Brunch

After the breakfast success yesterday, I packed everyone brunch for school:

I packed our Easylunchboxes with tomatoes and cucumber flowers, watermelon and a cheese and egg croissant with a couple of ketchup packages on the side.

For my youngest son I packed Spiderman egg sandwiches (similar tutorial here) , watermelon and a few cheez-its.

Happy Friday!

What I used to make lunch:

Breakfast-To-Go in our Laptop Lunches Bento Box

The countdown for summer vacation is on. Less then two weeks until my kids are off for the summer! That means I am busier then ever trying to get as much done as possible before school ends. For my daughter that means more time in the car. And in turn I often here a little voice in the back seat calling "Breakfast sandwich? Please?" It is so tempting to just pull over and hand my preschooler a quick breakfast from the drive thru before running errand.

I was thinking on how to provide her with breakfast on the go and realized that the Laptop Lunches bento box is perfect! Great for eating anywhere and the compartments can be rearranged to fit what you want to add.

Our Breakfast-to-Go Laptop Lunch includes:

• watermelon (I cut a watermelon in smaller pieces and cubes at the beginning of the week and stored it in the fridge for convenience)
• an easy egg&cheese breakfast sandwich and
• an organic apple and strawberry sauce pouch on a cloth napkin

My daughter was thrilled and this was much healthier then a drive thru stop and honestly took no time to pack.

{How to Make A} Quick Breakfast Sandwich

You need:

1 croissant 

2 eggs

a little milk

1-2 slices of cheese ( we used American)

1 tbsp oil

To make this super fast sandwich:

Cut croissant in half.

Slice croissant horizontally.

Microwave both croissant halves for 10 sec and set aside.

Heat small frying pan with 1 tbsp of oil.

Scramble the egg with a small amount of milk.

Pour in pan and wait until egg sets. Flip. Cook until cooked through. Approx. 2 min each side.

Fill croissant with 1-2 slices of cheese and add egg. Enjoy!

Pantry Lunches

When life gets hectic and time does not allow for a trip to the grocery store, I rely on my pantry to still have some decent lunch ingredients.

We packed lunch in our Good Lunch Box:

• Pirate Booty,
• stamped peanut butter and blueberry jelly sandwiches,
• all natural apple sauce
• and a few almonds

Lunch in our Easylunchboxes ( I made two identical ones) contains:

• Pirate Booty
• all natural apple sauce
• a peanut butter and blueberry jelly stamped sandwich
• and a cereal bar

Still good lunches when time is not on my side :)

Things I used for this lunch:

Rainy Day Lunches

We are starting the week on a rainy, dreary and windy Tuesday. I decided to brighten their day with colorful lunches and pack all their favorites.

I packed our yumbox with a blueberry Chobani Champions tube yogurt, apple slices and kiwi, left over chicken, mini ice cream shaped peanut butter sandwiches and some baby carrots with dip. We packed milk today instead of water. 

For my second grader I added some sun with a funny Lunchbox Love Card, and packed his yubo with Pirate Booty and cinnamon almonds, puzzle shaped peanut butter and blueberry jelly sandwiches and vanilla yogurt with Naturebox Vanilla Macroon Granola and a few mini chocolate chips. He brought home made strawberry milk in our thermos Funtainer. Hope the sun peaks out for lunch!

My 5th grader brought lunch in his Laptop Lunches bento box filled with Pirate Booty and Cinnamon Almonds, apples (and mini chocolate chips for his yogurt in the mini container), vanilla yogurt and a nitrate-free salami sandwich on whole wheat bread. He packed some lemonade to bring summer to school.

Let's hope the rain goes away!!

Here are some of the things I used to make these lunches (the links contain affiliate links):

 

Healthy Lunch Challenge with Crunch A Color

Jennifer Tyler Lee from Crunch a Color invited me to join her Healthy Lunch Challenge. 

I am so thrilled to be part of this!

The Healthy Challenge Goal:

Jennifer invited 15 blogger to pack easy, healthy lunches that their kids love to eat and real Moms can pack on busy nights or mornings. She provided us with her award winning games the Crunch a Color The Healthy Eating Game and the Crunch a Color Conversation Starters. 

The Challenge:

Pack an easy and healthy lunch that incorporates 3 color cards, 1 protein and 1 healthy grain while earning at least 30 points.

The Lunch:

• home made no bake energy bites
• kiwi and our new food: an apricot
• 3 mini whole wheat pita pockets filled with lettuce, mini garden cucumber, carrot slices and nitrate-free salami
• strawberries and
• a small container with salad dressing for the mini pita pockets

How many points did we earn?

5 points for healthy grains for the whole wheat pita pockets and energy bites
10 point for the apricot ( we got to double the 5 points for trying a new food)
5 point for the kiwi
10 points for the cucumbers
10 points for the carrots
10 points for the salami and peanut butter
5 points for the strawberry and
5 points for serving water with lunch
---
60 points

We really enjoy playing the Healthy Eating Game and it encourages those kids of mine that like games and competition to try something new or add something to their plate to earn an additional card.

Jennifer had also sent us the Crunch a Color Conversation Starters and if you love getting the kids involved in the dinner conversation and want more then "nice", "great", or "ok" answers try using her game. My kids loved picking questions to answer at dinner.

Even my 4 year old - who cannot read yet - loves this game and I could not get one picture without her trying to play it with me :)

We loved participating in the Healthy Lunch Challenge!

If you would like your own games - you can purchase them here (contain affiliate links):

LunchBot Lunch

A quick lunch in our Lunchbot Trio:

• cucumber and cheese sticks
• salami sandwich
• veggie sticks and
• strawberries

I added a Lunchbox Love Card and marvel every day how far they have come this year!

Muffin Tin Monday

Today's theme for Muffin Tin Monday is Nursery Rhymes.
We read about Little Bo-Peep today so I made my daughter a matching MTM:

• Little Bo-Peep corn muffin with her hat and walking stick
• a silly sheep hiding in Pirate Booty
• Little Bo-Peep looking for her sheep in our left over chicken tenders
• one sheep hiding in the grape tulips
• one sheep hiding in celery and carrot flowers and
• one sheep hiding in the vanilla yogurt pond

Little Bo-Peep has lost her sheep,

And can't tell where to find them;

Leave them alone, And they'll come home,

Wagging their tails behind them.

Mama and Daughter Lunches

Today's lunches are for my daughter and me.
We packed the boy's lunches and then some for ourselves as well :)

Mama's Lunch:

This post contains affiliate links

My lunch is packed in our Laptop Lunches bento box:

• a kiwi fruit
• left over fried rice with some carrot flowers
• left over chicken on a bed of spinach salad with mushrooms and some left over crackers ( I also packed salad dressing in a separate mini dressing bottle - not pictured)
• and carrots and celery sticks with a tablespoon of peanut butter

Girly's Lunch:

My daughter wanted lunch on her Innobaby Din Din Platter:

• mini cucumbers
• grapes
• an apricot
• Pirate Booty and 
• two mini heart shaped peanut butter sandwiches

Here are a few of the things I used to make lunch:

Laptop Lunches

We packed a simple lunch in our Laptop Lunches lunch box today:

We packed:

• cheese crackers
• cereal bar
• vanilla yogurt and mini chocolate chips in the mini container
• apples and strawberries
• a chicken and spinach sandwich
• ice water (not pictured)

Today is also the last day to enter my GIVEAWAY! Good luck!

black+blum Review

black+blum generously sent me their box appetit and lunchpot to review. I am really excited about both products because they are for ME - and for a change not for the kids :)
I make sure that my kids take a healthy packed lunch to school but I often forget about myself which then in return causes 11:30 am fridge raids and candy bar consumption on the go. Both are bad for my waistline and health.

But back to these fab products and to a healthier lunch habit for me and really any Mom or Dad out there. There are only 5 more days until Mother's Day, did you know ;) ?

box appetit:

I love how compact this lunchbox is. All you need in one square. And with the look and feel of a designer lunchbox!

The box appetit comes with an ingenious sauce pot, an inner container - great for separating cold and warm food since the containers are microwave safe - and a fork/knife.

The box really has more of a dish feel to it and the plastic lid makes this lunch box water tight!

I packed myself a salad with avocado and tangerine with a sweet orange balsamic vinaigrette in the sauce pot, sweet potato chips and left over breaded chicken. Lunching in style at home!

Overall, I love this lunchbox and cannot wait to pack more lunches for me!

Why I love the box appetit:

• BPA free
• dishwasher safe
• microwave safe
• redesigned hinges for durability
• can separate cold and warm foods
• includes a sauce or dip pot
• includes a fork/knife
• feels more like eating from a dish then a lunch box

lunch pot:

This lunch container is so unique! I love that both containers (or one if you need just one) are carried in the strap and there is even a place for the spork!

This lunch is left overs again. This time comfort mac'n'cheese and steamed green and yellow beans with baby carrots.

Just like the other lunch box the lunch pot makes lunch an experience. The spork is so well designed and makes eating everything from salad over soup to mac'n'cheese easy. The fork part is simply well designed and I even ate a salad with this spork without any issues!

Why I love the lunch pot:

• BPA free
• dishwasher safe
• microwave safe
• can separate cold and warm foods in the two containers container
• includes strap and spork
• feels more like eating from a dish then a lunch box
• the smaller pot fits into the larger pot for storage

Overall, I love them both. They are both well designed , make remembering to pack lunch for yourself fun, are dishwasher and microwave safe (ideal for left overs) and for just around $20 they are both very reasonably priced!

Please check out all amazing products of black+blum HERE. But be aware: You will want them all!

On my wish list:

The Thermo Pot 

and eau good

Muffin Tin Monday

Today's Muffin Tin Monday theme is Classic TV & Cartoons and the first movie I thought of was Mary Poppins. My kids love the Julie Andrew's version and since we are all home sick they all helped make today's Muffin Tin:

• "A Spoonfull of sugar makes the medicine go down..." fruit snacks
• Mary Poppins' hat on Strawberry yogurt
• Jane and Michael tucked into a cucumber and carrot bed
• Musical notes tomatoes for all the great music in the movie
• Mary Poppins' purse peanut butter sandwich with fruit leather detail
• and of course her umbrella which is an apple with fruit leather

Here is our favorite song:

What is yours?

Laptop Lunches Review & Giveaway!

Laptop Lunches send us a Laptop Lunches Bento-Ware box to review and we immediately loved the versatility of the lunchbox!

The lunchbox comes with two open containers and three water-tight containers with lid. It has a built-in compartment for utensils and a napkin.

We packed lunch in our Laptop Lunches lunchbox all week, so you can see for yourself how versatile and fun the box is:

Monday: 

We packed a Greek salad with lettuce, shaved cucumbers, feta cheese, olives and grape tomatoes, a half a pear, a chicken sandwich on swirl bread, Greek salad dressing in the mini container and some more cucumbers.

Tuesday:



We packed Goldfish and Naturebox Cinnamon Almonds, grapes, a tangerine, applesauce and a pepperoni sandwich with spinach.

Wednesday:



Very similar to Tuesday's lunch. We packed popcorn and Naturebox Almonds, grapes and tangerine pieces, strawberry yogurt with mini chocolate chips and two chocolate spread Spider-Man sandwiches.

Thursday:

And today we packed a liverwurst sandwich, kiwi, plain yogurt, mini chocolate chips for the yogurt, popcorn and a cereal bar.


Pros:

• holds enough food for all ages
• can be colorful and playful or like ours plain and more suited for an adult or older child
• the three water-tight containers allow for yogurt, applesauce, dressing, dip and other foods that could spill to be packed regularly for lunch
• the built-in compartment is great for holding napkins and utensils or a cereal bar
• included mini container is great for salad dressing, dips and treats
• dishwasher and microwave safe
• BPA, PVC and Lead free
• you can add Bento Buddies to widen the variety of containers and color options and Bento Buddies includes a large container for salads or left over dinners
• containers stack for easy storage

Things to consider:

• even though all the containers are dishwasher safe sometimes the containers can warp depending on your dishwasher heat setting. It happened to us:

But the great people at customer service told me that there is an easy fix! Just heat up the warped container again with hot water and insert the other containers of similar size and let cool over night.

It worked for us and was an easy fix!

Overall, we really love our Laptop Lunches lunchbox and it is Mamabelly Kid Approved! Everyone from my first grader to my soon-to-be middle schooler loved the lunchbox! 

Want to win a Laptop Lunches lunchbox?

Enter here:

a Rafflecopter giveaway


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