn't and the lunches

are very healthy, so why not?
We had a snowstorm last week that resulted in three days

off school and she asked for school lunch on Monday,

but today the school had something she knew she wouldn't like.

So we Bento'ed. :)

Turkey and cheese rollups

Mini Reese cups

Celery with peanut butter

Angry Birds graham crackers

Green and red grapes

Cheezy penguin crackers

Juiceheads Strawberry banana smoothie (not pictured)

☺

I used the Rubbermaid Lunch Blox again for this lunch.

They're really quite handy if your child doesn't mind opening

several containers to get at their lunch.

It might be a bit difficult for smaller children.

I especially like the ice pack that comes with this set.

It snaps onto the bottom of the sandwich container or 

all the small containers.

There are plenty of ways to use this system.

We like it!

It's a bento...can you believe it?

Lilly had no school in the first part of the week due

to the Frankenstorm brought by Hurricane Sandy.

AND, she's decided she wants to eat school

lunch a few days a week.................

.............................................

..........................

not quite sure how I feel about that.

Anyway, I only have one lunch to post and it 

isn't at all creative.

PB&J heart shaped sammies

Grapes

Angry Birds CheezIts

Quaker Popped chocolate rice cakes

Mini Hershey bar

☺

Lilly asked for PB&J (what a suprise ;) and for the

crackers.

With Halloween just over, I thought I'd throw a little

chocolate bar in for good measure.

I'd planned to do a whole Wreck-it-Ralph Bento

as today is the highly anticipated (at least in my house)

release date, but time got away from me

and it didn't happen.

Lilly and her dad have a Daddy/Daughter movie date tonight,

so I'm sure it'll be even more appreciated

after she gets to see the film.

Maybe Monday???

☺

The rest of this week's lunches.

Today is Japan Day at Lilly's school, so for the first time,

she's asked to eat at school...

We'll see how it goes.

Here's Wednesday and Thursday.

Turkey and cheese pumpkin shaped sammies

Celery with ranch dip

Count Chocula treat bar

Apple slices

Juicehead Berry smoothie

☺

Ham & cheese Mummy sammie

Goldfish crackers

Caramel apple skewers (these did NOT hold up)

Carrots and ranch dip

Juicehead Strawberry banana smoothie

☺

I smiled at my cleverness with the caramel apple

skewers until Lilly told me they turned to 

a gooey, inedible mess in her lunchbox.

I'll have to rethink this...

Halloween Bento!

Yesterday was an In-School Service day for the teachers,

so that meant no school for Lilly.

I think I'll start posting only once or twice a week and

showing all the lunches.

It might be easier.

☺

PB&J rollups

Grapes

Carrots & ranch dip (little pumpkin container)

Chobani Kids Berry yogurt

Juiceheads Smoothie

☺

Lilly's been ill...

Today is the first Bento of the week...Lilly's had a nasty virus.

Having been homeschooled for the last three years,

we've avoided the awful reality of school absences

and the need for doctor visits.

Lilly has a checkup once a year and that's about it.

She's only had antibiotics twice, the first time when she was

18 months old and the second time was three weeks ago.

*sigh* What can ya do?
On to her lunch!

Ham and cheese tombstone sammie

Grapes on bat picks

Quaker Oats Stila strawberry bits

Banana chips

Chocolate pumpkin

Minute Maid 100% Grape Juice

☺

Hopefully, she'll adjust and her immune system will adjust!

More Halloween goodness and a new bread!

I found a new bread (at least to us) last night at Kroger.

Or rather Lilly found it.

She LOVES this!

She asked for a whole strawberry banana lunch.

We also found a new smoothie to try.

Lilly is SO picky when it comes to smoothies.

You'd think any blended milk and fruit would do, but

you'd be wrong. :)

We didn't get the orange mango because Lilly can't tolerate

oranges or orange juice.

The acid hurts her mouth and her tummy.

I put the strawberry banana smoothie in her lunchbox today,

so we'll have to see if she digs it.

Here's her lunch.

PB on strawberry banana bread

Grapes

Pizza Goldfish crackers

Quaker Oats Stila Crispy Oat strawberry cookie bar (cut up)

Juiceheads Strawberry banana smoothie

☺

We'll see if she gets strawberry banana'd out...

Another Halloween Bento!

I got my new Bento picks in yesterday!
I didn't order quite as much as I thought, but I'm super happy with

the holiday picks.

Here's Lilly's lunch today!

Turkey pepperoni and mild cheddar skeleton skewers

Grapes

Quaker Oats Stila cranberry and yogurt bits

Three cheese crackers

Two Peep pumpkins

Capri Sun Super V berry juice

☺

To make her regular silicone cups more festive,

I turned a Halloween cupcake liner inside out

and stuck it in the regular cup.

That way, I can see the festive liner, but it has the support of a silicone cup.

It worked well enough. ;)

I normally order from All things for sale, but some of the

things I wanted were out of stock.

I ordered all these from the cake supply store I normally

order from. :)

Pink Ninja lunch!

Today's lunch is quite important.

Lilly's been having trouble at school with two bullies.

Two BOY bullies.

I anticipated this problem somewhat, but in all honesty,

I never expected BOY bullies.

We're addressing the issue and hoping we can navigate

through the muddy waters of elementary school

bullying, but in the meantime, I've talked

to Lilly about it in a way that makes her feel better.

She draws A LOT.

She draws series' of artwork, her favorite being 

"Pink Ninja Art".

She draws herself as a pink ninja. :)

To quote Lilly on the pink ninja's qualities:
"She's strong, but kind and she always helps people.

She doesn't let anyone be mean to her, but sometimes she 

falls for practical jokes because she's new to the ninja academy."

This is one of her drawings.

We have an entire folder of these drawings at home,

but each one is fantastic in its own way.

I wanted to remind her to be strong, but kind with today's lunch.

PB&Strawberry jelly sandwich

Two strawberry Pocky sticks

Dried strawberries

Reduced fat colby cheese

Vanilla Chobani Greek yogurt with lots of sprinkles

Strawberry Yoohoo powder for her milk

☺

I included a blank Lunchbox Love note that I'd 

written a little reminder to channel her inner Pink Ninja.

Oh and the little purple thing on the corner of her sandwich is

an illustration of a glitch in a video game.

Lilly LOVES gaming and she especially likes to find

glitches in the gameplay. 

She said she finds things that aren't supposed to exist to be very interesting. :)

Day 25!

Today's Bento is in one of the My Bento Meal boxes.

First tier:

Ham and cheese sammies

Angry Birds Cheezits

Angry Birds graham crackers 

Second tier:

Grapes

Hello Panda strawberry cookies

Nature's Park Organic chocolate coconut bar

Carrots with low fat Ranch dip

Capri Sun Super V juice

☺

I've ordered some new Bento supplies that should be

here shortly, so there will be lots

of different Bentos.

In theory. ;)

More Halloween Bento goodness!

It's Friday, YAY!

Here's Lilly's lunch for today!

Fat free cream cheese and strawberry 

jelly finger sammies

French onion Sunchips

Fiber One PB & strawberry jelly bar

Cinnamon apples and blueberries

Three gummy pumpkins

Reduced fat chocolate milk

☺

For the finger sammies, I rolled light wheat bread REALLY thin, 

spread it with the cream cheese and jelly, then rolled it up and pinched it to look like a finger.

I added a couple of lines with my food marker.

I added a little smear of cream cheese and the cocoa almond nail.

A spooky lunch!

Lilly asked for a "spooky" lunch today.

I attempted to oblige.

Ham and cheese ghost and bat sammies

Mozzarella skeleton skewer

Celery with low fat ranch dip

Apple mouth with caramel dip (container underneath)

Two pieces of candy corn salt water taffy

Minute Maid Apple juice

☺

I love how the little apple slices turned out.

Hopefully, Lilly will, too!

☺

New Bento box!

Yesterday I found some new Bento boxes

at Tuesday Morning.

I couldn't really get a good pic of it, but these boxes are super cute.

This is the oval container and it cost $7.99.

I grabbed a two tiered teal rectangle container and a one tier purple, 

each of those cost $9.99.

Pretty good deal, right?

Here's what this one held this morning.

Top layer:

PB&J girl sammie (I was going for Harajuku Mini,

but I think it's lost in translation ;)

Goldfish crackers

Bottom layer:
Quaker Stila bits in strawberry

Two strawberry hearts

Grapes

Milk (not pictured)

☺

I really like these containers.

This one is oval and has handles, but it fits perfectly in her 

regular lunch box.

Here's the link to the company that makes them.

You can't buy online, though. :(

http://www.mybentomeal.com/

I'll post tomorrow with one of the other boxes.

Happy First of October!

It's officially October...

=D

I ♥ October!

I don't really plan on doing a Halloween themed

Bento everyday this month, but for 

the first day, I did a little something.

Ham & cheese sammies

Reduced fat Wheat Thins

Apple slices

Mozerella stick arms ;)

Two peanut butter eyeballs

Minute Maid grape juice box

☺

I am SO excited for Autumn!

Bento Day 20!

This is the last Bento for September...I can't believe it's almost October!
Today's Bento isn't that big.

And it's Lilly's request.

I'm not sure how many different ways I can do PB&J...

PB&J rollup skewers on wheat bread

Jif chocolate and peanut butter rollup skewers on wheat bread

Green and red apple slices w/peanut butter and chocolate dip

Goldfish crackers

Sour cream and onion fat free Pringles

Apple juice box

☺

I found the container on the right at Old Navy and it is AWESOME.

I wish I would've gotten the larger one, too.

It works perfectly for broken up Bentos like this one.

Bento Day...19!

We're back to small Bento today.

Lilly brought home a bit of her big lunch yesterday...because I went overboard.

I'm still getting the hang of her portion sizes.

I just don't want her to be hungry at school!
☺

Here's today's Bento.

Salad w/low fat Ranch dressing

Sliced carrots

Ham and colby cheese skewers w/wheat crackers

100 calorie Brownie bites w/Hello Panda cookies

Minute Maid 100% grape juice

☺

I found the Hello Panda cookies at Target.

They're Japanese cookies!

Lilly will be so excited!

Today is a special day!

Today's Bento is super special to me.

Lilly let me in on a secret yesterday...

She's been volunteering her recess time to sit with

kids in her class and other third grade classes

to help them get caught up on classwork.

Her teacher has nominated her as a "Peer Tutor".

As difficult as this adjustment to public school from

home school has been, this info was like music to 

my ears!

Lilly didn't think she was doing anything selfless or 

even important enough to tell me about.

I'm quite proud of her today.

=)

She asked last night if I was planning to do

a special Bento in honor of her tutoring surprise.

I said, "Of course".

This is what I came up with.

Turkey and cheese notebook and pencil sammies

Yogurt covered raisins

Smore's kit

Sour cream and onion Pringles

Sugar free, fat free chocolate pudding

Small cup of cookie crumb and flower sprinkle "dirt"

Milk

☺

I used Wilton food markers to draw the notebook lines.

I just cut the sammie into a rectangle and used a straw to 

punch the little holes.

The GoGreen made an appearance today because 

I knew I wanted to send a BIG lunch.

I also wanted to write a special note on the dry erase board inside

her GoGreen lunch box. ♥

I've been slacking!

Eeek!
I've been busy!
I forgot to post Friday's Bento!

Leftover pizza

Yogurt covered raisins

Cinnamon raisin granola

Cupcake Goldfish Graham crackers

Dried fruit

Minute Maid grape juice

☺

Yesterday, Lilly had Double Noodle Chicken noodle soup,

so no pretty Bento there.

Today however is QUITE the important day for Meanie.

It's her first "Silly Hair" day at school.

I realize this isn't terribly silly, but it's baby steps. :)

Here's her Bento for today, in honor of Silly Hair Day!

PB&J "Hair" sammies

Rice Krispie treat skewers

French onion Sunchips

Red seedless grapes

Land O Lakes reduced fat colby cheese

A Hershey's Kiss

Capri Sun Super V in Berry flavor

☺

I only gave her one kiss because of the krispie skewers.

Of course I doodled on her sammies.

I figured they were kinda silly so they should be weird colors.

That is my thought process.

☺

Also, my favorite Bento supply site is having a huge giveaway!

All Things for Sale is giving away this!

All you have to do is click here to register!

Back to the small lunch box.

Today we're back to the small bento.

I noticed the larger portions in the GoGreen were too

large, especially when Lilly was bringing

home half of what I packed.

Sooo, we're back to the smaller bento today.

At least until I can force myself not to fill

every compartment of the GoGreen quite so full.

:)

Fluffernutter sandwich (Meanie's favorite)

Chocolate chip Cliff's Z Bar

Cinnamon raisin granola

Yogurt covered raisins

Dried fruit

Fat free sour cream and onion Pringles

Minute Maid apple grape juice

☺

I drew a little flower on her sandwich (Wilton food markers)

to hopefully brighten her mood.

The transition from homeschool to public school has been

a little difficult for her lately. 

We keep working on it, but she has days that aren't quite as

great as we hope for when we start out the door.

I also included a Lunchbox Love note.

Today's lunch is...kinda bento.

Today, Lilly asked for mini corn dogs.

I've seen the recipes on Pinterest for the ones

made in mini muffin tins, but before I could

whip some up, she asked specifically

for the kind we usually eat.

Lilly loves these and they're all veggie!

I know it sounds a little weird, but trust me...

they do not taste veggie!

And here's why her lunch is KINDA bento.

Five mini corn dogs w/ketchup

Carrots and low fat ranch dip

green and red grapes

Three peach apricot Fig Newtons

Capri Sun V juice

☺

To heat the mini corn dogs, I popped them in the oven

while Lilly ate breakfast.

I also heated the Aladdin container at the same time.

(Just fill 1/2 way with water and microwave 3 minutes.)

When they came out, I immediately wrapped them in foil

and put them inside the dried Aladdin container.

☺

One other GREAT thing about the GoGreen lunch box is that

the bag for the green container is large enough

to accommodate the Aladdin container

AND the small dip container.

Speaking of which, this container is AWESOME.

I found this at Kroger for $3.99!

It's perfect for so many things.

Bento 13!

It's raining here.

A LOT.

I wish I would've thought about the forecast when

I fixed Lilly's lunch.

She'd have gotten hot soup.

But, since I can't go back and do it again,

here's what was actually in her lunch.

:)

Colby cheese cubes

Turkey pepperoni

Wheat crackers

Breadstick crackers

Fiber One Chewy PB&J bar

Celery with low fat ranch dip

3 Hershey's Kisses

Skim milk

☺

Yesterday was the first day Lilly used her GoGreen

lunch box, and I'm happy to report

that it kept her food perfectly

separated and was super easy to clean.

While I do love the GoGreen, I think we'll

go back to regular Bento tomorrow.

Bento Day 12!

It's Monday.
'Nuff said. :)
Last week, Lilly had a bad upper respiratory infection.
She missed Thursday and Friday from school, which also
means she missed picture day. :(
Four days down of a five day course of antibiotics, and she's
back to being Lilly.
:)

Today's bento is in Lilly's new GoGreen Lunch Box!

This is super neat.

I have to say I REALLY like this lunch box.

This is the pattern on Lilly' lunch box.

It's so pretty!

Here's what I was able to fit in it.

PB&J rollups (3 with grape jelly, 3 with strawberry)

Blueberries

Red and green grape kabobs

Goldfish crackers

Carrot chips with low fat ranch dip

Apple juice

☺

There are just so many compartments in the lunch box!

I feel like I might've put more than I normally would

because of all the space!

☺

Hopefully, Lilly eats it all...