This was a very snacky week bento-wise: Augie’s daycare provider was on vacation so he didn’t need a packed lunch and Wyatt was in afternoon day camp all week. The good news is that Wyatt starts 1st grade next week, so I will start packing him a lunch every day again! Plus snacks!
After a fairly light summer, these weekly bento posts are going to start to get beefy again!
Monday
Wyatt begged and begged his dad for a Z Bar at the grocery store, so he got to take it for his snack as a special treat on Monday. He also got a few blueberries and strawberries.
Bonus Dad Snack:
My husband was working at home on Monday for the first time in several weeks and I was so happy to have another adult around that I made him this fancy snack plate (he’s usually on his own for lunch and snacks). I gave him apple slices, grapes, fake Triscuits with aged gouda (our new favorite cheese) and peppered salami slices.
Tuesday
For Tuesday’s day camp snack, Wyatt had nectarine slices, three blueberries for garnish and fake Triscuits.
Wednesday
Wednesday’s snack was a biscuit and blueberries. I drew a Batman logo on the biscuit with food markers. If you’re wondering why the bat is green, it’s because most of the markers in my set (including the black one) have dried up now. The pink still works OK, but there’s no way Wyatt is going to allow me to draw the Batman logo in pink. I think it’s time for a new set!
Thursday
On Thursday I packed a whole wheat hot dog bun and strawberries. The inside of the bun is spread with a layer of home made plum jam.
Friday
Finally, I packed this snack for Wyatt’s last day of day camp. There were blueberries and as a special treat, he got a big handful of cat cookies.
Melissa from Another Lunch is one of my favorite bloggy buddies and her site always offers up something fun and inspirational. She puts together themed bentos and muffin tin lunches for her kiddos that are super-creative, but simple to execute (once she’s passed on her clever ideas).
Cooking with My Kid
Cooking with My Kid is one of those wonderful 365 projects — a mom cooks a new dish with her young son every day for a year. The dishes are usually pretty simple but they’re chosen to introduce her boy to new flavors and ingredients. She helpfully lists out which steps her son helped with for each recipe. The site is new to me, but I can’t wait to try some of them out with my kids.
Nurture Baby
Though Augie is well out of the baby food stage, I still check in with Nurture Baby from time to time for ideas for toddler-friendly dishes. I particularly liked the Bebe Bolognese — as did my boy — and I loved having small portions in the freezer to pop into his lunch box on day care days.
Meal Makeover Moms
I discovered the Meal Makeover Moms via their weekly podcast, but their website is a source of great family-friendly recipes too. The difference between these woman and many other food bloggers though is that they test the heck out of their original recipes before they release them out into the wild. As a result, every recipe of theirs that I’ve tried has been top-notch — and my kids have eaten (almost) all of them too!
Gourmet Mom on the Go
The Gourmet Mom on the Go isn’t a bento site per se, but it offers up some insanely cute serving ideas. A sandwich shaped like a lion with a grated carrot mane? How freaking cute is that? The recipe archive on this site is enormous, so no matter where your tastes lie, you’re bound to find something your family will enjoy.
It’s back to school week here on Wendolonia! I’m going to be bringing you a new article focused on lunch-packing every day this week.
Today’s topic: Sandwich Adventures
Sandwiches are the foundation of many packed lunches, but it’s easy to get into a rut with them. PB&J day after day can get really boring. So what can you do to make a sandwich — that convenient and easy lunch box staple — exciting? Here are a few ideas for jazzing them up:
Vary the Bread
One way to make a sandwich instantly interesting is to swap out regular sliced sandwich bread with some other kind of bread. Here are a few to try:
Tortillas – Most kids love tortillas and they’re probably something you already have in your kitchen. Stack fillings inside and cut them into easy-to-eat wedges. Or spread fillings evenly over the tortilla and roll them up for wraps. Once your sandwich is rolled up you can take it a bit further and slice them into small rounds of “sandwich sushi”. (Don’t use the word “sushi” if it will make your kids freak out though.)
Naan – This grilled Indian bread is soft and a little chewy. My kids are absolutely ga-ga for it and ask me to buy it nearly every week.
Pita pockets — There’s something about stuffing sandwich fillings inside a little pocket that makes them more fun. Pita pockets are great for looser fillings like tuna, egg or chicken salad that tend to fall out of regular bread when you take a bite.
Flatbread — My oldest son likes his flatbread layered with ketchup and salami. (Blech!) If your kid isn’t a big weirdo (and I mean that in a loving, caring sort of way), you can use more traditional ingredients.
Biscuits – This is a new favorite at our house. I buy the tubes of biscuits from the grocery store and bake them in the morning. We eat some with our breakfast and then at lunch time, I slice them in half and put ham and cheese inside. Yum! They’re also the perfect size for a bento box.
Cresent rolls — Another bake-in-the-morning option, also sized right for a bento.
Mini bagels — Add cream cheese and jam to a cinnamon raisin bagel, or roast beef and cheddar to a plain bagel
Garlic toast — Technically this is sliced sandwich bread, but it’s so much more exciting than that. I spread regular bread with butter, sprinkle on a little garlic salt and then toast it in the toaster oven until it’s golden brown. Slap in a slice of cheese (and maybe even a little tomato) and your sandwich is suddenly fresh and delectable.
Shake up the Fillings
Take some of the old stand-bys — turkey and swiss, peanut butter and jelly, chicken salad — and tweak them with some fun additions or substitutions:
Turkey and Swiss
Swap the meat: choose smoked turkey, southwest turkey or herbed turkey instead of plain, roasted turkey
Swap the cheese: replace swiss cheese with muenster, havarti, or cream cheese
Add this: mashed avocado, cranberry sauce or mango chutney
Peanut Butter and Jelly
Swap the peanut butter: try almond butter, sunflower butter or cream cheese instead.
Swap the jelly: replace jelly or jam with raisins or thinly sliced fruits like bananas, apples or pears.
Add this: this is going to sound totally weird, but add a few potato chips to a PB&J — the crunch is fun and your kids will think you’re a totally awesome rebel!
Chicken Salad
You can’t really swap the chicken in a chicken salad, I don’t think. Maybe you could use turkey, tuna or eggs? Sorry, that’s not really very original….
Add this: chunks of apple, halved grapes, chopped celery, toasted almonds, curry powder, a spoonful of mango chutney or apricot jam.
Try Something Really Different
Or you can try subbing something that’s technically not a sandwich at all:
Deconstructed Sandwich
We’re big fans of the deconstructed sandwich around here. Roll up some deli meat, cut some sliced cheese into shapes with cookie cutters (or just into squares) and pop in a pile of crackers.
Build Your Own Pizzas
I loved this idea from Food Momiac: Buy a refrigerated pizza crust and when you have a little extra time on the weekend bake it off into several 2-3 inch wide little crusts. Then pack the crusts into your kid’s lunchbox along with some spaghetti sauce, shredded cheese and mini pepperonis (or whatever topping he likes). Let your kid assemble his pizza at the lunch table. So fun!
What do you do to shake up sandwiches in your lunches?
More from this series:
Monday: Lunch Box Ideas(with a free downloadable list for your fridge!)
It’s back to school week here on Wendolonia! I’m going to be bringing you a new article focused on lunch-packing every day this week.
Today’s topic: what to pack in the lunch box!
The same scene plays out every weekday morning in kitchens across the country: a tired parent leans forward with one arm holding the refrigerator door open, eyes scanning the shelves for something to pack into a lunch box. What do we have in the house? What do we have that’s healthy? What do we have that he will eat?
I’m faced with the same daily questions and after months of starting from scratch — and getting into ruts — I finally decided to write down all the foods my sons like that can be eaten cold or at room temperature. I asked friends and blog readers to send me their suggestions as well and came up with a fairly comprehensive list.
Not all kids will eat everything on here of course (my son wouldn’t touch carrot sticks if his life depended on it) but even the pickiest eaters will find some things on this list that they’ll enjoy.
Make your life easier on hectic mornings Download a printable version of this list, print it and stick it to your fridge for instant inspiration:
goldfish crackers, cheddar bunnies or other snack crackers
pretzel thins
bagel chips
mini-rice cakes or rice crackers
cooked ball of rice
leftover pasta — toss with some chopped veggies and vinaigrette or a little olive oil, garlic salt and parmesan.
granola bars
banana bread, zucchini bread, or other quick breads
cereal bars
dry cereal
mini-bagels
hot dog buns, hamburger buns or dinner rolls
garlic toast
pita bread — I usually toast these so they don’t get soggy. Mini pitas are fun or you can cut a big one into wedges.
leftover pancakes or toaster waffles — mini-waffles go over especially well.
Fruits
apples slices or chunks (dip in pineapple juice to prevent browning)
berries — strawberries, blueberries, raspberries
cherries
grapes
bananas
melon chunks — watermelon, honeydew or cantaloupe
dried fruit — raisins, dried cranberries, dried apples, banana chips, etc.
canned peaches or pears — drain and rinse with water to remove excess sugar.
applesauce
pineapple chunks
orange or clementine wedges
Veggies
carrot sticks
sugar snap peas
red bell pepper strips
cucumber slices
celery sticks
grape tomatoes
steamed green beans
steamed broccoli spears
frozen peas — run them quickly under warm water to start them thawing
frozen corn
Proteins
leftover meat from dinner cut into chunks — you can send almost anything: roast chicken, pork roast, chicken legs and carne asada leftover from tacos are all things my kids have enjoyed.
chicken or turkey sausage with bbq sauce or catsup for dipping
deli meats — turkey, ham, salami
beans
peanut butter “sandwiches” made with crackers or graham crackers
taquitos with salsa for dipping
baked tofu
quesadillas
mini-burritos
mini-pizzas — top mini-pitas with sauce, cheese and pepperoni
hard boiled eggs
Dairy
yogurt
cheese cubes
cheese slices
cottage cheese
string cheese, Laughing Cow, Babybel or other small single-serving cheeses
And then there are sandwiches, of course! But we’ll talk about those more later in the week.
Don’t forget to download and print this list! I’ve made it easy for you:
Wyatt was swimming at camp on Monday so I wanted him to have an extra big snack. I packed tofu cubes, blueberries and whole wheat pretzel sticks. Gotta get that protein in him, don’t you know!
Tuesday
On Tuesday, the toddler’s lunch had turkey roll-ups, strawberries, mango chunks, shrimp fried rice (pulled from the freezer) and soy-catash (also from the freezer).
Edited to add: Donna pointed out in the comments that shrimp fried rice is not a dish that would be safe to pack in a lunch box and eaten at room temperature and she is absolutely right! It was safe for me to pack this for my little guy because his lunch is refrigerated at day care and then reheated for him at lunch time. I would not put this in a lunch box that was sitting in a backpack all morning though — with or without an ice pack!
Wyatt’s day camp snack was turkey roll-ups, pita crackers, clementine wedges and three (3) decorative blueberries.
Wednesday
On Wednesday, Augie had clementine wedges, deli turkey, a banana chocolate chip muffin (extra healthy with the addition of whole wheat flour and flax meal), grapes and soy-catash.
Wyatt was scheduled to go to a full day of camp on Wednesday, but ended up staying home sick at the last second. I packed his lunch the night before though: pita crackers, a banana chocolate chip muffin, strawberries, blueberries, snap peas and tofu with his name cut into it with cookie cutters.
Thursday and Friday
I am at the BlogHer conference in NYC right now, so I wasn’t home to pack the kids’ lunches, but my husband assures me he fed them. No pictures (though Daddy makes bentos for them too!).
For Monday’s snack, I sent Wyatt to camp with a cereal bar (cut in half and stacked), some blueberries and his beloved salami.
Tuesday
The main part of my toddler’s lunch for day care was a stuffed pepper half that was leftover from dinner the night before. I chopped the pepper up and mixed it in to the stuffing so it would be easy for him to eat. Blueberries and peas went along as the side dishes.
Wyatt’s snack was a biscuit (leftover from breakfast), some deli turkey and a yogurt tube.
Wednesday
On Wednesday, Augie had melon, strawberries, a banana chocolate chip muffin (pulled from the freezer) and leftover pasta and chicken in his lunch.
The five-year-old’s snack also had cantaloupe (his new super-favorite), a muffin and some deli turkey for protein.
Thursday
Augie had an extra day of day care this week to make up for last week when we were on vacation. His lunch had: chicken, green beans, a rice ball, blueberries and half an avocado. I dabbed the surface of the avocado with a little lemon juice and then wrapped it in plastic wrap to keep it from browning.
Wyatt (and Lego Woody) enjoyed blueberries and salami for snack. “There’s a blueberry in mah boot!” says Woody!
Friday
Seriously — this is so annoying! I took a bunch of pictures of Wyatt’s snack but I didn’t notice the memory card wasn’t in the camera. The snack today was pretzels, cantaloupe chunks and some deli turkey. You’ll have to use your imagination to visualize it, but I can assure you that it was extremely elegant in it’s graphic simplicity.
Comments
bentos · elementary school · food · kid · kindergarten · photo
