Mother Luncher

Monday Lunches

2012-10-14T14:47:00.000-07:00

Lunch #1

Soft Pretzel

Mustard in the Little Dipper, Cheese bats in mini silicone muffin tin

Black seedless grapes

Kiwi with monster pick

Buttercream candy in dessert compartment

Lunch #2

Ham and cheese sandwich shaped with Pumpkin Cutter, butter pretzels

Shortbread Halloween cookies, cucumbers in silicone mini muffin cup

Black seedless grapes

Kiwi with monster pick

Peppermint candy for dessert

Items used:

Tuesday Planetbox

2012-10-09T04:50:00.000-07:00

Packed in a Planetbox

Apple Butter and cream cheese on whole grain flat

Red pepper strips and cucumbers cut with ghost cookie cutters

Halloween shortbread cookies

Clementine and Plumazins in a silicone mini muffin tin

Panda cookie for dessert

I got great feedback on the Glad Press N Seal to keep juices in their respective compartments so I used that again today. Works great!

Planetbox and Glad Press N Seal

2012-10-08T09:55:00.002-07:00

Packed in a Planetbox

Ham and Cheddar on whole grain sandwich thin

Cucumbers and red pepper slices

Halloween-themed pretzels

Homemade dried mango, strawberries and kiwis with a monster pick

Halloween cookies

After some complaining about the juices from the fruit and vegetables running over into the dry foods, I decided to experiment today. After the lunch was packed, I covered the entire surface with Glad Press'n Seal. The wrap sealed nice and tight across the whole lunch, so I hope this will solve the problem.

Here is how it looks with the Glad Press'n Seal over top:

Items used:

Halloween Themed Easy Lunchbox

2012-10-04T11:12:00.005-07:00

Just trying out our new Easylunchboxes today and so far I'm impressed!

Smoked turkey breast and brown mustard on whole grain bread with cheese bats.

Halloween colored tortilla chips

Bat candies in a mini silicone muffin tin

Clementine with jack-o-lantern face

Items used in this lunch:

Recipe: Zucchini Fries

2012-10-01T17:46:00.003-07:00

With the abundance of fresh zucchini lying around, I wanted to find a new way to make it family friendly. Enter the zucchini fries. Roasted to crispy goodness, and served with spicy ketchup, these fries were a hit!

Ingredients:

1 pound of zucchini, cleaned and trimmed

1/2 cup all-purpose flour

2 tsp. salt, divided

3/4 tsp. pepper

3 large eggs

1 cup panko bread crumbs

1/2 cup grated parmesan

Preheat oven to 425 degrees. Line a baking sheet with parchment paper.

Cut zucchini into french fry sticks, approximately 3 inches long.

In one bowl, mix together flour, 1 tsp. of salt and pepper. In another bowl, whisk eggs and other teaspoon of salt. In a third bowl, combine panko and parmesan cheese.

Dip each zucchini stick into the egg mixture, then the flour, and finally the panko. Arrange coated sticks on baking sheet in a single layer. No crowding!

Bake for 15 minutes, then flip zucchini fries. Continue cooking 7-10 minutes, until brown on all sides.

Serve and watch them disappear!

Tuesday Planetbox & Rice Krispie Sushi!

2012-10-01T17:30:00.004-07:00

Packed in a Planetbox

Sun butter and strawberry jam on whole grain with flax sandwich thin

Cheese stick

{Baked!} Hard cooked egg and cucumber slices

Blackberries and strawberries

Rice Krispie Sushi for dessert

Monday Lunches in Planetbox

2012-09-30T17:39:00.003-07:00

Lunch #1 packed in a Planetbox

Sun butter and raspberry jam on whole grain sandwich round

Cucumber slices and plums in mini silicone muffin cup

Babybel cheese and Veggie straws

Kiwis and a monster pick

Mini Peanut Butter Cup for dessert

Lunch #2 packed in a Planetbox

Meatballs and sauce in the Big Dipper

Rosemary and Olive oil bread with Laughing Cow cheese wedge (and an alligator knife )

Grape tomatoes and cucumbers

Mango slices and a kitty pick

Hard candy for dessert

Items used to make these lunches:

Hard Cooked Eggs Baked in the Oven!

2012-09-28T17:50:00.000-07:00

While browsing around Pinterest the other day, I saw a pin that caught my eye: Hard cooked eggs in the oven.

Let me back up. We go through a lot of hard boiled eggs. The kids enjoy them as snacks. The adults eat them on salads. I pack some in luncboxes shaped with bento egg molds. So needless to say, the idea intrigued me. I admit: I am not a fan of boiling eggs, mainly because I never get them just right.

So, armed with a muffin tin and a dozen eggs, I was ready to give this thing a try.

Preheat oven to 325 degrees. Place desired amount of eggs in a muffin tin, and toss (okay, maybe gently place) the eggs in the oven for 30 minutes.

In the meantime, prepare an ice bath. Let them cool in the ice and water for about 10 minutes.

Peel and see for yourself. Perfection! Never will I fight the boiling water again.

Wednesday Planetbox

2012-09-26T10:03:00.000-07:00

Wednesday Lunch in a Planetbox

Greek Yogurt with some Halloween candy bats in the Big Dipper

Banana and agave wrap on wheat with flax

Cucumbers and cherry tomatoes with cat pick

Black grapes and a blueberry cereal bar

Koala dessert

Items used to make this lunch:

Monday Lunch

2012-09-24T05:53:00.003-07:00

Lunch #1 packed in a Planetbox
Ham and cheese on rosemary and olive oil bread
Annie's Bunny Mix
Cucumbers and plum slices in a mini silicone muffin tin
Applesauce Pouch
Mango slices with a monster pick
Bats hard candy (tastes like Spree!)

Thursday Lunches

2012-09-20T08:50:00.002-07:00

Alternately titled: Feeling uninspired on this chilly Thursday morning.

Lunch #1 packed in a Laptop Lunch bento system

Apple butter and cream cheese on white cut with heart cutters

Goldfish and a Teddy Graham bear paw

Clementine

Chocolate milk

Lunch 2 Packed in the Planetbox

Turkey bologna and cheese on white

Cucumbers and hard cooked egg

Kiwi with monster pick

Angry birds graham crackers

Bunny mix and berry Gogurt

Items used to pack these lunches:

Wednesday Lunches

2012-09-19T04:55:00.003-07:00

Lunch #1 packed in a Planetbox

Clementine and strawberry in the Big Dipper

Goldfish crackers and cheese stick

Turkey pepperoni with a monster pick

Kiwi, strawberries, blackberries

Panda cookies for dessert

Lunch #2 packed in a Lunchbots Duo

Turkey bologna and cheese sandwiches on wheat pressed with Yoda and Darth Vader

Halloween tortilla chips

Kiwi, blueberries, blackberries and strawberries on a light saber pick

Items used to make these lunches:

Tuesday Lunches

2012-09-18T06:52:00.000-07:00

Lunch #1 packed in a Planetbox

Pumpkin bread and cream cheese sandwich

Babybel cheese and cucumbers (leaf shaped) in a silicone mini muffin

Blackberries and a blueberry cereal bar

Panda cookie

Strawberry, kiwis and a Vacu vin pick

Lunch #2 packed in a Lunchbots Duo

Pumpkin bread and cream cheese sandwich

Cheese stick

Strawberries, blackberries and kiwi

Thursday Lunches

2012-09-13T05:30:00.000-07:00

Today I had a request for a small lunch, so I downsized into a small Star Wars tin lunch box.

Lunch #1:

Strawberries in the Big Dipper compartment of a Planetbox

String cheese

Water decorated with darth vader sticker

There's also a Light Saber pick hiding in there somewhere for eating the strawberries

Lunch #2 packed in a Planetbox

Sunbutter and raspberry jam sandwich on Butter Bread with a Darth Vader press image

Cucumbers and peeled clementine

Pop chips

Kiwi and a monster pick

Butterscotch candy

Items used to make these lunches:

Wednesday Lunches

2012-09-12T09:48:00.000-07:00

Lunch #1 packed in a Planetbox:

Sunbutter and raspberry jam sandwich on white (using dinosaur cutter and candy eyes)

Cukes in a silicone cupcake mold

Clementine

Mini graham crackers

Applesauce with sprinkles in the Little Dipper

Goldfish and string cheese

Strawberry candy in the dessert compartment

Items used to make this lunch:

Tuesday Fairy bread rollups: Fail!

2012-09-11T19:59:00.000-07:00

Well, I tried, anyway. I'm going to keep working on mastering the beautiful fairy bread rollups that I see all over Pinterest. In the meantime, here's Tuesday's lunch, complete with my fairy bread fail.

Packed in a Planetbox

Fairy bread rollups, Chessmen Cookies

Halloween pretzels

Kiwi and strawberry

Celery and baby carrots

Monday lunches

2012-09-10T07:43:00.000-07:00

Lunch #1 packed in a PlanetBox

Little smokies with cheddar cheese leaves and a fun monster pick

Halloween pretzels / cucumber slices in a silicone mini muffin mold

Fig newton

Kiwi / strawberry

Butterscotch candy in the dessert compartment

Lunch #2 packed in a PlanetBox

Little smokies (turkey) with cheddar cheese Yoda head

Halloween pretzels

Baby carrots / celery

Kiwis / strawberries with a lightsaber pick

Gummy bears

Amazon.com Widgets

Laptop Lunch

2012-09-07T06:41:00.000-07:00

Peeled clementine / grapes

Blueberries with sprinkles and a giraffe pick

Turkey pepperoni and cheddar "kabob" with bunny mix in Spongebob cupcake baking cups

Baby carrots in ranch

Packed in a Laptop Lunches Alien bento system

First try with Yoda press

2012-09-06T06:58:00.002-07:00

Todays lunches were fairly tame, but Yoda did make an appearance in one of them. I have to say that I'm fairly impressed with the Star Wars Press-and-Stamp Cookie Cutters. I went into them not expecting much since I have terrible luck shaping bread. But I was pleasantly surprised, and hopefully the owner of that lunch will be, too!

Lunch #1, packed in a Planetbox

Ham & cheese sandwich on rosemary and olive oil bread

Goldfish crackers

Strawberry & kiwi skewer

Clementine & cucumber slices

Fig newtons, and greek yogurt with agave; dark chocolate chips in the Little Dipper

The GoGo Squeez applesauceis for snack time.

Lunch #2, also packed in a Planetbox

Cream cheese & strawberry jam sandwich on whole wheat with Yoda's face

Baby carrots; cucumber slices

Strawberries, blueberries and grapes on a Light Sabre pick

Fig newtons

Greek yogurt with agave; dark chocolate chips in the Little Dipper

And here's a close-up of that Yoda sandwich. Not so bad for the first try!

First day of school lunches

2012-09-05T06:50:00.001-07:00

Lunch #1 packed in a Planetbox

Sunbutter & jam sandwich on whole wheat with Mango fruit leatherstars

GoGo Squeez applesauce pouch

Strawberries & blueberries in silicone mini baking cups

Carrots & hard cooked egg (shaped with fish mold) in Silicone Mini Muffin baking cups

Veggie straws

Mini graham crackers

Lunch #2 packed in a Planetbox

Cream cheese & jam sandwich on whole wheat with mango Fruit leather stars

Cucumbers & hard cooked egg (shaped in car mold )

Strawberries

Veggie straws

Mini graham crackers