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...

Bento Day 11!

This lunch is a special request by Lilly.

She asked for a Pacman sandwich.

He could not have eyes.

She was very specific as to which version of Pacman she wanted.

It's her obsession with 8 bit video games in sandwich form.

Ham and Colby cheese Pacman sandwich

Colby cheese ghostie sammies

Fuji apple slices

3 mini Chips Ahoy & Oreo cookies

A sprinkling of yogurt covered raisins

Minute Maid Apple Grape juice box

☺

I washed the apple slices and then soaked them for 

a few minutes in Sprite.

It's a good way to keep the apples from browning.

I wanted to get a complete cover in my colors,

so I used Wilton Color Mist.

I keep it around for cupcakes and cakes, but it worked

perfectly for the sandwiches, too.

Bento Day 10!

For today's Bento, I tried something new.

I wanted to give Lilly my version of a pizza Lunchable.

Three Gluten-free mini pizza crusts

A container of pizza sauce

Reduced fat mozzarella cheese 

Turkey Pepperoni

Three Peach & Apricot Fig Newtons

Grapes

☺

I made the pizza crusts with this mix:

I've tried a couple of different pizza crust mixes, but this one

is definitely a winner.

It yielded ten of the 3" crusts, with half the dough left over.

I froze the other half to make pita bread. ☺

I like the idea of Lunchables, so this is really great for her.

☺

Bento 9!

Happy Monday!
Today's Bento is cute as can be!

Star shaped Fluffernutter

Yogurt covered raisins

Yogurt and oatmeal covered pinapple bites

Sunchips

Applesauce 

Minute Maid Apple Grape juice box

☺

I found the little pineapple bites at a local supermarket.

They come in little individual packs.

I like to go ahead and put them in the silicone cup

to make less trash for Lilly to deal with.

☺

Bento Day 8!

It's Friday!
Woohoo!

This week has been quite hectic, for some reason.

Anyhoo, today's Bento is supah good.

PB&J rollups with mini marshmallows

Goldfish brownie grahams

Yogurt covered raisins

GoGoSqueez apple banana applesause

Minute Maid white grape apple juice

☺

The trick to doing the rollup is to roll the bread somewhat thin

BEFORE you put on the PB&J.

Also, the jelly needs to be a THIN layer or it'll squish out the ends!

Lilly LOVES the applesauce on the go.

There are lots of flavors and varieties, but this brand

seems to be her favorite.

Have a great weekend!

Bento Day 7!

Today's Bento is uber healthy...because I gave Lilly a cupcake.

♦Salad with heart-shaped 

turkey pepperoni and Colby cheese shreds

♦Carrots with ranch dip

♦Oyster crackers

I saw this cupcake design on Pinterest and HAD to make it.

It turned out so cute.

I found a cupcake recipe that only makes two cupcakes.

We had baked pasta for dinner, so I whipped 'em up and

stuck it in the oven after dinner came out.

☺

One Delicious Vanilla Cupcake!
1 tbsp Earth Balance (or butter), softened
2 tbsp sugar
4 tbsp + 1 1/2 tsp almond milk
1/4 tsp vanilla
3 tbsp + 1 1/2 tsp flour
1/4 tsp baking powder
a dash of salt

-Combine the butter and sugar until well incorporated
-Add 2 tbsp of the milk (make sure the milk is at room temp or warmed up to 

prevent clumping and separation in the butter)
-Combine the flour, baking powder, and salt, then add to the butter mixture
-Add the remaining milk and vanilla and mix until incorporated.

-Bake at 350-375º F for 15-20 minutes

*Recipe from Sweet Road

☺

I didn't have almond milk, so I used only three tablespoons of

skim milk and regular sweet cream butter.

For transportation, I found this container at Big Lots (package of two

for around $3).

It holds the cupcake in place even if you turn it upside down.
Perfect for a lunch box, right?

I also wanted to take a second to show what I put in

her lunch box everyday.

Two napkins (Lilly is a little messy :)

Two Sani-Hands (I get these at Toys 'R Us)

A Colgate Wisp (I love that she can brush her teeth after lunch)

I get the Wisps at Sam's Club.

There are sixteen per package, so I buy two when I do

my monthly stock up.

I almost forgot!
Some days, I slip a little Lunch Box Love into Lilly's lunchbox.

I purchased sets 17-24.

They're such a great way of giving a little pick me up

or encouragement.

☺

Bento Day 6!

So yesterday, there was no Bento.

Lilly asked for mac n' cheese, so her lunch wasn't very cute.

I did get back to Bento today, though.

Turkey and cheese cupcake shaped sammie

grapes
Goldfish crackers
marshmallow cupcakes
Cliff Kid Z Bar (chocolate brownie)

☺

I had to add sprinkles to make the sammie more cupcake like, 

so I used my Wilton Food Markers.

I love the Cliff Kid Z bars! They're so tasty and they give

Lilly a really sustained energy boost.

Not to mention, they're made by Cliff. 

Super healthy!

☺